A rare glimpse into a puzzlesmith's workshop











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Note: The introductory text is only for flavour. All information needed to solve the puzzle is in the images below. Feel free to skip ahead to where it says "puzzle starts here".





Prologue




It was a tense time in Jafe Q. Puzzlesmith's office. All his new puzzles kept falling short. People were simply too clever for his usual tricks. The last one had just been solved in ten minutes sharp. To add insult to injury, while driving to work that morning he had just –



You know what, this was exactly the problem. Immediately he could hear the wheels turning in readers' heads. Falling flat? Ten minutes flat? Flat tyre? People had learned to catch these subtle clues so effortlessly. From the moment he mentioned "Q" as his middle initial, someone was probably already keeping track of whether he was using every letter of the alphabet in the text.



That's it, he thought. No more clues like "which traffic sign is red" or "how many bits are in a byte". Or "how many brains a person has", for crying out loud. It was time to bring out the obscure stuff. Muahahahaha!



Determined, he walked into the room holding his dead tree collection and started working on a new puzzle.






Puzzle starts here



Clue 1




enter image description here




Clue 2




enter image description here




Clue 3




enter image description here




The final answer is a mythological creature.



Hint:




Each clue has a separate answer. Put together, they point to the final answer.




Erratum for clue 1:




I seem to have confused two characters that look a bit alike: ⾟ and 𦍒. My bad!











share|improve this question




























    up vote
    15
    down vote

    favorite
    1












    Note: The introductory text is only for flavour. All information needed to solve the puzzle is in the images below. Feel free to skip ahead to where it says "puzzle starts here".





    Prologue




    It was a tense time in Jafe Q. Puzzlesmith's office. All his new puzzles kept falling short. People were simply too clever for his usual tricks. The last one had just been solved in ten minutes sharp. To add insult to injury, while driving to work that morning he had just –



    You know what, this was exactly the problem. Immediately he could hear the wheels turning in readers' heads. Falling flat? Ten minutes flat? Flat tyre? People had learned to catch these subtle clues so effortlessly. From the moment he mentioned "Q" as his middle initial, someone was probably already keeping track of whether he was using every letter of the alphabet in the text.



    That's it, he thought. No more clues like "which traffic sign is red" or "how many bits are in a byte". Or "how many brains a person has", for crying out loud. It was time to bring out the obscure stuff. Muahahahaha!



    Determined, he walked into the room holding his dead tree collection and started working on a new puzzle.






    Puzzle starts here



    Clue 1




    enter image description here




    Clue 2




    enter image description here




    Clue 3




    enter image description here




    The final answer is a mythological creature.



    Hint:




    Each clue has a separate answer. Put together, they point to the final answer.




    Erratum for clue 1:




    I seem to have confused two characters that look a bit alike: ⾟ and 𦍒. My bad!











    share|improve this question


























      up vote
      15
      down vote

      favorite
      1









      up vote
      15
      down vote

      favorite
      1






      1





      Note: The introductory text is only for flavour. All information needed to solve the puzzle is in the images below. Feel free to skip ahead to where it says "puzzle starts here".





      Prologue




      It was a tense time in Jafe Q. Puzzlesmith's office. All his new puzzles kept falling short. People were simply too clever for his usual tricks. The last one had just been solved in ten minutes sharp. To add insult to injury, while driving to work that morning he had just –



      You know what, this was exactly the problem. Immediately he could hear the wheels turning in readers' heads. Falling flat? Ten minutes flat? Flat tyre? People had learned to catch these subtle clues so effortlessly. From the moment he mentioned "Q" as his middle initial, someone was probably already keeping track of whether he was using every letter of the alphabet in the text.



      That's it, he thought. No more clues like "which traffic sign is red" or "how many bits are in a byte". Or "how many brains a person has", for crying out loud. It was time to bring out the obscure stuff. Muahahahaha!



      Determined, he walked into the room holding his dead tree collection and started working on a new puzzle.






      Puzzle starts here



      Clue 1




      enter image description here




      Clue 2




      enter image description here




      Clue 3




      enter image description here




      The final answer is a mythological creature.



      Hint:




      Each clue has a separate answer. Put together, they point to the final answer.




      Erratum for clue 1:




      I seem to have confused two characters that look a bit alike: ⾟ and 𦍒. My bad!











      share|improve this question















      Note: The introductory text is only for flavour. All information needed to solve the puzzle is in the images below. Feel free to skip ahead to where it says "puzzle starts here".





      Prologue




      It was a tense time in Jafe Q. Puzzlesmith's office. All his new puzzles kept falling short. People were simply too clever for his usual tricks. The last one had just been solved in ten minutes sharp. To add insult to injury, while driving to work that morning he had just –



      You know what, this was exactly the problem. Immediately he could hear the wheels turning in readers' heads. Falling flat? Ten minutes flat? Flat tyre? People had learned to catch these subtle clues so effortlessly. From the moment he mentioned "Q" as his middle initial, someone was probably already keeping track of whether he was using every letter of the alphabet in the text.



      That's it, he thought. No more clues like "which traffic sign is red" or "how many bits are in a byte". Or "how many brains a person has", for crying out loud. It was time to bring out the obscure stuff. Muahahahaha!



      Determined, he walked into the room holding his dead tree collection and started working on a new puzzle.






      Puzzle starts here



      Clue 1




      enter image description here




      Clue 2




      enter image description here




      Clue 3




      enter image description here




      The final answer is a mythological creature.



