This is an archival copy of the hunt; links and emails may not function.

All Square

ANSWER: PRESS

Author: Craig Kasper

Each set of five clues cles a word square with the same words reading across and down.

Each clue in a given set has five word, one of which is extraneous to the clue. These words can be assembled to form a new clue, and their position in the clue can be used to select a single letter from that clue's answer. Solutions to the word squares as well as the clue and letters extracted in this way follow each set of clues below.

  1. BADGE A policeman home carries one
  2. ATRIP Just above the alone seabed
  3. DRATS Cries of thief mild annoyance
  4. GITMO Portrayer Cuban terrorist detention site
  5. EPSOM Namesake of certain Joe salts

New clue: Home Alone thief portrayer Joe; extract DIAGO

  1. BANFF Albertan mountain some resort town
  2. ARIEL Collectible "The Little Mermaid" heroine
  3. NILLA Cookie brand, with "Art Wafers"
  4. FELON Perpetrator of major deco crimes
  5. FLANK Prints approach from both sides

New clue: Some collectible Art Deco prints; extract NALOF

  1. FUNDS Item provides with the capital
  2. UWAIT Signage 'words' following "obtained while"
  3. NANCE Second generation well Cavalier Larry
  4. DICTA Legal decrees or pronouncements below
  5. STEAL Take home safely, say retail

New clue: Item obtained well below retail; extract FINAL

  1. TOWIT Phrase which word means "namely"
  2. OXIDE Paired rust is one, chemically
  3. WIDER Having a greater girth legally
  4. IDEAS Brainstorming with should produce them
  5. TERSE Expressed in minimal desist form

New clue: Word paired legally with desist; extract WORDS

  1. QUEUE Parts line of people waiting
  2. UKASE Of proclamation of the czar
  3. EATEN Consumed the by people dining
  4. USERS People with server Florida accounts
  5. EENSY Even keys tinier than tiny

New clue: Parts of the Florida Keys; extract QUARE

The new clues solve to a final word square with the following solution:

  1. PRESI Home Alone thief portrayer Joe
  2. ERTES Some collectible Art Deco prints
  3. STEAL Item obtained well below retail
  4. CEASE Word paired legally with desist
  5. ISLES Parts of the Florida Keys

The letters extracted instruct the solver to look at the diagonal of the word square. Doing this reveals the answer PRESS.