Friday, August 5, 2016

“Be there a fee, or be it a freebie?” Moo-cow and boy reunion; Clownish Greece paintings; Foursquare character wittiness; Calling Mr. … no, Dr. Spock! Idiomatic transmission manual; Revised Versa

P! SLICES: OVER (pe)3 – (e4 + p3) SERVED

Welcome to our August 5th edition of Joseph Young’s Puzzleria! We have baked up seven piping fresh and toothsome puzzle treats for you to nosh on early in this augustatory month.

Think of our puzzles as multiple vitamins for your mind. If you take one a day they ought to last you about a week.
So, please savor them. And, as always, enjoy.

Hors d’Oeuvre Menu

Idiomatic Subsidy Hors d’Oeuvre:
Be there a fee, or be it a freebie?

Name something you pay someone. It is a noun often framed within an idiomatic expression. 

Add three letters to the noun to form an adjective that describes something you don’t have to pay anyone for.

What are this noun and adjective?

Morsel Menu

Filling In The Blank­_ _s Morsel:
Calling Mr. …oops, no, Dr. Spock

“Parents learn quickly that before their toddlers get all ______ in, it is advisable to get them all ________ out!”

The word filling the second blank in that bit of sage advice is formed by inserting one pair of consecutive letters somewhere within the word filling the first blank.

What are these two words?

Extra credit: What are the two letters that belong in the blanks in the title: “Filling In The Blank­_ _s Morsel?”

Appetizer Menu

Swearing On A Stack Of Flapjacks Appetizer:
Revised Versa
 
Give a two-word revision (or, more specifically, a recapitulation) of the King James Version of the biblical verse John 1:14. Your recap ought to include a 6-letter synonym for “Word” and a 5-letter past-tense verb.

Now re-revise your recap by rearranging its 11 letters to form a 3-word topic that has been lately in the national U.S. news, in 5, 2 and 4 letters, in that order. The 2-letter word is an abbreviation.
The 5-letter verb in your recap is somewhat related to the news topic.

What is your recap? What is the news topic?

Linkin’ Logos Appetizer:
Moo-cow and boy reunion

This puzzle involves a “word chain” in which every consecutively linked pair of words forms either:
A new word (for example, “leg” + “end” = “legend”);
A hyphenated word (“leg” + “pulling” = “leg-pulling”);
A compound word (“dog” + “leg” = “dogleg”); or
Two words that go well together (“crab” + “leg” = “crab leg”).

For example, a 3-word chain beginning with “cow” and ending with “boy” (forming “cowboy”) might be linked by the middle word “bell” (“cowbell + bellboy”).

Create an 11-word chain beginning with “cow” and ending with “boy” (again, forming “cowboy”) that can be linked by 9 middle words. 

(Note: One of the 9 word-links is a dialectical British variant spelling of a common noun. It appeared recently in a Puzzleria! puzzle answer.)

The 9 words begin, in order, with a P, M, G, D, C, I, C, W and P. What are these 9 word-links?
Can you find any other “cowboy” chains, of any length?

MENU

Ere The Cock Crows Trice Slice:
Idiomatic transmission manual

Think of a six-word idiomatic expression that epitomizes “wasting time and effort on insignificant details while ignoring a larger looming catastrophe.”

Hint: Sin, Death, Cockatrice

Applying the first word of the six-word expression to the letters in the remaining five words will generate the entirety of the hint given above (which contains words and concepts present within the first five verses of Isaiah, Chapter 59, King James Version). But only one word in the hint is truly associated with the six-word idiomatic expression.

What is this six-word idiomatic expression?
 
Sub-hint 1: Three consecutive letters in one of the above hint’s words forms a word also associated with the idiomatic expression, particularly its final word.
Sub-hint 2: No word in the six-word idiomatic expression is repeated. (The expression usually includes two instances of the same common article, but we have eliminated the first of the two, deeming it unnecessary.)