      Hint:




      Each clue has a separate answer. Put together, they point to the final answer.




      Erratum for clue 1:




      I seem to have confused two characters that look a bit alike: ⾟ and 𦍒. My bad!








      word knowledge story steganography language






      share|improve this question















      share|improve this question













      share|improve this question




      share|improve this question








      edited 2 days ago

























      asked Nov 27 at 12:06









      jafe

      14.6k37149




      14.6k37149






















          4 Answers
          4






          active

          oldest

          votes

















          up vote
          4
          down vote



          accepted










          The solution is




          PHOENIX




          Clue 1




          Combining the missing radicals ⺅,尹, ⻌, and 𦍒 (Thanks @Hugh) yields 伊達, a Japanese surname pronounced DATE.




          Clue 2




          Thanks to @Chrone and @AHKieran, the shorthand reads between the wrist and the fingers, or PALM.




          Clue 3




          Thanks to @Bass, we know the key word is something between "George, Laura, Barbara and Jenna" and a "Psittacus Erithacus". The first is the Bush family, and the second is a species of parrot (Grey Parrot). GENUS falls between family and species in the classification of an organism.




          Final




          Combining the 3 keywords result in DATE PALM GENUS.


          Date palms are part of the PHOENIX genus. A Phoenix is a mythical creature that is basically an immortal fire-bird thing.







          share|improve this answer























          • Only one of the glyphs is Chinese, the other three are Japanese.
            – Hugh
            yesterday










          • Thanks, I didn't realize 尹 existed in Japanese because it's very rarely used.
            – Zimonze
            yesterday










          • @Zimone that's ok. In general I think you've got the final answer though.
            – Hugh
            yesterday


















          up vote
          10
          down vote













          Partial answer for part 3:



          The text in the image is




          phonetically written English written from right to left, and reads like this:


           An example of X is George, Laura, Barbara and Jenna
          An example of Z is Psittacus Erithacus
          What is between X and Z?



          Solving for X and Z, we get




          X = Bushes, Z = Parrot (or maybe just "Bird")




          and then, something along the lines of




          A bird in hand is worth two in the bush




          Part 2 looks like




          some kind of shorthand, possibly Gregg, but since I know nothing of stenography, I have no idea, really.


          In the comments, @Chrone confirms that it is, indeed, Gregg, and it reads: "between the rest and the fingers".

          This could point to "hand", which is also a word between bush and bird in the proverb possibly suggested above.




          Part 1 seems to be a list of




          Japanese cities




          but I've yet no idea what to do with it. For starters,




          acrostically, they read "DID YOU THINK IT'D BE THAT EASY", which is obviously a red herring.




          Although my 日本語 is a bit rusty,




          the middle character in "Dazaifu" seems very unusual for a kanji. Indeed, it should be 太宰府. Time to check the spelling on the other cities..


          Higashiōmi should be 東近江

          Usa should be 宇佐

          Kimitsu should be 君津







          share|improve this answer























          • you noticed that some of the kanji are wrong, yes! You can pull the names of the radicals from my answer if you want.
            – Hugh
            Nov 27 at 16:18










          • I think it's Jenna, not Jenb.
            – Gareth McCaughan
            Nov 27 at 16:25










          • Thanks, both of you
            – Bass
            Nov 27 at 16:34


















          up vote
          3
          down vote













          Answer:




          The word: SELKIES




          Clue 3:




          Taking Clue 3 and reading it in reverse, converting the symbols to similar ones in the Latin alphabet and configuring to actual words it reads:
          an example of X is George, Laura, Barbara and Jenna
          an example of Z is psittacus erithacus
          what is between X and Z?
          psittacus erithacus is a Grey Parrot (thanks @Timoris).

          The names for X are the names of famous Bush's (Thanks @Bass)

          The question then ask "What is between Bush and (Grey) Parrot?"

          The Bushes are all from the US, and the Grey Parrot is from Africa. Between the US and Africa lies the Atlantic OCEAN.




          Clue 2:




          As identified by @Bass, this looks like Gregg shorthand, using the guide below I think it says something like:
          Between the wrist and the fingers

          (Thank you @Chrone and @Timoris for seeing that)

          Which would then point to HAND or PALM.
          enter image description here




          Clue 1:




          Is a list of Japanese Cities. (with apparent misspellings but unknown answer)




          Finally:




          OP has included that all 3 clues point towards a mythological creature, so far I have deduced that it is Ocean dwelling and something to do with a hand/palm. Well Selkies are Ocean dwelling seals that can turn into humans who have hands on land??? so lets go with that for now.







          share|improve this answer



















          • 2




            I think Z is supposed to be rot13(cfvggnphf revgunphf, gur Terl Cneebg) The weird 0 with a straight line through the middle is an old "th" letter
            – Timoris
            Nov 27 at 12:53






          • 1




            Clue 2 (the Gregg) is rot13(Orgjrra gur erfg naq gur svatref).
            – Chrone
            Nov 27 at 14:32










          • thank you @Chrone. No idea how i didn't see that last word ><
            – AHKieran
            Nov 27 at 14:34






          • 1




            Clue 2 might also be rot13(jevfg, abg erfg), making that part rot13(unaq/cnyz) or similar
            – Timoris
            Nov 27 at 14:55






          • 2




            @AHKieran nice answer, but how does it relate to the fact that some of the Japanese cities are spelt wrong?
            – Hugh
            Nov 27 at 18:03




















          up vote
          2
          down vote













          Partial Answer



          Part 1 — Japanese Cities

          It's easy (if you read Japanese) to notice that...




          some of the names of the cities are spelt incorrectly. For example,


          — The correct rendition of Usa is 宇佐, but the table above is missing the radical ⺅, called the ninnben (にんべん). It is the radical version of "human" (人).

