An ampersand pair is a pair of words that are typically linked by the word “and”.
Example: FUN & GAMES.
A partial ampersand pair is a pair of words that are commonly linked by the word “and” with one of the two words is replaced by hyphens (--).
Example: SALT & --
What is the missing word? It’s obviously PEPPER as in SALT AND PEPPER.
Here are three more partial ampersand pairs. See if you can find the missing word in each:
-- & PEACE
BED & --
-- & PREJUDICE
Here are the correct solutions:
WAR (as in War and Peace)
BED (as in Bed and Breakfast)
PRIDE (as in Pride and Prejudice)
With some partial ampersands, you may have more than one choice. Here are a couple of examples:
-- & JERRY
-- & CHEESE
For the first example, you have a choice between TOM (as in Tom and Jerry, the popular cartoon show) and BEN (as in Ben and Jerry, as in the ice-cream company). For the second one, you have a choice among HAM, MACARONI, and WINE.
Download an ampersand puzzle (PDF; opens in a new window) in the form of a table. Discover the missing word in each partial pair and write it in the appropriate space.
After you have discovered all the missing words, read the first letters of the words. These letters spell out an important fact about you (as determined by your ability to solve the puzzle).