Friday, July 31, 2020

Whistleblowers, exhibitionists, weirdos, lunatics... Hallelujah! Blocks of letters, moved and mixed; “No, not Poetry... Pottery!” The universal language of “lob”? Granted, the desert is hot... but it’s a dry heat

PUZZLERIA! SLICES: OVER 3(7!) SERVED

Schpuzzle Of TheWeek:
“No, not Poetry... Pottery!”

Divide the name of a bookstore section into two parts. Change one letter to form an informal name for a second bookstore section. 
The formal one-word name of this second bookstore section begins with an A.
Divide the name of a third bookstore section into two parts. Add one letter to form an informal name for a fourth bookstore section. 
The formal one-word name of this second bookstore section begins with a B.
What are these four bookstore sections?
What are the informal two-word names for the second and fourth bookstor sections?


Appetizer Menu

Cryptic Crossword Appetizer:
Whistleblowers, exhibitionists, weirdos, lunatics... Hallelujah!

Attention, fans of cryptic crosswords:
Patrick J. Berry (screen name, “cranberry”) is presenting to us his sweet sixteenth monument to his cryptic creativity in this edition of Puzzleria! 
Here are the links to Patrick’s fifteen previous cryptic crosswords on Puzzleria!
ONE TWO THREE FOUR FIVE 
SIX SEVEN EIGHT NINE TEN ELEVEN
TWELVE THIRTEEN FOURTEEN FIFTEEN

If you are new to cryptic crossword puzzles, have no fear. Patrick has compiled a few basic cryptic crossword puzzle instructions to help you “climb the clues,” reach the summit and stand victorious!
Here are his 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!)
And now, here are Patrick’s clues to his latest ultra-clever cryptic creation:

ACROSS
1. Strange why a loser has it on TV nowadays(7,4)
9. Nothing in freezer, oddly(4)
10. Christmas song is popular, containing one Latin part of speech(6,5) 
11. What a dog might do on a tree?(4)
14. Smart to leave chicken in pot for Sunday(7)
16. He sings, having shot one creature(6)
17. I’m inclined over the phone to find girl(6)
18. Catholics’ Easter gathering–it’s safe to go(3, 5, 2, 5)
19. New “total lunatic”?(6)
21. More from whistleblower? Sick!(6)
22. Prepared to go in to study(7)
23. Instant decapitation, OK?(4)
26. Dickens character has to be into alternative dance(6,5)
27. Old American journalist(4)
28. Couple of lawmakers involved in income tax reform? Hallelujah!(11)



DOWN
2. Go be dropping off son(4)
3. Survive bad upbringing(4)
4. Ultimate exhibitionist with great, curvy butt(6)
5. Not hard to capture mountain the lad was climbing–there he is!(5, 2, 3, 5)
6. Individual having turned up nothing via computer?(6)
7. Grows up gaming, primarily–is seen playing with this?(4,7)
8. Turn crank to get old, funny music(4,3,4)
12. Artsy step routine, rechoreographed(11)
13. Take issue, provided, say, I had to be treated degradingly(11)
14. Crazy weirdo carrying wife’s head?!(7)
15. Lost desire? Indeed, halfheartedly(7)
20. Force of habit as king has raised spirit(6)
21. Racehorse taking off in the wrong direction?(3,3)
24. Hit 70s cop show(4)
25. Alone, keeping head down in the city(4)



MENU

“Where’d My Car Go?” Slice:
Blocks of letters, moved and mixed

Take five consecutive letters from the first half of the alphabet and three consecutive letters from the second half of the alphabet. 
Rearrange these eight letters to form means of cargo transport, in one word. 
What is it?


Riffing Off Shortz and Talvacchio Slices:
Granted, the desert is hot... but it’s a dry heat

