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Literal Overlap (Posted on 2008-06-24) Difficulty: 3 of 5
Three 3 x 3 grids overlap by one cell, as in the image.

Each grid is to have 3 words by reading from left to right, and 3 by reading down.

Find a solution, using the starter letters, where all words are unique to the layout, and all are in general common (but not necessarily frequent) English usage.

T            
       
    K            
         
              W
             
  N    


As more than one solution is possible, you might like to consider that the letters A to Z have respective values of 1 to 26, and my solution has a sum value of 279. Can you top that?

But then you might like to be challenged by this frequency chart modified to a point value:
     A  B  C  D  E  F  G  H  I  J  K  L  M 
     3 20 12 10  1 16 17  8  5 23 22 11 14
     N  O  P  Q  R  S  T  U  V  W  X  Y  Z
     6  4 19 25  9  7  2 13 21 15 24 18 26
My score for the same solution is 158 which is just 1 better than when an "O" replaces an "A".

In both cases all letters are to be counted just once, or rather, each location; yes, the starters too.

See The Solution Submitted by brianjn    
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Solution a solution | Comment 2 of 9 |

T O E
E E L
A S K I P
    E R R
    F E Y A W
        E G O
        N O W

The aphabetic-sequence value (i.e., A=1, B=2, C=3,..., X=24, Y=25, Z=26) is 298; and the frequency-sequence value (i.e., A=3, B=20, C=12,..., X=24, Y=13, Z=26) is 195.  
One can get higher values, yet, of those I found, one must usually sacrifice a higher sequence value of one for that of the other. For instance, the following has a higher alphabetic-sequence value (315), but a lower frequency-sequence value (163), thus I offered a solution where the total value (493) was the highest I found (there may be higher):

T O E
E E L
A S K I T
    E R R
    F E Y A W
        O T O
        N E W

Word definitions:

AGO - in the past
ASK - query
EEL - snakelike fish
EGO - self-esteem; inflated opinion of self
ELK - large northern deer
ERR - to make a mistake
FEY - irrational
IRE - anger
KEF - drugs; marijuana
KIP - currency unit of Laos; unit of weight; calfskin or lambskin
NOW - the momentary present
OES - the plural of the letter O
PRY - to open or part something using leverage; be nosy
TOE - one of the digits of the foot
TEA - a beverage made from tea leaves
YAW - to deviate from a course; zigzag; be wide open
YEN - currency unit of Japan; desire
WOW - impress greatly

ATE - consumed
KIT - a young fur-bearing animal; set of articles or tools; gear
NEW - relatively recent
OTO - a member of a native North American (Siouan) people; the dialect spoken by the Oto; of the Oto

Edited on June 30, 2008, 4:28 am
  Posted by Dej Mar on 2008-06-24 21:06:34

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