The Brass Grilles
Read the puzzle
A 6 by 6 letter grid reads, row by row: ETIMPC, RSPMAE, MPLIAL, ARPREO, LESBDA, DOETEG. Three brass grilles have five holes each, given as (row, column). A: (1,1), (1,4), (4,3), (4,4), (5,1). B: (1,4), (2,5), (4,3), (5,1), (6,3). C: (1,3), (2,5), (4,3), (5,4), (6,3). Lay each grille on the grid and read the holes row by row, left to right. Which grille shows a real word, and what is it?
Read the holes row by row. Which grille shows a real word, and what is it?
B: MAPLE
Read the holes row by row, left to right.
How to solve it
Step one: lay grille A on the grid and read its holes top to bottom, left to right within each row. Row 1 gives E (column 1) and M (column 4), row 4 gives P and R, and row 5 gives L. That spells EMPRL, which is not a word.
Step two: grille B. Row 1, column 4 is M. Row 2, column 5 is A. Row 4, column 3 is P. Row 5, column 1 is L. Row 6, column 3 is E. That spells MAPLE, the tree known for its broad leaves.
Step three: grille C, to be sure. Row 1, column 3 is I, row 2, column 5 is A, row 4, column 3 is P, row 5, column 4 is B and row 6, column 3 is E: IAPBE, not a word.
So the answer is grille B, and the word is MAPLE.
The usual mistake is reading the holes column by column, or reading a row right to left. Read B by columns and you get L, P, E, M, A, which is nonsense. The instruction says row by row, so finish each row before moving down.
Quick check: B shares holes with the other grilles, but only B lands on all five letters of a real word.
