Thursday, September 19, 2024

Crockett and Spock and Matt Dillon, Kris Kringle, H. Truman! Wood, Sullivan & Miller, oddly even; Ecstatic Essex Artistry; Unhealthy habits & hamburgers? Capitals become main courses; ROTterdam13 a pair of rhymes


PUZZLERIA! SLICES: OVER 5πe2 SERVED

Schpuzzle of the Week:

Wood, Sullivan & Miller, oddly even

Write down the first names of well-known people surnamed Wood, Sullivan and Miller. 

The odd-numbered letters of the result are even. 

The even-numbered letters are odd. 

What are these first names? 

Explain how their odd-numbered letters are even and how their even-numbered letters are odd.


Appetizer Menu

Quizzical Quintet Appetizer:

Crockett and Spock and Matt Dillon, Kris Kringle, H. Truman!

Note: The following “quizzical quintet” was created and contributed by a gifted “puzzlesmith” and friend of Puzzleria!

Creatures Connected...

1. 🐢🐬Davy Crockett. Matt Dillon. Kris Kringle. Spock. Harry S. Truman.

All are icons in one way or another. Some are fictional, others are historical.

There is an additional connection among them; and an alternative identity of one of them contains consecutive letters which name a creature that plays a big part in the connecting point for them. 

What connects them? What is the creature? 

Roamin’ deities?

2. 🏃🏃Think of something often shown between the names of two Roman deities. 

Those deities are generally known for having opposing reputations. 

What is  that “something?”

HINT: The name of that “something” often shown between the names of two Roman deities is an anagram of the name of a human body part.

Synonymous Civvies?

3. 👚🕴A puzzle contributor to “The Remarkable Times” submitted: “Take the names of two clothing items that are synonyms. 

Put them in reverse alphabetical order. (For example, “Caps and Hats” would be written as “Hats and Caps” because “H” comes after “C”
alphabetically.)

The result is a two-word description of places where the items can be found.” 

An alert reader of “The Times” and Puzzleria! noticed that if a series of consecutive internal letters in the two words of that solution is removed, the remaining letters can be arranged to name an object often depicted along with the “something” that is the Appetizer #2 solution. What is it?

“Verbing” an adjective 

4. 💃What word is an adjective meaning “intricate” or “elegant” but is also a verb meaning “to explain or develop in great detail?” (This adjective and verb are spelled the same but their last syllables are pronounced differently.) 

“It was a dark and stormy night...”

5. 🌩⛈Drafting on a dark and stormy night, a puzzle contributor was interrupted by an event. 

The event contains six letters and is seemingly not uncommon in various forms and instances, especially in dark and stormy times. 

If a consonant is inserted midway in the word for that event, the result is a word for a common reaction if that event is of much duration. 

What are the two words? 

MENU

Louvre Hors d’Oeuvre:

Ecstatic Essex Artistry

Name a work of art that consists of a pair of letters, spelled out. For example, the letters S and X, when spelled out, are  “ess” and “ex,” which spell “Essex.”

Gas & Petrol Slice:

Unhealthy habits & hamburgers?

Write down, side-by-side, an unhealthy habit and a not-so-healthy meal, each in two words. 

The first four letters of the two middle words are identical. 

The first and fourth words are associated with a one-word anagram of a two-word phrase describing what gasoline and petroleum do. 

What are this habit and meal?

What is the one-word anagram of a two-word phrase describing what gasoline and petroleum do?

Riffing Off Shortz And Scheinberg Entrees:

Capitals become main courses

Will Shortz’s September 15th NPR Weekend Edition Sunday puzzle, created by Rawson Scheinberg of Northville, Michigan, reads:

Name a U.S. state capital. Then name a world capital. Say these names one after the over and phonetically you’ll get an expensive dinner entree. What is it?

Puzzleria!s Riffing Off Shortz And Scheinberg Entrees read:

ENTREE #1

Name a pair of  popular five-letter games – one involving chance, the other involving skill  and a six-letter first name shared by two young men (surnamed Eliott and Harper) who excel at one of these games. Rearrange these 16 combined letters to spell the name of a puzzle-maker.

What are the five-letter games and six-letter first name? 

Who is this puzzle-maker?

Who are the young men who excel at one of the games?

