In this puzzle, you see a 4 × 4 grid of boxes that has 16 Egyptian hieroglyph symbols on it (the first 6 of which are the ones from the UK game show Only Connect, in order). These hieroglyphs also appear above the grid/wall in the same order, but with indexes after them in parentheses. Clicking on each box gets you a minipuzzle that pops up in a window with an answer checker as well. After a minipuzzle is solved, that answer and the hieroglyph now appear on the box, and the box has become “selectable.” Once you have begun to solve many of the minipuzzles, you are able to click on four boxes to try to make a set. Once you make a set, the set is removed from the grid and moved to the bottom of the page, and four clues appear below the grid. Eventually, all four sets will be at the bottom and the full set of 16 ordered clues will appear below the grid.

Each of the 16 minipuzzles gives a word or phrase, and you can then index into these answers using the hieroglyph-keyed numbers at the top of the puzzle to get the clue phrase USE FIFTH FOR VIGENERE KEY. These indexes and their order remain at the top of the grid, even as the answers move down after making sets. Each of the sets of four things you had connected in an Only Connect fashion could have a fifth word added, and the same word works in all four sets. That word is ARGO. Now you have 16 questions (with blanks) and your 16 answers fit into them to complete trivia clues, and the new set of 16 answers can be indexed by the number at the end of each clue. If you take this string of 16 “gibberish” letters, and use ARGO as the Vigenere key, it spells out “It’s INCLINED FAULT” and your answer is INCLINED FAULT.

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Each of the clues gives a word in the official state nickname of the U.S. state. If you take the number and index into the state it spells “Connecticut’s.” If you repeat the process, Connecticut is officially the CONSTITUTION state, and that’s the answer.

Annoy persistently (4)	Badger	Wisconsin	C
Not as far off in time (6)	Sooner	Oklahoma	O
Coors-owned beer introduced in 1989 (10)	Keystone	Pennsylvania	N
Like most American coins before 1965 (1)	Silver	Nevada	N
One who offers help freely (9)	Volunteer	Tennessee	E
Michael who wreaks havoc upon the Hoover Dam, Alcatraz, and New York City in his movies (6)	Bay	Massachusetts	C
Cussler novel with antiquities hidden in Texas (4)	Treasure	Montana	T
Emerald, e.g. (1)	Gem	Idaho	I
1967, for Canada (1)	Centennial	Colorado	C
Bill Monroe’s genre (5)	Bluegrass	Kentucky	U
Marge Simpson’s hairdo (2)	Beehive	Utah	T
Indian, e.g. (7)	Ocean	Rhode Island	S

The first words in the list, before it becomes alphabetical, spell FORM GRIDS. If you make 5 × 5 grids (interlocking in alternate letters), you can make 4 grids from the 24 words.

The grids contain the words FIRST, BRACE, THREE, and FINAL which clue the ordering, and since the grids are symmetrical the central letter will always be the same, and in that order they spell LEAR.

FIRST  BRACE  THREE  FINAL
L E H  L M X  O E R  U E E
IGLOO  OPERA  TIARA  GORGE
R A R  N E L  E L T  U V R
TEXAN  DURST  MAMBO  SEEDY

Each of these is a clue to a 4-letter word, and these form a looping word ladder that could only be missing one possible word to complete the loop, if repeated letter positions never repeat the change. That missing word is RAFT.

Hobbit clan	TOOK
Buffoon	MOOK
TV alien	MORK
Grade	MARK
Zenyatta, e.g.	MARE
Lion’s pride?	MANE
Walking implement	CANE
Lean	CANT
Chuck Palahniuk novel	RANT
(Your Answer)	RAFT
20th-century U.S. president	TAFT
Dessert pastry	TART
Wrongful act, legally	TORT
Sound from a horn	TOOT

Each of these clues is for a compound word or two-word phrase that form a looping chain. The element that is missing to complete the chain is FIREWALL. The clues are listed in alphabetical order so that you can form the chain.

