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The members of Viola Largo’s five-piece band decided to hold a week-long concert, one of them performing each day from Monday to Friday. Curiously, their first names (Herbert, Patrick, Helen, Penelope, and Bob) begin with the same letters as their last names (Harper, Pfeiffer, Horner, Piper, and Bell), although they do not all correspond. Even more curiously, the instruments they play (harp, fife, horn, pipe, and bell) are echoed by their surnames, although again they do not all correspond. On what date in the month did Pfeiffer play?
1. The number of people whose names alliterate is even, and equal to the number of people whose surnames match their instruments.
2. Patrick performed the day after the bell player and the day before the player named Bell.
3. Bob’s performance came two days before the fifer’s, with a performance by a woman in between.
4. The man who performed on Wednesday had a surname beginning with H.
5. One person played two days before the performer with the same last initial; the two were of different genders.
6. Helen and Herbert were the only non-superstitious ones; the others refused to play on Friday, which was the 13th of the month.
Comments
By ''do not all correspond'', do you mean NONE correspond, or some may, but at least one does not?
Posted by: Bob Lodge | Oct 31, 2006 2:20:18 PM
Oops, stupid question. I should have read the whole thing first. As Gilda used to say, ''Never mind!''
Posted by: Bob Lodge | Oct 31, 2006 2:35:40 PM
I've solved this clue insofar as I have discovered on what date Pfeiffer played. However, it's my understanding that the logic puzzle has an ambiguous solution irrespective of Pfeiffer. Anyone else agree?
Posted by: Stephen | Oct 31, 2006 7:09:23 PM
Actually, if you use a strict definition of the term "alliterate" there is no solution. If you loosen the definition to include words that start with the same letter (regardless of pronunciation) rather than requiring the same sound, then I agree with Stephen.
Posted by: susy | Oct 31, 2006 9:58:25 PM
Sorry, by "alliterate" I mean begin with the same letter. And yes, their might not be a unique solution, but all you need is the date on which Pfeiffer played.
Posted by: Will Nediger | Nov 1, 2006 12:21:31 PM
This is my first stab at constructing a logic puzzle, so the solution I outline here might not be the most elegant one, but it works:
Clues 2 and 3 each give you a sequence of three consecutive performers (the bell player, Patrick, and Bell from clue 2 and Bob, a woman, and the fifer from clue 3). There are only two possible cases where both these sequences can occur over a period of five days. The bell player could play first, followed by Patrick, Bob Bell, a woman, and the fifer. Also, Bob could be followed by a woman playing the bells, Patrick on the fife, and Bell (note that Bob could play on Monday or Tuesday). But from clue 1, Bob’s last name can’t be Bell -- that would lead to an odd number of alliterative names no matter how the other names are put together. So the second sequence must be true. Since a man performed on Wednesday (clue 4), Bob couldn’t have played on Tuesday (which would lead to a woman playing on Wednesday), so he played on Monday. Patrick’s surname is either Harper or Horner (clue 4). From clue 5, the performer on Friday must also be Harper or Horner; the performers on Monday and Wednesday are both male, and there is only one surname beginning with B, eliminating Tuesday and Thursday. The performer on Friday is female, so it must be Helen (clue 6). Since there is an even number of alliterative names (clue 1), the performer on Tuesday must have the initials P.P., so her first name is Penelope. By process of elimination, the Thursday performer must be Herbert. Since there are two people with alliterative names, there must also be two people whose surnames match their instruments. The only choices are Bob (whose last name, by process of elimination, starts with P) and Helen. Therefore Bob’s last name is Piper and he plays the pipe. Penelope’s last name, then, must be Pfeiffer; she plays on Tuesday, which is the 10th of the month (since Friday is the 13th).
Posted by: Will Nediger | Dec 18, 2006 8:36:12 PM
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