Answers to the Morphy_me Puzzly Challenge!

A few weeks ago, we challenged our fellow puzzlers and PuzzleNationers to puzzle out an artistic challenge created by an Instagram account called morphy_me.

The account, credited only as Benji, features images that merge elements of both celebrities, somehow creating an image that is reminiscent of both, and yet feels strangely new.

Did you puzzle out which pairs of celebrities formed these images? Let’s find out!


#1

benji 1

Answer: Emily Blunt and Katy Perry

#2

benji 2

Answer: Al Pacino and Robert DeNiro

#3

benji 3

Answer: Jessica Alba and Ariana Grande

#4

benji 4

Answer: David Bowie and Kurt Cobain

#5

benji 5

Answer: Kim Kardashian and Taylor Swift

#6

benji 6

Answer: Robert Pattinson and Christian Bale
(a future and former Batman)

#7

benji 7

Answer: Margot Robbie and Sharon Tate

#8

benji 8

Answer: Heath Ledger and Joaquin Phoenix
(an all-Joker edition)

#9

benji 9

Answer: Tom Welling and Henry Cavill
(an all-Superman edition)

#10

benji 10

Answer: Winona Ryder and Jennifer Connelly

#11

benji 11

Answer: Billie Eilish and Scarlett Johansson

#12

benji 12

Answer: Rihanna and Cara Delevingne

#13

benji 13

Answer: Bill Nye and Bill Nighy
(that’s just delightful wordplay)

#14

benji 14

Answer: Tom Holland and Jake Gyllenhaal
(hero AND villain from the latest Spider-Man film)

#15

benji 15

Answer: Zendaya and Vanessa Hudgens


How many did you get? Let us know in the comments section below! We’d love to hear from you!

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Musical Wordplay to Soothe the Savage Puzzler…

Oh yes, it’s that time again! It’s time to unleash our puzzly and punny imaginations and engage in a bit of sparkling wordplay!

You may be familiar with the board game Schmovie, hashtag games on Twitter, or @midnight’s Hashtag Wars segment on Comedy Central.

For years now, we’ve been collaborating on puzzle-themed hashtag games with our pals at Penny Dell Puzzles, and this month’s hook was #PennyDellPuzzleLyrics, mashing up Penny Dell puzzles with lyrics from songs of any and all genres!

Examples include: “Lucy in the sky with Nine of Diamonds“, “If I leave Here and There tomorrow, would you still remember me?”, and “’cause the times they are a-Changaword.”

So, without further ado, check out what the puzzlers at PuzzleNation and Penny Dell Puzzles came up with!


Let’s start with some Puzzly Lyrics!

“Woah, Black Betty, Anagrams.” (Black Betty, Ram Jam)

“I’m still Jenny from the Blockbuilders” / “I’m still Jenny from Around the Block” (Jenny from the Block, Jennifer Lopez)

Abacus think this song is about you. Don’t you? Don’t you?” (You’re So Vain, Carly Simon)

ABC’s, it’s easy as one These Three, or simple as A to Z Maze, ABC’s, one These Three, baby you’re a solver!” (ABC, The Jackson Five)

“I put a Spelldown on you because you’re fine” / “I put a Starspell on you” (I Put a Spell on You, Screamin’ Jay Hawkins)

Give and Take another little Bits and Pieces of my heart now, baby.” / “A Little Piece-by-Piece of My Heart” (Piece of My Heart, Janis Joplin)

“It’s hip to be Circles in the Square.” (Hip to Be Square, Huey Lewis and the News)

“Tea for Two for One and Two at a Time for tea.” (Tea for Two, Doris Day)

“I have become comfortably Number Square.” (Comfortably Numb, Pink Floyd)

“All in all you’re just another Brick by Brick in the wall.” (Another Brick in the Wall Part 2, Pink Floyd)

“When you’re thick as a Brick by Brick” (Thick as a Brick, Jethro Tull)