Note: Entrees #2 through #7 are terrific prime-timely riffs created by our friend Nodd. 

ENTREE #2

Name a U.S. state capital. Then take a geographical name that can refer to a town in England, a group of islands in the Atlantic, or a mountain range in New England. The result is a menu item often ordered at lunch. What is it?

ENTREE #3

Name a U.S. state capital. 

Then name a world capital. 

The names identify two varieties of the same fruit. 

What are they?

ENTREE #4

Name three state capitals located in the eastern, western, and northern areas of the U.S. 

The eastern capital, followed by an anagram of five consecutive interior letters of the western capital, followed by the first three letters of the northern capital, name a popular dessert. What is the dessert, and what are three state capitals?

ENTREE #5

Name a European capital. 

Add to it the last three letters of an eastern U.S. state capital, plus one additional vowel. 

The letters, in order, name a dinner entree featured in certain ethnic restaurants. 

What is the entree, and what are the two capital cities?

ENTREE #6

Take the name of a country. 

Switch the first and third letters. 

Then replace the fourth letter with the vowel that precedes it in the alphabet. 

The letters, in order, name a dessert item. 

What is the country and what is the dessert item?


ENTREE #7

Take the name of a world capital. 

Copy the next-to-last letter and insert the copy between the first two letters. 

Then replace the last letter with the letter that precedes it by two places in the alphabet. 

The result names a food that is typically eaten in the U.S. at certain times of the year. 

What are the capital and the food?

ENTREE #8

Name a U.S.  state capital. Then name an ancient Mesopotamian world capital on the Persian Gulf. Say these names one after the over and phonetically you’ll get an inexpensive dinner entree. 

What is it?

ENTREE #9

Name the largest city in a U.S state and the largest city in a European country. 

Remove a synonym of “wrath” from the U.S. city. 

Replace the final three letters of the European city with one letter that has an alphanumeric
value that is ten less than the sum of those three letters. 

Place the two results next to one another to spell a fish dish.

What are these capital cities? What is the fish dish?

Hint: Both the state and country begin and end with the same two letters – all four of them the same letter.

ENTREE #10

When Cockneys say this American novelist’s three-syllable first and last name – and if they stress the second syllable instead of the first and third – it sounds as if they are describing someone’s beautiful teeth: “‘ey Mate! That novelist’s teeth sure ___ ______!”

When speakers who drop the vowel sounds from short prepositions (pronouncing “to”, for example, as a schwa rather tan a long-u) say the title of a work by this  novelist aloud, the first three syllables of the result sound like a liquor made chiefly from the fermented sap of the blue agave.

Who is this novelist, and the title of one of this novelist’s works.

Dessert Menu

Istanbul & Prague Dessert:

ROTterdam13 a pair of rhymes

Take rhymes of another word for an Istanbulite and of another word for Praguers. 

You can ROT13 either of these rhyming words to get the other one. 

What are these other words and their rhymes?

Every Thursday 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.

Thursday, September 12, 2024

Thirty-six Cryptics, and counting... "Glides his gondola o’er a lagoon" “An arithmetic operation” Jonathan, Anwar and Thomas; Body part... and a body of water; “E Eye E Eye... Oh?”

PUZZLERIA! SLICES: OVER 5πe2 SERVED

Schpuzzle of the Week:

Jonathan, Anwar & Thomas

Jonathan Swift was a satirist. Anwar Sadat was a Mideasterner. Thomas E. Dewey was a
prosecutor.

What do this satirist, Mideasterner and prosecutor have in common? 

Appetizer Menu

Brain-Cryptickling Cluemasterful Appetizer:

Thirty-six Cryptics, and counting...

Cryptic Crosswordmeister Patrick J. Berry (known also by his screen name “cranberry”) is truly a master at creating clever clues to his “fill” (the words that the solver must insert into the cryptic crossword grid.)

Take for example, this, his 36th cryptic crossword that Patrick has created for Puzzleria! 

His first clue (1. ACROSS) reads: 

1. Cryptic, I gather — latest puzzle, right?

(Patrick is noting and announcing that this is his “latest cryptic puzzle” (but, as we all hope, not his “last”) to grace the pages of Puzzleria!

