9 and 19 are fine, but 29 skidoo! The heartbreak of cinemoriasis; Letter-switcherooin’ Suite; Laciport stiurf & mayoral eponymy; Solving for x... wisely

PUZZLERIA! SLICES: OVER 3(7!) SERVED

Schpuzzle Of The Week:
Letter-switcherooin’ Suite

Note: This week’s Schpuzzle is actually a suite of four puzzles. 
But fret not. If you solve just one puzzle and you’ll likely solve all four.
🎨1.Name an object in a painting by a European surrealist. 
Replace one letter with a different letter to name the color of the object. 
What are the object and color?
🍺🍷2. Name something you might do to beer on a hot summer day. 
Replace one letter with a different letter to name something you might do to wine on a cold winter evening. 
What are these two things?
🗽3. Take just the last word in the title of a colossal sculpture. 
Replace one letter in this word to name the plural artistic heading under which the sculpture might be categorized. 
What are this title and heading?
⛄4. Take a one-word synonym of “breaking away.” 
Replace two adjacent letters in the synonym with two other letters to form a possible two-word newspaper headline for a 2010 weather-related mishap in Minnesota. 
What are this headline and synonym?
Hint: The mishap involved snow. 

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Geofantastic Appetizer:
Laciport stiurf & mayoral eponymy

Puzzling fruits
🍍🍌🍉🍊Think of a tropical fruit. Spell it backwards. Replace the final letter in this result with another letter to form the genus name for a different tropical fruit. This genus name is the name for this second fruit in most Western languages (notably excepting Spanish and English). 
What are the original fruit and the genus of the second fruit?

Never woulda thought it
🤔The name for a convention center in a major American city sounds as if it is named for the city. In reality, the convention center is named for a former mayor of this same city. What is the city and the name of the convention center?

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Neighborly letter Slice:
9 and 19 are fine, but 29 skidoo!

Spell out two consecutive letters of an alphabet. 
Rearrange the letters of the result to form two words that equal 9 or 19 but not 29. 
What are the two letters?
What two words equal 9 or 19 but not 29?

Riffing Off Shortz And Weiss Slices:
Solving for x... wisely

Will Shortz’s May 31st NPR Weekend Edition Sunday puzzle, created by Scott Weiss, of Walkersville, Maryland, reads:
Think of a familiar three-word name of something. The first word in that name is a number. Let’s call that number “x.” The last “x” letters of the second word of the name are a French translation of the third word. What’s the name? 
Puzzleria!s Riffing Off Shortz And Weiss Slices read:
ENTREE #1:
Think of an unfamiliar three-word phrase describing the span of time that certain series of films – like the “Lord of the Rings,” “Back to the Future” or “Godfather” franchises – are shown in theaters. The first word in that phrase is a number. Let’s call that number “x.” The last “x” letters of the second word of the phrase are a French translation of the third word. 
What’s the name?
Note: There is a hyphen connecting the first two words in the phrase. 
ENTREE #2:
Think of an unfamiliar three-word phrase for a handful of prosthesis-like props (including two spares) perhaps used by actress Kristin Bauer van Straten in a “Seinfeld” episode. 
The first word in that phrase is a number. Let’s call that number “x.” The “x” letters of the second word of the phrase (if you delete the apostrophe and insert an “i” in the middle, making it x+1 letters) spell a French translation of the third word. 
What’s the phrase?
ENTREE #3:
Think of a very unfamiliar three-word phrase for the Vitamin B2 content in a certain beverage. 
The first word in that phrase is a number. Let’s call that number “x.” The last “x” letters of the second word of the phrase are a French translation of the third word. 
What’s the phrase? 
Note: There is a hyphen connecting the first two words in the phrase.
ENTREE #4:
Think of a very unfamiliar three-word caption for the image of the competition pictured here. The first word in that caption is a number. Let’s call that number “x.” 
The last “x” letters of the second word of the caption are a French translation of the third word. 
What’s the caption?
Note: There is a hyphen connecting the first two words in the caption.
ENTREE #5:
Think of a three-word definition for a tricorn. The first word in that name is a number. 
Let’s call that number “x.” 
The last “x” letters of the second word of the definition spell an adjective that pertains to one of the four tricorns in the multiple-choice question pictured here. 
What’s the definition? 
Which of the tricorns in the multiple-choice question should you choose?
Note: There is a hyphen connecting the first two words in the definition.
ENTREE #6:
Think of a somewhat familiar three-word name of a creature. The first word in that name is a number. 
Let’s call that number “x.” The last “x” letters of the second word of the name spell the abbreviated title of a revered multi-volumned dictionary. That dictionary’s definition of the third word in the name of the creature reads: “an edendate arboreal mammal of a sluggish nature, inhabiting tropical parts of Central and South America.” 
What’s the name of the creature?
Note: There is a hyphen connecting the first two words in the definition.
Hint: The second word in the three-word-named creature is a homophone of another creature.
ENTREE #7:
There is a familiar three-word idiom for an evening so bitterly cold that one cannot fall asleep. In the arctic regions of Canada and Greenland, however, the first two words in that idiom (which are linked with a hyphen) are sometimes changed. 
In these regions, the first word in the idiom is a different number. 
Let’s call that number “x.” 
The last “x” letters of the second word of the idiom are a French translation of the third word. 
What’s this altered idiom?
Hint: The second word of the idiom is an arctic breed of working creature.
ENTREE #8:
During World War II German-occupied France was bombed by British and U.S.forces. Allied incendiary bombings of Caen in Normandy on July 8 and 9, 1944, necessitated imposition of a succession of evening stay-indoor directives from July 8 through to July 10.
Take a three-word phrase describing these directives. The first word in that phrase is a number. Let’s call that number “x.” The last “x” letters of the second word of the phrase spell a homophone of a French translation of the third word. 
What’s the phrase?