Set of little kids having fun together as set up by their parents	PLAY GROUP
Residence for a collection of people requiring care or supervision	GROUP HOME
Person who rarely goes out	HOMEBODY
Actor who stands in for a star, often during more revealing scenes	BODY DOUBLE
Act of betrayal involving an associate	DOUBLE CROSS
Former CNN nightly debate show	CROSSFIRE
(Your Answer)	FIREWALL
Metonym for the U.S. financial and corporate world	WALL STREET
Item supported by a lamppost	STREETLIGHT
S.H.I.E.L.D. bunker found near Lake Ontario, with “The”	LIGHTHOUSE
Male domestic worker from the British colonial era originally	HOUSEBOY
Young man who offers himself as a sex object	BOY TOY
Dog breed much smaller than its standard version	TOY POODLE
Fashion item popular with teenage girls in the 1950s	POODLE SKIRT
Long, flat cut of beef often used for fajitas	SKIRT STEAK
Utensil for cutting your T-bone	STEAK KNIFE
Form of BDSM using daggers and swords	KNIFE PLAY

Each of these clues is read aloud to you by the actual Only Connect host, Victoria Coren Mitchell. Each of them clues a 6-letter word that contains the letters AESTR and one other letter. These additional letters, in each case in order, spell out KING ARTHUR.

Run around intentionally naked	STREAK	K
Gulliver's Travels, for example	SATIRE	I
Aft	ASTERN	N
Italian witch	STREGA	G
Cowboy ropes	REATAS	A
Collar	ARREST	R
Winery employee	TASTER	T
Famous American newspaperman	HEARST	H
French painter of the late 1800s	SEURAT	U
Decliner of a Nobel Prize	SARTRE	R

Each of these sets of words contains an anagram of a word, an antonym of a word, and a rhyme of a word. If you read the first letters of these words, it spells out another set FELT, REFFED, RIGHT, which clues LEFT.

Antonym	Rhyme	Anagram	Word	First Letter
STURDY	STALE	FLAIR	FRAIL	F
HARD	BREEZY	YEAS	EASY	E
MINUTE	CHARGE	REGAL	LARGE	L
STRAIGHTENED	SEIZED	SEDATE	TEASED	T
FICTIONAL	STEEL	EARL	REAL	R
APATHETIC	MEAGER	AGREE	EAGER	E
STAGNANT	TRUANT	UNFELT	FLUENT	F
TEPID	DIARY	REIFY	FIERY	F
LATE	SURLY	LAYER	EARLY	E
GLUT	MIRTH	HATRED	DEARTH	D
CALM	CLOUDY	WORDY	ROWDY	R
EXTERNAL	THINNER	RENIN	INNER	I
STREW	SHEEN	ANGEL	GLEAN	G
MOROSE	PARTY	EARTHY	HEARTY	H
SAFETY	DEBT	HATTER	THREAT	T

Each of these clues a word that is one letter off from one of the radio alphabet words. Taking the new letters in order spells SOUTH OPPOSITE which clues NORTH.

Enterprise helmsman	SULU	ZULU	S
Pricey prom ride	LIMO	LIMA	O
Tumbler or chrysalis	PUPA	PAPA	U
Highland apparel	KILT	KILO	T
Long walk in the woods	HIKE	MIKE	H
Cinco y tres	OCHO	ECHO	O
Speak directly to God	PRAY	X-RAY	P
Constellation near Columba and Dorado	PICTOR	VICTOR	P
Common name for infectious pododermatitis, which affects the hooves of cattle and sheep	FOOT ROT	FOXTROT	O
Opening in the head where the shaft of a golf club fits	HOSEL	HOTEL	S
Maeby portrayer	ALIA	ALFA	I
Band that charted with “Together” in 1980	TIERRA	SIERRA	T
Pixar fairy tale	BRAVE	BRAVO	E

Clues lead to answer pairs in which each answer has a single consonant—the same consonant in each pair. The consonants spell CBNCPTL which can be re-expanded to CUBAN CAPITAL or HAVANA.