          — The correct rendition of Kimitsu is 君津, the table above is missing a portion of 君.

          — The correct rendition of Dazaifu is 太宰府, t̶h̶e̶ ̶t̶a̶b̶l̶e̶ ̶a̶b̶o̶v̶e̶ ̶i̶s̶ ̶m̶i̶s̶s̶i̶n̶g̶ ̶"̶⾟"̶,̶ ̶m̶e̶a̶n̶i̶n̶g̶ ̶"̶s̶p̶i̶c̶y̶"̶. Sounds like there was an error in the puzzle, the correct glyph is 𦍒... which funnily enough is not a Japanese kanji but instead a Chinese one. I'll look into it.

          — The correct rendition of Higashiomi is 東近江, but the table above is missing the radical ⻌, called the shinnniyou (しんにょう), typically relating to movement.


          These are the ones I recognized off the top of my head. There may be others.


          I thought that there may be a kanji that combines these missing parts, but no kanji exists that uses both the にんべん and the しんにょう.







          share|improve this answer



















          • 1




            You are very close.
            – jafe
            Nov 28 at 8:22






          • 1




            Turns out there's an annoying mistake in this clue. I've added an explanation (see "erratum for clue 1"). Hopefully this helps!
            – jafe
            2 days ago










          • There's a mistake?! That's alright. I'll take another look.
            – Hugh
            yesterday











          Your Answer





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          4 Answers
          4






          active

          oldest

          votes








          4 Answers
          4






          active

          oldest

          votes









          active

          oldest

          votes






          active

          oldest

          votes








          up vote
          4
          down vote



          accepted










          The solution is




          PHOENIX




          Clue 1




          Combining the missing radicals ⺅,尹, ⻌, and 𦍒 (Thanks @Hugh) yields 伊達, a Japanese surname pronounced DATE.




          Clue 2




          Thanks to @Chrone and @AHKieran, the shorthand reads between the wrist and the fingers, or PALM.




          Clue 3




          Thanks to @Bass, we know the key word is something between "George, Laura, Barbara and Jenna" and a "Psittacus Erithacus". The first is the Bush family, and the second is a species of parrot (Grey Parrot). GENUS falls between family and species in the classification of an organism.




          Final




          Combining the 3 keywords result in DATE PALM GENUS.


          Date palms are part of the PHOENIX genus. A Phoenix is a mythical creature that is basically an immortal fire-bird thing.







          share|improve this answer























          • Only one of the glyphs is Chinese, the other three are Japanese.
            – Hugh
            yesterday










          • Thanks, I didn't realize 尹 existed in Japanese because it's very rarely used.
            – Zimonze
            yesterday










          • @Zimone that's ok. In general I think you've got the final answer though.
            – Hugh
            yesterday















          up vote
          4
          down vote



          accepted










          The solution is




          PHOENIX




          Clue 1




          Combining the missing radicals ⺅,尹, ⻌, and 𦍒 (Thanks @Hugh) yields 伊達, a Japanese surname pronounced DATE.




          Clue 2




          Thanks to @Chrone and @AHKieran, the shorthand reads between the wrist and the fingers, or PALM.




          Clue 3




          Thanks to @Bass, we know the key word is something between "George, Laura, Barbara and Jenna" and a "Psittacus Erithacus". The first is the Bush family, and the second is a species of parrot (Grey Parrot). GENUS falls between family and species in the classification of an organism.




          Final




          Combining the 3 keywords result in DATE PALM GENUS.


          Date palms are part of the PHOENIX genus. A Phoenix is a mythical creature that is basically an immortal fire-bird thing.







          share|improve this answer























          • Only one of the glyphs is Chinese, the other three are Japanese.
            – Hugh
            yesterday










          • Thanks, I didn't realize 尹 existed in Japanese because it's very rarely used.
            – Zimonze
            yesterday










          • @Zimone that's ok. In general I think you've got the final answer though.
            – Hugh
            yesterday













          up vote
          4
          down vote



          accepted







          up vote
          4
          down vote



          accepted






          The solution is




          PHOENIX




          Clue 1




          Combining the missing radicals ⺅,尹, ⻌, and 𦍒 (Thanks @Hugh) yields 伊達, a Japanese surname pronounced DATE.




          Clue 2




          Thanks to @Chrone and @AHKieran, the shorthand reads between the wrist and the fingers, or PALM.




          Clue 3




          Thanks to @Bass, we know the key word is something between "George, Laura, Barbara and Jenna" and a "Psittacus Erithacus". The first is the Bush family, and the second is a species of parrot (Grey Parrot). GENUS falls between family and species in the classification of an organism.




          Final




          Combining the 3 keywords result in DATE PALM GENUS.


          Date palms are part of the PHOENIX genus. A Phoenix is a mythical creature that is basically an immortal fire-bird thing.







          share|improve this answer














          The solution is




          PHOENIX




          Clue 1




          Combining the missing radicals ⺅,尹, ⻌, and 𦍒 (Thanks @Hugh) yields 伊達, a Japanese surname pronounced DATE.




          Clue 2




          Thanks to @Chrone and @AHKieran, the shorthand reads between the wrist and the fingers, or PALM.




