Kitchen gizmos? Ocean creatures?
Rearrange these letters to spell the two-word etymology of the name of a creature related to whales.
What are this noun, verb, two-word etymology and creature?
Hint: The creature related to whales is an African creature.
Appetizer Menu
Golden-Ratio-Brass Sections~Fretful attached strings tangled together into Gordian Knots~All Accompanied By Conundrum-Set-Percussion... Appetizer!:
Hard(as)Rock-yet-Easy-“lisolving,” Classical, Pop Heavy-Metal & “acousticklers”... all spun for your funky-punky-shock-the-monkey-head-banging-against-the-wall-frustrational enjoyment by “Master DJ Jazzy Jeff Zarkin!”
Note: Jeff, our great friend and master-puzzle-maker, recently wrote me a note that said: “for no rational reason” – music, and how it’s created, has lately been on his mind...
And so, as the expression goes, “Out of mind, onto Puzzleria!”
Enjoy the following five “symphonic sticklers” Jeff hath “composed”...
Two letters doing triple duty!
0. There are a number of three- and four-letter words that use two different letters (for example, OFF, SEES, NOON, EEK! etc.). 
2. 🔨🎕🍋✈Another musical instrument can be rearranged to spell the emotion described
in a Peter, Paul & Mary classic.
What are the instruments, the classic and the emotion?
3. 🔐🏠🏡📗Another musical instrument can be rearranged to something found multiple times in a Sherlock Holmes story. What are the instruments, the classic and the story?
4. 🪰🐜Another musical instrument can be rearranged to spell things used to trap pesky insects.
What are this instrument, and the pesky pest traps?
5. 🫑🥬🥗A musical performance, can be rearranged to get what one might carry leaving an English Greengrocers. What is the art form, and what are you taking home?
MENU
A-Full-Of-F-Words Hors d’Oeuvre:
Fracas in Fleaflickerville!
Frank and a fellow named Fred, who had just moved into Fink Hollow, met at a neighborhood bar and, in-a-flash, became fast friends.
Alas, a felicitous Friday-night finalé (aka, a “happy ending”) was not in the offing...
Fred got a bit fresh, Frida flung her Fresca in his face, and Fred phoned Frank, name-calling him a 14-letter epithet that is an anagram of the combined letters in the two-word 9-letter movie night and the 5-letter unflattering word that Fred used to describe Frida in his phone call to Frank.
What are this unflattering epithet, two-word term for the movie night, and Fred’s unflattering word?
History’s Mystery Slice:
Filling in the blanks of History
Consider following sentence that you might read in a book of history:
“This nation’s capital, _ _ _ _ _ _, _ _ _ _ _ _ _ on its soil in the early and middle years of the 20th Century.”
The letters of the second word are identical to the last three letters of the first word.
The letters of the third word are identical to the first four letters of the first word.
What are the three words?
Hint: The name of the nation, if “beheaded,” spells the surname of an actor who died just before the events of those 20th-Century “middle years.”
Riffing Of Shortz And Green Slices:
“Revenge of the Tita..?. Tige...? No, Motor City Kitties!”
Will Shortz’s May 10th 2026 NPR Weekend Edition Sunday puzzle, created by Joshua Green of Columbia, Maryland, reads:
Replace that place with a single letter and you’ll name a Major League Baseball team. What franchise and team are these?
ENTREE #1
Name a puzzle-maker from a state associated with Calico cats, blue crabs and rock fish.
Rearrange the letters in this
puzzle-maker’s name to spell:
~ an additive for that beverage, and
~ the source of a breakfast entree ingredient.
Who is this puzzle-maker?
What are the breakfast beverage and its additive?
What is the source of a breakfast entree?
Note: Entree #2 through #7 are puzzles crafted by our friend Nodd, author of “Nodd ready for prime time” on Puzzleria!
ENTREE #2
Five consecutive letters are an anagram of something God does in the beginning of the
Bible.
Replace those letters with a single letter and you’ll name an MLB team.
What franchise and team are these?
Think of a film franchise in two words.
The first word, plus one letter of the second word, name an MLB team. What film and team are these?
