The Enigma

April, 2025

BROBBERTY 

 

The two missing words to this flat differ by a single letter.

 

In general, a rule of thumb:

A _______ dentist, when he wants to numb,

Will apply a _______ gel to your gum. 

 

Answers:

TYPICAL

TOPICAL 

STUMPERS DXLVIII 

Can you think of a three-letter word that can be an eyesore and a four-letter word that is an eyesore that differ only by a single letter?  

Answer:

STY

STYE

 

Credit:

Jean Omay 

The difference between SHORT and LONG is one letter

They were proud of their brainchild and

   were eager to use it,

But they had to take steps to be sure to 

   not lose it.

They applied fro a SHORT and awaited

   reply.

Being LONG is quite hard, but inventors

   must try. 

Answers:

PATENT

PATIENT

Credit:

The Enigma

September, 2024

GROUCHO

The cuewords HACK and HECK differ by only their second letters. They can be replaced in the flat below by two six-letter words that also differ only by their second letters.

Come to HACK ! See the sights! Speak Czech!

It's centuries since we had the HECK ! 

Answer:

 

PRAGUE - PLAGUE 

 

Credit:

The Enigma

August, 2024

BROBBERTY

 

Place the same letter 16 times in the letter string below to make a ten-word phrase.

R I R A R A O F R A R L S R K D O F S W T W T S A W D

Answer:

The missing letter is E: 

EERIE AREA OF RARE EELS REEKED OF SWEET WET SEAWEED

Credit:
Joseph Appel  - Nod to Will Shortz

Time Test - by Will Shortz

NPL Convention, 2024

The Enigma

August, 2024 

Part 7:

Add the same letter of the alphabet 15 times to complete a six-word sentence:

R I R A R A L E D O I T Y L U Y E A R M U S

HINT:

The letter is F.

Answer:

 

RIFFRAFF RAFFLED OFF FIFTY FLUFFY EARMUFFS.

DROPSIES

GAMES Magazine

July, 1986

Lois Sidway

 

Can you think of a phrase that is somehow related to each clue and is one letter off from a familiar name or  expression? For example, EBENEZER SCROOGE would be HEEL OF FORTUNE - one letter off from WHEEL OF FORTUNE. The answer to Clue 5 has four words.

 

1. INSOMNIA

2. LABOR DISPUTE

3. FIRST PLACE TIES

4. WHAT SOME DOGS DO

5. HOW NOAH WAS CAREFUL NOT TO GO 

HINTS:

First letters of the answers:

1. S_____   i_____

2. W____   t_____

3. I_____   w_____

4. P_____  u_____  t_____

5. B____  i_____  t_____  a_____

Answers:

 

1. Sleeping ill - Sleeping pill 

2. Working tiff - Working stiff

3. Identical wins - Identical twins

4. Pick up ticks - Pick-Up Sticks

5. Barefoot in the arc - Barefoot in the Park 

Can you think of two words that differ by only a single letter that can both complete the expressions below?

1. _____ at you food 

2. _____ you hair

3. Be _____ of scams

Answers:

1. Pick or peck

2. Primp or crimp

3. Weary or wary

 

Credit:

1-2: Andy Kravis

TRADE OFF X

Dell PennyPress Variety Puzzle

Fill the first set of blanks with six-letter synonym for the word on the left, and the second set of blanks with a synonym for the word on the right. The two words filling the blanks must differ by no more than a single letter which is given. For example,  

Flexible _ _ _ _ _ E   _ _ _ _ _ Y  Provide

              SUPPLE      SUPPLY

 

1. Type of tax _ _ _ I _ _    _ _ _ U _ _  Alibi 

2. Breezy, inside D _ _ _ _ _    C _ _ _ _ _  Wily

3. Summon B _ _ _ _ _    R _ _ _ _ _  Guess

4. Desolate _ _ _ _ _ N    _ _ _ _ _ L  Cask

5. Capitol group _ _ N _ _ _     _ _ D _ _ _  Calm

6. Robust _ _ _ _ _ Y    _ _ _ _ _ H  Fireside

7. Choose _ _ C _ _ _    _ _ R _ _ _  Ridicule

8. Unadorned _ _ _ _ N    _ _ _ _ D  Fabric pattern

Answers:

 

1. Answers:

 

1. EXCISE - EXCUSE

2. DRAFTY - CRAFTY

3. BECKON - RECKON

4. BARREN - BARREL

5. SENATE - SEDATE

6. HEARTY - HEARTH

7. DECIDE - DERIDE

8. PLAIN - PLAID

 

  

 

MUSIC THEORY

The Puzzlemaster Presents

Will Shortz 

Fill in the blanks with two two-word phrases that differ by only one letter.

_____  _____ MUSIC

_____  _____ THEORY

Answers:

 

BIG BAND MUSIC

BIG BANG THEORY

Five four-letter words, all starting with A, differ only by their second letter. Can you name them?

