Tuesday, April 21, 2026

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 

Monday, April 20, 2026

NY Times Crossword
April 20, 2026
Freddie Cheng 
 
Each of the first five phrases below conceals a related word. The relationship is hinted at by the last clue. Can you spot the words and determine how they are related?

1. This sucks
2. Metro area
3. Two of hearts 
4. No trouble at all
5. Choochoo trains 
6. "I need to use the bathroom." 
 
Answer to Clue 6:
NATURE CALLS
 
Answers to Clues 1-5:
 
Hidden in each phrase is an animal "call":
 
1. tHIS Sucks
2. metRO ARea
3. tWO OF hearts
4. no trouBLE AT all 
5. choo cHOO Trains  
LA Times Crossword
April 20, 2026
Doug Peterson 
 
The answers to the first four clues below will have something in common that is hinted at by the fifth clue.
 
1. Piano studio instrument
2. Indulging in a luxurious existence
3. Mascot on cans of peas and corn
4. Prehistoric elephant 
5. Finale that earns a standing ovation 
 
Answers to Clues 1-4:
 
1. Baby grand
2. Living large
3. Jolly Green Giant
4. Wooly mammoth
 
Answer to Clue 5:
Big finish - All the clue answers end (finish) in a word that is a synonym for BIG.