Friday, July 12, 2019

“Which way to the sandbar?” Twain’s dialogue is not wan! “Harrumph!” and other triumphs of “Surprising! stumpery” Seeking a science of some substance; Swedes, Somalis, Vietnamese and other natives

PUZZLERIA! SLICES: OVER 8!/21 SERVED

Schpuzzle Of The Week:
“Which way to the sandbar?”

Phil fills his beer glass to the brim, but Prudence consumes alcohol in moderation, and thus preserves sobriety. 
Remove two identical letters from an nine-letter synonym of a verb in the above sentence to spell certain alcoholic beverages served at the beach. 
Remove two different identical letters from the same nine-letter synonym to spell other things seen at the beach, in two words.
What are these beverages and other things?


Appetizer Menu

River, Phoenix, Scrootched, Appetizer:
“Harrumph!” and other triumphs of “Surprising! stumpery

Harrumph!
1. Several verb forms (scrounged, screeched) and plural nouns (strengths, straights) are among the longest one-syllable words in English, at 9 letters. But there is a longer, fairly frequently used word that in the usual American English pronunciation has only one syllable. What is this word?
Hint: There are two spelling variants: 10 or 11 letters.

Surprise!
2. What unexpected geographic fact characterizes the state of California?
Hint: It is not that California has the largest population, or that the highest and lowest elevations in the 48 contiguous states are located there.

Discharged
3. Think of two state capitals that share a number of letters. Take the fourth letter of each and insert it after the second letter. Then insert a copy of the second letter where this fourth letter had been. Next, delete the unit of charge contained in each resulting set of letters. 
Now combine the remaining letters from the two sets and rearrange three ways to give an article or pronoun and the Olympic abbreviations for three countries. What are these state capitals and countries?
Split to avoid confusion
4. Think of a state capital. Add a letter before the final letter and split this result into the two-word name of a county seat in the same state as the capital. What are the state capital and county seat?

A river runs through it (Part 1)
5. Of the 50 US states, just over half share a characteristic with one or more rivers that run through or border them. What is this characteristic?

A river runs through it (Part 2)
6. Less than half of these states (in Part 1) fulfill an even narrower criterion. What is the “tighter” criterion in these states?



MENU


Adjectival Slice
Twain’s dialogue is not wan!

Some readers use a five-letter adjective to characterize some dialogue in a particular novel. 
Remove two letters from the author’s last name. 
The letters that remain, in order, will form a six-letter synonym of this adjective. 
What are this adjective, novelist and synonym?

Riffing Off Shortz And Young Slices:
Swedes, Somalis, Vietnamese and other natives

Will Shortz’s July 7th NPR Weekend Edition Sunday puzzle, an earlier draft created by Joseph Young of St. Cloud, Minnesota, who runs the blog Puzzleria!, reads: 
When you remove the final letter from Germany, Sweden or Somalia what remains is a word for someone born there. What country, if you remove its final letter, forms a word for someone born there – but only after you rearrange its remaining letters?
Puzzleria!s Riffing Off Shortz And Young Slices read:
ENTREE #1:
Give the name for a person born in a particular U.S. state. Rearrange the letters of this name to form a two-part name for a person living in a neighboring state. The first part of this name is the neighboring state itself; the second part of this two-part name is a three-letter abbreviation for an inhabitant of that state, or any state for that matter.
What is the name for the person born in the U.S. state? What is the two-part name for a person living in a neighboring state?
ENTREE #2:
Give the name for a person born in a particular U.S. state. Rearrange the letters of this name to form a two-word caption for the silhouetted image pictured here.
What is the caption? What is the name for a person born in this U.S. state?
ENTREE #3:
Give the name for a person born on a particular island that is a part of a European country. Rearrange the letters of this native person’s name to form the name of a beverage associated with the ancient “history” of the country. 
What is the beverage? What is the name for a person born on the island?
ENTREE #4:
Give an informal two-word name for a person born in a particular U.S. state. Rearrange the letters of this name to form a material from which a particular article of apparel is often manufactured. 
The second word in the two-word name for the person born in the state is a part of this article of apparel. 
What is the two-word name for the person? 
What is the material from which the article of apparel is manufactured?
ENTREE #5:
Give the name for a person born in a particular U.S. state. Rearrange the letters of this name to form a two-word caption for the image pictured here. 
What is the caption? What is the name for a person born in this U.S. state?
ENTREE #6: 
Give the name for a person born in a particular U.S. state. Rearrange the letters of this name to form a description of the state of the municipalities in the state during winter months. The description consists of  a plural noun beginning with C, a preposition beginning with I, and a noun beginning with S. 
What is the name for a person born in this U.S. state? What is the three-word description?


