Are you smarter than a British spy? Then prove it.
GCHQ, one of the UK’s spy agencies, is publishing a “Puzzle Book” of riddles and brain-teasers written by British spooks.
The puzzles range from mathematical riddlers to lateral thinking problems and photo-association games.
The book is being published by Penguin for £12.99, and is out now.
We’ve republished three of the puzzles below. Have a go at each one, and when you think you’ve got it (or you give up), then scroll down for the answer.
Good luck!
First up: Can you find "N"?
Find N
In the following, "N" sometimes represents two words. What are they?
N is W of S
S is N of E
E is E of N
W is W of E
And the answer is...
Northern Ireland.
Northern Ireland is West of Scotland
Scotland is North of England
England is East of Northern Ireland
Wales is West of England
Next up, a numerical teaser.
Who?
If Hart = 1, Ought = 2, Twee = 3, Bake = 4 and 6, then what number is Coy?
The answer is 7.
Seven. The words appear in the surnames of actors who have played the Doctor in Dr Who. William HARTnell (1st Doctor), Patrick trOUGHTon (2nd Doctor), Jon perTWEE (3rd Doctor), (Tom and Colin) BAKEr (4th and 6th Doctors), Sylvester mcCOY (7th Doctor).
Lastly, one that'll test your general knowledge:
Identify and divide into pairs
(a) Band from Wigan
(b) Word that is the theme of this question
(c) Surname of former Foreign Secretary
(d) 1961 film that marked the final appearance of two Hollywood legends
(e) Novel by Stephen King
(f) Band who debuted in May 1979 supporting Scritti Politti
(g) Best picture Oscar winner of the '70s
(h) European city
(i) ASBO superheroes
(j) REM single
(k) Singer, born in 1951
(l) Band from Wigan
And here are the answers:
(a) Verve paired with (l) The Verve
(b) The paired with (f) The The
(c) Hague paired with (h) The Hague
(i) Misfits paired with (d) The Misfits
(j) Stand paired with (e) The Stand
(k) Sting paired with (g) The Sting
The band "The Verve" was called "Verve" up until 1994.