Will Shortz’s July 26th NPR Weekend Edition Sunday puzzle, created by Dominick Talvacchio of Chicago, Illinois, reads:
Think of a common two-word phrase for something you experience in a desert. Rearrange the letters to get a single word for something you should do in the desert as a result.
Puzzleria!s Riffing Off Shortz and Talvacchio Slices read:
ENTREE #1:
Rearrange the combined letters of: 
1. the surname of a physicist named Georg who, with the help of Alessandro and Andre-Marie, “laid down the (electrical) law”;
2. the surname of the original “Renaissance Man”; and
3. an alcoholic mixed drink consisting of spirits and fruit juice, flavored syrup or cream.
If you have the right surnames and mixed drink, the result of your rearrangement will form the first and last names of a puzzle-maker.
Who is this puzzle-maker?
Hint: One brand name of the alcoholic mixed drink bears the surname of the original “Renaissance Man.”
ENTREE #2:
Think of things, in one word containing 11 letters, that you may encounter in a desert. 
Rearrange these letters to get a pair of four-letter words and a three-letter initialism that are each related to “connecting.” 
What things may be encountered in the desert?
What are the two words and the initialism?  
ENTREE #3:
Name what, in one plural word of six letters, you may encounter in a desert. 
Rearrange the letters to get a single word for a kind of cactus you might encounter in the desert. 
Name a six-letter synonym of that kind of cactus. Replace the first two letters of that synonym to name a creature you may encounter in the desert.
What are these four six-letter words?
ENTREE #4:
Name a kind of critter, in one word of nine letters, that you might encounter in a desert. 
Rearrange the first four letters and the final five letters to get a two-part hyphenated word (beginning with D and R) that describes a particular “bundle” marketed to college students returning to campus after summer break. 
That “bundle” includes a bedloft, micro-fridge, electronic safe, futon and television.
What are this critter, and description of the “bundle”?
Hint: A two-word characteristic feature of the critter can be formed by rearranging the seven letters that fill the two blanks in the following sentence (A three-letter word belongs in the first blank, forming a compound word starting with “car-”):
 The car___ at the drive-in brought the guy in the 1957 T-Bird a ____ so he could place his order.
ENTREE #5:
Think of phrase (consisting of a 6-letter adjective beginning with “s,” an 8-letter adjective (that can also be regarded as a noun) beginning with “C” and a 3-letter noun beginning with “f.” 
The phrase, one might argue, describes Martin Luther or John Wesley or, before he left the Ku Klux Klan, Hugo Black.  
Rearrange the combined 17 letters of these words to form, in two words, something you see on a dessert.
What is this phrase? 
What is seen on a dessert?


Dessert Menu

Tabletop Dessert:
The universal language of “lob”?

English is used by table tennis players worldwide. 
Divide one kind of English, in one word, into two parts to name a toy and what such toys do.
What is the toy?
What do such toys do?
Editor’s note: I served-up this puzzle to Will Shortz (see image above) as a possible NPR Sunday puzzle. 
He returned it with a backhand smash(ing my hopes)... Point Will-(taken).


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.


73 comments:

  1. Thanks for posting the distribution of on-air selectees for '20. Geography may well not play a part in selection, but probably does reflect something about listenership and submittership. And thus may become a factor. Too much of a puzzle, and no solution. Again thanks. Interesting information and display.

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    1. Thanks, GB, and you are welcome.
      Making the chart was kind of fun. The hardest part was knowing where in the state to put hometowns like Parma, Ohio; Roswell, Georgia; Landrum, South Carolina; and Pfafftown, North Carolina. Portland, New York and New Orleans I could handle!
      If I have the time, I may try to make a chart that includes 2019 and perhaps 2018.

      LegoPseudoCartographer

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    2. The chart, incidentally, appears below the Schpuzzle of the Week in last week's Puzzleria!

      LegoMapMakerMapMakerMadeMeAMap...

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    3. I don't understand...why is there a map in LAST WEEK's Puzzleria? Did it have something to do with last week's puzzles? How did GB even know it was there, since we have moved on already?

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    4. Great question, VT.
      Thurday morning PDT, over on Blaine's blog (which is a great blog, by the way), GB posted the following comment:
      "It would be interesting to see a geographical distribution of random selectees (of NPR on-air players) over the past few years."
      It took me an hour or so, but I created just such a map, but with just the 2020 NPR on-air puzzle players/lapel-pin wearers. I could not upload it to Blaine's blog (only Blaine can do that), so I uploaded it to Puzzleria! (By Thursday, our "puzzle work" is pretty much over anyway.)

      LegoMysteriousMapMan

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    5. Ah, thanks for the explanation, LegoMap! I do occasionally take a look at Blaines' blog (that was where I first posted, way back in May 2015 I think it was, which led me to P!) It must have taken SOME searching around to go back and find that many winners.

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    6. To gather the data, VT, I went to this page and scrolled down. Somewhat tedious work, but pretty easy.

      LegoWhoPutSt.CloudMinnesotaOnTheMapAsAnOnAirContestentThrice(In2013And2014And2017)

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  2. Good End of July, everyone!
    Hope y'all are enjoying my puzzle. I will say 13 Down ended up being a little imperfect in my opinion, a little clunky in the wordplay, but I hope you understand they can't all be gems. As for my process with the other puzzles, I've only got Entrees #1 and #4 and the Dessert. BTW, Lego, Will's loss is our gain with that one. Hints will be necessary, of course. My supper is ready now, so I'll make this brief: Good solving to all, and stay safe!
    pjbNowWishesHeHadWonTheLapelPinEtc.WithTheDessert

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  3. I am extremely pleased to announce that my gorgeous heifer won the first place award at the latest sale in the Fredericksburg auction this week. Somebody will have a glorious mama cow and we will have another certificate to hang onto the wall.. My caretaker calls the ladies his concubines.D.E. I'm so lucky.




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    1. Congratulations on your first-place heifer, Dowager Empress. That is wonderful news and all, and we are all happy for you...
      But what we really want to know is: How in the heifer are you doing on solving Patrick's Cryptic Crossword Puzzle?!

      LegoWhoKnowsThatDowagerEmpressIsAnExpertSolverOfCrypticCrosswords

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  4. Saturday PM Hints:

    Schpuzzle Of TheWeek:
    The uppermost image (the one with plate) could be of some help in finding two of the bookstore sessions.

