Archive for February, 2008

What I Like

Wednesday, February 27th, 2008

I prefer CLUE to MONOPOLY.

I’d rather wear a CROWN than a TIARA.

When it comes to foreign languages, I’d rather learn GREEK than LATIN.

I would sooner name my dog REX than FIDO.

I prefer to WRITE, not TYPE.

Which is my favorite kind of music: ROCK, PUNK, POP, or COUNTRY?

Answer

I thought the Oscars were on Monday

Monday, February 25th, 2008

Well, I can still use my Oscar puzzle, can’t I? Sure.

Take the word OSCAR. Put a letter at the front; put a letter at the back; and put a letter somewhere in the middle. What common word can you make?

Answer

Letterboxes

Friday, February 22nd, 2008

The answer to each of the clues is a phrase consisting of two five-letter words. Each answer can be written lowercase into a set of blanks so that the vowels always appear in a yellow square, and consonants always appear in a blue box of the appropriate shape. (A key to which letters can appear in which boxes is shown.) Can you answer all the clues and place them in the correct blanks? Here’s a hint: Answers can be placed in the blanks, from top to bottom, in alphabetical order.

(Click to enlarge the image.)

Answer

Join the Club

Wednesday, February 20th, 2008

The six words below have something in common. If these six words were to form a club, which of the movie stars shown below would be allowed to join? 

ambidextrous
auctioned
cauliflower
exhaustion
tambourine
troublemaking

George Clooney
Matt Damon
Brad Pitt
Julia Roberts
Reese Witherspoon

Answer

Presidents in Hiding

Monday, February 18th, 2008

Each of the sentences below contains the last name of a former United States president. Can you find them all?

1. Evel Knievel once jumped fifteen buses in his stunt car. Terrific!

2. Before you have a tantrum and start yelling, think if that’s the best way to get what you want.

3. On the map, is Idaho over Utah or is Utah over Idaho?

4. I swear, Thursdays are the longest days. I want it to be Friday!

5. If you work in the chem lab, don’t be surprised to find toxic lint on your sweater.

6. That orchard in Germany produces sour grapes.

7. You are a gang of thieves? Then I better run away.

Answer

Word Addition

Friday, February 15th, 2008

You can take a word from the first column, one letter from the second column, and a word from the third column, and put them all together to make a seven-letter word. Some parts can be used to form more than one word, but if you add everything up properly, there’s a way to make seven different words.

Want clues for the seven words? Click here.

Answer

Tool Time

Wednesday, February 13th, 2008

The woodworker told his assistant to get a few things from the hardware store. The assistant printed out the list. After he arrived at the store, however, the assistant realized that the printer was broken: Only the top portion of each tool name printed out. Can you help the assistant remember what he’s supposed to buy?

Answer

Pure Poetry

Monday, February 11th, 2008

Below are seven poems from Ogden Nash, each about a different animal. Can you put the right animal names back into each poem?

ANT CENTIPEDE COBRA COW OCTOPUS OSTRICH TERMITE

1.
Tell me, O _____, I begs
Is those things arms, or is they legs?
I marvel at thee, _____;
If I were thou, I’d call me Us.

2.
I objurgate the _____,
A bug we do not really need.
At sleepy-time he beats a path
Straight to the bedroom or the bath.
You always wallop where he’s not,
Or, if he is, he makes a spot.

3.
The _____ is of the bovine ilk;
One end is moo, the other, milk.

4.
Some primal ____ knocked on wood
And tasted it, and found it good!
And that is why your Cousin May
Fell through the parlor floor today.

5.
This creature fills its mouth with venom
And walks upon its duodenum.
He who attempts to tease the _____
Is soon a sadder he, and sobra.

6.
The _____ roams the great Sahara.
Its mouth is wide, its neck is narra.
It has such long and lofty legs,
I’m glad it sits to lay its eggs.

7.
The ____ has made himself illustrious
Through constant industry industrious.
So what?
Would you be calm and placid
If you were full of formic acid?

Answer

Word Ladder

Friday, February 8th, 2008

Today’s puzzle comes in two flavors: regular and a little more challenging.

Answer

Stop Times Three

Wednesday, February 6th, 2008

In the three puzzles below, replace each of the letters with a digit from 0 to 9 so that the equation is correct. A letter must be replaced with the same digit every time it appears. Each of the three puzzles uses a different code, and each puzzle has a unique answer.

Answer