1. What do the following words have in common?

BOARD

STRING

HAREM

 

2. What do the following words have in common?

 

GALA

CAMEO

EMPIRE

AMBROSIA 

 

3. What do the following words have in common"

 

HOLD

MILKY

ROCKY

SCENIC

 

Answers:

 

1. Each word is the first half of an item of clothing:

    BOARD SHORTS

    STRING BIKINI

    HAREM PANTS

 

2. All are varieties of apples.

 

3. Each word can be followed by a word that can be part of an address:

    HOLD COURT

    MILKY WAY

    ROCKY ROAD

    SCENIC DRIVE  

 

ADD A LETTER - GET A NEW WORD CCCXIV

Add the designated letter to each word and re-arrange the letters to get a new word.

1. LEND + A

2. KILN + C

3. SOUP + I

4. SABER + I

5. YEAST + F 

6. SPLICE + E 

7. EAGLE + U

8. BLARE + W 

9. MORAL + C

10. BUTTER + I

HINTS:

First letters of the new words:

1. E

2. C

3. P

4. B

5. S

6. E

7. L

8. W

9. C

10. T

 

Answers:

 

1. ELAND

2. CLINK

3. PIOUS

4. BRAISE

5. SAFETY 

6. ECLIPSE

7. LEAGUE

8. WARBLE

9. CLAMOR

10. TRIBUTE 

 

CRYPTO CLUES CCLXXI 

GAMES Magazine

April, 2004

Richard Lee Clark (1-2)

Kenneth Bays (3-5)

September, 2014

Mike Shenk (6-8)

Patrick Berry (9-10)

 

1. Suggested rascal was untruthful

 

2. Dispute in carrier hub arbitration 

 

3. Hang a bit of dried fish

 

4. Most limited abstract art owners

 

5. Tawdry-looking merchandise hidden in back - it's cheap 

 

6. Reveling dooms sinful city

 

7. Ailments rampant in harsh workplace

 

8. Trailer involved in second court appearance

 

9. Settler blows up bridge

 

10. Tire iron damaged inside

 

HINTS:

1. Definition + definition

2. Hidden word

3. Fish as a verb + letter

4. Anagram

5. Hidden word

6-10. Anagrams

 

Answers:

 

1. IMPLIED (imp + lied)

2. RHUBARB (carrieR HUB ARBitration)

3. DANGLE (angle + d)

4. NARROWEST (art owners)

5. KITSCH (bacK - IT'S CHeap)

6. SODOM (dooms)

7. SALT MINE (ailments)

8. RETRIAL (trailer)

9. TRESTLE (settler)

10. INTERIOR (tire iron) 

 

 

 

 

TAKING EXCEPTION

GAMES Magazine

September, 2014

Craig Kasper

 

The "I before E, except after C" spelling rule in its entirety is "I before E, except after C, and when sounded as A, as in 'neighbor' and 'weigh'." The answer to each clue below is an exception to the rule.

  

1. Off the wall

2. Fast and able 

3. Full of spunk

4. Mexican plantation 

5. Darwin's Origin of _____

6. Montana National Park

7. Common physical descriptor 

8. Too much keeps you up at night

9. For peace of mind, keep it clean

10. Pertaining to another country other than one's own 

 

Answers:

 

1. WEIRD

2. EFFICIENT 

3. FEISTY

4. HACIENDA 

5. SPECIES

6. GLACIER

7. HEIGHT

8. CAFFEINE

9. CONSCIENCE

10. FOREIGN 

 

Some linguists say that there are so many exceptions to this rule that it is useless. 

HOMOGRAPHS CXVI

What single word satisfies both of the meanings?

1. Sailing vessel

    Large glass for serving beer  

 

2. Soak in a liquid

    Sharp, near vertical slope 

 

3. Hold back, avoid doing something

    Chorus, regularly recurring comment

 

4. A pure substance in chemistry

    Most suitable, comfortable environment 

 

5. Coat with flour

    Dig out the bottom of a waterway

 

6. Vegetable/fruit cooked into pies

    A heated argument, brawl (especially in baseball) 

 

Answers:

 

1. SCHOONER*

2. STEEP

3. REFRAIN

4. ELEMENT

5. DREDGE

6. RHUBARB  

 

*A prairie schooner was a canvas-covered farm wagon used by 19th-century American pioneers in the Westward movement. The white canvas would billow in the wind - looking like the sails of an ocean-going schooner.

     

NY Times Crossword

November 10, 2026

Sam Koperwas and Jeff Chen

 

PART I

What do the following phrases have in common?

 

1. DOES THAT MATTER?

2. PUTTING IT MILDLY

3. GETS THE LEAD OUT

4. TAKE A BOW

 

Answer to Part I:

Each phrase contains a heteronym - a single word that can be pronounced in two distinctly different ways. 

 

Part II

Can you think of a clue that can be answered by a second pronunciation of the heteronyms?

 

Answers to Part II:

 

1. Very important deer

2. Soft touch on a golf course green

3. Prepares for a dog walk

4. Prepare to shoot like Cupid 

TRIPLE BONDS XVI

SPLIT ENDS  IV  

A two-word phrase can be placed between the two words of each clue to give three over-lapping two-word phrases. 

Ex. PLATE ______   ______  FAN

Ans.           GLASS CEILING 

PLATE GLASS, GLASS CEILING, CEILING FAN

 

1. RAPID ______  ______ PAY

2. TOUR ______   ______ PARK

3. TOP ______  ______ SECOND 

4. MOUSE ______  ______ KNOB 

5. COMIC ______  ______ LUNCH

6. SPRING ______  ______ BLACK

7. DOUBLE ______  ______ YARD

8. CIRCUIT ______  ______ LOAD

9. LISTENING ______  ______ ZONE

10. CHURCH ______  ______ PASSAGE 

 

Answers:

 

1. RAPID FIRE HAZARD PAY

2. TOUR GUIDE DOG PARK

3. TOP BANANA SPLIT SECOND

4. MOUSE TRAP DOOR KNOB

5. COMIC OPERA BOX LUNCH

6. SPRING FEVER PITCH BLACK

7. DOUBLE SPACE JUNK YARD

8. CIRCUIT COURT CASE LOAD

9. LISTENING EAR CANAL ZONE

10. CHURCH HYMN BOOK PASSAGE