    Cryptic Crossword Appetizer:
    (Hints available upon request)

    “Where’d My Car Go?” Slice:
    "Means of cargo transport, in one word" is a plural word that contains two vowels.

    Riffing Off Shortz and Talvacchio Slices:
    ENTREE #1:
    Rearrange the combined letters of:
    1. 'Tis and "irresistable" surname. If you spell it backward it would be a great surname for a colleague of Bernstein, Toscanini and Solti.
    2. the surname contains a space, like Simone de Beauvoir.
    3. I guess it takes about 60 minutes to consume the alcoholic mixed drink.
    ENTREE #2:
    One of the four-letter words is also the surname a 2020 Republican presidential candidate won one delegate of the primaries in the Iowa caucus this past February, making him the first Republican since Pat Buchanan in 1992 to win a delegate while running against an incumbent president. The other four-letter word is a homophone of an edible.
    ENTREE #3:
    The six-letter plural word you may encounter in a desert is also a brand name. The creature you may encounter in the desert begins with the same letter.
    ENTREE #4:
    Refer to the brand name in the Hint for ENTREE #3 for a clue to "the kind of critter, in one word of nine letters, that you might encounter in a desert." A picture of the critter appears on the package of the brand name's product. The word for the 9-letter critters is etymologically related to what the word for what "Top step's pup's pet spot" is an example of.
    ENTREE #5:
    The dessert is likely a cake, or perhaps a pastry of some sort.

    Tabletop Dessert:
    The "one kind of English," if spelled backward, is what your pet dog Fido might do if your neighbor's dog (with an equally stereotypical dog name) gets a bit too frisky or aggressive with Fido.

    LegoLassieLadyLuckyLuluLucyLolaLambeau...

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  5. Got #3! Easier than I thought! BTW Congrats on your prize heifer, DE. Enjoy my puzzle! Let me know what you think of it.

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  6. pjb --This latest puzzle of yours has a different feel -- it flows nicely as if your cryptological cluing capabilities have coalesced (say that 3 times really fast!) Younger beginning setters are more clunky at first,but I think you have really hit your stride wi this one. Bravo! Keep it up. D.E.

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  7. Thanks for the kind words, DE. I did think 13 Down was my clunkiest clue(see my first post), but your high praise for the puzzle as a whole makes me feel a lot better about it. I'm proud to have such fans in you and Lego. I may not be up there with those setters at the Guardian or the London Times or Private Eye Magazine, but with my puzzles on this site, I sure do feel like I am. Thanks, guys! This has meant a lot to me!

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    1. Nice post, Patrick
      Your puzzles and participation mean a lot to us, too.

      LegoWhoSeesNotOneClunkerOrClinkerOfAClueInPatrick'sCrypticCrosswords

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  8. Sunday PM Hints:

    Schpuzzle Of TheWeek:
    The first and third bookstore sessions each contain 7 letters.
    The second and fourth bookstore sessions each contain an odd number of letters that is greater than 7.

    Cryptic Crossword Appetizer:
    (Hints still available upon request)

    “Where’d My Car Go?” Slice:
    Interesting note: With its eight different letters, and string of five consecutive letters from the alphabet mixed with three other letters, this puzzle could have appeared as a Riffing-Off-Shortz-and-Hochbaum on this Friday's Puzzleria!
    Hint: Hook these 25 vehicles together, make each less "wise," put 'em on a track, and you'll be close to the intended solution.

    Riffing Off Shortz and Talvacchio Slices:
    ENTREE #1:
    Rearrange the combined letters of:
    1. This "irresistable" surname sounds like a mantra.
    2. The guy with the surname had something in common with Samual Morse.
    3. Tom Cruise vehicle.
    ENTREE #2:
    The 11-letter things that you may encounter in a desert, according to song lyrics, "pledge their love to the ground!"
    ENTREE #3:
    The six-letter plural word you may encounter in a desert echoes the surname of a possible future VP.
    ENTREE #4:
    The kind of critter, in one word of nine letters, that you might encounter in a desert is, etymologically, a runner.
    ENTREE #5:
    Darryl Dawkins' Thunder + what accounted for "the Berkshires (looking) dreamlike," according to SBJT.

    Tabletop Dessert:
    To find the toy change the final letter of "toy."

    LegoSaysThatWatchingTheToyInTheDessertIsLikeLyingOnYourSideAndWatchingAYoyoDemonstration

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    1. The Sun PM Schpuzzle hints would seem to be mathematically impossible.

      The Sun hint says: (1) the 1st and 3rd words are each 7 letters long and (2) the 2nd and 4th words are longer than 7 letters. However, the Schpuzzle text says that the 1st and 3rd words must be split to yield the 2nd and 4th words (bookstore sections). These splits mean that the 2nd and 4th words must be shorter than the original 1st and 3rd words. Or possibly the same length for the 2nd word, if it is a 1-6 split and 1 letter is added (7 - 1 + 1 = 7).

