What do the following names and phrases have in common?

1. Clara Bow

3. Wallis Simpson 

3. New York Times 

4.  "There she is ....."

 

Answers:

 

1. Clara Bow was known as the "It Girl"

2. Wallis Simpson was the first woman to be on the cover of Time Magazine. 

3. The NY times is known as the Gray Lady 

4. "There she is ....." The first words to the song "Miss America"

 

Four common words for females 

  

CRYPTO CLUES CCXXIV

GAMES/World of Puzzles

August, 2020

Aaron Schwebel (1-4)

Bob Stigger (5)

E.R. Galli (6-11)  

 

1. Made revolting cheese 

 

2. Isaac Newton conceals skin woe

 

3. Forecast titanic ape

 

4. Fresh denim put out

 

5. Clothing to boast about

 

6. Heard heartthrob's not working

 

7. Residue from burning tree

 

8. Send money for clock back

 

9. "Ermine" spelled out in answers to a test

 

10. Nephew's sister hailed from French city

 

11. Partly insane Roman

 

HINTS:

1. Reversal

2. Hidden word

3. Anagram

4. Anagram

5. Reversal

6. Homophone

7. Homograph

8. Reversal

9. Hidden word

10. Homophone

11. Hidden word 

 

Answers:

 

1. EDAM

2. ACNE (isaAC NEwton)

3. ANTICIPATE (titanic ape)

4. IMPUDENT (denim put)

5. GARB

6. IDLE (idol)

7. ASH

8. REMIT (timer)

9. STOAT (answerS TO A Test)

10. NICE (niece)

11. NERO (insaNE ROman)  

THE AI REVOLUTION

GAMES/World of Puzzles

April, 2026

Raymond Simon (1-8)

 

The answer to each clue below is a two-word phrase or name beginning with the letters A and I, in that order. 

 

1. Potentially risky poker bet

   A _ _   I_ 

 

2. Slangy interjection suggesting something is too absurd to be true

    A _   I_

 

3. Subject of Orson Welles' The War of the Worlds

    A _ _ _ _    I _ _ _ _ _ _ _

 

4. Alaskan archipelago

    A _ _ _ _ _ _ _   I _ _ _ _ _ _

 

5. One year's salary

    A _ _ _ _ _   I _ _ _ _ _

 

6. Question to friends to see if they are inclined to do something you want to do

    A _ _   I _ _ _ _ _ _ _?

 

7. Crucial medication component

    A _ _ _ _ _   I _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

 

8. Like the amenities at some vacation getaways, supposedly

    A _ _   I _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 

 

9. Being about as smart as everyone else

    A _ _ _ _ _ _   I _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 

 

10.  Navajo and Cherokee Nations

       A _ _ _ _ _ _   I _ _ _ _ _ _ 

 

Answers:

 

1. All in

2. As if

3. Alien invasion

4. Aleutian Islands

5. Annual income

6. Any interest?

7. Active ingredient

8. All-inclusive  

9. Average intelligence

10. American Indians  

 

 

  

INSERT-A-WORD LXII 

Insert a four-letter word form the right-hand column into one of the words in the left-hand column to make a longer word.

1. EN _ _ _ _ E              MINE

2. Y _ _ _ _ ING            READ

3. BE _ _ _ _ ER            CHIN

4. AP _ _ _ _ AGE         DUCT

5. S _ _ _ _ D                 INFO

6. IN _ _ _ _ IVE           WILD

7. DES _ _ _ _ E            RISK

8. RE _ _ _ _ RCE         AUNT

9. GOS _ _ _ _ R           GAME

10. S _ _ _ _ OW           THUS

11. ZUC _ _ _ _ I          VENT

12. F _ _ _ _ Y              DOME

13. LI _ _ _ _ NT          LEND

14. B _ _ _ _ TH           PEND

15. SP _ _ _ _ OR         ACRE

16. O _ _ _ _ TER         CRIB

17. EXA _ _ _ _ R         HALL

18. DE _ _ _ _ ION       SAME

19. G _ _ _ _ LET         EARL 

 

Answers:

 

1. EN THUS E - ENTHUSE

2. Y EARL ING - YEARLING

3. BE WILD ER - BEWILDER

4. AP PEND AGE - APPENDAGE

5. S ACRE D - SACRED

6. IN VENT IVE - INVENTIVE

7. DES CRIB E - DESCRIBE

8. RE INFO RCE - REINFORCE

9. GOS SAME R - GOSSAMER  

10. S HALL OW - SHALLOW

11. ZUC CHIN I - ZUCCHINI

12. F RISK Y - FRISKY

13. LI GAME NT - LIGAMENT

14. B READ TH - BREADTH

15. SP LEND OR - SPLENDOR

16. O DOME TER - ODOMETER

17. EXA MINE R - EXAMINER

18. DE DUCT ION - DEDUCTION

19. G AUNT LET - GAUNTLET  

 

HOMOGRAPHS CXII (CONTRONYMS) 

Fill in the blanks with a word that satisfies both definitions. 

