PUZZLES & QUIZZES

puzzle (n.)

c. 1600, “state of being puzzled,” from puzzle (v.); meaning “perplexing question” is from 1650s; that of “a toy contrived to test one’s ingenuity” is from 1814.

Online Etymological Dictionary

LA TRIVIATA #31
 
 
1. Who or what is the only title character in a Walt Disney movie who does not speak?
 
2.  You are living in England in the 1890’s and
 you spy someone wearing a “Piccadilly Window.” 
What is a “Piccadilly  Window”?
 
3. If you use an estoque, what profession do you 
most likely belong to:
 
    A. Bullfighting
    B.  Beer making
    C.  Pole vaulting
    D.  Cabinet making
 
4. This actress born Margarita Carmen Cansino on October 17, 1918  and was labeled “A Love Goddess” by motion picture publicists was
called “my favorite dance partner” by Fred Astaire.
By what screen name was Ms. Cansino known?
 
5.  The 8th Century Saint –Saint Hubert –became 
the Patron Saint of what group of people?

   A. Soldiers
   B. Beggars
   C. Hunters
   D. Dancers

6. Popeye ate a lot  of spinach. What was his friend 
Wimpy’s favorite food?
 
7. What are the holes in Swiss cheese called?
 
8.  What well-known entertainer called his
    $75 violin “Old Love in Bloom”?
 
9. In 1945 what (according to Life Magazine) was 
the most heavily fortified place on the planet?
 
10. “Tell Mother….tell Mother….I died for my country” 
were the final words of what American assassin?

11. Walt Disney’s body has been cryogenically  
frozen.. True or False?
 
12. Celestial Bodies by Jokha Alharti  became the 
first book in Arabic  to be awarded  what 
international prize for fiction in 2019?
 
13. If you purchase acetylsalicyclic acid, what have you bought?

14.  Eric  Arthur Blair is better known by his 
pen name. What is it?
 
15.  In January to February 2020, what was the
average speed of a taxi cab in Mid Manhattan,
NYC?
 
    A. 4.6 MPH
    B. 5.7  MPH
    C.  6.9  MPH
    D. 7.1 MPH
 
 
16. What United States President was nicknamed Dutch?

17. What is the name of the Memphis Estate 
located at 3764 Elvis Presley Blvd.?
 
18.  If you add up the values of all the cards
in a 52 card deck (Ace being 1,& King 13)
what do the cards add up to?

19. Charles Dickens’ great novel A TALE OF 
TWO CITIES takes place in what two cities?


 20.  The innovative real estate developer James Rouse (1914-1996) who received the U.S. Presidential Medal of Freedom, the highest honor a U.S. civilian may receive, called whatCalifornia tourist destination “the greatest 
piece of urban design in the United States”?



ANSWERS
 
1. Dumbo
 
2. A  monocle
 
3.  A) Bullfighting. The word occurs in a Hardy Boys’ 
mystery – The Clue of the Broken Blade :
“A very valuable and unusual sword,” the man
 answered. “it was used long ago by a matador 
in bullfights. He must have been a great favorite, 
for this estoque—that’s the name of the 
matador’s sword – is unusually attractive.”
 
4. Rita Hayworth
 
5. Hunters
 
6. Hamburgers
 
7. Eyes
 
8. Jack Benny. During World War II, he auctioned it
 off  to raise money for Victory Bonds .
 
9. Iowa Jima
 
10. John Wilkes Booth
 
11. False
 
12. The Man Booker Prize for Fiction. Celestial Bodies
 was also the first novel written by an Omani woman 
to be translated into English.
 
13. Aspirin. Bayer changed the name 
acetylsalicyclic acid for marketing purposes 
to aspirin in 1899.
 
14. George Orwell
 
15.  D--7.1 MPH
 
16.   Ronald Reagan.
 
17.  Graceland
 
18.  364 (one shy of the number of days in a year).
 
19. London and Paris
 
20. Disneyland
 

h
CROSSWORD  PUZZLE CLUES

1, Spear carrier? 9 letters
 
Clue by Mark Diehl
 
               2 Capital of Latvia
       Clue by Daniel Walsh


ANSWERS:

!. PICKLEJAR
 
2. EURO

hg
A.
 
