Ebony, not Ivory = the black keys; Joy to the where-in-the-world? “Name that Tannenbaum title!” “Beware the bed buggy’s bite!” Hollandaise Holiday mix... hittin’ the sauce; Frohe Weihnachten, Feliz Navidad, Buon Natale, God Jul, Joyeux Noël, Mutlu Noeller!

PUZZLERIA! SLICES: OVER 5πe² SERVED 

Schpuzzle of the Week:

Hollandaise Holiday mix... hittin’ the sauce 

Name a historic place where races are held. 

Replace the fourth letter with a holiday drink, slightly mixed, followed by a space. 

The result is two similar articles of clothing. 

What are these articles of clothing? 

What is this historic racecourse?

Appetizer Menu

Jefferific Appetizer:

Ebony, Not Ivory! = the black keys

Each of these twenty sets of words uniquely fits a well-known band or musical artist. Name as many as you can. The 21st puzzle asks you to find a cinematic title.

Consider these two examples:

1. Surf (No Turf) Entree...

Answer: Hot Tuna

2. Romeo, Jay Gatsby, Don Juan, Casanova or Mr. Darcy...

Answer: Loverboy

1. Swinging, bifold, louvered

2. Victoria

3. Currents

4. Spicy

5. Sand and surf lovers

6. Colts, reds, and whites

7. Landslide

8. Strippers

9. Flying insects

10. Kate’s husband

11. Palindrome

12. Parenthood

13. Derby, bowler, beret and Stetson

14. Superlative

15. Beginning

16. Pay toilet need 

17. Doesn’t fly well

18. Winter, Spring, Summer, Fall 

19. Throw fruit

20. Lancelot, Gawain, Belvedere, and Galahad 

Plus, a bonus cinematic-title change of pace…

21. Mother Teresa, Adolf Hitler, Quasimodo

MENU

Entomological Hors d’Oeuvre

“Beware the bed buggy’s bite!”

Name a legendary figure and one of his assistants. Replace an “s” with a “g”. 

Spell the result in reverse. 

The first half spells a biting bug. 

Rearrange the second half to spell a second biting bug. 

Who are this legendary figure, assistant and two bugs?

“Continental Christmas” Slice:

Joyeux Noël, Frohe Weihnachten, Buon Natale, Feliz Navidad, God Jul, Mutlu Noeller!

Name a holiday gift item associated with a European country. Remove three consecutive letters that may or may not be in alphabetical order.

Remove three consecutive letters that are in alphabetical order. Or, if you prefer, remove three consecutive letters that are not in alphabetical order... (well, okay, two of the three letters are in alphabetical order, but not all three). 

The result is the name of the country. 

What are this gift item and country?

Riffing Off Shortz And Young Entrees:

Joy to the where-in-the-world?

Will Shortz’s December 15th National Public Radio Weekend Edition Sunday puzzle challenge is created by Joseph Young who is a frequent contributor to NPR, and who conducts the blog Puzzleria! —  and it’s a little tricky. 

It reads: Change one letter of a place on earth to get a familiar phrase much heard around this time of year. What is it? The answer consists of three words (5,2,5).

Puzzleria!s Riffing Off Shortz And Young Entrees read:

ENTREE #1

Remove the first two letters of an 8-letter city on the Missouri River founded by a local fur trader.

The result is the name of an essential Christmas character that is also the first name of a puzzle-maker.

Name also a 10-letter city on the Mahoning
River. Remove from it the same two letters you removed from the first city. Remove also a 3-letter synonym of “possess” that is also an anagram of synonyms of “triumphed” and “currently.” 

The result is a 5-letter adjective that describes a second essential Christmas character. This adjective is the surname of the puzzle-maker

Who is this puzzle-maker?

What are the two cities?

What are the synonym of “possess” and anagrams that are synonyms of “triumphed” and “currently.”

What are the two essential Christmas characters and the adjective describing the second one?

Note: Puzzle Entree Riffs #2 through #7 were created by our friend Nodd.

ENTREE #2 

Change one letter of a place in California from an H to an S, and remove a Y. Rearrange to get a familiar two-word phrase much heard around this time of year. 

What are the place and the phrase?

ENTREE #3

Think of a compound word that is an informal name for a place in California. Remove the last letter. 

Rearrange to get a familiar three-word phrase much heard around this time of year. 

What are the place name and the phrase?

ENTREE #4

Think of two things that are seen, and heard, this time of year. 

Add a four-letter word for a small amount. Rearrange to spell a familiar two-word phrase heard around this time of year. 

What are the two things, the four-letter word, and the familiar phrase?

ENTREE #5

Change one letter in the two-word name of a
place in Illinois and delete the space to get a word much heard around this time of year. 

What are the place and the word?

ENTREE #6

Think of a word for something often seen this time of year. 

Add a five-letter generic word for an object. 

Rearrange to get a two-word phrase much
heard around this time of year. 

What are the two words and the phrase?

ENTREE #7

Think of a plural word for something often seen this time of year. 

Add a state postal abbreviation and rearrange
to get two words often sung and heard together this time of year. 

What are the plural word, the abbreviation, and the phrase? 

ENTREE #8

Name a structure upon which Wiccan rituals are performed (7 and 5 letters). 

Rearrange the letters to spell a two-word California city (5 and 7 letters). In the second word in the city, transpose the fourth and sixth letters, then remove the fifth and seventh letters. Replace the fourth and fifth letters of this result with the letters that follow them in the alphabet.

The final result is a familiar figure much mentioned around this time of year.

What is the Wiccan structure?

What is the California city?

Who is the familiar figure?

ENTREE #9

Name a West Coast publication, in three words (in 3, 7, 6 letters), published in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. 

Lose four letters that appear in order (three ofthem consecutive) that spell a word that appears in this sentence. 

The remaining letters, in order, spell two words, that in reverse order, spell consecutive words in a Christmas carol.

What is this publication?

What is the word that appears in this puzzle?

What are the consecutive words in a Christmas carol?

ENTREE #10

Name a place on earth (in 9 and 6 letters). Replace an interior letter of the second word with and a three-letter word for a Derby, bowler, beret and Stetson. Shuffle those three letters slightly and  add two spaces to name a four-word, 17-letter statement (in 9, 2, 2 and 4 letters) about something that is about to happen.  

What is this place on earth?

What is the  four-word, 17-letter statement (in 9, 2, 2 and 4 letters) about something that is about to happen.

Hint: A poet who penned a poem in 1919 used this statement about “some revelation” that is about to happen.

Dessert Menu

Evergreen Dessert:

“Name that Tannenbaum title!”

Note: Lego Lambda’s sister, an artist named Mary Young Heimann, conjured this graphic puzzle.

The question my sister poses is:

“What should be the title of the image?”

Hint: The title ought to contain only four letters.

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.