ENTREE #4
Think of a popular 20th century film that had a sequel in the 21st century.
Replace those letters with a single letter and you’ll name an MLB team.
What film and team are these?
Think of a popular film franchise and remove the first word. From the second word, remove the first three letters.
Then remove four more consecutive letters that are an anagram of a bodily substance. You’ll name an MLB team.
What franchise and team are these?
ENTREE #6
Change one interior letter and insert a space.
You’ll get a company associated with sports and a word associated with the company.
What are the franchise, the company, and the word associated with it?
The first words in the names of two film franchises are the names of two MLB teams. The name of another film franchise, with one letter added, is the name of a third MLB team. The first word in the name of a fourth film franchise is the name of an NFL team.
And if you remove three consecutive letters from the name of a fifth film franchise, you’ll name an NBA team. What franchises are these?
Name a popular 11-letter film franchise with many sequels.
Replace a three-letter expression of greeting
or of leave-taking with a two-letter sun god and you’ll name a Major League Baseball team.
What franchise and team are these?
Dessert Menu:
A “Tsk-Tsk-Text-it-a-Task-it” Dessert:
Can low-tech tools do high-tech tasks?
Delete the initial letters to name two low-tech tools. What are this task and tools?
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!
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.
Note:
ReplyDeleteTo place a comment under this QUESTIONS? subheading (immediately below), or under any of the three subheadings below it (HINTS! and PUZZLE RIFFS! and MY PROGRESS SO FAR...), simply left-click on the orange "Reply" to open a dialogue box where you can make a comment. Thank you.
Lego...
QUESTIONS?
ReplyDeleteHINTS:
ReplyDeleteSUNDAY HINTS FOR ENTREES 2-7:
Delete2. What God does is also a Brit word for classes.
3. The team was once almost treason.
4. Margaret Hamilton’s flower of choice.
5. The first three letters of the second word are often seen at the end of company names.
6. The center of the first word is an eating disorder.
7. Three franchises contain “of the”. One of the others might, naturally, describe Nicole Kidman. The fifth is almost a band whose song was featured in “Animal House”.
EARLY MONDAY AM HINTS:
DeleteSchpuzzle of the Week:
Kitchen gizmos? Ocean creatures?
The "eggbeater" and "chopper," in this puzzle, would likely not fit into most kitchens!
Golden-Ratio-Brass Sections~Fretful attached strings tangled together into Gordian Knots~All Accompanied By Conundrum-Set-Percussion... Appetizer!
I'll check with Jeff later today about providing hints... I gather from some comments that some may be appreciated/needed.
A-Full-Of-F-Words Hors d’Oeuvre:
Fracas in Fleaflickerville!
The "unflattering name Fred used on the phone consists of a first name and surname... the first smacks of fancy eggs, the second of a pet porcine creature surnamed Ziffel.
History's Mystery Slice:
Filling in the Gaps of the Past
The word in the first blank is close to being a palindrome... the "spoiler letters" are adjacent in the alphabet.
Riffing Of Shortz And Green Slices:
“Revenge of the Tita..?. Tige...? No, Motor City Kitties!”
ENTREE #1
~ The breakfast beverage rhymes with candy of brittle but tender texture
~ an additive for that beverage is surely and ingredient in the candy
~ the source of a breakfast entree ingredient is the first syllable of a reddish-brown dye
Please see Nodd's hints for his Entrees # 2 through #7 in his May 17, 2026 at 1:11 PM Comment, above.
ENTREE #8
John Coffee Hays, Frank Hamer, William “Bigfoot” Wallace, George W. Bush...
Dessert Menu
A “Tsk-Tsk-Text-it-a-Task-it” Dessert:
The two-word task is a task not-so-easily accomplished by, say, a shackled-in-chains prisoner (unless, of course, he has somehow smuggled this into his cell!
LegoWorkingOnPreparingViolinTeddy'sStradSteiffSubtletiesForPublicationThisThursday
Thanks for the hints. Not convinced by my answer to the Nicole Kidman hint. I also have what must be an alt for the Dessert, as the hint doesn't fit my answer, which isn't really grammatically correct anyway. Waiting for hints on Jeff's Apps. I'm currently missing #2 and #4.
