Endings

Dear Puzzlers,

It has now been one month since I have posted on this site. I have not stopped writing puzzles, but I'm afraid I have decided to discontinue this site. I was able to keep it up for close to eight months, but fatigue and an impending book conference caught up to me.

For much of the past month, I was drained of creativity and inventiveness. For example, when I was with it and I saw a stop sign, all I could see was POTS! Conversely, when I became drained, words were just words again and nothing more.

Perhaps I'll start up this site again, but perhaps not. In the meantime, please enjoy this on-line archive of free puzzles, and puzzle till you drop!

Thanks,
smatt

Two Types (4/7)

I'm thinking of two types of food which are both eight letters long. Their first six letters are exactly the same. Their last two letters share a letter but in a different spot (like 'B' in AB and BC). One is eaten all the time by kids and the other is an occasional adult treat. And they both start with M.

What are they?


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Compound Crackers (4/6)

Many compound words overlap with one another.

For example, GRASS, BIRD, and PRINT can all be made into compound words by adding BLUE in front, thus forming BLUEGRASS, BLUEBIRD, and BLUEPRINT.

Now take the following words: BAG, STORM, BOX.

What word compounds these?


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Oldies Station (4/5)

An old philosopher's name can be rearranged to form an old 50s band.

Who is the philosopher and what's the band?


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Shifting Letters (4/4)

I'm thinking of a sport. Shift the first letter up one (like A to B) and shift the last letter down one (like B to A), and you'll get something critical to that sport.

What's the sport and what's the something?


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Bookseller Land (4/3)

One of my bosses at Barnes and Noble is named Vernon. I informed him that a famous author's first and last name contain every letter of his name VERNON.

He got the answer in under 30 seconds.

Can you?


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An Essential Item (4/2)

In many professional kitchens, you can find an essential kitchen item in two words. Both words start with the same letter; furthermore, all the letters of the second word are at the start of the first word, albeit in a different order.

What's the essential item?


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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?


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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?


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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?


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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?


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