Thursday, July 30, 2026

Greek To Me (by R. Cane); What’s In A (Sur)name? (parts 1 2, & 3); Animal Instinct; Nobody Does It Better; Poetry Corner, by Anna Graham; Cornball moth-eaten comfy sweetie balderdash!; “Aircrafts & Criminal Courts”; “Creature matures, makes a move!”; “Shapeliness! Synonymy! Assembly!”

 PUZZLERIA! SLICES: OVER 5πe2 SERVED

Schpuzzle of the Week:

“Shapeliness! Synonymy! Assembly!”


Write a geometrical term in uppercase. 

Remove letters that can spell a synonym of “assembly.” 

What remains perfectly illustrates the geometrical term.

What is this geometrical term?

What is the synonym of “assembly”? 

What remains after it is removed?

Appetizer Menu

Hellenization “Surnominalization” “Instinky Creatures?” “Chitty Chitty” Appetizer:  

Greek To Me (by R. Cane): What’s In A (Sur)name? (parts 1 2, & 3); Animal Instinct; Nobody Does It Better; Poetry Corner, by A nna Graham

GREEK TO ME, by R. Cane

1. 📖📚The three words described below originated in ancient Greece but are found in standard English dictionaries. 

Guess the words from the descriptions provided.

I. Take an eight-letter word for a center or hub that is derived from a word for a body part.  

Remove one letter and rearrange the rest to
spell a word for something used on a different body part.  

What are these two words?

II. Take a seven-letter word for a phantom.  Four consecutive letters of this word, in order, spell a word for an icon. If those four letters are removed, the remaining letters, in order, spell a word for a period of time. What are these three words?   

III.  An ancient Olympic sport that is still around today contains ten letters.  

Put a space between the third and fourth letters, and a hyphen between the fourth and fifth letters.  

You will spell something that is used to prepare food, and a food item that needs no preparation.  

What are the sport, the item used to prepare food, and the food item?

2. WHAT’S IN A (SUR)NAME?, part 1

⚾ What famous American’s surname sounds like a description of the post-season 1963 New York Yankees?

3. WHAT’S IN A (SUR)NAME?, part 2

🎜🎝 Remove one letter from the surname of a classical composer and rearrange the remaining letters to name a bottled item you might find in a grocery store. 

The surname is also a brand of this item. 

Who is the composer and what is the item?


4. WHAT’S IN A (SUR)NAME?, part 3

🎾 What past actor’s surname sounds like part of
a score from a famous 1980 Wimbledon match?

5. ANIMAL INSTINCT

🎸 What might musician Eric Burdon have said to a moldy lasagne ingredient taking up space in his fridge?

6. NOBODY DOES IT BETTER

🔫 Double the fourth letter in the anglicized name of a major Asian city and add a space to get
something James Bond wanted to do and presumably did. 

What is the city, and what did 007 want to do? 

7. POETRY CORNER, by Anna Graham

🖋 Fill in the blanks with four seven-letter words to complete the verse.

She  _ _ _ _ _ _ _ , strove, achieved great heights,

But though they _ _ _ _ _ _ _ her flawless art,

 _ _ _ _ _ _ _ now plagues her days and nights,

As _ _ _ _ _ _ _ pile up, sleep departs,

Ah, bittersweet are motherhood’s delights! 

MENU:

Anti-Saloon League Hors d’Oeuvre:

“There’s 3 T’s (but no ‘Sousey’ Seas) in ‘Teetotal’”

In the midst of the dawn of the _________ Jazz era in the early 20th Century, Prohibition emerged. The U.S. government ___ ___ ___ and other alcohol sales. This movement, led by groups like the Woman’s Christian Temperance Union and the Anti-Saloon League, culminated in the passage of the Eighteenth Amendment. This nationwide ban made the manufacture, sale, and transport of alcoholic drinks illegal starting in 1920.

Letters in the first blank (each of them used just once) can be rearranged to spell the words in the next three blanks.

What are those four missing words?

“Amphibious  Slice”

“Aircrafts & Criminal Courts”

Name a standard criminal court response – such as guilty, not guilty, or no contest – entered by a defendant who is legally competent and of sound mind, indicating that they are fully aware of their actions and able to assist in their own defense.

Name also any fixed-wing powered aircraft that can take off and land on water. It is an anagram of the criminal court response word.

What is this criminal court response?

What is the fixed-wing aircraft?

Riffing Off Shortz And Kalish Entrees:

Cornball moth-eaten comfy sweetie balderdash! 

