Think of an animal whose name satisfies the clue. Wordplay is fair play. For example, the clue "Not telling the truth" could be answered by "Lion"- as in "lyin'." (#4 is a plural.)

1. Chatter incessantly

2. More strange

3. Blowin'

4. Elevate 

5. Minor parish official

6. Internet scam word

7. To couple it 

 

Answers:

 

1. Yak

2. Otter (odder)

3. Puffin

4. Rays

5. Beetle (beadle)

6. Fish (phish)

7. Parrot (pair it)  

 

Credit:
Braingle 

  

Use the hints below to think of animal names that can also be verbs.

1. Mimic

2. Devour (with down)

3. Struggle clumsily

4. Avoid (as a blow)

5. Stalk

6. Harass

7. Goof off (with around)

8. Overeat (with out)

9. Ingest food

10. Baffle, intimidate 

 

Answers:

 

1. Ape or Parrot

2. Wolf down

3. Flounder

4. Duck

5. Dog

6. Badger

7. Horse around

8. Pig out

9. Swallow 

10. Buffalo   

Can you think of a familiar phrase containing the name of an animal to match these descriptions?

1. Over-protective

2. Industrious 

3. Hide in a safe place

4. Zealous, enthusiastic

5. Lacking courage

6. Devour - as food 

7. Children's string game

8. Sirius 

9. Bar denizen 

10. Clever one

11. Insincere weeping 

12. Obscure person who wins an election 

13. Silly, mischievous, or deceitful conduct 

14. President in the last year of his second term 

15. Something obsessively pursued, but impossible to achieve 

16. A business service or product that generates consistent and substantial profit 

17. A continuing source of wealth or profit that may be exhausted if it is misused 

18. A person considered different from the rest of their family or group, often in a negative or disreputable way 

 

Answers:

 

1. Mother hen

2. Busy bee

3. Squirrel away

4. Eager beaver

5. Cowardly lion

6. Wolf down

7. Cat's Cradle

8. Dog Star

9. Lounge lizard

10. Sly fox 

11. Crocodile tears 

12. Dark horse 

13. Monkey business 

14. Lame duck 

15. White whale 

16. Cash cow  

17. Golden goose 

18. Black sheep 

HUNGRY HIPPO

Answer each clue with a compound word or two-word phrase that contains the name of an animal.

1. Steam locomotive

2. Exaggerated tale

3. Highway menace

4. Playground staple

5. Kind of pastry

6. Unexpected winner  

7. They're usually in August

8. A very dirty room or place

9. Something hard to get rid of

10.. Something hard to talk about

11. Metaphor for being industrious

12. Metaphor for being enthusiastic

13. A dangerous, threatening place or situation 

14. Highly admired and exceptional person or thing, once

Answers:

1. Iron horse

2. Fish story

3. Roadhog

4. Monkey bars

5. Bear claw

6. Dark horse

7. Dog days of summer

8. Pig pen/sty

9. White elephant

10. Elephant in the room

11. Busy bee

12. Eager beaver

13. Lion's den

14. Cat's pajamas

 

 

ROLE REVERSALS

GAMES Magazine

September, 2000

Nelson Hardy (1-5)

Many common expressions with animal names are gender-based. The words below are the opposite gender of names found in some of these expressions. Can you name the common expression that uses the opposite gender of those listed? For example, COW would prompt the expression, "Hit the bull's eye" or "Take the bull by the horns."

1. Gander

2. Rooster

3. Stallion

4. Doe

5. Ewe

6. Drake 

7. Vixen

8. Boar

 

(Possible) Answers:

 

1. Goose bumps

2. Hen-pecked

3. Mare's nest

4. The buck stops here

5. Battering ram 

6. Lame duck/Sitting duck

7. Sly like a fox

8. Can't make a silk purse out of a sow's ear

 

ANIMAL CRACKERS 

Dell PennyPress Variety Puzzles

December, 2020

 

Fill the name of an animal into each set of blanks to complete the words. [Note from JA: I found this puzzle to be very difficult.]

 

Example: S _ _ _ TER would be sCATter - scatter

 

1. S _ _ _ L

2. IN _ _ _ _ AL

3. FOR _ _ _ _ TE

4. S _ _ _ _ BLE

5. H _ _ _ _ CUS

6. S _ _ _ _ NTE

7. BENE _ _ _ _ NT

8. E _ _ _ _ IENT 

HINTS:

The first letter of the missing animal:

1. SC _ _ L

2. INT _ _ _ AL

3. FORT _ _ _ TE

4. SC _ _ _ BLE

5. HI _ _ _ CUS

6. SP _ _ _ NTE

7. BENEV _ _ _ NT

8. EB _ _ _ IENT

Answers:

 

1. sCOWl - scowl

2. inTERNal - internal

3. forTUNAte - fortunate

4. sCRABble - scrabble

5. hIBIScus - hibiscus

6. sPUMAnte - spumante*

7. beneVOLEnt - benevolent

8. eBULLient - ebullient

 

*Spumante is an Italian white wine.

