Nuts To You

Q:

Using these letters in order:

T, H, N, C, L

Add four of the five vowels in the proper places to come up with an advertising slogan popular in the seventies.

Photo courtesy of

Oh Nuts

A:

"These are cola nuts."  Ring a bell?  "It's de lemon, it's de lime..."

The Uncola

21st Century Quibbling Man

Q:

The phrase "niggling goons" is replete with letters that repeat.  Drop two identical letters and rearrange the result to get two new verb phrases that are synonymous.  Millions of people worldwide repeat this action every day.

Photo courtesy of

Amy Guth

A:

Your choice:

Log in - sign on or Log on - sign in

Look You Leap

Q:

Here we have a very eclectic group of song titles in prepositional code:

     2call          itititu          so ble          losove          twoone          it time it

Followed by a list of various musical artists who have performed these songs:

   K.D. Lang   Jack White   Barcelona   Little Milton   Gingersol   Rick Nelson

Can you decipher the song titles and then match them to the performers?  Of course you can.     

Photo courtesy of

twm1340

A:

The title translates to "look before you leap".  Here are links to the intended solutions:

song 1          song 2           song 3

          song 4          song 5           song 6           

   

Color Me Star Struck

Q:

Preface  -  The alphabet is a pool of letters from which all words can be spelled.

 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Cerulean and cobalt are both shades of blue.  Using each as a pool of letters, from cerulean we can get Lauren and from cobalt we can get Bacall

Consider these:

Lilac green                                                 Robin's egg blue

 Photos courtesy of  LstCaress  &  pchgorman

Using each color as your pool of letters, you can pull out the first and last names of a well-known couple.  Each color represents one of the pair. Who are they?

A:

Gracie Allen            George Burns

Could You Repeat That?

Q:

The gardener approached the young detective and said,

“You want a opinion n , ujusts?   This burglary was Joan B.   That woman,  compare she’s crazy.   I’m the boyfriend.   But I got this trynost one.  Night they'll move night time.  Be careful.  Them don't get caught."

What did he say?

Image courtesy of 

Chatwick Harpax

A:

Here is the translation:

"You want an outside opinion, just between us?  This burglary was an inside job.  That woman, she's crazy beyond compare.  I'm leaning toward the boyfriend.  But I got no interest in this one.  They'll move in two nights time.  Be careful.  Don't get caught following them." 

Wax On, Wax Off

Q:

Consider this phrase:

KEEP IT SHINY

Rearrange the letters to name some thing that first-class travelers may receive this week.

Photo courtesy of

Homies in Heaven

A:

Pretty straight forward:

PIE IN THE SKY

Hey, That's My Hay!

Q:

Complete these sentences with a pair of homonyms:


The schoolmarm decided to _lessen_ the day's _lesson_ and let the children out early.


Hillary would do whatever it took for a _peek_ at the _peak_.

Timmy got a tummy ache when he took four packs of Twinkies and _ate_ all _eight_.

The hostess took the reservation, _four_  _for_ dinner at seven.


The science teacher told his students, "With care, your results shouldn't _vary_  _very_ much."

The _knot_ was _not_ quite right and the horse went free.

A slow day at work, the banker made a _lone_  _loan_.

The lazy young master _made_ the _maid_ do everything for him.

"To get that old skiff across the pond, you'd need  this _oar_  _or_ a paddle", said Huck.

One swipe of the swatter and the _bee_ ceased to _be_.

Photo courtesy of

enggul

One ... Two ... Three

Q:

Take the phrase I am.  If you repeat the I and the m, you can rearrange the result to get Miami.  Consider the following words and phrases.  Rearrange the letters in each, repeating letters as often as necessary, to name six major US cities.  When you are finished, name something all six have in common.

Tales   -   Hip Deal   -   Rioted   -   Antic   -   Tiny Sack   -   Orca Fins

Photo courtesy of

lamerie

A:

Seattle - Philadelphia - Detroit - Cincinnati - Kansas city - San Francisco

Each of the six cities is home to a major league baseball team.

One State, Two State, Red State, Blue State

Q:

Think of a well known musical couple from the sixties and seventies.  Place a different US postal abbreviation in front of each first name.  The result will be two new words.  The "boy" word will relate to the appearance of certain twins.  The "girl" word will relate to the appearance of certain antiques.  Who is the couple, what are the states and what are the new words?

Photo courtesy of

polapix

A:

The handle on the coffee grinder turns.  Certain twins (identical) look alike.  Certain antiques have a patina.