DeleteBelated Appetizer Hints:
Delete0. "Um... Ought not be too tough... especially if you know your Greek alphabet!"
1. The first word in the answer rhymes the first word in a 2-word Wyoming community; the second word in the answer differs from the second word in that community by only one letter.
2. "...Channeling Little Jackie Paper! Channeling Little Jackie Paper!"
3. "Regard the image... I thought there were only three of those guys... and just what color are those jackets anyway!?"
4. There should be a synonym of "wearables" in the midst of your 2-word answer.
5. Well, you'd be getting a fruit from the Greengrocers (perhaps even two of 'em... fruits with distinctive shapes.
Lego(BeggingJeff'sIndugence)
Thanks, Lego. I'm confused by App 3, which reads, "Another musical instrument can be rearranged to something found multiple times in a Sherlock Holmes story. What are the instruments, the classic and the story?" Are we looking for one instrument, or multiple instruments? What does "the classic" refer to? Thanks.
DeleteThe "classic" in Riff #2 is a song title; in Riff #3 it's a story title.
DeleteHint: The first of the two words in Riff #3's musical instrument is also an "accessory" associated with Sherlock. "Instruments should probably be changed to its singular form. I am pretty sure "classic" refers to the title of the story.
LegoWhoMayAskJeffToWeighInOnTheseGoodQuestions
Thanks for the App hints. Finally have App 4. Still missing App 2, but I have the song at least.
DeleteIf "classic" in the last sentence of #3 referred to the title of the story, it would be redundant to ask "What are the instruments, the classic and the story?" I don't think "classic" belongs in #3 at all. It looks like it was inadvertently carried over from #2. And "instruments" in the last sentences of both #2 and #3 probably should be singular. Maybe Jeff can enlighten us.
DeleteYay, finally figured out App 2! Never tried anagramming this particular instrument for some reason. What's funny is that I had partially suspected some of the emotion, but I was trying a different instrument, one related to the right answer (and is also part of the answer in App 3).
DeleteNodd, I wouldn't worry too much. Yes, it does seem like a copy/paste error. This isn't like NPR where the answer has to be exact (or close to it). If you have the instrument and anagram, I would think that's sufficient.
PUZZLE RIFFS:
ReplyDeleteMY PROGRESS SO FAR...
ReplyDeleteIF YOU HAVE COMMENTS THAT DO NOT PERTAIN TO ANY OF THE FOUR CATEGORIES ABOVE, YOU MAY WRITE THEM BELOW THIS POST. THANK YOU.
ReplyDeleteGood Weekend Eve to you all!
ReplyDeleteMom's been feeling better lately, but we didn't eat out this evening. Mia Kate had to go to rehearsal for the dance recital coming up Sunday afternoon at 2:00pm, and Bryan and Renae had gone out for lunch this afternoon. Mom has recently turned her attention to a couple of items that Aldi has had available in the past: some blueberry bread and some oatmeal cranberry cookies. Unfortunately, Aldi has not had either of these in stock at all this past week. Nevertheless, this hasn't stopped her from going there, with yours truly in tow, and making me go in to check and see if they have it again. Took me over there Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday. Each time, I found none of these two items in the bread or cookie sections. Mom says she's checked about seven different times over the course of two weeks, but I only remember going the three times. She's also angry at Bryan because he came by to visit Wednesday, and he said he got the blueberry bread at Aldi and loved it, but obviously when he went they still had it. She says the least he could do would be to buy some to give to her, but he hasn't. Anyway, he was lucky enough to find it whenever he went, but Mom hasn't found it again yet. Finally, I suggested she go get me some supper at a driver through this evening, because today she said this time she's going to go without me and try to find it again herself. She left at the end of "Celebrity Jeopardy", close to 8:00pm. She got me a Jalapeno Pepper jack Double Burger, Onion Rings, a Diet Dr. Pepper, and a Reese's Royal for dessert, from Freddy's here in town, and she stopped by Aldi. Unfortunately, she said when she went in they ran her out, because they were just closing up, as they usually do around 8:00pm. But somebody working there said they'd probably have her bread and cookies there next week, although they're "seasonal". So if and when she gets them sometime next week, that should be the end of that. We can only hope.