      Please explain. Or possibly Lego works for the Federal Office of Management and Budget?
      ------------------
      From the hint, It appears that I have two alternate (≤ 7 letter) answers to the Schpuzzle, each hinted at from the "plate" image.

      Other than that and the Cryptic, have all the other answers.

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    2. I think it's just a matter of in what order the solutions are arranged, geo. (If mine are correct, that is.)

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    3. That is the changed and added-to section names are synonymous with "A" and "B" section names. (I hope that doesn't rate a TMI. Probably too cryptic to be TMI.)

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    4. geofan,
      I believe GB is correct in his reasoning/explanation he has offered in his two posts, above, that he had posted as I was laboring over the explanation I have composed that appears below (in this post). My post may "muddy the waters of clarity" that GB has poured, but I cannot help myself!
      So, here is what I wrote:
      I apologize for the text that is confusing in the Schpuzzle. Please allow me to try to clarify. The text reads:
      Divide the name of a bookstore section into two parts.
      Change a letter to form an informal name for a second bookstore section beginning with an A.
      Divide the name of a third bookstore section into two parts. Add a letter to form an informal name for a fourth bookstore section beginning with a B.
      What are these four bookstore sections?
      What are the informal two-part names for two of the sections?

      There are really six answers you need to find (two of them "intermediary") to come up with the four answers I seek:
      1: The first one-word bookstore section, which is to be divided into two parts.
      1.5: After dividing and changing a letter, an intermediary informal two-word name for a second bookstore section.
      2: The second one-word bookstore section itself, which begins with an A.
      3: The third one-word bookstore section, which is to be divided into two parts.
      3.5: After dividing and adding a letter, an intermediary informal two-word name for a fourth bookstore section.
      4: The fourth one-word bookstore section itself, which begins with an B.
      ...Clear as mud?

      LegoWhoAlasWasFiredFromHisPositionAtTheOfficeOfManagementAndBudgetAfterTheTrumpAdministrationCleanedHouse

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    5. Are items 2 and 4 (in your list immediately above) expansions of the "short" items 1.5 and 3.5, respectively, or are items 2 and 4 separate from these splits?
      Also, are both words of the splits that yield items 1.5 and 3.5 included in the single 2-word names?

      Delete
    6. Very good questions, geofan.
      Items 2 and 4, are one-word synonyms of of the informal two-word splits. You would see each of these one-word synonyms in a bookstore listed as a section, but you would almost surely not see their two-word counterparts listed as sections.
      Neither word in either of the two-word splits appear in the one-word second bookstore section or in the one-word fourth bookstore section.

      LegoWadingInMuddyWaters

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    7. Boy, am I ever confused! When I just now read the Sunday Schpuzzle hint, my reaction was immediately the same as geo's....the numbers didn't work. But that was apparently how I had UNDERSTOOD what we were supposed to do with the Schpuzzle....clearly, I had NO clue what we really were supposed to do. I am still trying to figure it out now, but haven't digested it all yet. In any case, no wonder I couldn't solve the thing (and indeed, i still may NOT solve it)....what with the intermediate two-word names and the final one-word names. Huh?

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    8. On going up to re-read the Schpuzzle directions, I am at a total loss to grasp HOW we were supposed to know about sections 1.5 and 3.5, and that those were then supposed to be turned back into one-word bookstore sections....

      Re all the other puzzles, I had solved the Car Slice (altho was dubious about the answer being plural, since apparently, it's not supposed to be according to research), and all the Entrees except #2, which I'd never have solved without the Saturday hint. And I still don't have the Dessert, but haven't read the Sunday hint yet.

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    9. Oh, I get it now re Dessert...I'd thought of that toy, but hadn't researched or stumbled upon WHAT English you were talking about, since I had no real clue about that usage.

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    10. In my apparently never-ending posts here, I just managed to come up with the second complete HALF of the Schpuzzle, combining the Sat. and Sun hints. The first half will be harder since there IS no Saturday hint about it.

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    11. Egads, tearing out hair! Just realized that the second half (ending in the section beginning with "B") is SUPPOSED to have had us ADD a letter, but all I did was CHANGE a letter, not add one. I'm going to lose my mind!

      Delete
    12. This is ridiculous....however, I just realized that what I had thought was the second set of bookstore sections is really the FIRST set....so please ignore the immediately above post. Have a guess as to what the fourth section should be, but having trouble turning a 7-letter original section into the 'informal' term...and my guess could be wrong, after all.

      Delete
    13. It just all worked out...duh....what I'd really initially had was Bookstore Section 1 combined erroneously with section 4 in one answer .... But that original mistake ended up speeding my way to the final solution.

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    14. Now VT is making me confused about the whole thing!

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    15. I think I have Entree #2, though, but I'm unfamiliar with the initialism. Can you clarify it, Lego?

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    16. The first letter of the initialism is the first letter of certain Studios in Hollywood.
      The second letter of the initialism is the first letter of a homophone of what Rice Krispies, Wheaties, Froot Loops, Life or Cheerios is.
      The third letter of the initialism is the first letter of a vehicle that has wheels that "go round and round."