Will Shortz’s July 26th Weekend Edition Sunday puzzle challenge, from Evan Kalish of Bayside, New York, reads:

There is a set of five five-letter words that vary by just their middle letter. If the middle is any letter from K through O, it makes a common word. However, no other letter can go in the middle to complete a word. What words are these?

Puzzleria!s Riffing Off Shortz And Kalish Entrees read:

ENTREE #1

Name a puzzle-maker, in ten letters. 

Rearrange these letters to spell:

~ a Hindu god of destruction and regeneration, and

~ a below-the-belt body part. 

Who is this puzzle-maker?

Who is the god? What is the body part?

Note: Nodd (our friend and riffmeister extraordinaire) notes that Entrees #2 through #7 are conundrums based on the Merriam-Webster online dictionary. Other dictionaries may include words not found in that dictionary. Proper nouns are excluded.

ENTREE #2

Find a set of five five-letter words that vary by
just their middle letter, using the consecutive letters V-Z as the middle letter.

ENTREE #3

Using the same first, second, fourth and fifth letters as in the previous Entree, find a set of three five-letter words that vary by just their middle letter, using the consecutive letters N, O &
P as the middle letter.

ENTREE #4

Find a set of three five-letter words that vary by just their middle letter. In alphabetical order, the three words are nautical, culinary, and botanical terms, respectively. 

The three middle letters can be arranged to spell a kind of animal kept as a pet. 

(Hint: No other letter, other than those five, can go in the middle to complete a word.)

ENTREE #5

Find a set of five five-letter words that vary by just their middle letter. 

In alphabetical order, the five words are academic, medical, botanical, carpentry, and jewelry terms, respectively. 

The four common letters can be arranged to
form two words, both of which sound like letters of the alphabet. No other letter can go in the middle to complete a word.

ENTREE #6

Find a set of eight five-letter words that vary by just their middle letter. 

The words begin and end with the same letter. 


The middle letters are L, M, P, S, T, W, X and Z. 

ENTREE #7

Find a set of seven five-letter words that vary by just their middle letter, using D, G, K-N, and R as the middle letters. 

No other letter can go in the middle to complete a word.

ENTREE #8

Fill in the missing letters in the nineteen empty blank spaces pictured at the left (one one the 19 spaces. (Note: One of these 19 “spaces” is  represented by a non-underlined “que?tion mark” instead of a horizontal blank line.)  

Also replace the word in the lower-right-hand-most image with a four-letter synonym. What six words do you come up with?

(Note: One of the four-letter words in my answer to Entree #8 is not really a legitimate Merriam-Webster-approved word.)

Dessert Menu

Non-Repetitive Dessert:

“Creature matures, makes a move!”

Name a young creature spelled with letters that do not repeat.

Repeat the second letter. 

Rearrange this letter-longer result to spell this same
creature after a few years have passed, and a movement it may then make. 

What are these two creatures and this movement?

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 sometimesquestionable) 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 Thursday.

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.

43 comments:

  1. To place a comment under this QUESTIONS? subheading (immediately below), or under any of the three subheadings below it (HINTS! PUZZLE RIFFS! and MY PROGRESS SO FAR...), simply left-click on the orange “Reply” to open a dialogue box where you can make a comment. Thank you.
    Lego...

    ReplyDelete
  2. Replies
    1. In the Hors d'Oeuvre: (1) Does the intended answer require that all letters in the first word be used in forming the other three words? (2) Can letters in the first word be used more than once in forming the other three words?

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    2. Good questions, Nodd.
      My intended answer does indeed require that all letters in the first word (each used just once) be used in forming the other three words. (All three newly-formed words are the same length, and their initial letters can be arranged to spell a male first name.)
      Lego(501?Or11?AntelopeSynonym)
      Lego

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    3. I managed to solve the Hors D'O late last night.

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  3. Replies
    1. SUNDAY HINTS FOR APPETIZERS:
      1.(I) The item used on a different body part is also the title of a Warren Beatty movie.
      1.(II) Remove one letter from the seven-letter word and rearrange to get a synonym for pasta.
      1.(III) The food item was discontinued after World War II.
      2. The famous American has a book club.
      3. The composer had the same first name as a feisty deceased SCOTUS justice.
      4. The actor’s first name sounds like the last word in the title of an Oscar Wilde work.
      5. You gotta solve this if it’s the last thing you ever do.
      6. Bond presumably did this at the end of “Goldfinger.”
      7. The yuckiest part of baby care.