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Lynchpin Dessert:
The heartbreak of cinemoriasis

Name a four-word movie title from the mid-1950s. 
Rearrange the combined letters of its first and third
words to spell a seven-letter proper noun. 
Rearrange the combined letters of its second and fourth words to spell a seven-letter common noun. Those two nouns form a phrase that describes Stan Lynch, who spent 18 years as a Heartbreaker.
What are this movie title and phrase?
Hint: One of the four words in the movie title is really really short.

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.

Doggerel that just dozen’t die! Filthily lucrative flummoxen; What’s the color of a cataclysm? Lose a letter, win; lose a letter, lose! Great American novel? No... great American nosh!

PUZZLERIA! SLICES: OVER 3(7!) SERVED

Schpuzzle Of The Week: 
Great American novel? No... great American nosh!



Replace the last word in the title of a 20th-Century novel with a synonym. 
The initial letters in this altered title spell a healthy food. 
What are this title and food?

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“PerCASHion” Conundrums
Filthily lucrative flummoxen 

🥁1. Think of a synonym for currency. 
Add an A and rearrange. 
The result will be a type of worker.
🥁2. Name an honorific. 
Remove a letter to name someone who is tight with money. 
Remove a different letter from the honorific to name a term from carpentry.
🥁3. Name a currency. 
Place a letter at the start and end to name a small part of the body. 
Place a different letter in the center to name something even smaller.

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Circular Slice:
Doggerel that just dozen’t die! 

I have x’ed out a dozen words in this circular piece of doggerel that I created about a half-century ago. Unlike fine wine, it has not aged particularly well! 
Still, it has somehow survived.  
In any event, what are these twelve words?
Hint: For each word, the number of x’s is equal to the number of letters.

Riffing Off Shortz And Berry Slices:
Lose a letter, win; lose a letter, lose!

Will Shortz’s May 24th NPR Weekend Edition Sunday puzzle, created by Patrick J. Berry of Jasper, Alabama, reads: 
Think of a well-known European city in seven letters. If you remove the third letter, you’ll get a two-word phrase describing what you must do to win a race. If instead you remove the fourth letter, you’ll get a two-word phrase describing what you can’t do to win a race. What’s the city?

