It’s Follow-Up Friday: Halloween Answers edition!

Welcome to Follow-Up Friday! Last week, we had two terrific Halloween-themed games for you, and it’s time to reveal the answers!

First up, it’s our Johnny Depp Cosplay Challenge! I posted this picture and challenged you to identify elements from as many Johnny Depp roles or films as possible:

  • The Lone Ranger / Tonto: bird on head, sheriff’s star
  • Edward Scissorhands: scissorhand
  • Dark Shadows / Barnabas Collins: long vampire nails/claws on other hand
  • Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas / Raoul Duke: sunglasses, cigarette holder, camera
  • Pirates of the Caribbean / Captain Jack Sparrow: bandanna, coat, beads in beard
  • Alice in Wonderland / Mad Hatter: socks, scarf hanging from his pocket, pocket watch on chain
  • The Tourist / Frank Tupelo: bow tie, tuxedo vest

Did I miss anything?


Secondly, it’s time to reveal the puns behind our annual PuzzleNation Punderful Costume Game!

We challenged you to figure out these clever costumes, so let’s see how you did!

#1

She’s the Life of the Party!

#2

They’re the Spice Girls!

#3

He’s the guy that walks into the bar!

#4 (the gentleman next to Woody from Toy Story)

He’s Maroon 5!

#5 (under the red arrow)

She’s a copycat!

#6

He’s a formal apology!

#7

The one on the left is Oh Deer! and the one on the right is Holy Cow!

#8

She’s the Lorde of the Rings!

#9

She’s Ariana Grande! (R E on a grande)

#10

She’s someone you can count on!


Special thanks to the folks at The Chive and The Thinking Closet for their assistance in compiling this year’s punny costumes!

How many did you get? Have you seen any great punny costumes we missed? Let us know!

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You can also share your pictures with us on Instagram, friend us on Facebook, check us out on TwitterPinterest, and Tumblr, and explore the always-expanding library of PuzzleNation apps and games on our website!

It’s Follow-Up Friday: Halloween Pun edition!

Happy (almost) Halloween, puzzlers and PuzzleNationers!

For the last two years, we’ve marked the spookiest of holidays by posting some punny costumes for you to figure out, and it’s only appropriate that we celebrate Halloween AND Follow-Up Friday by bringing you our third edition of the PuzzleNation Punderful Costume Game!

It’s simple. I post a picture, and you guess what the costume is.

For example:

He’s Batman! (With Catwoman beside him!)

I’ve compiled ten costumes for you to figure out. Let’s see how many you can get!


PuzzleNation’s Punderful Halloween Costume Game, Volume 3!

#1

#2

#3

#4 (the gentleman next to Woody from Toy Story)

#5 (under the red arrow)

#6

#7

#8

#9

#10


Special thanks to the folks at The Chive and The Thinking Closet for their assistance in compiling this year’s punny costumes!

How many did you get? Have you seen any great punny costumes we missed? Let us know! And Happy Halloween! (If any of them stumped you, don’t worry! I’ll be posting the answers next week!)

Thanks for visiting PuzzleNation Blog today! Be sure to sign up for our newsletter to stay up-to-date on everything PuzzleNation!

You can also share your pictures with us on Instagram, friend us on Facebook, check us out on TwitterPinterest, and Tumblr, and explore the always-expanding library of PuzzleNation apps and games on our website!

Deck the Halls with Loads of Puzzles!

Merry Christmas, puzzlers and PuzzleNationers! I hope you’re having a marvelous holiday!

One of the integral parts of the holiday season is decorating, decking your halls in all manner of festive holiday fun. Whether it’s Santas or garland, mistletoe or sleigh bells, a Christmas village or little dancing reindeer, everyone expresses their holiday spirit differently.

Naturally, around here, we couldn’t resist adding some puzzly flavor to our holiday decorating. I put my origami skills to the test to come up with some puzzle ornaments for the tree my friends at Penny/Dell Puzzles were putting together, and I think the end result was something pretty terrific.

Here’s the tree in progress. You can already see some puzzly touches like a Mega Sudoku front and center there, as well as a wreath on the wall behind the tree!

Let’s take a closer look at that wreath! Darcy did an outstanding job on it, and you can see a lot of flagship Penny/Dell puzzles represented here, like Cross Sums (Kakuro), Codewords, Cryptograms, and Word Games Puzzles!

Here’s a close-up on some of those puzzlier ornaments, including a Crossword star and a Cryptogram crane (one of my contributions) soaring above the Mega Sudoku. (The tree was also liberally garnished with coupon offers!)

A few more ornaments, including a Flower Power grid in the lower left corner!

Here’s the tree in its finished state, all lit up and decked out with gifts. It looks great! The mix of traditional ornaments and puzzly ones really makes for a unique display.

And check out this word search-wrapped gift just waiting for someone! I wonder if the recipient’s name is hidden in the grid! (Maybe they can’t open it until they find themselves!)

Are there any puzzly decorations on your tree this year, fellow puzzlers? Let us know! Send us a picture! We’d love to see it!

Have a terrific holiday!

Word Mastery for the Holidays: Updated!

A few years ago, I posted a holiday puzzle that had been floating around the Internet for years. It was a list of Christmas songs and carols whose titles had been reworded, and it was up to the reader to identify the actual titles.

