DIS-INFORMATION
Credit: Will Shortz in The Puzzlemaster Presents

Complete the blank in each of  the following sentences with a word starting with the prefix "dis-" that completes the sentence in a punny way. "Dis-" always equals "this" in the pun. As a bonus hint, a definition of the "dis-" word appears somewhere in the sentence.

Example:
Please take apart dismantle from over the fireplace.
(dismantle = "this mantle"; defined in the sentence as "take apart')

1. __________ seems to look with scorn on his native Copenhagen.
2. __________ was filled with alarm by the mess she had to clean up.
3. __________ was thrown out of the Shakespearean poets' club.
4. No one could convince Elvis to the contrary not to use __________ for his blue shoes.
5. Firing __________ at the terrorists' base will break up their evil operation.
6. We decided to take the money from __________ we found on the street and scatter it about.
7. If you play __________ on the piano the result will be arguing and fighting.
8. One who argues with me a lot said, " __________ plate is not as pretty as the bronze one.
9. The perfume tester said, "I do not agree with the majority! __________ stinks!"

Answers:

1. Disdain  (This Dane; "look with scorn on")
2. Dismayed  (This maid; "filled with alarm") 
3. Disbarred  (This barred; "thrown out")
4. Dissuade  (This suede; "convince to the contrary")
5. Dismissal  (This missile; "firing")
6. Disperse  (This purse; "scatter about")
7. Discord  (This chord; "arguing and fighting")
8. Disputer  (This pewter; "one who argues a lot")
9. Dissent  (This scent; "do not agree")

TWO BY WILL SHORTZ
From The Puzzlemaster Presents

1)  PSEUDO-OPPOSITES

The words SHOT and SCOLD are pseudo-opposites because SHOT is S + HOT and SCOLD is S + COLD. Can you think of two pseudo-opposites that end in the letter T (i.e., two words ending in T that become antonyms when you remove the T's)? HINT: One of the words has five letters and the other has three (before the T's are removed).

SECOND HINT: The five-letter word starts with C.

2)  NUMBER, PLEASE

What three numbers can phonetically follow the sound of B, spelled and spoken as "be," to form three common words? There is a fourth word that can be made, but the number word is different than the first three.

BE______     BE______      BE______      BE______

Answers:

1. COMET and GOT  (Come and Go) 

2. The first three numbers are FOUR, NINE, and TEN:

BEFORE  /  BENIGN  /  BEATEN

The fourth number is ONE-HALF:

BEHALF

BROOKLYNESE
Credit: Will Shortz in The Puzzlemaster Presents

Longtime residents of Brooklyn are famous (at least in myth) for pronouncing their "words" as "woids." That is, the "ur" sound comes out as "oi." Sometimes this change produces an entirely new word. Answer each of the following pairs of clues with two words that are pronounced the same except that the first contains an "ur" sound where the second has "oi."  (Spelling may vary.)

Example:
Snarling dog / Bashful in a flirting way ........... CUR --- COY

1. Weed sticker / Young lad
2. Poetry / Something a singer has
3. Sounds of contentment / Self-assurance
4. Get an education / Cut of meat
5. Famous newspaper publisher / Lift
6. Roll up / Fencing sword
7. At the front of a line / Impose by fraud or trickery
8. In the wee hours / Greasy
9. Stated as true / Shun
10.Throw / "According to _ _ _ _ _ "
11. Avian creature / Portrayer of Hopalong Cassidy
12. Wind / Wind

Answers:

1. BUR - BOY
2. VERSE - VOICE
3. PURRS - POISE
4. LEARN - LOIN
5. HEARST - HOIST
6. FURL - FOIL
7. FIRST - FOIST
8. EARLY - OILY
9. AVERRED - AVOID
10. HURL - HOYLE
11. BIRD - (William) BOYD
12. CURL / COIL

"A"  PUZZLE
Credit: Will Shortz in The Puzzlemaster Presents  (#1-13)

In each three-word answer to this puzzle, one of the words is the article "a" followed by another word. Join the "a" and the following word phonetically and you'll get the third word - which may either begin or end the phrase.

Example: Have the money for an American car:   Afford a Ford

1. Bide one's time for a scale reading
2. Concerning a boxing match
3. Approximately three minutes in a boxing match
4. A flower sprang up
5. Fights a government levy
6. Slightly leading, as in a horserace
7. A superior partner in crime
8. A sound is bothersome
9. Gain workers for a ship
10. A nun's helpers
11. Get 25 sheets of paper
12. A competitor's appearances
13. Mom or dad in plain view
14. Love an entryway
15. Straighten a highway lane divider

Answers:

1. Await a weight
2. About a bout
3. Around a round
4. A rose arose
5. Attacks a tax
6. Ahead a head
7. A better abettor
8. A noise annoys
9. Accrue a crew
10. A sister's assistors 
11. Acquire a quire
12. A rival's arrivals
13. A parent apparent
14. Adore a door
15. Align a line
 

TWO - WAY
Credit: Will Shortz in The Puzzlemaster Presents

Put two letters on the dashes in each word to complete a common, uncapitalized, four-letter word which will spell another common, uncapitalized , four-letter word in reverse. Numbers 10, 11, and 12 have two answers.