          Clue 3




          Thanks to @Bass, we know the key word is something between "George, Laura, Barbara and Jenna" and a "Psittacus Erithacus". The first is the Bush family, and the second is a species of parrot (Grey Parrot). GENUS falls between family and species in the classification of an organism.




          Final




          Combining the 3 keywords result in DATE PALM GENUS.


          Date palms are part of the PHOENIX genus. A Phoenix is a mythical creature that is basically an immortal fire-bird thing.








          share|improve this answer














          share|improve this answer



          share|improve this answer








          edited yesterday









          Hugh

          1,114514




          1,114514










          answered yesterday









          Zimonze

          1,107122




          1,107122












          • Only one of the glyphs is Chinese, the other three are Japanese.
            – Hugh
            yesterday










          • Thanks, I didn't realize 尹 existed in Japanese because it's very rarely used.
            – Zimonze
            yesterday










          • @Zimone that's ok. In general I think you've got the final answer though.
            – Hugh
            yesterday


















          • Only one of the glyphs is Chinese, the other three are Japanese.
            – Hugh
            yesterday










          • Thanks, I didn't realize 尹 existed in Japanese because it's very rarely used.
            – Zimonze
            yesterday










          • @Zimone that's ok. In general I think you've got the final answer though.
            – Hugh
            yesterday
















          Only one of the glyphs is Chinese, the other three are Japanese.
          – Hugh
          yesterday




          Only one of the glyphs is Chinese, the other three are Japanese.
          – Hugh
          yesterday












          Thanks, I didn't realize 尹 existed in Japanese because it's very rarely used.
          – Zimonze
          yesterday




          Thanks, I didn't realize 尹 existed in Japanese because it's very rarely used.
          – Zimonze
          yesterday












          @Zimone that's ok. In general I think you've got the final answer though.
          – Hugh
          yesterday




          @Zimone that's ok. In general I think you've got the final answer though.
          – Hugh
          yesterday










          up vote
          10
          down vote













          Partial answer for part 3:



          The text in the image is




          phonetically written English written from right to left, and reads like this:


           An example of X is George, Laura, Barbara and Jenna
          An example of Z is Psittacus Erithacus
          What is between X and Z?



          Solving for X and Z, we get




          X = Bushes, Z = Parrot (or maybe just "Bird")




          and then, something along the lines of




          A bird in hand is worth two in the bush




          Part 2 looks like




          some kind of shorthand, possibly Gregg, but since I know nothing of stenography, I have no idea, really.


          In the comments, @Chrone confirms that it is, indeed, Gregg, and it reads: "between the rest and the fingers".

          This could point to "hand", which is also a word between bush and bird in the proverb possibly suggested above.




          Part 1 seems to be a list of




          Japanese cities




          but I've yet no idea what to do with it. For starters,




          acrostically, they read "DID YOU THINK IT'D BE THAT EASY", which is obviously a red herring.




          Although my 日本語 is a bit rusty,




          the middle character in "Dazaifu" seems very unusual for a kanji. Indeed, it should be 太宰府. Time to check the spelling on the other cities..


          Higashiōmi should be 東近江

          Usa should be 宇佐

          Kimitsu should be 君津







          share|improve this answer























          • you noticed that some of the kanji are wrong, yes! You can pull the names of the radicals from my answer if you want.
            – Hugh
            Nov 27 at 16:18










          • I think it's Jenna, not Jenb.
            – Gareth McCaughan
            Nov 27 at 16:25










          • Thanks, both of you
            – Bass
            Nov 27 at 16:34















          up vote
          10
          down vote













          Partial answer for part 3:



          The text in the image is




          phonetically written English written from right to left, and reads like this:


           An example of X is George, Laura, Barbara and Jenna
          An example of Z is Psittacus Erithacus
          What is between X and Z?



          Solving for X and Z, we get




          X = Bushes, Z = Parrot (or maybe just "Bird")




          and then, something along the lines of




          A bird in hand is worth two in the bush




          Part 2 looks like




          some kind of shorthand, possibly Gregg, but since I know nothing of stenography, I have no idea, really.


          In the comments, @Chrone confirms that it is, indeed, Gregg, and it reads: "between the rest and the fingers".

          This could point to "hand", which is also a word between bush and bird in the proverb possibly suggested above.




          Part 1 seems to be a list of




          Japanese cities




          but I've yet no idea what to do with it. For starters,




          acrostically, they read "DID YOU THINK IT'D BE THAT EASY", which is obviously a red herring.




          Although my 日本語 is a bit rusty,




          the middle character in "Dazaifu" seems very unusual for a kanji. Indeed, it should be 太宰府. Time to check the spelling on the other cities..


          Higashiōmi should be 東近江

          Usa should be 宇佐

          Kimitsu should be 君津







          share|improve this answer























          • you noticed that some of the kanji are wrong, yes! You can pull the names of the radicals from my answer if you want.
            – Hugh
            Nov 27 at 16:18










          • I think it's Jenna, not Jenb.
            – Gareth McCaughan
            Nov 27 at 16:25










          • Thanks, both of you
            – Bass
            Nov 27 at 16:34













          up vote
          10
          down vote










          up vote
          10
          down vote









          Partial answer for part 3:



          The text in the image is




          phonetically written English written from right to left, and reads like this:


           An example of X is George, Laura, Barbara and Jenna
          An example of Z is Psittacus Erithacus
          What is between X and Z?



