Yes, Yes, Yes (4/1)

I'm thinking of a common game. Divide the five-letter game's name into two parts which both mean "yes."

What's the game?


Click here for the answer!

Two Games and Two Brands (3/31)

Take the name BLOGGER. From these seven letters, you can form the names of two games, a toy brand, and a food brand. Each word is formed with BLOGGER being a letter bank; it is unnecessary to use all seven letters in each word.

What are these four names?


Click here for the answers!

First Letter Refrain (3/30)

Here are the first letters of each word from the refrain of an older popular song:

AITTMWAWW

What's the refrain and what's the song?


Click here for the answers!

Cash Register Land (3/29)

I was standing in line at a bookstore and watched the customer in front of me buying a book. I didn't see how much the book cost, nor did I see how much the customer paid the cashier. I did see that the customer forked over a single bill of some unseeable amount. Then the customer said, "That's the last bit of cash I have on me. I hope to see some of it again." I heard the following sounds "clunk," "shick," and "cling," indicating that the bill had been taken and that a single bill and single coin had been given in return. The customer looked at his change and said, "Oh, good. Enough for another copy and a phone call."

How much was the book?


Click here for the answer!

My Brother (3/28)

My brother's given name is NOLAN, but we call him NICK. Within these nine letters (NOLANNICK), you can spell two words which both mean family. There will be two letters leftover which could also have been an exclamation by Nick after being told who his family was.

What are all these words?


Click here for the answers!

Friend or Foe? (3/27)

In most action movies, the main character is up against a bad guy with a whole bunch of his cronies. I'm thinking of a synonym for the bad guy in seven letters. Change one letter to an 'e', rearrange the letters, and you'll get a synonym for his cronies. I must add that both of these words are in relation to the good guy.

What are the words?


Click here for the answers!

Sequencing (3/26)

Examine the following sequence:

10, 20, 30, 41, 50, 61, 70, 82, ??

What number comes next?


Click here for the answer!

Comp Time (3/25)

I'm thinking of two two-syllable six-letter terms thrown around in the tech industry. One is something physical that you use, while the other is something non-physical that you use. If you take the first term, change the fourth and fifth letters (both letters which when spoken are also words) to two other letters (both of which when spoken are also words), and read it backward, you'll get the second term.

What are these two terms?


Click here for the answers!

Three-Letter Abbreviations (3/24)

I'm thinking of a three-letter abbreviation which was interchangeable with a movie title (for example, T2 was interchangeable with Terminator 2). Take the first letter and move it to the end, and you get a well-known three-letter abbreviation from the tech world.

What are the abbreviations?


Click here for the answers!

A Strange Combo (3/23)

Examine the chess piece names and divide each of them into first sound and then the rest of the word. By taking the first sound of one and the last part/sound of another, you can form various words.

For example, if the clue was "SCHOOL SUPPLY," you could take the B from 'Bishop' and the OOK from 'Rook' to form the answer "BOOK."

Now the clue is "SOMETHING THAT FLIES."

What is it?


Click here for the answer!

Author Experiment (3/22)

I've taken an contemporary author's name, mixed it with one of his/her works, and anagrammed all the letters to make the following statement:

KEEP STING THIN.

Can you figure out the author's name and work?


Click here for the answers!

Bits and Pieces (3/21)

I've broken up a director's name into bits and pieces. See if you can figure out who it is below:

1) TARNISH
2) METAL
3) IMPORTANT TO SPORTS
4) THREE-LETTER VERB
5) LETTER OF THE ALPHABET

The above parts are phonetic and when combined make the full name of the director.

Who is it?


Click here for the answer!

Refrain From That! II (3/20)

Back by popular demand! The string of words below rhymes with a line from a refrain from a popular song:

BEN HUR THING FROM HER DOOR DOLL BAWL KNEW TOT SUE WHO HIS PAUL.

What's the refrain and what's the song?


Click here for the answers!

Spider's Sunday Puzzle (3/19)

The other day, a friend of mine Spider inquired about this daily puzzler, and this prompted me to write today's puzzle.

Every answer below contains the letters S, P, I, D, E, and R. I have given the extra letters (in one case there are no extra letters) and a clue about the answer to each one.

For example, "SPIDER'S PET GOLDFISH DID THIS FOR THE LAST TIME YESTERDAY + R + E" would produce the answer "RESPIRED."

