SYNONYN/ANAGRAM CCXXXII

The two words on each line can be anagrammed into one - beginning with the given letter. The meanings of the anagrams are given below the clues. 

1. ACID + CROON = A

2. CHIT + QUEEN = T

3. ENTER + PINT = P

4. CUTE + PLAID = D

5. DENY + REGAL = L 

6. MERIT + NEED = D

7. MOAT + PRINT = I

8. NEED + STRIP = P

9. TIME + SEAT = E 

10. VILE + JUNE = J

11. PALE + TONE = A 

 

Meanings of the anagrams:

1. Music

2. (Skillful) way of doing something

3. Relevant

4. Copy

5. Famous, mythical

6. Figure out

7. Significant

8. Chief, head

9. Ballpark figure

10. Minor

11. Deer-like animal 

 

Answers:

 

1. ACCORDIAN

2. TECHNIQUE

3. PERTINENT

4. DUPLICATE

5. LEGENDARY

6. DETERMINE

7. IMPORTANT

8. PRESIDENT

9. ESTIMATE

10. JUVENILE

11. ANTELOPE  

 

NY Times Crossword

April 22, 2026

Hoang-Kim Vu  

 

IT'S EARTH DAY! 

Reduce, Re-use, Recycle

 

What do the following groups of words have in common?

 

1. DAUB

    INSTRUCTOR 

    ENCOURAGE

 

2. Ax

    Is able to 

    Paint container

    Bathroom, slangily 

 

3. SHEESH

    PULLUP

    REAPPEAR

    TEAMMATE

 

Answers:

 

1. Each of he words can be reduced to a synonym of itself:

    DAUB - DAB

    INSTRUCTOR - TUTOR 

    ENCOURAGED - URGED  

 

2. All four clues can be answered with CAN - re-using the word. 

 

3. Each word recycles the same letters: 

    SHEESH

    PULLUP (a palindrome)

    REAPPEAR  

    TEAMMATE 

CRYPTO CLUES CCXXI

GAMES Magazine

August, 1994

Harvey Estes (1-6)

GAMES/World of Puzzles

August, 2020

Frasier Simpson ( 7-10)

 

1. Keeps broken vases 

 

2. Shortest cheese party 

 

3. Opposed commercial poetry

 

4. Stop car by a heavy winter coat

 

5. Change an elevated part of a church 

 

6. Help a soldier securing a border town

 

7. Antlers damaged leased cars. 

 

8. Stranger nears quiet horseman (definition)

 

9. Beats Dick and Jane's dog back

10. Puts up with Goldilocks' adversaries

 

Answers:

 

1. SAVES (vases)

2. BRIEFEST (brie fest)

3. ADVERSE (ad verse)

4. PARKA (stop car = park) [by a = by the letter "a"]

5. ALTAR (alter)

6. EL PASO (hELP A SOldier) 

7. RENTALS (antlers)

8. EQUESTRIAN (nears quiet)  

9. TOPS (beats) [reversal of SPOT]

10. BEARS (homograph)  

 

 

WHO'S THE MAN II

GAMES/World of Puzzles

October, 2021 

Edward Mooney

 

Can you fill in the names of the twenty people and characters below whose middle name is THE? The names are listed in alphabetical order.

 

Henry the Eighth

________ the Duck

________ the Terrible

________ the Hutt

________ the Ripper

________ the Baptist

________ the Obscure

________ the Frog

________ the Clown

________ the Lion

________ the Knife

________ the Moocher

________ the Cat

________ the Hunter

________ the Grouch

________ the Great

________ the Sailor

________ the Magic Dragon  

________ the Lion-hearted  

________ the Boy Wonder

 

Answers:

 

Henry the Eighth

Howard the Duck

Ivan the Terrible

Jabba the Hutt

Jack the Ripper

John the Baptist

Jude the Obscure

Kermit the Frog

Krusty the Clown

Leo the Lion

Mack the Knife

Minnie the Moocher

Morris the Cat

Orion the Hunter

Oscar the Grouch

Peter the Great

Popeye the Sailor

Puff the Magic Dragon

Richard the Lion-hearted

Robin the Boy Wonder  

 

Wall Street Journal Crossword

April 21, 2026

Gene Laganza and Theresa Brady

HOW PEDESTRIAN!

(Clue 5 by JA) 

 

The first four clues below have something in common that is hinted at by the fifth clue. Can you determine what it is?  

 

1. SLIM PICKENS

2. LAST EPISODE 

3. COMBAT READY

4. GRAMMAR CHECKERS

5. Moving ________ - airport convenience

 

HINTS:

a. The puzzle title is a hint

b. Hidden words

 

Answer to Clue 5:

moving WALKWAY

 

Answers to Clues 1-4:

 

Each clue contains a way of walking - with the letters in consecutive order:

 

1. sLIM Pickens

2. laST EPisode

3. combaT READy

4. gramMAR CHeckers 

 

   

NY Times Crossword

April 21, 2026

Victoria Fernandez Grande

 

The answers to the first five clues below will have something in common that is hinted at by the sixth clue. Can you determine what it is?

 

1. Charles Lindbergh's plane 

2. Wild West way of settling disputes 

3. Eudora Welty novel set in Mississippi

4. Global financial company and major issuer of credit cards 

5. Major US charity whose recipients include the Red Cross and Salvation Army 

6. Early advantage 

 

Answer to Clue 6:

Flying start  

 

Answers to Clues 1-5:

 

1. Spirit of St. Louis

2. Frontier justice

3. Delta Wedding

4. American Express  

5. United Way - - - The first word of each answer is the name of an airline.

 

UNUSUAL WORDS CXXIX

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

1. ASPIC 

2. BINDI

3. PRECIS

4. PROLIX

5. ENTERIC 

6. GRAUPEL

7. PUTATIVE 

8. PRURIENT

9. PURULENT 

10. ANSERINE 

11. PHAROLOGY

12. CHARTREUSE 

 

Answers:

 

1. ASPIC -  A clear jelly made form meat or vegetable stock and gelatin used to encase or mold ingredients like meat, fish, or vegetables - served chilled 

 

2. BINDI - A decorative mark worn on the forehead between the eyebrows by Hindu and Buddhist women in South Asia to signify marriage, religious devotion, or the "third eye" 

 

3. PRECIS (pray' see) - A summary or abstract of a text

 

4. PROLIX - (adjective) Of speech or writing that is tediously long, drawn-out, and boring / using an excess of words and details

 

5. ENTERIC - relating to or occurring in the intestines

 

6. GRAUPEL - Soft hail or squishy snow pellets 

 

7. PUTATIVE - Generally believed, assumed, or alleged to be true - but without formal proof

 

8. PRURIENT - Expressing an excessive interest in intimate sexual matters / lewd

 

9. PURULENT - Containing pus - as a wound or infection

 

10. ANSERINE - Relating to geese, silly or foolish

 

11. PHAROLOGY - The scientific study of lighthouses and signal lights - their construction, illumination, and history - as in aids to navigation

 

12. CHARTREUSE - A bright yellow-green color