Puzzle Pages – answers for January 2026!

Here you’ll find the answers to our Puzzle Pages from the January 2026 issue of Expat Living magazine. If you love quiz questions and puzzles and you’d like to make sure you get them every month, don’t forget to subscribe to Expat Living!

Puzzle Pages, January 2026 answers – Page 1

Q&A

#1 What shape is a stop sign in most countries?
#2 What is the name of the Wicked sequel?
#3 What bird is associated with delivering babies?
#4 Who painted The Starry Night?
#5 How many strings does a standard banjo have?
#6 What nuts are used to make marzipan?
#7 Animation company Studio Ghibli is based in which country?
#8 What do you call an animal that eats both plant and animal matter?
#9 What year saw the start of World War I?
#10 What is the name of Mickey Mouse’s pet dog?

Answers:

#1 Octagon
#2 Wicked: For Good
#3 Stork
#4 Vincent Van Gogh
#5 Five
#6 Almonds
#7 Japan
#8 Omnivore
#9 1914
#10 Pluto

SUDOKU

6 4 1  3 8 5  2 7 9
2 7 3  4 9 1  8 6 5
8 9 5  6 2 7  3 1 4

3 5 2  7 1 8  9 4 6
7 6 4  9 3 2  5 8 1
9 1 8  5 6 4  7 2 3

4 2 6  8 5 3  1 9 7
1 3 7  2 4 9  6 5 8
5 8 9  1 7 6  4 3 2

WORDWHEEL

9-letter word: quicksand

others:

acid, akin, dais, dick, dink, disc, disk, kind, nick,
quid, said, saki, sick, sink, skid, skin, canid,
nicad, quick, snick, squid, unica, unsaid

KENKEN

1 4 3 5 2
4 2 1 3 5
5 3 2 4 1
2 5 4 1 3
3 1 5 2 4

Puzzle Pages, January 2026 answers – Page 2

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

All these words and phrases have the letter sequence “N-E-W” in them – we’ve given you the letter count as a hint.

Answers: 

Character in Seinfeld (6) – Newman
Energy sources not depleted by use (10) – renewables
Boy band with the right stuff (3, 4, 2, 3, 5) – New Kids On The Block
Fibrous tissue connecting muscle and bone (5) – sinew
A popular font (5, 3, 5) – Times New Roman
Canada’s fourth-largest island (12) – Newfoundland
Fantastic Beasts protagonist (4, 9) – Newt Scamander
US footwear company (3, 7) – New Balance
Refusing to communicate during conflict (12) – stonewalling
1980s English band, sang “Blue Monday” (3, 5) – New Order

PICK THE PET

Match the breed with the animal

Answers:

American Fuzzy Lop – Rabbit
Alaskan Malamute – Dog
Tanzanian Legless – Lizard
Ardennais – Horse
Brazilian Rainbow Boa – Snake
English Crested – Guinea Pig
Green-Cheeked Conure – Bird
Exotic Shorthair – Cat
Fancy Guppy – Fish
Singaporean Blue – Spider

AND… ACTION!

Match the director to their film

Answers:

Guy Ritchie – Snatch
Catherine Hardwicke – Twilight
Ang Lee – Life of Pi
Jane Campion – The Piano
Quentin Tarantino – Jackie Brown
Greta Gerwig – Barbie
Guillermo del Toro – Pan’s Labyrinth
Sofia Coppola – Lost in Translation
Jordan Peele – Get Out
Kathryn Bigelow – The Hurt Locker

THE RIDDLER

Warning: This one’s for the maths enthusiasts! List the following ten numbers from lowest to highest (hint: lowest is 1, highest is 4).

Answers:

• IV – III = 1
• 9.79 – 7.99 = 1.8
• -4 + 6 = 2
• e = 2.71828
• 11/4 = 2.75
• π = 3.14159
• 3.15 = 3.15
• 12 x 0.3 = 3.6
• 399% = 3.99
• 2²  = 4

Liked our January puzzle pages? Read on for more fun puzzles and trivia:

20 quirky facts about Singapore
The great Travel Guide quiz