Solving a word problem with two unknowns using a linear... A garden table and a bench cost $\$ 661$ combined. The garden table costs $\$ 89$ less than the bench. What is the cost of the bench?

Step 1 ：Let's denote the cost of the bench as x and the cost of the garden table as y.

Step 2 ：We know that the garden table and the bench cost $661 combined. This gives us the equation: \(x + y = 661\)

Step 3 ：We also know that the garden table costs $89 less than the bench. This gives us the equation: \(y = x - 89\)

Step 4 ：We can solve this system of equations to find the cost of the bench (x) and the garden table (y).

Step 5 ：The solution to the system of equations is \(x = 375\) and \(y = 286\).

Step 6 ：So, the cost of the bench is \(\boxed{375}\).