 

 

ANIMAL OPPOSITES

From Reader's Digest

October, 2021

Can you think of a fanciful opposite name for an animal? For example: Legadillo for armadillo. Five are listed below.

(Possible) Answers:

1. Stoprilla (gorilla)

2. Goodger (badger)

3. Uncleeater (anteater)

4. Noneigator (alligator)

5. Tellthetruthon (lion)

 

 

I AM NOT AN ANIMAL

Emily Cox and Henry Rathvon

 

Each clue answer contains the name of an animal, but isn't one. For example, given the clue. "It doesn't hop," the answer would be "Dust bunny."

 

1. It doesn't sting.

2. It doesn't swim.

3. It doesn't swim

4. It doesn't bleat.

5. It doesn't whinny.

6. It doesn't snort

7. They don't purr

8. It doesn't fly at night eating insects

 

Answers:

 

1. Spelling bee

2. Pool shark

3. Cosmic ray

4. Battering ram

5. Charley horse

6. Papal bull

7. Copycats

8. Baseball bat

 

COME TO THE WORD ZOO VIII

The Word's The Thing

Dr. Louis D. Appel

 

The answer to each clue is or contains the name of an animal. Wordplay is fair play. 

1. Singer

2. Backless shoe

3. Feline at a track meet

4. He has a good physique

5. Rhyming, but trivial poetry

6. Porcine one who can't decide

7. I' not a lion, but I bear his sign

8. Uncover and bring to light by searching 

9. Four out of five letters pronounce him healthy

10. Lizard whose last three letters are a palindrome 

Answers:

 

1. Warbler 

2. Mule

3. Polecat

4. Buffalo

5. Doggerel

6. Hedgehog

7. Leopard

8. Ferret

9. Whale

10. Iguana

 

Answer the clues below with phrases containing the name of an animal.

 

1. Warning of impending danger

2. Emergency situation

3. Spiteful one

4. Deceitful one

5. Something bought sight unseen

6. Obsessing over one particular thing

7. Topic on everyone's mind - but not discussed 

8. Children's keep-away game that can turn mean.

Answers:

 

1. Canary in a coal mine

2. Ox in the mire

3. Dog in the manger

4. Snake in the grass

5. Pig in a poke

6. Bee in your bonnet

7. Elephant in the room 

8. Monkey in the middle

COME TO THE WORD ZOO VII

The Word's The Thing

Dr. Louis D. Appel

The answer to each clue is or contains the name of an animal. Wordplay is fair play.

1. Skin growth

2. Hard work

3. Revolutionary fighter

4. Strict disciplinarian

5. Struggle clumsily or helplessly

6. False flatterer, sycophant

7. Color black

8. Three consecutive strikes in bowling

9. Annoy, torment

10. Animal that does not below to either of us, not yours _______

Answers:

 

1. Mole

2. Aardvark

3. Gorilla (guerilla)

4. Martinet

5. Flounder

6. Toady

7. Sable

8. Turkey

9. Badger

10. Ermine

COME TO THE WORD ZOO VI

The Word's The Thing

Dr. Louis D. Appel

The answer to each clue is or contains the name of an animal. Wordplay is fair play.

 

1. Pitcher

2. Pointed beard 

3. Shrink with fear

4. Reckless pedestrian

5. One who takes the blame

6. Material used for wickerwork

7. Rickety, in a state of severe disrepair

8. A frame that supports wood for sawing

9. Person who preys on the misfortune of others

10. Its name begins with a legal term for a wrongful act.

 

Answers:

 

1. Ewer

2. Goatee

3. Quail

4. Jaywalker

5. Scapegoat

6. Rattan

7. Ramshackle

8. Sawhorse

9. Vulture

10. Tortoise

 

COME TO THE WORD ZOO V

The Word's The Thing

Dr. Louis D. Appel 

Each answer is or contains the name of an animal. Wordplay is fair play.

1. A look or glance

2. Yes man

3. Name begins with a means of transport

4. Loud and confused noise

5. Some say they can live as cheaply as one

6. Amateur radio operator

7. Opposite of a brave one

8. Prank or adventure

9. Outer covering of a fruit or vegetable

10. Type of shoe

Answers:

 

1. Gander

2. Toady

3. Caribou

4. Clamor

5. Toucan

6. Hamster

7. Coward

8. Lark

9. Peel

10. Oxford

COME TO THE WORD  ZOO IV

The Word's The Thing 

Dr. Louis D. Appel 

The answer to each clue is or contains the name of an animal. Wordplay is fair play.

