Smile: Compost

This smile is from a community garden. It looks a little menacing to me, maybe because of the implied eyebrows.

Enjoy your weekend!

Answers: H.P.

Below is my list of common phrases that begin with the letters HP, in that order. By no means is this a comprehensive list… let me know if you’ve found others.

Here are 37 phrases: hall pass, hair piece, hand picked, hand pump, hand puppet, handsome prince, half penny, half  pint, half pipe, hanky panky, Harvard professor, hasty pudding, hat pin, head phones, healthcare policy, hen pecked, high plains, high priestess, hockey puck, hodge podge, hokey pokey, hoi polloi, hole punch, home plate, honey pot (think Pooh), horn pipe, horse power, hose pipe, hot pants, hot pink, hot pockets, hot potato, house paint, house pet, house poor, humble pie, and hush puppy.

Phrase Phase: H.P.

The next big-screen installment of Harry Potter comes out next week, so this week’s puzzle uses the initials H.P.

How many two-word phrases can you think of that begin with the letters H.P. (in that order)? The phrases need to be commonly used (like Hot Potato) and not just two random words (like Hungry Platypus).

I’ll post my list on Wednesday.

Have a great day on 7/7, and then on 07/08/09!

Answer: VLT

As it turns out, I didn’t find that many more words after Monday. Here’s my final list of 10 plus a few rare words:

Evaluate, evolute, ovulate, valet, valuate, vault, violate, violet, volt, and volute (spiraled).

Obscure words include ovality (the state of being oval, of course), vallate (near a ridge), velate (soft-pallated, in biology), velouté (a sauce), and volta (a musical term).

Constant Consonants: VLT

A local theater is called the VLT (or Very Little Theater) and I’ve been thinking that those are good letters for a Monday puzzle.

How many non-capitalized words can you think of that contain the consonants V, L, and T, in that order, and no others? You may repeat a consonant, but only if there are no vowels in between. For the complete rules, see the link at the upper right.

I’ve thought of about eight answers so far. I’ll probably have 10-12 by Wednesday, when I’ll post my list.

Smile: Winery

Above the stainless steel vats that hold umpteen gallons of pinot noir, I spied this smile in the valves and pipes:

Here are my lists from Friday’s posers:

1. Architect, bookkeeper, chemist, doorman, electrician, firefighter, graphic designer, herpetologist, ichthyologist, judge, king, librarian, midwife, neurologist, optician, pharmacist, quarterback, rancher, singer, tailor, undertaker, veterinarian, writer, x-ray technician, yachtsman, and zookeeper.

2. Scuba diving, welding, skiing and bobsledding, woodworking, riding a motorcycle, swimming, robbing a bank, looking at the sun, playing paint ball, special forces agent, WWII pilot, Devo costume, skydiving, tear gas unit on police force, working in a chemistry lab, or as a costume for any of the above. (I’m sure there are many more)

Have a wonderful summer weekend!

Friday Miscellany: The Puzzle-list

Help, I’m listing!

Many of the puzzles that I like to muddle on involve coming up with lists. The Initial Inclinations, Constant Consonants, and Three-Peat puzzles are all list-based. For today’s Friday puzzle, here are two more listy puzzles.

1. Name an occupation that begins with every letter of the alphabet.

2. List as many reasons as you can for wearing goggles (after a few obvious choices, see how creative you can be).

I will name my results over the weekend.

Answers: E.M.

Here’s my list of 19 people who have the initials E.M…

Elle Macpherson, Ed McMahon, Edouard Manet, Eli Manning, Eli Marienthal, E. G. Marshall, Elaine May, Edwin Meese, Ethel Merman, Eva Mendes, Edna (St. Vincent) Millay, Eddie Money, Elizabeth Montgomery, Erin Moran, Elijah Muhammad, Eduard Munch, Eddie Murphy, Eddie Murray, and Edward R. Murrow.

Initial Inclination: E.M.

Yesterday ran away from me and I didn’t get to posting a puzzle. So, when I opened up the news window this morning, the first headline I saw was that Ed McMahon passed away. Hence, today’s puzzle (like a sweepstakes prize, delivered to my door. Or not).

How many famous people can you think of whose initials are E.M.? Answers must be real people (not fictional), living or gone, whose names would be widely recognized. I’ll post my list tomorrow evening. I’m guessing the list will be fairly short … perhaps 10 to 15 names.

Smile: Pigface

The eyes of this smile are the nostrils on the pig, and I don’t think they were painted to intentionally look like a smiley face….

Happy Father’s Day to all of the dads out there. I’m lucky to have my father staying with us this weekend!