“Plenty of room at the Hotel Cancellations” (Hotel California, Eagles)

“Growing up leads to growing old and then to Tie-In, Ooo, and Tie-In to me don’t sound like all that much fun.” (Authority Song, John Mellencamp)

One and Only is the loneliest number that you’ll ever do” (One Is The Loneliest Number, Three(somes) Dog Night)

Chain Reaction of Fools” (Chain of Fools, Aretha Franklin)

“Animal Crackers in my Alphabet Soup” / “Animal Crackers in my Alphabet Soup for Two” (Animal Crackers in my Soup, Shirley Temple)

“‘Cause I knew you were Double Trouble when you walked in, So shame on me now” (I Knew You Were Trouble, Taylor Swift)

“The Anagram Magical Mystery Word Grand Tour” (The Magical Mystery Tour, The Beatles)

“Domo Arigato, Mr. Sudoku” (Mr. Roboto, Styx)

Diamond Rings are a Girl’s Best Friend” (Diamonds are a Girl’s Best Friend, Carol Channing/Marilyn Monroe)

Diamond Mine-Eyes Adored You” (My Eyes Adored You, Frankie Valli)

“Ricky don’t lose that Number Seek, it’s the only one you own” (Ricky Don’t Lose That Number, Steely Dan)

“Jenny I got your Number Seek.” (867-5309/Jenny, Tommy Tutone)

“She’s a Brick by Brick House” (Brick House, Lionel Ritchie & The Commodores)

“Love in an Escalators, living it Ups & Downs” (Love in an Elevator, Aerosmith)

“I Go to Extreme Sudoku” (I Go to Extremes, Billy Joel)

“It’s a Family Ties Affair” (It’s a Family Affair, Sly & the Family Stone)

“Living in the Shadowbox of Love” (Standing in the Shadow of Love, The Four Tops)

“Jump in the Line ‘Em Up Rock Your Body in Time” (Jump in the Line, Harry Belafonte)

“Don’t Get Around the Block Much Anymore” (Don’t Get Around Much Anymore, Duke Ellington)

“You spin me Right Angles round, baby, Right Angles round, like a record baby” (You Spin Me Round, Dead or Alive)

“Beauty school Drop-Outs, no graduation day for you…” / “Beauty school Drop-Outs… Go back to Shuffle” (Beauty School Drop Out, Frankie Avalon)

“Cold iron shackles, ball and Chain Words” (Tennessee Jed, The Grateful Dead)

“Here I come Red-dy or not, Here I come Red-dy I go” (Ready Or Not, Lou Gramm)

“Quaint little villages Here and There, You’re sure to fall in love with Old Cape Cod” (Old Cape Cod, Bette Midler)

“…Gotta Lip Service, get it while you can, Hot, sweat ‘n’ nervous love on demand” (Rock! Rock! Til you drop, Def Leppard)

“We’re goin’ up Around the Bend” (Up Around the Bend, Credence Clearwater Revival)

“I wanna live where the Good Deal grows, watch my Combos pop up in Rounders” (Where the Green Grass Grows, Tim McGraw)

“I wanna swing from the Consonant Search, from the Consonant Search” (Chandelier, Sia)

“I’ve got 1, Two by Two, 3, 4, 5, senses working overtime” (Senses Working Overtime, XTC)

“It takes Two at a Time, baby, it takes Two at a Time, baby, just me and you” (It Takes Two, Marvin Gaye & Kim Weston)

Say That you, Say That me, Say That for always” (Say You Say Me, Lionel Richie)

“I’m back in Blackout! I hit the stack.” (Back in Black, ACDC)

“I see a red door and I want to paint my Blackout!” (Paint it Black, The Rolling Stones)

“You go back to words, and I go back to Blackout” (Back to Black, Amy Winehouse)

“There’s a man In the Funny Papers we all know (Alley Oop, oop, oop-oop)” (Alley Oop, the Hollywood Argyles)