Now for this week's puzzles.
I did my best last night, and was able to solve the Schpuzzle, the Slice, and all Entrees except #7(got half the answers, but then I found out what I thought was one of the first two MLB teams was actually one of the NFL teams, and beyond that, nothing). Looking forward to any and all hints to come from everyone involved going into next week(this means you too, Jeff, with your difficult musical instrument anagrams!).
Good luck in solving to all, and please stay safe, and may wherever y'all choose to get your groceries where you live have everything you're looking for. Cranberry out!
pjbDoesn'tEvenRememberWhatTheBlueberryBreadPackagingEvenLooksLike!
Thank you Patrick, for posting that Friday report... always a "must read!"
DeleteGlad to hear your mother is doing better. I believe I speak for all of us when I say, "Please relay to YOUR SAINTLY MOTHER our hopes and wishes for her robust health."
LegoWhoHopesWeAllHoldOnToOurHealthHopeAndHappiness
pjb, glad to see your mom is better!
DeleteMaybe I'm missing something, but if the bread is showing up as out of stock, why would you go through the effort of going there, and not once, but many times to look for it? Maybe there is another Aldi within driving distance that has it. Does Aldi have any sort of feature to put the bread "on hold" so that if it is in stock, an employee can save it for you, so it doesn't sell by the time you get there?
Or can it be ordered online?
DeleteCongratulations to Lego -- this must be a record for Sunday Challenges!
ReplyDeleteNodd, I guess it's on earlier where you live (or NPR/Blaine has posted it). The puzzle is still an hour from airing where I live. But congrats to Lego!
DeletePeople will get the puzzle from the NPR newsletter and post it on Blaine's before it airs or is published on the NPR site. You can find it at the end of the comments for the previous week, as Blaine won't have posted the puzzle yet.
DeleteOK. I don't get the NPR newsletter. I have seen the new puzzle sometimes posted on the old puzzle's thread. No wonder you almost always seem to have a quick answer when Blaine posts the new thread.
DeleteToday's puzzle was a bit funny. I saw the wordplay for the two names a few months ago, but never bothered to flesh out the puzzle. However, it didn't help me solve the puzzle! It's not until I consulted a list when I saw the actor's name and then I realized it was a puzzle I never finished writing.
Yes, if it's an easy puzzle I can usually solve it and have a hint prepared by the time Blaine's blog goes online, making me look smarter than I actually am!
DeleteYou're plenty smart already, Nodd...no need for secret/early tricks!
DeleteKind of you to say so, VT. 🙂
DeleteI've been working through the puzzles a bit at a time. Still missing two Apps and a bunch more.
ReplyDeleteI still don't understand the "omelet" hint from last week. If someone could explain that, I'd appreciate it.
Tortitude,
DeleteMy profound apologies for being so tardy... Not only in not answering but in even seemingly ignoring your legitimate request!
Alas, I seem to have baffled myself more-than-a-bit with my hint!
My puzzle reads:
Shakespearean Slice:
Breakfast with the Bard
Transpose consecutive letters in a word associated with William Shakespeare.
Voicing the result sounds a bit like a three-syllable food.
What are this Shakespearean word and food?
The answer is OMELET
(HAMLET =>AHMLET sounds like OMELET)...
My Hint reads:
This food, if you roll it roughly an inch along a surface (causing it to rotate about 100 degrees) will become either "overnight lodging" or a "bovine bellow!"
I just cannot recall what I was thinking when I wrote: if you roll it roughly an inch along a surface (causing it to rotate about 100 degrees)...
But I think it must be something like printing the word OMELET on a strip of paper, scotch-taping the ends together, and reading the result in reverse to produce a repeating circular string, reading:
O M E L E T O M E L E T O M E L E T O M E L E T O M E L E ...
That generates endless MOTELs (overnight lodgings) but, alas, no MOOs!
But it's close...