      SUNDAY HINTS FOR ENTREES 2-7:
      2. Change the letter after the V to the next vowel in the alphabet to spell a disease.
      3. Capitalize the letter after the N to get the informal name of a utility.
      4. Change the first letter of the culinary word to name a country.
      5. The botanical term names a tree and is also the first half of the name of a bright star. The complete name of the star is a homophone of the name of a Michael Keaton movie.
      6. Remove the last letter of the word with the L to name a fruit brand.
      7. Remove the first letter of the word with the D to get a word uttered to Caesar.

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    2. GREEK TO ME #III: Switch the 3rd and 5th letters and divide into two words. If we really want to make America great, I think there are worse ideals we could aspire to.

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    3. Got all the Appetizers(#6 still questionable, finding no real mention of it in any synopsis of "Goldfinger"), had to confirm some of the words in the Entrees are actual words. Got #2 and #3, possibly most of #5 and #6, cannot find the name of the country in #4, and if I have the right Caesar word in #7(which I am now seriously doubting), I cannot find any even-halfway plausible words with a G in the middle. Further clarification and/or narrowing down, please!
      pjbDidHappenToSeeThat"Goldfinger" DoesFeatureMs.Galore(WeCannotDareMentionHerFirstNameHere,Obviously,ButIfYouKnowYourBondGirlNames,You'reProbablySnickeringInsideYourHeadRightNow!ShameOnYou!)

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    4. pjb -- The country in #4 is in Asia. The word with a G in #7 is the plural of a part of an early rifle.

      As for App 6, the last sentence of the novel Goldfinger reads: "His mouth came cruelly down on hers." The answer to the puzzle has to do with what presumably happened next.

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    5. SUNDAY-MONDAY HINTS:

      Schpuzzle of the Week:
      “Shapeliness! Synonymy! Assembly!”

      Take a slow gander at that uppercase alphabet, and at some geometrical shapes.
      Lego...

      See Nodd's hints for his Appetizers in his August 2, 2026 at 2:22 PM Comment

      Anti-Saloon League Hors d’Oeuvre:
      “There’s 3 T’s (but no ‘Sousey’ Seas) in ‘Teetotal’”

      The one-blank 9-letter-word and three 3-letter words both begin with a D, followed by an I. Corresponding letters in the "Number-seven-slots are identical also.

      Amphibious Appetizer:
      “Aircrafts & Criminal Courts”

      Aircrafters might able to see a mountain or wheat-filled plain, or looming purple mountains from their flying machine!

      Puzzleria!s Riffing Off Shortz And Kalish Entrees
      ENTREE #1
      The top arrow points to the god, the second arrow to a body part of a follower.

      (Nodd provided hints to his appetizers (and hints also for his "Nodd ready for prime time"... in his August 2, 2026 at 2:22 PM Comment

      ENTREE #8:
      Art(hur), Bart (Starr), Cart, Dart, Eart(h), "Fart":

      a Briton, A "'Baman," Go-____, Stunted arrow; a Cockney 'eart-friendly banger, "we passed gas stations galore during our trip!"

      Non-Repetitive Dessert
      “Creature matures, makes a move!”

      Johnny Cash "____ the line'... but perhaps not on ____ Year's Eve In New Orleans!

      Lego...

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    6. Isn't the caption for Entree 8 the answer?

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    7. After much belated effort, I have answers for everything but the Schpuzzle, Entree #4, and the Dessert.

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    8. That's reassuring to me, Tortie, because I am missing exactly the SAME three puzzles (along with Appetizers 5 & 6, but I'll just ignore that fact)!

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    9. Although I think we've put our comments in the 'wrong' section.

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  4. Replies
    1. I have a goofy answer for the Schpuzzle. I also have what I believe is the intended answer.

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  5. IF YOU HAVE COMMENTS THAT DO NOT PERTAIN TO ANY OF THE FOUR CATEGORIES ABOVE, YOU MAY WRITE THEM BELOW THIS POST. THANK YOU.

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    Replies
    1. I haven't read a thing yet, but had to comment that I just love your 'curvy wormy angle'

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    2. Thank you, ViolinTeddy... but why would you suspect that I had anything to do with it?!
      It (the image) is, however, kinda curvy and cuddly (well, maybe not cuddly). And curves are legitimate geometrical shapes also!
      LegoSigmoid

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    3. Are you saying that you 'lifted' yon worm from somewhere else? I so, then I can only compliment the sense of humor that included it in the image!