Ripping Off Shortz And Pegg Slice:
Foursquare character wittiness

Will’s Shortz’s August 1st Weekend Edition Sunday Puzzle, submitted by Ed Pegg, Jr., reads:
Take the four 4-letter words LIMB, AREA, CORK, and KNEE. Write them one under another, and the four columns will spell four new words LACK, IRON, MERE and BAKE.
This is called a double word square. I’d like you to find a double word square with 6-letter words. Specifically, your square must include the words PONIES, ACCEPT, SEARED and CAVIAR. These four words must be among the 12 common, uncapitalized 6-letter words in the square. Can you do it?
 
Puzzleria!’s Ripping Off Shortz And Pegg Slice reads:

Take four 4-character words. Write them one under another, and the four columns will spell four new words, for a total of eight 4-character words. This is called a double word square. I’d like you to find such a double word square with eight 4-character words in the square. These words are reasonably common and not necessarily uncapitalized. You can do it!
 
Here are hints for the eight words, in random order:
Word in a syllogism; Columnist whose name is an anagram of a stack of typing paper; Word after tax or before school; Did not recall; Overhaul factory equipment; Word in a Paton title; Mass of tissue; Word that might well precede “cowbell”  
 
Can you find another double word square with eight 4-character words in the square, using the eight hints below? 
(Yes! Again, of course you can do it!)
Foolish; Belonging to a Gilbert & Sullivan title princess; Lennox, Carey, Estefan, Dion, Twain or Franklin, notably in 1998; Dogs; Make like Lindbergh; Apple that first became a consumer “pick” in 1998; Setting on a shower head; Mississippi, Missouri and Colorado, for example

Dessert Menu

Painter’s Dozen Dessert:
Clownish Greece paintings

Write a short caption for each of the images pictured here, numbered 1 Through 13.
Be guided by the following list, which tells the number of letters in each caption and the number of letters in each word:
1. two words – (9 letters in the first word, 12 letters in the second word)
2. one word – (7 letters)
3. one word – (8 letters)
4. one word – (9 letters)
5. one word – (11 letters)
6. one word – (8 letters)
7. one word – (10 letters)
8. two words – (4 letters, 4 letters)
9. one word – (6 letters)
10. one word – (4 letters)
11. two words – (5 letters, 3 letters)
12. two words – (4 letters, 9 letters)
13. one word – (4 letters)
Hint: The caption for # 1 is “tauomatic transmission.”


















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.

86 comments:

  1. Replies
    1. Yeah, Word Woman, I guess August kind of comes in like a lion, and goes out like a... maiden?

      LegoWhoThinksHeUnderstandsWhyTheRamBullCrabLionScorpionMountainGoatAndFishAreSignsOfTheZoodiacButNotTheOtherFive...GuessHeWillGoAskNoah

      Delete
    2. I'm the mom of a Leo who will be 23 soon. As a Gemini, Lego, we get the Noah deal.

      Delete
  2. I answers for the Fill In The Blank__s, assuming that you don't mean 2 consecutive letters alphabetically. The answers were popular last century.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. You are correct, David. The two letters are not consecutive alphabetically, just adjacent in the word.
      By "last century," do you mean a man who knew his way around a SPROCKET and was a TUNER of auto engines?
      Or something else?

      LegoWithApologiesToMendoJim

      Delete
  3. Clownish Greek paintings: Who nu?

    ReplyDelete
  4. Friday greetings you guys.....always so nice to anticipate what is in store for us at the end of a week.

    I have to run now, but wished to report solving the Morsel in a nice quick flash! (Being a parent helps!) Till later.....all kind wishes.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Got the Morsel as well and some of the Painter's Desserts.

      Delete
  5. I think I have the cowboy chain. Psalm 42 might be helpful. Here's an alternative chain: C,T,S,B,K,C,P,B,B (it cheats a bit at 'T').

