SPELLING BEE VI

NY Times Puzzle Mania  

Sam Ezersky

 

1.        D

    L R C O I A  

 

Can you use all the letters to spell a 7-letter word?

 

2.        H

    O A L N E C

 

Can you use all the letters to spell the first and last name of a famous fashion designer and a word that means being calm, cool, and a bit aloof. 

 

Answers: 

 

1. CORDIAL

 

2. COCO CHANEL

    NONCHALANCE  

MISSING LINKS CCLXXIV

Each group below contains a Missing Link - that is, its members have something in common, obvious or not. For example, RIVERS, NOSES, & VIOLINS can all have BRIDGES.

1. Clean..........Clear..........Crew

2. Glass..........Meat..........Salmon

3. Mac...........Cheese..........Wheel

4. Shrink..........Bubble..........Body 

5. Book..........Smile..........Window 

6. White..........Brown..........Minute

7. Speech..........Love..........Enterprise 

8. Goose..........Arches..........Parachute 

9. Chastity..........Asteroid..........Borscht 

10. Courtroom.....Bus stop.....Football team 

 

Answers:

 

1. Cut

2. Things that may be smoked

3. Big

4. Wrap

5. Things you can crack

6. Kinds of rice

7. Free

8. Golden

9. Kinds of belts

10. Things that have benches  

POINTS TO PONDER CXXV

Hope is definitely not the same thing as optimism. It is not a conviction that something will turn out well, but the certainty that something makes sense, regardless of how it turns out.  

Vaclav Havel

 

****************************

 

When it comes to secrets, nobody will keep the thing he hears to himself; and nobody will repeat just what he hears and not more.

Seneca  

QUOTES CCLXI

There is no such thing as a little country.

Victor Hugo

 

The opinions of the envious are of no value.

Author Unknown

 

One may not reach the dawn save by the path of night.

Author Unknown

 

In careless haste we stumble on small miracles while searching for big ones.

Author Unknown 

 

He who does not understand your silence will probably not understand your words.

Author Unknown

 

Satisfaction of one's curiosity is one of the greatest sources of happiness in life.

Linus Pauling  

 

I would rather be the man who bought the Brooklyn Bridge than the man who sold it.

Will Rogers

 

A crowd is not company, and faces are but a gallery of pictures, and talk but a tinkling cymbal, where there is no love.

Francis Bacon  

DOUBLE DUTY CCXCV

Fill in the blanks with a word that will complete the phrase beginning on the left and begin the phrase ending on the right. The number of blanks indicates the letters in the missing word. 

1. SEA _ _ _ _ _ SHOW

2. EARTH _ _ _ _ HOLE 

3. WHEEL _ _ _ _ _ WINE 

4. GROUND _ _ _ _ BOOK 

5. COMMON _ _ _ SCHOOL 

6. WAX _ _ _ _ _ _ LICENSE 

7. ACORN _ _ _ _ _ _ COURT

8. OPEN _ _ _ _ _ _ PERFECT

9. MODEL _ _ _ _ _ _ _ BODY

10. FREIGHT _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ MUSIC 

 

HINTS:
First letters of the missing words:

1. F

2. W

3. H

4. R

5. L

6. P

7. S

8. L

9. S

10. E

 

Answers:

 

1. sea FLOOR show

2. earthWORM hole

3. wheelHOUSE wine

4. ground RULE book

5. common LAW school

6. wax POETIC license

7. acorn SQUASH court

8. open LETTER perfect

9. model STUDENT body

10. freight ELEVATOR music 

 

 

ADD A LETTER - GET A NEW WORD CCCIII

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

1. SEAT + U

2. PEAR + O

3. SLAP + M 

4. SLIDE + E

5. LASER + I

6. TRAIN + E 

7. RAINY + B

8. HEART + D

9. MEANT + H 

10. METEOR + H 

 

HINTS:

First letters of the new words:

1. S

2. O

3. P

4. D

5. I

6. R

7. B 

8. D

9. A

10. T

 

Answers:

 

1. SAUTE

2. OPERA

3. PSALM

4. DIESEL

5. ISRAEL

6. RETINA

7. BINARY

8. DEARTH

9. ANTHEM

10. THEOREM               

NPR Weekend Edition Sunday Puzzle

February 22, 2026

Will Shortz 

 

Answer the two clues and put an R in between them to spell a longer word. For example, given the clues WORLD'S FAIR and TINY BELL SOUND, the answer words would be EXPO and TING. Putting an R between them would give the final answer: EXPORTING.

 

1. Penny and Friend in war

 

2. Shape of a frisbee and Change (as text)

 

3. Take a breather and Variant of "isn't" (non grammatical)

 

4. 18-Wheeler and Russia's _____ Mountains

 

5. Go into water head first and Lady's partner (informally)

 

6. Arrived and Word said after a prayer

 

7. Exist and Place to swim (city)

 

8. Sharp part of a wire fence and tools used for punching holes (two words) 

 

Answers:

 

1. CENT R ALLY - CENTRALLY

2. DISC R EDIT - DISCREDIT

3. REST R AIN'T - RESTRAINT

4. SEMI R URAL - SEMI-RURAL

5. DIVE R GENT - DIVERGENT

6. CAME R AMEN - CAMERAMEN

7. LIVE R POOL - LIVERPOOL

8. BARB R AWLS - BAR BRAWLS