Dessert Menu


Nerd-Alert Dessert:
Seeking a science of some substance

Of all the sciences, which sounds like it is more substantial than any of the others?

Every Friday at Joseph Young’s Puzzleria! we publish a new menu of fresh word puzzles, number puzzles, logic puzzles, puzzles of all varieties and flavors. We cater to cravers of scrumptious puzzles!

Our master chef, Grecian gourmet puzzle-creator Lego Lambda, blends and bakes up mysterious (and sometimes questionable) toppings and spices (such as alphabet soup, Mobius bacon strips, diced snake eyes, cubed radishes, “hominym” grits, anagraham crackers, rhyme thyme and sage sprinklings.)


Please post your comments below. Feel free also to post clever and subtle hints that do not give the puzzle answers away. Please wait until after 3 p.m. Eastern Time on Wednesdays to post your answers and explain your hints about the puzzles. We serve up at least one fresh puzzle every Friday.


We invite you to make it a habit to “Meet at Joe’s!” If you enjoy our weekly puzzle party, please tell your friends about Joseph Young’s Puzzleria! Thank you.

37 comments:

  1. Lego, the last sentence(s) of several of the Entrées, as they say in Pittsburgh, "need revised." Otherwise, a good set (with an easy SOTW).

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Great thanks, geofan, for being johnny-on-the-spot with your "instant editing." I hope I fixed all, or at least most of, the confusing and erroneous ENTREE endings.

      LegoAsTheySayInStCloudHeedRevisedAlertFromgeofanAndDeedDone

      Delete
  2. I, too, have an observation about something confusing in Entree #3. It says to think of what a person born on a particular island is called, but then IGNORES that word completely, saying to anagram the COUNTRY itself, instead. Didn't you actually intent that we should anagram the island inhabitant's name? [At least, I got AN answer doing it that way.]

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    Replies
    1. Agree with VT: also get an answer from the anagrammed island inhabitant.

      Delete
    2. You two are correct. Here is how it now reads:
      ENTREE #3:
      Give the name for a person born on a particular island that is a part of a European country. Rearrange the letters of this native person’s name to form the name of a beverage associated with the ancient “history” of the country.

      What is the beverage? What is the name of the island?

      LegoWhoIsGratefulToViolinTeddyAndgeofan

      Delete
  3. Happy Friday to all in Puzzlerialand!
    We just got back from eating out at Cracker Barrel, and then I did my other puzzles(Private Eye finished, Prize not). We also had a repairman over to fix our cable today. The main part of it was overheating, as it was located in the attic, which is way too hot(particularly in the summer). It has since been put in a more air-conditioned room(my bedroom). As for the puzzles, after checking late last night, I managed to solve the Schpuzzle and Entrees #2, #5, and #6. I also noticed the consistent typos in the Entrees, but said nothing. I figured you'd straighten it all out later today. As always, I will need hints periodically to solve the rest. Good solving to all!

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  4. Tuesday hints for the Appetizers:
    1. The word is most often followed by "away."
    2. This one will be probably be hard. It has to do with the borders of CA. Best to look at a map of the 48 contiguous US states. You will not see the whole answer just looking at a map of CA.
    3. The shared letters are at the beginning of the state capitals' names.
    4. The state's name has 2 words. The county seat is somewhat known for a race track and for a historical execution.
    5. and 6. Most of the states are located in the central part of the USA.
    geofan

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    Replies
    1. Very nice hints, geofan.

      LegoWhoIsNotTheWorld'sGreatestHinterButWhoDoesKnowAnExcellentHintWhenHeSeesFiveOrSix

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  5. Pre-Tues hints, have all except the Adj Slice (may have the Dessert answer -not sure).

