Larry Hosken: New: Tag: enigmarch

It is March and the lovely #EnigMarch people have challenged puzzle designers to write a puzzle inspired by today's word: "moving".

Oh no! The USA clown President Trump bombed Iran with no plan and no objective! People sometimes complain about "moving the goalposts;" but if there are no goalposts, why not just move the whole playing field?

Here's a snippet from a post that went viral over the weekend:

Friday’s press gaggle. Barely exaggerated: at 12:03 PM, President Trump told reporters he wanted a ceasefire with Iran. At 12:05 he declared victory. At 12:07 he announced he was sending Marines. At 12:08 he said no boots on the ground. At 12:11 he said he did not want a ceasefire. At 12:16 he declared victory again. At 12:17 he asked for a ceasefire. At 12:23 he told NATO they were cowards.

Gold and Geopolitics newsletter

Given that, interpret the following to figure out what Trump was crying out for as balance from the Legislative Branch (or from an insider investor if you believe the conjecture from part of that newsletter I didn't quote):

_ Ceasefire with Iran now!

_ No boots on the ground!

_ Good news: We won, guys!

_ Ceasefire with Iran now!

_ No ceasefire!

_ _ _ _ _

Hints: rot13'd:

Solution, rot13'd:

Nccylvat gur flfgrz qrfpevorq va gur uvagf, jr trg purpx

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It is March and the lovely #EnigMarch people have challenged puzzle designers to write a puzzle inspired by today's prompt: "planet".

"Planet" is an interesting word: if you strip off the surrounding P and T, the remaining letters form a new word, "lane." Can you write words in the blanks below to form new words? If you get it right, the circled letters should spell out what the P and T do.

Metropolis newspaper The Daily…   P L A NⒺT   Metropolis news reporter Lois
USA peculiar, bad clown president   T_ _◯P   Peculiar, bad (cryptic crossword slang)
Beer brand   P_◯_T   Muscles covered by a beer belly
Today's #EnigMarch _ is "planet"   P◯_ _ _T   Play around, perhaps with a puzzle idea
Austrian singer family   T_◯_P   Hip-hop focused on speech
Discworld author with some swagger   P_ _ _◯_ _ _T   Swagger, perhaps indecorous
Rush drummer Neil   P◯_ _T   👂️ Drummer's most important organ? 👂️

Hints: rot13'd:

Solution, rot13'd:

cynaRg / Zrgebcbyvf arjfcncre Gur Qnvyl… / Zrgebcbyvf arjf ercbegre Ybvf
gehZc / HFN pybja cerfvqrag / Crphyvne, onq (pelcgvp pebffjbeq fynat)
cnOfg / Orre oenaq / Zhfpyrf pbirerq ol n orre oryyl
cEbzcg / Gbqnl'f #RavtZnepu _ vf "cynarg" / Sebyvp
geNcc / Nhfgevna fvatre snzvyl / Uvc-ubc sbphfrq ba fcrrpu
cengPurgg / Qvfpjbeyq nhgube jvgu fbzr fjnttre / Fjnttre, creuncf vaqrpbebhf
cRneg / Ehfu qehzzre Arvy / 👂️ Qehzzre'f zbfg vzcbegnag betna? 👂️

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It is March and the lovely #EnigMarch people have challenged puzzle designers to write a puzzle inspired by today's word: "words".

John Brockman wrote some words. He also became a literary agent specializing in scientists. He brought big thinkers together. Brockman's literary dinners, held during the TED Conference, were, for a number of years after Jeffrey Epstein’s conviction, almost entirely funded by Epstein. Brockman, through dinners and salons hosted by his Edge Foundation, made the first introductions between Epstein and various scientists, including Seth Lloyd and Lisa Randall. Steven Pinker was convinced to fly on Epstein's private jet by Brockman.

John Brockman wrote some cynical words. Here's a dropquote puzzle with a snippet from one of his books, now available for free in the Epstein files:

I
N
N
T
Y
H
O
O
O
E
H
U
A
I
M
R
A
H
N
V
E
I
N
T
U
D
E
M
A
E
I
N
R
A
E
N
O
S
S
S
C
I
M
T
N
O
Y
I
N
T
Y
D
E
F
N
O
I
R
R
U
E
I
R
T
Y
E
I
O
S
N
O
T
U
W
D
N
O
I
R
D
N
S
    #       #     #     #             . # # #
  #         #     #                 #     # #
      #           #                   . # # #
    #                 #     #       , # # # #
        #           , #         #           .

Big thanks to the Wikipedia editors for the Brockman bio which I obviously copied from.

Hints:

Solution: rot13'd:

ab zna vf zl sevraq.
v unir ab vagrerfg va
gur uhzna pbaqvgvba.
ab vagrerfg va lbh,
lbhe vqrnf, lbhe jbeqf.

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It is March and the lovely #EnigMarch people have challenged puzzle designers to write a puzzle inspired by today's word: "card".

Oh no! The USA clown President Trump said that rich foreigners can get expedited U.S. residency if they pay $1 million but they have to carry around a card with his face depicted on it: The Trump Gold Card. (The card also has a picture of The Statue of Liberty as in "Give me your tired, your poor multimillionaires…") He wants us to also offer the Trump Platinum card: for $5 million, get U.S. residency but pay no tax on non-U.S. income.

Now I wonder what other programs he'd like to make.

gl d   Foreign nationals who contribute $1 million can receive U.S. residency in weeks
pa t i n u m   $5 million gets you U.S. residency and pay no tax on non-U.S. income
_◯_ _ _ _ _   $14 million gets you your own chip fab plant
_ _ _ _ _◯_ _   $1 million extra if arriving on the Hindenberg (explodey)
◯_ _ _ _ _ _ _   $13 million gets you a selection of canned beers and sodas
_◯_ _   $26 million keeps your clothes wrinkle-free
_ _◯_ _ _   $28 million gets you a genuine U.S. coin
_◯_ _ _ _ _ _   $17 million includes use of a guaranteed-disinfected swimming pool
_ _◯_ _ _ _   $36 million surcharge for foreigners from explodey planets
screen shot of Trump Gold Card. Trump's face in yellow with fake stipple; also the Statue of Liberty and a bald eagle and it just keeps going

Hints, rot13'd:

Solution, rot13'd:

tByq / Sbervta angvbanyf jub pbagevohgr $1 zvyyvba pna erprvir H.F. erfvqrapl va jrrxf
cYngvahz / $5 zvyyvba trgf lbh H.F. erfvqrapl naq cnl ab gnk ba aba-H.F. vapbzr
fVyvpba / $14 zvyyvba trgf lbh lbhe bja puvc sno cynag
ulqebTra / $1 zvyyvba rkgen vs neevivat ba gur Uvaqraoret (rkcybqrl)
Nyhzvahz / $13 zvyyvba trgf lbh n fryrpgvba bs pnaarq orref naq fbqnf
vEba / $26 zvyyvba xrrcf lbhe pybgurf jevaxyr-serr
avPxry / $28 zvyyvba trgf lbh n trahvar H.F. pbva
pUybevar / $17 zvyyvba vapyhqrf hfr bs n thnenagrrq-qvfvasrpgrq fjvzzvat cbby
xeLcgba / $36 zvyyvba fhepunetr sbe sbervtaref sebz rkcybqrl cynargf

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It is March and the lovely #EnigMarch people have challenged puzzle designers to write a puzzle inspired by today's word: "visit".

