Ashland, Massachusetts? “Reversid Gnihsilbup?” Captain Hook... line & sinker; “Agra-man?” Triply pronominal proper name; Aretha Franklin & Rannah Szenes; Birds perching on antennas? Incompatible comma and cat? “Nightie-night, Teddy Knight!”

PUZZLERIA! SLICES: OVER 5πe² SERVED

Schpuzzle of the Week:

Triply pronominal proper name

The same pronoun, in English, appears twice consecutively within the name of a writer. 

The last letter of the pronoun that appears second in this writer’s name doubles as the first letter of the French translation of that pronoun. 

Thus, there are three pronouns in the writer’s name: two identical adjacent pronouns, and a third pronoun (a French translation of the first two) that shares a letter with the second English pronoun.

Who is this writer?

Appetizer Menu

Friendly Surefire Appetizer:

“Agra-man?” Captain Hook... line & sinker; Ashland Massachusetts? “Reversid Gnihsilbup?”

Note: The following four Appetizers were composed by a very valued and inventive Friend of Puzzleria!

Note: Appetizer #1 is a riff of the September 8,
2024, NPR challenge.

Captain Hook... line & sinker

1. Take the name of a common watercraft
accessory. 

Rearrange its letters to make the name of a particular watercraft operator. What is the name of the accessory and the name of the operator? 

Note: Appetizer #2 is a riff of the November, 3, 2024, NPR challenge.

“Reversid Publishing?”  

2. 🧪Take the trade name of an American corporation that, among other activities, runs tests.  

Drop the second letter of the name, and move
the last letter into second place. 

The result is the name of something no one wants to encounter in a test result or elsewhere.  

What is the company name, and what is the name of the thing no one wants to encounter?  

“Agra-man?”

3.  Take a word for one who is placed in readiness.
Rearrange its letters to make a word for a rearrangement of letters. 

What are the words?  

Ashland Massachusetts?

4. Take a common abbreviation for a prominent landmass. 

Insert in the center an abbreviation for distinguishing characters. 

The result is a word for the interior. 

Remove the center letter of that word, and the remaining letters in order from left to right spell a word that suggests obscurity. 

What are the two abbreviations and the two words? 

[Note: The terms used above come from the Number 1 or 2 definitions in Merriam-Webster.]

MENU

Transpositional Hors d’Oeuvre

Aretha Franklin & “Ra”nnah Szenes

Transpose the first two letters of a word associated with respect. 

The result is word associated with resistance. 

What are these words?

Sylvania Slice:

Birds perching on antennas?

Take a command in four-words heard during the early years of television. 

One letter appears four times. 

Remove one of them. The remaining letters can be rearranged to spell two birds and a word meaning “ceased to fly and came to rest.” 

What are this plea, two birds and one word?

Note: One of the words in the four-word command heard during television’s early years is a contraction of two words.)

Riffing Off Shortz And Gordon Entrees:

“Nightie-night, Teddy Knight!”

Will Shortz’s December 1st NPR Weekend Edition Sunday puzzle, created by crossword constructor and editor Peter Gordon, reads: Think of a classic television actor — first and last names. Add a long-E sound at the end of each name and you’ll get two things that are worn while sleeping. What are they?

Entree #1:

Place an ampersand between the first and last names of a puzzle-maker to name a 1960s British pop duo. 

Remove the ampersand, then remove the first letter of the first name and add a long-E sound at the end. 

Remove the horizonal “serif” or “bar” from the
first letter of the last name. Place after this a third word: a French color.

The result is a synonym of “diner,” “grill,” or “cafeteria” and an entree unlikely to appear on the menu.

Who are the puzzle-maker and the pop duo? What are the synonym of “diner” and the entree unlikely to appear on the menu?

Note: Entrees #2 through #7 are the brainchildren of Nodd, puzzle-maker extraordinaire.

ENTREE #2

Take the first names of (1) a well-known American film actor who starred in television series but is better known for film roles, and (2) an American actress who appeared in dozens of television series and also had featured roles
in films. 

Between them, the two first names have seven letters. Rearrange them to spell a word for something that some people wear in bed. 

Who are the actor and actress, and what do some people wear in bed?

ENTREE #3

Think of a well-known television actor, first and last names, 11 letters in all. 

Change the fourth letter to the one that comes next in the alphabet. 

Rearrange the 11 letters to spell (1) something you might sleep in if it were a cold night, and (2) a place where a monk, nun or criminal might sleep. 

Who is the actor, what might you sleep in, and where might a monk, nun or criminal go to sleep?

ENTREE #4

Think of a well-known television actor, first and last names, 11 letters in all. 

Remove the first name of a different actor, four letters. (The second actor starred in a number of Disney films.) 

Rearrange the remaining seven letters to spell an item of clothing you might sleep in, or keep
bedclothes in. 

Who are the two actors, what might you sleep in, and where might you keep bedclothes?

ENTREE #5

Take the 10-letter last name of a well-known television actress. 

Add a two-letter state postal abbreviation. 

Rearrange these 12 letters to spell a two-word term for a luxurious sleepwear item. 

Who is the actress, and what is the sleepwear item? 

(Hint: The actress’s last name has two parts.)

ENTREE #6

Think of an eight-letter item of warm clothing you might wear to bed. 

Rearrange its letters to spell a word for what might need to be done to the item after you
have used it for several seasons. 

What is the clothing item, and what might it need?

ENTREE #7

Take the first and last names of a well-known American television and film actress. 

Remove the first two letters. Using the remaining letters as often needed, spell a hyphenated expression associated with going to bed. 

Who is the actress, and what is the expression?

Note: Entree #8 is the brainchild of Plantsmith, also a puzzle-maker extraordinaire.

ENTREE #8

Add a long-E sound at the end of a budding celebrity’s name to get something drinkable.

This celebrity, whose parents are also celebrities, has very lately been in the “high-
societal” news.

Who is this budding celebrity?

What is the “something drinkable?”

ENTREE #9

Think of a gifted purveyor of soul music – first and last names – in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Add a long-E sound at the end of each name. 

The surname now sounds like a slang term for a psychostimulant drug of the phenethylamine class that produces a sense of peacefulness and pleasure. 

The first name now sounds like a dark, low-traffic roadway (singular, not plural!) where this drug is sometimes bought and sold.

Who is this soul-music purveyor?

What are the drug and where it may exchange hands, along with cash?

ENTREE #10

Think of a classic spy film, in one compound word. Remove he first letter from each part of the word, leaving and adjective and the first name of an actress whom this adjective never really described.

Remove the second and last letters form the
surname of this actress, leaving a digit, spelled-out, that is the sum of the first and third digits in the year the film was released.

Consider the title of this film:

Letters number 5, 10, 6, 1 and 8 spell the name of a Norse goddess whose hubby’s name is an anagram of a American singer/songwriter in his 80s whose music incorporates elements of doo-wop, pop, rock, R&B, folk and blues.

Letters number 2, 3, 4, 9 and 7 spell an adjective that describes the bygone era when classical deities like her “lived.”

What is this film title, and when was it released? Who is the actress? Who is the Norse goddess and her hubby? 

Dessert Menu

Strunk & White Dessert:

Incompatible comma and cat?

What is the difference between a comma and a cat?

A comma causes a _____ at the end of a
_____.

A cat has _____ at the end of its _____.

Fill in the four blanks. 

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.