DROP A LETTER - GET A NEW WORD CLI 

GAMES/World of Puzzles 

October, 2026

FAMILY REUNIONS

Bob Stigger 

 

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

 

1. SKIPS

2. DAWN 

3. WRITE

4. FEUDS 

5. DENIM 

6. NEEDING 

7. BLUBBER

8. WHITTLES 

 

HINTS

First letters of the new words:

1. K

2. W

3. T

4. F

5. M

6. E

7. B

8. W

 

Answers:

 

1. KISS

2. WAD

3. TIRE

4. FUSE

5. MIND

6. ENGINE

7. BUBBLE

8. WHISTLE - - - Things you can blow  

QUOTES CCLXXVIII

To err is human, but it feels divine.

Mae West

 

Love built on beauty, soon as beauty, dies.

John Donne 

 

Lose riches, lose much; lose friend, lose more; lose face, lose all.

Chinese proverb 

 

The lonely moments of lives may reveal more than those of great crises.

Author Unknown 

 

The more frightening the world becomes, the more art becomes abstract. 

Wassily Kandinsky

 

In Shakespearean plays, no actor gets a chance to sit unless he is the king.

Author Unknown 

 

If only we could have two lives: the first in which to make one's mistakes, and the second in which to profit by them.

D.H. Lawrence

 

The simple difference between reform and revolution is reform corrects abuses while revolution transfers power.

Author Unknown 

 

DOUBLE DUTY CCCIX

Fill in the dashes with words that will complete a phrase beginning on the left and begin a phrase ending on the right. The number of dashes indicates the number of letters in the missing word.

1. FIELD _ _ _ JOB  

2. VILLA _ _ VALID 

3. BED _ _ _ _ _ MUSIC

4. FULL _ _ _ _ _ RULES 

5. GOLD _ _ _ _ _ STORE 

6. COMIC _ _ _ _ _ MALL

7. MOUTH _ _ _ _ _ MEAL

8. POINT _ _ _ _ _ _ SHEET 

9. COUGH _ _ _ _ ANCHOR

10. SLUMBER _ _ _ _ _ DRESS

 

Answer:

 

1. field DAY job

2. villaINvalid

3. bedSHEET music  

4. full HOUSE rules

5. gold CHAIN store

6. comic STRIP mall

7. mouthPIECEmeal

8. point SPREAD sheet

9. coughDROP anchor

10. slumber PARTY dress  

1. What do the following words have in common?

BOARD

STRING

HAREM

 

2. What do the following words have in common?

 

GALA

CAMEO

EMPIRE

AMBROSIA 

 

3. What do the following words have in common"

 

HOLD

MILKY

ROCKY

SCENIC

 

Answers:

 

1. Each word is the first half of an item of clothing:

    BOARD SHORTS

    STRING BIKINI

    HAREM PANTS

 

2. All are varieties of apples.

 

3. Each word can be followed by a word that can be part of an address:

    HOLD COURT

    MILKY WAY

    ROCKY ROAD

    SCENIC DRIVE  

 

ADD A LETTER - GET A NEW WORD CCCXIV

Add the designated letter to each word and re-arrange the letters to get a new word.

1. LEND + A

2. KILN + C

3. SOUP + I

4. SABER + I

5. YEAST + F 

6. SPLICE + E 

7. EAGLE + U

8. BLARE + W 

9. MORAL + C

10. BUTTER + I

HINTS:

First letters of the new words:

1. E

2. C

3. P

4. B

5. S

6. E

7. L

8. W

9. C

10. T

 

Answers:

 

1. ELAND

2. CLINK

3. PIOUS

4. BRAISE

5. SAFETY 

6. ECLIPSE

7. LEAGUE

8. WARBLE

9. CLAMOR

10. TRIBUTE 

 

CRYPTO CLUES CCLXXI 

GAMES Magazine

April, 2004

Richard Lee Clark (1-2)

Kenneth Bays (3-5)

September, 2014

Mike Shenk (6-8)

Patrick Berry (9-10)

 

1. Suggested rascal was untruthful

 

2. Dispute in carrier hub arbitration 

 

3. Hang a bit of dried fish

 

4. Most limited abstract art owners

 

5. Tawdry-looking merchandise hidden in back - it's cheap 

 

6. Reveling dooms sinful city

 

7. Ailments rampant in harsh workplace

 

8. Trailer involved in second court appearance

 

9. Settler blows up bridge

 

10. Tire iron damaged inside

 

HINTS:

1. Definition + definition

2. Hidden word

3. Fish as a verb + letter

4. Anagram

5. Hidden word

6-10. Anagrams

 

Answers:

 

1. IMPLIED (imp + lied)

2. RHUBARB (carrieR HUB ARBitration)

3. DANGLE (angle + d)

4. NARROWEST (art owners)

5. KITSCH (bacK - IT'S CHeap)

6. SODOM (dooms)

7. SALT MINE (ailments)

8. RETRIAL (trailer)

9. TRESTLE (settler)

10. INTERIOR (tire iron) 

 

 

 

 

TAKING EXCEPTION

GAMES Magazine

September, 2014

Craig Kasper

 

The "I before E, except after C" spelling rule in its entirety is "I before E, except after C, and when sounded as A, as in 'neighbor' and 'weigh'." The answer to each clue below is an exception to the rule.

  

1. Off the wall

2. Fast and able 

3. Full of spunk

4. Mexican plantation 

5. Darwin's Origin of _____

6. Montana National Park

7. Common physical descriptor 

8. Too much keeps you up at night

9. For peace of mind, keep it clean

10. Pertaining to another country other than one's own 

 

Answers:

 

1. WEIRD

2. EFFICIENT 

3. FEISTY

4. HACIENDA 

5. SPECIES

6. GLACIER

7. HEIGHT

8. CAFFEINE

9. CONSCIENCE

10. FOREIGN 

 

Some linguists say that there are so many exceptions to this rule that it is useless.