      LegoWhoAddsThatTheVehicleThatHasWheelsThat"GoRoundAndRound"IsAlsoAnAnagramOfTheInitialism

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    17. Gotcha! I have often wondered what that acronym stands for, and now I know! Thanks again, Lego!

      Delete
    18. Sorry, I didn't mean to make anyone more confused than we all already were!

      Delete
  9. You've all been waiting since Friday for this:
    Finally, a...
    Schpuzzle Rewrite!
    Divide the name of a bookstore section into two parts.
    Change one letter to form an informal two-word name for a second bookstore section. The formal one-word name of that second bookstore section begins with an A.
    Divide the name of a third bookstore section into two parts.
    Add one letter to form an informal two-word name for a fourth bookstore section. The formal one-word name of that fouth bookstore section begins with an B.
    What are these four bookstore sections?
    What are the informal two-word names for the second and fourth bookstore sections?


    LegoWhoIsDoingHisDarnedestToDrainOurPuzzleria!SwampOfItsMud!

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  10. This one I still need more to go on, no matter how you phrase any of it.

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    1. By way of trying to help UNconfuse you, may I suggest that you combine the hint about the image with the plate (above the Schpuzzle) and the 7 letter book store section together...and that will get you going, I hope!

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    2. Good advice, VT.

      LegoWhoIsNowRummagingThroughABookstoreSearhingForAVolumeChroniclingThePunicWars

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    3. An enigma, eh? Well, that's sure the full recounting of my experiences with the Cryptic X-Word.

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    4. The formal name of the (second) bookstore section that begins with A contains 13 letters. The informal name of this section contains 2 and 5 letters.
      The formal name of the (fourth) bookstore section that begins with B contains 9 letters. The informal name of this section contains 3 and 5 letters.

      LegoAddsTheTheInformalNamesIncludePronouns

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    5. Got both the answers from the above hint. Didn't much like the puzzle -- I would never refer to the sections by their "informal" names.
      The lack of a link between the informal and the usual names was confusing to me. I had originally read the Schpuzzle text to indicate that the "split" names had an A and a B in them, so was totally confused.
      Will present two alternate sections (post-Sat-hint) that conform to how I originally read the Schpuzzle text.

      Delete
    6. Thanks for your honest and justifiable comments, geofan. The puzzle was, simply put, poorly written. I do look forward to seeing the bookstore sessions you came up with, however. At least that "glimmer of goodness" resulted from my "tangled web" of verbiage!

      LegoWhoHastensToAddHoweverThatHis"TangledWeb"CharacterizationOfHisSchpuzzleTextInNoWayImpliesThatHewasPracticingToDeceive

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    7. Still don't get it. I need a hint or two for the 13-letter word and the 9-letter word before I can do anything else.

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    8. Think synonyms of a sort, and a little clever wordplay. Plus, the 13-letter one could be like the service record on your car. For the 9-letter one, take the car out of it.

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    9. 13-letter word:
      (Near homophone of a palindromic male name) + (Homophone of "purchase") + (Homophone of our present month, for short) + (Homophone of this guy)
      9-letter word:
      (Prefix meaning "two") + (a feeling of reverential respect mixed with fear or wonder) + (Agassi's better half... whose name rhymes with "half") + (sum of money charged, or payment made)

      LegoBeluga

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    10. Well, that was simple enough. But I can't figure out the informal real-world phrases you're supposed to get out of those. 2 and 5 and then 3 and 5, eh?

      Delete
    11. This comment has been removed by the author.

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    12. Nice hinting, GB.

      LegoWhoEncouragesPuzzlerians!ToGiveHintsToAnyAndAllPuzzles(ExceptForPuzzlesCreatedByMarkScott(skydiveboy)WhoPrefersThatHisPuzzlesStandOnTheirOwn(AndWeOughtToRespectHisWishesRegardingThat)

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    13. cranberry,
      The "informal real-world phrases" (in 2 and 5 and then 3 and 5 letters) are synonymous with those bookstore sections that you have now solved simply.
      But the 2-letter/5-letter informal phrase is formed by changing one letter in the 7-letter bookstore section that you must divide in two parts at the beginning of the schpuzzle.
      And the 3-letter/5-letter informal phrase is formed by adding a letter to a different 7-letter bookstore section (the "third" one) that you must divide into two parts.

      LegoWhoVowsNeverAgainToCreateA"BookstoreSection" Puzzle!

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    14. Well, now I've got the 2 and 5, but the 3 and 5 still eludes me. Anything else before most of us go to bed?

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    15. It's not "BRO MANCE", is it? I doubt it.

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    16. The bookstore section that gets divided into two parts and has a letter changed (forming the 2,5 informal name) RHYMES with the bookstore section that gets divided into two parts and has a letter added (forming the 3,5 informal name).

      Legography

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  11. Here goes, sort of:

    Schpuzzle: Mystery, Autobiography, History, Biography, My Story, His
    Story (order depends a little on a reading of the Schpuzzle
    maybe)

    Appetizer: I have some bits, pieces, twists, spins, turns, moons,
    moonatics, and wild speculations, so I'm leaving this one
    to the pros who know what they're doing.

