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Today's Puzzles / Re: Tue., 4/23 Verel & Chen
« Last post by magus on April 24, 2013, 08:23:15 AM »Okay, I'm buying it. 
Recent Posts
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Today's Puzzles / Re: Tue., 4/23 Verel & Chen
« Last post by rbe on April 23, 2013, 10:41:14 AM »I think ID just means identification, like when a witness IDs the perpetrator. If you are asked for ID, you could present your Driver's License which contains the IDNO.
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Today's Puzzles / Tue., 4/23 Verel & Chen
« Last post by magus on April 23, 2013, 08:13:41 AM »THEME: dramas with something cold in their titles
GOOD ONES:
…"Viva La Vida" group {and theme} COLD PLAY
More than most EVERY
Mommy deer DOE
BTW:
interesting grid in that two of the second longest entries were not theme entries
Driver's license fig. IDNO [not buying it; ID means "identification number" so IDNO is redundant]
RATING:
Three grins = Loved it; Two grins = Enjoyed it; One grin = A bit bland for my taste; One teardrop = Not much fun
GOOD ONES:
…"Viva La Vida" group {and theme} COLD PLAY
More than most EVERY
Mommy deer DOE
BTW:
interesting grid in that two of the second longest entries were not theme entries
Driver's license fig. IDNO [not buying it; ID means "identification number" so IDNO is redundant]
RATING:
Three grins = Loved it; Two grins = Enjoyed it; One grin = A bit bland for my taste; One teardrop = Not much fun
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Today's Puzzles / Mon., 4/22 Drew Banneman
« Last post by magus on April 22, 2013, 07:37:42 AM »THEME: first words of phrases can follow the word SUPPORT
GOOD ONES:
Phones on stage, e.g. PROPS [not the verb]
"Oh" de Cologne? ACH [bad smelling perfume]
Lures by phishing, say ROPES-IN [lures and fishing go to gether]
BTW:
Switchblade SHIV [when I was in prison we didn't have swithblades; we had to make our own blades which everyone knows are called shivs]
"Your money's no good here!" ITS-ON-ME [the exclamation point is misused, and the clue suggests "on the house" not an individual treat]
Ascot wearer FOP [rather insulting to ascot wearers
--- clue needs a modifier like "at times"]
A DOUBLE PLAY!! NBAER and ALER in the same puzzle --- "bad goin'"
RATING:
Three grins = Loved it; Two grins = Enjoyed it; One grin = A bit bland for my taste; One teardrop = Not much fun
GOOD ONES:
Phones on stage, e.g. PROPS [not the verb]
"Oh" de Cologne? ACH [bad smelling perfume]
Lures by phishing, say ROPES-IN [lures and fishing go to gether]
BTW:
Switchblade SHIV [when I was in prison we didn't have swithblades; we had to make our own blades which everyone knows are called shivs]
"Your money's no good here!" ITS-ON-ME [the exclamation point is misused, and the clue suggests "on the house" not an individual treat]
Ascot wearer FOP [rather insulting to ascot wearers
--- clue needs a modifier like "at times"] A DOUBLE PLAY!! NBAER and ALER in the same puzzle --- "bad goin'"
RATING:
Three grins = Loved it; Two grins = Enjoyed it; One grin = A bit bland for my taste; One teardrop = Not much fun
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Today's Puzzles / Sun., 4/21 Robin Stears
« Last post by magus on April 21, 2013, 08:45:36 AM »THEME: puns on herbs and a great title: HERBAL TEASE (teas)
GOOD ONES:
Observation about sprouting aromatic plants SOME-THINGS-ARE-MINT-TO-BE
Like something even better than a pungent herb? BEYOND-BAYLEAF
Soul searching events? SEANCE
Where It.'s at? EUR [Italy is in Europe]
Every garcon has one CEDILLA [but not our keyboards]
Center of gravity? VEE [this and the garcon clue are "word clues" not "meaning clues"]
Half up front? HEMI
McCartney title SIR [not a song title]
Weatherman's line ISOBAR [not pick-up line]
They're history ANNALS
Equal-ize? SWEETEN [Equal = sugar substitute; note hyphen]
Letters from your parents? DNA
BTW:
Maidenform buy SLIP [do women still buy them? I thought they were pink-slipped]
Always butting in NOSY ["butting in" means interrupting; "nosy" means prying]
Third man? ABEL [I believe the attempt here, suggested by the question mark, is to refer to the famous Wells movie, but the title is The Third Man; hence, the clue should also contain the definite article.]
