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Solution to Eggsam

Author: Dan Katz

The vocabulary exam consists of, as advertised, a series of definitions where the testee is asked to give the word from the vocabulary list. To pass the exam, the testee has to get through all 22 questions without making a certain number of mistakes; this number starts at two but is raised for each subsequent exam attempt.

Hunt HQ administers the eggsam using this script.

Once they pass, they are given a list of the exam answers as follows:

3. KERFUFFLE
10. ORGANELLE
15. DEFENESTRATION
8. ECTOPLASM
1. LARKSPUR
7. JEROBOAM
13. CODSWALLOP
9. BUNGALOW
19. ZYGOTE
6. GUILLOTINE
16. NIPPERKIN
21. BIVOUAC
11. GRENADE
22. SYZYGY
20. FLOTSAM
17. PHILTRUM
12. IDOLATRY
14. LIMONCELLO
18. MUTINY
5. HALITOSIS
2. SCOFFLAW
4. GAZPACHO

Each of the given definitions defines a real word in English; the correct words for the definitions of the words above are:

3. iceberg (A large piece of frozen water that breaks off a glacier and floats in the ocean, causing a hazard for ocean liners)
10. arsonist (A person who intentionally and illegally destroys property by setting it on fire)
15. triage (The assignment of degrees of urgency to medical conditions, used to decide the order of treatment of a large group of patients)
8. Velcro (A fastening mechanism, often seen on children's shoes, in which a sheet of tiny hooks attaches to a sheet of tiny loops)
1. shillelagh (A wooden cudgel with a large knob on top that is symbolically associated with Ireland)
7. aglet (A small plastic sheath at the end of a shoelace that prevents the lace from fraying)
13. ophthalmology (The branch of medicine dealing with the anatomy and physiology of the human eye)
9. Iberia (The European peninsula that contains the nations of Spain and Portugal)
19. theocracy (A system of government in which God is considered the head of state, usually represented by a ruling class of priests)
6. cockatrice (A mythical beast with the head of a rooster and the body of a two-legged dragon, possessing a gaze that turns beings to stone)
16. mutant (An individual with new characteristics caused by a DNA sequence change, such as Colossus or Wolverine)
21. aphid (A very small sap-sucking insect, known as a greenfly in the United Kingdom)
11. rhinoceros (A thick-skinned herbivorous ungulate with a distinctive horn that may be sold illegally)
22. uranium (The 92nd element of the periodic table, known for its unstable isotopes and uses in nuclear technology)
20. Everest (The highest mountain on the planet, named after a former Surveyor General of India)
17. anemometer (A device, often consisting of four cups mounted on a rotating shaft, used to measure wind speed)
12. Pangaea (A supercontinent theoretically formed about 300 million years ago, when all current continents were physically connected)
14. rabies (A viral disease spread by dog bites and associated with animals foaming at the mouth)
18. narcolepsy (A disorder causing someone to fall asleep suddenly and unexpectedly, as in the title of a Ben Folds Five song)
5. tambourine (A percussion instrument consisting of a circular frame and small metal jingles that jingle when the instrument is struck)
2. kaleidoscope (A cylindrical toy containing mirrors and colored glass that reveals pleasing patterns when one looks through it and rotates)
4. Rwanda (A country approximately the size of Maryland, bordering Uganda and Burundi)

Rearranging these by question number and reading the first letters gives the phrase "SKIRT CAVIAR PORTMANTEAU." The definitions given for SKIRT and CAVIAR actually define the words "Pensacola" and "forgiveness." A portmanteau (a word coined by Humpty Dumpty) is a new word formed by combining parts of two words; applying this process to "Pensacola" and "forgiveness" gives the puzzle answer, PENSIVENESS.