It's the first Sunday of the month, and that means - it's a potluck!
Oh dear. Another gremlinized potluck.
Again, I made a pair of matching Juliecrostics, and the gremlins squished the clues together. The puzzles have the same topology, same row, column and letter counts. The first part of the clue goes with the first puzzle and the rest is for the second puzzle. Each half of the clue can stand alone.
As a special treat, Fordian Analyst sent a puzzle! His are always a delight and it's even better when he's here to help us solve! Welcome Fordian!
Nova sent in 3 puzzles! He's always a prolific puzzlemaster.
It's never too late to bring something to our potluck table, you can post something in the comments below and I'll add it to the diary. Or Kosmail it to me, that works, too.
The first rule of Puzzle Fight Club is - you can ALWAYS talk about Puzzle Fight Club!
Let's open with Fordian's puzzle. Apparently, the gremlins have been active in Palo Alto, too.
As usual, the clues are in groups of three irrespective of the actual format. The gremlins decided to be somewhat merciful this time, not changing much more than occasional capitalization. Of course, that in itself is somewhat suspicious...
1. One-half c
2. Chekov, Uhura, or Worf on TV
3. Left of the bar, usually
4. Apartment
5. Hubris, commonly
6. Ciao
7. Derby
8. Have, biblically
9. Moon & moon's wolf
10. Why Rob Lowe went nuts
11. Common stencil
12. Long
13. Con
14. Embarrassing place to die
15. Captivate
16. Yggdrasil
17. Join
18. Lower
19. Option #3, often
20. Clue con
21. Cinderella's shoe materials, possibly
22. Deliverer
23. Fruits, but not vegetables
24. Monks and nuns
25. Speeders and litterers
26. Pornography, debatably
27. Scottish vermin
28. SRO
29. Thomas & friends
30. Some office supplies
31. New hire
32. Bad thing for a disc to do
33. Common sentiment among Seahawk fans
34. Encouraging
35. Encouraging negatively
36. Lasts forever
And here is the double puzzle:
1 Someone is learning about shoes.
2 Damage discs again above water.
3 The great delay.
4 On drugs, gets sent back to court.
5 No longer, Wobbly Cowboy!
6 The Catch! But in reality, he's prettier.
7 Has a hate on for Canada.
8 They are cuddling for the awful Ripper.
9 What big ears you have! The better to eat you with!
10 Consumes data or contestants.
11 Shine those counters!
12 Chicks being angry and vexed.
13 Some LA natives barfed.
14 A head for food: bitter, bothered and browbeaten.
15 Removes what Hook did.
16 Stretches to get snarky bits.
17 Really get to know sweet things.
18 John Henry inhales, unlike Bill Clinton.
19 There's a concert happening somewhere around Tallinn.
20 Have an understanding of the paddler.
21 Absolutely, chains make me laugh and cry.
Here are 3 quick puzzles for tonight's potluck.
ONE-OFF PUZZLE # 1
First, here's a puzzle from a recent page of the Page-A-Day puzzle calendar. It's sort of a One-Off puzzle, but their One-Off puzzles aren't quite the same as mine. What they want you to do is to change one letter in each of the 6 listed words to uncover a common five-letter tree.
For example, if TRAMPLED were on the list you could change the M into a P to get TRAPPLED.
Got the idea? Okay, here are the 6 words:
1. REBIRTHS
2. MERCENARY
3. PROLIFERATE
4. KNUCKLEBONE
5. STRAPLESS
6. PASSENGER
ONE-OFF PUZZLE # 2
Here's another of the same type of puzzle (also from the Page-A-Day puzzle calendar).
Change one letter in each of the 6 words listed below in order to uncover a famous fictional five-letter Mr. or Mister.
1. FLIGHTINESS
2. MISCREANT
3. DEMAGOGUERY
4. REDUNDANCY
5. ARCHIPELAGO
6. BLUESTOCKING
RIDDLE
And lastly, here's a simple riddle I came up with (which I posted on a different site recently but thought folks here might also enjoy).
I'm at the door, I'm in your face --
Don't you know I run this place?
I'm a God! Get that straight.
Why is there an empty plate?
Provide an offering, on the double,
and make it good or you're in trouble.