    ReplyDelete
  6. I, too, have the Schpuzzle (for a change!) and all the Entrees, but not the Adj Slice. Also have 'an' answer for Dessert, but it could be completely wrong, based on the wrong 'guess' as to what the trick is.

    Re geo's Appetizers, I surely appreciate the hints, because I had managed to solve only #1 and #4 prior to said hints. Had spent a long time on #3, getting nowhere, so I'm hoping the hints (which I haven't read yet) will help.

    ReplyDelete
  7. Late Monday Hints:

    Schpuzzle:
    "They convicted me because of __ ____ to organized crime," said the "Club Fed" prisoner.

    Adjectival Slice
    An announcer for the Brew Crew once wrote a book with a title that sounds just like the title of the novel we are seeking.

    ROSAYS:
    ENTREE #1:
    "Who's your Daddy?..." Those born in the particular U.S. state have that!
    ENTREE #2:
    If you haven't solved this puzzle yet I consider that an abomination!
    ENTREE #3:
    The “ancient history” is based on myth. It sounds as if the folks on the isle are stupid, but that would be a myth.
    ENTREE #4:
    Michael Jordan and Christian Laettner are New York natives, and yet both were also called by the "informal two-word name for a person born in the particular U.S. state" (which is not the Empire State).
    ENTREE #5:
    I pray that you solve this puzzle.
    ENTREE #6:
    Frozen tundra

    Nerd-Alert Dessert:
    Many who ply this scientific trade appear regularly on television.

    LegoWhoIsFeedingYouTheseHintsCourtesyOfTheTaxpayerFundedLaptopInHisPoshClubFedSuperCell

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. OK, that worked great for the Adj Slice! Thanks! (Having never read the book, though, I had to convinced myself that the two adjectives I came up with were correct.)

      Delete
  8. I think I have answers for all of them, and only one of them is a joke. Hallelujah!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Paul,
      The Nerd-Alert Dessert is kind of jokey, in a punny-funny sort of way. Is that the one you mean?

      LegoWhoRealizesThatManyFolksPreferLowKeyToJoKey

      Delete
  9. Got the Adjectival Slice and Entree #3. The rest of it(especially including geofan's hints)seems to escape me for the moment.

    ReplyDelete
  10. BTW We're going back to our condo in FL on Thursday(or Friday), so I probably haven't been concentrating as much on the puzzles this week. Tomorrow I've got to shower and pack, so I'm thinking more about that. I can't guarantee I'll get all the puzzles, but I will be needing a few more hints where I'm still having trouble. Bear with me, Lego.

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    Replies
    1. I cannot improve upon geofan's excellent hints to his splendid Worldplay puzzles.
      But I can give hints for ENTREES #1 and #4 of the ROSSAY Slices:
      ROSAYS:
      ENTREE #1:
      "Who's your Daddy?..." Those born in the particular U.S. state have exactly that, namely a _ _ _ _ _ _ _ Daddy!
      ENTREE #4:
      Athletic teams from a major university in the state in question have long adopted the state's demonym as their official team nickname. Thus, New York natives Michael Jordan and Christian Laettner were, for about three years or so, known as "guys with dark gooey feet!"

      LegoWhoBelievesThatEntrees#1And#4BespeakABeautifulMarriageOfBobbyKnightAndDeanSmith

      Delete
    2. Got 'em! But I don't think geofan's hints are that excellent because I haven't solved those yet. Sorry. BTW what about a hint for the Dessert?

      Delete
  11. cranberry,
    On the Appetizers, here is how to proceed:
    1. The word derives from the name of a rodent that lives in trees. This word can also be used as a verb, which has a past tense that is the word sought.
    2. I do not think that you will be able to get this. See if you are able to understand the answer when it is revealed on Wed.
    3. Google "unit of charge" to get the name of the unit. The name of the unit may not be familiar to you if you never had physics in school. Then go to a list of US state capitals and see which ones begin with the first few letters of this unit. Proceed from there according to the text of the puzzle.
    4. The historical execution led to the Civil-War-era song "John Brown's body lies a-moldering in the grave..." Go to Wikipedia for John Brown and read that article to see where he was executed. Work backwards to get the state capital.
    5. and 6. Think of the three biggest rivers in the central USA. These three rivers alone qualify 18 of the states in #5 and three of the states in #6. You will have to look more closely at state maps to find the others.
    geofan

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    Replies
    1. Very accommodating gesture, geofan. I know cranberry, and likely others, appreciate your hinting, as do I.
      cranberry, I also have been stumped by some of geofan's puzzles... but I actually did solve his #2 offering this week. And if I can solve it, I am positive that you can!
      The solution lies in the peculiar, almost "Chile-like," length of California, form north to south. Don't throw in the towel quite yet.

