Do you like puzzles? Do you like a little light political humor? Do you like adorable kitty pictures?
Well, two out of three ain't bad.
Sunday Puzzle Warm-up is a companion to the regular Sunday Puzzle series. The aim is to introduce people to the kind of puzzles featured in the regular Sunday Puzzle diaries and to provide introductory-level puzzles for folks to practice on, in hopes of luring folks to drop by and take part in our weekly Sunday morning puzzle parties.
The subtitle of tonight's diary, "The countdown has begun", refers to my impending departure for blueberry season. I'll be leaving to head up to Maine on July 17th, so this week and the next three will be my last live participations in Sunday Puzzle Warm-Up for a while. But I'm planning to queue up a couple of months worth of Sunday Puzzle Warm-Ups before I go, so those of you who enjoy a Saturday night puzzle won't have to go without. And pucklady will be taking over the regular Sunday Puzzle while I'm away, so you can look forward to plenty of puzzle fun Sunday mornings as well.
More on that next week. Meanwhile, there's a new Crypto-Gremlin, a new 12-clue JulieCrostic, and the answers to last week's puzzle.
What are you waiting for? Jump over the nurple and join the party!
Tonight's Crypto-Gremlin:
Deviador hamblr owvm swulr-smzn qwaln twse swulr-nmhyle kwavldm. Pwp. Jm yeznv'le gnnva dw dautumdnie dmvkn cr kela dkuelkyniw gnymvin ymdm zneuw.
-- lpnnlnin gr Ceuom Nzevmnua
Note: Crypto-Gremlins are a kind of cryptogram which can't be cracked by online cryptogram programs but can be solved through reasoning and creative thinking. If you're not familiar with the rules, here is
an explanation of Crypto-Gremlins.
................................................................................
SaturdayNight/SundayPuzzle/SaturdayNight/SundayPuzzle/SaturdayNight/SundayPuzzle
SundayPuzzle/SaturdayNight/SundayPuzzle/SaturdayNight/SundayPuzzle/SaturdayNight
If you're familiar with JulieCrostics, jump right in. If you're not, don't worry; an explanation of how these puzzles work (plus an example of a completed puzzle) is included a little lower down the page.
1. - - - [ ] 2. - - - - [ ] 3. - - - - - [ ] 4. - - - - - -
5. - - - [ ] 6. - - - - [ ] 7. - - - - - [ ] 8. - - - - - -
9. - - - [ ] 10. - - - - [ ] 11. - - - - - [ ] 12. - - - - - -
1. glop
2. error
3. goes before "the gold"
4. do without
5. primary color
6. travelled
7. paddled
8. labored
9. crazy
10. Russian assembly
11. '70s sitcom
12. entertained
...............................................................................
SaturdayNight/SundayPuzzle/SaturdayNight/SundayPuzzle/SaturdayNight/SundayPuzzle
SundayPuzzle/SaturdayNight/SundayPuzzle/SaturdayNight/SundayPuzzle/SaturdayNight
how to solve JulieCrostics
Read the clues provided, then fill in answers to match the clues in the appropriately numbered spaces in the diagram.
Each word in a row has all the letters of the previous word in that row, plus one new letter.
Write the new letter in the space between the answers. For example, if the answers in a row were CRAG, CARGO and COUGAR, you'd place an "O" in the space between CRAG and CARGO, a "U" in the space between CARGO and COUGAR.
When you have filled in all the spaces correctly, the columns formed by the added letters should spell out related words. It might be a person's name, such as CHARLES DICKENS (spelled out in two columns). It might be the title of a book or movie, such as GONEW ITHTH EWIND (spelled out in three columns). It might be almost anything. Your challenge is to figure out what the verticals say and what they mean.
Clues to last week's puzzle:
1. semi-conductors
2. sweetened drinks, often flavored with cloves
3. peculiarities
4. descriptive of how the president thinks, speaks, and acts
5. Green Arrow, for instance, or William Tell
6. currently the highest profile gay character in comics
7. Sprache, in der dieser Hinweis geschrieben wird
8. more scruffy
9. bad headache
10. got mad
11. strays from the path
12. replied
13. filmed a new version of old film
14. thoroughly defeated
15. cried out loudly
II. answers to last week's puzzle:
1. diodes T 2. toddies I 3. oddities
4. Obaman W 5. a bowman T 6. Batwoman
7. German I 8. mangier I 9. migraine
10. saw red N 11. wanders E 12. answered
13. remade C 14. creamed S 15. screamed
The verticals read
TWINC ITIES -- which, properly spaced, spell out
twin cities. (This was a small hint to the answer to Sunday morning's puzzle, in which the verticals were sister cities
Dull Scotland and
Boring Oregon.)
................................................................................
SaturdayNight/SundayPuzzle/SaturdayNight/SundayPuzzle/SaturdayNight/SundayPuzzle
SundayPuzzle/SaturdayNight/SundayPuzzle/SaturdayNight/SundayPuzzle/SaturdayNight
That's it for tonight. Have fun! And if you enjoy this warm-up, please drop by tomorrow for our regular Sunday Puzzle party.