Solution: Ozymandias

Answer: RUST

Written by Jonah Ostroff, Mike Sylvia

The flavor text for the puzzle reads: “Look on my puzzle, ye mighty, and despair!” Like the pedestal in the Shelley poem, this text is accompanied by very little else: all of the images on the page are broken (presumably due to linkrot), rendering the puzzle apparently unsolvable.

At the bottom of the page is an “editor’s note”, explaining that the puzzle’s unsolvability must be due to its difficulty. The note includes a link to a partial solution.

The partial solution explains, with way more detail than necessary, what the puzzle was supposed to be: a 180° symmetric crossword full of country names, where each clue is a picture of the country’s flag. It also says that every entry crosses at least two others, and that the fully-checked central entry, which is not a country (and has no clue provided), is the answer to the puzzle.

Now that we know what the intended puzzle was, how do we solve it without the images of the flags? Returning to the puzzle page, solvers may notice that the broken image frames have varying aspect ratios, just like national flags. The next step, then, is to assume that the missing flags have the same aspect ratios as the broken images.

This idea is confirmed by 1-across: the image has a 7:11 aspect ratio, which can only be the flag of Estonia, and the solution mentions that 1-across is a 7-letter country. The aspect ratio of the missing crossword grid also matches its dimensions (23x10), although it is not necessary to assume this to solve the puzzle.

A walkthrough of the logic is included in the Appendix. Once the grid is completed, the middle entry spells RUST.

Author’s Notes

Appendix: Logical solve path

1. Six of the aspect ratios in this puzzle can immediately be assigned to a country:
   • 1a (7:11) can only be ESTONIA.
   • 4a (4:5) can only be MONACO.
   • 2d (1:ϕ) can only be TOGO.
   • 6d (6:7) can only be NIGER.
   • 13d (18:25) can only be ICELAND.
   • 14a (4:7) could be IRAN or MEXICO. The nth across entry is always rotationally opposite the nth-to-last one. That means 14a has the same length as MONACO, so it’s MEXICO.

2. 1a (ESTONIA) must go in the top row, and it must cross two down-entries. One of them is 1d, and the second must be 2d, TOGO, crossing at the T.
   

   E	S	T	O	N	I	A
   ⋮		O
   		G
   		O

   (we don't know how these two halves are aligned yet)

   				?
   				?
   				?		⋮
   ?	?	?	?	?	?	?

3. Four of the down entries have numbers greater than 8, which is the central across entry. That means no down entry includes cells both above and below the middle row, so the four entries which check 8a either begin or end there.

4. From here, we can determine 1d: the only countries starting with E that have 2:3 ratio flags are EGYPT, ECUADOR, ESWATINI, and EQUATORIAL GUINEA. However:

   • It can’t be EGYPT or ESWATINI, because neither one would leave room for ICELAND to be the second-to-last down entry.
   • It can’t be EQUATORIAL GUINEA, because there are no other 16-letter countries (so it would break rotational symmetry). Or, if you don’t feel like counting, you can use the 23x10 grid size: EQUATORIAL GUINEA would cross the middle row, contradicting step 3.

   That leaves ECUADOR, with ICELAND in the opposite spot:
   

   E	S	T	O	N	I	A
   C		O
   U		G
   A		O
   D
   O
   R

   (we don't know how these two halves are aligned yet)

   						I
   						C
   						E
   				?		L
   				?		A
   				?		N
   ?	?	?	?	?	?	D

5. IRELAND is the only 7-letter 1:2 country that ends in D, and CUBA is the only 4-letter 1:2 country that ends in A:
   

   E	S	T	O	N	I	A
   C		O
   U		G
   A		O
   D
   O
   R

   (we don't know how these two halves are aligned yet)

   						I
   						C
   						E
   				C		L
   				U		A
   				B		N
   I	R	E	L	A	N	D

6. 3a must cross both ECUADOR and TOGO (either at the U and G or the A and O), and similarly 16a must cross CUBA and ICELAND (at the C and L or the U and A). There are no 1:2 countries that can cross the C and L, so 3a is *U?G* and 16a is *U?A*. That means 3a can only be BULGARIA or LUXEMBOURG, and only BULGARIA allows for a symmetric choice at 16a: HONDURAS:
   

   	E	S	T	O	N	I	A
   	C		O
   B	U	L	G	A	R	I	A
   	A		O
   	D
   	O
   	R

   (we don't know how these two halves are aligned yet)

   						I
   						C
   						E
   				C		L
   H	O	N	D	U	R	A	S
   				B		N
   I	R	E	L	A	N	D

7. 4a (MONACO) is the next number at the top part of the grid, and it can only connect at the O of ECUADOR, which means MEXICO symmetrically crosses the C of ICELAND:
   

   	E	S	T	O	N	I	A
   	C		O
   B	U	L	G	A	R	I	A
   	A		O
   	D
   M	O	N	A	C	O
   	R

   (we don't know how these two halves are aligned yet)

   						I
   		M	E	X	I	C	O
   						E
   				C		L
   H	O	N	D	U	R	A	S
   				B		N
   I	R	E	L	A	N	D

8. 5d must start at the A, C, or O of MONACO, and the only 3:5 countries which can do this are COMOROS or COSTA RICA. The easiest way to rule out COSTA RICA is by considering the grid dimensions: if the height of the grid is 23, then COSTA RICA would extend past the middle row, violating the observation in step 3. Alternatively, one can reason about 6a: it must start with N (from NIGER), and cross 5d at its 5th to last letter, and only COMOROS fits. We can now attach the halves of the grid:
   

   	E	S	T	O	N	I	A
   	C		O
   B	U	L	G	A	R	I	A
   	A		O
   	D
   M	O	N	A	C	O
   	R			O
   		N		M
   		I		O
   		G		R
   		E		O
   		R	?	S	?
   			?		?
   			?		?
   			?		?
   			?		?
   			?			I
   		M	E	X	I	C	O
   						E
   				C		L
   H	O	N	D	U	R	A	S
   				B		N
   I	R	E	L	A	N	D

9. Now 6a must be NAMIBIA, and 9d must be UKRAINE, which makes 12a JAMAICA. Also, ALGERIA is the only 2:3 country which can cross NIGER and COMOROS without making a new down entry:
   

   		E	S	T	O	N	I	A
   		C		O
   	B	U	L	G	A	R	I	A
   		A		O
   		D
   	M	O	N	A	C	O
   		R			O
   			N	A	M	I	B	I	A
   			I		O
   	A	L	G	E	R	I	A
   			E		O
   			R	U	S	?
   				K		?
   		?	?	R	?	?	?	?
   				A		?
   J	A	M	A	I	C	A
   				N			I
   			M	E	X	I	C	O
   							E
   					C		L
   	H	O	N	D	U	R	A	S
   					B		N
   	I	R	E	L	A	N	D

10. 11a could be BURUNDI or GERMANY, but only BURUNDI can cross with a 1:2 country at 10d, which must be TONGA. This completes the grid:
    

    		E	S	T	O	N	I	A
    		C		O
    	B	U	L	G	A	R	I	A
    		A		O
    		D
    	M	O	N	A	C	O
    		R			O
    			N	A	M	I	B	I	A
    			I		O
    	A	L	G	E	R	I	A
    			E		O
    			R	U	S	T
    				K		O
    		B	U	R	U	N	D	I
    				A		G
    J	A	M	A	I	C	A
    				N			I
    			M	E	X	I	C	O
    							E
    					C		L
    	H	O	N	D	U	R	A	S
    					B		N
    	I	R	E	L	A	N	D