    Where'd My Car Go Slice: FREIGHTERS From the hints, I know this is
    likely not the intended solution. It does have 8
    different letters with the correct distribution - EFGHI &
    RST - the E & R are used twice (which doesn't seem to
    violate the puzzle wording)

    Entrees:

    1. Dominick Talvacchio (Ohm, da Vinci, Cocktail)
    2. Tumbleweeds; Meet, Weld, USB
    3. Camels, Mescal, Peyote, Coyote
    4. Dromedary & Dorm Ready
    5. Strong Catholic Foe & Chocolate Frosting

    Dessert: Topspin; Top & Spin

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    Replies
    1. GB,
      Your FREIGHTERS answer for the "Where'd My Car Go Slice" is better than my intended answer, which is simply FREIGHTS. I believe I have heard "freights" used as a truncated synonym of "freight trains." But I KNOW "freighters is a very solid answer, pertaining to ships, planes, etc.

      LegoWhoAdmitsThisSliceAndEspeciallyTheSchpuzzleThisWeekWereFreightedWithConfusionAndUncertainty

      Delete
  12. Schpuzzle: MOVIE/TV, split, ̶ T + A => MOVIE, AV (Audio-Visual); PHYSIOLOGY, split + B => PHYS(ics), BIOLOGY [post-Sat-hint].
    Post-Mon-hint: MYSTERY => MY STORY / AUTOBIOGRAPHY
    HISTORY + S => HIS STORY / BIOGRAPHY

    Cryptic crossword
    1A:
    9A: ZERO
    10A: SILENT NIGHT
    11A:
    14A:
    16A: TENORS
    17A:
    18A: THE COAST IS CLEAR
    19A:
    21A:
    22A:
    23A: KNOW
    26A: OLIVER TWIST
    27A:
    28A:

    2D:
    3D:
    4D: POTASS FATASS
    5D: SPEAK OF THE DEVIL (?)
    6D:
    7D:
    8D:
    12D:
    13D:
    14D:
    15D:
    20D:
    21D:
    24D:
    25D:

    “Where'd My Car Go” Slice: EFGHI, RST => FREIGHTS

    Entrées
    #1: OHM, DA VINCI, COCKTAIL => DOMINICK TALVACCHIO
    #2: TUMBLEWEEDS => WELD, MEET, USB
    #3: CAMELS, MESCAL, PEYOTE, COYOTE
    #4: DROMEDARY => DORM-READY. Hint: HOP MENU => ONE HUMP
    #5: STRONG CATHOLIC FOE => CHOCOLATE FROSTING

    Dessert: TOPSPIN, TOP, SPIN

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. geofan,
      "MOVIE/TV, split, ̶ T + A => MOVIE, AV (Audio-Visual); PHYSIOLOGY, split + B => PHYS(ics), BIOLOGY" are sane and sound excellent alternative answers to my tortured Schpuzzle!

      LegoWhoPrescribesTaking"TwoPilloriesAndCallMeInTheMourning"

      Delete
  13. TOPSPIN
    STRONG CATHOLIC FOE > CHOCOLATE FROSTING
    Dominick Talvacchio > OHM DAVINCI COCKTAIL
    LIVE[EVIL inverted]
    ONLINE[NIL reversed inside ONE]
    PRETENTIOUS[STEP ROUTINE anagram]
    ZERO[freeZER Oddly]
    BARK[double definition]
    EFGHI+RST > FREIGHTS
    SIDEWINDERS is the only 11-letter word that comes immediately to mind for "things you may encounter in the desert"...Oh, wait a minute: RATTLESNAKE > AT&T,...no, the rest of it doesn't work out, and, besides, a RATTLESNAKE is only one THING...Well, OK, after the Saturday PM hint: WELD, MEET, USB < TUMBLEWEEDS

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Paul.
      I completely forgot about sidewinders and rattlers in the sesert. I wish I woulda tried putting them snakes in some o' my riff-off puzzles this week.

      LegoWhoNotesThatMostOldTimeyWristwatchesWereSidewinders

      Delete
  14. SCHPUZZLE: MY/STERY => MY STORY => AUTOBIOGRAPHY; HIS/TORY => HIS STORY => BIOGRAPHY

    CAR SLICE: E F G H I & R S T => FREIGHTS [Although it's not really supposed to be plural]

    ENTREES:

    1. OHM & DA VINCI & COCKTAIL => DOMINICK TALVACCHIO

    2. TUMBLEWEEDS => WELD & MEET & USB [Never would have gotten this without the hint, and even then, it was tough]

    3. CAMELS => MESCAL => PEYOTE => COYOTE

    4. DROM/EDARY => DORM-READY In puzzle hint: HOPMENU => ONE HUMP

    5. STRONG CATHOLIC FOE => CHOCOLATE FROSTING

    DESSERT: TOPSPIN => TOP SPIN [I just discovered that English is used in billiards to mean something other than language]

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. ViolinTeddy, the term "freight" is used as a noun in railroad lingo where common parlance uses "freight train". The plural is "freights."