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks for your piggyback puzzle, Paul. I'm stalling out on the first B, or earlier, however:
      CowTippingScalesBalanceK???
      CowTipSheetB???
      CowTownShipBuildingK???
      CowTailSpinBlendK???

      LegoSensesThatTrigger'sOrChampion'sHorseshoeIsNowOnTheOtherHoof!

      Delete
    2. As in your puzzle, COW and BOY are not represented in the list of initials, so the first compound word (or hyphenated word, or two-word phrase) is COWC() and the last one is B()BOY.

      Delete
    3. And the next to last on is B()B().
      And the one before that is P()B()....

      Delete
    4. Thanks, Paul. Back to my drawing board...

      ...WhereLegoJustGotDoneDrawingAPainter'sDozenClownishGreecePaintings

      Delete
    5. Now I have a beginning that goes nowhere...
      CowChipToothSomeBodyK???
      and an ending that comes from nowhere...
      C???PeachBasketBallBoy

      LegoBurningTheCandleAtBothEndsButThenBlowingOutBothTonguesOfFire

      Delete
    6. BasketBallBoy is correct, of that you can be certain. 90% of what comes before it is half mental.

      Delete
    7. Thank's, Paul. So you're saying I got a shot! It would be better for me, of course, if "90% of what comes before it" would be about 1/16th mental.

      Regarding your biblical hnt:
      Psalm 42, eh? Wasn't "42" the number Word Woman suggested (on Thu Aug 04, 02:24:00 PM PDT:"Have you constructed a puzzle where the answer is 42?") TomR ask Will Shortz when TomR plays the on-air puzzle this Sunday?

      I visited Psalm 42, Paul. And I have just one question: Why would a deer wear pants?

      LegoWhoIsPuttingOnHisBigBuckPantsAndBigCowboyPantsToSolvePaul'sCowboyChainPiggybackPuzzle

      Delete
    8. Paul, I have now backtracked as far as a 4-syllable K-word... and have again been cul-de-sacked!

      LegoNotesThatLinkingChainsInReversIsHguot!

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    9. My K-word is two syllables.

      Delete
    10. My K-car had two cylinders... or so it seemed.

      LegoAddsButWhenDrivingAroundInMyS-CarPeolpeWouldTurnTheirHeadsAndExclaaim"LookAtThat..."Well,YouKnow

      Delete
    11. Paul, My P-word is one that Yogi Bear mispronounced by adding a superfluous third syllable, and my C-word that precedes that P-word is often followed by "of" followed by a number.

      Am I even warm?

      LegoWhoHasMadeMoreThanHisShareOfBooboos

      Delete
    12. The P-word is right, and I think you have the C-word. Instead of a number, "of" might be followed by strangers, heroes, or even angels (dancing on the head of a pin, no doubt).
      The number 100 is relevant to the C()P() phrase, if you're a fan of a certain sitcom.

      Delete
    13. At this point, lego, you might want to apply your 'tools of ignorance' to the other end of the chain, but that's your call.

      Delete
    14. Thanks, Paul.

      Lego(JustCallMe"Yogi")Lambda

      Delete
    15. Okay, P is the Yogi word. I doubt that I have the C-word. (There are major gaps in my sitcomonology!)
      C-word: Class? Church? Company?...
      Century?? Centennial??

      As for applying my tools of ignorance to the front-end of the chain, all I got is "cowchip" and "cowcatcher..." (Now there are our tools of ignorance, BooBoo!)

      Cow corral? Cow crib? Cow crossing? Cow creamer? Cow costume? Cow cud?

      LegoWhoIsLikeACowGoingIntoAStall

      Delete
    16. I did warn you that the T-word was a bit of a cheat. Maybe more than a bit. Maybe the cheat that will live in infamy:
      Torre! tore! Tori!

      Does it all come together now?
      1+1+1=3

      Delete
    17. As Joe and the late Frank's ancestors might say, "You reeka!"... Oops, I mean, Eureka!, Paul. Nice chain of consciousness. The C-T-S links are legit, IMO, but we can say they live on in infamy, if you like.

