HOMOGRAPHS CXV

What single word satisfies both or all of the meanings?  

1. Small sea snail

    Pale, purple-blue color

    Plant with blue-violet flowers

 

2. Lower portion of an interior wall

    Middle section of a column or pedestal 

    Rectangular slot cut into a piece of wood 

3. Two-masted sailing ship

    Prison on a military ship or base 

 

4. Steal

    Tell on, rat out

 

5. A special design, color scheme, or uniform

    A place that will take care of horses for a fee

 

6. Wild donkey

    Ancient Roman catapult

 

7. A covering to protect clothing from stains

    Carefully mowed area surrounding a golf green 

 

Answers:

 

1. Periwinkle

2. Dado

3. Brig

4. Snitch

5. Livery

6. Onager

7. Apron  

ADD A LETTER - GET A NEW WORD CCCXII

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

1. CHEST + Y

2. IDEAL + N 

3. SABER + I

4. HEIST + S

5. RELIC + A

6. NERVE + E

7. ROUGE + S

8. BALMY + C 

9. NOMAD + I 

10. TRANCE + I  

 

HINTS;

First letters of the new words:

1. S

2. D

3. B

4. T

5. E

6. V

7. G

8. C

9. D

10. C

 

Answers:

 

1. SCYTHE

2. DENIAL

3. BRAISE

4. THESIS

5. ECLAIR

6. VENEER

7. GROUSE

8. CYMBAL

9. DOMAIN

10. CERTAIN 

FLEXERS CXLV 

Answer each clue by matching it with one of the choices below. Wordplay is fair play.

1. SAG

2. Sine field

3. Puts on a coat

4. Diamond sides 

5 They raise kids 

6. Last word, often

7. Hit close to home 

8. Cinnabon, Kool-Aid, Hi-C 

9. They get what's coming to them 

10. Statement that often contains lies

 

CHOICES:

a. Bunt

b. Trigonometry

c. Never-ending story

d. Epitaph

e. Nines

f. Booster seats

g. Heirs

h. Paints

i. Amen

j. Roll with the punches

 

Answers:

 

1. c - Never-ending story (SAGA)

2. b - Trigonometry

3. h - Paints

4. e - Nines (baseball)

5. f - Booster seats

6. i - Amen

7. a - Bunt (baseball)

8. j - Roll with the punches

9. g - Heirs

10. d - Epitaph ("Here lies .....")

 

Credits:

1: Sam Brody

2: Linda Gould

3: Mike Graczyk

4: Eva McCarthy

5: Jack Hatchett

6: Richard Lee Clark

7: Wendy L. Brandes

8: Rich Katz

9: Jared Cappel

10: Noelle Griskey.    

 

NPR Weekend Edition Crossword

September 27, 2026

Will Shortz 

 

Each clue can be answered with a four-letter, two-syllable word in which both syllables are the same. 

Ex. Just OK

Ans. So-so

 

1. String toy

2. Good-bye 

3. Lunkhead

4. Ballet skirt 

5. Humdinger

6. It's forbidden 

7. Joke response 

8. Polynesian platter 

9.  La Boheme heroine 

10. Best Picture of 1958 

11 Very excited or foolish

12. Absurdist art movement 

 

Answers:

 

1. Yo-yo

2. Ta-ta

3. Dodo

4. Tutu

5. Lulu

6. No-no

7. Ha-ha

8. Pupu

9. Mimi

10. Gigi

11. Gaga

12. Dada  

 

SHUFFLE 'EM LXIX 

DOVETAILED WORDS

Dell PennyPress Variety Puzzles

Volume 73

 

Two 7-letter words, with their letters in correct, but not consecutive order are combined in each row of letters below. To solve the puzzle, separate both words. There are no extra letters and each letter is used only once. The answer words are not related.

 

Ex. B O L U A T S N E K L E L T

Ans. B o L u A t s N e K l E l T

         BLANKET - outsell 

 

Note from JA: #1, 2, 3, and 4 contain suffixes.  #5 is tricky - with 5 E's. 

 

1. V O Y I Y E A G L E D R E D   

 

2.  S C E D A I N T I N O N E D

 

3. K E N A S E N T E S I T E R

 

4. D I R S O L I L A T L E D E  

 

5. P R E T R I E R E M P E T E 

 

Answers:

 

1. VOYAGER - yielded

2. SCANNED - edition

3. KEENEST - nastier

4. DRILLED - isolate

5. PREEMPT - retiree  

DOUBLE DUTY CCCVIII

Dell PennyPress Variety Puzzles

August 15, 2025

 

Fill the dashes with a 3-letter word to complete a word beginning on the left and begin a word ending on the right. 

 

1. AW _ _ _ NA 

2. TAM _ _ _ RT 

3. AC _ _ _ ICULE

4. PEAS _ _ _ HEM 

5. WAY _ _ _ ETTE

6. IGN _ _ _ GANO

7. BRIG _ _ _ IRON 

8. MAGN _ _ _ LIER 

9. HALI _ _ _ TRESS

10. PRODI _ _ _ LEON 

 

Answers:

 

1. awAREna

2. tamALErt

3. acRIDicule

4. peasANThem

5. wayLAYette

6. ignOREgano

7. brigANDiron

8. magnATElier

9. haliBUTress

10. prodiGALleon  

PAIRS AND SNARES XLVI 

The words in each group can be confused. Can you give a simple definition of each one that show the difference between them? 

1. ORIEL - ORIOLE 

2. CORAL - CORRAL 

3. PUMICE - POMACE 

4. CASABA - CASSAVA 

5. CORNET - CORONET

6. PEDANTIC - DIDACTIC

7. METONYMY - SYNECDOCHE 

Answers:

1. ORIEL - A projecting bay window

    ORIOLE - A brightly colored bird

 

2. CORAL - A marine invertebrate animal that forms skeletal reefs

    CORRAL - A fenced outdoor pen to hold or capture livestock

 

3. PUMICE - A light, porous volcanic rock, used as an exfoliant

    POMACE - Solid, pulpy residue of crushed or pressed fruit that remains after the extraction of juice or oil.

 

4. CASABA - A sweet, juicy melon

    CASSAVA - A plant grown for its large, starchy, edible root

 

5. CORNET - A musical instrument similar to the trumpet

    CORONET - A small crown or jeweled headband 

 

6. PEDANTIC - DIDACTIC - Both words refer to teaching. DIDACTIC simply means designed to teach a lesson, while PEDANTIC implies an annoying attention to minor details and showing off one's knowledge

 

7. METONYMY - SYNECDOCHE - Both are literary devices and they are similar. In METONYMY, you refer to an object or idea using the name of something closely associated with it, rather than its actual name. For example, The White House refers to the President or his administration, The Crown to the king or queen, Hollywood to mean the movie industry, Suits to mean business executives. In SYNECDOCHE, part of something stands for the whole. Wheels to mean cars, Boots (on the ground) to mean soldiers, Hands to mean workers (hired hand). Synechdoche is a type of metonymy.