But here is where your hinter committed his fatal error! He thought, for some unknown reason, that he needed to generate an M... even though he already had an infinity of perfectly fine M's! (This was where by "rotate about 100 degrees" nutty idea came from: rotate an E 100 degrees clockwise but why not just 90 degrees clockwise?! to form a superfluous M!
Indeed, it was all so unnecessary! We had all the O's M's E's L's & T's we needed in order to whip up more MOTELs and MOOs than you could count (i.e. "countless!" or "infinite") before the cows came home, and the OMELET-producing hens came home to roost!
LegoTheWorstHinterOnPlanetEarth!
Lego, thanks for the explanation. I wasn't even close. I thought that the answer had something to do with "inn" and not "motel." I did notice that Nodd and maybe some others solved it.
DeleteThe above explanation somehow brings a "Möbius strip" to mind. (My brother and I were fascinated by those as kids.). I am tempted to add: "no need for any MOOOs in Mobius!"
DeleteA lot of post hints this week.
ReplyDeleteSchpuzzle: RISER, HOVER, RIVER HORSE, HIPPOPOTAMUS
App:
0. MUUMUU
1. SAXOPHONE, SAXON HOPE
2. GRAND PIANO, PUFF THE MAGIC DRAGON, DRAGON PAIN (once I saw the hint, I knew the right song, but I was trying ORGAN / DRAGON instead - no idea what the photo is supposed to represent - gopher love?)
3. PIPE ORGAN, ORANGE PIP, THE FIVE ORANGE PIPS
4. BASS GUITAR, SUGAR BAITS
5. OPERETTA, PEAR TOTE
Hors d’Oeuvre: BENEDICT ARNOLD, BLIND DATE, CRONE
Slice: WARSAW, SAW WARS
Entrees:
1. JOSHUA GREEN; JOE, SUGAR; HEN
2. TRANSFORMERS, RANGERS
3. NATIONAL TREASURE, NATIONALS
4. MARY POPPINS (-POPPY. +L), MARLINS
5. THE INCREDIBLES (-INC, BILE), REDS
6. DESPICABLE ME, ESPN, CABLE
7. PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN, GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY, REDS, RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARK, KINGSMAN
8. THE AVENGERS (-AVE), THE RANGERS
Dessert: (Alt: ) TAX FILE, AX FILE
SCHPUZZLE – RISER, HOVER; RIVER HORSE; HIPPOPOTAMUS
ReplyDeleteAPPETIZERS
0. MUUMUU (intended answer, based on the hint); DEEDED
1. SAXOPHONE; SAXON HOPE
2. ?
3. PIPE ORGAN?
4. BASS GUITAR, SUGAR BAITS
5. TUBA RAGA, RUTABAGA (but it’s not a fruit, so must be wrong)
HORS D’OEUVRE – BENEDICT ARNOLD; BLIND DATE, CRONE
SLICE – WARSAW, SAW WARS
ENTREES
1. JOSHUA GREEN; JOE, SUGAR, HEN
2. “TRANSFORMERS”; RANGERS
3. “NATIONAL TREASURE”; NATIONALS
4. “MARY POPPINS”; MARLINS
5. “THE INCREDIBLES”; REDS
6. “DESPICABLE ME”; ESPN, CABLE
7. “PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN”, “GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY”, “RED”, “RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARK”, “KINGSMAN”
8. THE AVENGERS; THE RANGERS
DESSERT – OPEN LINK; PEN, INK (I also thought of [adjusting a] BRAKE SHOE => RAKE, HOE)
Oops, I misread the Dessert instructions. I thought I was only supposed to delete the first letter of the first word and leave the second intact.
DeleteI'm not sure if my "open link" answer is right. I thought of it based on the hints, but it didn't occur to me until after the deadline so I can't really take credit for it anyway.
DeleteI think it's right because it fits the bolt cutters / prisoner hint.
DeleteAs far as being late with the answer goes, I think as long as you post your answers before you read Lego's official answers, it counts.
But I assume you'd agree it's not appropriate to copy someone else's answer(s) even if you do so before the official answers are posted. Otherwise, I'd just copy your answers every week and save a lot of work!
DeleteSchpuzzle
ReplyDeleteRIVER HORSE(hippopotamus)=RISER, HOVER(The "eggbeater" or "chopper" in question is slang for a helicopter.)
Appetizer Menu
0. MUUMUU
1. SAXOPHONE=SAXON HOPE
2. GRAND PIANO=DRAGON PAIN, "PUFF THE MAGIC DRAGON"(1963)
3. PIPE ORGAN=ORANGE PIP, "THE FIVE ORANGE PIPS"(1891)
4. BASS GUITAR=SUGAR BAITS
5. OPERETTA=PEAR TOTE
Menu
A-Full-Of-F-Words Hors d'Oeuvre
BENEDICT ARNOLD, BLIND DATE, CRONE
History's Mystery Slice
WARSAW SAW WARS, POLAND, (Warren)OLAND(1879-1938)
Entrees
1. JOSHUA GREEN=JOE(coffee), SUGAR, HEN(supplier of the egg)
2. "TRANSFORMERS", FORMS(switched to G), RANGERS
3. "NATIONAL TREASURE", NATIONALS
4. "MARY POPPINS", POPPY(switched to L), MARLINS
5. "THE INCREDIBLES", INC and BILE(ible)removed, REDS
6. "DESPICABLE ME", ESPN(I switched to N), CABLE
7. "PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN", "GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY", "REDS", "RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARK", "KINGSMAN"-MAN=KINGS
8. "THE AVENGERS", AVE(switched to RA)=THE RANGERS
A "Tsk-Tsk-Text-it-a-Task-it" Dessert
OPEN LINK, PEN, INK
BTW I am no longer alone in my family by having diabetes. My brother Bryan has recently been diagnosed with it as well. While I could do a lot better managing mine, Bryan has immediately gone into "cold turkey" mode with his. Actually, he said he's a "cold turkey type" when he was here earlier this evening. If and when we ever go out to eat again on Friday nights, it will probably be slightly different. So far, we've missed a few Fridays this past month or two or so. If Mia Kate wants to eat out, chances are he won't be joining us. I'll let you know if we do eat out this Friday, and what we ate(as usual). See y'all then.-pjb
I believe all of us here on out blog wish you and your entire extended family the best of health, Patrick.
DeleteLegoWhoNotesThatTurkey(UnlikeRevenge)IsNotADishBestServedCold!
I didn't have the time or oomph to try to tackle much this week, having had some surgery yesterday.
ReplyDeleteSCHPUZZLE: HELICOPTER => RISER(?), HOVER => RIVER HORSE => HIPPO
APPETIZERS: 2. PUFF THE MAGIC DRAGON
HORS D’O: BENEDICT ARNOLD => BLIND DATE & CRONE
SLICE: WARSAW, SAW WARS [Pre-hint]
ENTREES:
1. JOSHUA GREEN => JOE, SUGAR, HEN
2. TRANSFORMERS minus ‘FORMS' => RANGERS
4. POPPY?
8. AVENGERS minus AVE , add RA => RANGERS
DESSERT: SCANNER => CANNER?
I hope your surgery went well, VT, and wish you a quick recovery.
DeleteVT, I agree with Nodd: I hope everything is going well with you.
DeleteThanks so much, Nodd and Tortie. I appreciate it. (AM not sure you will even SEE this reply from me, given that a new P! is about to appear, presumably.). I'm coming along, but have done a LOT of sleeping!
DeleteThis week's official answers for the record, part 1:
ReplyDeleteSchpuzzle of the Week:
Kitchen gizmos? Ocean creatures?
Take a five-letter noun for an eggbeater or chopper when you begin using it, and a five-letter verb for what it may then do.
Rearrange these letters to spell the two-word etymology of the name of a creature related to whales.
What are this noun, verb, two-word etymology and creature?
Hint: The creature related to whales is an African creature.
ANSWER:
Riser, Hover; "River Horse," Hippopotamus; ("Eggbeater" and "chopper" are synonyms of "helicopter.")
Lego...
