Solution: Read Between The Lines
Answer: SEPARATION DEGREES
The puzzle starts with 9 straight clues. These are their answers.
| Clue | Answer |
|---|---|
| Term for a key mechanism in evolution, popularised by Charles Darwin (7 9) | Natural Selection |
| Place where dead people are prepared for burial or cremation (7 7) | Funeral Parlor | Died or failed (9) | Flatlined | Thoughts spoken outloud alone (9) | Soliloquy | "The death I gave him. So again good night. I ... " (4 2 5 4 2 2 4) | ...must be cruel only to be kind. | Priority mail service (7 8) | Special Delivery | Another name for the Conarium (6 5) | Pineal gland | Academic field that studies the employment relationship (10 9) | Industrial relations | Shredded cabbage salad (8) | Coleslaw |
The answers seems completely random and unrelated, and indeed they are. After some careful observation, you may notice a particular pattern that is shared between them all --- they all have two Ls, with some letters in between.
By reading between the "lines", aka lowercase Ls, the letters spells out the answer phrase.
| Answer | Extracted letters | |
|---|---|---|
| Natura[l] Se[l]ection | SE | |
| Funera[l] Par[l]or | PAR | F[l]at[l]ined | AT | So[l]i[l]oquy | I | ...must be crue[l] on[l]y to be kind. | ON | Specia[l] De[l]ivery | DE | Pinea[l] g[l]and | G | Industria[l] re[l]ations | RE | Co[l]es[l]aw | ES |
The answer is SEPARATION DEGREES
Author's Note
Some of these clues aren't the greatest. For example, the clue for FUNERAL PARLOR can also be answered with FUNERAL CHAPEL, which also has the 2 Ls pattern. If you or your loved ones have been affected by that unintentional red herring, then please accept my apology.