Turfy Roof? Furry Foot?... No, ‘Tis Patrick’s Number Forty-Four! Sesame Seedy Streetlife; “Let us not let anger rear its ugly head!”; Some Summits, Certainly Hued; From Train Track To Kart Trak; Price stickers? Rice whiskey? Ice bags?

PUZZLERIA! SLICES: OVER 5πe² SERVED

Schpuzzle of the Week:

Some Summits, Certainly Hued 

Take a plural noun in a song lyric associated with a summit of a certain hue.

Replace this noun with its singular form. 

Interior letters of this singular substitute-word spell a harmess prank some folks may “spring” on unsuspecting friends. 

The remaining letters spell a time period after the prank was sprung. 

What are this prank and the time period after it was sprung?

Appetizer Menu

Appetizzical Cryptical Quizzical Cryptic Crossword Puzzling Appetizer:

Turfy Roof? Furry Foot?... 

No, ‘Tis Patrick’s Number Forty-Four!

Well, I guess we’ve all heard of “turf toe...”

But what on God’s Green Earth are “Turfy
Roof” and “Furry Foot”?

Well, they’re both examples of “wordplay” (both are anagrams of “Forty-Four”). 

It is wordplay of the sort you have come to know, love and enjoy thanks to Patrick J. Berry’s voluminous oeuvre of Cryptic Crosswordese on Puzzleria!

And so...

Welcome to the 44th Cryptic Crossword Puzzle, courtesy of Patrick, that we are privileged and proud and pleased-as-punch to present on Puzzleria!

If you have missed out on any of Patrick’s previous crosswords that we have featured on Puzzleria!, feel free to access the numbered links of this “clickable” cluster of his cryptic crossword creativity, below.

Open any number of them, then sit back and bask in Patrick’s Paradise of Puzzlement!

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 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43      

For those of you who may be new to solving 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, (6) simply indicates a 6-letter
word like “ENIGMA.” 

(7, 4) indicates a 7-letter and 4-letter answer like “GORDIAN KNOT,” 

and (5-6) indicates a five-and-six-letter hyphenated answer like “BRAIN-TEASER.”

For further insight about how to decipher these numbered cryptic clues, see Patrick’s “Cryptic Crossword Tutorial” in this link to his November 2017 cryptic crossword. 

That Tutorial appears below the filled-in answer-grid in that edition of Puzzleria!

And, so, sans further adieu... here is a Patented-Cryptic-Patrick Masterpiece for you to do:

ACROSS

1. Imperfectly prepared meal to fall apart quickly reaching home base?(9,2,3)

9. Guard heading off to find gate(5)

10. Director’s shoutin’ gets in the way(9)

11. Work, then, traveling by truck(8)

12. Old lady takes shortcut looking for avenue(6)

14. City gossip has no real development(3,7)

16. Weather check on the radio(4)

18. Times puzzle on Sunday has the answer(4)

19. Dancing motion rare for actress in “West
Side Story”?(4,6)

21. Bar not in order(6)

22. Electric guitar sound—a few notes (one repeated), with tip of pick?(8)

25. Talk music—rock? Sure!(9)

26. Writer’s mature persona(5)

27. Be bad TV? Hell yes, terrible show! (5,2,3,4)

DOWN

1. Dickie Goodman’s accomplishments makin’
the Guinness book?(5-2,7)

2. John’s taking Latin in college(5)

3. Manual pointer? Shut up!(8)

4. Doctor is hesitant? Just the reverse!(10)

5. Wrong turn? Run!(4)

6. Both sides having stake in French city(6)

7. Pass some time trapped in lift(9)

8. Average article on music supported by fine artist(6,8)

13. Fight, say, with new frontman about primary musical direction(10)

15. Traveled by ship, not a sweet trip(4,2,3)

17. I get mood adjustment from pleasant experience(4,4)

20. Ness taking on gangster(6)

23. “Surprise Answer” puzzle?(5)

24. Jaw broken by right hook(4)

MENU

“Sunny Day!” Hors d’Oeuvre:

Sesame Seedy Streetlife

An adjective and noun describe how Sesame Street denizens might describe one fellow Muppet.

Anagram the combined dozen letters of those
two words to spell certain fixtures situated on sidewalks.

What is the name of this fellow Muppet?

How might his fellow Muppets describe him?

What are the fixtures situated on sidewalks?

“Spirited” Slice:

Price stickers? Rice whiskey? Ice bags?

Name something, in three and five letters, that you are sure to see on a liquor store shelf.
Anagram those eight letters to spell, as you continue to survey the shelf’s contents, something else you may see.

What are this first thing you see and second thing you may see?

Hint: The “something else you may see” is possible a part of the “something you are sure to see.”

Appetizers

Riffing Off Shortz And Taubenslag Slices:

From Train Track To Kart Trak

Will Shortz’s October 11th NPR Weekend Edition Sunday puzzle, created by Nancy Taubenslag of Scarsdale, New York, reads:

Name a company that’s known for transportation. Move the first two letters to the end. Reverse everything. Insert the name of an international tourist destination. And you'll get the name of a game that involves transportation. What things are these?

Puzzleria!s Riffing Off Shortz And Taubenslag Slices read:

ENTREE #1

Take two first names:

1. One shared by a NFL QB and a British musician that Eric Clapton famously called “the best guitarist in the world”;

2. A second one shared by a fictional Bellamy butler and a duckwalking Scottish guitarist... 

 and...

3. A surname shared by:

• Prolific Irish poet/novelist Katharine; 

• British theatre writer/critic Kenneth; and

• Irish tenor and Paralympic athlete Ronan.

Anagram those combined 15 letters to spell the first and last names of a puzzlemaker.

Who is it, and what are the three other names?

(Note: Entrees #2 through # 7 are creations courtesy of our good friend Nodd. His “Nodd ready for prime time” is a staple of Puzzlerian Puzzling.)

ENTREE #2

Name a car company.

Replace its last letter with the last two letters of a past Chevy model. Add, preceded by a space, a past Plymouth model. You’ll name a car racing video game. What are the company, the models, and the game? 

ENTREE #3

Name a car brand. 

Change a vowel to the next vowel in the alphabet. Change a G to a W.
Rearrange to name a video game involving futuristic vehicle racing. 

What are the brand and the game?

ENTREE #4

Name a former Pontiac model and a current Nissan model, in that order. In the Nissan model name, change an A to a U and add two letters to the end. You’ll name a video game involving car racing. What are the models and the game?

ENTREE #5

Name a railroad company. 

Replace the first letter with an anagram of a four-letter board and video tactical combat game. 

Insert a T somewhere, preceded by a space. You’ll name a video and board game that involves transportation. What are the company and the two games?

ENTREE #6

Name two airlines in reverse alphabetical order. Replace the first two letters of the first one with a P. You’ll get the first and last words
of a video game involving transportation. What are the airlines and the game? 

ENTREE #7

Name a car tire brand and a government agency involving transportation, in that order. Change the first letter of the agency to a U and move the letter that follows it to the end of the tire brand. You’ll name a car racing video game. What are the brand, agency, and game?

Dessert Menu

Period Piece Dessert:

“Let us not let anger rear its ugly head”

Rearrange the letters in a nine-letter verb to spell a two-word term that applies to either of two historical periods: (1933-1941) and (1954-2014). What are this verb and two-word term?                                       

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!