It was a popular post, but something about the list always bothered me. There were 21 reworded titles, which didn’t strike me as very Christmassy at all. I mean, why not 12? Or 24? Or, heck, 25?

So, I did something about it. I’ve added 10 new reworded titles to the list, bringing the total to 31, one for every day in December. Let’s see how many PuzzleNationers can crack all 31 titles, shall we? Enjoy!


1.) Move hitherward the entire assembly of those who are loyal in their belief.

2.) Listen, the celestial messengers produce harmonious sounds.

3.) Proceed forth declaring upon a specific geological alpine formation.

4.) Nocturnal timespan of unbroken quietness.

5.) Embellish the interior passageways.

6.) An emotion excited by the acquisition or expectation of good given to the terrestial sphere.

7.) Twelve o’clock on a clement night witnessed its arrival.

8.) The Christmas preceding all others.

9.) Small municipality in Judea southeast of Jerusalem.

10.) In a distant location the existence of an improvised unit of newborn children’s slumber furnishings.

11.) Tintinnabulation of vacillating pendulums in inverted, metallic, resonant cups.

12.) The first person nominative plural of a triumvirate of far eastern heads of state.

13.) Geographic state of fantasy during the season of Mother Nature’s dormancy.

14.) In awe of the nocturnal timespan characterized by religiosity.

15.) Natal celebration devoid of color, rather albino, as an hallucinatory phenomenon for me.

16.) Expectation of arrival to populated areas by mythical, masculine perennial gift-giver.

17.) Obese personification fabricated of compressed mounds of frozen minute crystals.

18.) Tranquility upon the terrestial sphere.

19.) Omnipotent supreme being who elicits respite to ecstatic distinguished males.

20.) Diminutive masculine master of skin-covered percussionistic cylinders.

21.) Jovial Yuletide desired for the second person singular or plural by us.


Those were the original titles. Here are the ten new ones, making their debut here on PuzzleNation Blog.

22.) Allow winter precipitation in the form of atmospheric water vapor in crystalline form to descend.

23.) A first-person observer witnessed a female progenitor engaging in osculation with a hirsute nocturnal intruder.

24.) Your continued presence remains the sole Yuletide request of the speaker in question.

25.) Permanent domicile during multiple specific celebratory periods.

26.) Diminutive person regarded as holy or virtuous known by the informal moniker shared by two former Russian tsars.

27.) More than a passing resemblance to an annual winter festival is emerging.

28.) Are you registering the same auditory phenomenon I am currently experiencing?

29.) Overhead at the summit of the suburban residence.

30.) Attractive or otherwise visually pleasing wood pulp product.

31.) Parasitic European shrub accompanied by a plant with prickly green leaves and baccate qualities.


How did you do, fellow puzzlers? Let me know in the comments!

Thanks for visiting PuzzleNation Blog today! You can share your pictures with us on Instagram, friend us on Facebook, check us out on TwitterPinterest, and Tumblr, and be sure to check out the growing library of PuzzleNation apps and games!

Answers to the PuzzleNation Punderful Costume Game!

It’s time to reveal the puns behind our second annual PuzzleNation Punderful Costume Game!

We challenged you to figure out these clever costumes, so let’s see how you did!


PuzzleNation’s Punderful Halloween Costume Game!

#1

costume2

She’s a social butterfly!

#2

costume3

That’s one smart cookie!

#3

costume4

It’s snakes on a plane!

#4

costume5

Check out that #hashtag!

[Picture courtesy of the cleverboots at The Thinking Closet.]

#5

costume6

It’s shrimp on the barbie!

#6

costume7

Why, it’s 50 shades of gray, of course!

#7

costume8

Who doesn’t love a Lincoln log?

#8

photo by Sarah A. Miller/Tyler Morning Telegraph

Miss Universe, at your service.

#9

costume10

She’s fit as a fiddle!

#10

costume11

It’s Snow (Walter) White!


How did you do, PuzzleNationers? Did this inspire any punny costume ideas for you? Let us know!

Thanks for visiting PuzzleNation Blog today! You can share your pictures with us on Instagram, friend us on Facebook, check us out on TwitterPinterest, and Tumblr, and be sure to check out the growing library of PuzzleNation apps and games!

It’s Follow-Up Friday: Halloween Puns Edition!

Happy Halloween, puzzlers and PuzzleNationers!

Last year, we marked the spookiest of holidays by posting some punny costumes for you to figure out, and it’s only appropriate that we celebrate Halloween AND Follow-Up Friday by bringing you a second edition of the PuzzleNation Punderful Costume Game!

It’s simple. I post a picture, and you guess what the costume is.

For example:

costume1

She’s a dust bunny!

I’ve compiled ten costumes for you to figure out. Let’s see how many you can get!


PuzzleNation’s Punderful Halloween Costume Game!

#1

costume2

#2

costume3

#3

costume4

#4

costume5

[Picture courtesy of the cleverboots at The Thinking Closet.]

#5

costume6

#6

costume7

#7

costume8

#8

photo by Sarah A. Miller/Tyler Morning Telegraph

#9

costume10

#10

costume11


How many did you get? Have you seen any great punny costumes we missed? Let us know! And Happy Halloween!

Thanks for visiting PuzzleNation Blog today! You can share your pictures with us on Instagram, friend us on Facebook, check us out on TwitterPinterest, and Tumblr, and be sure to check out the growing library of PuzzleNation apps and games!