This week's official answers for the record, part 2:
ReplyDeleteAppetizer Menu
Golden-Ratio-Brass Sections~Fretful attached strings tangled together into Gordian Knots~All Accompanied By Conundrum-Set-Percussion... Appetizer!:
Hard(as)Rock-yet-Easy-“lisolving,” Classical, Pop Heavy-Metal & “acousticklers”... all spun for your funky-punky-shock-the-monkey-head-banging-against-the-wall-frustrational enjoyment by “Master DJ Jazzy Jeff Zarkin!”
Note: Jeff, our great friend and master-puzzle-maker, recently wrote me a note that said: “for no rational reason” – music, and how it’s created, has lately been on his mind...
And so, as the expression goes, “Out of mind, onto Puzzleria!”
Enjoy the following five “symphonic sticklers” Jeff hath “composed”...
But first... before we “face the music,” here is a quite challenging vowel/consonant puzzle Jeff whipped up to whet our puzzle-hungry palates. Think of it as an “appetizing prelude to a symphonic feast.”
Two letters doing triple duty!
0. There are a number of three- and four-letter words that use two different letters (for example, OFF, SEES, NOON, EEK! etc.).
Can you think of a six-letter words that contains only two letters?
This word, when spelled aloud in a kind of “wordplayful way,” can sound as if it only has four letters!
What is this six-letter word?
ANSWER:
Muumuu (Which can be spelled aloud as "M double-U Double-U" (MWMW)
Roy Or*ison’s Voice?
1. 🙏The name of a musical instrument can be rearranged to get how one might describe an early Breton’s prayer. What are the instrument and prayer?
ANSWER:
SAXOPHONE anagrams to SAXON HOPE
Peter, Paul & Emotive Music
2. 🔨🎕🍋✈Another musical instrument can be rearranged to spell the emotion described
in a Peter, Paul & Mary classic.
What are the instruments, the classic and the emotion?
ANSWER:
Grand Piano, "Puff the Magic Dragon," "Dragon Pain" (Grand +Piano=Dragon+Pain)
Instrumentally Mysterious
3. 🔐🏠🏡📗Another musical instrument can be rearranged to something found multiple times in a Sherlock Holmes story. What are the instruments, the classic and the story?
ANSWER:
Pipe Organ anagrams to Orange Pip, and Holmes solved, “The Mystery of the Five Orange Pips"
Venus (in Bluejeans) Fly Trap?
4. 🪰🐜Another musical instrument can be rearranged to spell things used to trap pesky insects.
What are this instrument, and the pesky pest traps?
ANSWER:
Bass Guitar….Sugar Baits
“More Greens but fewer ‘Greens’”
5. 🫑🥬🥗A musical performance, can be rearranged to get what one might carry leaving an English Greengrocers.
What is the art form, and what are you taking home?
ANSWER:
Operetta….pear tote
Lego...
This week's official answers for the record, part 3:
ReplyDeleteMENU
A-Full-Of-F-Words Hors d’Oeuvre:
Fracas in Fleaflickerville!
Frank and a fellow named Fred, who had just moved into Fink Hollow, met at a neighborhood bar and, in-a-flash, became fast friends.
As a token of their newfound mutual fellowship, Frank bought tickets for his sister Frida and his freshly-minted friend Fred to attend a Friday-night creature-feature film, “Frankenstein’s Theory of Captivity,” at the “artsy” Fantasyfilm Flickerfest Family CinemaPlex, just down the freeway in the town of Fleaflickerville..
Alas, a felicitous Friday-night finalé (aka, a “happy ending”) was not in the offing...
Fred got a bit fresh, Frida flung her Fresca in his face, and Fred phoned Frank, calling him a 14-letter name that is an anagram of the combined letters in the two-word movie night (9) and the five-letter unflattering word that Fred used to describe Frida in his phone call to Frank.
What are this unflattering name, two-word term for the movie night, and unflattering word?
Answer:
Benedict Arnold; BLIND DATE; Crone
Hint: The 14-letter name suggests betrayal"
History’s Mystery Slice:
Filling in the Gaps of the Past
Consider following sentence that you might read in a book of history:
“This nation’s capital, _ _ _ _ _ _, _ _ _ _ _ _ _ on its soil in the early and middle years of the 20th Century.”
Fill the letters into the blanks. The letters of the second word are identical to the last three letters of the first word. The letters of the third word are identical to the first four letters of the first word. What are the three words?
