Fifteen related guests visited a restaurant and got into an argument about who was the greatest among them. To settle the dispute, they asked the owner to decide.

He thought for a moment, then said “While you are eating, write down as many stars as you can name. After the meal I will tally the results.”

The guests finished their meal in peace, then handed in their work.

“So who is the greatest?” asked one.

“I dare not say; I fear another brawl. But I will send you each home with a word search puzzle. The one I chose is encoded within. And it’s not the one who named the most stars. That was a ploy to keep you occupied while you ate. To ensure you are far apart by the time you decode this, I have obfuscated your names. Tiny ladle may have named the most stars, but they are not necessarily the one I deem the greatest!”

“But there are only fifteen of us,” retorted one.

“Yes, to get you started, I added the name of my restaurant into the mix and highlighted it for you. See? ‘A star queue banded overhead’? That’s this restaurant, the Milky Way. As you can see, this is not a normal word search.”

“It’s jagged. But the letters are connected, right?”

“Certainly.”

“And you promise this reveals who you deem the greatest?”

“Yes, you all are hidden within. But once solved, one of you will stand out!”

Here is the list of participants the owner wrote down:

1 thousand stars – “Peace age sunshine dawns” (8)

2 thousand stars – “A star queue banded overhead” (8)

3 thousand stars – “Is thunderbolt carrier of Zeus” (6)

5 thousand stars – “Is a worthy foe on Hercules’ first labor” (3)

6 thousand stars – “The quick bunny hunter” (10)

7 thousand stars – “Vain queen is banished skyward” (10)

8 thousand stars – “Stings cause massive pain” (8)

10 thousand stars – “Is Orpheus’ extraordinary instrument” (4)

11 thousand stars – “These begin in May, exit June” (6)

12 thousand stars – “Sported golden fleece, once” (5)

14 thousand stars – “Bears a big copper pot on its back” (9)

15 thousand stars – “Hideous Typhon’s aquatic prey” (6)

18 thousand stars – “Mad Ford auto leaping with horn” (6)

19 thousand stars – “Dons stars as a girdle and bow” (5)

20 thousand stars – “Bird crossing up north” (6)

21 thousand stars – “A tiny dipper atop Claus’ home” (9)

Here is the word search the owner created: