It is March and the lovely #EnigMarch people have challenged puzzle designers to write a puzzle inspired by today's word: "cozy".
Oh no! The USA clown President Trump wants to sell a drink cozy in his online store, but can't bring himself to use the word "cozy!" So he calls it a "koozie" instead! Since I already made puzzles about the Trump store kitchenware section and Trump-adjacent beverages (srsly who buys a Vodka branded by a non-drinker who likes Diet Coke?) this month, I guess I'll focus on the difference between "cozy" and "koozie." OK, how about this:
The clue-pairs below nudge you towards pairs of words. The first word in each pair has a long O sound as in "cozy;" the second word swaps it for a long U sound as in "koozie." Write words in blanks; when you're done, the circled letters should spell out the USA professional sport whose players tend to lean Republican for some reason.
| Cloth cover for a drinking vessel | c o z y ⟶ | k o o z Ⓘ e | Way to say it that's somehow Trump-ier, I guess? |
| "Clean ____" pollutes more than natural gas | _ _ _ _ ⟶ | ◯_ _ _ | Drink temperature worth maintaining |
| Cocaine (slang) | _ _ _ _ ⟶ | _ _ _◯ | Color |
| 🏠️ | _ _ _ _ ⟶ | _◯_ _ | Pronoun |
| Israel missile defense: Iron ____ | _ _ _ _ ⟶ | _◯_ _ | Fate of building nevertheless hit by a cluster bomb |
| 💉 amount | _ _ _ _ ⟶ | _ _ _◯_ | Card |
| Trump mostly drinks Diet … | _ _ _ _ ⟶ | ◯_ _ _ | RFK Jr is a ____ |
| 🌹 | _ _ _ _ ⟶ | _ _ _◯ | Trick |
| India's PM | _ _ _ _ ⟶ | _ _ _ _◯ | Trump's temperament |
Hints: rot13'd:
- Gehzc'f 1990f cnegvrf jrer ehzberq gb unir pbpnvar be "oybj"
- Fbzr "B" jbeqf: Qbzr, Qbfr, Ubzr, Zbqv
- Fbzr "H" jbeqf: Qrhpr, Qbbz, Zbbql, Jubz
Solution, rot13'd:
pbml / xbbmVr / Pybgu pbire sbe n qevaxvat irffry / Jnl gb fnl vg gung'f fbzrubj Gehzc-vre, V thrff? pbny / Pbby / "Pyrna ____" cbyyhgrf zber guna angheny tnf / Qevax grzcrengher jbegu znvagnvavat oybj / oyhR / Pbpnvar (fynat) / Pbybe ubzr / jUbz / 🏠️ / Cebabha qbzr / qBbz / Vfenry zvffvyr qrsrafr: Veba ____ / Sngr bs ohvyqvat arireguryrff uvg ol n pyhfgre obzo qbfr / qrhPr / 💉 nzbhag / Pneq pbxr / Xbbx / Gehzc zbfgyl qevaxf Qvrg … / ESX We vf n ____ ebfr / ehfR / 🌹 / Gevpx zbqv / zbbqL / Vaqvn'f CZ / Gehzc'f grzcrenzrag