1. Moving rapidly ________ Not moving

2. Sprinkle fine particles ________ Sweep up fine particles

3. Decorate ________ Take away from (as wages)

4. Supervision, watchful care ________ Mistake or error due to negligence

5. To show or display ________ To hide or conceal 

6. Cut or reduce something ________ Decorate, as a Christmas tree

7. Withstand, endure ________ Erode, change over time

8. Split, cut apart ________ Adhere, cling closely

9. Approve, authorize ________ Condemn, penalize 

Answers:

1. FAST

2. DUST

3. GARNISH

4. OVERSIGHT

5. SCREEN

6. TRIM

7. WEATHER

8. CLEAVE

9. SANCTION  

UNUSUAL WORDS CXXX

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

1. ELOTE 

2. LOOFAH

3. CAPRICE

4. ALBUMEN

5. STIMMING 

6. PLETHORA 

7. SEMAPHOR

8. DECIDUOUS 

9. PROVENDER

10. ANTIMACASSAR

 

Answers:

 

1. ELOTE - (ay low' tay)  Mexican street food consisting of grilled corn-on-the-cob slathered with various toppings

 

2. LOOFAH - A natural, fibrous sponge used primarily to wash the skin in a shower

 

3. CAPRICE - A whim, fancy, or impulsive notion

 

4. ALBUMEN - Protein-rich egg white

 

5. STIMMING - Repetitive physical movements, sounds, words - used to regulate emotions, manage sensory input, or calm down - associated with autism

 

6. PLETHORA - An abundance or excessive amount of something*

 

7. SEMAPHOR - A visual signaling system using flags, arms, or lights

 

8. DECIDUOUS - Of trees or other plants that shed their leaves annually, usually in the autumn, and grow new ones in the spring - as opposed to evergreen

 

9. PROVENDER - Dry food or fodder for domestic animals (hay, oats, grain) - also, food and provisions in general for people

 

10. ANTIMACASSAR - A small, usually ornamental cloth cove (doily) placed over the back or arms of upholstered chairs and sofas to protect the fabric from wear, dirt, or greasy hair oils (Macassar was a popular brand of men's hair oil in the mid 19th century.)

 

*Note from JA: The word "plethora" is featured in a very funny scene in The Three Amigos.

AWESOME FACTS ABOUT EVERYTHING CLXXIX

A gram is about the weight of a standard-size paper clip.  28 grams = 1 ounce.

There are over 15,700 described species and sub-species of ants, with experts estimating there are thousands more undiscovered.

What we call housing projects in the United States are called council estates in England.

Spelled out, every odd number contains the letter E at least once.

No-see-ums are tiny biting gnats, usually 1-3 mm long, known for being nearly invisible to the naked eye. They are notorious for painful bites. The term originated around 1840 -1850 in North America either as a colloquialism for "You cannot see them" or as (allegedly) spoken by American Indians.

Rodeo is the official sport of Montana, South Dakota, Texas, and Wyoming. Alaska - dog mushing, Delaware - bicycling, New York - baseball, North Dakota - curling, North Carolina - stock car racing, California - surfing

"There She Is, Miss America" is a song written by Bernie Wayne for the Miss America Pageant. It was first made famous in 1955 by master of ceremonies Bert Parks, who sang it every year for 25 years to serenade the newly-crowned Miss America.  

The current population of the world is about 8.3 billion people. Of these, 1 billion 470 million live in India and 1 billion 410 million in India. The population of India and China combined make up about 36% of the world's people. The United States' population, at 348 million, is about 4% of the world population.

The Hershey Company makes more that 70 million chocolate Hershey Kisses every day in its Pennsylvania factories to meet world-wide demand. That's 60,000 per minute - 25 billion per year. Estimates for M&Ms production by Mars, Inc. vary from 400 million to 1 billion per day.

Both Presidents Harry Truman and Richard Nixon were musical. Truman was classically trained and considered a career as a concert pianist. Nixon was self-taught and played piano by ear - as well as several other instruments.