194. Scrambled Words:

125 Brand-New Anagram Puzzles is now available for your solving pleasure.

The difficulty increases and variations are introduced as you go, including illustrated anagrams.

Puzzles by Patrick Merrell • puzzle concept by Stephanie Spadaccini • published by Portable Press • 288 pages • 5 x 7″ • $9.95.

• Read more about it on Amazon.com

193. Ambigram Crossword

BLAST FROM THE PAST DEPT.: This recent talk of ambigrams dredged up memories of a crossword I put together for Scientific American in 2006. It was written before I dabbled in ambigrams, so I hadn’t thought of it in those terms, but that’s what it is.

Sciam‘s website still has it up [CLICK HERE]. Since the crossword appeared on two pages, the grid (“blank puzzle” is how its described) and clues are on separate PDFs.

TIP: Download the PDFs (using the arrow icon in the upper right) rather than printing directly from the site. When I printed directly, the image didn’t rotate and ended up getting cropped.

192. Birdie

What golfer, in different years, has been a runner-up in the Masters Golf Tournament to both Jack Nicklaus and Tiger Woods? Both his first name and last name are bird-related, to varying degrees.

Answer: [ T O M K I T E in 1986 & 1997]

• Click “first name” to see a visual hint.
• Click “last name” to see another visual hint.
• Highlight the bracketed space with your cursor to reveal the answer.

191. WOW ‘OOH

Ambigrams Revealed, a new book by Nikita Prokhorov, makes a great addition to your ambigram library … or a great start to your ambigram library.

What’s in it? Insightful discussions with top ambigram artists, including John Langdon and Scott Kim. In-depth analysis of selected designs with step-by-step sketches showing how they were created. Helpful advice on creating ambigrams. And a whopping 40-page section showcasing ambigrams from all over the world, over 170 in all.

A few of my favorites: A flowing-metal Ringworld ambigram by Bastian Pinnenberg [page 127], Labyrinth graphically spelled out within the path of a maze by Krysztof Sliwa [page 120], a highly readable Rock n Roll by Kai Hammond [page 138], and a clever variation by Scott Kim, the numbers 1-12 used to spell Schönberg, the composer who invented 12-tone composition [page 32].

• CLICK: An interview with Nikita Prokhorov
• CLICK: Order the book from Peachpit Press
(both the book and ebook look great)

190. Crossword Clue of the Day: April 1

Female buffoon (6 letters): [ A S S E S S ]

• Click the clue to see a (completely unhelpful) visual hint.
• Highlight the bracketed space with your cursor to reveal the answer.

189. Crossword Clue of the Day: March 31

Nor’s partner (6 letters): [ E A S T E R ]

• Click the clue to see a visual hint.
• Highlight the bracketed space with your cursor to reveal the answer.

188. Fishing on Lake George

musical accompaniment:

photo: pm