Paint-by-Symbols (Solution)

by R.M. Baur, based on an idea by Eric Wofsey

As the name suggests, this is a combination cryptarithm and paint-by-numbers. The first goal is to determine the number-to-symbol relationships. To assist in this determination, it turns out that any embellishment of a symbol corresponds to adding 10 to the associated number. The number-to-symbol relationships are as follows:

Once the number-to-symbol relationships are determined, one can then solve the paint-by-numbers, giving the following image:

One can then see that this consists of five of the cryptarithm symbols, corresponding to the numbers 19, 8, 12, 5, and 16. Converting these numbers into letters, one arrives at the answer SHLEP.