Hare we go again on my own, going down the only road I’ve ever know… like a drifter I was born to walk alone” (Here I go again, Whitesnake)

Movin’ On Over… Rockin on over… move over little dog the big old dog is movin in” (Move It On Over, George Thorogood)

“The fire’s in their eyes and their words are really clear, So beat it. Just Beat the Clock” (Beat It, Michael Jackson)

“It doesn’t matter what they solve. In the letter games people play. Our Blips are sealed” (Our Lips are Sealed, The Go-Go’s)

“Can, my darling, can you Picture This?” (When Doves Cry, The artist formerly known as ‘The Artist Formerly Known As Prince’)

“It’s time to Scramble on Across” (Ramble On, Led Zeppelin)

Combos number five. Look Across and Down and move them all around” (Mambo Number 5, Lou Bega)

“Will we ever leave the maze again? It’s the final Countdown” (The Final Countdown, Europe)

“Hit the road Crackerjacks” (Hit the Road Jack, Ray Charles)

“Can you Fill-In above and right? It is where they are” (Can You Feel the Love Tonight?, Elton John)

“It’s the Circle Cross of Life, it’s the Wheels of fortune” (Circle of Life, Elton John)

“Another All Four One bites the dust” (Another One Bites the Dust, Queen)

“No time for Loose Tiles cause we are the Champions… of the Domino Theory!” (We Are the Champions, Queen)

“It takes Two at a Time to make a thing go right” (It Takes Two, Robe Base/DJ E-Z Rock)

Three From Nine, damn she fine!” (Get Low, Lil Jon)

“If Rhyme Time was a drug I’d sell it by the gram” (Ice Ice Baby, Vanilla Ice)

“I just can’t get you out of my Headings. Boy your letters are all that I think about” (Can’t Get You Out of My Head, Kylie Minogue)

Line ‘Em Up up up, I’m on fire” (My Songs Know What You Did in the Dark, Fall Out Boy)

“I Walk the End of the Line” (I Walk the Line, Johnny Cash)

“Will the Circles in the Square be Unbroken” (Will the Circle Be Unbroken, Johnny Cash)

And of course Johnny Cash had the immortal, “A Boy Named Sue-doku,” with the line “Life ain’t easy for a boy named Sudoku.”

Simon Says: “the words of the prophets are written on the subway walls.” (The Sound of Silence by Simon and Garfunkel)

Simon Says: “you’re so vain, you probably think this song is about you.” (You’re so Vain by Carly Simon)


Some players were a bit more ambitious, so we’ll call this section Puzzly Verses!

“She’s so lucky… a Lucky Star but she try try tries in her only chart thinkin’ if there’s nothin’ missing to the right then why don’t these terms come out right” (Lucky, Britney Spears)

I heard there was a Secret Word, that David played and it pleased the nerd
But you don’t really care for puzzles, do ya?
Well it goes like this the Foursomes, the Fitting Description, the minor Quotefall, the major List-a-Crostic
The Battleships composing Hidden Word Squares
(Hallelujah, Leonard Cohen)

He says, “Bill, I believe this is killing me.”
As a smile ran away from his face
“Well, I’m sure that I could be a movie star
If I could get out of this Places, Please.”
(Piano Man, Billy Joel)

For five long years
I thought you were my man
But I found out
I’m just a link in your Chain Words
(Chain of Fools, Aretha Franklin)

Cellophane flowers of yellow and green
Towering over your head
Look for the girl with the Sunrays in her eyes
And she’s gone
(The Beatles, Lucy In the Sky With Diamonds)

Hey now, you’re an all-star, get your Bowl Game on, go Word Play
Hey now, you’re a rock Guest Star, get the show on, get paid
And all that glitters is gold
Only shooting stars break the mold
(Smash Mouth, All-Star)

Carry on my Right of Wayward son
For there’ll be Piece by Piece when you are done
Lay your weary Headings to rest
Don’t you cry no more
(Kansas, Carry On Wayward Son)