      Delete
    2. THanks, geo....but when I had looked it up, what I saw said that it was NOT correct to make it plural, thus I initially questioned whether I had the right answer or not.

      Delete
  15. QUESTION: what happened up above that your posts, Lego, had your actual name instead of LegoLambda?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yeah. You never see Superman and Clark Kent at the same time.

      Delete
    2. VT,
      I was using a different computer. The default must have been a different screen name... This stuff is all Greek to me!

      LegoWhoActuallyDidHaveJobsAsANewspaperReporter(AnsIsNerdyLikeClarkKent)ButIsDefinitelyNoSuperman!

      Delete
  16. Schpuzzle
    AUTOBIOGRAPHY, MYSTERY, MY STORY
    BIOGRAPHY, HISTORY, HIS STORY
    Appetizer
    Cryptic answer---See Lego.
    Menu
    Car Go Slice
    FREIGHTS(EFGHI, RST)
    Entrees
    1. DOMINICK TALVACCHIO, OHM, DA VINCI, COCKTAIL
    2. TUMBLEWEEDS, WELD, MEET, USB(Universal Serial Bus)
    3. CAMELS, MESCAL, PEYOTE, COYOTE
    4. DROMEDARY, DORM-READY, HOP, MENU(ONE HUMP)
    5. STRONG CATHOLIC FOE, CHOCOLATE FROSTING
    Dessert
    TOPSPIN, TOP, SPIN
    Has DE finished my puzzle? I've just got to know! Seems like she never reveals her answers here!-pjb

    5.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Let's give Dowager Empress a bit more time to weigh in, cranberry. I too would be interested in her comments about your cryptic crossword this week's Puzzleria! In her earlier post, of course, she gave it rave reviews.

      LegoWhoWillPostTheOfficialAnswersForTheRecordInDueTime(YouHaveAllSolvedAllMyPuzzlesAnywayButPatrick'sAreProvingToBeMoreCryptic)

      Delete
  17. REALITY SHOW [anagram of "why a loser" surrounding "it"]

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Nice, Paul. It is, in reality, a winner of an anagram.

      LegoWhyNotAWinner?

      Delete
  18. This week's official answers for the record, part 1:

    Schpuzzle Of TheWeek:
    “No, not Poetry... Pottery!”
    Divide the name of a bookstore section into two parts.
    Change a letter to form an informal name for a second bookstore section beginning with A.
    Divide the name of a third bookstore section into two parts.
    Add a letter to form an informal name for a fourth bookstore section beginning with B.
    What are these four bookstore sections?
    What are the informal two-part names for two of the sections?
    Answer:
    Mystery, Autobiography; History; Biography (My Story, His Story)

    Lego...

    ReplyDelete
  19. This week's official answers for the record, part 2:

    Appetizer Menu
    Cryptic Crossword Appetizer:
    Note: The completed crossword grid appears immediately above this week's Comments Section.
    Answers and Explanations:
    ACROSS
    1. Strange why a loser has it on TV nowadays(7,4)
    REALITY SHOW
    WHYALOSER anagram containing IT
    9. Nothing in freezer, oddly(4)
    ZERO
    hidden inside freeZEROddly
    10. Christmas song is popular, containing one Latin part of speech(6,5)
    SILVER BELLS
    SELLS containing I+L+VERB
    11. What a dog might do on a tree?(4)
    BARK
    double definition
    14. Smart to leave chicken in pot for Sunday(7)
    WEEKEND
    CHICKEN-CHIC inside WEED
    16. He sings, having shot one creature(6)
    RABBIT
    RAT containing BB+I
    17. I'm inclined over the phone to find girl(6)
    EILEEN
    sounds like I LEAN
    18. Catholics' Easter gathering–it's safe to go(3, 5, 2, 5)
    THE COAST IS CLEAR
    CATHOLICSEASTER anagram
    19. New "total lunatic"?(6)
    NUTTER
    N+UTTER
    21. More from whistleblower? Sick!(6)
    REFILL
    REF+ILL
    22. Prepared to go in to study(7)
    READIED
    DIE inside READ
    23. Instant decapitation, OK?(4)
    IFFY
    JIFFY-J
    26. Dickens character has to be into alternative dance(6,5)
    OLIVER TWIST
    LIVE inside OR+TWIST
    27. Old American journalist(4)
    USED
    U.S.+ED(editor)
    28. Couple of lawmakers involved in income tax reform? Hallelujah!(11)
    EXCLAMATION
    LA inside INCOMETAX anagram
    DOWN
    2. Go be dropping off son(4)
    EXIT
    EXIST-S
    3. Survive bad upbringing(4)
    LIVE
    EVIL reversed
    4. Ultimate exhibitionist with great, curvy butt(6)
    TARGET
    T+GREAT anagram
    5. Not hard to capture mountain the lad was climbing–there he is!(5, 2, 3, 5)
    SPEAK OF THE DEVIL
    SOFT containing PEAK+HE+LIVED reversed
    6. Individual having turned up nothing via computer?(6)
    ONLINE
    ONE containing NIL reversed
    7. Grows up gaming, primarily–is seen playing with this?(4,7)
    SEGA GENESIS
    AGES reversed+G+ISSEEN anagram
    8. Turn crank to get old, funny music(4,3,4)
    ROCK AND ROLL
    CRANK anagram containing O+DROLL
    12. Artsy step routine, rechoreographed(11)
    PRETENTIOUS
    STEPROUTINE anagram
    13. Take issue, provided, say, I had to be treated degradingly(11)
    OBJECTIFIED
    OBJECT+IF+sounds like I'D
    14. Crazy weirdo carrying wife's head?!(7)
    WIDOWER
    WEIRDO anagram containing W &lit.
    15. Lost desire? Indeed, halfheartedly(7)
    DITCHED
    ITCH inside DEED-E
    20. Force of habit as king has raised spirit(6)
    REFLEX
    REX containing ELF reversed
    21. Racehorse taking off in the wrong direction?(3,3)
    RED RUM
    MURDER reversed
    24. Hit 70s cop show(4)
    SWAT
    double definition
    25. Alone, keeping head down in the city(4)
    OSLO
    SOLO with the S moved down one