Ike & Tina Turner     -      Alabama     -     Pennsylvania

Toot Your Own Horn

Q:

Think of the last name of a world famous actress.  Add one letter and rearrange the result to name the last name of a world famous actor.

Photo courtesy of

Laurabot

A:

To toot one's own horn would be to brag.

Garbo    -     Bogart

Heroes

Q:

Consider the following:  psorofr, ssgaion.  Insert seven US postal abbreviations (one is used twice).  Add the proper spaces to get two well known three word phrases.

Photo courtesy of

 imageusphoto

A:

The image is Soldier Field in Chicago.

Rhode Island, Nebraska, Washington, Michigan, Indiana, Indiana, Connecticut

pRIsoNEr of WAr

MissINg IN aCTion

Today's Puzzle is Brought to You by the Letter T

Q:

What letter would appropriately precede the following set of numbers:    
  

one thousand,  fifty,  forty?

Photo courtesy of

sofia

A:

Hmmm ... a Detroit Tigers T-shirt ... which comes in different sizes.

Using Roman numerals we get 1000=M, 50=L and 40=XL or medium, large and extra large.

S  -  M  -  L  -  XL

The Final Countdown

Q:

Think of a two word phrase that describes this:

ten,  nine,  eight,  seven,  six,  five,  four,  three,  two,  one

Add the letter L somewhere in the two word phrase without rearranging the letters and you'll name something that will be happening soon.  What is it?

Photo courtesy of

trainman74

A:

This countdown that is a number series is also a word series.

World Series

Let's Get To Work

Q:

Consider this list of five letter words:

METAL   CATCH   SLOPE  WRECK  BREAD   HOARD   LATIN   CONIC

Change one letter in each and rearrange the result to name a large, well-known company.  The new replacement letters, in order, will spell a familiar two word phrase relating to large, well-known companies.

Photo courtesy of

Hatters!

A:

DELTA   COACH   LOWES     JCREW   ADOBE     HONDA     INTEL     CISCO

DOW JONES

Menagerie

Q:

Think of a type of artisan.  Add one letter and rearrange the result to name a fish.

Think of a type of artist.  Change one letter and rearrange the result to name a mammal.

Think of a type of artistic inspiration.  Drop one letter and rearrange the result to name a bird.

A:

The image is a painting of  Raymond Burr (Perry Mason).

Artisan -->  Mason  --> Salmon

Artist  -->  Painter  -->  Panther

Artistic inspiration  -->  Muse  -->  Emu

You Decide

Q:

This is part puzzle and part creative challenge.  Here is a list of words.

messiah, vexed, eager, male, justify, savior, urbane

It's up to you to decide if these words are connected in any way.  But I assure you, they were chosen for a reason.  The reason is there for you to discover.

Now, add one more word (or two if you're waxing nostalgic) to this list that you feel is appropriate.  There is no unique solution.  However, there are wrong answers.  

No need to code or conceal your answer.  Just leave it in the comments.  A little post-modern expressionism, anyone?  Have fun!

Photo courtesy of

Martin Beek

A:

The list of words could be used to describe a certain politician (imho).  Each word shares the same first two letters and name length of the first seven of the eight accepted planets (include Pluto if you're waxing nostalgic).

Any solution must be a seven letter word starting with Ne and a five letter word starting with Pl (if you're so inclined).

Nepotic       Plank

When is a Bird Not a Bird?

Q:

Take the phrase Angry Birds.  Replace each word with a one syllable synonym.  Both synonyms will contain  a single, identical vowel.  Replace them with a different identical vowel.  Rearrange the result to get a phrase that describes some of the largest companies in America.

Photo courtesy of

roberthuffstutter

A:

Animals have long been used as metaphors for people.  She's a strange bird.  He's such a dog.  Are you a man or a mouse?  The image above shows a couple of cool cats.  Angry birds becomes mad cats. Change the a's to o's.

Angry birds -->  Mad cats -->  Dot coms

  

A Spinoff

Q:

I thought of several puzzles related to last week's NPR puzzle.  Click this link to see it.   Here's one.

Think of a well known composer.  Some of the letters is his name are used more than once.  Remove the duplicates and rearrange what's left to come up with an adjective that describes what some of the statements made by the popular fictional character (in the NPR puzzle) are NOT.

