Thirty-six Cryptics, and counting... "Glides his gondola o’er a lagoon" “An arithmetic operation” Jonathan, Anwar and Thomas; Body part... and a body of water; “E Eye E Eye... Oh?”

PUZZLERIA! SLICES: OVER 5πe² SERVED

Schpuzzle of the Week:

Jonathan, Anwar & Thomas

Jonathan Swift was a satirist. Anwar Sadat was a Mideasterner. Thomas E. Dewey was a
prosecutor.

What do this satirist, Mideasterner and prosecutor have in common? 

Appetizer Menu

Brain-Cryptickling Cluemasterful Appetizer:

Thirty-six Cryptics, and counting...

Cryptic Crosswordmeister Patrick J. Berry (known also by his screen name “cranberry”) is truly a master at creating clever clues to his “fill” (the words that the solver must insert into the cryptic crossword grid.)

Take for example, this, his 36th cryptic crossword that Patrick has created for Puzzleria! 

His first clue (1. ACROSS) reads: 

1. Cryptic, I gather — latest puzzle, right?

(Patrick is noting and announcing that this is his “latest cryptic puzzle” (but, as we all hope, not his “last”) to grace the pages of Puzzleria!

And Patrick’s final clue (21. DOWN) reads: 

21. Think that’s about the end — hard to avoid!

Patrick is concluding his clues with an appropriate “that’s about the end...” and, yes, the end is indeed “hard to avoid!”

All good things (in this case, great things called “clues”!) do come to an end... at least for this puzzle...

But we all hope and trust that Patrick will keep ‘em comin’!  

If you have missed, or wish to revisit, any of Patrick’s previous 35 cryptic crosswords on Puzzleria!, here are their links:

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 

15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 

26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35

For those who may be new to cryptic crossword puzzles, Patrick has compiled the following list of basic cryptic crossword puzzle instructions:

Regarding the Across and Down clues and their format:

The number, or numbers, that appear in parentheses at the end of each clue indicate how many letters are in the answer.

Multiple numbers in parentheses indicate how letters are distributed in multiple-word answers. 

For example, (9) simply indicates a nine-letter word like “cranberry,” (7,9) indicates a seven-letter and nine-letter answer like “cryptic crossword,” and (4-9) indicates a four-letter and nine-letter hyphenated answer like “head-scratcher.”

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.

That Tutorial appears below the grid that contains the answers in that edition of Puzzleria! 

So, to recap:

1. Patrick’s latest cryptic creation always
seems the greatest, and

2. To paraphrase Liverpudlians: “And in the end, the joy he makes is equal to the joy you take.”

Enjoy! 

ACROSS

1. Cryptic, I gather—latest puzzle, right?(8)

5. Fool with first aid(6)

9. Held down job in real estate, first to be let go(8)

10. Bound to take a risk, we hear(6)

12. Confused almost everyone in cast following actor’s lead?(2,1,4)

13. Good-natured question of self-doubt?(7)

14. One holding crocodile in confusion?(6-6)

17. I’m undone—it’s a slippery slope!(12)

22. Pop offering has the guy on the radio taking notice: “All right! Excellent!”(3,4)

23. Old currency of Greece or Switzerland coming into play(7)

24. City with class catching some off guard(6)

25. Tear, sort of tear in fabric(8)

26. Swimwear fit, went in(6)

27. Tom has problem making small talk(8)

DOWN

1. Pain for those beginning at dude ranch, defying the odds wearing chaps(8)

2. In the end, children almost manage to relax(8)

3. Item about Miss Piggy in book(7)

4. Mechanic has to help brother in dark(6,6)

6. Having no time to lay by beach(7)

7. Drink writer’s book left out(6)

8. Broadcast on the radio rang a bell(6)

11. Can dash out after dance to see
movie(5,3,4)

15. Variety show from the 70s features his dancing, a little manic(8)

16. Lady stripped? Inappropriate and immoral!(8)

18. Pompous old kook turned up in bar(7)

19. Put away in shelter, most organized(7)

20. Present changing past changes?(6)

21. Think that’s about the end—hard to avoid!(6)

One Thing Leads To Another Hors d’Oeuvre:

Body part & body of water 

Double the middle letter of a body part. Move the second letter to the immediate right of that newly doubled letter-pair. 

Divide the result into two adjectives associated with a certain body of water, the first that leads to the second. What are this body part and adjectives? 

Applied Math Slice:

“An arithmetic operation”

An arithmetic (accent on the third syllable) operation applied to the final four letters of an adjective results in the name of that arithmetic operation. 

What are this adjective and arithmetic operation?

Hint: The final four letters can be rearranged to form a clue to this puzzle.

Riffing Off Shortz And Schwartz Entrees:

"...Glides his gondola o’er a lagoon"

Will Shortz’s September 8th NPR) Weekend Edition Sunday puzzle challenge, created by Michael Schwartz of Florence, Oregon, reads:

Take the name of a watercraft that contains an odd number of letters. Remove the middle letter and rearrange the remaining ones to name a body of water. What words are these?

Puzzleria!s Riffing Off Shortz And Schwartz Entrees read:

ENTREE #1

Five consecutive letters in a puzzle-maker’s name spell a word associated with stresslessness. 

