Games World of Puzzles May 2019

Maybe spring hasn’t quite sprung in your neck of the woods, but you’ll find lots of diversion of the cerebral sort in this jam-packed May issue of GAMES WORLD OF PUZZLES. Many of you have enjoyed the “Moving Forward, Looking Back” series of articles by Andrew Parr, our “unofficial historian.” This month, Parr outdoes himself with “Records Revisited,” the seventh installment in his nine-part series. In it, he provides a fascinating look into the over-the-top world of record-breakers, many of whom have been featured in past issues of Games. There are marathon video gamers, high-reaching card stackers, and competitive eaters, whose stomach-turning exploits are not for the faint of heart. Turn to page 34 to read all about it—preferably not during mealtime. If you’re a word game enthusiast looking for a new…

Each answer word in this crossword variation has two clues leading to it, using different meanings of the word. The clues are separated into Across and Down, but are otherwise ordered randomly. When you find two Across clues or two Down clues that seem to have the same answer, add up their clue numbers to determine the place in the grid at which the answer should be entered. For example, if the clue for 1-Across were “Metallic element” and the clue for 17-Across read “Starring role,” the answer would be “lead,” which would go in 18-Across (1 + 17). Note: Tags such as “Hyph.” and “2 wds.” have been omitted. ACROSS 1 Plays matchmaker for 2 Windex targets 3 Half of a hockey player’s footwear pair 4 Safari sightings 5 Hot dog topping 6 Retort 7 National championship match,…

There is one place for each letter of the alphabet in the 26 empty squares of each blank column in the diagram below. Fill in each letter so that a word of at least five letters is formed reading across only. Not all of the letters to the left and right of the empty box are used; it’s up to you to determine which ones are needed to complete familiar words. Some letters may fit in more than one of the empty squares to complete words, but we only came up with one arrangement that would complete a word in each row. Maybe you’ll find a better solution. Proper names are not allowed. ANSWER…

To complete the sentences below, try to think of a word or name that fills the first blank. Then “lop off its head” by dropping its first letter to form a word that would fill the second blank. Take that second word, drop its first letter to make the third word, and so on. Only the “head” letters are dropped; the rest of the word should not be rearranged. If you get stuck on that first blank, you can figure out other words and work backward. You KNOW how to solve these puzzles; NOW give it a try! 1. To maintain the condition of your __________________ whites, you must develop good brushing and flossing habits __________________ in life. 2. “What a __________________!” a spectator exclaimed as the skater bungled her third attempt…

ACROSS 1 Yellow jacket, e.g. 5 Desist’s partner 10 Far from busy 14 Willy of Free Willy, for one 15 Jamaican devotee of Haile Selassie 16 In close proximity 17 Spam or ham 18 Quartet x 2 19 Coin-drop spot 20 Sound from a sensual soul singer?: 3 wds. 23 British ref. work: Abbr. 24 “Stand” band 25 Whirlpool rival 28 Batman Forever actor Kilmer 31 Available, as ale: 2 wds. 35 “Citizen” in a popular video game 36 Epitome of stillness 39 Actress Skye 40 Sorcery by a country star?: 3 wds. 43 Part of A.D. 44 “Yes __, Bob!” 45 Inquire 46 Showy flower 48 Vegas cube 49 Inspiring sisters of Greek myth 51 Visualize 53 Obtained 54 Sweetener from the Godfather of Soul?: 3 wds. 63 Hymn ender 64 Island near Fiji 65 Thorny beauty in a garden 66 GI’s meal 67 Smoothes out 68 Hammer’s target 69 Scot’s hillside 70 Last inning, usually 71 Remain DOWN 1 Berth before birth 2 Region 3 Lasting mark 4 Paying guest 5…

Time is on everyone’s mind these days, including ours! Each of the answers to the 14 clues below is a word, phrase, or title containing TIME. For example, “Clock-stopper at a Knicks game” would lead to TIME-OUT, while “Old Bonnie Franklin sitcom” is One Day at a Time. Relax, take your time, and see how many you can recall. 1. Jim Croce ballad of 1973 __________________________________________________ 2. What we say when the party’s ending too soon __________________________________________________ 3. Schedule of railroad comings and goings __________________________________________________ 4. Temporarily, as a stopgap solution __________________________________________________ 5. Item punched by shift workers __________________________________________________ 6. Weary baker’s tag line, in a TV ad __________________________________________________ 7. March to early November, in much of the U.S. __________________________________________________ 8. Song that Sam played—again—in Casablanca __________________________________________________ 9. Condo that you “own” for a week a year __________________________________________________ 10. When…