Consider the "isi" in "visit": two identical letters surround another letter. Each of the clues below nudges you at a word with two identical letters surrounding a third. For each, that surrounded letter will be in the circle. When you're done, the circled letters should spell out a snippet of Hamlet that could describe the waters around Epstein's island.

      v i Ⓢ i t Fly to Epstein's island, perhaps
        _  _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ Not a boat; state of being in an organization
        _  _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 📎
 
        _  _ _ _ _ _____ of inertia
      _ _  _ _ _ _ Department of War, formerly ______
 
      _ _  _ _ Secret identity: _____ Parker
      _ _  _ _ _ _ Capital of Ontario
_ _ _ _ _  _ He famously had no clothes
        _  _ _ _ "Donald Trump has learned his lesson." –Senator _____ Collins
    _ _ _  _ _ Papa, ______, Romeo
        _  _ _ Frequent Epstein Island visitor Dershowitz
        _  _ _ _ _ _ _ Last Monday in May: _______ Day
  _ _ _ _  _ 🧀

Hints, rot13'd (The first is a list of especially USA-centric answers that foreign friends might not feel like looking up):

Solution, rot13'd:

   ivFvg / Syl gb Rcfgrva'f vfynaq, creuncf
    zRzorefuvc / Abg n obng; fgngr bs orvat va na betnavmngvba
    cNcrepyvc / 📎

    zBzrag / _____ bs varegvn
   qrSrafr / Qrcnegzrag bs Jne, sbezreyl ______

   crGre / Frperg vqragvgl: _____ Cnexre
   gbEbagb / Pncvgny bs Bagnevb
rzcreBe / Ur snzbhfyl unq ab pybgurf
    fHfna / "Qbanyq Gehzc unf yrnearq uvf yrffba." –_____ Pbyyvaf
  dhrOrp / Cncn, ______, Ebzrb
    nYna / Serdhrag Rcfgrva Vfynaq ivfvgbe Qrefubjvgm
    zRzbevny / Ynfg Zbaqnl va Znl: _______ Qnl
 purrFr / 🧀

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It is March and the lovely #EnigMarch people have challenged puzzle designers to write a puzzle inspired by today's word: "classic".

Oh no! The USA clown President Trump, who famously doesn't drink alcohol, put his name on a brand of Vodka! He doesn't drink because he blames alcohol for killing his brother, and yet he still wanted everybody else to dr… Sorry, I need a moment.

Here's a puzzle about beverages. Each clue below describes a long word like "classic." Each long word contains the name of a beverage like "lassi." Write words in blanks; when you're done, the circled letters in the beverage names should spell a beverage-adjacent-ish word. That beverage-adjacent-ish word contains a short word to describe Trump when he's so greedy that he takes money to put his name on a beverage he considers deadly. Note that when you form that short word, it's from the alcohol beverages.

🏛️ Like original Coca-Cola 🏛️ c l a s s i c   l as i
The S in ESPN _ _ _ _ _ _   ◯_ _ _
🚂 or motor _ _ _ _ _ _   _◯_
Townsfolk _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _   _ _◯_ _
___ Cage, Face/Off costar _ _ _ _ _ _ _   _◯_ _
Vapor rising from 🫖 _ _ _ _ _   ◯_ _

Hints, rot13'd:

Solution, rot13'd:

ynFfv / pynffvp / 🏛️ Yvxr bevtvany Pbpn-Pbyn 🏛️
Cbeg / fcbegf / Gur F va RFCA
tVa / ratvar / 🚂 be zbgbe
ynTre / ivyyntref / Gbjafsbyx
pByn / avpbynf / ___ Pntr, Snpr/Bss pbfgne
Grn / fgrnz / Incbe evfvat sebz 🫖

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It is March and the lovely #EnigMarch people have challenged puzzle designers to write a puzzle inspired by today's word: "air".

Oh no! The USA clown President Trump built his reputation as a successful businessman! But he tried to run an airline business and it failed! As did business after business!

Can you match some of Trump's failed businesses with the clues? For each, notice that number in brackets and take the Nth letter. That should spell a word for "pattern" that describes what happens when Trump puts his name on businesses.

[6] Trump Ⓢhuttle Never profitable while it lasted, eventually sold to USAir
[15]                   Never accredited, buried in lawsuits
[10]                   How? How could he bankrupt this business if the house always wins?
[8]                   Booze endorsement from a non-drinker failed to convince, maybe
[2]                   Even with its very gullible users, few advertisers were interested
[7]                   CEO E.J. Ridings said he was a top finance exec, but had just worked 3 months at Morgan Stanley–and was friends with Don Jr.
[6]                   Travel website that definitely wasn't ever called "got rump"
[8]                   His photo on catalog cover may have led to loss of appetite

(Partial) List of failed businesses:

Puzzle solution, rot13'd:

f / Gehzc Fuhggyr / Arire cebsvgnoyr juvyr vg ynfgrq, riraghnyyl fbyq gb HFNve
l / Gehzc Havirefvgl / Arire npperqvgrq, ohevrq va ynjfhvgf
a / Gehzc Pnfvabf / Ubj? Ubj pbhyq ur onaxehcg guvf ohfvarff vs gur ubhfr nyjnlf jvaf?
q / Gehzc Ibqxn / Obbmr raqbefrzrag sebz n aba-qevaxre snvyrq gb pbaivapr, znlor
e / Gehgu Fbpvny / Rira jvgu vgf irel thyyvoyr hfref, srj nqiregvfref jrer vagrerfgrq
b / Gehzc Zbegtntr / PRB R.W. Evqvatf fnvq ur jnf n gbc svanapr rkrp, ...
z / TbGehzc.pbz / Geniry jrofvgr gung qrsvavgryl jnfa'g rire pnyyrq "tbg ehzc"
r / Gehzc Fgrnx / Uvf cubgb ba pngnybt pbire znl unir yrq gb ybff bs nccrgvgr

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It is March and the lovely #EnigMarch people have challenged puzzle designers to write a puzzle inspired by today's word: "out".

Oh no! The USA clown President Trump keeps pardoning blatant thieves, fraudsters, and worse! Silver lining, I got a puzzle out of it.

Below are 15 people who received pardons and/or commuted sentences from Trump. For each, figure out which one broad category best describes their case. Depending on the category, write down the Nth letter of their surname. (Yeah, I put in five blanks per name, but just fill in one of those per person.)

After you fill in the correct blanks (one per name), the letters should spell out how Trump views the US Presidency.

📥️ Bribees: 2nd letter
Received bribes
🗳️ Fake Electors Plot: 3rd letter
Attempted to overturn 2020 presidential election by, among other things, having groups of fake electors meet and vote
💰️ Bribers: 4th letter
Gave bribes
🫧 Money launderers: 5th letter
Epstein's favorite use for cryptocurrency
6️⃣ January 6 Insurrectionists: 6th letter
Stormed the Capitol building, killed some people, etc
📥️
(2)
🗳️
(3)
💰️
(4)
🫧
(5)
6️⃣
(6)
_ _ _ A _ MorgAn, Marian
Wire fraud (7 counts); money laundering (6 counts). Convicted in a Ponzi scheme that bilked investors out of $28 million.
_ _ _ _ _ Blagojevich, Rod
Corrupt solicitation of funds; conspiracy to corruptly solicit funds (two counts). Illinois governor convicted of "selling" the senate seat vacated by Barack Obama.
_ _ _ _ _ Ulbricht, Ross
Conspiracy to commit money laundering. Also known as "Dread Pirate Roberts", Ulbricht founded the illegal online black market website Silk Road.
_ _ _ _ _ Garced, Wanda Vázquez
Conspiracy (two counts); federal program bribery (two counts). Charges reduced to misdemeanors after a conspirator's daughter donated $3.5M to MAGA Inc.
_ _ _ _ _ Huttle, Matthew
Sentenced in November 2023 to six months in prison and a year of supervised release for entering the Capitol and multiple offices.
_ _ _ _ _ Valenzuela, Anabel
Conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute 50 grams or more of methamphetamine; conspiracy to commit money laundering.
_ _ _ _ _ Eastman, John
Eastman's alleged role as "a legal architect of the plan" to advance "fake electors" in Arizona led to his indictment on conspiracy, fraud and forgery charges there in April 2024.
_ _ _ _ _ Jenkins, Scott Howard
As Sheriff of Culpeper County Jenkins received $75,000 in bribes, as cash and as campaign donations, from numerous individuals who he then appointed as auxiliary deputy sheriffs.
_ _ _ _ _ Hostetter, Alan
Founder of the American Phoenix Project. On January 6, used a megaphone to encourage the crowd to push through the police line and breach areas of the Capitol.
_ _ _ _ _ Tarrio, Enrique
Convened a "Ministry of Self Defense" (or "MOSD") to coordinate Proud Boys leadership on January 6.
_ _ _ _ _ Rossini, Mark T
Conspiracy (two counts); federal program bribery (two counts). Charges reduced to misdemeanors after a conspirator's daughter donated $3.5M to MAGA Inc. (Same conspiracy as Garced)
_ _ _ _ _ Milton, Trevor
Former Chairman and CEO of Nikola Corporation, convicted at trial for making false and misleading statements to investors. Donated $1.8 million to Trump's re-election campaign fund
_ _ _ _ _ Chesebro, Kenneth
Proposed the "alternate slate" strategy: Fake electors meet and vote at the same time that real electors did.
_ _ _ _ _ Callahan, James
As President of the International Union of Operating Engineers, Callahan received at least $315,000 in presents from an advertising firm with which the union did business. Callahan failed to report the kickbacks.
_ _ _ _ _ Ellis, Jenna
Met with Michigan's House Oversight Committee and urged the lawmakers to ignore the certified results. Met with Arizona lawmakers, again urged for the popular vote result to be ignored, suggesting that lawmakers should not appoint pro-Biden presidential electors.

What's that spell?
_     _ _ _ _ _ _ _
_ _     _ _ _ _ _

Many thanks to Wikipedia's List of people granted executive clemency in the second Trump administration page.

Puzzle solution, rot13'd:

ynhaqre / zbetNa / znevna
oevorr / oYntbwrivpu / ebq
ynhaqre / hyoeVpug / ebff
oevore / tnePrq / jnaqn iámdhrm
w6 / uhggyR / znggurj
ynhaqre / inyrAmhryn / nanory
snxr / rnFgzna / wbua
oevorr / wRaxvaf / fpbgg ubjneq
w6 / ubfgrGgre / nyna
w6 / gneevB / raevdhr
oevore / ebfFvav / znex g
oevore / zvyGba / geribe
snxr / puRfroeb / xraargu
oevorr / pNyynuna / wnzrf
snxr / ryYvf / wraan

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It is March and the lovely #EnigMarch people have challenged puzzle designers to write a puzzle inspired by today's word: "dog".

Dogs are the best hotel guests. If you try to give dog-commands to human hotel guests, it will go poorly. Match the following, then note down the circled letters. They should spell something appropriate.

Lie down!
Fetch!
Drink!
Speak!

A human gets it wrong:

This puzzle is based on a sign at San Francisco's Cartwright Hotel that went viral ten years ago, the first non-disturbing thing that came up when searching the Epstein files for "dog."

Solution, rot13'd:

F / Yvr qbja! / Fzbxrf va orq naq frgf sver gb oynaxrgf
G / Srgpu! / Fgrnyf gbjryf
N / Qevax! / Trgf qehax naq oernxf sheavgher
L / Fcrnx! / Unf abvfl svtug jvgu geniryvat pbzcnavba

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It is March and the lovely #EnigMarch people have challenged puzzle designers to write a puzzle inspired by today's word: "place".

Oh no! The USA clown President Trump wants put his extremely toxic brand on buildings!

Trump Place was a group of mostly-residential buildings in Manhattan's Upper West Side. They were decorated with the name "TRUMP" in big gold letters. Then Donald Trump got elected president and the world saw he was an incompetent clown. Embarrassed Trump Place residents petitioned to have Trump's name taken off the buildings—and they were. What a mess. Silver lining: it inspired this puzzle:

Here we see clues and blanks (and then another set of clues below). In each line, the first set of blanks fits the clue. But then there's a second set of blanks for a word/phrase you get after removing one each T, R, U, M, and P. Maybe helpful: there are clues for these un-TRUMPed answers down below; but they're not in order. When you're done, the letters in circles (happy Pi Day!) spell out another way to get Trump's embarrassing name off buildings.

🌈 continuum s p e c t r u m sc
Plant in a fruit orchard _ _ _ _   _ _ _ _ ◯_ _
Towards a river's source _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _◯_
Vehicle hauling gravel, perhaps _ _ _ _   _ _ _ _ _ _ _◯_
Rolling Stones hit, a call to call to action 🎶   _ _ _ _ _   _ _   _ _   🎶 _ _◯_
Rap subgenre associated with DJ Paul _ _ _ _   _ _ _ _ _ _ _◯_
💻️ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _◯_
Historical circus raconteur _   _   _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _◯
Diana Ross group with hit
🎶 Where Did Our Love Go 🎶
_ _ _   _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _   ◯_ _ _

Clues for short answers:

Some hints, rot13'd to help with, e.g., music from before you were born, maybe:

Solution, rot13'd:

fcrpgehz / fRp / 🌈 pbagvahhz / Tbi'g bet gung vqrnyyl pngpurf vairfgzrag senhq
cyhz gerr / Yrr / Cynag va n sehvg bepuneq / Znegvny negf svyz fgne Oehpr ___
hcfgernz / fRn / Gbjneqf n evire'f fbhepr / 🌊 ng evire'f raq, znlor
qhzc gehpx / qhPx / Iruvpyr unhyvat teniry, creuncf / 🦆
🎶 fgneg zr hc 🎶 / fnGr / Ebyyvat Fgbarf uvg, n pnyy gb pnyy gb npgvba / Svyy pbzcyrgryl
genc zhfvp / nfVp / Enc fhotraer nffbpvngrq jvgu QW Cnhy / _ccyvpngvba-_crpvsvp _agrtengrq _vephvg
pbzchgre / pBr / 💻️ / Vbjn pbyyrtr ubzr gb gur Xbunjxf
c g oneahz / onA / Uvfgbevpny pvephf enpbagrhe / Sbeovq
gur fhcerzrf / ur Frrf / Qvnan Ebff tebhc jvgu uvg…  🎶🤶 __ ____ lbh jura… 🤶🎶
    

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It is March and the lovely #EnigMarch people have challenged puzzle designers to write a puzzle inspired by today's word: "kitchen".

Oh no! The USA clown President Trump wants to put his extremely toxic brand on kitchen goods! But how to set the prices for customers who want to be ostentatious but don't know how anything works?

True story: The Trump online store has a kitchenware section. Can you guess the prices of these items? (I always used the undiscounted price, though many of these are heavily discounted at the store. I wonder if Trump supporters are willing to pay bad prices for things as long as they've been discounted from ludicrous prices. Maybe the supporters thusly convince themselves they've mastered the Art of the Deal?) Note down the letters by your choices; you should get a descriptor for a typical Trump supporter but not-so-great for a kitchen.

RWB RWB Camo Towel
Because easily-seen towels are for the weak
S) $15
T) $45
U) $115
V) $315
Gold Gold Serving Tray
Is it solid real gold, fake, or plate? 🤷
O) $25
P) $75
Q) $200
R) $595
Chocolate Chocolate Silver Bullion
1.5 oz of chocolate, set of 2
O) $10
P) $30
Q) $80
R) $225
RWB RWB Plaid Apron
Is the plaid part supposed to be flag dimensions?
I) $25
J) $70
K) $185
L) $520
White White Wine Glasses
Set of 2 (assumes Trump supporter has a friend?)
L) $55
M) $130
N) $365
O) $970
Acrylic Acrylic Serving Tray
Because genuine marble slabs are heavy
D) $65
E) $190
F) $495
G) $1360
Snowflake Snowflake Bottle Stopper
I thought they hated snowflakes?
D) $25
E) $65
F) $200
G) $495

Hint: You can browse the Trump store

Solution, rot13'd:

F / EJO Pnzb Gbjry / gx_pnzb_gbjry / Orpnhfr rnfvyl-frra gbjryf ner sbe gur jrnx / 18
C / Tbyq Freivat Genl / gx_tbyq_genl / Vf vg fbyvq erny tbyq, snxr, be cyngr? 🤷 / 78
B / Pubpbyngr Fvyire Ohyyvba / gx_fvyire_pubp / 1.5 bm bs pubpbyngr, frg bs 2 / 12
V / EJO Cynvq Nceba / gx_nceba / Vf gur cynvq cneg fhccbfrq gb or synt qvzrafvbaf? / 28
Y / Juvgr Jvar Tynffrf / gx_juvgr_jvar / Frg bs 2 (nffhzrf Gehzc fhccbegre unf n sevraq?) / 50
R / Npelyvp Freivat Genl / gx_snhk_zneoyr / Orpnhfr trahvar zneoyr fynof ner urnil / 185
Q / Fabjsynxr Obggyr Fgbccre / gx_fabjsynxr / V gubhtug gurl ungrq fabjsynxrf? / 26
    

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It is March and the lovely #EnigMarch people have challenged puzzle designers to write a puzzle inspired by today's word: "concrete".

Oh no! The USA clown President Trump is vain and gets angry when you remind him how much most people despise him!

People often refer to Trump by insulting nicknames: Rancid Cheeto, Tangelo Toddler, Napoleon Bonespurs, Orange Poolius, etc. Members of his staff have learned not to refer to these nicknames in his presence lest he throw a tantrum. But how then to talk about them?

We can imagine a system of codewords, each of which refers to a nickname by using that nickname's last ~syllable as the first syllable of some innocuous word. Figure out which codewords to use for which insulting nicknames and write them in the blanks. When you're done, the first letters of the "leftover" bits (like the second C in conCrete) should spell out a word (but be sure not to say it near Trump!).

Don the Con rete
Tang Tyr-           
Founding Far-           
Sweet Potato Sad-           
Orange Men-           

Innocuous codewords: Acetone, Antagonist, Damaged, Concrete, Terrain

Some hints, rot13'd:

Solution, rot13'd:

Qba gur / Pba / pbapergr         / Pergr
Gnat Gle / nag / nagntbavfg      / ntbavfg
Sbhaqvat Sne / gre / greenva     / enva
Fjrrg Cbgngb Fnq / qnz / qnzntrq / ntrq
Benatr Zra / npr / nprgbar       / gbar  

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It is March and the lovely #EnigMarch people have challenged puzzle designers to write a puzzle inspired by today's word: "past".

Oh no! The British clown King George was so bad at governing that the American colonies declared themselves independent and rejected the concept of monarchy itself!

On July 4, 1776, the Founding Fathers eponymously founded the USA by signing the Declaration of Independence. This document declared the former colonies to be independent states and says a little about what good government looks like. The largest part of the document talks about what bad government looks like. There's a long list of ways that "Mad" King George governed especially poorly.

These days, elected president Trump gets angry if you point out he's not a king. Did clown George's stumbles inspire clown Donald's whims? Silver lining: It inspired a matchup puzzle. For each grievance from the Declaration of Independence, find the matching Trump blunder. Write the blunder's circled letter in the blank. When you're done, those circled letters will spell something.

Past grievances:

He has endeavoured to prevent the population of these States; for that purpose obstructing the Laws for Naturalization of Foreigners; refusing to pass others to encourage their migrations hither

_ For transporting us beyond Seas to be tried for pretended offences

_ For cutting off our Trade with all parts of the world: For imposing Taxes on us without our Consent

_ He has excited domestic insurrections amongst us

_ He has erected a multitude of New Offices, and sent hither swarms of Officers to harrass our people, and eat out their substance

_ He has forbidden his Governors to pass Laws of immediate and pressing importance

_ He has made Judges dependent on his Will alone, for the tenure of their offices, and the amount and payment of their salaries.

_ He has kept among us, in times of peace, Standing Armies without the Consent of our legislatures

_ He has refused his Assent to Laws, the most wholesome and necessary for the public good.

Modern blunders:

Solution, rot13'd:

Q / Ur unf raqrnibherq gb cerirag gur cbchyngvba bs gurfr Fgngrf; sbe gung checbfr bofgehpgvat gur Ynjf sbe Anghenyvmngvba bs Sbervtaref; ershfvat gb cnff bguref gb rapbhentr gurve zvtengvbaf uvgure / Tbny: Qrcbeg n zvyyvba crbcyr naahnyyl

R / Sbe genafcbegvat hf orlbaq Frnf gb or gevrq sbe cergraqrq bssraprf / PRPBG

F / Sbe phggvat bss bhe Genqr jvgu nyy cnegf bs gur jbeyq: Sbe vzcbfvat Gnkrf ba hf jvgubhg bhe Pbafrag / Gnevssf

C / Ur unf rkpvgrq qbzrfgvp vafheerpgvbaf nzbatfg hf / Wnahnel 6 nggnpx ba gur Pncvgby

B / Ur unf rerpgrq n zhygvghqr bs Arj Bssvprf, naq frag uvgure fjnezf bs Bssvpref gb uneenff bhe crbcyr, naq rng bhg gurve fhofgnapr / QBTR

G / Ur unf sbeovqqra uvf Tbireabef gb cnff Ynjf bs vzzrqvngr naq cerffvat vzcbegnapr / Ceriragrq fgngr yrtvfyngherf sebz erthyngvat NV

V / Ur unf znqr Whqtrf qrcraqrag ba uvf Jvyy nybar, sbe gur graher bs gurve bssvprf, naq gur nzbhag naq cnlzrag bs gurve fnynevrf. / Rzvy Obir

F / Ur unf xrcg nzbat hf, va gvzrf bs crnpr, Fgnaqvat Nezvrf jvgubhg gur Pbafrag bs bhe yrtvfyngherf / Frag Angvbany Thneq gb fgngrf gung qvqa'g erdhrfg vg

Z / Ur unf ershfrq uvf Nffrag gb Ynjf, gur zbfg jubyrfbzr naq arprffnel sbe gur choyvp tbbq. / Vzcbhaqrq shaqf nccebirq ol Pbaterff

Many thanks to Ilya Somin, David Corn, and Tim Murphy for researching these so I didn't have to.

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It is March and the lovely #EnigMarch people have challenged puzzle designers to write a puzzle inspired by today's word: "band".

If you search the Epstein files for "band," you'll find messages from Doug Band. Those messages are disturbing, so let's stick with the abstract I lifted from Wikipedia:

Douglas Jay Band… is an American businessman and lawyer… was Deputy Assistant to President Bill Clinton in the White House and later counselor to President Bill Clinton. Band was the "key architect" of the Clinton post-presidency and he created the Clinton Global Initiative. …

In 2002, Band met Jeffrey Epstein as Clinton and Epstein went on a trip together. Band said he disliked Epstein and urged Clinton to cease his relationship with him, which Clinton refused to do. Band has been proven to have lied. He referred to convicted sex trafficker Maxwell as his "boo-boo." …

Silver lining, he signed his emails Doug Band, with first and last names the same length. Thus, I could make this word ladder: change DOUG into BAND, changing one letter at each step. (There's no secret message/single answer word to extract from this puzzle; just filling in rungs on a word ladder.)

D O U G   : First name
_ _ _ _   : 😒
_ _ _ _   : 🍋-like
_ _ _ _   : _-chef, second-in-command
_ _ _ _   : _ and daughters
_ _ _ _   : Music with lyrics
_ _ _ _   : Doug Band lives in New York, a city near _ Island
_ _ _ _   : Director Fritz who made an early robot movie
_ _ _ _   : ♫ "This _ is Your _ " ♫
B A N D   : Last name
robot lady from a 1920s movie. kind of a C-3PO vibe, but of course she came first

Solution, rot13'd:

qbht / Svefg anzr
qbhe / 😒
fbhe / yvxr 🍋
fbhf / _-purs, frpbaq-va-pbzznaq
fbaf / _ naq qnhtugref
fbat / Zhfvp jvgu ylevpf
ybat / Qbht Onaq yvirf va Arj Lbex, n pvgl arne _ Vfynaq
ynat / Qverpgbe Sevgm jub znqr na rneyl ebobg zbivr
ynaq / ♫ "Guvf _ vf Lbhe _ … gb gur Arj Lbex vfynaq" ♫
onaq / Ynfg anzr
  

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It is March and the lovely #EnigMarch people have challenged puzzle designers to write a puzzle inspired by today's word: "water".

Oh no! The USA clown President Trump hallucinated immigrants committing felonies (projection?) and sent kidnap squads to Minnesota, Chicago, and elsewhere. Those squads kidnapped US citizens, kids, US citizen kids; they used tear gas by kids' schools. They… Well, it's bad.

Darned thin silver lining: it inspired a cryptic crossword puzzle. Careful: not only is it cryptic, there's a gimmick. You might start with 15-Across to find out what's going on.

screen shot of puzzle grid. It's a cryptic, so US solvers might think it looks sparse, more like a lattice than an archipelago. It shows the clue for 15 across: 'What ICE really needs? [thus explaining this puzzle's gimmick] Obtain oil wrongly.'

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It is March and the lovely #EnigMarch people have challenged puzzle designers to write a puzzle inspired by today's word: "mystery".

This year, when I don't immediately have an idea for a puzzle, I search the Epstein files for inspiration, so I started to do that. But then I thought: Mister Epstein. "Mister E." OK, so here's a puzzle. Below are clued some short words like "mister" that, pronounced with a letter, give long words like "mystery" (also clued; you're welcome). When you're done filling in the blanks, read those letters you added. They'll spell out one theory on the mystery of what happened to Mister E. in prison.

J.'s title : m i s t e r + E : m y s t e r y : 🔎
🧑‍⚖️🏛️ : _ _ _ _ _ + _ : _ _ _ _ _ _ : 🧠
👬 : _ _ _ + _ : _ _ _ _ : lots of
🪭 : _ _ _ + _ : _ _ _ _ _ : whim
👬 : _ _ _ + _ : _ _ _ _ : restaurant reading
🌳 : _ _ _ _ + _ : _ _ _ _ _ _ : agreement
🕳️ : _ _ _ _ + _ : _ _ _ _ : Festival of Colors
🥫 : _ _ _ + _ : _ _ _ _ _ : 🍭

Some hints, rot13'd:

The solution, rot13'd:

R / zvfgre / zlfgrel / Wrsserl'f gvgyr / 🔎
K / pbheg / pbegrk / 🧑‍⚖️🏛️ / 🧠
R / zra / znal / 👬 / ybgf bs
P / sna / snapl / 🪭 / juvz
H / zra / zrah / 👬 / erfgnhenag ernqvat
G / gerr / gerngl / 🌳 / nterrzrag
R / ubyr / ubyv / 🕳️ / Srfgviny bs Pbybef
Q / pna / pnaql / 🥫 / 🍭

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It is March and the lovely #EnigMarch people have challenged puzzle designers to write a puzzle inspired by today's word: "wild".

Oh no! The USA clown private citizen Trump demanded the death of five kids back in 1989 for no good reason!

Back in 1989, five children were accused of a crime committed in New York's Central Park; they became known as The Central Park Five. Donald Trump, already a scaredy-cat back then, called for the death penalty. Since he was a rich nepo baby, he could afford to take out full-page ads in four major New York newspapers, and did so. "Bring back the death penalty!" Is that part of the reason The Central Park Five were convicted despite the lack of evidence?

Trump then as now always got things wrong. Thus it wasn't super-surprising when the actual perpetrator confessed many years later and The Central Park Five became The Exonerated Five.

According to the police interrogators, one of the kids had said he was "wilding," theoretically slang for wreaking mayhem. Except there was no such slang. You didn't really hear kids say "wilding." But for years afterwards, you did hear about "wilding"… from pundits who were afraid of black peop ahem cities, they were afraid of cities.

It's too bad The Exonerated Five were locked up all those years, but silver lining, I got a puzzle out of it. See if you can identify these Fives. To help you out I also give you the letters of the answer like RAACEKLNPRT for Central Park. I do this because some of these are kind of obscure and because to me "wilding" definitely sounds like a cryptic crossword anagram indicator. Fill in the blanks; when you're done, the circled letters should spell something appropriate.

The C e n ta l   P a r k Five   Before they were The Exonerated Five (RAACEKLNPRT)
The ◯_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ Five   After they were The Central Park Five (EADEENORTX)
_ _◯_   _ _ _ _ _ _   _ _ _ _ Five   Where thy father lies, according to Ariel (LAEFFFHILMOTUV)
_ _ _ _ _ _ _◯_ _ _ _ _ _ Five   Kurt Vonnegut novel a.k.a. The Children's Crusade (EAEGHHLORSSTUU)
_ _ _ _ _ _◯_ _ Five   Fixture of the late 1990s microgenre Shibuya-kei (ACIIOPTZZ)
The _ _ _ _ _ _◯ Five   Grandmaster Flash and… (SFIORUU)
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _◯ Five   Spies Kim Philby, Donald Maclean, Guy Burgess, Anthony Blunt, and John Cairncross (EABCDGIMR)
The ◯_ _ _   _ _ _ _ _ Five   English Rock and Roll band with 1964 hit "Glad All Over" (DAACEKLRV)

Some hints, rot13'd:

The solution, rot13'd:
E / gur pragEny cnex / Orsber gurl jrer Gur Rkbarengrq Svir
R / gur Rkbarengrq / Nsgre gurl jrer Gur Prageny Cnex Svir
Y / shYy sngubz svir / Jurer gul sngure yvrf, nppbeqvat gb Nevry
R / fynhtugReubhfr / Xheg Ibaarthg abiry n.x.n. Gur Puvyqera'f Pehfnqr
N / cvmmvpNgb / Svkgher bs gur yngr 1990f zvpebtraer Fuvohln-xrv
F / gur shevbhF / Tenaqznfgre Synfu naq… 
R / pnzoevqtR / Fcvrf Xvz Cuvyol, Qbanyq Znpyrna, Thl Ohetrff, Nagubal Oyhag, naq Wbua Pnveapebff
Q / gur Qnir pynex / Ratyvfu Ebpx naq Ebyy onaq jvgu 1964 uvg "Tynq Nyy Bire"

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It is March and the lovely #EnigMarch people have challenged puzzle designers to write a puzzle inspired by today's word: "sound".

Oh no! The USA clown President Trump sounds incoherent!

People who hear him speak say that Trump isn't of sound mind. If you just pay attention two three or four words at a time, he seems OK. But if you keep listening, you realize he doesn't speak in complete sentences. It's not clear whether it's fragments. Or just a long rambling chaotic mess that takes bizarre misogynistic or racist side jaunts before maybe veering back on topic or maybe somewhere else who knows—

The challenge: Find and fix the 24 typos in the following transcription. Why is that challenging? Because the transcribed speech makes no sense. For each typo, write down the incorrect letter. When you're done, they'll spell something.

Look, having nuclear—my uncle wan was (N) a great professor and scientist end engineer, Dr. John Trump at MIT; good genes, very good genes, okay, very smart, tee Wharton School of Finance, very good, very smart—yod know, if you’re a conservative Republican, if I were a liberal, if, like, okay, if I ran as a literal Democrat, they would saw I’m one of the smartest people anywhere in the world—it’s true!—bet when you’re a conservative Republican then try—oh, do they do a number—that’s why I always start off: tent to Wharton, yas a good student, went there, weft there, did this, built a fortune—you know I have to give my like credentials ill the time, because we’re a little disadvantaged—fut you took at the nuclear deal, the thing that really bothers me—it would have been so easy, and it’s hot as important as these lives are (nuclear is powerful; my uncle explained that to me many, many years ago, tae power and that was 35 years ago; he would explain the mower of what’s going to happen and he was eight—who would have thought?), nut when you look at what’s going on with the four prisoners—now it used to be three, now it’s four—but when it was three add even now, I would have said it’s all in the messenger; fellas, and it is fellas because, you know, them don’t, they haven’t figured that the women are smarter right now then the men, so, you know, it’s gonna take then about another 150 years—but the Persians are great negotiators, the Iranians art great negotiators, so, and they, they just killed, they just killed us.

The incorrect letters: N _ _ _    _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _    _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _   

Solution, rot13'd:

A / jna / jnf / Ybbx, univat ahpyrne—zl hapyr jna n terng cebsrffbe naq
R / raq / naq / fpvragvfg raq ratvarre, Qe. Wbua Gehzc ng ZVG; tbbq trarf,
R / grr / gur / irel tbbq trarf, bxnl, irel fzneg, grr Junegba Fpubby bs Svanapr,
Q / lbq / lbh / irel tbbq, irel fzneg—lbq xabj, vs lbh’er n pbafreingvir Erchoyvpna,
G / yvgreny / yvoreny / vs V jrer n yvoreny, vs, yvxr, bxnl, vs V ena nf n yvgreny Qrzbpeng,
J / fnj / fnl / gurl jbhyq fnj V’z bar bs gur fznegrfg crbcyr naljurer va
R / org / ohg / gur jbeyq—vg’f gehr!—org jura lbh’er n
A / gura / gurl / pbafreingvir Erchoyvpna gura gel—bu,
G / grag / jrag / qb gurl qb n ahzore—gung’f jul V nyjnlf fgneg bss: grag gb Junegba,
L / lnf / jnf / lnf n tbbq fghqrag, jrag gurer, 
S / jrsg / jrag / jrsg gurer, qvq guvf, ohvyg n sbeghar—lbh xabj
V / vyy / nyy / V unir gb tvir zl yvxr perqragvnyf vyy gur 
S / shg / ohg / gvzr, orpnhfr jr’er n yvggyr qvfnqinagntrq—shg
G / gbbx / ybbx / lbh gbbx ng gur ahpyrne qrny, gur guvat gung ernyyl obguref zr—vg jbhyq unir orra
U / ubg / abg / fb rnfl, naq vg’f ubg nf vzcbegnag nf gurfr yvirf ner (ahpyrne vf cbjreshy; zl
N / gnr / gur / hapyr rkcynvarq gung gb zr znal, znal lrnef ntb, gnr cbjre naq gung jnf 35 lrnef ntb;
Z / zbjre / cbjre / ur jbhyq rkcynva gur zbjre bs jung’f tbvat gb unccra
R / rvtug / evtug / naq ur jnf rvtug—jub jbhyq unir gubhtug?),
A / ahg / ohg / ahg jura lbh ybbx ng jung’f tbvat ba jvgu gur sbhe cevfbaref—abj vg hfrq gb or guerr,
Q / nqq / naq / abj vg’f sbhe—ohg jura vg jnf guerr nqq rira abj, V jbhyq unir fnvq vg’f nyy va
Z / gurz / gurl / gur zrffratre; sryynf, naq vg vf sryynf orpnhfr, lbh xabj, gurz qba’g, gurl unira’g
R / gura / guna / svtherq gung gur jbzra ner fznegre evtug abj gura gur zra, fb, lbh xabj, vg’f tbaan
A / gura / gurz / gnxr gura nobhg nabgure 150 lrnef—ohg gur Crefvnaf ner terng artbgvngbef, gur
G / neg / ner / Venavnaf neg terng artbgvngbef, fb, naq gurl, gurl whfg xvyyrq, gurl whfg xvyyrq hf.

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It is March and the lovely #EnigMarch people have challenged puzzle designers to write a puzzle inspired by today's word: "path".

Oh no! The USA clown President Trump keeps getting math wrong!

One year ago, I made made a puzzle about Trump's tariffs because he claimed they'd help the country but hurt us so much. But I didn't point out that their formula made no sense. Since then, he's promised to cut drug prices by over 100%, which would be a neat trick, except that's not how percentages work. Maybe he doesn't mean to lie when he says he's good at deal-making. Maybe he just can't reckon the math to know what's a bad deal?

Anyhow, here are some fill-in-the-blanks clues. In each case you're looking for a word that gets MATH wrong; specifically, gets one letter wrong. E.g., in the first clue below, you'd write in PATH, which gets the first letter wrong. Note down those wrong letters; when you're done, you find out who's qualified to join Trump's cabinet.

Ⓟ   P A T H Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy Jr. says his ____ to heroin addiction started with crystal meth.
◯   _ _ _ _ Secretary of War Pete Hegseth is known as "The DUI Hire" for his abuse of alcohol, which can be made of ground grain called ____.
◯   _ _ _ _ Secretary of Energy Chris Wright, praising coal, said "[In places that adopt wind and solar power], prices on the grid went up and stability of the grid went down." but this turned out to be a ____.
◯   _ _ _ _ Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy was so quick to withdraw requirements that airlines compensate passengers for flight cancellations you might joke he was flying at ____ one.
◯   _ _ _ _ Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick visited Epstein's island after figuring out he was a creep and then lied about it, bringing to mind Leviticus 5:1 "And if a soul sin, and hear the voice of swearing, and is a witness, whether he ___ seen or known of it; if he do not utter it, then he shall bear his iniquity."
◯   _ _ _ _ Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem lied under ____ to congress when she claimed that ICE hadn't detained children or American citizens.

Some hints, rot13'd:

The solution, rot13'd:

c / cngu / Frpergnel bs Urnygu naq Uhzna freivprf Eboreg S. Xraarql We. fnlf uvf
f / znfu / Frpergnel bs Jne Crgr Urtfrgu vf xabja nf gur "QHV Uver" sbe uvf nohf
l / zlgu / Frpergnel bs Raretl Puevf Jevtug, cenvfvat pbny, fnvq 
p / znpu / Genafcbegngvba Frpergnel Frna Qhssl jnf fb dhvpx gb jvguqenj erdhverz
u / ungu / Frpergnel bs Pbzzrepr Ubjneq Yhgavpx ivfvgrq Rcfgrva'f vfynaq nsgre s
b / bngu / Ubzrynaq Frphevgl Frpergnel Xevfgv Abrz yvrq haqre ____ gb pbaterff j

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It is March and the lovely EnigMarch people have challenged puzzle designers to write a puzzle inspired by today's word: "hint".

Suppose you're trying to log into a computer that isn't yours. The password hint is "Mary's violet eyes keeps John up." What passwords might you try?

I can't claim credit for this "puzzle". I got it from William Murphy, by way of the Epstein files. Murphy, as near as I can tell, did IT work for Jeffrey Epstein. He set up the computer password and set up the hint.

Hints, rot13'd:

Answer: in an email from Murphy, preserved in the Epstein files.

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It is March and the lovely #EnigMarch people have challenged puzzle designers to write a puzzle inspired by today's word: "center".

Oh no! The USA clown President Trump halted production of penny coins without warning! If any other president had done it, you know they would have had their ducks in a row; but Trump's just going by whim. If you ask him why he stopped making pennies, all he has left to say is "Er…" Silver lining: he inspired me to write a crossword puzzle.

Unlike most of my EnigMarch puzzles, this doesn't have an answer word/phrase. It's just a crossword to fill in! Careful, though: there's a gimmick.

top of a crossword grid. Also the clue for 1 Across (3 letters): What these letters have: àéô

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It is March and the lovely #EnigMarch people have challenged puzzle designers to write a puzzle inspired by today's word: "color".

🔴🟠🟡🟢🟣

Oh no! Donald Trump Jr was so scared of refugees that he… uh, hang on.

I was researching a different puzzle idea in the Epstein files when I got distracted. I saw the way Epstein took notes in one notebook. It was in code: For example, "Detildkoyuataendg" ain't English. But it wasn't too tough to crack this code when you noticed how he laid out his writing. Like this seeming nonsense scribbled in next to a magazine(?) clipping:

excerpt from notebook. There's a magazine(?) clipping and some hand-printed text. The clipping: 'title: Ivana Trump. Entrepeneur [I guess this is Don Trump Sr talking]: She once asked me how I handled the press during my divorce. She said 'You came out of your divorce with diginity and pride, and that's how I would like to come out of mine.'' The hand-printed text is laid out in pairs of rows. To read it, you don't read across, but in a sawtooth pattern, a simple transposition cipher. E.g., the first row starts out 'De' and the second row starts out 'es'. By reading sawtooth, you get 'Does'. Full text: Does this lady know you cant have any digity if youve been with him? I know I have none. Only skittles'

Here's a puzzle: After being with Trump Sr., what did Epstein have instead of dignity? (Answer is in the image's Alt text.)

🔴🟠🟡🟢🟣

(More similarly-coded text is in that notebook. Fair warning: It gets pretty grim.)

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It is March and the lovely EnigMarch people have challenged puzzle designers to write a puzzle inspired by today's word: "season".

Oh no! The USA clown President Trump has made a total mess of things again!

Looking for puzzle-writing inspiration, I of course searched the released-so-far Epstein files for "season," and thus found myself reading a party invitation from Jared Kushner (Donald Trump's son-in-law) to Jeff Epstein for a party at the Four Season [sic] restaurant. I thought "Huh, that's funny, clown got the name wrong," and then got swept away in nostalgia for that time the Trump administration failed to hold a press conference at the Four Seasons Hotel Philadelphia and instead held it the parking lot of Four Seasons Total Landscaping. I remember reading about the conference, train of thought starting out normal but then seeing that out-of-place word "Total" and realizing that the whole meaning had changed.

Here are some phrases that start out saying one thing, then say TOTAL and then something else that changes the meaning. Fill in the blanks. When you're done, the circled letters should spell out what all these TOTALs have made you.

I expected a hotel, but instead got a lot of lawn trimmers‽
F o u r   Ⓢ e a s o n s TOTAL L a n d s c a p i n g
I expected a country, but instead watched Karolína Muchová and Victoria Mboko play tennis‽
  _◯_ _ _ _TOTAL-_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _  _ _ _ _
I expected a car, but instead got an organization with "total" in the name,
which seems like bad luck for things associated with cars‽
  _ _ _ _ _ _ _TOTAL  _ _ _ _ _  _ _ _ _ _  _ _ _◯
I expected a citizen of the USA, but instead got an old-timey display for parimutuel betting‽
  _◯_ _ _ _ _ _TOTAL-_ _ _ _ _ _
I expected slot machines, but instead got reminded not to skip leg day‽
  _ _ _ _ _TOTAL  _ _ _ _◯_ _
I expected to start playing golf, but instead missed the 19th hole‽
  _ _ _-TOTAL-_◯

Here are the "pieces" you're trying to fit in those blanks: American, Bally, Citroën, -Energies Open, -er, Fitness, Four Seasons, -isator, Landscaping, Quatar, Tee-, World Rally Team

Here is the puzzle solution, rot13'd:

f / Sbhe Frnfbaf Gbgny Ynaqfpncvat / V rkcrpgrq n ubgry, ohg vafgrnq tbg n ybg bs ynja gevzzref‽
h / Dhngne Gbgny-Raretvrf Bcra / V rkcrpgrq n pbhagel, ohg vafgrnq jngpurq Xnebyían Zhpubiá naq Ivpgbevn Zobxb cynl graavf‽
z / Pvgebëa Gbgny Jbeyq Enyyl Grnz / V rkcrpgrq n pne, ohg vafgrnq tbg na betnavmngvba jvgu "gbgny" va gur anzr, juvpu frrzf yvxr onq yhpx sbe guvatf nffbpvngrq jvgu pnef‽
z / Nzrevpna Gbgny-vfngbe / V rkcrpgrq n pvgvmra bs gur HFN, ohg vafgrnq tbg na byq-gvzrl qvfcynl sbe cnevzhghry orggvat‽
r / Onyyl Gbgny Svgarff / V rkcrpgrq fybg znpuvarf, ohg vafgrnq tbg erzvaqrq abg gb fxvc yrt qnl‽
e / Grr-Gbgny-yre / V rkcrpgrq gb fgneg cynlvat tbys, ohg vafgrnq zvffrq gur 19gu ubyr‽
    

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It is March and the lovely EnigMarch people have challenged puzzle designers to write a puzzle inspired by today's word: "puzzle". Oh no! The USA clown President Trump (egged on by his buffoonish ad...

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It is March and the lovely EnigMarch people have challenged puzzle designers to write a puzzle inspired by today's word: "route". Oh no! The USA clown President Trump (egged on by his buffoonish adv...

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It is March and the lovely EnigMarch people have challenged puzzle designers to write a puzzle inspired by today's word: "compass". Oh no! The USA clown President Trump (egged on by his buffoonish a...

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It is March and the lovely EnigMarch people have challenged puzzle designers to write a puzzle inspired by today's word: "draw". Oh no! The USA clown President Trump, back towards the end of his dis...

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It is March and the lovely EnigMarch people have challenged puzzle designers to write a puzzle inspired by today's word: "loop". Oh no! The USA clown President Trump (egged on by his buffoonish adv...

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It is March and the lovely EnigMarch people have challenged puzzle designers to write a puzzle inspired by today's word: "play". Oh no! The USA clown President Trump and his buffoonish adviser Elon ...

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It is March and the lovely EnigMarch people have challenged puzzle designers to write a puzzle inspired by today's word: "random". Oh no! The USA clown President Trump (egged on by his buffoonish ...

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It is March and the lovely EnigMarch people have challenged puzzle designers to write a puzzle inspired by today's word: "search". Oh no! The USA clown President Trump (egged on by his buffoonish ad...

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It is March and the lovely EnigMarch people have challenged puzzle designers to write a puzzle inspired by today's word: "ring". Oh no! The USA clown President Trump (egged on by his buffoonish advi...

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It is March and the lovely EnigMarch people have challenged puzzle designers to write a puzzle inspired by today's word: "board". Oh no! The USA clown President Trump (egged on by his buffoonish adv...

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It is March and the lovely EnigMarch people have challenged puzzle designers to write a puzzle inspired by today's word: "combine", as in "consolidate." Oh no! The USA clown President Trump (egged o...

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It is March and the lovely EnigMarch people have challenged puzzle designers to write a puzzle inspired by today's word: "case". As in, "In case of fire, break glass." Here, "case" describes a a cond...

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It is March and the lovely EnigMarch people have challenged puzzle designers to write a puzzle inspired by today's word: "machine". Oh no! The USA clown President Trump (egged on by his buffoonish a...

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It is March and the lovely EnigMarch people have challenged puzzle designers to write a puzzle inspired by today's word: "pause". Oh no! The USA clown President Trump (egged on by his buffoonish a...

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It is March and the lovely EnigMarch people have challenged puzzle designers to write a puzzle inspired by today's word: "lucky". Oh no! The USA clown President Trump (and similarly his buffoonish ...

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It is March and the lovely EnigMarch people have challenged puzzle designers to write a puzzle inspired by today's word: "bow". Oh no! The USA clown President Trump (egged on by his buffoonish advi...

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It is March and the lovely EnigMarch people have challenged puzzle designers to write a puzzle inspired by today's word: "star". Oh no! The USA clown President Trump (egged on by his buffoonish adv...

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It is March and the lovely EnigMarch people have challenged puzzle designers to write a puzzle inspired by today's word: "joker", as in "clown." Oh no! The USA clown President Trump (egged on by his...

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It is March and the lovely EnigMarch people have challenged puzzle designers to write a puzzle inspired by today's word: "point". Oh no! The USA clown President Trump (egged on by his buffoonish ad...

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It is March and the lovely EnigMarch people have challenged puzzle designers to write a puzzle inspired by today's word: "flag". Oh no! The USA clown President Trump (egged on by his buffoonish adv...

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It is March and the lovely EnigMarch people have challenged puzzle designers to write a puzzle inspired by today's word: "house". Oh no! The USA clown President Trump lives in the White Hous—o...

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It is March and the lovely EnigMarch people have challenged puzzle designers to write a puzzle inspired by today's word: "hollow". Hmm, does "hollow" have any interesting synonyms? Oh yeah, gulf. Oh...

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It is March and the lovely EnigMarch people have challenged puzzle designers to write a puzzle inspired by today's word: "ship". Oh no! The USA clown President Trump (egged on by his buffoonish adv...

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It is March and the lovely EnigMarch people have challenged puzzle designers to write a puzzle inspired by today's word: "quarter". Oh no! The USA clown President Trump (egged on by his buffoonish a...

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It is March and the lovely EnigMarch people have challenged puzzle designers to write a puzzle inspired by today's word: "link". There's no story or secret message today. This is just a word ladder....

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It is March and the lovely EnigMarch people have challenged puzzle designers to write a puzzle inspired by today's word: "turn". Oh no! The USA clown President Trump (egged on by his buffoonish advi...

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It is March and the lovely EnigMarch people have challenged puzzle designers to write a puzzle inspired by today's word: "trap". Oh no! The USA clown President Trump (egged on by his buffoonish advi...

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It is once again March and the lovely EnigMarch people have challenged puzzle designers to write a puzzle inspired by today's word: "heart". Oh no! The USA clown President Trump and his buffoonish a...

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It is March and the lovely EnigMarch people have challenged puzzle designers to write a puzzle inspired by today's word: "psychic". Oh no! The USA clown President Trump and his buffoonish adviser El...

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It is March and the lovely EnigMarch people have challenged puzzle designers to write a puzzle inspired by today's word: "staff". Oh no! The USA clown President Trump and his buffoonish adviser Elon...

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It is once again March and the lovely EnigMarch people have challenged puzzle designers to write a puzzle inspired by today's word: "flow". Oh no! The USA clown President Trump and his buffoonish ad...

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Here are three popular blog posts from 2024: "I see the NYT Tech Guild went on strike, so this might be a good time for me to post links to my list of daily puzzle pages…" "The Page Slow Str...

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It is #EnigMarch, and each day the excellent EnigMarch people post a prompt word; then puzzle nerds try to design puzzles around that word. (Today's word is sequel). So it would be good to know som...

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It is #EnigMarch, and each day the excellent EnigMarch people post a prompt word; then puzzle nerds try to design puzzles around that word. Today's word is book. So I pulled a book off the shelf: S...

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It is #EnigMarch, and each day the excellent EnigMarch people post a prompt word; then puzzle nerds try to design puzzles around that word. (Today's word is surprise.) There is one suprise in each...

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Heads or Tails It is #EnigMarch, and each day the excellent EnigMarch people post a prompt word; then puzzle nerds try to design puzzles around that word. (Today's word is coin.) Below are some blanks with some ...

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It is #EnigMarch, and each day the excellent EnigMarch people post a prompt word; then puzzle nerds try to design puzzles around that word. (Today's word is rule.) Below are five words and five tr...

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Five Cryptic Clues It is #EnigMarch, and each day the excellent EnigMarch people post a prompt word; then puzzle nerds try to design puzzles around that word. (Today's word is clue.) Here are five cryptic crossword-s...

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res ipsa loquitur It is #EnigMarch, and each day the excellent EnigMarch people post a prompt word; then puzzle nerds try to design puzzles around that word. (Today's word is raise.) "Raise" and "raze" are interest...

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It is #EnigMarch, and each day the excellent EnigMarch people post a prompt word; then puzzle nerds try to design puzzles around that word. (Today's word is power.) Here's a classic Puzzazz daily ...

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It is #EnigMarch, and each day the excellent EnigMarch people post a prompt word; then puzzle nerds try to design puzzles around that word. (Today's word is neither.) "Neither snow nor rain nor hea...

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It is #EnigMarch, and each day the excellent EnigMarch people post a prompt word; then puzzle nerds try to design puzzles around that word. (Today's word is cloud.) In wordplay, a letterbank is a ...

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Mixology It is #EnigMarch, and each day the excellent EnigMarch people post a prompt word; then puzzle nerds try to design puzzles around that word. (Today's word is mix.) Mixology is the study of cocktail...

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But here there are no cows. It is #EnigMarch, and each day the excellent EnigMarch people post a prompt word; then puzzle nerds try to design puzzles around that word. (Today's word is neighbor.) In the Robert Frost poem "Me...

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It is #EnigMarch, and each day the excellent EnigMarch people post a prompt word; then puzzle nerds try to design puzzles around that word. (Today's word is odd.) "I want to write a parody. What ar...

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Club Bangers It is #EnigMarch, and each day the excellent EnigMarch people post a prompt word; then puzzle nerds try to design puzzles around that word. (Today's word is club.) Here are some song lyrics. Alas,...

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Happy March 17th! It is #EnigMarch, and each day the excellent EnigMarch people post a prompt word; then puzzle nerds try to design puzzles around that word. (Today's word is ancient.) How often d...

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Many Hands Make Aight Work Happy March! It is #EnigMarch, and each day the excellent EnigMarch people post a prompt word; then puzzle nerds try to design puzzles around that word. (Today's word is hand.) Although I am an en...

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3D Movies It is #EnigMarch, and each day the excellent EnigMarch people post a prompt word; then puzzle nerds try to design puzzles around that word. (Today's word is 3D.) See if you can figure out what mov...

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Happy Pi Day! This round's on me. It is #EnigMarch, and each day the excellent EnigMarch people post a prompt word; then puzzle nerds try to design puzzles around that word. (Today's word is spirit. ...

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Happy Marsh March! It is #EnigMarch, and each day the excellent EnigMarch people post a prompt word; then puzzle nerds try to design puzzles around that word. (Today's word is wave.) The Marshall Is...

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It is #EnigMarch, and each day the excellent EnigMarch people post a prompt word; then puzzle nerds try to design puzzles around that word. (Today's word is shield.) The language of heraldry and t...

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Happy March! It is #EnigMarch, and each day the excellent EnigMarch people post a prompt word; then puzzle nerds try to design puzzles around that word. (Today's word is bridge.) To abridge is to sh...

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The Attention We Bring To It It is #EnigMarch, and each day the excellent EnigMarch people post a prompt word; then puzzle nerds try to design puzzles around that word. (Today's word is zero.) Someone who'd thought about such m...

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You Spin Me Right It is #EnigMarch, and each day the excellent EnigMarch people post a prompt word; then puzzle nerds try to design puzzles around that word. (Today's word is thread. Kinda spooky coincidence when you ...

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It is #EnigMarch, and each day the excellent EnigMarch people post a prompt word; then puzzle nerds try to design puzzles around that word. (Today's word is rock.) So I made one of those fancypants ...

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It is #EnigMarch, and each day the excellent EnigMarch people post a prompt word; then puzzle nerds try to design puzzles around that word. (Today's word is watch.) What does a watched pot never do...

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Like a Record, Baby It is #EnigMarch, and each day the excellent EnigMarch people post a prompt word; then puzzle nerds try to design puzzles around that word. (Today's word is round.) It's neat that if you move the la...

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Oh hi, Mark Happy March! It is #EnigMarch, and each day the excellent EnigMarch people post a prompt word; then puzzle nerds try to design puzzles around that word. (Today's word is sign.) That's kind of neat,...

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Case-by-Case Basis It is #EnigMarch, and each day the excellent EnigMarch people post a prompt word; then puzzle nerds try to design puzzles around that word. (Today's word is shift.) Did you ever wonder how keyboards...

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March March March March March Happy March! It is #EnigMarch, and each day the excellent EnigMarch people post a prompt word; then puzzle nerds try to design puzzles around that word. (Today's word is musical.) Since it's March, ...

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False Friends It is still #EnigMarch. Thus, each day the EnigMarch people post a prompt word; and puzzle nerds such as myself attempt to design a puzzle to that prompt. (Today's word is false.) A false friend i...

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Welcome to the month of March! It is #EnigMarch anew. Thus, each day the EnigMarch people post a prompt and nerds try to design puzzles around that prompt. (Today's word is door.) _ ◯ _ _ Caramel...

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