          Solving for X and Z, we get




          X = Bushes, Z = Parrot (or maybe just "Bird")




          and then, something along the lines of




          A bird in hand is worth two in the bush




          Part 2 looks like




          some kind of shorthand, possibly Gregg, but since I know nothing of stenography, I have no idea, really.


          In the comments, @Chrone confirms that it is, indeed, Gregg, and it reads: "between the rest and the fingers".

          This could point to "hand", which is also a word between bush and bird in the proverb possibly suggested above.




          Part 1 seems to be a list of




          Japanese cities




          but I've yet no idea what to do with it. For starters,




          acrostically, they read "DID YOU THINK IT'D BE THAT EASY", which is obviously a red herring.




          Although my 日本語 is a bit rusty,




          the middle character in "Dazaifu" seems very unusual for a kanji. Indeed, it should be 太宰府. Time to check the spelling on the other cities..


          Higashiōmi should be 東近江

          Usa should be 宇佐

          Kimitsu should be 君津







          share|improve this answer














          Partial answer for part 3:



          The text in the image is




          phonetically written English written from right to left, and reads like this:


           An example of X is George, Laura, Barbara and Jenna
          An example of Z is Psittacus Erithacus
          What is between X and Z?



          Solving for X and Z, we get




          X = Bushes, Z = Parrot (or maybe just "Bird")




          and then, something along the lines of




          A bird in hand is worth two in the bush




          Part 2 looks like




          some kind of shorthand, possibly Gregg, but since I know nothing of stenography, I have no idea, really.


          In the comments, @Chrone confirms that it is, indeed, Gregg, and it reads: "between the rest and the fingers".

          This could point to "hand", which is also a word between bush and bird in the proverb possibly suggested above.




          Part 1 seems to be a list of




          Japanese cities




          but I've yet no idea what to do with it. For starters,




          acrostically, they read "DID YOU THINK IT'D BE THAT EASY", which is obviously a red herring.




          Although my 日本語 is a bit rusty,




          the middle character in "Dazaifu" seems very unusual for a kanji. Indeed, it should be 太宰府. Time to check the spelling on the other cities..


          Higashiōmi should be 東近江

          Usa should be 宇佐

          Kimitsu should be 君津








          share|improve this answer














          share|improve this answer



          share|improve this answer








          edited Nov 27 at 16:40

























          answered Nov 27 at 12:58









          Bass

          26.6k465167




          26.6k465167












          • you noticed that some of the kanji are wrong, yes! You can pull the names of the radicals from my answer if you want.
            – Hugh
            Nov 27 at 16:18










          • I think it's Jenna, not Jenb.
            – Gareth McCaughan
            Nov 27 at 16:25










          • Thanks, both of you
            – Bass
            Nov 27 at 16:34


















          • you noticed that some of the kanji are wrong, yes! You can pull the names of the radicals from my answer if you want.
            – Hugh
            Nov 27 at 16:18










          • I think it's Jenna, not Jenb.
            – Gareth McCaughan
            Nov 27 at 16:25










          • Thanks, both of you
            – Bass
            Nov 27 at 16:34
















          you noticed that some of the kanji are wrong, yes! You can pull the names of the radicals from my answer if you want.
          – Hugh
          Nov 27 at 16:18




          you noticed that some of the kanji are wrong, yes! You can pull the names of the radicals from my answer if you want.
          – Hugh
          Nov 27 at 16:18












          I think it's Jenna, not Jenb.
          – Gareth McCaughan
          Nov 27 at 16:25




          I think it's Jenna, not Jenb.
          – Gareth McCaughan
          Nov 27 at 16:25












          Thanks, both of you
          – Bass
          Nov 27 at 16:34




          Thanks, both of you
          – Bass
          Nov 27 at 16:34










          up vote
          3
          down vote













          Answer:




          The word: SELKIES




          Clue 3:




          Taking Clue 3 and reading it in reverse, converting the symbols to similar ones in the Latin alphabet and configuring to actual words it reads:
          an example of X is George, Laura, Barbara and Jenna
          an example of Z is psittacus erithacus
          what is between X and Z?
          psittacus erithacus is a Grey Parrot (thanks @Timoris).

          The names for X are the names of famous Bush's (Thanks @Bass)

          The question then ask "What is between Bush and (Grey) Parrot?"

          The Bushes are all from the US, and the Grey Parrot is from Africa. Between the US and Africa lies the Atlantic OCEAN.




          Clue 2:




          As identified by @Bass, this looks like Gregg shorthand, using the guide below I think it says something like:
          Between the wrist and the fingers

          (Thank you @Chrone and @Timoris for seeing that)

          Which would then point to HAND or PALM.
          enter image description here




          Clue 1:




          Is a list of Japanese Cities. (with apparent misspellings but unknown answer)




          Finally:




          OP has included that all 3 clues point towards a mythological creature, so far I have deduced that it is Ocean dwelling and something to do with a hand/palm. Well Selkies are Ocean dwelling seals that can turn into humans who have hands on land??? so lets go with that for now.







          share|improve this answer



















          • 2




            I think Z is supposed to be rot13(cfvggnphf revgunphf, gur Terl Cneebg) The weird 0 with a straight line through the middle is an old "th" letter
            – Timoris
            Nov 27 at 12:53






          • 1




            Clue 2 (the Gregg) is rot13(Orgjrra gur erfg naq gur svatref).
            – Chrone
            Nov 27 at 14:32