      Indeed the (Joe)CatcherTorre (cacciatore) link is inspired, and could be the kernel of a worthy puzzle... all we need to do is apply a little heat to make it pop.
      (When I was a lad, my dad took me to watch the Eau Claire (WI) Braves minor league farm team play at Carson Park. We saw Joe Torre catch before he was called up to the bigs. Had I been born a few years earlier, we would have seen Hank Aaron play for the EC Braves before beginning his big league career in Milwaukee.)

      One thing I still don't get, however: What's all this talk I hear about T-Birds. They were a fine automobile back in the day (1950s-70s) and had a nice revival around Y2K, but they were no Corvette! Now, I realize that Ford produ... What? It's T-Words, not T-Birds?... Never mind.

      LegoRecallsThatCosmoWasOneSpryBallGuy

      Delete
  6. Replies
    1. Thanks, Paul, for the link to Tom, Dick & Hilarity.

      LegoWhoWhenHeIsWithoutAnOutfitDoesn'tSeemToFitIn...

      Delete
  7. I got the first two easily. Will, of course, need help with the others, but I may already have a few of the word square words and the Greek captions.

    ReplyDelete
  8. I hope you guys don't mind if I'm late getting to Puzzleria!, but I usually start with an Ask Me Another podcast, the Prize crossword on Guardian, and the Private Eye crossword. Solved both, BTW.

    ReplyDelete
  9. An interesting thought: We have someone running for mayor here in Jasper with the last name O'Mary. Has anyone else on the blog ever come across a political candidate whose name is an anagram for the office he or she is seeking or had sought?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Too bad one of these guys was not named "Fisher."

      LegoWhoBelieves"Senator"MayHaveAnagrammaticPossibilitiesHowever

      Delete
  10. And of course, SENATOR is an anagram of TREASON!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. WOW, I never even thought of that! How hilarious!

      Delete
  11. I have most of the words in the first word square, but I can't make them into a square. Lego, I'm going to need hints on this one.(Of course, it follows I'll be needing hints for all the others except the first two and maybe the Greek captions.)

    ReplyDelete
  12. I'm definitely having trouble putting both word squares together. Any chance I could have a hint how to put them together without totally giving it away? Like the first word across or down, say.

    ReplyDelete
  13. patjberry,


    Each of the double word squares in the ROSAPS, is filled with 16 characters. Thus, some of fill may not be letters.

    For the first square, the top row clue is:
    Word after tax or before school;
    and the left-hand column clue is:
    Overhaul factory equipment;

    For the second square, the top row clue is:
    Apple that first became a consumer “pick” in 1998;


    SOASOFA:
    The 6-letter synonym for “Word” is an anagram of a French word that precedes "faire" in a common expression. The 5-letter past-tense verb is lifted right outta the KJV text.
    How the news story plays out just might have a bearing on a November event.


    LLA:
    THe P-M pairing ought ot give Puzzlerians! deja vu.
    G-D is comfy; D-C is in the dumps; C-W and W-P are pjb's bailiwick.


    ETCCTS:
    The idiomatic expression derives from a major news story from the 20th century.


    PDD:
    If you get one of the 13, the others ought to topple like greasy-painted dominoes.


    LegoWhoJustNowRemembers"IGaveYouOneOfTheThirteenForThePDD!"

    ReplyDelete
  14. Just when did Donald Trump hire Rick Pitino as his campaign manager?

    LegoWhoWasSeparatedAtBirthOnlyFromHisMother!

    ReplyDelete
  15. Replies
    1. Wow, WW, thank you so much!! I hadn't run across that article, so would have probably missed it, and boy, was it ever interesting. I myself have an American-made violin (in 1917 in Boston), so I was looking for the maker's name, but didn't see it. I can only wonder if that collection might have ANY other violins made by the guy who made mine. WOW.