I have on hand 3 objects, exactly the same. Each object
Is exactly the same size, and yet it is possible to place
two of the objects inside the third. What objects am I
talking about?

B. You have 3 coins -say a nickel, a quarter, and a half-dollar-- and you toss them up in the air. What are the
odds of the three coins all landing heads up or all three
tails up?

C. How is possible to show that 7 is half of 12?
 
Answers at the end of the blog.
 **



 Some Cryptic Clues by Frank W. Lewis in The Nation

 
l. “Was its rubber worth a fortune, possibly  (8)
 
2. Where a little green might be found,
 and nothing unchanged  (5)
 
3. But Ophelia never got herself there (7)
 
4. Like a circle of three blind mice (5)
 
5. Given new heart, and managed to get one acre dug (10)
 
 
6. Certain, as suds are (7)
 
7.A battering ram pushes a killer
inside  (7)
 
8. Proving a detective should be half naval hero and half craftsman (5,5)
 
9. in the Tuileries, you might have a good case for sewers (4)
 
10. Huckleberry Finn and Tom Sawyer
according to the titles  (9,5)
 
 
ANSWERS

1. Aladdin’s Lamp
2.  Oasis  (Nothing, as is)
3. Nunnery (Hamlet tells her “Get thee to a nunnery”)
4.  Round  (a circle is round, & “Three Blind Mice” is sung as a round)
5. Encouraged (anagram of one acre dug)
6. Assured (anagram of as suds are)

7.Grampus (hidden in the sentence—
  battering ram pushes)
 
8. Perry Mason (Oliver Hazard Perry)
 
9., Etui (letters in Tuileries)
 
1.    a small ornamental case for holding needles, cosmetics, and other articles. "exquisite etui cases fitted with scissors, bodkin, and thimble" Thus, the word in
the clue refers to persons who sew.
 
10. Adventure Story (The correct titles are The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn and The Adventures of Tom Sawyer
 
 
ANSWERS TO 3 OBJECTS
 
A.  Rubber bands and/or Shirts
B.  The 3 coins may land in 8 combinations:
                    H  H  H           T T T
                    H  H  T   or     T T H
                    H   T  H           T H T
                     H  T  T           T H H
So 2 chances out of 8 that all 3 coins'
will land all heads or tails, or 4 to 1 odds.

3. Twelve in Roman Numerals - XII
   Slice it half VII = 7
**



Samuel Loyd (from WIKIPEDIA)

January 30, 1841
Philadelphia, United States
Died
April 11, 1911 (aged 70)
Known for
Chess, puzzles, mathematical games
Samuel Loyd (January 30, 1841 – April 10, 1911),[1] born in Philadelphia and raised in New York City, was an American chess player, chess composer, puzzle author, and recreational mathematician.
As a chess composer, he authored a number of chess problems, often with interesting themes. At his peak, Loyd was one of the best chess players in the US, and was ranked 15th in the world, according to chessmetrics.com.
He played in the strong Paris 1867 chess tournament (won by Ignatz von Kolisch) with little success, placing near the bottom of the field.
Following his death, his book Cyclopedia of 5000 Puzzles[2] was published (1914) by his son.[3] His son, named after his father, dropped the "Jr" from his name and started publishing reprints of his father's puzzles.[4] Loyd (senior) was inducted into the US Chess Hall of Fame in 1987.[5]





 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
TELL ME A RIDDLE
 
I win some, I lose some.
The days? What do they know?
They get away from me,
But they never belonged to me
In the first place & by now
 
I have overstayed my welcome
& am besieged by riddles.
I am the chicken that crossed
The road, the man afraid
Of his own shadow. That said,
 
I place my deepest trust
In what I do not know,
A universe riddled by sweep
Of mystery, tilt of planets
Over ruin,  amid vast nets
 
Of shining & darkness. Trust
The living world to lead us
To better versions of ourselves,
The snake with its tail
In its mouth. Tell me, tell
 
 
 
 
 
 
Me what has 6 arms, 6 legs, 3 eyes,
& sings? The Cyclops trio
Singing “I Don’t Know Why
I Love You Like I do.” That doubt too
Does not possess an answer. Cry
 
Me river over my life passing.
The days, pushing & pulling,
Know nothing, but when I shed
My skin, what shall I answer?
Better to have gone naked
 
Than clothed in false wool.
Mortality is the ultimate riddle.
& makes the Sphinx,
Destroying both foul & fair,
Blush with shame. Man?
Solve that riddle If you can.
 
