|
|
May 2005The Puzzle CornerThis month's Puzzle Corner features Tom Swifties. Even if your childhood didn't include a single Tom Swift book, you're sure to enjoy these pun-laden puzzles. Try a puzzle! June 2005The Puzzle CornerLast month we asked you to submit your favorite Tom Swifties, a particularly low form of pun in which the adverb plays on the rest of the sentence. This month we thank all who sent in submissions, and we pass along a few fill-in-the-blanks for those who can't get enough of these groaners. November 2005Puzzle CornerBout-rimes translates as rhymed ends in French. It also names a literary game dating back to 17th-century France. Want to give it a try? Click here. January 2006Puzzle CornerIn our last issue, subscribers were invited to a round of bout-rimes, in which players are told a familiar line of poetry and given the task of creating a second rhyming line. (Bout-rimes translates from French as rhymed ends). For example, Joyce Kilmer’s “I think that I shall never see” might be followed with “My contact lens fell in my tea.” Here are some of the many responses we’ve received from readers. February 2006Puzzle CornerHere's an easy game for dictionary lovers. One player asks a question; the second player defines it by its answer. Click here to find out more. March 2006Puzzle CornerLast month we passed along a parlor game of definitions: define a word by answering a question. We gave a few examples then invited readers to submit their best efforts to three questions. Read on to see some of our favorite responses from readers ... and to get your next assignment.
April 2006Puzzle CornerAccording to tradition, William Shakespeare's birthday is celebrated April 23. Test your knowledge of the Bard with these six questions on language taken from the plays of the Bard. September 2006The Puzzle CornerThis month we challenge you to get your rhyming ear tuned up for a round of Stinky Pinky. What's a stinky pinky? According to Master of Wordplay Willard Espy, it's no more than a noun modified by a rhyming adjective. According to the Unabridged Dictionary, a stinky pinky is "a puzzle that consists in the defining of one phrase with another made up of words that rhyme." Here's how to play. October 2006The Puzzle CornerOur last newsletter invited folks to send us favorite stinky pinkies. A stinky pinky is a puzzle that consists in the defining of one phrase with another made up of words that rhyme. Our examples to get you started included defining an elderly nag as an old scold and a foolish horse as a silly filly. Here are some of your responses. November 2006The Puzzle CornerThe talk about Guy Fawkes in Just Foolin' Around puts us in mind of his contemporary William Shakespeare, who had a profound influence on our language, even its clichés. Think you know your Shakespeare well? Try out this quiz, and see how you do. January 2007The Puzzle CornerReady to start off the new year with a word challenge? Check out this list of words and figure out what it is they have in common. April 2008Puzzle Corner: ShakespeareFor a man credited with adding an estimated 1,500 words to our lexicon, William Shakespeare lived a life whose details remain remarkably mysterious. Scholars do agree he was born in April 1564 and died April 23, 1616; they also (generally) credit him with writing 38 plays and 154 sonnets. But plenty more remains unknown, and four centuries after his death we pass along three challenging questions for those who may think they know the Bard.
|