Farewell in Firenze; Frigid	ciao; icy	C
Reed instrument; One of many waterways in Louisiana	oboe; bayou	B
Ancient region to the west of Lydia; Former Hawaiian senator	Ionia; Inouye	N
Billiards need; Group Clarence Thomas once chaired	cue; EEOC	C
Howard role; Fencing weapon	Opie; epee	P
Tribe of the central plains; Sewing case	Otoe; etui	T
Founder of the American Dance Theater; Fancy mayonnaise	Ailey; aioli	L

The first clue in each pair leads to a “long” answer of 7 or 8 letters. The second clue leads to a “short” answer of 3 or 4 letters comprising the exterior letters of the “long” answer. The initial letters of the unclued, four-letter interior words spell out ACTOR BRONSON VESSEL which is another set of clues giving P(INCH)OT, and the unclued portion, INCH, is the answer.

Make rougher	Prisoner	CO(ARSE)N	A
Director Linklater	Disencumber	RI(CHAR)D	C
Adult male horse	German electric car due out in 2019	S(TALL)ION	T
Type of chemical bond	Penny	C(OVAL)ENT	O
Like many infected wound discharges	Flat-bottomed boat	PU(RULE)NT	R
Aria from Carmen, familiarly	“Abdomen” in Japanese medicine	HA(BANE)RA	B
Let out of prison	Place to take notes	PA(ROLE)D	R
Carbonate mineral used for decoration	Pass (out)	DOL(OMIT)E	O
Phonograph needle holder	Male cat	TO(NEAR)M	N
Separation in time or space	Craps need	DI(STAN)CE	S
Solemn agreement	Inclination	C(OVEN)ANT	O
Wisconsin city	Green New Zealand parrot	KE(NOSH)A	N
Debased or distorted imitation	Waiter’s carrier	TRA(VEST)Y	V
Money coming into a company	Bitter woody herb	R(EVEN)UE	E
Baby holder	Feline-headed Egyptian goddess	BAS(SINE)T	S
Having a front rim, as a hat	Short movie	VI(SORE)D	S
Hillary’s daughter	Medical care provider in MIT’s town	CH(ELSE)A	E
What Jeanne d’Arc was the maid of	Logic gates	OR(LEAN)S	L

Each of these clues gives an answer that has an animal name hidden inside it. The first letters of those spell out PEANUTS DOG BREED which is BEAGLE.

Sparkling wine from Asti	spumante	PUMA	P
Longest bone in the human body	femur	EMU	E
Its capital was Nineveh	Assyria	ASS	A
1,000,000 gram-meters per second squared	kilonewton	NEWT	N
Moving with a sudden jerk, like when a subway starts	lurching	URCHIN	U
Author of Doctor Zhivago	Pasternak	TERN	T
Country that borders Namibia and South Africa	Botswana	SWAN	S
Take arbitrary or forceful possession of, particularly for police or military use	commandeer	DEER	D
Second largest city in the Netherlands	Rotterdam	OTTER	O
Swift’s traveler	Gulliver	GULL	G
Ent that hangs out with hobbits	Treebeard	BEAR	B
Watery poop	diarrhea	RHEA	R
New Hampshire county whose seat is Laconia	Belknap	ELK	E
Rue	regret	EGRET	E
Movie that has a 1976 sequel entitled Drum	Mandingo	DINGO	D

Each clue in the first column can be paired with one in the second column such that their answers are reversals of each other. The initial letters of the second-column answers, ordered by the first-column clues of their reversed counterparts, spell out FLIP ACHY OR MAD which means reverse sore, or EROS.

