Sunday puzzle: can you survive the ium pandemonium?

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• How the puzzle works and an example for players
• 12 clues: find the words that end in -ium
• Last week’s brainteaser: the setup and the reveal
  • What we asked
  • Solution and recognition
• This week’s new challenge for subscribers
• Tips for solving these word puzzles

Word lovers and puzzle fans, here’s a compact brainteaser that plays on a tiny but powerful ending: -IUM. It often signals metallic elements, yet it also finishes many everyday words. Below are short clues that point to common words ending with that same three-letter suffix. Try to name each one.

How the puzzle works and an example for players

This challenge asks for ordinary English words that end with the letters -IUM. Each clue describes one such word. Use the hint to fill the blank and supply the correct word. An example is given so you know the pattern.

Example: Boredom —> TEDIUM

12 clues: find the words that end in -ium

1. Something between small and large in size
2. A container for keeping aquarium fish
3. The bony part that encloses the brain
4. A raised area where someone speaks to an audience
5. A spacious room used for exercise and sports
6. A room designed to capture sunlight, often with many windows
7. A building where the night sky is projected on the ceiling
8. An apartment unit that is owned by an individual
9. Compensation given to someone for delivering a speech
10. A sudden state of severe mental disorientation
11. A garden flower also called a cranesbill
12. A period of one thousand years

Last week’s brainteaser: the setup and the reveal

What we asked

We invited readers to pick two hoofed animals. Then take every letter of one animal and the last three letters of the other. Mix them and you’d form the first and last name of a well-known actress.

Solution and recognition

The actress was Bo Derek. Our reader winner was Anthony Baio of San Diego, CA.

This week’s new challenge for subscribers

Contributor Michael Schwartz from Florence, Ore., submitted this one.

Name a seven-letter item that helps you lose weight. Now insert the two letters EP somewhere inside that word. The result should be a two-word phrase describing things likely to cause weight gain. What are the two words?

Tips for solving these word puzzles

• Think of common words that end with the letters -IUM.
• For the current challenge, list seven-letter fitness aids first.
• Then test where inserting EP creates a natural two-word phrase.
• Write down letter sets from animals for anagram puzzles.
• Say answers aloud to check for familiar names or phrases.