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    4. Yes, ViolinTeddy... I lifted the curvy wormy creature from some cyber-slimey-website... It was very squirmy and wriggly!
      Legiggly

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    5. Well, I hope it didn't 'goop' up. your computer! Hee hee, ha ha

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  6. Good Last-Day-Of-July to you all from us all here in Jasper!
    Mom and I are fine. We just got back from eating out at Cracker Barrel with Bryan and Mia Kate. I had two "Homestyle" chicken filets, bacon mac 'n' cheese, 'Country" green beans, a house salad with ranch dressing, and a Coke Zero. Mom had some catfish and some carrots and hushpuppies and apples(I may be forgetting something, because she brought some of it home to eat later, and when I just checked the box there were only the fish and some biscuits and hushpuppies, but I know she had carrots, too)and a Sprite most likely, Bryan had meatloaf and maybe water to drink, but I forget what sides he ordered, and Mia Kate had chicken and dumplings with whitefish(definitely dumplings, but maybe not the chicken if she had fish, too), hushpuppies, and either Sprite or water. We also got a basket of biscuits and hushpuppies, which pretty much explains how anyone had hushpuppies, come to think of it. Mia Kate mostly scrolled through images on her phone the whole time with her earbuds in, while Mom and Bryan just continued their conversation from when he came over with some food last night. They had been talking about some list recently published about the creepiest places in the state of Alabama. Our county, Walker County, was No. 2 on the list. Probably had to do with Jasper being a coal mining town, or a lot of places around the county just looked creepy, or there may be certain places in town that have experienced ghosts or other paranormal activity. That obviously narrows it down considerably. Bryan also said he'll be starting to take Ozempic tomorrow. Mom said a lot of people in town are diabetic, and they don't eat in moderation. That's the whole problem. Bryan's just one if the few who does not look like he's diabetic, though he recently found out he is. Pretty much a good time had by all as usual, though we were supposedly getting rained on by the time Mom and I got home(just a drizzle, I guess, because we haven't heard any further rain outside since we did get home).
    A few easy ones this week, mostly just the Appetizers. Already got Parts II and III of #1, which seems ironic considering both answers are not commonly used words. I just happened to find them while looking up synonyms for "phantom" in seven letters, and Olympic sports in ten letters. Got the composer's name and the bottled item in #3, but I'm unsure about the anagram. If it's the word I think it is, there's no real connection to the bottled item, according to its definition(s). Got #4 once I saw who was playing at Wimbledon in 1980(made it quite easy to get the actor's surname from that, but that's all I can really say aboutvit). #5 might rely a little more on actual lyrics to a particular Animals song than its title, and I don't really have that kind of time to look it up, nor does anything really come to mind just off the top of my head right now. Found only two anglicized Asian city names that would make two different words each when doubling the fourth letter, but I have my doubts about both of them. As usual, the "Anna Graham" puzzle is anybody's guess at this point. Easiest Entree so far is #1. Tried looking up five-letter words with a Z in the middle, and actually found two different sets of possibilities depending on the first letter of each word, though one set mostly has words considered more surnames than actual words. Solved the Dessert simply by looking up words for young animals("creatures"). Looking forward to any and all hints this coming Sunday.
    Good luck in solving to all, and please stay safe, and let's all have a great August, however we may independently choose to do so. Cranberry out!
    pjbNowNeedsToRechargeHisKindle,WhichIsVeryLowInBatteryPower(WhenIt's20%AndTheKeyboardTurnsBlackWithWhiteLetters,That'sHowYouKnow!)

    ReplyDelete
  7. Schpuzzle:
    App:
    1. I. OMPHALOS, SHAMPOO; II. EIDOLON, IDOL, EON; III. PANKRATION, PAN, K-RATION
    2. OPRAH WINFREY
    3. DVORAK, VODKA (fun fact: very few grocery stores in NJ sell vodka, so probably had no chance to solve this before the hint)
    4. ERNEST BORGNINE
    5. “RICOTTA, GET OUT OF THIS PLACE” (“WE GOTTA GET OUT OF THIS PLACE”)
    6. BANGALORE, BANG GALORE
    7. ASPIRED, PRAISED, DESPAIR, DIAPERS
    Hors d’Oeuvre: DIXIELAND, DID, NIX, ALE
    Slice: SANE PLEA; SEAPLANE
    Entrees:
    1. EVAN KALISH; SHIVA, ANKLE
    2. COVED, COWED, COXED, COYED, COZED
    3. CONED, COOED, COPED
    4.
    5. BEDEL, BEJEL, BETEL, BEVEL, BEZEL
    6. DOLED, DOMED, DOPED, DOSED, DOTED, DOWED, DOXED, DOZED
    7. TIDES, TIGES, TIKES, TILES, TIMES, TINES, TIRES
    8. ART, BART, CART, DART, EART, FART
    Dessert:

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  8. PANKRATION is a new word for me. I kinda like the sound of a PARK NATION.
    TADPOLE can be rearranged into POET LAD. When I typed that into the search box, it referred me to "A Shropshire Lad', so I dropped Housman's name
    My "goofy" Schpuzzle answer was PLANE. PANEL can mean "assembly" as in a PANEL of experts, judges, etc. Remove all 5 letters from whatever PLANE they reside in, and the plane still remains.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Brilliant answer, Paul!
      Much better than my intended answer!
      LegoWhoThinksThatIfPaulWouldThinkAnyMoreOutsideTheBoxThanHeAlreadyDoesHisCraniumMightEndUpOnUranium(OrIsItJustUranus?...WhichDoesn'tRhyme!)

      LegoWhoShallNowContemplateComposingACopycatSchpuzzleInvolvingASchropshireLad!

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  9. SCHPUZZLE – RIGHT ANGLE, remove GATHERING to get L
    APPETIZERS
    1.(I) OMPHALOS; SHAMPOO
    1.(II) EIDOLON; IDOL, EON
    1.(III) PANKRATION; PAN, K-RATION
    2. OPRAH WINFREY (“win-free”; the Yankees lost the 1963 World Series to the L.A. Dodgers 4-0)
    3. ANTONIN DVORAK; VODKA
    4. ERNEST BORGNINE (“BORG 9” – In the 1980 Wimbledon final, Borg beat McEnroe in five sets. McEnroe won the fourth set tiebreaker 18-16; so during the tiebreaker, Borg at one time had nine points.)
    5. “RICOTTA, GET OUT OF THIS PLACE”
    6. BANGALORE; BANG [PUSSY] GALORE
    7. ASPIRED, PRAISED, DESPAIR, DIAPERS
    HORS D’OEUVRE – DIXIELAND, DID NIX ALE
    SLICE – SANE PLEA, SEAPLANE
    ENTREES
    1. EVAN KALISH; SHIVA, ANKLE
    2. COVED, COWED, COXED, COYED, COZED
    3. CONED, COOED, COPED
    4. LAGAN, LAPAN, LAUAN
    5. BEDEL, BEJEL, BETEL, BEVEL, BEZEL
    6. DOLED, DOMED, DOPED, DOSED, DOTED, DOWED, DOXED, DOZED
    7. TIDES, TIGES, TIKES, TILES, TIMES, TINES, TIRES
    8. ARTHUR, BART, CART, DART, EART, FART
    DESSERT – TADPOLE, TOAD, LEAP

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I have never heard of any of the words in Entree #4!

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    2. I'd heard of lagan and lauan from doing crosswords. Lapan was new to me.

      Delete
  10. SCHPUZZLE: RHOMBUS minus 'MOB' => RHUS, which means nothing unfortunately; PARALLELOGRAM ? SQUARE? RECTANGLE? PENTAGON? HEXAGON? OCTAGON?

    A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

    APPETIZERS:

    1. (I) OMPHALOS minus “L” => SHAMPOO (II) EIDOLON => IDOL, EON (III) PANKRATION => PAN K-RATION

    2. OPRAH WINFREY => WIN-FREE

    3. ANTONIN DVORAK => VODKA

    4. ERNEST BORGNINE? [Borg won the 1980 Wimbledon match with an 18-16 tiebreaker]

    7. ASPIRED, PRAISED, DESPAIR, DIAPERS

    HORS D’O: DIXIELAND => DID NIX ALE. [Pre-hint]

    SLICE: SANE PLEA => SEAPLANE [Pre-hint]

    ENTREES:

    1. EVAN KALISH => SHIVA, ANKLE

    2. COVED, COWED, COXED, COYED, COZED [Only solvable with the hint]

    3. CONED, COOED, COPED

    5. BEDEL, BEJEL, BETEL, BEVEL, BEZEL [Impossible without hint; even so, never heard of the first 3 words]

    6. DOLED, DOMED, DOPED, DOSED, DOTED, DOWED, DOXED, DOZED [Thanks to the fruit brand hint; never heard of Dowed or Doxed]

    7. TIDES, TIGES, TIKES, TILES, TIMES, TINES, TIRES [Again, the hint was vital. Never heard Tiges, either]

    8. ART(our) BART CART DART EART FART [Oops, the answer was in the caption of the puzzle’s Sun/Mon hint]

    DESSERT: WALKED, NEW (Don’t know what to do with this)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I'm with you on the Dessert. Based on the hint, I thought it had something to do with "walked" and "new." Somehow the answer is "tadpole."???