You wouldn’t even know a Diamond Rings
If you held it in your hand
The things you think are precious
I can’t understand
(Steely Dan, Reelin’ In the Years)

You’re the First and Last One
When things Turnabout bad
You Know The Odds I’ll never be lonely
You’re my only One and Only
And I love the things
I really love the things that you do
You’re my best friend
(Queen, You’re My Best Friend)

Words are flowing out like endless rain into a paper book.
They slither wildly as they slip away Across and Down the universe…
Nothing’s going to change my word…
(The Beatles, Across the Universe)

Every breath you Give and Take
Every It’s Your Move you make
Every Common Bond you break
Every Step by Step you take
I’ll be watching you.
(The Police, Every Breath You Take)

Oh you know, you know, You know the Odds
I’d never ask you to Changaword
If Perfect Fit‘s what you’re Circle Searching for
Then just stay the same
(Bruno Mars, Just the Way You Are)

We’re captive on the carousel of time
We can’t return we can only look
Behind from where we came
And go round and round and Around the Bend
In the Circle Sums game
(Joni Mitchell, The Circle Game)

In a world that keeps on pushin’ me Around the Bend
But I’ll stand my ground and I won’t back down
Hey baby there ain’t no easy Word Ways out
Hey I will stand my ground
(Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers, I Won’t Back Down)


Pete Seeger wrote “Little Boxes,” about about a range of variety puzzles with a chorus imploring puzzlemakers to create digest-sized Boxes Word Seeks… here’s a sample:

Window Boxes on the hillside
Letterboxes made of ticky tacky
Little Boxes
Little Boxes
Shadowboxes all the same…


The Puzzles of Your Mind

(Puzzle in the) Round,
Like a circling Bull’s-Eye Spiral,
Like the Wheels within Spinwheel,
Never ending or beginning like a Flower Power feels,
Like a snowball down some Word Trails or a Dart Game done too soon,
Carousels Tossing and Turning, running Ringers ’round the moon,
Beat the Clock who’s hands are sweeping past the minutes of its face,
And Star Words is like an apple whirling silently in space,
Like Full Circles that you find in the puzzles of your mind.

(The Windmills of Your Mind by Michel Legrand with English lyrics by Alan and Marilyn Bergman, winner of the Academy Award for Best Original Song, as sung by Noel Harrison in the movie The Thomas Crown Affair)


Here is the first verse of Bob Dylan’s classic “Tanglewords in Blue,” although known to some as “Tangled up in Blue.”

Early one mornin’ the Sunrays shinin’
I was layin’ in bed
Wonderin’ if she’d Changaword
If her hair was still red
Here and There folks said our lives together
Sure was gonna be rough
They never did like mama’s Home Runs dress
Papa’s Bookworms wasn’t big enough
And I was standing on the side of the Crossroads
Quotefalls on my shoes
Heads & Tails for the east coast
Lord knows of paid some dues
Getting through
Tanglewords in blue


Two intrepid puzzlers went above and beyond, conjuring up entire Puzzly Songs!

Nice Nice Puzzles
(Performed in the Style of Vanilla Ice’s “Ice Ice Baby”)

Word to your mother.

Yo! PDP! Let’s kick it!

Nice nice puzzles
Nice nice puzzles
All right stop
Grab your pencils and hear it
Penny/Dell’s here with some puzzly spirit

Hold on to your magazines tightly
Solvin’ some word seeks daily and nightly

Will I ever stop?
Yo, I don’t know.
My love of words is something I just can’t let go

To the extreme I rock crosswords like a boss
Hang on a sec while I write in three across

When on the go…
Gotta download Daily Pop
Or pick up some Logic at the airport gift shop

Sorry, were you talking to me?
Didn’t hear a thing ‘cuz I’m on a solving spree

Puzzles? I love them.
I do ’em all day
From the time the sun rises until I hit the hay