Tiger’s sport	Whip	GOLF/FLOG	F
Iniquitous	On-air	EVIL/LIVE	L
Seaweed sheet	Press	NORI/IRON	I
Small town or village	Goad	DORP/PROD	P
Mediterranean island	Willing partner?	ELBA/ABLE	A
Sam on GLOW	Study hastily	MARC/CRAM	C
Expression of contempt	Earring shape	POOH/HOOP	H
Heavy cart	Linear measure	DRAY/YARD	Y
Famed captain	Sign	NEMO/OMEN	O
Villain’s base	Shiraz scratch	LAIR/RIAL	R
Type of cheese	Identified	EDAM/MADE	M
Famed volcano	Pay to play	ETNA/ANTE	A
The Defenders actor	Bambi, e.g.	REED/DEER	D

Each of these sets contains three clues, where each clue solves to a 6-letter word, and in the first set the first two letters are the same, in the second set the middle two letters are the same, and in the third set the final two letters are the same. Taking these three bigrams in order spells DOMINO.

Medicinal amount	DOSAGE
Set of cases before a court	DOCKET
Aussie currency	DOLLAR
Like a virgin, e.g.	SIMILE
Stone used at a nail parlor	PUMICE
Corn-based breakfast food	HOMINY
One lacking melanin	ALBINO
Foxwoods, e.g.	CASINO
San Joaquin Valley city	FRESNO

There are two columns of clues in alphabetical order. Each clue solves to a word that can be arranged with the other words into a series of transdeletions. The letters that are removed each time, from each of the three words, in each column, spell out QUA and KER to make QUAKER.

Sid Sackson game	Acquire
Amicus follower	curiae	Q
Heath-type shrub	erica	U
Cereal grass	rice	A
Component of hair	keratin
Rods’ home	retina	K
“Drops of Jupiter” band	Train	E
One opposed	anti	R

Each of these sets of clues is alphabetized, and the sets are alphabetized as well. Each set of clues solves to six 3-letter words, which will make a word square. Ordering by the upper left letters (which are A through G), the central letters spell RED STAR which is the answer.

Agency in HHS	FDA
Hearing organ	EAR
Legolas, e.g.	ELF
Lentil dish	DAL
Price to enter	FEE
Sound from Sandy	ARF
Aladdin’s partner in crime	ABU
Close male pal	BRO
Coastal Indian state	GOA
Cross the sportscaster	IRV
Home to the Cavaliers	UVA
Insurance company bailed out in 2008	AIG
Antiquated	OLD
Common chat request	ASL
Employ	USE
High school equivalency test	GED
Pair	DUO
Trygve follower	DAG
Automated responder	BOT
Caspian, e.g.	SEA
Diet soda brand	TAB
National anthem contraction	OER
Ozawa used to head it	BSO
Travel like a Whitelighter	ORB
Corn remnant	COB
Despot Amin	IDI
Dry, as a wine	SEC
Opposite of trans	CIS
Pen manufacturer	BIC
Poetic form	ODE
Fish eggs	ROE
For all time, poetically	EER
Greek vowel	ETA
Hon	BAE
Recede	EBB
“Takin’ Care of Business” band	BTO
Fleischer the press secretary	ARI
Period of time	ERA
Ruby, e.g.	GEM
Russian fighter plane	MIG
Sack	BAG
Yak	GAB

AIG  BSO  COB  DAG  EER  FEE  GAB
BRO  OER  IDI  USE  BTO  DAL  ERA
UVA  TAB  SEC  OLD  BAE  ARF  MIG

At the top is a series of clues, clued in an important order. Below is a series of longer answers, clued in alphabetical order (though there is a missing clue, for the final answer). Each of the clues below is for a longer phrase that is an anagram of two consecutive words in the upper list. Upon doing this, there is no clue for BALL + PACKER which anagrams to BLACK PEARL, the minipuzzle answer.