And Patrick’s final clue (21. DOWN) reads: 

21. Think that’s about the end — hard to avoid!

Patrick is concluding his clues with an appropriate “that’s about the end...” and, yes, the end is indeed “hard to avoid!”

All good things (in this case, great things called “clues”!) do come to an end... at least for this puzzle...

But we all hope and trust that Patrick will keep ‘em comin’!  

If you have missed, or wish to revisit, any of Patrick’s previous 35 cryptic crosswords on Puzzleria!, here are their links:

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 

15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 

26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35

For those who may be new to cryptic crossword puzzles, Patrick has compiled the following list of basic cryptic crossword puzzle instructions:

Regarding the Across and Down clues and their format:

The number, or numbers, that appear in parentheses at the end of each clue indicate how many letters are in the answer.

Multiple numbers in parentheses indicate how letters are distributed in multiple-word answers. 

For example, (9) simply indicates a nine-letter word like “cranberry,” (7,9) indicates a seven-letter and nine-letter answer like “cryptic crossword,” and (4-9) indicates a four-letter and nine-letter hyphenated answer like “head-scratcher.”

For further insight about how to decipher these numbered cryptic clues, see Patrick’s “Cryptic Crossword Tutorial” in this link to his November 17, 2017 cryptic crossword.

That Tutorial appears below the grid that contains the answers in that edition of Puzzleria! 

So, to recap:

1. Patrick’s latest cryptic creation always
seems the greatest, and

2. To paraphrase Liverpudlians: “And in the end, the joy he makes is equal to the joy you take.”

Enjoy! 

ACROSS

1. Cryptic, I gather—latest puzzle, right?(8)

5. Fool with first aid(6)

9. Held down job in real estate, first to be let go(8)

10. Bound to take a risk, we hear(6)

12. Confused almost everyone in cast following actor’s lead?(2,1,4)

13. Good-natured question of self-doubt?(7)

14. One holding crocodile in confusion?(6-6)

17. I’m undone—it’s a slippery slope!(12)

22. Pop offering has the guy on the radio taking notice: “All right! Excellent!”(3,4)

23. Old currency of Greece or Switzerland coming into play(7)

24. City with class catching some off guard(6)

25. Tear, sort of tear in fabric(8)

26. Swimwear fit, went in(6)

27. Tom has problem making small talk(8)

DOWN

1. Pain for those beginning at dude ranch, defying the odds wearing chaps(8)

2. In the end, children almost manage to relax(8)

3. Item about Miss Piggy in book(7)

4. Mechanic has to help brother in dark(6,6)

6. Having no time to lay by beach(7)

7. Drink writer’s book left out(6)


8. Broadcast on the radio rang a bell(6)

11. Can dash out after dance to see
movie(5,3,4)

15. Variety show from the 70s features his dancing, a little manic(8)

16. Lady stripped? Inappropriate and immoral!(8)

18. Pompous old kook turned up in bar(7)

19. Put away in shelter, most organized(7)

20. Present changing past changes?(6)

21. Think that’s about the end—hard to avoid!(6)

One Thing Leads To Another Hors d’Oeuvre:

Body part & body of water 

Double the middle letter of a body part. Move the second letter to the immediate right of that newly doubled letter-pair. 

Divide the result into two adjectives associated with a certain body of water, the first that leads to the second. What are this body part and adjectives? 

Applied Math Slice:

“An arithmetic operation”

An arithmetic (accent on the third syllable) operation applied to the final four letters of an adjective results in the name of that arithmetic operation. 

What are this adjective and arithmetic operation?

Hint: The final four letters can be rearranged to form a clue to this puzzle.

Riffing Off Shortz And Schwartz Entrees:

"...Glides his gondola o’er a lagoon"

Will Shortz’s September 8th NPR) Weekend Edition Sunday puzzle challenge, created by Michael Schwartz of Florence, Oregon, reads:

Take the name of a watercraft that contains an odd number of letters. Remove the middle letter and rearrange the remaining ones to name a body of water. What words are these?

Puzzleria!s Riffing Off Shortz And Schwartz Entrees read:

ENTREE #1

Five consecutive letters in a puzzle-maker’s name spell a word associated with stresslessness. 

The remaining letters in the name can be rearranged to spell a hotel that is apparently as big as a diamond and the surname of a guy who apparently owns a navy.

