Monday, January 30, 2006

Ten-Letter Mystery (1/31)

I'm thinking of a common ten-letter word. I found a set of three different letters within this word which repeat themselves back to back and in the same order. The leftover letters are as follows:

STOME.

If you imagine the deleted letters to be represented by 123, then you might insert them twice within the word like this:

S123123TOME.

This is not necessarily where the inserted letters belong, but they will appear as the pattern 123123.

What is the word?


Click here for the answer!

Sunday, January 29, 2006

Department Store Music (1/30)

I'm thinking of a department store in two syllables. Drop the last letter, switch the order of the syllables, and phonetically you'll have a musical instrument.

What's the store and instrument?


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Saturday, January 28, 2006

So Many Clues (1/29)

I recently found that several five-letter words can form two other four-letter words by dropping either the first or last letters. In the following puzzle, I'll give you three clues which when solved provide one five-letter word and two four-letter words. I won't tell you which clue leads to which word, though.

For example, the clues "shove, athlete's problem, highway accessory" provide the answers CRAM, CRAMP, and RAMP.

They won't always be in the same order, so watch out and good luck!

1) baked sweet, bright object, beginning
2) river creature, type of pot, hard object
3) fruit, swollen area, fat
4) crunch, smile, lemon part
5) sea creature, workbench tool, light source
6) Shakespeare character, make, understand


Click here for the answers!

A Time to Solve (1/28)

Can you name a day of the week, a month of the year, and a time of day which each begin and end with the same pair of letters?

(For example, STRIKE, SIRE, and SORE all begin and end with the same pair of letters: S and E.)


Click here for the answers!

Friday, January 27, 2006

Double Syllable (1/27)

There are a variety of common words with double opening syllables which are in some cases individual words. In the following puzzle, I'll give one clue whose answer is the first syllable which is then repeated.

Take the example clue "farm animal / kill." The first answer is ASS which is then repeated to form the word ASSASSINATE.

Now, the clue is as follows: 80's TV show / common food.

What are the answers?


Click here for the answers!

Thursday, January 26, 2006

Another 1-2-3-1-2 (1/26)

Blogger was down yesterday. Sorry about the delay.

I've got another 1-2-3-1-2 puzzle, but this time, it's a little trickier. For those new to these puzzles, there are words and names which fall into the pattern 1-2-3-1-2 (for example, MIAMI).

The challenge: name a common food that falls into the 1-2-3-1-2 pattern. Then name another common food which falls into the 1-2-3-1-2 and is made with the first food.

What are the two foods?


Click here for the answers!

Tuesday, January 24, 2006

DMR (1/25)

I'm thinking of a common two word phrase. I'll give you three single letters: D, M, and R. Now add three sets of different double letters (AA, BB, and CC, for example), rearrange the whole, and you'll have a type of person.

Who's the person?


Click here for the answer!

Monday, January 23, 2006

Seven in Common (1/24)

For this puzzle, consider a two part name as a single group with a single letter count. For example, STEPHEN KING could be read as a single group with 11 letters.

Now, I'm thinking of two individuals, one famous for creating graphic novels and the other famous for creating games. I won't reveal how many total letters are in their names, but I will say this: the first 7 letters of both complete names are exactly the same.

Who are they?


Click here for the answers!

Sunday, January 22, 2006

Generic Synonyms (1/23)

I'm thinking of a five-letter word for a generic plant. Rearrange the letters, and you'll have a synonym for that plant. As a hint, I'll say that the anagramming doesn't work with the plural forms of the two words.

What are they?


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Saturday, January 21, 2006

At Last A Pencil Puzzle (1/22)

I've accidently skipped the last couple of Sunday pencil puzzles, so I'm finally back on track. Here's a modified Alphabet Soup puzzle with the following condition:

Each response to the clues will consist of exactly one word, consisting of at least three adjacent letters from the 26-letter string. If you think an answer has two words or more, choose a single word which is best associated with the clue (like in crosswords).

As always, the answers to all the clues will use all the letters of the alphabet. Any amount of extra letters and rearrangements of letters are permitted. The last letter of the string of letters wraps around to the first, as though it were a circle. You may not skip over letters.

For those new to Alphabet Soup puzzles, here is a quick example. Let's say you had the string of letters as follows:

Q A Z W S X E D C R F V T G B Y H N U J M I K O L P.

Perhaps one of the clues is "literary character." You may respond with "GATSBY" using the string "TGBY"; you may not cross out A or S because they are not adjacent. Note that the letters may be rearranged and that outside letters may be used to complete your answer, though they may not be crossed off from the string of letters. A correct answer in turn gives you the boundaries of other answers. However, if your answer is not the right one, you will soon find yourself out of possibilities.

Think you can hack it? Here goes!

Q O H M A B R N I Z E U S P Y G W D F C T K L V J X

1) Olympic tool
2) Southern vacation spot
3) Knightly literary character
4) Long-running sitcom
5) Big airport
6) U.S. state
7) Masked crime fighter
8) Jingling wanderer

Note: one answer is an abbreviation.


Click here for the answers!

Friday, January 20, 2006

Related How? (1/21)

Look carefully at the following words:

JOY
CAR
OAT

These words are related in an unusual way.

Can you figure out how?


Click here for the answer!

Phonetic Brothers (1/20)

I'm thinking of a comedian, a classic novel, and a biblical gift which all share the same two phonetic syllables in the same adjacent order.

What are they?


Click here for the answers!

Wednesday, January 18, 2006

Island and Island Nation (1/19)

I'm thinking of a famous island. Drop the first letter, rearrange the remaining letters, and you'll have an island nation.

What's the island and what's the island nation?


Click here for the answers!

Tuesday, January 17, 2006

Famous Promise (1/18)

I'm thinking of a famous person. Change the one vowel in his or her name, rearrange the letters, and you'll have a commodity that that person gives.

