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: "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

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.)

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‽

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: "play". Oh no! The USA clown President Trump and his buffoonish adviser Elon ...

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 ...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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 ...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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....

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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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