Who is this puzzle-maker?

What are:

~ the word associated with stresslessness,

~ the hotel that is apparently as big as a diamond, and 

~  the surname of a guy who apparently owns a navy?

Finally, identify the word in the blank in the quatrain below:

In the Oregon city of Florence

Our friend “Clark,” under light of the ____,

On the Siuslaw (not the Saint Lawrence!)

Glides his gondola o’er a lagoon.

Note: “Clark” is also known as Michael Schwartz, author of this week’s NPR puzzle challenge.

Note: Entrees #2 and #3 were composed by Plantsmith, author of “Garden of Puzzley Delights” on Puzzleria!

ENTREE #2

Take a watercraft with an odd number of letters. Change the middle letter by moving it back three places earlier in the circular “alphabet stream.” 

Mix up the result to name part of a building. 

What are this watercraft and building part? 

ENTREE #3

Take a watercraft with an uneven number of letters. 

Rot14 the middle letter; that is, change it to the letter 14 places later in the circular “alphabet stream.” Replace a vowel with a different vowel. Slightly mix the result to get something edible. What are this watercraft and edible?

Note: Entrees #4-through-#9 were composed by Nodd, author of “Nodd ready for prime time” on Puzzleria!

ENTREE #4

Take the name of a watercraft that contains an odd number of letters. 

Remove one of the letters. 

The result will be a word for a quantity of water. 

What words are these?

ENTREE #5

Take the name of a watercraft that contains an even number of letters. 

Remove two non-contiguous letters that form a state postal abbreviation. Rearrange the result to get a word for animals found near bodies of water. What words are these?

ENTREE #6


Take the name of a watercraft that contains an odd number of letters. 

Spell the name backward to get a word for
certain bodies of water. 

What words are these?

ENTREE #7

Take the name of a watercraft that contains an even number of letters. 

Remove the next-to-last letter. Rearrange the remaining letters to get a word that describes a possible outcome of not having this watercraft available when needed. 

What words are these?

ENTREE #8

Take the name of a watercraft that contains an even number of letters. 

Remove the second, fourth, and fifth letters. 

Rearrange the remaining letters to get a word that describes the primary purpose of this watercraft. 

What words are these?

ENTREE #9

Take the name of a watercraft that contains an odd number of letters. 

Remove the middle letter and rearrange the remaining ones to name a body of water. What words are these?

Take the name of a watercraft that contains an odd number of letters. The letters can be rearranged to spell (a) a word for a body ofwater, and (b) an  adjective that describes how the operator of this watercraft would strive to keep the apparatus the watercraft uses to perform its intended purpose. What words are these?

Note: Entrees #10-through-#15 were composed by Ecoarchitect, author of “Econfusions” on Puzzleria!

ENTREE #10

Take the name of a watercraft that contains an odd number of letters. 

Remove the third letter and rearrange the
remaining ones to name a body of water. 

What words are these? 

ENTREE #11

Take the body of water that is the answer to ENTREE #10, above. 

Change the third letter to a different letter and rearrange to name another body of water. What words are these? 

ENTREE #12

Take the name of a watercraft that contains an
odd number of letters. 

Remove the last letter and rearrange the remaining ones to name a body of water. 

What words are these?  

ENTREE #13

Take the name of an ethnic food, popular around Christmas, that contains an odd number of letters. 

Remove the middle letter and don't bother rearranging the remaining ones to name a body of water. 

What words are these?  

ENTREE #14

Take the brand name of a watercraft that contains an odd number of letters. Remove the middle letter, change the last letter to an "A" and rearrange to name a body of water. 

What words are these? 

ENTREE #15

Whom would you call (and what would you call each of these puzzles, Entrees #10-through-#14) had Violin Teddy or Tortitude (instead of Ecoarchitect) composed them and sent them to LegoLambda to be published? 

And, why might LegoLambda feel safer if Tortie or VT, and not Ecoarchitect, sent you these puzzles? 

Dessert Menu

Down On The Farm Dessert:

“E Eye E Eye... Oh?”

Anagram the combined letters of two structures on a farm to spell something that is
the fifth in a series. 

What are these farm structures and the fifth in a series?

Every Thursday 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.