      Delete
    2. My pleasure! Who made your violin? (My daughter used to play).

      Delete
  16. I may need to know the first letter of the past-tense verb lifted from the KJV. I think I have it, but I can't figure out the anagram.

    ReplyDelete
  17. I've solved the word chain! The M word is definitely tricky, and not what you'd think at first!

    ReplyDelete
  18. I may need to know the two-letter abbreviation in the three words in the news. I can't seem to get the anagram from the six-letter, five-letter "recap".

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yes, pjb, the M-word in the chain is tricky. It is also a pretty common French pronoun.

      The first letter of the past-tense verb lifted from the KJV is the same as the last letter in the majority of past-tense verbs.
      The two-letter abbreviation in the three words in the news is also a common noun in its lowercase form. As an abbreviation it is sometimes counterfeited.

      LegoWhoIsConsideringChangingHisNameToLeSuperego!

      Delete
  19. Thanks, LeSuperego! I knew my verb was right! Now about the "characters" instead of letters in the word squares...what?!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. pjb,

      The top row of a 6x6 square might include:
      R E : I Z E (= "recolonize")
      In a 4x4 square:
      , N D O = "commando"
      In a 5x5 square:
      . I C A L = "periodical"

      LegoAlthough"Ampersand"and"Parenthesis"Don'tWorkSoWell

      Delete
  20. Most of the answers I've got don't have anything like that. They're just four-letter words. Sure, one has an apostrophe, but it still doesn't help.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. pjb,

      (A N Y 1) with great (4 T I 2 D) ought To we able to solve this (1 D E R F U L) puzzle!

      LegoBelievesThisIsOnePuzzlepatjberryShallBeAbleToSus(7TUALLY)!

      Delete
  21. Replies
    1. Well, ye, 7tually.

      LegoSays7UpWasNotTheNewCokeButWasTheNe1Cola

      Delete
  22. Never mind...what about the six-word phrase having to do with Exodus 59? It only really mentions using the Lord's name in vain. I don't see a connection there. How about a hint or two for that?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. The six-word idiomatic expression pertains to a major newsmaking 20th century event. The three consecutive letters that form a word associated with the idiomatic expression (and 20th century event) appear in the word "cockatrice."
      "Cockatrice," however, is not the "one word in the hint (that) is truly associated with the six-word idiomatic expression" and newsmaking event.

      LegoButJackJohnsonLives!

      Delete
  23. I'm still not sure what Isaiah has to do with the newsmakers event.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. pjb,
      It's just that the words in the hint are all present, either conceptually or verbatim, within the first five verses of Isaiah, Chapter 59, King James Version. That's it.

      And,of course, all words in the hint (including H-I-N-T) can be generated by doing what the six-word idiomatic expression encourages us to do.

      LegoFoolMeOnceShameOnYouFoolMeTwiceShameOnMeFoolMeTrice...Won'tGetFooledAgain!

      Delete
  24. Lego: do you take puzzle submissions? How would I get these to you? Thanks.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. We certainly do, PlannedChaos, and would be honored to have a puzzle of yours in Puzzleria! Just email me at legolambda@aol.com. We'll talk.

      LegoIsAlwaysOverjoyedToReceivePuzzles!

      Delete
  25. The Hors d’Oeuvre is the DUMBEST puzzle I've ever seen, and I refuse to pay for it.
    Hahahahahahahahahaha...
    I slay me.

    This don't come easy, y'know!"

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Beware the stray quotation mark ...

      Delete
    2. "Waiter, there is a fly in my soup! I refuse to pay! I ordered the Ointment, not the Soup."

      LegoWhoOnceLeanedOverHisSoupbowlToTakeASlurpAndSubsequentlyFoundAToupeeInHisSoup...HeRefusedToPayRecoveredHisSoggyToupeeAndScoredAComplimentaryGiftCardFromTheApologeticRestaurantManager!

      Delete
    3. Really? A gift card? You're just giving it to me? Well, hey, yeah, we're good!

