Sunday, May 31, 2026

POINTS TO PONDER CXXXII

Americans have always attached particular importance to the word neighbor. While the spirit of neighborliness was important on the frontier just because neighbors were so few, it is even more important now because neighbors are so many.

Lady Bird Johnson
(On) Being a Good Neighbor
 
**********************************
 
A pin whose sharp point is enclosed in a covering may seem the most mundane of items, but it is actually a remarkable piece of design. Safety pins are fashioned inexpensively from a single piece of wire to create a spring, hinge, point, and clasp.
 
Clive Gifford
Great Inventions (We Take for Granted) 

QUOTES CCLXXII

Make new friends, but keep the old: one is silver, the other gold.
Traditional Girl Scouts camp song
 
You're almost pretty enough to play me.
Muhammad Ali to Will Smith 
 
Anyone can be at the helm when the sea is calm.
Author Unknown  
  
Each generation must find our for itself that the stove is hot.
Author Unknown  
 
To desire nothing beyond what you have is surely happiness.
Author Unknown 
 
There is nothing trivial if you love the person to whom it happens. 
Edward  f. Benson 
 
Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic.
Author Unknown 
 
There never was an infant so lovely that his mother was not glad to get him to sleep.
Author Unknown 
 
It takes as much courage to have tried and failed as it does to have tried and succeeded.
Anne Morrow Lindberg
 
The moment one gives close attention to anything, even a blade of grass, it becomes a mysterious, awesome, indescribably magnificent world in itself. 
Henry Miller 
 
Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic.  
 

                     

The words below are the first half of words which are made up of two smaller words - but are not compounds. For example, SEA could be combined with SON to get SEASON. SEASON is not a compound word (like BEDROOM), since its two halves are not related. Can you think of the other half of the words below to make longer, but not compound words. Some of the words have more than one answer. 

1. CUR
2. LEG
3. IMP
4. CAR
5. SUN
6. MEN
7. ROT
8. RAT
9. SURF
10. PROSE
 
(Possible) Answers:
 
1. CURFEW / CURRENT / CURRANT  
2. LEGEND / LEGATE
3. IMPART / IMPACT / IMPAIR
4. CARGO / CARROT / CARTON / CARMINE
5. SUNDRY
6. MENACE
7. ROTTEN / ROTATE
8. RATION / RATTAN
9. SURFACE
10. PROSECUTE 
  

CRYPTO CLUES CCXXVIII 

GAMES/World of Puzzles
April, 2026
Chris Crossman (1-4)
Bob Stigger (5-9)
Patrick Berry (10)
 
1. The night before could go either way
2. Irate Lois played game for one
3. Freedom fighter is a great ape, they say
4. Way to reduce animal population - rat about income
5. Signifies wealth
6. Dope wrapped in tin foil
7. Wail "Dance" to the audience 
8. I want a better place to get Chinese food 
9. Somewhat romantic locale on the Arabian Peninsula 
10. Variety of green bananas
 
HINTS:
1. Palindrome
2. Anagram
3. Homophone
4. Container
5. Homograph
6. Definition / hidden word
7. Homophone
8. Anagram
9. Hidden word
10. Anagram 
 
Answers:
 
1. EVE
2. SOLITAIRE (irate lois)
3. GUERRILLA (gorilla)
4. SPAYING (S PAY ING) [sing = rat out]  
5. MEANS 
6. INFO (tIN FOil)
7. BAWL (ball = dance)
8. TAIWAN (i want a)
9. OMAN (rOMANtic)
10. GENRE (green)  
 

COMPOUND LINKS XXVIII

Fill in the blanks with a compound word or two-word phrase so that the first two words and the last two words make up other compound words or two-word phrases. 

1. BETTER ________ LASH
2. GLAD ________ SMART 
3. TURN ________ PICK
4. PARK ________ TIME 
5. FOREST ________ PAPER
6. LIBRARY ________HOLE 
7. ORIGINAL ________ GAME  
8. FEATHER ________ CELLAR 
 
Answers: 
 
1. better HALFBACKlash
2. glad HANDBOOK smart
3. turn OVERDRAFT pick
4. park BENCHMARK time
5. forest FIRE WALL paper
6. library BOOKWORMhole
7. original CASTAWAY game
8. feather BRAINSTORM cellar  

TWO OUT OF THREE III

Anagram two of the three words in each clue to get a synonym of the third word. 

Ex: RUG, NOBLE, PITH  
Ans: RUG + PITH = UPRIGHT - which is a synonym of NOBLE
 
1. COD, WIMP, WAR
2. DINER, EYE, ART
3. TAPE, VISE, HEAD 
4. BUD, KIDNAP, CAT
5. RELY, POEM, BOSS
6. JOKER, ACID, OMEN 
7. GATE, HIRE, LEGACY 
8. IRIS, TARMAC, TRAP 
 
HINTS:
One of the words to be anagrammed:
1. WAR
2. EYE
3. VISE
4. CAT
5. RELY
6. ACID
7. GATE
8. TRAP
 
Answers:
 
1. COD + WAR = COWARD (WIMP)
2. EYE + ART = EATERY (DINER)  
3. VISE + HEAD = ADHESIVE (TAPE)
4. BUD + CAT = ABDUCT (KIDNAP)
5. RELY + POEM = EMPLOYER (BOSS)
6. ACID + OMEN = COMEDIAN (JOKER)
7. GATE + HIRE = HERITAGE (LEGACY)
8. IRIS + TRAP = AIRSTRIP (TARMAC)  

Saturday, May 30, 2026

FROM A to Z 

How many familiar expressions can you think of in the form FROM _____ TO _____ ? Fifteen are listed below. (Exclude repetitive "time" phrases like "From day to day.") [One answer is a proper name.]

(Possible) Answers:

From A to Z  
           Top to bottom
            End to end
            Start to finish
            Head to toe
            Soup to nuts
            Farm to table
            Here to Eternity
            Cradle to grave 
            Hand to mouth 
            Ear to ear
            Ship to shore 
            Coast to coast 
            Place to place 
            Dawn to dusk