Wednesday, August 19, 2026

FOODIE EXPRESSIONS IV

Answer each clue with an expression containing a type of food or drink.

1. Think
2. Lose it 
3. Nitty-gritty 
4. Post-marriage trip
5. That's the way it goes 
6. Snug and comfortable 
7. Be extra careful not to offend 
8. Can't keep in stock, as a product 
9. Honest, hard-working, decent person
10. Emotionally distant, unfriendly person
 
Answers:
 
1. Use your noodle
2. Go bananas
3. Meat and potatoes
4. Honeymoon
5. How the cookie crumbles
6. Warm as toast
7. Walk on eggshells
8. Sells like hotcakes
9. Salt of the earth
10. Cold fish  
 

TWO OUT OF THREE XI

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

Ex. PARE, COAX, USED
Ans. PARE + USED = PERSUADE (coax) 
 
1. GO, CAD, TRUE
2. VEIL, TEAR, KIN
3. MAKE, POD , ECRU 
4. BRING, OMEN, HARE
5. VITAL, LACE, WAVER 
6. PURE, MIME, ACTUAL 
 
HINTS:
One of the words to be anagrammed:
1. GO
2. VEIL
3. POD
4. BRING
5. VITAL
6. MIME 
 
Answers:
 
1. GO + TRUE = ROGUE (cad)
2. VEIL + TEAR = RELATIVE (kin)
3. POD + ECRU = PRODUCE (make)
4. BRING + HARE = HARBINGER (omen)
5. VITAL + LACE = VACILLATE (waver)
6. MIME + ACTUAL = IMMACULATE (pure)
 
 

CRYPTO CLUES CCXXXI

GAMES/World of Puzzles
October, 2023
Fred Piscop
 
1. Mediocre grade concealed by bad teachers 
 
2. Relieved to have written letters in order
 
3. It's hard to lift, it's said
 
4. It's a boat, any way you look at it
 
5. Pounds from all-you-can-eat dinners
 
6. On reflection, I complain to Ruth's mother-in-law
 
7. Temptress of legend with a floral garland
 
8. Figure to work in a mint, say
 
9. Infidel destroyed diamond setting 
 
10. Recluse poet 's before tiny insects 
 
HINTS:
1. Container
2. Definition - two meanings
3. Homophone
4. Palindrome
5. Definition - stressonym
6. Definition - reversal
7. Two definitions = Temptress
8. "Figure" is a homograph (two meanings)
9. Anagram
10. Two definitions = "Recluse" 
 
Answers:
 
1. FACULTY (FA C ULTY) [bad = faulty] 
2. SPELLED (relieved)  
3. STEEL (steal - to lift)
4. KAYAK
5. BUFFETS
6. NAOMI (I MOAN) [complain]  
7. LORELEI (lore + lei) 
8. MAKES SENSE (figure) [cents] 
9. INFIELD (infidel)
10. EREMITE (ere + mite)  

EVERYBODY TALKS ABOUT IT  III

Answer each clue with an expression containing a word related to weather.

1. Seize violently

2. Glimmer of hope 

3. Extremely parched 

4. " This is easy/simple"

5. One who attracts hostile attention 

6. Be financially prudent about the future

7. Pursuing unrealistic or impossible goals 

8. Small, visible part of a much bigger problem 

9. Act recklessly, without regard for consequences 

10. Companion who abandons you when things get rough 

Answers:

1. Take by storm
2. Ray of sunshine
3. Dry as a bone
4. "This is a breeze."
5. Lightning rod
6. Save for a rainy day
7. Chasing rainbows
8. Tip of the iceberg
9. Throw caution to the wind
10. Fair-weather friend  


 

Tuesday, August 18, 2026

COMPOUND LINKS XXXVI

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.

Ex. OLD ________ KNEE 
Ans. HAT TRICK (old hat / trick knee)
Ex. HONEY ________ GOAT
Ans. MOONSCAPE (honeymoon / scapegoat)
 
1. STILL ________ DOG
2. QUICK ________ FED 
3. DWARF ________ OUT
4. DARK ________ TABLE 
5. THINK ________ TRUCK
6. POWER ________ NAME
7. BROAD ________ GAME
8. CLOSE ________ STAMP 
9. SWEET ________ TICKET
10. QUANTUM ________ PRINCE  
 
Answers: 
 
1. LIFEGUARD
2. SILVER SPOON
3. STARSTRUCK
4. SKYLIGHT
5. FAST FOOD
6. PLAY PEN
7. CAST AWAY
8. FRIENDS FOREVER
9. CORNMEAL
10. LEAPFROG 

POINTS TO PONDER CXXXV 

One cannot divine nor forecast the conditions that will make happiness; one only stumbles upon them by chance, in a lucky hour. 
Willa Cather
*******************************
 
The habit of looking into the future and thinking that the whole meaning of the present lies in what it will bring forth is a pernicious one. There can be no value in the whole unless there is value in the parts.
Bertrand Russell
*******************************
 
Wealth is not without its advantages, and the case to the contrary, although it has often been made, has never proved widely persuasive.
John Kenneth Galbraith 

MISSING TRIOS CXIV

Dell PennyPress Variety Puzzles
Volume 343
 
For each group below, fill in the same three missing letters to complete 7, 6, 5, 4, and 3-letter words. The letters may be filled in in any order, and the missing trio will be different for each group.
 
1. P  _ _ C _ LY
     F _ _ S _ Y
      SM _ _ _
       _ _ N _
        _ _  _  
 
2. _ _ NG _ ON
     _ _ L _ GE
      _ N _ _ R
       F _ _ _
         _ _ _ 
 
3. DI _ _ _ MA
     C _ U _ _ E
       S _ _ I _ 
        _ _ _ Y
         _ _ _ 
 
4. _ _ HA _ ED
    _ E _ T _ L
     U _ T _ _
      _  _ O _
        _ _ _    
 
5. COM _ A _ _
     OV _ _ _ O
      _ _ A _ Y
       H _ _ _
         _ _ _ 
 
Answers:
 
1. The letters are IRK:
         PRICKLY
          FRISKY
           SMIRK
            RINK
             IRK  
 
2. The letters are DUE:
        DUNGEON
         DELUGE
          UNDER
           FEUD
            DUE  
 
3. The letters are LOP:
         DIPLOMA
          COUPLE
            SPOIL
            PLOY
             LOP  
 
4. The letters are NIL:
         INHALED
          LENTIL
           UNTIL
            LION
             NIL  
 
5. The letters are RED:
       COMRADE
        OVERDO
          READY
           HERD
            RED