      Delete
    4. Oops!
      But you'll still honor the gift card, right? I mean, baby needs new shoes, you know what I mean?

      Delete
  26. Unspinnable. This was a "joke" too far. I do not see how Donald Trump recovers from this.

    LegoBelievesThe"Explanation/Spin/WalkBalk"IsNearlyAsEmbarrassingAsTrump's"Joke"

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I sure hope you are right, Lego.

      Delete
    2. And it's even worse, indeed dangerous, if your foot is in your mouth at the time.

      LegoRecallsThatPoorGeorgeHWBushWasBornWithASilverFootInHisMouth(ButMaybeThatWasJustBarneyFife'sPocketBullet)

      Delete
  27. compliment(ary)

    tuck(er)ed; blankets

    Savior dwelt; voter ID laws

    CowPokeMonGooseDownCastIronCurtainWallPaperBoy [In Psalm 42, the psalmist speaks of his soul being cast down (KJV); in the NIVUK, it's "downcast"]
    +ALT+ CowCatcher(Torre/Tori)SpellingBeeKeepingCompanyPic(i)nicBasketBallBoy [The 100th episode of The Office is entitled Company Picnic]

    rearranging deck chairs on the Titanic; cockatrICE; THE

    tauomatic transmission; betanik; ????????; ?????????; ???????????; mubrella; ??????????; ???? ????; phipie; piod; psipy cup; ???? ?????????; rhon

    ReplyDelete
  28. NOT good results for me this week (am just dying to take a peek above, to see some answers, but using WILLPOWER not to):

    HORS D'OEUVRE: RESPECT, RESPECTFUL ??

    MORSEL: TUCKED and TUCKERED

    FLAPJACK APPETIZER: HERALD? AUGURY? and "DWELT" xxxxx AD xxxx

    LINKIN' LOGOS APPETIZER: COWPOKE, POKEMON, MONGOOSE, GOOSE DOWN, [THUS FAR WAS PRE-HINTS], DOWNCAST, CAST IRON , IRON CROSS, CROSS WORD, WORD PUZZLE?, PUZZLE? BOY


    MENU:

    COCK CROWS TRICE SLICE: "REARRANGING DECK CHAIRS ON THE TITANIC" [PRE HINTS]

    FOURSQUARE SLICE: ERMA, FREE, LUMP --- I CAN'T DO THESE!!!!! 2nd set: IDAS, IMAC, DIVA, CURS, MIST...???


    DESSERT: 2. BETAIST 3. DELTA??? 6. MUBRELLA 7. GAMMAWAVES 8. OMEG LEGS? 9. PHIOTA 10. PIOD 11. PUNCH PSI? 12. LEGS LAMBDAIAN? 13. RHON

    ReplyDelete
  29. Replies
    1. When I'm president I shall construct a "curtain wall," Believe me, yes I will, between the U.S. and Mexico (and Canada too) so that only "undocumenteds" with suction cup-claws will be able to crawl over the top.

      Leg...OverTheTop

      Delete
    2. THIS is what I think of as a curtain wall.

      I had TUCKED and TUCKERED.

      And

      DELTAINE(DATELINE) and MUBRELLA(UMBRELLA)

      Delete
  30. COMPLIMENT, COMPLIMENTARY
    TUCKED, TUCKERED; BLANKS, BLANKETS
    SAVIOR DWELT, VOTER ID LAWS
    REARRANGING DECK CHAIRS ON THE TITANIC(cockatrICE)
    COWPOKEMONGOOSEDOWNCASTIRONCROSSWORDPLAYBOY
    1. TAUOMATIC TRANSMISSION(AUTOMATIC)
    2. BETANIK(BEATNIK)
    3. DELTAINE(DATELINE)
    6. MUBRELLA(UMBRELLA)
    8. OMEG AVER(GAME OVER)
    9. PHIPIE(HIPPIE)
    10. PIOD(IPOD)
    11. PSIPY CUP(SIPPY CUP)
    12. LAMB DANNEQUIN(BALD MANNEQUIN)
    13. RHON(HORN)
    "Fare thee well Titanic, fare thee well..."