Got the rest?

1) SPIDER USED TO WEAR THESE + A
2) SPIDER LIKES THESE KIND OF SHIRTS + T
3) THIS IS THE FIRST WORD OF SPIDER'S FAVORITE JAPANIMATION FLICK + I + T
4) SPIDER'S CEREAL IS THIS TO PERFECTION + C
5) WHEN SPIDER WRITES, SHE TENDS TO BE THIS + N + I
6) IN A FORMER LIFE, SPIDER BOUNCED AROUND THESE KITTY GROUPS
7) SPIDER HAS HAD TO DO THIS OVER THE HAPPENINGS OF HER IMPROV MEETINGS + E
8) LAST YEAR, SPIDER WALKED IN THIS MANNER + A + T
9) AT THE END OF EVERY IMPROV MEETING, SPIDER ALLOWS THE MEMBERS TO DO THIS + S + E
10) ONE DAY, SPIDER WILL RUN FOR THIS GOVERNMENT OFFICE + T + N + E


Click here for the answers!

An Odd Coincidence (3/18)

The other day I was thinking about a couple of men (one a writer, one an actor) with an unusual pair of names. The writer has two syllables in the first name, one in the last, while the actor has one syllable in the first name and two in the last. Their first names are from the same base (like Bill and William), while their last names each contain a word which are exact opposites of one another.

Who are these men?


Click here for the answers!

Adjectival Abbreviations (3/17)

There are two adjectival abbreviations being used in the public school system today. Oddly enough, their spellings are opposite one another. If that's still not enough, one of them is a state abbreviation.

What are the adjectival school abbreviations?


Click here for the answers!

Prime Gum (3/16)

(Someone asked for a math problem. Hope this does the trick.)

In grade school, a friend of mine sold sticks of gum for profit. One day, I had 50 cents in my pocket and decided to buy one. After popping the gum in my mouth, I realized that the price of the gum and the change I had leftover were both prime numbers. Then I bought two more sticks of gum, and my change was still a prime number. Unfortunately, I didn't have enough money to buy another stick.

How much was a stick of gum?


Click here for the answer!

Be All That You Can Be (3/15)

I'm thinking of two words, often associated with the armed forces, which when put together phonetically form a car's name.

What are the words and what's the car?


Click here for the answers!

Not Quite the Same (3/14)

I'm thinking of a measurement. Phonetically, this is also a computer program.

What is the measurement and what is the program?


Click here for the answers!

Refrain From That! (3/13)

I've rhymed part of the refrain of a popular song. More specifically, I have rhymed every syllable of a line from the refrain, as seen below:

PAR TEA YES FEE ME BEE HE SIGNED ROUTE NUT SIT TEENS WHO WE

What's the line from the refrain and what's the song?


Click here for the answers!

Double Initials (3/12)

In the following puzzle, I've listed clues which lead to a famous person's name (past or present). Each name (first and last) begins with the same letter.

For example, "SILENT ACTOR" would produce CHARLIE CHAPLIN.

Furthermore, I have alphabetized the answers to the clues so that, if number 5 were JOE JOHNSON, numbers 1 through 4 would have to be before J in the alphabet and the numbers 6 through 10 would have to be after J in the alphabet.

Can you get the rest?

1) M*A*S*H star
2) Animated rabbit
3) X-Files co-star
4) Youthful 60s singer
5) Bend It Like Beckham co-star
6) Clark's love interest
7) Old-school beauty
8) 'The Sun' editor
9) Classic American poet
10) Motivational business speaker


Click here for the answers!

What Words? (3/11)

First, read the paragraph. The instructions come afterward:

Things were just crazy at my house. I was running out of things left and right which may or may not be something every parent goes through. It may have been a bit unusual, but I didn't have time to go to the store, what with the older kids and all. I had to borrow a single ______ from my next-door neighbor who was going through the same screaming ordeal. The crazy thing is is that I've ______ her since by returning the favor, so she didn't have to go to the store either. That's what neighbors are for, I guess.

There are two words which fit in the above paragraph. If you read one word from right to left, you get the other word.

What are the two words?


Click here for the answers!

Star Gazing (3/10)

I'm thinking of a country's name. In it, you can find the word STAR, with each letter in its proper order and without any other letters coming between the letters.