      As for the Dessert, think of somewhat informal, and even slangy, synonyms of "substantial." In my hint, those who ply this scientific trade are those who appear regularly on television at 6 and 10 Central Time.

      LegoObserves:AndSpreakingOf"Who,"TheSynonymOf"Substantial"AppearsInTheTitleOfAWhoAlbum

      Delete
  12. Lego, also need a further hint for the Dessert. geofan

    ReplyDelete
  13. That last hint of Lego's finally illuminated the Dessert for me, although I had also put down a different answer that I kinda liked but not as good as the real answer.)

    ReplyDelete
  14. Lego, I have a whole bunch of 2-word candidate answers for the Appetizer. Most of them contain one word that I think you hinted at. But none of them stands out from the others.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. geofan,
      As has often been the case with puzzles I have uploaded in this space over the years, the answers given by Puzzlerians! that are not my intended answers have far outshone my intended answers.

      LegoWhoAgreesWithRobertBurnsThatTheBestLaidPuzzlePlansOfMiceAndMenOftenGoAwry(ButSometimesSerendipitouslySo)

      Delete
  15. My first answer for the Dessert was MATERIALS SCIENCE, but that seemed too straightforward. After the "newsy" hint, the "real" answer dawned on me.
    The "real" answer to the California puzzle eludes me. I think Alaska and, possibly, Texas span more degrees of latitude, so the only answer I'm offering is the "joke answer" below.
    I thought I had covered all the bases at the time of my earlier post, but I had overlooked TAR HEEL > LEATHER. Here is what I had at that point:
    SALTY = SALINE > SALINGER
    WYOMINGITE > YETI MOWING
    METEOROLOGY is "meatier" than any other science
    WISCONSINITE > CITIES IN SNOW
    MINNESOTAN > NEON MANTIS
    PRESERVES > MAINTAINS > MAI TAIS & MAN TANS
    CRETAN > NECTAR
    https://digitalcommons.butler.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?referer=https://www.google.com/&httpsredir=1&article=5369&context=wordways [SQUERLD]
    COLUMBIA (SC), COLUMBUS (OH) > COULOMB, IAUS > I-USA, I-AUS, A-SUI
    I don't know, is California furthest LEFT??
    Apparently, 15 states have the same name as a river, and considerably more counties do so. I'm going to guess that those counties are confined to about 30 states.
    HOOSIER > OHIO RES.
    CHARLESTON (WV) > CHARLES TOWN (Jefferson County)

    Hoping I haven't overlooked anything else, I'll be marching on.

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  16. This comment has been removed by the author.

    ReplyDelete
  17. Same answers as Paul gave (but not in order), except as noted below:
    Appetizers:
    #1 SQUIRREL(L)ED
    #2 Southernmost point in CA (at Pacific Ocean S of San Ysidro, CA) is further south than northernmost point of Mexico (across Colorado R from Yuma, AZ, just S of CA border). Northernmost point of CA (CA-OR border, 42°N) is further north than southernmost point of Canada (Pelee Is., Ontario, in Lake Erie).
    #3 same as Paul
    #4 same as Paul
    #5 There is a river that flows along the border or through the given state that has the name of a (any) state.
    #6 The name of the river (from #5) is the same as the name of the state that it flows through or adjacent to. In most cases in #6, the state is named after the given river (only not in DE, IA, possibly TN).
    Entrées: all same as Paul
    Dessert:
    Pre-hints, had MATERIALS SCIENCE (as Paul), also HARD SCIENCE and EARTH SCIENCE. Post-hints, focused - incorrectly - on HARD with no answer standing out. Never found the intended Meteorologist but skipped over Weather Forecaster. Duh!