      TortieWhoWhileAttemptingUnsuccessfullyToSolveThisPuzzleDidStumbleUpon"Spiderling"->"Sppiderling"->"Pringles, Dip"WhichWasFunny

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    2. I don't understand the relationship between the Dessert hint and tadpole-toad-leap either. Maybe it's not the right answer. It just seemed to work so I went with it.

      Delete
  11. Schpuzzle
    RIGHT ANGLE-GATHERING=L
    Appetizer Menu
    1.
    I. OMPHALOS, SHAMPOO
    II. EIDOLON, IDOL, EON
    III. PANKRATION, PAN, K-RATION
    2. (Oprah)WINFREY(WIN-FREE)
    3. (Antonin)DVORAK, VODKA(almost went with Frederic CHOPIN, which is also a brand name for a bottled item, but I couldn't find anything about a PINCH being a term for it)
    4. (Ernest)BORGNINE, (Bjorn)BORG, NINE
    5. "RICOTTA, GET OUT OF THIS PLACE!'("We Gotta Get Out Of This Place"(1965)
    6. BANGALORE, "BANG(I ain't gonna say her first name, and I'm surprised somebody here already did!)GALORE"
    7. ASPIRED, PRAISED, DESPAIR, DIAPERS
    Menu
    Anti-Saloon League Hors d'Oeuvre
    DIXIELAND="DID NIX ALE"
    "Amphibious Slice"
    SANE PLEA=SEAPLANE
    Entrees
    1. EVAN KALISH=SHIVA, ANKLE
    2. COVED, COWED, COXED, COYED, COZED
    3. CONED, COOED, COPED
    4. LAGAN, LAPAN, LAUAN
    5. BEDEL, BEJEL, BETEL, BEVEL, BEZEL
    6. DOLED, DOMED, DOPED, DOSED, DOTED, DOWED, DOXED, DOZED
    7. TIDES, TIGES, TIKES, TILES, TIMES, TINES, TIRES
    8. ART, BART, CART, DART, EART, FART
    Non-Repetitive Dessert
    TADPOLE, TOAD, LEAP(made perfect sense to me!)
    "Nation's Dumbest" Results:
    Jon Heder("Napoleon Dynamite", "Blades of Glory")finally got to go home after a tense showdown between him and Ice-T. In an earlier game, participants sat at school desks with filled balloons on them, and they had to answer questions correctly, or else one balloon would pop. They could also choose someone else to answer the question, but if they then answered correctly, a balloon of the one who chose them would pop. Jon chose Ice-T, who then returned the favor, and both lost a balloon. At the end of the show, it was down to just the two of them(all the others missed a question about "private" being the lowest rank in the Army)and they had to ask general knowledge questions. They both kept answering the same, until Ice-T finally guessed incorrectly(I've forgotten what the question was or what their answers were). Jon had actually broken whatever "curse" he was under for most of the show so far this evening with a few physical challenges, and he definitely was trying hard with the general knowledge stuff. And now he's out. Great job, Napoleon!
    BTW Carmen Electra has been expelled. I thought for sure she was a cinch to be the very last one, and therefore dubbed "Nation's Dumbest". But she never seemed to make it for any physical challenges, and so it was decided she was actually too dumb to even be able to follow the rules, never mind her dumb answers to the questions. In the balloon game, she was asked what dinosaur's name means "triple-horned face". The answer was TRICERATOPS, but she said "rhino". Almost as the perfect metaphor for her situation, instead of her balloon popping, it merely just deflated. Kinda says it all right there.-pjb



    ReplyDelete
  12. This week's official answers for the record, Part 1:

    Schpuzzle of the Week:
    “Shapeliness! Synonymy! Assembly!”

    Write a geometrical term in uppercase.
    Remove letters that can spell a synonym of “assembly.”
    What remains perfectly illustrates the geometrical term.
    What is this geometrical term?
    What is the synonym of “assembly”?
    What remains after it is removed?
    Answer:
    RIGHT ANGLE; GATHERING; A 90-DEGREE ANGLE; the capital letter "L" forms a perfect right triangle.
    Lego...