The remaining letters in the name can be rearranged to spell a hotel that is apparently as big as a diamond and the surname of a guy who apparently owns a navy.

Who is this puzzle-maker?

What are:

~ the word associated with stresslessness,

~ the hotel that is apparently as big as a diamond, and 

~  the surname of a guy who apparently owns a navy?

Finally, identify the word in the blank in the quatrain below:

In the Oregon city of Florence

Our friend “Clark,” under light of the ____,

On the Siuslaw (not the Saint Lawrence!)

Glides his gondola o’er a lagoon.

Note: “Clark” is also known as Michael Schwartz, author of this week’s NPR puzzle challenge.

Note: Entrees #2 and #3 were composed by Plantsmith, author of “Garden of Puzzley Delights” on Puzzleria!

ENTREE #2

Take a watercraft with an odd number of letters. Change the middle letter by moving it back three places earlier in the circular “alphabet stream.” 

Mix up the result to name part of a building. 

What are this watercraft and building part? 

ENTREE #3

Take a watercraft with an uneven number of letters. 

Rot14 the middle letter; that is, change it to the letter 14 places later in the circular “alphabet stream.” Replace a vowel with a different vowel. Slightly mix the result to get something edible. What are this watercraft and edible?

Note: Entrees #4-through-#9 were composed by Nodd, author of “Nodd ready for prime time” on Puzzleria!

ENTREE #4

Take the name of a watercraft that contains an odd number of letters. 

Remove one of the letters. 

The result will be a word for a quantity of water. 

What words are these?

ENTREE #5

Take the name of a watercraft that contains an even number of letters. 

Remove two non-contiguous letters that form a state postal abbreviation. Rearrange the result to get a word for animals found near bodies of water. What words are these?

ENTREE #6

Take the name of a watercraft that contains an odd number of letters. 

Spell the name backward to get a word for
certain bodies of water. 

What words are these?

ENTREE #7

Take the name of a watercraft that contains an even number of letters. 

Remove the next-to-last letter. Rearrange the remaining letters to get a word that describes a possible outcome of not having this watercraft available when needed. 

What words are these?

ENTREE #8

Take the name of a watercraft that contains an even number of letters. 

Remove the second, fourth, and fifth letters. 

Rearrange the remaining letters to get a word that describes the primary purpose of this watercraft. 

What words are these?

ENTREE #9

Take the name of a watercraft that contains an odd number of letters. 

Remove the middle letter and rearrange the remaining ones to name a body of water. What words are these?

Take the name of a watercraft that contains an odd number of letters. The letters can be rearranged to spell (a) a word for a body ofwater, and (b) an  adjective that describes how the operator of this watercraft would strive to keep the apparatus the watercraft uses to perform its intended purpose. What words are these?

Note: Entrees #10-through-#15 were composed by Ecoarchitect, author of “Econfusions” on Puzzleria!

ENTREE #10

Take the name of a watercraft that contains an odd number of letters. 

Remove the third letter and rearrange the
remaining ones to name a body of water. 

What words are these? 

ENTREE #11

Take the body of water that is the answer to ENTREE #10, above. 

Change the third letter to a different letter and rearrange to name another body of water. What words are these? 

ENTREE #12

Take the name of a watercraft that contains an
odd number of letters. 

Remove the last letter and rearrange the remaining ones to name a body of water. 

What words are these?  

ENTREE #13

Take the name of an ethnic food, popular around Christmas, that contains an odd number of letters. 

Remove the middle letter and don't bother rearranging the remaining ones to name a body of water. 

What words are these?  

ENTREE #14

Take the brand name of a watercraft that contains an odd number of letters. Remove the middle letter, change the last letter to an "A" and rearrange to name a body of water. 

What words are these? 

ENTREE #15

Whom would you call (and what would you call each of these puzzles, Entrees #10-through-#14) had Violin Teddy or Tortitude (instead of Ecoarchitect) composed them and sent them to LegoLambda to be published? 

And, why might LegoLambda feel safer if Tortie or VT, and not Ecoarchitect, sent you these puzzles? 

Dessert Menu

Down On The Farm Dessert:

“E Eye E Eye... Oh?”

Anagram the combined letters of two structures on a farm to spell something that is
the fifth in a series. 

What are these farm structures and the fifth in a series?

Every Thursday at Joseph Young’s Puzzleria! we publish a new menu of fresh word puzzles, number puzzles, logic puzzles, puzzles of all varieties and flavors. We cater to cravers of scrumptious puzzles!

Our master chef, Grecian gourmet puzzle-creator Lego Lambda, blends and bakes up mysterious (and sometimes questionable) toppings and spices (such as alphabet soup, Mobius bacon strips, diced snake eyes, cubed radishes, “hominym” grits, anagraham crackers, rhyme thyme and sage sprinklings.)

Please post your comments below. Feel free also to post clever and subtle hints that do not give the puzzle answers away. Please wait until after 3 p.m. Eastern Time on Wednesdays to post your answers and explain your hints about the puzzles. We serve up at least one fresh puzzle every Friday.

We invite you to make it a habit to “Meet at Joe’s!” If you enjoy our weekly puzzle party, please tell your friends about Joseph Young’s Puzzleria! Thank you.