    ReplyDelete
  31. COWBELLPEPPERJACKBLACKBIRDHOUSEKEEPINGCOMPANYPICNICBASKETBALLBOY

    ReplyDelete
  32. Btw, new post on SUNFLOWERS featuring The Beatles and the beetles is now up over at Partial Ellipsis of the SUN.

    ReplyDelete
  33. This week’s official answers, for the record, Part 1:

    Hors d’Oeuvre Menu

    Idiomatic Subsidy Hors d’Oeuvre:
    Be there a fee, or be it a freebie?
    Name something you pay someone. It is a noun often framed within an idiomatic expression.
    Add three letters to the noun to form an adjective that describes something you don’t have to pay anyone for.
    What are this noun and adjective?

    Answer: compliment; complimentary

    Morsel Menu

    Filling In The Blank¬_ _s Morsel:
    Calling Mr. …oops, no, Dr. Spock
    “Parents learn quickly that before their toddlers get all ______ in, it is advisable to get them all ________ out!”
    The word filling the second blank in that bit of sage advice is formed by inserting one pair of consecutive letters somewhere within the word filling the first blank.
    What are these two words?
    Extra credit: What are the two letters that belong in the blanks in the title: “Filling In The Blank¬_ _s Morsel?”

    Answer: tucked, tuckered
    Extra credit: “et” are the two letters that belong in the blanks in the title: “Filling In The Blank¬_ _s Morsel?” (When you tuck a toddler in, you :fill in the blankets.”)

    Appetizer Menu

    Swearing On A Stack Of Flapjacks Appetizer:
    Revised Versa
    Give a two-word revision (or, more specifically, a recapitulation) of the King James Version of the biblical verse John 1:14. Your recap ought to include a 6-letter synonym for “Word” and a 5-letter past-tense verb.
    Now re-revise your recap by rearranging its 11 letters to form a 3-word topic that has been lately in the national U.S. news, in 5, 2 and 4 letters, in that order. The 2-letter word is an abbreviation.
    The 5-letter verb in your recap is somewhat related to the news topic.
    What is your recap? What is the news topic?

    Answer: “Savior dwelt,” Voter ID laws


    Linkin’ Logos Appetizer:
    Moo-cow and boy reunion
    This puzzle involves a “word chain” in which every consecutively linked pair of words forms either:
    A new word (for example, “leg” + “end” = “legend”);
    A hyphenated word (“leg” + “pulling” = “leg-pulling”);
    A compound word (“dog” + “leg” = “dogleg”); or
    Two words that go well together(“crab” + “leg” = “crab leg”).
    For example, a 3-word chain beginning with “cow” and ending with “boy” (forming “cowboy”) might be linked by the middle word “bell” (“cowbell + bellboy”).
    Create an 11-word chain beginning with “cow” and ending with “boy” (again, forming “cowboy”) that can be linked by 9 middle words.
    (Note: One of the 9 word-links is a dialectical British variant spelling of a common noun. It appeared recently in a Puzzleria! puzzle answer.)
    The 9 words begin, in order, with a P, M, G, D, C, I, C, W and P. What are these 9 word-links?
    Can you find any other “cowboy” chains, of any length?