Photo courtesy of

enigmachck1

A:  

The image is four jars of spices or seasonings, referring to The Four Seasons by Vivaldi, the composer in question.  The solution to the NPR puzzle was Pinocchio and Chopin.  Remove a v and an i from Vivaldi and rearrange to get the word valid, which many of Pinocchio's statements were not.

An Abbreviated Ounce of Prevention

Q:

Consider these:

 pair,  parliament member,  plod,  proficiency, 

pitch,  powerhouse,  passé

Replace each with a synonym using only the letters whose mirror image does not result in a backwards letter.  The font used here is Century Gothic and exactly all the letters you will need are in this paragraph.  When you have the correct solution, the first initial of each word will spell out a familiar movie quote.

Photo courtesy of

Anna Fischer

A:

The abbreviation for ounce is oz. and the image (believe it or not) is Dorothy.  Some of the words are a bit obscure but all can be found in Dictionary.com (and/or Thesaurus.com).  

pair  -  two

parliament member  -  owl (a group of owls is called a parliament)

plod  -  toil

proficiency  -  oil

pitch  -  tilt

powerhouse  -  ox

passe  -  out

Quote from The Wizard of Oz  -  Toto, too

What's Up?

Q:

At a certain pseudoscience convention, a couple found this dinner invitation slipped under the door of their hotel room.

La Soiree - Ribs Special - Currant Sauce    

The letters in each phrase can be rearranged  to get two new words that are related.  What convention was the couple attending?

Photo courtesy of

xadrian

A:

The image may have been a dead giveaway, especially if you visited the artist's photostream.  

Leo  Aries  -  Libra  Pisces  -  Cancer  Taurus

The couple was attending an astrology convention.

Rub-a-Dub-Dub

Q:

Vowels and vowel combinations can have different sounds depending on the word.  Room and wood both have a double o but sound different.  Read and read sound different depending on the verb tense.  Who cares, right?  Consider this.  Take the word friend.  The ie has a short e sound.  Drop the r, and you have fiend with a long e sound.  Drop the i and you have fend, back to a short e sound.

Think of a word with a vowel combination.  Drop a letter to get a word with a different vowel sound.  Drop another letter to get a word with the first vowel sound.  Finally, drop one more letter to get a word with the second vowel sound.  The vowel sound pattern should be ABAB.  What words are these?

Photo courtesy of

mgstyer

A:

"Rub a dub dub, three men in a tub...the butcher, the baker, the candlestick maker...

The baker pondered how much flour

One cup, two, three maybe four.

Too thin, too thick, the batter for our

Cake 't would be either or.

May I Take That?

Q:  


Take the word nostril and the word pepper.  Change one letter and rearrange the result to name two descriptive terms that are at opposite ends of the spectrum.

Photo courtesy of

olillevik

A:

The title is something you may hear at a hotel, perhaps by a bellhop.  Bellhop is largely an American term.  The image, 99 BOB on the wall, came from Flickr.  Change a P to an R and rearrange to get:

Pilsner  and  Porter

This One's for the Birds

Q:


Find an answer for each "crossword" clue.  Drop one letter from your answer to get the name of a common bird.  Take the first letter of each bird name and you will have seven consecutive letters in the alphabet, not necessarily in order.

1.  Put it on the short grass  

2.  A chase involving no running

3.  Taking the edge off

4.  Addict's bane

5.  Bonk on the noggin

6.  Brave men seldom do it

7.  Hale's rue

Photo courtesy of

See-ming Lee

A:

1.  A golf reference, put being past tense - drove

2.  Chase being a channel, ravine or in this case - gully

3.  Not talking imbibing here - blunting

4.  Jim Morrison, Janis Joplin, John Belushi, etc. - heroin

5.  As a noun, it's a noggin.  As a verb, it's the bonk - crown

6.  And sometimes they get punched in the face - flinch

7.  Hale as in Nathan.  Rue as in - regret

In order:

Bunting    Crow    Dove    Egret    Finch    Gull    Heron

                                                                                                                                                                          





      
       

Don't Touch That Dial!

Q:


"Do you see this thin wound beneath the victim's left shoulder blade?  Its symmetry and size leave little doubt as to the murder weapon.  I'll inform the captain to hold the suspects since they all had access to the kitchen."

Now that I have your attention, pick two consecutive words from this excerpt.  Rearrange the letters to name the genre of the story.

Photo courtesy of

Olivander

A:  


There are some red herrings here.  Film Noir and Suspense were close but no cigar.  Damn Mystery works, but c'mon.  Really?

