Newsgroups: rec.puzzles
From: hoey@aic.nrl.navy.mil (Dan Hoey)
Date: 07 Dec 1994 17:28:56 GMT
Subject: Re: Dogs Mead

In response to the "Dogs Mead" puzzle br...@Cadence.COM (Bruce
Chiriatti) posted, whu...@cco.caltech.edu (Wei-Hwa Huang) writes:

> Fortunately, this puzzle is reprinted in James Fixx's "Games for the
> Superintelligent."
> And the reason poor Bruce couldn't solve it is because of the
> many transcription errors....
> I realize that it may be possible that there are two very similar
> puzzles...  but as stated, I cannot get 15 across times 9 down to be
> 16 across...the digits just don't work out.

If James Fixx published the puzzle you describe, then there must
indeed be two very similar puzzles.  The puzzle Bruce posted is number
448 in David Wells's book _The Penguin Book of Curious and Interesting
Puzzles_.  Wells attributes it to _The Strand Problems Book_ by
W. T. Williams and G. H. Savage.  Does James Fixx say where he got
his puzzle?

As you noticed, it is impossible for two two-digit numbers to have a
two-digit product; Bruce's version has "times" for "minus" in the clue
for 16 Across.  A more surprising observation is that that was Bruce's
_only_ significant error.  Bruce's version changes the original
spelling of "Little Pigley", and omits to mention that it is the name
of the farm of which Dog's Mead is a field.  His version also gives
Ted's name as Edward, and mentions Mary's relative youth in 11 Across
instead of the book's 3 Down.  The hints were also reworded,
accidentally failing to mention that there is only one pair of equal
answers.  But the given relations between the numbers were unchanged.

As for Bruce's original plea:

> I posted a request for the answer to this puzzle (which I once
> used to own).  And I want it again!!!  Anyone?

Wells gives a solution (with misprint that will mislead only the
least wary).  ISBN 0-14-014875-2, Penguin Books, 1992.  Go get it.

Dan
Hoey@AIC.NRL.Navy.Mil