    Answer:
    Cowpoke – Pokemon – Mongoose – goose down – downcast – cast-iron – Iron Cross -- crossword – wordplay – playboy = cow + boy = cowboy

    Lego…

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  34. This week’s official answers, for the record, Part 2:


    MENU

    Ere The Cock Crows Trice Slice:
    Idiomatic transmission manual
    Think of a six-word idiomatic expression that epitomizes “wasting time and effort on insignificant details while ignoring a larger looming catastrophe.”
    Hint: Sin, Death, Cockatrice
    Applying the first word of the six-word expression to the letters in the remaining five words will generate the entirety of the hint given above (which contains words and concepts present within the first five verses of Isaiah, Chapter 59, King James Version). But only one word in the hint is truly associated with the six-word idiomatic expression.
    What is this six-word idiomatic expression?
    Sub-hint 1: Three consecutive letters in one of the above hint’s words forms a word also associated with the idiomatic expression, particularly its final word.
    Sub-hint 2: No word in the six-word idiomatic expression is repeated. (The expression usually includes two instances of the same common article, but we have eliminated the first of the two, deeming it unnecessary.)

    Answer:
    Rearrange(ing) deck chairs on the Titanic,” usually written as “Rearranging the deck chairs on the Titanic”
    The 22 letters of “deck chairs on the Titanic” can be rearranged to form the words: “Hint, Sin, Death, Cockatrice.”
    Sub-hint 1: The three consecutive letters forming a word associated with “rearrange deck chairs on the Titanic” are the “ice” in “cockatrice.” Titanic was done in, of course, by an iceberg.

    Lego…

    Ripping Off Shortz And Pegg Slice:
    Foursquare character wittiness

    Puzzleria!’s Ripping Off Shortz And Pegg Slice reads:
    Take four 4-character words. Write them one under another, and the four columns will spell four new words, for a total of eight 4-character words. This is called a double word square. I’d like you to find such a double word square with eight 4-character words in the square. These words are reasonably common and not necessarily uncapitalized. You can do it!
    Here are hints for the eight words, in random order:
    Word in a syllogism; Columnist whose name is an anagram of a stack of typing paper; Word after tax or before school; Did not recall; Overhaul factory equipment; Word in a Paton title; Mass of tissue; Word that might well precede “cowbell”
    Can you find another double word square with eight 4-character words in the square, using the eight hints below?
    (Yes! Again, of course you can do it!)
    Foolish; Belonging to a Gilbert & Sullivan title princess; Lennox, Carey, Estefan, Dion, Twain or Franklin, notably in 1998; Dogs; Make like Lindbergh; Apple that first became a consumer “pick” in 1998; Setting on a shower head; Mississippi, Missouri and Colorado, for example

    Answer:

    RE4M (REFORM)
    ERGO
    2MOR (TUMOR)
    LATE
    The four corresponding columns:
    RE2L (RETOOL)
    ERMA
    4GOT (FORGOT)
    MORE

    IMAC
    DIVA
    ASI9 (ASININE)
    ST8S (STATES)
    The four corresponding columns:
    IDA’S
    MIST
    AVI8 (AVIATE)
    CA9S (CANINES)

    Lego…

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  35. This week’s official answers, for the record, Part 3:

    Dessert Menu

    Painter’s Dozen Dessert:
    Clownish Greece paintings
    Write a short caption for each of the images pictured here, numbered 1 Through 13.
    Be guided by the following list, which tells the number of letters in each caption and the number of letters in each word:
    1. two words – (9 letters in the first word, 12 letters in the second word)
    2. one word – (7 letters)
    3. one word – (8 letters)
    4. one word – (9 letters)
    5. one word – (11 letters)
    6. one word – (8 letters)
    7. one word – (10 letters)
    8. two words – (4 letters, 4 letters)
    9. one word – (6 letters)
    10. one word – (4 letters)
    11. two words – (5 letters, 3 letters)
    12. two words – (4 letters, 9 letters)
    13. one word – (4 letters)
    Hint: The caption for # 1 is “tauomatic transmission.”

    Answer:
    1. “tauomatic transmission”
    2. “betanik”
    3. “deltaine”
    4. “etardrops”
    5. “chithyology”
    6. “mubrella”
    7. “nudulation”
    8. “omeg aver”
    9. “phipie”
    10. “Piod”
    11. “psipy cup”
    12. “lamb dannequin”
    13. “rhon”

    Lego…

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