What is the country?


Click here for the answer!

Same Letters (3/9)

Each of the following clues produces a pair of words which all share the same letters:

1) basketball player / fresh
2) positive / present
3) over there / wonder
4) negative / be indebted
5) number / path

What are the above pairs?


Click here for the answers!

A Simple Answer (3/8)

A state's capital can be broken down into the following parts, not all of which are phonetic:

1) preposition
2) container
3) college staple

However, the clues are not in their proper order.

What is the capital?


Click here for the answer!

A Director Within (3/7)

I'm thinking of a famous director's first and last names. Although jumbled, every letter of this director's name can be found within a famous artist's last name from the the Renaissance. Furthermore, every letter of the director's name is adjacent within the artist's name (though as I stated, jumbled).

Who is the director and who is the artist?


Click here for the answers!

Two Cities (3/6)

I'm thinking of a country's capital in three syllables. If you move the first syllable to the end, you'll have another city of world renown from the same country.

What are the two cities?


Click here for the answers!

What in the World Was I Thinking? (3/5)

(Originally pulished in the March 2006 issue of Knucklebones magazine, copyright reserved)

I wrote several lists of related items as a stream-of-consciousness exercise. However, when I looked over what I had written, the middle item in each triplet had been smudged off. I remember that each was a famous person, and enough of them remained to allow me to put Xs and blanks for the letters in their names.

For example: TEXAS <– _ _ _ _ _ _ _ XXXXXXX –> THE BODYGUARD

Luckily, I remember this one. Texas made me think of Houston (the word related to the left side always goes in the boxes). Then Houston made me think of Whitney Houston and her role in The Bodyguard. So my chain became Texas - Whitney Houston - The Bodyguard. The Xs always relate to the word(s) on the left while the entire name relates to the word(s) on the right.

Can you figure out what else I was thinking?

1) FLORIDA <– XXXXXXX _ _ _ _ _ –> LORD OF THE RINGS
2) LEGISLATION <– XXXX _ _ _ _ _ _ _ –> LEWINSKY
3) LOUIS XIV <– _ _ _ _ _ _ _ XXXX –> INSOMNIA
4) 24 HOURS <– _ _ _ _ _ _ XXX _ _ _ _ _ _ _ –> JUSTICE
5) SOUP CREATOR <– _ _ _ _ _ _ XXXXXXXX –> MYTHOLOGY
6) CHRISTMAS PLANT <– _ _ _ _ _ XXXXX –> CRICKETS
7) CAR TOOL <– XXXX _ _ _ _ _ _ _ –> BEAT
8) PEANUT BUTTER
CANDY INVENTOR <– XXXXX _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ –> CRUEL INTENTIONS
9) ANCIENT TURKEY <– XXXX _ _ _ _ _ –> FOOTBALL
10) OLD TUNA FISH
CARTOON <– XXXXXXX _ _ _ _ _ _ _ –> SILENT


Click here for the answers!

My Friend Spooner (3/4)

I saw a kit at Barnes and Noble that was geared toward little kids. However, it's something that every law enforcement officer has access to.

Well, I spoonerized the two-word title. (That is, I switched the first consonant sound of the first word with the first consonant sound of the second word. Usually, this alters the spelling; in this case it didn't.) What remained is a two-word phrase which means "GREEN CRUSTACEAN."

What are the old and new phrases?


Click here for the answers!

A Hobby for Some (3/3)

I'm thinking of a common hobby. If you roll back the first letter four spots (an E rolls back to an A, an F rolls back to a B, and so on), the hobby is a palindrome (reading the same forward and backward).

What's the hobby?


Click here for the answer!

Positive Reinforcement (3/2)

(Originally published in the March 2006 issue of Knucklebones magazine, copyright reserved)

I'm thinking of a popular game. Drop one letter from the game's name, rearrange the remaining letters, and you'll get a positive expression that someone might say to you upon finishing that game.

What's the game and what's the expression?


Click here for the answers!

Dropped the Ball (3/1)

I got busy here and dropped the ball. For all you faithfuls, sorry about that.

Here's a puzzle about dropped letters. Take the following two nouns:

R _ _ _ _ L

N _ _ _ _ R

The same four letters are needed to finish both nouns.

What are the letters?


Click here for the answers!