MISSING LINKS CCLXXV

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

1. Potato..........Chocolate..........Silicon

2. Strip..........Nugget..........Tender 

3. Piano..........Sand.........Candy 

4. Lent..........Chow..........Mass

5. Ear..........Soldier..........Man 

6. Way..........Jump..........Band

7. Big..........Daisy..........Fifth  

8. Tea bag..........Kite..........Yo-yo 

9. Personality.....The difference.....Infinitives

10. Martial law......Bankruptcy.......Candidacy 

 

Answers:

 

1. Kinds of chips

2. Chicken

3. Kinds of bars

4. Words that have different meanings when not capitalized

5. Tin

6. Broad

7. Wheel* 

8. Things with strings attached

9. Things that can be split

10. Things that can be declared  

 

* A daisy wheel was the printing element on some typewriters. 

 

Credits:

8: Mike Shenk

9-10: Ken Jennings 

FAMILY TIES XLI

Dell PennyPress Variety Puzzles

May 1, 2025

 

Each group below contains four unrelated words. Without re-arranging the letters, change one letter in each of the words in each of the groups to get four related words.

 

1. Chain.....Heat.....Spool......Beach

2. Stitch.....Teal.....Rattle.....Reseal 

3. Boot.....Slip.....Ask.....Canon

4. Rise.....Lilt.....Patsy.....Ires 

5. Cool.....Word.....Til.....Gap

6. Squire.....Oral.....Cure.....Cane

7 Ashen.....Pink.....Birth......Salsa  

8. Swap.....Pinch.....Pleasant.....Deck 

 

Answers:

 

1. Chair, Seat, Stool, Bench

2. Snitch, Tell, Tattle, Reveal

3. Boat, Ship, Ark, Canoe

4. Rose, Lily, Pansy, Iris

5. Coal, Wood, Oil, Gas

6. Square, Oval, Cube, Cone

7. Aspen, Pine, Birch, Balsa

8. Swan, Finch, Pheasant, Duck  

 

NPR Weekend Edition Sunday Puzzle

Mach 1, 2026 

Will Shortz (1-7)

 

Given the two items in each clue, think of a third item in the same category that would fit between them alphabetically. For example, given BLUE and INDIGO, the answer would be GREEN - a color of the rainbow that is alphabetically in between BLUE and INDIGO.

 

1. AUGUST - FEBRUARY

2. BASHFUL - DOPEY

3. FIVE - NINE

4. TAU - UPSILON

5. NIXON - PIERCE

6. CUSPID - MOLAR 

7. VINTNER AVE. - VIRGINIA AVE.

8. DO - LA 

9. COMET - DANCER 

10. DEUTERONOMY - GENESIS 

 

Answers:

 

1. DECEMBER

2. DOC

3. FOUR

4. THETA

5. OBAMA

6. INCISOR

7. VERMONT AVE.

8. FA

9. CUPID

10. EXODUS  

 

COMPOUND LINKS XXII 

Dell PennyPress Variety Puzzles

May 1, 2025 (1-4) 

 

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. SAW _______ CUT

2. GUM _______ BEAN 

3. BARE _______ WEIGHT

4. SOUR _______ CRACKER

5. PUSH _______ FIGURE

6. BRIAR _______ BABY 

7. FLY _______ BENCH  

8. LEAD _______ GUY 

 

Answers:

 

1. sawHORSE HAIRcut  

2. gumSHOESTRINGbean

3. bare FOOTLIGHT weight

4. sourDOUGHNUT cracker

5. push BROOM STICK figure

6. briar ROSE BUSH baby

7. fly BALLPARK bench

8. lead FOOTFALL guy  

INSERT-A-WORD 

Insert a word from Column II into the blanks in Column I to form a common word. 

COLUMN I                          COLUMN II

1. SP _ _ _ _ ID                           URGE

2. K _ _ _ _ L                              MINT

3. COR _ _ _ _ LY                      PRIM

4. BAD _ _ _ _ ON                     CAMP

5. T _ _ _ _ ER                            ERST

6. LI _ _ _ _ OCK                        LEND

7. REA _ _ _ _ IC                        OVER

8. RE _ _ _ _ AND                      REST

9. S _ _ _ _ H                               RAIL

10. W _ _ _ _ LE                          MINE

11. FIL _ _ _ _ T                          ANTI

12. B _ _ _ _ ET                           DIAL

13. G _ _ _ _  NOR                      RISK

14. AD _ _ _ _ URE                     MOOT

15. PRO _ _ _ _ NT                      ERNE

16. SUP _ _ _ _ AR                      PONE

17. S _ _ _ _ I                               VENT

18. INF _ _ _ _ LE                        LIST

19. OP _ _ _ _ NT                         VEST 

20. B _ _ _ _ ON                           AMEN 

 

Answers:

 

1. SP LEND ID - SPLENDID

2. K ERNE L - KERNEL

3. COR DIAL LY - CORDIALLY

4. BAD MINT ON - BADMINTON

5. T RAIL ER - TRAILER

6. LI VEST OCK - LIVESTOCK

7. REA LIST IC - REALISTIC

8. RE PRIM AND - REPRIMAND

9. S MOOT H - SMOOTH

10. W REST LE - WRESTLE 

11. FIL AMEN T - FILAMENT

12. B RISK ET - BRISKET

13. G OVER NOR - GOVERNOR

14. AD VENT URE - ADVENTURE

15. PRO MINE NT - PROMINENT 

16. SUP ERST AR - SUPERSTAR

17. S CAMP I - SCAMPI

18. INF ANTI  LE - INFANTILE

19. OP PONE NT - OPPONENT 

20. B URGE ON - BURGEON

 

CRYPTO CLUES CCXI

GAMES Magazine

September, 1982

Gary Disch (1-8)

Dell PennyPress Variety Puzzles

April, 2025 (9-11)

 

1. Send timer back

 

2. Stay in Berlin, Germany

 

3. Broke into dried nut mixture

 

4. Composer has unusual drive

 

5. Ointment: Use with cap removed

 

6. Country tableware

 

7. Suffering dealt to Greek character

 

8. Torn lease

 

9. Quits or agrees to a new contract

 

10. Piece of land the race ruined

 

11. Note: Rap mix is given to change 

 

HINTS:

1. Reversal

2. Hidden word

3. Anagram

4. Anagram

5. Beheadment

6. Homophone

7. Anagram

8. Homograph (two meanings)

9. Heteronym (two pronunciations of same word)

10. Anagram

11. Anagram

 

Answers:

 

1. REMIT

2. LINGER (berLIN GERmany)

3. INTRUDED (dried nut)

4. VERDI (drive)

5. UNCTION (function = use)   

6. CHINA (China/china)

7. DELTA (dealt) [character = letter of alphabet]

8. RENT

9. RESIGNS (Z OR S sound of first S) 

10. HECTARE (the race)

11. PROTEAN (Note: Rap) 

MIX AND MATCH

Dell PennyPress Variety Puzzles

February, 2025

 

The letters of each word in the left-hand column can be re-arranged and then placed in front of a word in the right-hand column to form a new word. For example, if ALP were in the left-hand column and NET in the right, ALP could be re-arranged to PLA and placed before NET to form PLANET. 

 

1. CHIMES               a. ARCH

2. PIE                        b. ATE 

3. SEER                    c. BENT

4. WIT                      d. TRY

5. BOAR                   e. LIGHT

6. TIMED                 f. GRAM

7. PAPA                    g. METER

8. CUMIN                h. RENT 

 

Answers:

 

1. d. - CHEMISTRY

2. f. - EPIGRAM

3. a. - RESEARCH

4. e. - TWILIGHT

5. g. - BAROMETER

6. b. - MEDITATE

7. h. - APPARENT

8. c. - INBUMBENT