Puzzleria!s Riffing Off Shortz And Berry Slices read:
ENTREE #1:
Think of a puzzle-maker, in 13 letters, whose first name rhymes with a two-word stage performance.
Double the third, fifth, sixth and ninth letters in the name, resulting in a total of 17 letters. 
Rearrange these letters to form:
* one of two participants in the stage performance (6 letters)
* what the other participant does to the 6-letter participant during the performance’s finale (4 letters)
* a word associated with the puzzle-maker (7 letters).
Who is this puzzle-maker?
What is the stage performance? 
What are the performance participant, what the other participant does to that participant, and the word associated with the puzzle-maker?
ENTREE #2:
Think of a well-known Asian city in six letters that is associated with a certain enclosure in eight letters. 
If you remove the third and sixth letters of the city, you’ll get another word associated with that enclosure. 
What’s the city?
What are the enclosure and the other word associated with it?
ENTREE #3:
Think of a well-known European city in five letters. 
If you remove the second letter, you’ll get a word spoken by inhabitants of the city that means “taken.” 
If instead you remove the fourth letter, you’ll get such a word meaning “leave.” 
If instead you remove the fifth letter, you’ll get such a word meaning “bet.” 
What’s the city?
What are the three words?
ENTREE #4:
Think of a well-known South American city in eight letters. 
If you remove the first four letters, you’ll get a Shakespearean character. 
If instead you remove the first and sixth letters, then tack a U.S. breadbasket state postal abbreviation onto the end, you’ll get a Sophocles character. 
What’s the city?
Who are the two characters?
ENTREE #5:
Think of a well-known European city in six letters. 
If you get rid of the first and third letters, you’ll get a word describing the climate of the continent south of the city. 
If instead you get rid of the fourth and fifth letters, you’ll get an acronym for a 40-year-old North American non-profit organization.
What’s the city?
What are the climate and non-profit?
ENTREE #6:
Think of a well-known European city in nine letters. 
If you remove the fourth and ninth letters, you’ll get a common noun followed by a proper noun. 
The proper noun is the first name of a person who appears to be striving to raise the technological [common noun]. 
What’s the city?
Who is the person? 
What is the technological [common noun] that this person is trying to raise?
Hint: The person has been in the national news this past week.
ENTREE #7:
Think of a well-known African city in ten letters. If you divide the city into three parts, you’ll get 
* the first name of an NHL star associated with Washington, D.C.; 
* a common conjunction, and
* an anagram of the first name of a past multi-millionaire whose wife was associated with Washington, D.C. 
What’s the city?
Who are the NHL star and the multi-millionaire?

Dessert Menu

Phenomenological Dessert:
What’s the color of a cataclysm? 

Name a cataclysmic geological phenomenon, in eight letters. 
Remove half its letters, an equal number from the beginning and end, leaving the color of the phenomenon. 
What is this phenomenon?
Hint: The color of the phenomenon can also serve as a prefix indicating the locus of the phenomenon. 

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.

Madmen and Scotsmen, lions and tabbies, heroes and fools; Exploring the deserts of Europe; Sun in a run for the roses; Department of Wealth, Medication and Housewares; Put some bread in my jar!

PUZZLERIA! SLICES: OVER 8!/20 SERVED

Schpuzzle Of The Week:
Exploring the deserts of Europe

A word in a name on the European map sounds like a letter of the alphabet. 
Replace the word with the letter it sounds like. 
Rearrange the first four letters of this result to spell a word describing deserts, and rearrange the final five letters to spell things found in deserts. 
What is this name on the map?

Appetizer Menu

Cryptic Crossword Appetizer:
Madmen and Scotsmen, lions and tabbies, heroes and fools

Greetings, cryptic crossword aficionados. Patrick J. Berry (screen name, “cranberry”) has presented us with his fifteenth 15-by-15 grid of mystifying fun. 
Here are the links to Patrick’s fourteen previous cryptic crosswords on Puzzleria!
ONE TWO THREE FOUR FIVE 
SIX SEVEN EIGHT NINE TEN ELEVEN
TWELVE THIRTEEN FOURTEEN
If you are unfamiliar with cryptic crossword puzzles, here are a few basic cryptic crossword puzzle instructions:
Regarding the Across and Down clues and their format...
The number in parentheses at the end of each clue tells how many letters are in the answer. 
Multiple numbers in parentheses indicate how letters are distributed in multiple-word answers.
For example, (6) simply indicates a six-letter answer like “jalopy,” (5,3) indicates a five-and-three-letter answer like “cargo van,” and (5-5) indicates a five-and-five-letter hyphenated answer like “Rolls-Royce.”
(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. 
The Tutorial appears below the grid that contains the answers in that edition of Puzzleria!)