Answer:

1. ADAR - Hebrew month

2. AFAR - At a distance

3. AGAR  - Jelly-like thickening agent

4. AJAR - Partially open, as a door

5. ALAR - Pertaining to wings  

TRADE OFF IX

Dell PennyPress Variety Puzzles

May, 2021 

Fill the first set of blanks with a six-letter synonym for the word on the left, and the second set of blanks with a six-letter synonym for the word on the right. The two words filling the blanks must differ only by a single letter - which is given. For example:

Rasps _ _ _ _ E _    _ _ _ _ I _  Free

           GRATES       GRATIS

1. Lunge _ _ _ _ _T    _ _ _ _ _ H  Songbird 

2. Flexible _ _ _ _ _ E    _ _ _ _ _Y  Provide

3. Sift _ _ _ N _ _    _ _ _ D _ _  Porthole

4. Riffraff _ _ B _ _ _    _ _ M _ _ _  Wander

5. Hammer _ A _ _ _ _    _ I _ _ _ _  Cereal grass

Answers:

 

1. THRUST - THRUSH

2. SUPPLE - SUPPLY

3. WINNOW - WINDOW

4. RABBLE - RAMBLE

5. MALLET - MILLET

GAMES/World of Puzzles

September, 2017

R.H. Wei

Each set of clue below suggests a set of words that differ only by their last letter. Can you determine the answers, each of which will be three, four, or five letters long.

1. Opposite of flat

    Ocean predator

    Unit of stock

    Broken piece

 

2. Roman war god

    Grifter's prey

    Female horse

    Scottish queen

 

3. There's the _____

    Be sorry for

    Routine

    Campaign

 

4. Small and weak

    Football play

    Type of rock

    Groaners, usually

 

Answers:

 

1. SHARP

    SHARK

    SHARE

    SHARD

 

2. MARS

    MARK

    MARE

    MARY

 

3. RUB

    RUE

    RUT

    RUN

 

4. PUNY

    PUNT

    PUNK

    PUNS 

As the cuewords, GEAR and NEAR, indicate, the two answers to this flat differ only in their first letter. 

The tractor needs some tightening; 

Its shakes are quite severe. 

A sapling's fallen over it.

I need to get it clear. 

For the tree, get my GEAR, 

And for the tightening, get my NEAR. 

Answers:

 

HATCHET

RATCHET 

 

Credit:

The Enigma

March, 2023

A. CHEMEM

NPR Weekend Edition Sunday Puzzle

May 14, 2023

Will Shortz

 

Each word below is an anagram of an animal - minus the letter R. Add an R to each word to name the animal. For example, given ABE, the answer would be BEAR. #9 is an imaginary animal.

 

1. SHOE

2. TOTE

3. HUES

4. PITA

5. DE-BAG

6. GUACO

7. BILGE

8. THAMES

9. NUNCIO

10. NEEDIER

11. TOOTSIE 

Answers:

 

1. SHOE - HORSE

2. TOTE - OTTER

3. HUES - SHREW

4. PITA - TAPIR

5. DE-BAG - BADGER

6. GUACO - COUGAR

7. BILGE - GERBIL

8. THAMES - HAMSTER 

9. NUNCIO - UNICORN

10. NEEDIER - REINDEER

11. TOOTSIE - TORTOISE

SINGLE LETTER

Riddle and answer in verse:

A fiery adjective you should know,

With letters seven and syllables two.

Add a letter and watch it grow,

To become a noun with paler hue.

 

Answer:

 

The difference is "O" so plain to see, 

If you take the time to stop and think. 

A fire is FLAMING, it's a fiery red,

But the FLAMINGO is a paler pink.

 

The cuewords in the flat below represent the two five-letter answer words, which differ by only by their fourth letters.

1) 

It's said that Nero fiddled while Rome

   burned.

The SPACE left him quite SPARE and

   unconcerned.

 

HINT:

The two different fourth letters are Z and S.

 

2)

The cuewords in the flat below represent the two six-letter answer words, which differ only by their second letters.

 

Her kids returned to Hermosillo, FALL.

The FULL was overjoyed to see them all.

 

Answers:

 

1. BLAZE - BLASE

2. SONORA - SENORA

 

Credits:

The Enigma

February, 2023

1: WITZ

2: BROBBERTY 

NPR Weekend Edition Sunday Puzzle

December 25, 2022

Chip Natarajan

Presented by Will Shortz 

If you change the third letter of WOLF to an O, you get WOOF - the sound make by a dog.

 

Think of a six-letter animal. Change the second letter to get the sound made by a completely different animal. 

Answer:

 

RABBIT - RIBBIT (the sound made by a frog) 

                                   OR

COCKLE (marine mollusk) - CACKLE (the sound made by a goose)

 

TRADE OFF VIII

Dell PennyPress Variety Puzzles

June, 2019

The answers to the clues in each line below are six-letter words that differ by only one letter, which is given. For example, given 

Create  _ _ _ _ N _     _ _ _ _ R _  Flip over

the answers would be

                INVENT    INVERT

1. Rasps  _ _ _ _ E _    _ _ _ _ I _  Free

2. Stoop  C _ _ _ _ _    G _ _ _ _ _  Surly one

3. Materialize  _ _ _ _ _ R   _ _ _ _ _ L  Entreaty

4. Antagonism  _ _ M _ _ _    _ _ T _ _ _ Thing

5. Iron  _ _ _ _ T _    _ _ _ _ C _  Buss

6. Damsel  _ _ I _ _ _    _ _ D _ _ _  Infuriate

Answers:

 

1. GRATES - GRATIS

2. CROUCH - GROUCH

3. APPEAR - APPEAL

4. ENMITY - ENTITY

5. SMOOTH - SMOOCH

6. MAIDEN - MADDEN

LADIES AND GENTLEMEN - THE BEAGLES!

Reader's Digest

October, 2020

Can you ruin a great band name by changing one of it letters? 

(Possible) Answers:

The Six Pistols

The Why

Run DMV

The Beach Toys

Public Enema

Few Kids on the Block

Destiny's Chili

Boys to Meh

W2

Radio Dead

The Spite Girls

The Mamas and the Tapas