Crostics, Tiles, and Fill-Ins
Sudoku, Piece by Piece
With each new type I try
My solving skills increase

Nice nice puzzles to solve…to solve
Nice nice puzzles to solve…to solve


Ode to the Casino
(Fool’s Paradise by Buddy Holly)

You took me up to heaven
When you sounded that sweet alarm
I was dazzled by your Diamond Rings
Blinded by your charms
I was lost, in a Roll of the Dice
Good and lost, in a Roll of the Dice

When you told me that you loved me
I gave my coins to you
And I wondered if there could be
Any cherries in my view
I was lost, in a Roll of the Dice
Good and lost, in a Roll of the Dice

The whole world was my Circle Sums
And I love the Ups and Downs
Then I saw you glance at a new romance
And my love tumbled Across and Down

Though you treat me kind-a coolish
And may never let me know
That you think I’m being foolish
Because I love you so
I’ll still get lost, in a Roll of the Dice
Lost with you, in a Roll of the Dice

Though you treat me kind-a coolish
And may never let me know
That you think I’m being foo-oo-oo-lish
Because I love you so
I’ll still get lost, in a Roll of the Dice
Lost with you, in a Roll of the Dice
Lost with you, in a Roll of the Dice


Have you come up with any Penny Dell Puzzle Lyrics entries of your own? Let us know! We’d love to see them!

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Potent Quotables!

lincoln_internet_quote

Quotations are a major part of the puzzle landscape. From cryptograms and Syllacrostics to crosswords where you end up with unhelpful clues like “Part 1 of quote,” I’d bet that an avid solver rarely goes a day without encountering a quote somewhere in their puzzling.

I was working on a quote puzzle just the other day, and it occurred to me that, despite the hundreds and hundreds of puzzles involving quotes that I’ve created and edited over the years, I couldn’t think of any that were actually about puzzles.

So, naturally, I went looking for quotes about puzzles.

I had to narrow the field to crosswords, because quotes about puzzles were both too numerous and, oddly enough, not actually about puzzles.

“Each person is an enigma. You’re a puzzle not only to yourself but also to everyone else, and the great mystery of our time is how we penetrate this puzzle.” — Theodore Zeldin

Oh sure, they mention puzzles, but only as a metaphor for something else. People are puzzles, or life is a puzzle, or the world is a puzzle, or writing is a puzzle, or acting is a puzzle, or making a movie is a puzzle. Insert topic, blah blah, puzzle metaphor.

You get the idea.

At least some people stick to the subject of puzzles when getting metaphorical.

“There seem to be two main types of people in the world: crosswords and Sudokus.” — Rebecca McKinsey

Betty White has something to say on that subject:

“I love words. Sudoku I don’t get into, I’m not into numbers that much, and there are people who are hooked on that. But crossword puzzles, I just can’t — if I get a puppy and I paper train him and I put the — if all of a sudden I’d open the paper and there’s a crossword puzzle — ‘No, no, you can’t go on that, honey. I’ll take it.'”

See, now we’re getting into actual crossword quotes.

Oh, no, wait. One more metaphor:

“Fighting with him was like trying to solve a crossword and realizing there’s no right answer.” — Taylor Swift

Apparently Taylor Swift doesn’t know how crossword puzzles work. (Then again, she had that song where Romeo and Juliet had a happy ending, so maybe I’m barking up the wrong tree here…)

I shall rebut Miss Swift with a Stephen Sondheim quote: “The nice thing about doing a crossword puzzle is, you know there is a solution.”

Okay, we’re back on track.

This might be the most famous quote about crosswords:

8802-retirement

There’s a definite theme of crosswords being associated with retirement and relaxation.

