GAMES/Wold of Puzzles

October, 2026

Edward Dermon 

 

Two 7-letter words have the same five letters in between their first and last letters, but not in the same order. 

 

P _ _ _ _ _ T

T _ _ _ _ _ R

 

The two words have opposite meanings, although they are not common opposites like "good and bad." What are the two words?

 

(Big) HINT:

The missing five letters can be anagrammed to spell RATIO.

 

Answer:

 

PATRIOT

TRAITOR  

COMMON COMBOS LXXVII

Each group below contains three or four unrelated words. Find a word that can either precede or follow each of the words in each of the groups. 

1. UP, FALSE, KICK

2. SUN, AGE, HEAD 

3. LOCK, LINE, ANT 

4. CORN, LAND, ARM, EYE

5. THUMB, SHOP, COPY, BLUE

6. HEAD, CURTAIN, BABY, RAIN 

7. HOLE, STOCK, GREEN, PLACE

 

Answers:

 

1. START

2. DRESS

3. HEM

4. CANDY

5. PRINT

6. SHOWER

7. CARD  

CRYPTO CLUES CCLXVIII

GAMES Magazine

March, 2014

Merl Reagle (1-6)

GAMES/World of Puzzles

October, 2026

Chris Crossman (7)

Bob Stigger (8-9) 

 

1. Applaud colt's first trip around the track

 

2. Handsome guys might be son's idea

 

3. Winding street takes leader of pack to gatekeeper

 

4. Part of sentence sounds like fights

 

5. Car frames pulled from turbo-diesels

 

6. Fancy leis found at vacation locale 

 

7. Make blurry with faulty beta focus

 

8. Declare sage excessively dry

 

9. Section of prenuptial agreement reverses a celebration

 

HINTS:
1. Letter + definition

2. Anagram

3. Anagram + letter

4. Definition / homophone  

5. Hidden word 

6. Anagram

7. Definition / anagram

8. Definition / homophone

9. Reversal / hidden word

 

Answers:

 

1. CLAP (C + LAP)

2. ADONISES (son's idea)

3. ST. PETER (street + p) 

4. PHRASE (frays)

5. BODIES (turBO DIESels)

6. ISLE (leis)

7. OBFUSFATE (beta focus)

8. SERE (seer)

9. GALA (prenuptiAL AGreement) 

DROP A LETTER - GET A NEW WORD CL

GAMES/World of Puzzles

October, 2026

FAMILY REUNIONS

Bob Stigger

 

Drop one letter from each word and re-arrange the remaining letters to get six related words.

 

1. YODA

2. SABLE

3. TABOO

4. CUBISM

5. TUCSON

6. LICENSES  

 

HINTS:

First letter of the new words: 

1. D

2. B

3. B

4. M

5. S

6. S

 

Answers:

 

1. DAY

2. BASE

3. BOOT

4. MUSIC

5. SCOUT

6. SCIENCE - - - Kinds of camps  

 

  

PAIRS AND SNARES XLVII

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

1. BOLIX - PROLIX

2. PARLAY - PARLEY

3. ONAGER - TANAGER

4. LUMMOX - FLUMMOX

5. PLANGENT - REDOLENT 

6. PRESTIGIOUS - PRODIGIOUS 

7. ENTOMOLOGY - ETYMOLOGY 

Answers:

1. BOLIX - State of confusion, botched mess

    PROLIX - Using too many words, tedious

 

2. PARLAY - Develop a skill or asset into something of greater value

    PARLEY - A conference, discussion -as between enemies in war

 

3. ONAGER - Asiatic wild donkey / an ancient Roman catapult

    TANAGER - Songbird of North, Central, and South America  

 

4. LUMMOX - Awkward, clumsy person

    FLUMMOX - Confuse, baffle, bewilder

 

5.  PLANGENT - REDOLENT - - Both words describe a triggering of strong memories or emotions, but PLANGENT refer to sound while REDOLENT refers to smell

 

6. PRESTIGIOUS - Well-respected, admired - often with distinguished history

    PRODIGIOUS - Remarkably large in size, extent, degree, or force

 

7. ENTOMOLOGY - The study of insects

    ETYMOLOGY - The study of the origin and history of words 

What do the following words have in common? 

1. LINE

2. WING

3. LATIN 

4. BLOOD

5. CEILING

 

HINT:

Devotees

 

Answer:

 

Each word can be followed by a word that implies enthusiasm or support:

 

1. LINEBACKER

2. WING NUT

3. LATIN LOVER

4. BLOOD HOUND

5. CEILING FAN

 

Credit: 

Gary Larson and Amy Ensz  

 

UNUSUAL WORDS CXXVIII

Can you give a simple definition of these less-frequently-used words?

1. QUARK 

2. AGNATE

3. DISTAFF

4. DANDLE

5. RAGOUT

6. EPICENE

7. JINGOISM 

8. POTSHERD

9. ANAEROBE

10. ELEEMOSYNARY

 

Answers:

 

1. QUARK - Subatomic particle, basic

                      building block of protons and neutrons 

2. AGNATE - Related on the father's side

3. DISTAFF - Related on the mother's side

4. DANDLE - To bounce a baby on your lap or knee 

5. RAGOUT (ragoo) - Savory stew in a rich sauce

6. EPICENE - Having characteristics of both sexes

7. JINGOISM - Policy favoring war over diplomacy

8. POTSHERD - Broken piece of clay or pottery -

                             of archaeological value

9. ANAEROBE - Living micro-organism or bacterium

                              that does not require air

10. ELEEMOSYNARY - Related to, supported by, or 

                                           dependent on charity