          • thank you @Chrone. No idea how i didn't see that last word ><
            – AHKieran
            Nov 27 at 14:34






          • 1




            Clue 2 might also be rot13(jevfg, abg erfg), making that part rot13(unaq/cnyz) or similar
            – Timoris
            Nov 27 at 14:55






          • 2




            @AHKieran nice answer, but how does it relate to the fact that some of the Japanese cities are spelt wrong?
            – Hugh
            Nov 27 at 18:03

















          up vote
          3
          down vote













          Answer:




          The word: SELKIES




          Clue 3:




          Taking Clue 3 and reading it in reverse, converting the symbols to similar ones in the Latin alphabet and configuring to actual words it reads:
          an example of X is George, Laura, Barbara and Jenna
          an example of Z is psittacus erithacus
          what is between X and Z?
          psittacus erithacus is a Grey Parrot (thanks @Timoris).

          The names for X are the names of famous Bush's (Thanks @Bass)

          The question then ask "What is between Bush and (Grey) Parrot?"

          The Bushes are all from the US, and the Grey Parrot is from Africa. Between the US and Africa lies the Atlantic OCEAN.




          Clue 2:




          As identified by @Bass, this looks like Gregg shorthand, using the guide below I think it says something like:
          Between the wrist and the fingers

          (Thank you @Chrone and @Timoris for seeing that)

          Which would then point to HAND or PALM.
          enter image description here




          Clue 1:




          Is a list of Japanese Cities. (with apparent misspellings but unknown answer)




          Finally:




          OP has included that all 3 clues point towards a mythological creature, so far I have deduced that it is Ocean dwelling and something to do with a hand/palm. Well Selkies are Ocean dwelling seals that can turn into humans who have hands on land??? so lets go with that for now.







          share|improve this answer



















          • 2




            I think Z is supposed to be rot13(cfvggnphf revgunphf, gur Terl Cneebg) The weird 0 with a straight line through the middle is an old "th" letter
            – Timoris
            Nov 27 at 12:53






          • 1




            Clue 2 (the Gregg) is rot13(Orgjrra gur erfg naq gur svatref).
            – Chrone
            Nov 27 at 14:32










          • thank you @Chrone. No idea how i didn't see that last word ><
            – AHKieran
            Nov 27 at 14:34






          • 1




            Clue 2 might also be rot13(jevfg, abg erfg), making that part rot13(unaq/cnyz) or similar
            – Timoris
            Nov 27 at 14:55






          • 2




            @AHKieran nice answer, but how does it relate to the fact that some of the Japanese cities are spelt wrong?
            – Hugh
            Nov 27 at 18:03















          up vote
          3
          down vote










          up vote
          3
          down vote









          Answer:




          The word: SELKIES




          Clue 3:




          Taking Clue 3 and reading it in reverse, converting the symbols to similar ones in the Latin alphabet and configuring to actual words it reads:
          an example of X is George, Laura, Barbara and Jenna
          an example of Z is psittacus erithacus
          what is between X and Z?
          psittacus erithacus is a Grey Parrot (thanks @Timoris).

          The names for X are the names of famous Bush's (Thanks @Bass)

          The question then ask "What is between Bush and (Grey) Parrot?"

          The Bushes are all from the US, and the Grey Parrot is from Africa. Between the US and Africa lies the Atlantic OCEAN.




          Clue 2:




          As identified by @Bass, this looks like Gregg shorthand, using the guide below I think it says something like:
          Between the wrist and the fingers

          (Thank you @Chrone and @Timoris for seeing that)

          Which would then point to HAND or PALM.
          enter image description here




          Clue 1:




          Is a list of Japanese Cities. (with apparent misspellings but unknown answer)




          Finally:




          OP has included that all 3 clues point towards a mythological creature, so far I have deduced that it is Ocean dwelling and something to do with a hand/palm. Well Selkies are Ocean dwelling seals that can turn into humans who have hands on land??? so lets go with that for now.







          share|improve this answer














          Answer:




          The word: SELKIES




          Clue 3:




          Taking Clue 3 and reading it in reverse, converting the symbols to similar ones in the Latin alphabet and configuring to actual words it reads:
          an example of X is George, Laura, Barbara and Jenna
          an example of Z is psittacus erithacus
          what is between X and Z?
          psittacus erithacus is a Grey Parrot (thanks @Timoris).

          The names for X are the names of famous Bush's (Thanks @Bass)

          The question then ask "What is between Bush and (Grey) Parrot?"

          The Bushes are all from the US, and the Grey Parrot is from Africa. Between the US and Africa lies the Atlantic OCEAN.




          Clue 2:




          As identified by @Bass, this looks like Gregg shorthand, using the guide below I think it says something like:
          Between the wrist and the fingers

          (Thank you @Chrone and @Timoris for seeing that)

          Which would then point to HAND or PALM.
          enter image description here




          Clue 1:




          Is a list of Japanese Cities. (with apparent misspellings but unknown answer)




          Finally:




          OP has included that all 3 clues point towards a mythological creature, so far I have deduced that it is Ocean dwelling and something to do with a hand/palm. Well Selkies are Ocean dwelling seals that can turn into humans who have hands on land??? so lets go with that for now.








          share|improve this answer














          share|improve this answer



          share|improve this answer








          edited 2 days ago

























          answered Nov 27 at 12:48









          AHKieran

          3,943633




          3,943633








          • 2




            I think Z is supposed to be rot13(cfvggnphf revgunphf, gur Terl Cneebg) The weird 0 with a straight line through the middle is an old "th" letter
            – Timoris
            Nov 27 at 12:53