ACROSS
1. Defying the odds, real comic legend-turned-easygoing daytime talk show host(5,9)
9. Called “soft” and “old”(5)
10. Strike back with good figure of speech in dangerous situation(9)
11. Ambassador’s failure during bad year(8)
12. Not just broadcast, “fun” broadcast!(6)
14. Eats, happy to dig into seconds(4)
15. Not hard covering Black Sabbath classic without heavy metal band?(4,6)
18. Poem seen as poorly written magic words?(4,6)
19. Go right inside, showing determination(4)
21. Fool with story about dog(6)
23. Perfection in cryptic: I mislead!(8)
25. Gang finds tabby in Disney remake(9)
26. Beef with a Scotsman?(5)
27. Author’s great war novel has a twist ending, framed by humor(8,6)

DOWN
1. Say lines so funny with a straight face(14)
2. Appealing sort of bonus(9)
3. Madman providing insult, one that’s barely there?(6)
4. Jimmy supporting record company(10)
5. Extremely excited guy, highly strung(4)
6. Foreigner, one going to college in England, gets point(8)
7. Drink up to hide personal problem? It can make you sick!(5)
8. Comment from Her Majesty, awfully mad–tore us a new one, going off!(2,3,3,6)
13. Drive a man insane with some tweeted comment?(10)
16. Courage of alien raised to accept “being human”?(7-2)
17. Hoping to keep one in a vault?(8)
20. Empty container put inside larger container(6)
22. Present-day hero with some pleasant advice(5)
24. Lion’s first appearance in den(4)

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Piano Bar Slice:
Put some bread in my jar!

Name another word for the “bread” a patron may put into a piano bar jar and a word patrons use to address the piano player, according to certain song lyrics. 
Rearrange the letters in these words to name where a patron might get the bread and what he might use to get it. 

Riffing Off Shortz Slices:
Department of Wealth, Medication and Housewares 

Will Shortz’s May 17th NPR Weekend Edition Sunday puzzle reads:
Name a Cabinet department – as in “Department of ___.” Rearrange the letters of what goes in the blank to get the brand name of a product you might find at a drugstore or supermarket. 
What is it?
Puzzleria!s Riffing Off Shortz Slices read:
ENTREE #1
Name a Cabinet department – as in “Department of ___.” 
Rearrange the letters of what goes in the blank to get a two-word tool that can be found in the interior of your car – most likely in the trunk. 
What is it?
ENTREE #2
Name a Cabinet department – as in “Department of ___.” 
Rearrange the letters of what goes in the blank to get the two-word brand name of a product you can find, for example, at Target stores or at Wayfair.com. It is a product you can either walk upon or hang on a wall. 
What is it?
Hint: The first word in the brand name was a noblewoman in ancient Rome.
ENTREE #3
Name a two-word Cabinet department – as in “Department of ___ ____.” 
Rearrange the letters of what goes in the two blanks to get a possible three-word stage name of Don Rickles. 
What is it?
ENTREE #4
Name a now-defunct two-word Cabinet department – as in “Department of ___ ____.” 
Rearrange the 14 letters of what goes in the two blanks to get three words: a kind of expedition associated with a certain continent, a nation in that continent, and the first word in the phrase “___ the beaten path,” which describes the location of such expeditions. What are these three words?
ENTREE #5
Cab and Nettie Robinson are ornithophiles. They have a pond in their spacious backyard where birds of a feather – of the family Anatidae – are free to flock together. The pond is surrounded by birdbaths where other birds are free to perform splashy ablutions.
On one merry morning in March (with the temperature at 39 degrees Fahrenheit), Nettie and Cab install a trough on the periphery of the pond where their wading and paddling birds could help themselves to birdseed (see illustration).
Give a two-word name for the birdseed trough. Rearrange the letters in those two words to form the words that fill the following blanks: “Department of ___” and “Department of _______,” which are the former and current names of a U.S. cabinet department.
Now change an F in the two-word name for the birdseed trough to a T. Rearrange the result to form an adjective and noun that describe the contents, on that particular March morning, of the pond and birdbaths. 
What U.S. cabinet department is is this? What is the birdseed trough also called? What two words describe the contents of the pond and birdbaths on that 39-degree morning in March?

Dessert Menu

Triple Crown Dessert:
Sun in a run for the roses 

Why would “Sun” be a good name for a throroughbred Triple Crown contender?
Hint: The answer involves punning.


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.