How many “fews” do you need until you have “a lot”? In Spanish, the answer to this philosophical conundrum would seem to be 15.
At least, that’s according to the puzzle below, in which the addition of 15 POCOs makes a MUCHO.
In the sum, each letter stands for a unique digit (i.e no two letters stand for the same digit.) In other words, POCO is a four digit number, and MUCHO is a five digit number. Can you work out which letter stands for which digit so that the sum makes sense?
This type of problem is known as a cryptarithm, alphametic, or verbal arithmetic, and has been a popular puzzle genre for a century. But few are as witty as this one!
I’ll be back at 5pm UK time with the solution. Hasta más tarde!
Meanwhile, NO SPOILERS. Please discuss your favourite Spanish phrases, or other witty cryptarithms.
I set a puzzle here every two weeks on a Monday. I’m always on the look-out for great puzzles. If you would like to suggest one, email me.
The source for today’s puzzle is: Puzzle Corner, MIT News, September 2014.
My latest puzzle book is So You Think You’ve Got Problems?