SEIS is not used in English.
RATING:
Three grins = Loved it; Two grins = Enjoyed it; One grin = A bit bland for my taste; One teardrop = Not much fun
GOOD ONES:
Observation about sprouting aromatic plants SOME-THINGS-ARE-MINT-TO-BE
Like something even better than a pungent herb? BEYOND-BAYLEAF
Soul searching events? SEANCE
Where It.'s at? EUR [Italy is in Europe]
Every garcon has one CEDILLA [but not our keyboards]
Center of gravity? VEE [this and the garcon clue are "word clues" not "meaning clues"]
Half up front? HEMI
McCartney title SIR [not a song title]
Weatherman's line ISOBAR [not pick-up line]
They're history ANNALS
Equal-ize? SWEETEN [Equal = sugar substitute; note hyphen]
Letters from your parents? DNA
BTW:
Maidenform buy SLIP [do women still buy them? I thought they were pink-slipped]
Always butting in NOSY ["butting in" means interrupting; "nosy" means prying]
Third man? ABEL [I believe the attempt here, suggested by the question mark, is to refer to the famous Wells movie, but the title is The Third Man; hence, the clue should also contain the definite article.]
SEIS is not used in English.
RATING:
Three grins = Loved it; Two grins = Enjoyed it; One grin = A bit bland for my taste; One teardrop = Not much fun
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Today's Puzzles / Sat., 4/20 Barry C. Silk
« Last post by magus on April 20, 2013, 08:18:44 AM »THEME: none, but 28 blocks
GOOD ONES:
Place for an old school tie? ETONCOLLAR [is the school or tie old?]
Hit home? SIDEA [I thought baseball: slide or score]
Goes downhill fast SKIS [oldie but goodie]
One to horse around with? Stablemate
Tip for a writer? NIB
BTW:
Given that we are no longer told if an answer is more than one word, is it necessary to use question marks after tricky clues? Looking at the four good ones above, I'm not so sure.
Bureau where stats abound SPORTSDESK [hardly a bureau]
EINES is German; NENES is Portuguese; and neither is used in English, ever --- unless NENES refers to geese.
Can't believe I remember Toni Basil or know who Heidi Klum is. I'm stumped about the former and glad about the latter --- she is absolutely charming.
Sorry about the spam which the site management seems to tolerate better than I.
RATING:
Three grins = Loved it; Two grins = Enjoyed it; One grin = A bit bland for my taste; One teardrop = Not much fun
GOOD ONES:
Place for an old school tie? ETONCOLLAR [is the school or tie old?]
Hit home? SIDEA [I thought baseball: slide or score]
Goes downhill fast SKIS [oldie but goodie]
One to horse around with? Stablemate
Tip for a writer? NIB
BTW:
Given that we are no longer told if an answer is more than one word, is it necessary to use question marks after tricky clues? Looking at the four good ones above, I'm not so sure.
Bureau where stats abound SPORTSDESK [hardly a bureau]
EINES is German; NENES is Portuguese; and neither is used in English, ever --- unless NENES refers to geese.
Can't believe I remember Toni Basil or know who Heidi Klum is. I'm stumped about the former and glad about the latter --- she is absolutely charming.
Sorry about the spam which the site management seems to tolerate better than I.
