Wednesday, October 10, 2007

Pic-Tac-Toe (4th edition)

I considered making this the "4x4th edition," creating a puzzle that had 16 images instead of 9, but that will take a little more time. In the meantime, I'll stick with the merely mortal 3x3 version.

Scroll down this page to see the other Pic-Tac-Toes. As always, your mission is to determine the 8 themes, each of which unites a line of images: 3 rows, 3 columns, 2 diagonals.

(Click the image to enlarge, and place your guesses in the comments. Good luck!)

SOLVED! Fresh from vacation, K-Lyn of And She Was... dominated early, with 5 of 8 themes solved correctly. Then Bill of Shakespeare Teacher got the last 3, but was particularly frustrated by the left column. I apologize. Sort of.

P.S.
This is by no means an endorsement of any pro football team.

15 comments:

K-Lyn said...

Middle Row: Star
Middle column: autographs
Right column: mugs (groan)
Forwardslash: cowboys

K-Lyn said...

backslash: Dallas

Neel Mehta said...

Correct on all five! Good luck with two of the last three. (I mean it.)

Anonymous said...

Top Row: Reflections

Bottom Row: Black and White Photographs

Left Column: Images that have never been in my kitchen

K-Lyn said...

I'm just going to go jump off a bridge for the B&W thing. Duh! I coulda hadda V8!

I'd also like to point out that the entire puzzle is made up of images that have never been in MY kitchen!

Neel Mehta said...

Bill: Good call on the top row. I love that kind of theme. You're also right about the bottom row. Left column? Not so much, though I appreciate the reference.

K-Lyn: Bill has used the B/W photo theme before, so it's easier for him to spot. I chose the Tom Jones picture (as opposed to any other signed headshot) because of the disruptive green background.

Finally, I've included some commentary on the last theme in the main post.

Anonymous said...

STAR (Lone Star State, Star on Head, Star of Movie)

Yeah, I know that's unlikely, but I have nothing to go on with the bottom two images.

I'm thinking it has something to do with skyline in the first image, with the second image looking all pilot-like and a chow line down the bottom, but two 2/3 themes do not a solution make.

I think we may be ready for our hint, Mr. DeMille.

Neel Mehta said...

The middle row is STAR; the left column is not.

A few hints:

1. I'm very big on "Rat Pack" level themes, if you recall the first puzzle. That bit of lateral thinking makes it all worthwhile. (I had a special affinity for your Stanley/Stella/Mitch theme last week.)

2. I'm also big on red herrings. Whoever that guy is in picture 4, it doesn't matter.

3. What's depicted in picture 7 DOES matter. Let's just say that a B&W photo of a cowboy and a wolf would have made the left column near impossible.

4. If you lived in the Midwest, you could probably figure out the answer without looking it up. But I think you're going to have to search a little to confirm your (correct) suspicion.

Anonymous said...

CHICAGO-BASED SPORTS TEAMS (Chicago Sky, Schaumberg Flyers, Chicago Wolves)

Neel Mehta said...

Wow!

Okay, maybe not THAT much research. Just a little will do. Nice alternate credit, though.

Amendment to my last comment:

2. Whoever that guy is or what he does in picture 4, it doesn't matter.

Anonymous said...

I got nothin'. Three quick questions...

1. For the last theme, is "WOLF" sufficient for the bottom picture, or do I need to know more?

2. Which suspicion of mine was correct?

3. What is the common theme that connects the three pictures in the left column?

Okay, maybe that last question would give too much away. But if it doesn't matter who the middle guy is or what he does, then all I have is a big blue head with goggles and a yellow star on his head. That doesn't give me much to work with.

Though I still maintain that none of these images have ever been in my kitchen.

Neel Mehta said...

Time to put you out of your misery.

1. For the last theme, is "WOLF" sufficient for the bottom picture, or do I need to know more?

WOLF is relevant, but the other word (and the reason for the chow line) is even more relevant.

2. Which suspicion of mine was correct?

Not the pilot or the chow line.

Though I still maintain that none of these images have ever been in my kitchen.

Funny you say "kitchen," because actually, they could.

Anonymous said...

CHILI (Skyline, Gold Star, Wolf)

Neel Mehta said...

There you go. CHILI is correct.

When you've lived in Ohio, chili franchises became part of the culture and consciousness, even if you chose not to eat there. Their commercials are ubiquitous as far south as Kentucky. So I figure a Midwesterner's mind would be triggered by seeing a skyline and a gold star.

I didn't feel too bad about the theme because one of the pictures directly depicted chili, and because a Google search of "Skyline" and "Gold Star" yields major assistance.

There's a lateral thinking theme in the next 2 puzzles, but they won't seem as regional.

And for the record:

Top row: REFLECTIONS or REFLECTIVE SURFACES (seen in the water, in the glass case, and on the top of the Marlin mug)

Middle row: STAR (on the guy's head, the football helmet, and the White Star mug)

Bottom row: BLACK & WHITE PHOTOGRAPHS (Western folk, Tom Jones, TV show promotional stills)

Left column: BRANDS OF CHILI (Skyline, Gold Star, Wolf)

Middle column: AUTOGRAPHS or SIGNED MERCHANDISE (Pele-imprinted soccer ball, Tony Dorsett helmet, Tom Jones headshot)

Right column: MUGS (Marlin mug, White Star mug, Linda Gray's mug shot)

159 (\) diagonal: DALLAS (city skyline, Dallas Cowboys, TV show Dallas)

357 (/) diagonal: COWBOYS (Marlin mug logo, Dallas Cowboys, old-time cowboy chow line)

Anonymous said...

Well, at least you gave us fair warning that the theme would be regional.

I also like the lateral thinking categories. I look forward to future puzzles.