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  13. This week's official answers for the record, Part 2:
    Appetizer Menu
    Hellenization “Surnominalization” “Instinky Creatures?” “Chitty Chitty” “”
    Appetizer: Greek To Me (by R. Cane); What’s In A (Sur)name? (parts 1 2, & 3); Animal Instinct; Nobody Does It Better; Poetry Corner, by Anna Graham

    1. GREEK TO ME, by R. Cane
    The three words described below originated in ancient Greece but are found in standard English dictionaries. Guess the words from the descriptions provided.
    I. Take an eight-letter word for a center or hub that is derived from a word for a body part. Remove one letter and rearrange the rest to spell a word for something used on a different body part. What are these two words?
    Answer:
    OMPHALOS; SHAMPOO
    II. Take a seven-letter word for a phantom. Four consecutive letters of this word, in order, spell a word for an icon. If those four letters are removed, the remaining letters, in order, spell a word for a period of time. What are these three words?
    Answer:
    EIDOLON; IDOL; EON
    III. An ancient Olympic sport that is still around today contains ten letters. Put a space between the third and fourth letters, and a hyphen between the fourth and fifth letters. You will spell something that is used to prepare food, and a food item that needs no preparation. What are the sport, the item used to prepare food, and the food item?
    Answer:
    PANKRATION; PAN, K-RATION
    Lego...

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  14. This week's official answers for the record, Part 3:

    2. WHAT’S IN A (SUR)NAME?, part 1
    What famous American’s surname sounds like a description of the post-season 1963 New York Yankees?
    Answer:
    OPRAH WINFREY (“win-free”; the Yankees lost the 1963 World Series to the L.A. Dodgers 4-0)

    3. WHAT’S IN A (SUR)NAME?, part 2
    Remove one letter from the surname of a classical composer and rearrange the remaining letters to name a bottled item you might find in a grocery store. The surname is also a brand of this item. Who is the composer and what is the item?
    Answer:
    ANTONIN DVORAK; VODKA

    4. WHAT’S IN A (SUR)NAME?, part 3
    What past actor’s surname sounds like part of a score from a famous 1980 Wimbledon match?
    Answer:
    ERNEST BORGNINE (“BORG 9” – In the 1980 Wimbledon final, Borg beat McEnroe in five sets. McEnroe won the fourth set tiebreaker 18-16; so during the tiebreaker, Borg at one time had nine points.)

    5. ANIMAL INSTINCT
    What might musician Eric Burdon have said to a moldy lasagne ingredient taking up space in his fridge?
    Answer:
    “RICOTTA, GET OUT OF THIS PLACE”

    6. NOBODY DOES IT BETTER
    Double the fourth letter in the anglicized name of a major Asian city and add a space to get something James Bond wanted to do and presumably did. What is the city, and what did 007 want to do?
    Answer:
    BANGALORE; BANG [PUSSY] GALORE

    7. POETRY CORNER, by Anna Graham
    Fill in the blanks with four seven-letter words to complete the verse.
    She _ _ _ _ _ _ _ , strove, achieved great heights,
    But though they _ _ _ _ _ _ _ her flawless art,
    _ _ _ _ _ _ _ now plagues her days and nights,
    As _ _ _ _ _ _ _ pile up, sleep departs,
    Ah, bittersweet are motherhood’s delights!
    Answer:
    ASPIRED, PRAISED, DESPAIR, DIAPERS
    Lego...

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  15. This week's official answers for the record, Part 4:

    Anti-Saloon League Hors d’Oeuvre:
    “There’s 3 T’s (but no ‘Sousey’ Seas) in ‘Teetotal’”

    In the midst of the dawn of the _________ Jazz era in the early 20th Century, Prohibition emerged. The U.S. government ___ ___ ___ and other alcohol sales. This movement, led by groups like the Woman's Christian Temperance Union and the Anti-Saloon League, culminated in the passage of the Eighteenth Amendment. This nationwide ban made the manufacture, sale, and transport of alcoholic drinks illegal starting in 1920.
    Letters in the first blank (each of them used just once) can be rearranged to spell the words in the next three blanks.
    What are those four missing words?
    Answer:
    "Dixieland"; "...did nix ale..."