          • 1




            Clue 2 (the Gregg) is rot13(Orgjrra gur erfg naq gur svatref).
            – Chrone
            Nov 27 at 14:32










          • thank you @Chrone. No idea how i didn't see that last word ><
            – AHKieran
            Nov 27 at 14:34






          • 1




            Clue 2 might also be rot13(jevfg, abg erfg), making that part rot13(unaq/cnyz) or similar
            – Timoris
            Nov 27 at 14:55






          • 2




            @AHKieran nice answer, but how does it relate to the fact that some of the Japanese cities are spelt wrong?
            – Hugh
            Nov 27 at 18:03
















          • 2




            I think Z is supposed to be rot13(cfvggnphf revgunphf, gur Terl Cneebg) The weird 0 with a straight line through the middle is an old "th" letter
            – Timoris
            Nov 27 at 12:53






          • 1




            Clue 2 (the Gregg) is rot13(Orgjrra gur erfg naq gur svatref).
            – Chrone
            Nov 27 at 14:32










          • thank you @Chrone. No idea how i didn't see that last word ><
            – AHKieran
            Nov 27 at 14:34






          • 1




            Clue 2 might also be rot13(jevfg, abg erfg), making that part rot13(unaq/cnyz) or similar
            – Timoris
            Nov 27 at 14:55






          • 2




            @AHKieran nice answer, but how does it relate to the fact that some of the Japanese cities are spelt wrong?
            – Hugh
            Nov 27 at 18:03










          2




          2




          I think Z is supposed to be rot13(cfvggnphf revgunphf, gur Terl Cneebg) The weird 0 with a straight line through the middle is an old "th" letter
          – Timoris
          Nov 27 at 12:53




          I think Z is supposed to be rot13(cfvggnphf revgunphf, gur Terl Cneebg) The weird 0 with a straight line through the middle is an old "th" letter
          – Timoris
          Nov 27 at 12:53




          1




          1




          Clue 2 (the Gregg) is rot13(Orgjrra gur erfg naq gur svatref).
          – Chrone
          Nov 27 at 14:32




          Clue 2 (the Gregg) is rot13(Orgjrra gur erfg naq gur svatref).
          – Chrone
          Nov 27 at 14:32












          thank you @Chrone. No idea how i didn't see that last word ><
          – AHKieran
          Nov 27 at 14:34




          thank you @Chrone. No idea how i didn't see that last word ><
          – AHKieran
          Nov 27 at 14:34




          1




          1




          Clue 2 might also be rot13(jevfg, abg erfg), making that part rot13(unaq/cnyz) or similar
          – Timoris
          Nov 27 at 14:55




          Clue 2 might also be rot13(jevfg, abg erfg), making that part rot13(unaq/cnyz) or similar
          – Timoris
          Nov 27 at 14:55




          2




          2




          @AHKieran nice answer, but how does it relate to the fact that some of the Japanese cities are spelt wrong?
          – Hugh
          Nov 27 at 18:03






          @AHKieran nice answer, but how does it relate to the fact that some of the Japanese cities are spelt wrong?
          – Hugh
          Nov 27 at 18:03












          up vote
          2
          down vote













          Partial Answer



          Part 1 — Japanese Cities

          It's easy (if you read Japanese) to notice that...




          some of the names of the cities are spelt incorrectly. For example,


          — The correct rendition of Usa is 宇佐, but the table above is missing the radical ⺅, called the ninnben (にんべん). It is the radical version of "human" (人).

          — The correct rendition of Kimitsu is 君津, the table above is missing a portion of 君.

          — The correct rendition of Dazaifu is 太宰府, t̶h̶e̶ ̶t̶a̶b̶l̶e̶ ̶a̶b̶o̶v̶e̶ ̶i̶s̶ ̶m̶i̶s̶s̶i̶n̶g̶ ̶"̶⾟"̶,̶ ̶m̶e̶a̶n̶i̶n̶g̶ ̶"̶s̶p̶i̶c̶y̶"̶. Sounds like there was an error in the puzzle, the correct glyph is 𦍒... which funnily enough is not a Japanese kanji but instead a Chinese one. I'll look into it.

          — The correct rendition of Higashiomi is 東近江, but the table above is missing the radical ⻌, called the shinnniyou (しんにょう), typically relating to movement.


          These are the ones I recognized off the top of my head. There may be others.


          I thought that there may be a kanji that combines these missing parts, but no kanji exists that uses both the にんべん and the しんにょう.







          share|improve this answer



















          • 1




            You are very close.
            – jafe
            Nov 28 at 8:22






          • 1




            Turns out there's an annoying mistake in this clue. I've added an explanation (see "erratum for clue 1"). Hopefully this helps!
            – jafe
            2 days ago










          • There's a mistake?! That's alright. I'll take another look.
            – Hugh
            yesterday















          up vote
          2
          down vote













          Partial Answer



          Part 1 — Japanese Cities

          It's easy (if you read Japanese) to notice that...




          some of the names of the cities are spelt incorrectly. For example,


          — The correct rendition of Usa is 宇佐, but the table above is missing the radical ⺅, called the ninnben (にんべん). It is the radical version of "human" (人).

          — The correct rendition of Kimitsu is 君津, the table above is missing a portion of 君.