The solution comes much sooner from the phrase thin wound.  

Who Dunnit

Now That's Funny

Q:


Rearrange the letters in  Balkan anise, fitful rise, lanai worker and lifetimes.  Put the new phrases in the proper order to come up with a humorous two line proverb.

Photo courtesy of

Reclamation Revolution

A:


Take the phrases in reverse order.  Rearrange the letters and you get...

Time flies like an arrow.

Fruit flies like bananas.

Stuck in the Middle

Q:


Since tomorrow is a federal (and national) holiday, I'll mix picnics and politics.  Rearrange the letters in a sourer incumbent to make two new words.  One word can be placed in front of the word sandwich to make a common phrase.  The other word can be placed after the word sandwich to make another common phrase.  What words are these?

Photo courtesy of

Symic

A:

Nothing flashy here.

Submarine Sandwich Counter

The Eyes Have It

Q:


They are many activities that can be irritating to your eyes.  Staring at a monitor all day or exposing yourself to propanethiol S-oxide (onions and tears) are two common culprits.

Take the phrases computer user and diced onions. Remove three consecutive letters from anywhere in either phrase.  Rearrange the result to name something that many eyes will be focused on today.

Photo courtesy of

buyalex

A:


Remove d-o-n from diced onions.

Supreme Court Decision

The Cochairman Lost Sight of His Aim

Q:


While President Obama's oratory may be his greatest asset, his predecessor was not so gifted.  Take the phrase Mumbler Emeritus.  Change one letter and rearrange the result to name something Obama's job approval numbers may soon provide him.

Photo courtesy of

internets_diary

A:

When you take the "aim" out of cochairman, you're left with Cochran. The image is an eddy.  Change an R to an S in Mumbler Emeritus and rearrange to name what Obama may soon be experiencing, also a 1957 hit by Eddie Cochran.

Summertime Blues

Blankety Blank Blank

Q:


In each statement, select a word to fill in the first blank.  Add a letter to the first word without changing the order to get the second blank.  Add one letter to the second word to get the third blank, again without changing the order.

For safety's sake, an Olympic diver must blank on the pool crew to take care of the blank.  And when the pool crew turned on the water, that part blank.


Olympic swimmers must blank on perfect timing in order to win the blank. Sadly, they knew there'd be no medals when they saw the blank.


When spectators blank lost in the downtown blank, they will likely need help finding the blank.


In the blank, the Olympian tried to blank everything so as not to seem blank to the crowd.

When the runner from Papua New Guinea won the blank, the commentator said, "He's wearing that blank like a proud papa."  Quite an appropriate blank I think.

Photo courtesy of

spcbrass

A:


Depend, deep end, deepened
Rely, relay, replay
Are, area, arena
Ring, bring, boring
Mile, smile, simile

Oldies But Goodies

Q:

Same as last week:

Replace two words (in each sentence) with synonyms without changing the meaning of the sentence.  These two words, phonetically, will name a famous actor. Actor is no longer gender specific.

Upon finally discovering the location of the throne, the prince’s unease began to fade.

While driving through the countryside, the passionate young lovers opted for a frolic in the meadow.

Photo courtesy of

ComputerHotline & sukhchander

A:

The image is a waning moon on a field of stars.  

Upon finally discovering the location of the JOHN, the prince’s unease began to WANE.

While driving through the countryside, the passionate young lovers opted for a SALLY in the FIELD.

John Wayne               Sally Field

A Beautiful Dinner

Q:


Consider this sentence:

The newlywed began to scurry around the kitchen, hoping to create a meal that her husband would really brag about to her in-laws.

Replace two words with synonyms without changing the meaning of the sentence.  These two words, phonetically, will name a famous movie actor.

Photo courtesy of

kodok

A:

The title is similar to the movie A Beautiful Mind.  The image calls to mind the sound dried leaves make.

The newlywed began to rustle around the kitchen, hoping to create a meal that her husband would really crow about to her in-laws.

Russell Crowe

Is There Anybody In Here?

Q:


As presidential candidates, think of a word that describes Barack Obama (be nice) and a word that describes Mitt Romney (be nice).  Take the first initial of each word.  Think of a synonym of the word reflection.  Take the synonym and the two initials and rearrange to name what will be seen this November.

Photo courtesy of

Martin Deutsch

A:

In this election cycle, Obama is the Incumbent and Romney is the Challenger.  I - C

If you hollered the title in the image, you would hear a synonym of reflection, namely an ECHO.