Who is the person and what is the commodity?


Click here for the answers!

Monday, January 16, 2006

Hard and Easy (1/17)

The following teasers end up with the same answer. The first is hard and the second is easy (or at least harder and easier).

1) I'm thinking of an eight-letter word which deals with the body and is composed of two smaller four-letter words. Three letters from the first four letters are repeated in a different order in the last four letters. The two remaining letters from the first and second half are consecutive letters in the alphabet.

What is the eight-letter word?








2) I've deleted repeating letters from the following eight-letter word:

_ _ _ D _ C _ _

Three different letters are used in the first three blanks and are then repeated in the last three blanks, albeit in a different order.

What's the word?


Click here for the answer!

Sunday, January 15, 2006

The Classic and the Modern (1/16)

I'm thinking of a centuries old artist and a modern activity which share the same letters, just with a different arrangement.

What are they?


Click here for the answers!

Saturday, January 14, 2006

Animal Crackers (1/15)

I'm thinking of a two-word phrase which describes a group of animals. Replace the second word with a synonym for it, and you'll have the one-word name of a famous composer.

What's the group of animals and who is the composer?


Click here for the answers!

Friday, January 13, 2006

Artsy Days (1/14)

Quick! What day of the week contains a famous artist's name?


Click here for the answer!

Thursday, January 12, 2006

Backseat Composer (1/13)

I'm thinking of a common vehicle feature which contains all of the letters of a famous composer's last name in their correct order (for example, the letters of the word BEE can be found in their correct order in the word BREAKER). Here's a hint: four letters from the name are consecutive in the vehicle feature.

What is the feature and who is the composer?


Click here for the answers!

Wednesday, January 11, 2006

Health Food Junkie (1/12)

I'm thinking of something you eat in a health food shop, in seven letters. Change one of the vowels to a different vowel, rearrange the letters, and you'll get another thing you eat in a health food shop, also in seven letters.

What are the two foods?


Click here for the answers!

Tuesday, January 10, 2006

Flower Parts (1/11)

I'm thinking of specific flowers. Phonetically, their name is also something all people have.

What are the flowers and what is the something?


Click here for the answers!

Monday, January 09, 2006

Classic Game (1/10)

I'm thinking of a classic game in three syllables. Phonetically, the first syllable is a type of alcohol, the second is a pronoun, and the third is something you'd find in a freezer.

What's the game?


Click here for the answer!

Sunday, January 08, 2006

Ace Sends His Regards (1/9)

I received a letter today from an old friend. He signed off by writing the following:

"In cool times, Ace Ubeeni".

If you keep the consonants in the above quotation and drop all the vowels, you'll have all the consonants of a famous novel in their right order. You can reconstruct the novel's title by adding each of the vowels exactly once.

What's the novel?


Click here for the answer!

Saturday, January 07, 2006

Three Word Phrase (1/8)

I'm thinking of a common three word phrase. The middle word is AND. What is unusual is that all four letters of the first word can be found in the six-letter third word, albeit in a different order.

Can you think of the three word phrase?


Click here for the answer!

Friday, January 06, 2006

Ocean in View! (1/7)

Chances are you've owned something with the phrase "Ocean in view! O! The joy!" written on it.

What do you think that would be?


Click here for the answer!

Thursday, January 05, 2006

Things, Things, Things (1/6)

I'm thinking of things that are in a house. Drop the first letter, and you'll get things that cover the body. Drop the first letter again, and you'll get things you put on. Drop the first letter again, and you'll get something in the government.

What are these things?


Click here for the answers!

Wednesday, January 04, 2006

One-Two-Three-One-Two (1/5)

I'm thinking of an author whose last name falls into the following pattern: 12312.

For example, the city MIAMI falls into this same pattern (1=M, 2=I, 3=A).

Who is the author?


Click here for the answer!

Tuesday, January 03, 2006

Three and Three Again (1/4)

The English language is crazy. You can take a set of words, add a single word to each of these words, and get an entirely new set of words.

For example, in front of the words PRINT, GRASS, and BIRD, you can add the word BLUE making BLUEPRINT, BLUEGRASS, and BLUEBIRD.

Now take the words WRITER, CAT, and RIGHT. By adding the same common word to each of their beginnings, you'll create three new words.

What's the common word and what are the three new words?


Click here for the answers!

Monday, January 02, 2006

South American Insect (1/3)

What common insect contains a South American capital within its name?


Click here for the answer!

Sunday, January 01, 2006

All the Vowels (1/2)

Take the author ALICE MUNRO. Her name contains all of the vowels; the A, E, and I are in the first name, and the O and U are in the second name.

There is another author whose name contains all of the vowels exactly once. Furthermore, his/her letter distribution is the same as in Alice Munro's. That is, the A, E, and I are in the first name and the O and U in the second.

Who is it?


Click here for the answer!

Happy New Year! (1/1)

Happy New Year again! It's 2006, and I'm going to kick it off with this simple pencil puzzle. The following clues will each contain one of the words HAPPY, NEW, and YEAR, connected with other letters in some instances and in their original forms in others.

For example, if the clue were PERSON MARRIED YESTERDAY, the answer would be NEWLYWED.

Can you celebrate solving the rest?

1) Young animal
2) Adam Sandler's golf persona
3) Famous blimp
4) Bob's sitcom
5) Roosevelt's policy changes
6) Jesus's entrance, so to speak
7) Ren and Stimpy's song-chant
8) Large collection of pictures and text from high school
9) US flood site
10) Carefree
11) Sylvia Brown's bookstore section
12) Georgia O'Keefe's retreat
13) Marylin Monroe line to JFK
14) City that never sleeps
15) Type of school calendar


Click here for the answers!