Answers 1. cipher—[C] encoded message. I’m 13. fatwa—[A] decree. The boss has not sure what it says—it’s one of his issued a fatwa against lunch breaks usual BlackBerried ciphers. until we've finished the Morgan report. 2. nadir—[B] lowest point. When the _14. borax—[C] mineral used as a bowling alley did away with gutter cleansing agent. There’s not enough guards, Claudine’s score plunged to borax in the world to clean this mess. an all-time nadir. 15. alchemy—[C] process of transmut- 3. loofah—[A] sponge from a gourd. ing substances. With a few chickpeas Her shower caddy is crowded with botani- cal shampoos and loofahs in all sizes. 4. kismet—[C] fate. It was kismet when Pete spilled wine on another party guest; they're now married. 5. fakir—[B] holy beggar. = — Louie mooches change for the vending machine like a fakir. 6. macramé—[C] knot-tying art. My SS six-year-old’s hair is so tangled, it looks like macramé, 7. popinjay—[A] conceited person. The party was full of bores, morons, and popinjays. 8. mufti—[B] civilian dress. No one recognized the meter maid in mufti, and she was grateful. and a can of tomato sauce, my grand- mother could work alchemy. 16. elixir—[B] cure-all. And Gram’s soup was an elixir that could cure the sniffles and the blues. 9. sirocco—[A] hot, dry wind. The a lone fan in the Laundromat created a ~ sirocco that blew dryer lint around the = RATINGS 8-10 dragoman 11-13 sultan windowless room. 14-16 alchemist 10. carafe—[C] bottle with a flared lip. The picnic was so fancy, the Kool-Aid 5 Riddle ‘was served ina crystal corde: | Lime 2. lemon 3. sugar 4. alcove 11. roc—[C] legendary bird. The bird | 5, crimson 6. caliper 7. mattress feeder was empty and knocked to the | | > The Last Word ground, as if a roc had visited. | Th \ fi 12, henna—[B] reddish-brown dye. The New letters spell CHECKMATE. ‘The chocolate Lab would have won a Challenge a friend to beat your ribbon, but the judges found out its score in our all-new online game at coat had been treated with henna. | readersdigest.com/wordpowergame. 188 readersdigest.com 3/09© 2008 GAKKEN CO... LTD., AND TRADEMARK NEXTOY, LLC, Puz_ler WILL SHORTZ PRESENTS KENMKEN™ oe Invented by a Japanese teacher, se f the KenKen puzzle adds another layer of challenge by introducing math to the traditional Sudoku. 7 EASIER @ a 4 rr HARDER Ye RULES 1. Fill in each box in the easier puzzle with a number from 1 to 4; in the hard- er puzzle, 1to 6. 2. Do not repeat anumber in any row orcolumn. 3. The numbers in each heavily out- lined set of squares, called cages, must combine (in any order) to produce the target number in the top corner using the mathematical operation indicated. a For answers, see page 181. For a ‘sample solved puzzle and two more puzzles, go to readersdigest.com/kenken. readersdigest.com 3/09