UNUSUAL WORDS CXXVI

Can you give a simple definition of these less-frequently-used words?

1. SISAL

2. QUIRE

3. VOILE

4. AREPA 

5. ARECA

6. DOULA

7. AGAVE

8. MIASMA 

9. HOWDAH 

10. CHURLISH

 

Answers:

 

1. SISAL - A strong fiber from the agave plant, used for ropes

 

2. QUIRE - 25 sheets of paper

 

3. VOILE - A soft, smooth, lightweight woven fabric

 

4. AREPA - Flatbread made of ground corn 

 

5. ARECA - A tropical palm tree 

 

6. DOULA - A non-medical person who provides physical, emotional, and informational support to parents before, during, and after childbirth  

 

7. AGAVE - A succulent desert plant 

 

8. MIASMA - A noxious, poisonous vapor, a dangerous/unwholesome atmosphere

 

9. HOWDAH - A seat for riding on the back of a camel or elephant

 

10. CHURLISH - Rude, surly, boorish 

  

 

Answer each clue with a two-word phrase in which both words end with the same two letters.

1. Stylish fortune teller

2. Cautious ratite

3. Serious pillar

4. Very strange, unsettling film 

Answers:

1. CHIC PSYCHIC

2. WARY CASSOWARY

3. SOLEMN COLUMN  

4. EERIE MOVIE 

 

1. What do the following words have in common ?

BRIGADOON

DROMEDARY

TIMBERLINE 

 

2. The following phrases have something in common that is hinted at by the last clue. Can you determine what it is?

 

DISCOUNT RACK

DON'T RUM IT IN

HOME RUN TROTS

It can lead you astray. 

 

Answers:

 

1. Each word conceals a world capital:

    bRIGAdoon

    dROMEdary

    timBERLINe

 

2. Answer to the last clue:

    WRONG TURN

    Each phrase has the letters TURN in consecutive but scrambled (wrong) order:

 

     discoUNT Rack

     doN'T RUb it in

     homeRUN Trots 

 

Credits:
1. Ken Jennings

2. Prasanna Keshava 

  

CRYPTO CLUES CCIX

Dell PennyPress Variety Puzzles

April, 2025 (1-10)

David P. Williams (11) 

 

1. Bears shot weapon

 

2. Hearty soup soaks if flipped over

 

3. Saws ham or sips fluid

 

4. Strings leaves in the middle of nowhere

 

5. I represent new business venture

 

6. First lady remains the highest point

 

7.  Little bird to fight and quarrel

 

8. Tight apes re-invented pasta

 

9. Refuse place for seamstress

 

10. Competitive boxer with Spanish money  

 

11. She's seen in nail salons 

 

12. Cheats on one's wife with two men 

  

HINTS: 

1, 3, 5, 8: Anagrams 

2: Reversal

4: Homograph

6-7: Two words

9: Heteronym 

10: Two words 

11. Hidden word

12. Two names 

 

Answers:

 

1. SABER (bears)

2. STEW (wets)

3. APHORISMS (ham or sips)  

4. STRANDS (strings or abandons)

5. ENTERPRISE ((I represent)

6. EVEREST (eve + rest)7

7. SPARROW (spar + row)

8. SPAGHETTI (tight apes)

9. SEWER (pronounced two ways)

10. CONTNEDER (con + tender) 

11. ILSA (naIL SAlons) 

12. PHILANDERS 

 

 

MIND FLEXERS CXLI

Answer each clue by matching it with one of the choices below. The relationships are disguised by double meanings, altered spacing within words, and/or other wordplay.

1. Starter home

2. She's out there

3. The F's in HUFFS

4. Hit close to home

5. Picture taken overseas

6. They wear very little clothing

7. Dirty job coverup

8. Part of a moving experience

9. Ones no longer in office

10. Creators and tricksters

 

CHOICES:

a. Apron

b. Pair of pants

c. Gods

d. Womb

e. Remote workers

f. Lesbian bar

g. Barbie and Ken

h. Bunt

i. Passport photo

j. Truck

 

Answers:

 

1. d - Womb

2. f - Lesbian bar

3. b - Pair of pants (HUFFS = pants)

4. h - Bunt (baseball)

5. i - Passport photo (You take it with you.)  

6. g - Barbie and Ken (little = small)

7. a - Apron

8. j - Truck

9. e - Remote workers

10. c - Gods

 

Credits:

2: Joyce Keller 

3: Jeffrey Martinovic

4: Sam Koperwas and Jeff Chen

5: Robyn Weintraub

6: Sam Cordes

7-8: Rich Proulx and Simeon Seigel

9: David Karp

10: Leonard Williams 

 

  

 

Universal Crossword

February 19, 2026

John Holmes

 

The answers to the clues below have something in common. Can you determine what it is?

 

1. How a paddle is used at an auction house

 

2. Where you may find music stands

 

3. Where you may hear praises

 

Answers:

 

1. For bidding

2. Under scores

3. At tributes 

 

The two words in the two-word answers could be combined to form a longer, unrelated word:

 

1. Forbidding

2. Underscores

3. Attributes

 

Note from JA: In crossword parlance, a DOOK is a term meaning to interpret a two- word answer as a single word  - as in DO OK. 

DROP A LETTER - GET A NEW WORD CXXXI 

GAMES/World of Puzzles

December, 2025

FAMILY REUNIONS

Bob Stigger 

Drop one letter from each word and re-arrange the remaining letters to get six related names. 

1. RELAX

2. AMIGO

3. JAILER

4. MOROSE 

5. THERMAL

6. ARCADES

 

Answers:

 

1. LEAR

2. IAGO

3. ARIEL

4. ROMEO

5. HAMLET

6. CAESAR - - - Shakespearean characters