Games World of Puzzles August 2021

Welcome to the August issue of GAMES WORLD OF PUZZLES! As I was preparing to write this message, it occurred to me that ever since the merging of the former Games and WORLD OF PUZZLES in October 2014, we have never published a July issue. (This magazine is published nine times per year; the March, July, and November issues are skipped.) But July doesn’t deserve short shrift—after all, it’s synonymous with Independence Day, which has been a federal holiday in the U.S. since 1870. So this month, we’re celebrating the Fourth of July in August with “State of Play” (page 34), a six-page color puzzle section by Seattle’s own Christopher Magan. This section has it all—trivia, wordplay, crossword variants, and visual elements—all centered around the 50 states of our Union. Magan…

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 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 2011 Spielberg film about a boy and his thoroughbred 2 One-third of an ellipsis 3 Successfully traverse 4 Remove dirty dishes from the table 5 Lying…

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. ANSWERS…

The answer to each Syllables clue is a word or words made up of some of the syllables listed above the clues. The number of syllables in each answer is in parentheses following the clue. The dashes indicate the number of letters in the answer. After you use a syllable, cross it off; each syllable will be used only once and every syllable will be used in one of the answers. When you are through, read down the first letters of the answer words and then the last letters and you will discover the name of a person followed by a quotation by that person. ANSWERS 1. Hypnotist 2. Ultimatum 3. Banana 4. Badminton 5. Alumni 6. Raucous 7. Delirious 8. Narrative 9. Octogenarian 10. Wicket 11. Adolescent 12. Navajo 13. Decongestant 14. Thorough 15. Haggle 16. Eternal 17. Nicotine 18. Awakening 19. Nuclei 20. Incredulous 21. Nautical 22. Nebraska 23. Orthodontist 24. Caribou 25. Elevator 26.…

ACROSS 1 Wood shop grippers 6 Misrepresent 11 Sticky stuff 14 More than sufficient 15 Ecstasy’s antithesis 16 “All bets ___ off!” 17 Scripps competition: 2 wds. 19 Car salesman’s milieu 20 Upper-left PC key 21 Making ___ meet 22 Provoke playfully 24 Army vehicles 26 Luger, e.g. 28 Lunar stages 30 Paper towel layers 31 Wee bit 32 Wasn’t joking about 33 Dust-creating tool 36 Ones in control: 4 wds. 40 Call to a rescuer 41 Place for cattails 42 Boot bottom 43 Corduroy feature 44 Signed away 46 La Danse painter 49 Old West entourage 50 Mecca natives 51 Takes the gold 52 Kickoff aid 55 Same old, same old 56 Having five sharps: 5 wds. 60 Grampa Simpson 61 Baseball cap feature 62 Nasal partitions 63 Road goo 64 Undergraduate’s ordeals 65 Likely to talk back DOWN 1 Florist’s vessel 2 Little rascals 3 Watches from the sidelines 4 Bracket shape 5 Moon goddess 6 Rock concert performers 7 Quiche ingredients 8 Arcing shot 9 Suffix with serpent or elephant 10 Upper canines 11 Caesar or…

The answer to each of the 14 clues below will be a word, phrase, or name containing either POT or PAN. (One answer will contain both.) For example, the clue “Road hazard” would be lead to POTHOLE, while “Captain in a kids’ book series” would be UNDERPANTS. If you can get at least 12 correct, you’re really cookin’! 1. Long side of a right triangle 2. Brand near the Skippy and Jif 3. Superhero played by Chadwick Boseman 4. Lowe’s competitor 5. Grilling gas 6. Place for a tempest? 7. Kettledrums 8. Animal whose name means “river horse” 9. Latke 10. Bear, on B.J. and the Bear 11. Dark solar areas 12. Mythical box-opener 13. In Cold Blood author 14. Pharmacy, in olden times ANSWERS 1. Hypotenuse 2. Peter Pan 3. Black Panther 4. Home Depot 5. Propane 6. Teapot 7. Timpani 8. Hippopotamus 9. Potato pancake 10. Chimpanzee 11. Sunspots 12. Pandora 13. Truman Capote 14. Apothecary…