OUT OF SORTS       

Greg Pliska

 

The words from columns one and two pair up to become definitions for the words in column three. For example:

 

            FRENCH LIQUEUR = CHARTREUSE

            LOS ANGELES OUTFIELDER = CHEN

            INDIGO TINT = ANIL

 

(There are many alternate pairings for certain column three words. “Faust”, for example, is both a French opera and a Gounod opera. But there is only one set of pairings that will use all the words in all the columns.)

 

The definition pairs from columns one and two, when sorted by the order already given in column three, look like this:   

 

FRENCH                     LIQUEUR                   CHARTREUSE

LOS ANGELES          OUTFIELDER             CHEN

INDIGO                      TINT                           ANIL

GOUNOD                   OPERA                       FAUST

HANOI                       RIVER                         RED

TEXAS                        CITY                           PARIS

LONGFELLOW         HERO                          HIAWATHA

EARLY                        INSTRUMENT           SERPENT

SQUARE                     NUMBER                    NINE

SOUTH AFRICAN     EXPORT                     GOLD

BROADWAY             SHOW                        AIDA

IDENTITY                  ELEMENT                  ZERO

ROMAN                     GOD                            MERCURY

DIPLOMATIC            OFFICIAL                  ATTACHE

FINANCIAL               OPTIMIST                  BULL

OPERA                       SINGER                      BASS

RUSSIAN                   EDICT                         UKASE

MEXICAN                  BREED                        CHIHUAHUA

ESCAPE                      EXPERT                      HOUDINI

REEVE                        ROLE                          SUPERMAN

PAPAL                        ROBE                          ORALE

INDIAN                      YOUNGSTER             PAPOOSE

 

Reading down the initial letters of column one, then column two, yields:

 

FLIGHTLESS BIRD, FORMER PILOT, OR CHINESE GOOSEBERRY

 

all of which are dictionary definitions for KIWI.

 

KIWI  is the answer to this puzzle.