          — The correct rendition of Dazaifu is 太宰府, t̶h̶e̶ ̶t̶a̶b̶l̶e̶ ̶a̶b̶o̶v̶e̶ ̶i̶s̶ ̶m̶i̶s̶s̶i̶n̶g̶ ̶"̶⾟"̶,̶ ̶m̶e̶a̶n̶i̶n̶g̶ ̶"̶s̶p̶i̶c̶y̶"̶. Sounds like there was an error in the puzzle, the correct glyph is 𦍒... which funnily enough is not a Japanese kanji but instead a Chinese one. I'll look into it.

          — The correct rendition of Higashiomi is 東近江, but the table above is missing the radical ⻌, called the shinnniyou (しんにょう), typically relating to movement.


          These are the ones I recognized off the top of my head. There may be others.


          I thought that there may be a kanji that combines these missing parts, but no kanji exists that uses both the にんべん and the しんにょう.







          share|improve this answer



















          • 1




            You are very close.
            – jafe
            Nov 28 at 8:22






          • 1




            Turns out there's an annoying mistake in this clue. I've added an explanation (see "erratum for clue 1"). Hopefully this helps!
            – jafe
            2 days ago










          • There's a mistake?! That's alright. I'll take another look.
            – Hugh
            yesterday













          up vote
          2
          down vote










          up vote
          2
          down vote









          Partial Answer



          Part 1 — Japanese Cities

          It's easy (if you read Japanese) to notice that...




          some of the names of the cities are spelt incorrectly. For example,


          — The correct rendition of Usa is 宇佐, but the table above is missing the radical ⺅, called the ninnben (にんべん). It is the radical version of "human" (人).

          — The correct rendition of Kimitsu is 君津, the table above is missing a portion of 君.

          — The correct rendition of Dazaifu is 太宰府, t̶h̶e̶ ̶t̶a̶b̶l̶e̶ ̶a̶b̶o̶v̶e̶ ̶i̶s̶ ̶m̶i̶s̶s̶i̶n̶g̶ ̶"̶⾟"̶,̶ ̶m̶e̶a̶n̶i̶n̶g̶ ̶"̶s̶p̶i̶c̶y̶"̶. Sounds like there was an error in the puzzle, the correct glyph is 𦍒... which funnily enough is not a Japanese kanji but instead a Chinese one. I'll look into it.

          — The correct rendition of Higashiomi is 東近江, but the table above is missing the radical ⻌, called the shinnniyou (しんにょう), typically relating to movement.


          These are the ones I recognized off the top of my head. There may be others.


          I thought that there may be a kanji that combines these missing parts, but no kanji exists that uses both the にんべん and the しんにょう.







          share|improve this answer














          Partial Answer



          Part 1 — Japanese Cities

          It's easy (if you read Japanese) to notice that...




          some of the names of the cities are spelt incorrectly. For example,


          — The correct rendition of Usa is 宇佐, but the table above is missing the radical ⺅, called the ninnben (にんべん). It is the radical version of "human" (人).

          — The correct rendition of Kimitsu is 君津, the table above is missing a portion of 君.

          — The correct rendition of Dazaifu is 太宰府, t̶h̶e̶ ̶t̶a̶b̶l̶e̶ ̶a̶b̶o̶v̶e̶ ̶i̶s̶ ̶m̶i̶s̶s̶i̶n̶g̶ ̶"̶⾟"̶,̶ ̶m̶e̶a̶n̶i̶n̶g̶ ̶"̶s̶p̶i̶c̶y̶"̶. Sounds like there was an error in the puzzle, the correct glyph is 𦍒... which funnily enough is not a Japanese kanji but instead a Chinese one. I'll look into it.

          — The correct rendition of Higashiomi is 東近江, but the table above is missing the radical ⻌, called the shinnniyou (しんにょう), typically relating to movement.


          These are the ones I recognized off the top of my head. There may be others.


          I thought that there may be a kanji that combines these missing parts, but no kanji exists that uses both the にんべん and the しんにょう.








          share|improve this answer














          share|improve this answer



          share|improve this answer








          edited yesterday

























          answered Nov 27 at 16:15









          Hugh

          1,114514




          1,114514








          • 1




            You are very close.
            – jafe
            Nov 28 at 8:22






          • 1




            Turns out there's an annoying mistake in this clue. I've added an explanation (see "erratum for clue 1"). Hopefully this helps!
            – jafe
            2 days ago










          • There's a mistake?! That's alright. I'll take another look.
            – Hugh
            yesterday














          • 1




            You are very close.
            – jafe
            Nov 28 at 8:22






          • 1




            Turns out there's an annoying mistake in this clue. I've added an explanation (see "erratum for clue 1"). Hopefully this helps!
            – jafe
            2 days ago










          • There's a mistake?! That's alright. I'll take another look.
            – Hugh
            yesterday








          1




          1




          You are very close.
          – jafe
          Nov 28 at 8:22




          You are very close.
          – jafe
          Nov 28 at 8:22




          1




          1




          Turns out there's an annoying mistake in this clue. I've added an explanation (see "erratum for clue 1"). Hopefully this helps!
          – jafe
          2 days ago




          Turns out there's an annoying mistake in this clue. I've added an explanation (see "erratum for clue 1"). Hopefully this helps!
          – jafe
          2 days ago












          There's a mistake?! That's alright. I'll take another look.
          – Hugh
          yesterday




          There's a mistake?! That's alright. I'll take another look.
          – Hugh
          yesterday


















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