Hint: The name of the nation, if “beheaded,” spells the surname of an actor who died just before the events of those 20th-Century “middle years.”
Answer:
"... Warsaw, saw wars..."
(during Russo-Polish War, 1919-20; 1919-20, and in September 1939 and 1943-44)
(German Invasion of Poland, Soviet Union invasion of Poland, The Fall of Warsaw, September 1939;
The first major uprisings against Nazi Germany began in Warsaw on April, 1943; the second uprising began In August,1944.)
Hint: Warner Oland, famous for his portrayal of Charlie Chan, died in 1938.
I swear on a stack of Gideons that my mention of Warner Oland in my hint above is a pure coincidence!
Lego...
This week's official answers for the record, part 4:
ReplyDeleteRiffing Off Shortz And Green Slices:
“Revenge of the Tita..?. Tige...? No, Motor City Kitties!”
ENTREE #1
Name a puzzlemaker from a state associated with Calico cats, blue crabs and rock fish.
Rearrange the letters in this puzzlemaker's name to spell:
~ a breakfast beverage,
~ an additive for that beverage, and
~ the source of a breakfast entree ingredient.
Who is this puzzlemaker?
What are the breakfast beverage and its additive?
What is the source of a breakfast entree?
Answer:
Joshua Green; Joe (coffee); Sugar; Hen (source of scrambled eggs)
Lego...
This week's official answers for the record, part 5:
ReplyDeleteRiffs #2 thru #7 are Nodd's handiwork.
ENTREE #2
Think of a popular film franchise and remove the first letter. Five consecutive letters are an anagram of something God does in the beginning of the Bible. Replace those letters with a single letter and you'll name an MLB team. What franchise and team are these?
Answer:
“TRANSFORMERS”; RANGERS
ENTREE #3
Think of a film franchise in two words. The first word, plus one letter of the second word, name an MLB team. What film and team are these?
Answer:
“NATIONAL TREASURE”; NATIONALS
Note: Sportswriter Charles Dryden memorably dubbed the team “first in war, first in peace and last in the American League
ENTREE #4
Think of a popular 20th century film that had a sequel in the 21st century. Five consecutive letters of the title of the original film are an anagram of a flower believed by some to be referred to in the Bible. Replace those letters with a single letter and you'll name an MLB team. What film and team are these?
Answer:
“MARY POPPINS”; MARLINS
ENTREE #5
Think of a popular film franchise and remove the first word. From the second word, remove the first three letters. Then remove four more consecutive letters that are an anagram of a bodily substance. You'll name an MLB team. What franchise and team are these?
Answer:
“THE INCREDIBLES”; REDS
ENTREE #6
Remove the second word of a two-word film franchise and the first letter of the first word. Change one interior letter and insert a space. You’ll get a company associated with sports and a word associated with the company. What are the franchise, the company, and the word associated with it?
Answer:
“DESPICABLE ME”; ESPN, CABLE
ENTREE #7
The first words in the names of two film franchises are the names of two MLB teams. The name of another film franchise, with one letter added, is the name of a third MLB team. The first word in the name of a fourth film franchise is the name of an NFL team. And if you remove three consecutive letters from the name of a fifth film franchise, you’ll name an NBA team. What franchises are these?
Answer:
“PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN”, “GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY”, “RED”, “RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARK”, “KINGSMAN”
Lego...
This week's official answers for the record, part 6:
ReplyDeleteENTREE #8
Name a popular 11-letter film franchise with many sequels.
Replace a three-letter expression of greeting or of leave-taking with a two-letter sun god and you’ll name a Major League Baseball team. What franchise and team are these?
Answer: "The Avengers"; (Texas) Rangers
(The Avengers – Ave + Ra => The Rangers)
Dessert Menu
A “Tsk-Tsk-Text-it-a-Task-it” Dessert:
Can low-tech tools do high-tech tasks?
Name a two-word task easily accomplished using a high-tech tool.
Delete the initial letters to name two low-tech tools.
What are this task and tools?
Answer:
Open link (on computer); pen, ink
Lego!