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OTNE: Christchurch RASH 1 Mystery Cache

Hidden : 10/15/2016
Difficulty:
3.5 out of 5
Terrain:
2 out of 5

Size: Size:   small (small)

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Geocache Description:

This cache is part of my "Ode to New England" (OTNE) set. Though the solution has nothing to do with New England, there is a cache there that inspired me to create this one.


This is a mystery cache. The listed coordinates are NOT for the final cache. You must solve the puzzle below to determine the final coordinates.

RASH Puzzle Rules: The clues are mixtures of components (words or syllables) that, when verbally replaced with appropriate counterparts, will integrate into answers that correspond to the puzzle’s theme.

  1. Relatives are like things. Apples and oranges are relatives in the fruit family; Cupid and Blitzen are relatives in Santa’s reindeer; Mars and Jupiter are relatives in the family of planets.
  2. Antonyms are opposites: black and white, will and won’t, now and then.
  3. Synonyms are different words with similar meanings: yellow and amber, cold and brisk, trash and rubbish, near and close.
  4. Homophones/homonyms. Homophones are pronounced the same, have different meanings, and may or may not have the same spelling: merry, marry and Mary. Homonyms have the same spelling and pronunciation but different meanings: bank (edge of a river, carom, or depository).

Here are a few explanatory notes to help you solve:

  • If you can get a part of a clue, you can usually reason through the twisted combination of “nyms” to get the whole answer.
  • Some of the homonyms are not exact. For example, “day” may be as close as we could get to “Dave.” Such rough homonyms are denoted in italics to alert the solver to beware.
  • Hyphens separate single-syllable clues. For example, Gas-yuk could translate to Air (synonym for gas) – ick (synonym for yuk). This results in Eric (translating the appropriate homophones).
  • Multiple words with no space constitute a single syllable or word. (For example, foursidedfigure could be replaced by square, rhombus, rectangle, etc.)
  • Underlined words or letters are not replaced; they are left as-is. (For example, the stays as the.)
Christchurch RASH 1 Puzzle

Examples:

  • Insult-arms-yuk = Diss (synonym of insult)-legs (relative of arms, rough homonym of lex)-ick (synonym of yuk) = dyslexic.
  • Ovum-understand-check = egg (synonym of ovum, rough homonym of ag)-knows (synonym of understand, rough homonym of noss)-tick (synonym of check) = agnostic.
  • Out-total-patella-ox = In (antonym of out)-sum (synonym of total, rough homonym of som)-knee (synonym of patella)-yak (synonym of ox) = insomniac.

A = How many times the letter “J” occurs in all 50 elements.
B = How many times the letter “W” occurs in all 50 elements.
C = How many times the letter “C” occurs in all 50 elements.
D = How many elements begin with the letter “O.”
E = How many elements begin with the letter “R.”
F = How many elements begin with the letter “E.”
G = How many times the letter “Y” occurs in all 50 elements.

South:
43
(B - A) * G
1 + (C * C * 2) - ((D + E) * B)

East:
172
((A + F) * B) + G
(((A + D + E + F) * B) * 2) + A + D

NOTE: The caches that this one is based on were placed in Massachusetts by JWCOREY. If you ever get the chance to do any of this caches, they are well worth it. The puzzles are all well constructed, and he uses great cachesmanship on the actual hides themselves. These are amongst my favourite finds.

Additional Hints (Decrypt)

Decryption Key

A|B|C|D|E|F|G|H|I|J|K|L|M
-------------------------
N|O|P|Q|R|S|T|U|V|W|X|Y|Z

(letter above equals below, and vice versa)