“But I’m really enjoying my retirement. I get to sleep in every day. I do crossword puzzles and eat cake.” — Derek Landy

“I would prefer to live forever in perfect health, but if I must at some time leave this life, I would like to do so ensconced on a chaise longue, perfumed, wearing a velvet robe and pearl earrings, with a flute of champagne beside me and having just discovered the answer to the last problem in a British cryptic crossword.” — Olivia de Havilland

“I enjoy walking my dog and completing crossword puzzles.” — Brian Jacques

Of course, some folks have regrets…

“Do I rue a life wasted doing crosswords? Yes, but I do know the three-letter-word for regret.” — Robert Breault

Others have complaints…

“Wouldn’t it be wonderful if I won a helicopter in a crossword puzzle competition? There is not much hope though I am afraid, as they never give such practical prizes.” — Leonora Carrington

mp-helicopter-cnc-laser-router-scrollsaw-aircraft-o84_1000

But, to be honest, my two favorite quotes about crosswords didn’t come from celebrities or revered thinkers. (At least, not yet revered.) They came from college students on Tumblr, sharing observations, either their own or those of others.

“Who did Jessica Simpson last divorce?! Like, I don’t know. I could tell you all about Rousseau though.” — Girl doing a crossword puzzle in class

I think I’ll give the final word to another Tumblr user, who summed up crosswords brilliantly.

“A crossword puzzle is an unholy marriage of spelling bee, trivia contest, and a troll that lives under a bridge and asks you riddles.”


Do you have any favorite quotes about puzzles, fellow PuzzleNationers? Let us know in the comments section below!

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It’s Follow-Up Friday: Tile-r Swift edition!

Welcome to Follow-Up Friday!

By this time, you know the drill. Follow-Up Friday is a chance for us to revisit the subjects of previous posts and bring the PuzzleNation audience up to speed on all things puzzly.

And today I’d like to return to the subject of puzzly tributes.

We’ve featured several puzzle-fueled tributes over the years, from the Star Trek brain teaser we posted in honor of Leonard Nimoy to artistic renderings of famous film monsters in the medium of Rubik’s Cubes.

And, given the three awards she won at this week’s Teen Choice Awards, it’s appropriate that I stumbled across a tribute to Taylor Swift in one of the puzzliest forms imaginable:

A train of thousands of domino tiles.

Beyond the meticulous, creative, and mind-boggling delight:

You know you’ve made it when you find your hard work immortalized in domino form. =)

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!

Embracing the cold for a good cause

[A Boston crowd takes part in the Ice Bucket Challenge.
Photo courtesy of Forbes.com]

You’d be hard-pressed to find another Internet awareness campaign as cleverly designed and effective as the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge that swept the world this summer.

If you somehow managed to miss it, people were challenged on video to donate to research battling ALS (also known as Lou Gehrig’s Disease), and if they didn’t do so within 24 hours of being challenged, they had to donate AND dump a bucket of ice water over their heads on video to spread awareness of the disease and the campaign.

[Note: Specific dollar amounts and whether or not the ice bucket was involved in each challenge varies, depending on who tagged who. I’ve read conflicting reports, so I’ve tried to encapsulate (to the best of my ability) most of the videos I’ve seen.]

This charity drive took the Internet and the world by storm. Fire departments, casts of television shows, athletes, comedians, YouTubers, business magnates, and actors joined thousands of others in spreading the word about ALS. Everyone from Bill Gates and Stephen Hawking to George W. Bush and Donald Trump posted videos.

Everyone seems to have favorite ALS Ice Bucket Challenge videos, whether it’s Sherlock star Benedict Cumberbatch’s video, Isaiah Mustafa’s video with Old Spice commercial silliness, or Taylor Swift’s fan-fueled group video. But, as you might expect, my personal favorite Ice Bucket Challenge video has a puzzly twist.

YouTuber Amanda McKenna (of Amanda’s Chronicles) executed a Rube Goldberg-inspired Ice Bucket challenge with Doctor Who flavor and terrific results. Check it out:

To donate to ALS research, click here. And if there are any great Ice Bucket Challenge videos I missed, please let me 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 our library of PuzzleNation apps and games!