RATING:
Three grins = Loved it; Two grins = Enjoyed it; One grin = A bit bland for my taste; One teardrop = Not much fun
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Today's Puzzles / Fri., 4/19 Gareth Bain
« Last post by magus on April 19, 2013, 08:28:10 AM »THEME: last word of phrase is an anagram of a mild curse: EGAD, DRAT, DARN, CRIPES
GOOD ONES:
What the {theme} is in more ways than one MINCEDOATHS [since the oaths are scrambled, they are in a way minced]
Drop zone? EARLOBE [ear drops]
Checked for the last time? MATED [in chess]
BTW:
Aside from the usual tough Friday clues, we got some that were very tricky indeed:
Lacking siblings for ONLY; Imitated for DID; "Put up your dukes, then!" for ITSON; Pen's mate for COB; Brief comment for IDO [more of an answer than a comment, though]; Injure, in a way for CLAW; Sum, sometimes for IAM [Latin]
NLER is a non-word I'm beginning to hate. Actually it would have been easy to avoid:
62-A BOWA [great Phillies shortstop]
65-A ILER [The Sopranos actor]
68-A GIRD [wrap]
RATING:
Three grins = Loved it; Two grins = Enjoyed it; One grin = A bit bland for my taste; One teardrop = Not much fun
GOOD ONES:
What the {theme} is in more ways than one MINCEDOATHS [since the oaths are scrambled, they are in a way minced]
Drop zone? EARLOBE [ear drops]
Checked for the last time? MATED [in chess]
BTW:
Aside from the usual tough Friday clues, we got some that were very tricky indeed:
Lacking siblings for ONLY; Imitated for DID; "Put up your dukes, then!" for ITSON; Pen's mate for COB; Brief comment for IDO [more of an answer than a comment, though]; Injure, in a way for CLAW; Sum, sometimes for IAM [Latin]
NLER is a non-word I'm beginning to hate. Actually it would have been easy to avoid:
62-A BOWA [great Phillies shortstop]
65-A ILER [The Sopranos actor]
68-A GIRD [wrap]
RATING:
Three grins = Loved it; Two grins = Enjoyed it; One grin = A bit bland for my taste; One teardrop = Not much fun
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General Discussion / Re: Introducing Myself
« Last post by IN_Puzzler on April 18, 2013, 06:10:36 PM »Hi Jackie
Is your puzzle published in the Indy Star? If so, I've been doing your puzzles for the past few years. Lots of fun!
Indy Puzzler
Is your puzzle published in the Indy Star? If so, I've been doing your puzzles for the past few years. Lots of fun!
Indy Puzzler
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Today's Puzzles / Thu., 4/18 Erik Agard
« Last post by magus on April 18, 2013, 07:36:26 AM »THEME: ITEM found in phrases
GOOD ONES:
With {AGENDA} and {theme} HIDDEN [thus ITEM which is HIDDEN in the phrases is part of the AGENDA]
Start to push? PEE
Flat container SHOEBOX [flats are shoes, or they were]
Where age goes before beauty, briefly OED [alphabetically, that is, in the Oxford]
BTW:
"Absolutely!" YESICAN [if this is a worthy clue, then virtually any word or phase would do: "of course"; "you can't"; "likely" …]
ATOI is never used in our language, but "A to I" might be.
RATING:
Three grins = Loved it; Two grins = Enjoyed it; One grin = A bit bland for my taste; One teardrop = Not much fun
GOOD ONES:
With {AGENDA} and {theme} HIDDEN [thus ITEM which is HIDDEN in the phrases is part of the AGENDA]
Start to push? PEE
Flat container SHOEBOX [flats are shoes, or they were]
Where age goes before beauty, briefly OED [alphabetically, that is, in the Oxford]
BTW:
"Absolutely!" YESICAN [if this is a worthy clue, then virtually any word or phase would do: "of course"; "you can't"; "likely" …]
ATOI is never used in our language, but "A to I" might be.
RATING:
Three grins = Loved it; Two grins = Enjoyed it; One grin = A bit bland for my taste; One teardrop = Not much fun
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Today's Puzzles / Wed., 4/17 Howard Barkin
« Last post by magus on April 17, 2013, 07:49:10 AM »THEME: first words of phrases relate to a nursery
GOOD ONES:
Illicit exam aids {and theme} CRIBS
Circus chairman? TAMER
Cutting-edge brand? ATRA
Place for a date PALM [palm trees]
Bond-Bond link? JAMES ["Bond, James Bond"]
Beef, or a fish CARP
BTW:
copycat APER [raise your hand if you ever saw this word outside a crossword]
Pays heed to HEARS [to heed is "listen"; hears suggests merely audio reception]
ENERO is never used in English and PRIE would be all right if it were part of "prie-dieu" and not of a French idiom
RATING:
Three grins = Loved it; Two grins = Enjoyed it; One grin = A bit bland for my taste; One teardrop = Not much fun
GOOD ONES:
Illicit exam aids {and theme} CRIBS
Circus chairman? TAMER
Cutting-edge brand? ATRA
Place for a date PALM [palm trees]
Bond-Bond link? JAMES ["Bond, James Bond"]
Beef, or a fish CARP
BTW:
copycat APER [raise your hand if you ever saw this word outside a crossword]
Pays heed to HEARS [to heed is "listen"; hears suggests merely audio reception]
ENERO is never used in English and PRIE would be all right if it were part of "prie-dieu" and not of a French idiom
RATING:
Three grins = Loved it; Two grins = Enjoyed it; One grin = A bit bland for my taste; One teardrop = Not much fun