 
 
Louis Phillips
375 Riverside Drive
Apt. 14C’
New York, NY, 10025
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
FLYING BY THE SEAT OF MY PANTS
 
 
Flying under the radar of grief,
I want no medals, deserve none.
 
On the television monitors,
James Cagney stars


In something or other, 
Some comic relief, no farce,
 
He’s being cashiered
Out of the Royal Air Force,
 
For flying by the seat of his pants.
No romance.
 
Like a lost pilot, all my life
I have ignored the instruments
 
& have flown over  a vast expanse
Of loveliness.
 
Stars are fixed, but nothing in my life
Can be counted upon
 
To remain. Planets revolve
Amid indifferent spheres, worlds rife
 
With mysteries entangled with fog
& rain, wind velocities,
 
Fragile mortalies & runways
Too undependable to land upon.
 
I flew by the seat of my pants.
I have no medals. I deserve none.
 
 
Louis Phillips
375 Riverside Drive
Apt. 14C
New York, NY, 10025
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
THE MOVIES AT 24FPS RECREATE OUR UNIVERSE

Not now, wanton!
The Spirit of Cinema roils elephantine waters.
Time, truant with light,
To make, in our own image, movies .
 
With gigantic hotsy-totsy stars,
Their nonillion satellites in lather,
No small universe this.
(FLICKS LICK LUX)
 
Cinema divides day from night,
Day For Night
& whatever fans look upon,
Is good.
 
Many a Paradise or Roxy
Run fire,
Smattering  life-blood
Onto the pitch,
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Screens,
Radiant with high-tide breathing.
 Next plunge the plants,
With everything that creepeth.
 
A.   I have on hand 3 objects, exactly the same. Each object Is exactly the same size, and yet it is possible to place two of the objects inside the third. What objects am I talking about? B. You have 3 coins -say a nickel, a quarter, and a half-dollar-- and you toss them up in the air. What are the odds of the three coins all landing heads up or all three tails up? C. How is possible to show that 7 is half of 12?   Answers at the end of the blog.  **  Some Cryptic Clues by Frank W. Lewis in The Nation   l. “Was its rubber worth a fortune, possibly  (8)   2. Where a little green might be found,  and nothing unchanged  (5)   3. But Ophelia never got herself there (7)   4. Like a circle of three blind mice (5)   5. Given new heart, and managed to get one acre dug (10)     6. Certain, as suds are (7)   7.A battering ram pushes a killer inside  (7)   8. Proving a detective should be half naval hero and half craftsman (5,5)   9. in the Tuileries, you might have a good case for sewers (4)   10. Huckleberry Finn and Tom Sawyer according to the titles  (9,5)     ANSWERS 1. Aladdin’s Lamp 2.  Oasis  (Nothing, as is) 3. Nunnery (Hamlet tells her “Get thee to a nunnery”) 4.  Round  (a circle is round, & “Three Blind Mice” is sung as a round) 5. Encouraged (anagram of one acre dug) 6. Assured (anagram of as suds are) 7.Grampus (hidden in the sentence—   battering ram pushes)   8. Perry Mason (Oliver Hazard Perry)   9., Etui (letters in Tuileries)   1.    a small ornamental case for holding needles, cosmetics, and other articles. "exquisite etui cases fitted with scissors, bodkin, and thimble" Thus, the word in the clue refers to persons who sew.   10. Adventure Story (The correct titles are The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn and The Adventures of Tom Sawyer     ANSWERS TO 3 OBJECTS   A.  Rubber bands and/or Shirts B. The 3 coins may land in 8 combinations: H H H T T T H H T or T T H H T H T H T H T T T H H So 2 chances out of 8 that all 3 coins' will land all heads or tails, or 4 to 1 odds. 3. Twelve in Roman Numerals - XII Slice it half VII = 7