The Busiest Shopping Day of the Year: The Husbands Hit the Stores
by Randall L. Whipkey

Every year, the five brave husbands of Gulliver Garth plan an all-day shopping trip to buy Christmas presents for their wives. The five don’t just pick a Tuesday midway through December, however; they make their expedition on the busiest shopping day of the year—the Friday after Thanksgiving. Each of the five picks a different store for the group to visit, and the husbands usually fulfill 90% of their gift ideas on the tour. The clues that follow describe the plans for this coming Friday’s event; can you deduce each man’s full name, the store he has chosen for the five to visit (one has picked Dionne), and what kind of merchandise that store sells?

1. Benny, Mr. Karan, and the man who had chosen the casual wear store have all picked places that the five haven’t visited on an earlier Friday–after–Thanksgiving outing.
2. Neither the store Wilson has chosen nor Fine’s is the shop that carries suits & dresses.
3. Mr. Clarke isn’t the husband who decided on a jewelry store nor the man who opted for a lingerie shop.
4. Mr. Jones isn’t the husband who has picked The Road for the annual excursion.
5. Although he is familiar with and likes both stores, Charlie’s choice isn’t Fine’s or Joseph & Co.
6. Herb and Mr. Wilson discussed various stores before making their choices for the tour.
7. One husband has picked Oh So Soft!, which doesn’t specialize in suits & dresses.
8. Walt isn’t the husband who has chosen the casual wear shop nor the man who has a store selling suits & dresses on the schedule.
9. Neither Benny nor Herb is the one who has selected Fine’s as a shopping stop.
10. Charlie has chosen a store specializing in leather goods as his place for the group to shop.
11. Mr. Jones, who isn’t Russ, isn’t the husband who has opted for the casual wear outlet.
12. Mr. Zale isn’t the one who has added a lingerie store to the list.
13. The husband who has chosen Oh So Soft! Isn’t Mr. Clarke.
14. Russ and the shopper who has selected Joseph & Co. as a place to stop have both gone for stores that the group has visited and liked during previous busiest–shopping–day–of–the–year trips.

Please me.

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