Rearranging the office assets?; “Here, have a new venue!”; “‘Anagranimal’ New Kingdom?” “Bonbon” alas is a “No-no”; An Anagrammatic Quartet; Featured Creatures! “Maybe Octopi “Occupi” the Ocean Floor; May-born Baby?” A Doc prescribes some peRXinate!” “A recording... that is a TYPE of recording” Minty-Fresh Verbal Numismatics

PUZZLERIA! SLICES: OVER 5πe² SERVED

Schpuzzle of the Week:

Minty-Fresh Verbal Numismatics

Let’s coin a freshly minted six-letter verb! 

It shall replace the clunky four-word term “execute an elbow stand...” 

A gymnast normally performs this feat, which requires both balance and poise, upon a mat. 

A circus acrobat may do so in a ring. 

The proper posture requires that the body be inverted, with one’s body weight balanced on the forearms, and with legs held above. 

What is this newly minted verb?

Hint #1: The verb is an anagram of a novelist’s surname. 

Hint #2: The verb (which you will not yet find in dictionaries!) is analogous to an existing five-letter verb involving a different body part... but one whose past tense also consists of five letters. 

(The past tense of our new verb, however, will likely contain eight letters!) 

Appetizer Menu

Jefferific Appetizer:

Rearranging the office assets?; “Here, have a new venue!”; “‘Anagranimal’ New Kingdom?” An Anagrammatic Quartet; “Bonbon” alas is a “No-no”; Featured Creatures! 

Rearranging the office assets?

1. 🏢The letters of a five-letter word can be rearranged into five other ordinary English words. Two of these six words (and perhaps even three, and nearly four!) can relate to office work. 

What are these six anagrammatic words? 

“Here, have a new venue!”

2.  🎮 A game, ordinarily played on a large field, can also be played in an alternate venue, at which time its name becomes a two-word
game. The field game and the alternate venue are anagrams. 

What are the game and the venue?

“‘Anagranimal’ New Kingdom?         3. 🎪🐘The name of a place, and an animal associated with that place, can be rearranged to get the name of a different place. What are this animal and pair of places? 

An Anagrammatic Quartet 4. 📖The letters of a four-letter word can be rearranged to spell four additional ordinary English words. What are these five words?

“Bonbon” alas is a “No-no” 

5. There are two six-letter words which each consist of repeating groups of the same three letters (i.e. “abcabc”). What are they? Note: For example: The candy “bonbon” fulfills the “abcabc” requirement. And, it would be an acceptable solution... if only “bnobno,” “onbonb,” “obnobn,” “nobnob” or “nbonbo” were actual English words. But, alas, they are not! 

Featured Creatures!

6. What six-letter creatures are suggested by the accompanying image?

Hint: Think “geometrical figure” and “Greek-Alphabet.” (You may have to remove a 3-letter “Old Gray Mare” from the shape of the crosswalk sign.)

MENU:

Redundant Hors d’Oeuvre: 

“A recording... that is a TYPE of recording” 

Take a synonym of “adherent.” Transpose Letters 5 & 6. Move them to the end. Insert two spaces. 

The result is a recording, an abbreviation for “that is,” and the type of recording. 

What are this synonym, recording, abbreviation and type of recording?

“Disorienting Slice”

A Doc prescribes some “peRXinate!”

Daisy visited her doctor, complaining of unsteadiness and disorientation. The doctor terse and unhelpful three-word prescription contained all the letters of his diagnosis, two of them twice. What were his diagnosis and prescription?

Riffing Off Shortz And Ezersky Entrees:

Octopi “Occupi” the Ocean Floor

Will Shortz’s July 19th Weekend Edition Sunday puzzle, from Will’s New York Times colleague Sam Ezersky, reads:

Take the name of a popular 21st-century film with animals, in eight letters. 

 Remove the first and last letters, then change one of the remaining six letters to a C, to spell a plural word for certain animals. What words are these?

Puzzleria!s Riffing Off Shortz And Ezersky Entrees read:

ENTREE #1:

Name a puzzle-maker who is associated with a “Gray Lady.” 

The first five letters of his name are an anagram of something that is “grayish.” The last three letters, in order, spell where one might see this “something.” The remaining letters, in order, are spell where one who is exposed to this “grayish something” may wind up!

Who is this puzzle-maker? 

What are this “grayish something,” where one might see it, and where one might wind up?

Who is the “Gray Lady?”

Entrees #2 through #7 are conundrums drummed-up/dreamt-up by our friend and riffmeister extraordinaire, Nodd.

ENTREE #2

Take the title of a 21st-century film about an animal, in seven letters. Remove the next-to-last letter and change one of the remaining letters to a U. Rearrange to spell a plural word for certain other animals. What are the film and the plural word?

ENTREE #3

Take the title of a 21st-century film about an animal, in six letters. Remove the next-to-last letter and rearrange to spell a plural word for certain other animals. What are the film and the plural word?

ENTREE #4

Take the title of a 21st-century film about animal agriculture, in 10 letters. Change one of the letters to an N to spell a plural word for certain animals. What are the film title and the plural word?  

ENTREE #5

Take the title of an award-winning 21st-century animated short film about an animal, in five letters. Rotate one letter (in lowercase) 180 degrees clockwise and rearrange to spell a plural word for certain other animals. What are the film and the plural word?

ENTREE #6

Take the title of a 21st-century film about a fictional humanoid creature, in two words of nine letters. Disregard the first word. Replace the last two letters of the second word with a D to spell a plural word for certain non-fictional animals. What are the film and the plural word?

ENTREE #7

Take the title of a 21st-century film featuring animal characters, in 16 letters. The first six letters spell a title applied to a famous person of the past. Replace those letters with the first letter of a title applied to the person’s father. You’ll be left with two animals. What are the film title, the titles applied to the famous person and father, and the animals?

Entree #8 is the ingenious brainchild of our friend and prolific riff-crafter Plantsmith. 

ENTREE #8

Take the two-word title of a 21st century film that features some animals. 

Remove a possessive pronoun and mix remaining the letters to get a 7-letter adjective that describes an animal with a prominent role in the film (but that does not describe a great number of other animals).

Hint: Three consecutive letters in the “some featured animals” spell a word associated with a variety of animals.

Dessert Menu

April, May, June? Dessert:

“Maybe a May-born Baby?”

Take a one-syllable word you might assume would appear on a birth certificate and a specific four-letter name that sometimes actually does. 

Switch the initial letters and delete the space to name a legume. What are this word, name and legume?

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 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!