    Amphibious Appetizer:
    “Aircrafts & Criminal Courts”

    Name a standard criminal court response – such as guilty, not guilty, or no contest – entered by a defendant who is legally competent and of sound mind, indicating that they are fully aware of their actions and able to assist in their own defense.
    Name also any fixed-wing, powered aircraft that can take off and land on water. It is an anagram of the criminal court response word.
    What is this criminal court response?
    What is the fixed-wing aircraft?
    Answer:
    Sane plea; Seaplane

    Riffing Off Shortz And Kalish Entrees:
    Cornball moth-eaten comfy sweetie balderdash!

    Will Shortz’s July 26th Weekend Edition Sunday puzzle challenge, from Evan Kalish of Bayside, New York, reads:
    There is a set of five five-letter words that vary by just their middle letter. If the middle is any letter from K through O, it makes a common word. However, no other letter can go in the middle to complete a word. What words are these?

    Puzzleria!s Riffing Off Shortz And Kalish Entrees read:
    ENTREE #1
    Name a puzzle-maker, in ten letters.
    Rearrange these letters to spell:
    ~ a Hindu god of destruction and regeneration, and
    ~ a below-the-belt body part.
    Who is this puzzle-maker?
    Who is the god? What is the body part?
    Answer:
    Evan Kalish; Shiva, Ankle
    Lego...

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  16. This week's official answers for the record, Part 5:

    Entrees #2 through #7 are conundrums drummed-up/dreamt-up by our friend and riffmeister extraordinaire, Nodd.
    NOTE: All six Entrees, 2-through-7, are based on the Merriam-Webster online dictionary. Other dictionaries may include words not found in that dictionary. Proper nouns are excluded.


    ENTREE #2
    Find a set of five five-letter words that vary by just their middle letter, using the consecutive letters V-Z as the middle letter.
    Answer:
    COVED, COWED, COXED, COYED, COZED

    ENTREE #3
    Using the same first, second, fourth and fifth letters as in the previous Entree, find a set of three five-letter words that vary by just their middle letter, using the consecutive letters N-P as the middle letter.
    Answer:
    CONED, COOED, COPED

    ENTREE #4
    Find a set of three five-letter words that vary by just their middle letter. In alphabetical order, the three words are nautical, culinary, and botanical terms, respectively. The three middle letters can be arranged to spell a kind of animal kept as a pet. No other letter can go in the middle to complete a word.
    Answer:
    LAGAN, LAPAN, LAUAN

    ENTREE #5
    Find a set of five five-letter words that vary by just their middle letter. In alphabetical order, the five words are academic, medical, botanical, carpentry, and jewelry terms, respectively. The four common letters can be arranged to form two words, both of which sound like letters of the alphabet. No other letter can go in the middle to complete a word.
    Answer:
    BEDEL, BEJEL, BETEL, BEVEL, BEZEL

    ENTREE #6
    Find a set of eight five-letter words that vary by just their middle letter. The words begin and end with the same letter. The middle letters are L, M, P, S, T, W, X and Z.
    Answer:
    DOLED, DOMED, DOPED, DOSED, DOTED, DOWED, DOXED, DOZED

    ENTREE #7
    Find a set of seven five-letter words that vary by just their middle letter, using D, G, K-N, and R as the middle letters. No other letter can go in the middle to complete a word.
    Answer:
    TIDES, TIGES, TIKES, TILES, TIMES, TINES, TIRES
    Lego...

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  17. This week's official answers for the record, Part 6:

    ENTREE #8
    Fill in the missing letters in the nineteen empty blank spaces. Also replace the word in the lower-right-hand-most image with a four-letter synonym.
    What six words do you come up with?
    (Note: Actually one of the four-letter words in my answer is really not a legitimate Merriam-Webster-approved word.)

    Answer:
    Art(hur), Bart (Starr), Cart, Dart, Eart(h), "Fart"

    Dessert Menu
    Non-Repetitive Dessert:
    “Creature matures, makes a move!”

    Name a young creature spelled with letters that do not repeat.
    Repeat the second letter.
    Rearrange the result to spell this same creature after a few years have passed, and a movement it may then make.
    What are these two creatures and this movement?
    Answer:
    Tadpole; Toad, Leap

    Lego!

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  18. BTW Earlier tonight the competitors on "Nation's Dumbest" were asked if they knew what a muffuletta is. None of them got it right. It is a sandwich, in case anyone here didn't know either.
    pjbHasNeverEatenOne,AndDoesNotKnowForSureIfTheyAreSoldAnywhereHereInAlabama!

    ReplyDelete