    ReplyDelete
  18. Schpuzzle
    MAINTAINS, MAI TAIS, MAN TANS
    Appetizer
    1. SQUIRRELED
    Menu
    SALTY, (J.D.)SALINGER, SALINE
    Entrees
    1. HOOSIER, OHIO, RES(ident)
    2. WYOMINGITE, MOWING YETI
    3. CRETAN, NECTAR
    4. TARHEEL, LEATHER and HEEL are parts of a shoe
    5. MINNESOTAN, NEON MANTIS
    6. WISCONSINITE, CITIES IN SNOW
    Dessert
    METEOROLOGY(meatier?)
    See y'all in FL!-pjb

    ReplyDelete
  19. SCHPUZZLE: MAINTAINS => MAITAIS; MAINTAINS => MAN TANS

    APPETIZERS:

    1. SQUIRREL(L)ED

    2. California occupies over half the 'height' of the country, being clearly longer than any other state in the 48.

    3. COLUMBIA & COLUMBUS; COULOMBIA COULOMBUS => Remove COULOMB => IA & US left => A & SUI; I & AUS; I & USA

    4. CHARLESTON, WV => CHARLES TOWN (Jefferson County)

    5. ??

    6. The states share the NAME OF THE RIVERS: Mississippi, Missouri, Colorado, Arkansas, Ohio...

    SLICE: CATCHER IN THE RYE; SALINGER => SALINE / SALTY

    ENTREES:

    1. HOOSIER => OHIO RES.

    2. WYOMINGITE => YETI MOWING

    3. CRETAN (CRETE) =< NECTAR?

    4. TAR HEEL => LEATHER (Heel of shoes)

    5. MINNESOTAN => NEON MANTIS

    6. WISCONSINITE => CITIES IN SNOW

    DESSERT: ME(A)TEOROLOGY. But I also quite liked ICHTHYOLOGY [which sort of sounds like 'thick']

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. ViolinTeddy, I like and accept your alternate answer! geofan

      Delete
    2. I like ICHTHYOLOGY too, VT. It's kind of like igpay atinlay!

      EgoLayAmbdaLay

      Delete
  20. This week's answers for the record, part 1:

    Schpuzzle Of The Week:
    “Which way to the sandbar?”
    "Phil fills his beer glass to the brim, but Prudence consumes alcohol in moderation, and thus preserves sobriety." Remove two identical letters from an nine-letter synonym of a verb in that sentence to spell certain alcoholic beverages served at the beach. Remove two different identical letters from the same nine-letter synonym to spell other things seen at the beach, in 2 words.
    What are these beverages and other things?
    Answer:
    Maitais; Man tans; (Maintains - (n+n) = Maitais; Maintains - (i+i) = Man tans)

    Appetizer Menu

    River, Phoenix, Scrootched, Appetizer:
    “Harrumph!” and other triumphs of “Surprising!” stumpery
    Harrumph!
    ?1. Several verb forms (scrounged, screeched) and plural nouns (strengths, straights) are among the longest one-syllable words in English, at 9 letters. But there is a longer, fairly frequently used word that in the usual American English pronunciation has only one syllable. What is this word?
    Hint: There are two spelling variants: 10 or 11 letters.
    Answer:
    Squirreled (10 letters) or squirrelled (11 letters): most used in the phrase “squirrel(l)ed away.”

    Surprise!
    ?2. What unexpected geographic fact characterizes the state of California?
    Hint: It is not that California has the largest population, or that the highest and lowest elevations in the 48 contiguous states are located there.
    Answer:
    The northernmost point in CA is further north than the southernmost point in Canada. The southernmost point in CA is further south than the northernmost point in Mexico.

    Discharged
    ?3. Think of two state capitals that share a number of letters. Take the fourth letter of each and insert it after the second letter. Then insert a copy of the second letter where this fourth letter had been. Next, delete the unit of charge contained in each resulting set of letters. Now combine the remaining letters from the two sets and rearrange three ways to give an article or pronoun and the Olympic abbreviations for three countries. What are these state capitals and countries?
    Answer:
    COLUMBUS + COLUMBIA => COULOMBUS + COULOMBIA - 2(COULOMB) => USIA =>
    I USA (United States), A SUI (Switzerland), I AUS (Australia)

    Split to avoid confusion
    ?4. Think of a state capital. Add a letter before the final letter and split this result into the two-word name of a county seat in the same state as the capital. What are the state capital and county seat?
    Answer:
    CHARLESTON + W => CHARLES TOWN (Jefferson County, WV)
    Charles Town is most noted as the site of the trial and hanging of the abolitionist John Brown in 1859 (“John Brown's body lies a-moldering in the grave...”) - at that point both it and the rest of WV still were part of VA.

