PUZZLING Five and Ten

What you see before you is a pentomino puzzle. Pentominoes are shapes made up of the combinations of five connected boxes. Each of the twelve shapes will be filled by a five-letter word; the order for entering the letters is indicated by the numbers in the five boxes. The pentomino shapes are then fitted together 10 fill the 6 x 10 rectangle. One pentomino is correctly outlined in the diagram to give the solver a start. When the pentominoes have been successfully placed, each of the six columns reading down will be a ten-letter word or phrase. Though the clues for these verticals are arranged alphabetically, their entry in the diagram is not necessarily in that order; the solvermust deduce their placement, As an aid, each pentomino is shown in its proper orientation (Example: pen-tomino number 12 will be entered into the diagram as shown, and not turned in some other direction like 1-or T ).

Each clue indicates the answer in more than one way. In addition to straightforward definitions, clues may also contain puns, plays on words, anagrams (“The ability to lead people in confusion is a charm” – CHARISMA), or embedded spellings (“How it zeroes in distinguishes a cannon”). Another common type of clue is word construction, where the answer is built of component parts. Example: “American leader required identification in gift” (PRESIDENT = I.D. inside PRESENT). All abbreviations are acceptable as long as they are in current usage (e.g., TV, p.d.q., etc.). Isolated letters may be indicated in a variety of ways – as compass points, Roman numerals, grades or scores (A, F, “zero” = O, “love” as in tennis = O), musical notations (P, F for soft or loud respectively). Parts of words may be used (IVE or just V might be indicated by “MidwIVEs”).

The one paramount rule is that the clue sentence, with a little repunctua-tion, will tell exactly how to get the answer.

Send the completed puzzle (or reasonable facsimile) to Puzzling, D Magazine, 2902 Carlisle, Dallas, Texas 75204. All correct solutions will be held for one week after receipt of the first entry, at which time a drawing will take place to determine the winners. First winner will receive a $25 cash prize. Runner-up will receive a free one-year subscription to D. Winners and completed puzzle will appear in the December issue.

(Note: when sending in the solution, be sure to outline each pentomino in the diagram.)