For example, given  A _ _ T, the answer would be ABUT.
ABUT in reverse is TUBA

1. D _ _ W
2. G _ _ T
3. E _ _ L
4. G _ _ F
5. P _ _ G
6. B _ _ D
7. D _ _ A
8. W _ _ F
9. O _ _ E
10. D _ _ L
      D _ _ L
11. T _ _ M
      T _ _ M
12. E _ _ T
      E _ _ T

Answers:

1. DRAW
2. GNAT
3. EVIL
4. GOLF
5. PLUG
6. BARD
7. DIVA
8. WOLF
9. OGRE
10. DIAL - DUAL
11. TEEM - TRAM
12. EMIT - EDIT 

SPORTS TALK
Credit: Will Shortz

What common term, in two different senses, is used in each of the following pairs of sports or games? The answers' first letters are provided as hints.

1. Baseball......................Bowling......................S
2. Golf............................Badminton.................B
3. Football................... ..Fishing.......................T
4. Golf............................Poker.........................C
5. Ice Hockey.................Chess..........................C
6. Weightlifting..............Basketball....................P
7. Wrestling...................Bowling......................P
8. Sailing.......................Poker...........................D
9. Horseracing...............Pool.............................S
10. Auto racing.........................Golf.................D
11. Bridge......................Baseball......................G
      (two-word answer)


Answers:

1. Strike
2. Birdie
3. Tackle
4. Chip
5. Check
6. Press
7. Pin
8. Deck
9. Scratch
10. Driver
11. Grand slam

WOULD YOU REPEAT THAT
Credit: Will Shortz in The Puzzlemaster Presents

Each answer is a four-letter phrase in which the first and third words are the same. Example: Using any available means or method................Catch as catch can

1. Constantly/Without a break
2. Everything is fine up to this point
3. Spending money too freely
4. Strenuous workout at the gym
5. A chip off the old block
6. Beginning of Santa's call to his reindeer
7. Children's rhyme about wishing at night
8. Fair way of accepting orders, seating people, etc.
9. Derogatory criticism of imitation
10. Basic principle of a democratic election

Answers:

1. Day in, day out
2. So far, so good
3. Easy come, easy go
4. No pain, no gain
5. Like father, like son
6. On Dasher! On Dancer!
7. Star light, star bright
8. First come, first served
9. Monkey see, monkey do
10. One man, one vote

ANOTHER THREE BY WILL SHORTZ

1. If you drop the consecutive letters VE from BEAVER, you end up with BEAR, thus changing one animal name into another. The name of what animal becomes the name of another animal when you drop the consecutive letters ONG?

2. A certain seven letter word starts with the letter R and ends with the letter E. Inside are two words which are opposites of each other, one after the other. What is the full word?

3. What two rhyming words are both synonyms of GAG--in two different senses?

FIRST HINTS:
1. The first three letters of the second animal make up a common animal-sound word.
2. The full word means the common, usual way things occur during a day.

SECOND HINT:

1. The animal-sound word is MOO.

Answers:

1. Mongoose to Moose
2. ROUTINE (out and in)
3. Choke and Joke

THE OLD ONE-TWO
Credit: Will Shortz in The Puzzlemaster Presents

Reverse the first two letters of the answer to the first clue to get the answer to the second clue. Example: County in Northern Ireland / shine....................Ulster / luster

1. Most unusual / Take into police custody
2. Choice /Magical drink
3. Iconic brand of jeans / "The King"
4. Shade tree /Enough
5. Height / Degrees from the equator
6. Kind of energy / Difficult to understand
7. Storefront cover / On the way out
8. Make god-like / strengthen, build up

Answers:

1. Rarest / Arrest
2. Option / Potion
3. Levis / Elvis
4. Maple / Ample
5. Altitude / Latitude
6. Nuclear / Unclear
7. Awning / Waning
8. Deify / Edify

XX RATED

Each clue below can be answered by a word, name, or phrase containing two X's.
Credit: Will Shortz

1. Giant oil company
2. Giant copy company
3. Woman who oversees a will
4. Spicy southwest cuisine
5. The Mother Road
6. Newsboy's cry, once
7. Familiar sign on an Interstate
8. Horizontal line of a graph
9. Like certain charities and non-profits

Answers:

1. Exxon
2. Xerox
3. Executrix
4. Tex-Mex
5. Route Sixty-Six
6. Extra! Extra!
7. Next exit
8. X-axis
9. Tax-exempt

THREE MORE BY WILL SHORTZ

1. Consider the phrase _____ and ______ the ______ of _______. The initial letters of the four words of the phrase are A, B, C, and D - in that order. What is this familiar phrase?

2. Three words are spelled the same except for their first two letters, which can be SW, TW, or WH. All three words have the same meaning? What are they?

3. RAID and SAID end in the same three letters, but they don't rhyme with each other. Can you name a third, uncapitalized word that also ends in -AID that doesn't rhyme with either of the other two?

HINT:
1. It has to do with bravery.

HINTS 1:
1. This expression is often heard in awards ceremonies.
3. It is a word of five letters.

HINTS 2:

3. It has to do with a type of clothing pattern.

Answers:

1. Above and Beyond the Call of Duty
2. Swirl, twirl, and whirl
3. PLAID