    A river runs through it (Part 1)
    ?5. Of the 50 US states, just over half share a characteristic with one or more rivers that run through or border them. What is this characteristic?
    Answer:
    One or more river(s) that flow through or border the state are named for a state (not necessarily the same as the given state's name).

    A river runs through it (Part 2)
    ?6.Less than half of these states fulfill an even narrower criterion. What is the “tighter” criterion in these states?
    Answer:
    The name of the state is the same as the name of the river. In most of these cases, the state derived its name from the (earlier) name of the river.

    MENU

    Adjectival Slice
    Twain’s dialogue was NOT wan!
    Some readers use a five-letter adjective to characterize some dialogue in a particular novel. Remove two letters from the author’s last name. The letters that remain, in order, to form a synonym of this adjective.
    What are this adjective, novelist and synonym?
    Answer: Salty; J.D. Salinger (saline); ("Catcher in the Rye")

    Lego...

    ReplyDelete
  21. This week's answers for the record, part 2:

    Riffing Off Shortz And Young Slices:
    Swedes, Somalis, Vietnamese and other natives
    Will Shortz’s July 7th NPR Weekend Edition Sunday puzzle, an earlier draft created by Joseph Young of St. Cloud, Minnesota, who runs the blog Puzzleria!, reads:
    When you remove the final letter from Germany, Sweden or Somalia what remains is a word for someone born there. What country, if you remove its final letter, forms a word for someone born there – but only after you rearrange its remaining letters?
    Puzzleria!s Riffing Off Shortz And Young Slices read:
    ENTREE #1:
    Give the name for a person born in a particular U.S. state. Rearrange the letters of this name to form a two-part name for a person living in a neighboring state. The first part of this name is the neighboring state itself; the second part of this two-part name is a three-letter abbreviation for an inhabitant of that state, or any state for that matter.
    What is the name for the person born in the U.S. state? What is the two-part name for a person living in a neighboring state?
    Answer:
    Hoosier (from Indiana); Ohio res. (short for resident)
    ENTREE #2:
    Give the name for a person born in a particular U.S. state. Rearrange the letters of this name to form a two-word caption for the silhouetted image pictured here.
    What is the caption? What is the name for a person born in this U.S. state?
    Answer:
    Yeti mowing; Wyomingite
    ENTREE #3:
    Give the name for a person born on a particular island that is a part of a European country. Rearrange the letters of this native person’s name to form the name of a beverage associated with the ancient “history” of the country.
    What is the beverage? What is the name for a person born on the island?
    Answer:
    Nectar; Cretan (from the Grecian isle of Crete)
    ENTREE #4:
    Give an informal two-word name for a person born in a particular U.S. state. Rearrange the letters of this name to form a material from which a particular article of apparel is often manufactured.
    The second word in the two-word name for the person born in the state is a part of this article of apparel.
    What is the two-word name for the person?
    What is the material from which the article of apparel is manufactured?
    Answer:
    Tar Heel (North Carolina); Leather
    ENTREE #5:
    Give the name for a person born in a particular U.S. state. Rearrange the letters of this name to form a two-word caption for the image pictured here.
    What is the caption? What is the name for a person born in this U.S. state?
    Answer:
    Neon Mantis; Minnesotan
    ENTREE #6:
    Give the name for a person born in a particular U.S. state. Rearrange the letters of this name to form a description of the state of the municipalities in the state during winter months. The description consists of a plural noun beginning with C, a preposition beginning with I, and a noun beginning with S. What is the name for a person born in this U.S. state? What is the three-word description?
    Answer:
    Wisconsinite; Cities in snow

    Dessert Menu

    Nerd-Alert Dessert:
    Seeking a science of some substance
    Of all the sciences, which sounds like it is more substantial than any of the others?
    Answer:
    Meteorology (meatier ology)

    Lego!

    ReplyDelete