Answers: RNT

These are my 15 words that use the consonants RNT in that order and no others: aeronaut, arrant, errant, orient, ornate, rant, rennet, rent, reunite, riant, ruinate, runout, runt, runty, and urinate. One obscure word that fits the rules is arenite, a type of sand. I didn’t count aren’t, because it includes punctuation (hyphens and apostrophes are not allowed).

Constant Consonants: RNT

How many non-capitalized words can you think of that contain the consonants R, N, and T, in that order, and no others? You may include as many vowels as you like in any location. For a full list of rules, see the link at the upper right.

I have 10 words off the top of my head. I expect to have 15 or 20 by Wednesday, when I will post the answers.

Smile: Cooler

It’s a hot day today, so it’s a good day for a cool smile:

Don’t let the heat get you down!

Answers: PRTN

I only ended up with 12 answer words for the Constant Consonants PRTN challenge. Here they are: Apparition, appertain, apportion, operation, opportune, pertain, portion, preteen, protean, protein, proton, and puritan. Two obscure words that also work are epuration (a purge, as of corrupt government officials) and peritonea (linings of abdominal cavities).

Constant Consonants: PRTN

How many words can you think of that use only the consonants PRTN, in that order, and no others? Proper nouns (like Dolly PARTON) are not allowed. You may repeat a consonant, but only if no vowels appear in between. For full rules, see the link at the upper right.

I have a list of nine words so far, and expect to have 12 or more by Wednesday, when I’ll post my answers.

Enjoy the beginning of the week!

Smile: Logo

There are a lot of companies that use smiles intentionally in their logos. I’m not interested in those. This smile, however, is in a nearby mall, and I’m sure the designers didn’t place it there on purpose.

It even has something of a nose.

Answers: S.S. initials

Here are 28 famous people whose initials are S.S. and a couple others who I found but don’t think are so famous.

Soupy Sales, Summer Sanders (swimming gold medalist), Susan Sarandon, Steve Scott (sub 4-minute miler), Steven Seagal, Sidney Sheldon, Sam Shepard, Shel Silverstein, Scott Simon (NPR commentator), Sirhan Sirhan, Sam Snead (golfer), Suzanne Somers, Steven Soderbergh, Stephen Sondheim, Susan Sontag, Sammy Sosa, Sonia Sotomayor, Sissy Spacek, Steven Spielberg, Susan St. James, Saul Steinberg (New Yorker illustrator), Sylvester Stallone, Stephen Stills, Sharon Stone, Sly Stone, Sally Struthers, Sherry Stringfield (ER actress), and Sheryl Swoopes.

Not as famous: Simone Signoret (French actress), Shawn Stockman (U.S. actor), and Susan Strasberg (also an actress). Sam Spade is a fictional character.

Initial Inclination: S.S.

Today the hearings began for Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor, whose initials are, indeed, S.S.

How many famous people can you think of whose initials are S.S.? These should be real people who are well known in some way, not friends or family members (unless you’re friends with or related to someone famous), and not fictional characters.

I will post my list on Wednesday. Have a great two days.

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.