Beer holder (5)	STEIN
Director Frank (5)	CAPRA
Oversee, as a bar (4)	TEND
Gas (5)	VAPOR
Garner vehicle (5)	ALIAS
Hip-length clothing item (5)	TUNIC
Vandyke and Balbo (6)	BEARDS
Burning (5)	AFIRE
Not shy (5)	UNCOY
Washington, e.g. (5)	STATE
Coming-out location? (4)	BALL
Midwestern NFLer (6)	PACKER
Milo’s partner (4)	OTIS
Turbulence causers (2 wds.)	AIR POCKETS = PACKER + OTIS
(Your Answer)	BLACK PEARL = BALL + PACKER
Common American administrative center or home to local government (2 wds.)	COUNTY SEAT = STATE + UNCOY
Living room furniture item	DAVENPORT = VAPOR + TEND
What a police officer might investigate	DISTURBANCE = BEARDS + TUNIC
Late Beatles hit (4 wds.)	FREE AS A BIRD = AFIRE + BEARDS
Defiantly aggressive (hyph.)	IN-YOUR-FACE = UNCOY + AFIRE
Blofeld's pet (2 wds.)	PERSIAN CAT = CAPRA + STEIN
Caribbean nation (2 wds.)	SAINT LUCIA = TUNIC + ALIAS
Source of iodine, usually (2 wds.)	TABLE SALT = BALL + STATE
Gregory Hines, e.g. (2 wds.)	TAP DANCER = CAPRA + TEND
Inflammation of connective tissue	TENOSITIS = OTIS + STEIN
Indiana university	VALPARAISO = VAPOR + ALIAS

Here, a list of trigrams can be arranged into four words. If you look at these words, they form a loop, where the first/last two letters of each overlap. Taking those overlapping letters in order spells AMETHYST.

AMULET	AM
ETHNARCHY	ET
HYPNOTIST	HY
STYROFOAM	ST

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These 16 answers can be arranged into 4 sets:

• Ships (AMETHYST, CONSTITUTION, BEAGLE, BLACK PEARL)
• Kitchen Brands (KING ARTHUR, RED STAR, DOMINO, QUAKER)
• Alan Arkin Movies (EROS, HAVANA, NORTH, FIREWALL)
• words that become new words with a C in front (LEFT, LEAR, INCH, RAFT)

Each of these sets could have a common fifth word added to them. That word is ARGO, which then becomes the Vigenere key.

Figuring out all 4 sets will give you all sixteen clues in order. Below are the answers to the clues, and the letter that is extracted from each answer.

Her ___ was angry (5)	INCH	HEDWIG	I
Full name of the actress who played ___ in 1983 (1)	DOMINO	KIM BASINGER	K
State where a ___ is the D-I sports mascot (6)	QUAKER	PENNSYLVANIA	Y
Full name of the female athlete nicknamed The ___ (1)	BLACK PEARL	WILMA RUDOLPH	W
Best-known work by Peter ___ (9)	BEAGLE	THE LAST UNICORN	N
Month N : Month N - 1 :: ___ : ? (6)	AMETHYST	GARNET	T
Youngest daughter of ___ (3)	LEAR	CORDELIA	R
The last alphabetical attribute in the category with ___ (1)	CONSTITUTION	WISDOM	W
Real full name of G.I. Joe character with the codename ___ (14)	FIREWALL	MICHELLE LACHANCE	N
Wife of ___ (6)	KING ARTHUR	GUINEVERE	V
A ___ can be found in the middle of a white region on this African flag (2)	RED STAR	DJIBOUTI	J
Surname of French painter who painted a ___ from a famed shipwreck (9)	RAFT	GERICAULT	T
Word after ___ in a Le Guin novel (2)	LEFT	HAND	A
Full name of the singer of the 2017 hit song ___ (12)	HAVANA	CAMILA CABELLO	L
___ of the Iran Contra Affair (6)	NORTH	OLIVER	R
Goddess considered the mother of ___ (3)	EROS	APHRODITE	H

Now you have IKYWNTRWNVJTALRH, which if you use ARGO as the Vigenere key can be decrypted to ITS INCLINED FAULT.