Choice

Apologies for switching from plural back to singular (reflections).  I realized the plural of echo is echoes and not echos.  Didn't need the extra E. 

This for That

Q:


Many words can be spelled by stringing together two US postal abbreviations -  co-ok, me-al, or-ca,  etc.  There are also (though fewer) words spelled by stringing three together, as in va-nd-al.

Name an eight letter word that is spelled by stringing four US postal abbreviations together.

Photo courtesy of

Keith Williamson

A:

Although there are several possibilities, I was looking for one in particular. 

The title is the English translation of the Latin phrase Quid Pro Quo.  The question hints at food, seafood in particular.  The chandeliers represent the political leanings of the states involved, blue, red, blue and blue.

CA   -   LA   -   MA   -   RI

What The Heck Was That Guy's Name?

Q:


ROT 13 is a simple code where a letter is moved 13 places forward in the alphabet.  For example, A goes to N, B goes to O, etc.  For letters in the second half of the alphabet, move the letters 13 places earlier.  T goes to G, etc.  This should help:

A        B        C        D        E        F        G        H       I        J        K        L        M

N        O       P         Q        R       S         T        U      V       W      X        Y        Z

Think of a large island whose last letter is a ROT 13 of its first letter.  Remove the first and last letters and the result when ROT 13ed will name the general category of an endangered species there.

Photo courtesy of

My Melting Brain

A:

The image is a screensaver from the movie The Matrix and that guy's name was Neo.  B and O are rot 13's of each other.  The sun bear is an endangered species on this island that is home to Brunei, Indonesia and Malaysia.

Photo courtesy of

Andrew.Napier

Borneo               Bear

No Way!

Q:  


Think of a six letter word meaning "man".  Add an E and a W somewhere in the word  (without rearranging any letters) to name something the man might consume.

Swap an O and an R for the E and W.  Change the first letter to an S and rearrange the result to name something this particular man might wear.

Photo courtesy of

Waponi

A:

The title is the first part of a familiar phrase - "No way, Jose".  The image is some arrows.

Hombre          Homebrew          Sombrero

The Shape of Things to Come

Q:


Take the phrase "Happy Goats in Cashmere".  Change one letter in "Happy Goats" and one letter in "in Cashmere".  Rearrange the letters in each smaller phrase to name a couple of really smart fellas.

Photo courtesy of 

Erik Daniel Drost

A:

The title refers not to our future dietary habits, but to circles and triangles.  The men in question were great thinkers in the field of ancient mathematics.  The image, well...

Pythagoras           Archimedes

Promising Stars

Q:


Think of a seven letter word for what you see on "American Idol".  Add one letter to name what you see on the campaign trail.

Photo courtesy of

Oh-Barcelona.com

A:

I thought the image was pretty cool as well as a hint.  It is an abstract of David and Goliath.  What you see on "American Idol" are singers.  Add an "L" and you get slingers, as in mud.    

A Cute Puzzle for Word Geeks Like Us

Q:


Think of a synonym of the word prelude.  Think of a synonym of the word presuming.  Your answer should be a pair of homophones that are appropriately tied to the title of this puzzle.

Photo courtesy of

eschipul

A:

The image refers to Lincoln's Gettysburg address, "Four score...".  A prelude can be a foreword and a presuming person may be forward.  A cute puzzle "for word" geeks like us. 

Say What?

Q:


In the quiz show "Jeopardy!", three contestants compete for the right to return and play the following day (and oodles of cash, of course).  The winner moves on and the losers are replaced with two fresh faces.  The winner occupies the leftmost lectern and let's say the returning champ from the previous week is named "Bob".  Consider these two scenarios:

A:  Bob continues his winning ways and remains champ Monday through Friday, retaining his spot at the first lectern.

B:  Bob loses on Monday and is replaced with a new champ (Mary) who will occupy the first lectern when returning on Tuesday.  Mary loses, and as it turns out no one is able to win two days in a row.  This results in the first lectern being home to five different contestants Monday through Friday.

With this in mind, what is the minimum and maximum number of contestants needed to field a game of "Jeopardy!" for one week?

Photo courtesy of

 Shawn M. Smith

A:

After giving it some thought, the answer became obvious and indisputable.  At first I thought it was strange that regardless if Bob remains champ and faces two new challengers each day, or five different champs face two new challengers, the number is the same.  But that's the way life goes. It takes eleven players to field a game of "Jeopardy!" for one week.