Solution: Cryptosociology
Answer: THE LISTENER
Written by Jonah Ostroff, Jason Deakins
Each puzzle in the Sociology department uses parts of the profiles of two fish. This puzzle uses the “Details” from Salmon’s PokeCupid page, and the Cryptographer part of Starfish’s ReeledIn page.
Starfish’s page just lists eleven cryptic clues, but each one has a blank. Salmon’s page lists eleven “details” fields, each with a list of choices, but the “prefer not to say” option is always selected.
Each cryptic clue can be completed with one of the options from one of the lists of choices. Here are the eleven completed clues and their answers, which are presented on the Starfish page in alphabetical order by answer:
| Clue | Answer |
|---|---|
| Secret of Keanu, bisexual god (6) | _ANU BIS_ |
| Libra surrounded by positive things to make adjustments (12) | CA(LIBRA)TIONS |
| Pacific clam at sea (4) | CALM* |
| Brown’s treasury fanatic (8) | CHEST+NUT |
| Mitt secures Republican primary (5) | FI(R)ST |
| Greg (he/him/his) tails Garnet and Amethyst (4) | GEMS (last letters) |
| The lengthy part for Parr who can stretch (5) | _HE LEN_ (as in Helen Parr) |
| Posts about Islam (5) | MAILS* |
| Risk pie crust with krill guts (5) | P_E+_RIL_ |
| Conceive slender king (5) | THIN+K |
| Charming woman’s choice word to a broadcaster (5) | WITCH (“which” homoph.) |
The number of options for each detail on the Salmon page is always equal to the length of the cryptic answer, so it makes sense to use the position of the option in the list as an index into the answer. Sorting by the order on the Salmon page, we get:
| Detail | Choice | Position in list | Answer | Indexed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Job | Broadcaster | 3 | WITCH | T |
| Alma mater | Brown | 2 | CHESTNUT | H |
| Age | Parr | 4 | HELEN | E |
| Location | Pacific | 3 | CALM | L |
| Zodiac sign | Libra | 9 | CALIBRATIONS | I |
| Religion | Islam | 5 | MAILS | S |
| Variety | King | 1 | THINK | T |
| Diet | Krill | 2 | PERIL | E |
| Sexuality | Bisexual | 2 | ANUBIS | N |
| Pronouns | He/him/his | 2 | GEMS | E |
| Politics | Republican | 3 | FIRST | R |
This spells the answer, THE LISTENER.