1. Court travesty

2. Slow or lazy one

3. Machine for hoisting

4. Rooming house lodger

5. Boat with twin hulls

6. Daily police record

7. Gray -haired

8. Gold bars 

9. One in prison

10. Flower with wading bird in the middle

Answers:

 

1. Kangaroo court

2. Sloth

3. Crane

4. Boarder

5. Catamaran

6. Blotter

7. Grizzly

8. Bullion

9. Jailbird

10. Hibiscus

COME TO THE WORD ZOO III

The Word's The Thing

Dr. Louis D. Appel 

The answer to each clue below is or contains the name of an animal. Wordplay is fair play.

1. It's present at every meal

2. Unused or recent

3. Hair arrangement (2)

4. Golf course feature

5. Woodworking joint

6. Complain

7. Cunning, sneaking one (2)

8. Dishonest person

9. It's shy to begin with

10. It has a final, elegant bearing

Answers:

 

1. Swallow

2. Gnu

3. Pig or ponytail

4. Dogleg

5. Dovetail

6. Carp

7. Weasel or fox 

8. Cheetah

9. Coyote

10.  Porpoise

 Can you think of a word that can precede each of the animals below to form a familiar phrase?

1. Vulture

2. Horse

3. Cat

4. Sheep

5. Bull

6. Beaver

7. Duck

8. Rat

9. Tiger

10. Lion 

11. Lizard

12. Cow

 

(Possible) Answers:

 

1. Culture vulture

2. Dark horse

3. Cheshire cat

4. Black sheep

5. John Bull

6. Eager beaver

7. Lame duck

8. Desert rat

9. Paper tiger 

10. Cowardly lion

11. Lounge lizard

12. Holy/sacred cow

 

Credit: Ben Hamilton

Brainteasers and Mind Benders (#1-8) 

LA Times Crossword
February 23, 2020
John-Clark Levin
HERD MENTALITY (#1-5)

The answer to each clue below will be a familiar phrase in which one of the words will be   a collective noun for animals. For example,

Ants living in an old Chrysler - Plymouth Colony (colony of ants)

1. Fish attending Mass
2. Wolves from lower Manhattan
3. Lions' marching even
4. Whales' near-zero veggie supply
5. Crows sailing from Ethiopia to Egypt
6. Rhinos' emergency class
7. Gorilla marriage
8. Complex frogs

Answers:

1. Catholic school
2. Battery pack
3. Pride parade
4. Two peas in a pod
5. Murder on the Nile
6. Crash course 
7. Wedding band 
8. Gordian Knot

FLIGHTS OF FANCY
The Enigma
NPL Magazine
July, 2019
RAW

Oxen, geese, and lots of sheep,
Whales and turtles of the deep,
Emperor penguins, vampire bats,
Snails and squid and feral cats.
Ernes, and gnats, and big king crabs,
Armadillos and yellow labs,
Horses, lizards, insects, kraits,
Piranhas, iguanas, mantas, and skates.
Antelope, deer, shark and gnu,
Tigers and bears, octopus too,
Pigeons, eels, and sweating hogs,
Leopards, clams, and apes and frogs.

On a dreamer's wings I soar,
Through bestiaries' open door,
Imagining I'll travel with
Beasts that also live in myth.
Nessie will not be denied.
On Pegasus I'll take a ride.

WORDPLAY AT MACDONALD'S
GAMES/World of Puzzles
June, 2018
Scott Erdman

Fill in each blank with the name of an animal that might be found on a farm to complete a familiar two-word phrase.

1. _____ iron
2. _____ session
3. _____ heaven
4. _____wire
5. _____ burglar
6. _____ chase
7. Talk _____
8. Lame _____
9. Hobby _____
10. Cash _____
11. Corn _____
12. Black _____

Answers:

1. Pig iron
2. Bull session
3. Hog heaven
4. Chicken wire
5. Cat burglar
6. Goose chase
7. Talk turkey
8. Lame duck
9. Hobby horse
10. Cash cow
11. Corn dog
12. Black sheep 

NPR Weekend Edition Sunday Puzzle
July 23, 2107
Will Shortz

Each clue below suggests an animal preceded by a similarly sounding adjective ending in Y. For example, a suspicious swimmer would be a FISHY FISH.

1. Flying nutcase
2. Powerful arachnid
3. Hirsute hopper

Answers:

1. BATTY BAT
2. MIGHTY MITE
3. HAIRY HARE