
First we solve the math problem, and then we can see some of your wonderful pleonasms!
E E O |
Let's label the individual digits so we can talk about them:
A B C |
Trivially, M = 1.
Digit D, being odd, must be 1, 3, 5, 7, 9. We can rule out 1, because then the fourth line would be E E O instead of E O O. We can also rule out 5, 7 and 9 because those digits give two digit answers when multiplied by an even number, and the fourth line is a three digit number, not a four digit number. So digit D is 3. Now digit A, being even, must be 2, 4, 6 or 8. (It can't be zero, because it is a leading digit.) If it were 4, 6 or 8, it would yield a two digit result when multiplied by 3, and since the fourth line is a three digit number, digit A must be 2.
We now have E E O x 3 = E O O. since three times an even number is even, when we multiply 3 by C, we have to have a carry - a carry of an odd number. C can be 1, 3, 5, 7 or 9, and of those numbers, only 5 gives an odd carry. So digit C must be 5. Trivially, this forces digits I and L to be 5, as well as digit Q.
2 B 5 |
Now consider digit B: 0, 2, 4, 6 or 8. It can't be 4 or 6, because the fourth line would be O O O in those cases. It can't be 0, because F would be odd in that case. If it were 2, then E would have to be 9 to force F to be even. We try that possibility, and get that 225 x 9 = E E E O - so that doesn't work. Therefore B = 8. (forcing J = 8, K = 5).
2 8 5 |
Now digit F must be even. The only possibility for digit E that makes F even is 9. So E = 9 and we can fill it all out.
2 8 5 |
A pleonasm is the use of more words than necessary to express an idea. Dr. E. hates it when people talk about "ATM machines" or the "HIV virus" which mean "Automatic teller machine machines" and "Human immunodeficiency virus virus." Mrs. E is often annoyed by menus that advertise French Dip sandwiches that come "with au jus" - which means "with with juice." She recently corrected Dr. E. when he talked about a file in "PDF format." Here are some of yours:
Nicholas A. contributed: "A savage barbarian."
Crawlee had: "He said it out loud."
Southern cal calcs sent: "Einstein he was a super intelligent genius because
of the fact that he himself worked numerically with numbers."
Mid Prarie math club gave us the over-the-top: "By way of realization,
I realized that I felt the rough texture of the rough wood with my hand preemptively
before I could step with my own feet through the open door."
My favorite was Nate R's : "My pleonasm is: "See you later!".
When else would you see someone?" When indeed, Nate R, when indeed?
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