    Lego...

    ReplyDelete
  20. This week's official answers for the record, part 3:

    MENU

    “Where’d My Car Go?” Slice:
    Blocks of letters, moved and mixed
    Take five consecutive letters from the first half of the alphabet and three consecutive letters from the second half of the alphabet.
    Rearrange these eight letters to form means of cargo transport, in one word.
    What is it?
    Answer: Freights (EFGHI + RST)

    Riffing Off Shortz and Talvacchio Slices:
    The desert is hot, sure, but it’s a DRY heat
    Puzzleria!s Riffing Off Shortz and Talvacchio Slices read:
    ENTREE #1:
    Rearrange the combined letters of:
    1. the surname of a physicist named Georg who, with the help of Alessandro and Andre-Marie, “laid down the (electrical) law”;
    2. the surname of the original “Renaissance Man”; and
    3. an alcoholic mixed drink consisting of spirits and fruit juice, flavored syrup or cream.
    If you have the right surnames and mixed drink, the result of your rearrangement will form the first and last names of a puzzle-maker.
    Who is this puzzle-maker?
    Hint: The surname of the original “Renaissance Man” is one brand name of the alcoholic mixed drink.
    Answer:
    Dominick Talvacchio
    (DOMINICK TALVACCHIO = OHM + DA VINCI + COCKTAIL)
    ENTREE #2:
    Think of things, in one word of 11 letters, you may encounter in a desert. Rearrange these letters to get a pair of four-letter words and a three-letter initialism that are each related to “connecting.”
    What things may be encountered in the desert?
    What are the two words and the initialism?
    Answer:
    Tumbleweeds; Weld, meet, USB (port, Universal Serial Bus)
    ENTREE #3:
    Name what, in one plural word of six letters, you may encounter in a desert. Rearrange the letters to get a single word for a kind of cactus you might encounter in the desert. Name a six-letter synonym of that kind of cactus. Replace the first two letters of that synonym to name a creature you may encounter in the desert.
    What are these four six-letter words?
    Answer:
    Camels, mescal, peyote, coyote

    Lego...

    ReplyDelete
  21. This week's official answers for the record, part 4:
    (Riffing Off Shortz and Talvacchio Slices, continued)

    ENTREE #4:
    Name a kind of critter, in one word of nine letters, that you might encounter in a desert. Rearrange the first four letters and the final five letters to get a two-part hyphenated word (beginning with D and R) that describes a particular “bundle” marketed to college students returning to campus after summer break. That “bundle” includes a bedloft, micro-fridge, electronic safe, futon and television.
    What are this critter, and description of the “bundle”?
    Hint: A two-word characteristic feature of the critter can be formed by rearranging the seven letters that fill the two blanks in the following sentence (A three-letter word belongs in the blank, forming a compound word):
    The car___ at the drive-in brought the guy in the T-Bird a ____ so he could place his order.
    Answer:
    Dromedary; dorm-ready
    Hint: The carHOP at the drive-in brought a MENU to the guy in the T-Bird a MENU so he could place his order. (HOP+MENU=ONE HUMP)

    ENTREE #5:
    Think of phrase (consisting of a 6-letter adjective beginning with “s,” an 8-letter adjective beginning with “C” and a 3-letter noun beginning with “f.” The phrase, one might argue, describes Martin Luther or John Wesley or, before he left the Ku Klux Klan, Hugo Black. Rearrange the combined 17 letters of these words to form, in two words, something you see on a dessert.
    What are this phrase, and what is seen on a dessert?
    Answer:
    "Strong Catholic foe"; Chocolate frosting

    Dessert Menu

    Tabletop Dessert:
    The universal language of “lob”?
    English is used by table tennis players worldwide. Divide one kind of English in two to name a toy and what such toys do.
    Topspin; top, spin

    Lego!

    ReplyDelete