Puzzled By Wordzzles

Before this week's installment of Wordzzles, I thought I should remind you that this month's Portrait of Words stories are due to be posted this coming Monday 11/17 through Wednesday 11/19. For some reason the dates I posted on my sidebar say the 18-20. Guess I was just having a brain fart when I did that. Anyhoo, they will be out next week. Hope you can make it by to share a story with us or read the ones that have been written. Eveyone's welcome to join in on the fun. If you would like to see the pictures for this month's challenge you can find them here.


OK. it's now time for one of my favorite bits. Raven of Views from the Ravens Nest has a weekly challenge known as Wordzzle. She gives us a list of ten and five words respectively and we are to come up with a paragraph or short story using them. A couple of months ago Akelamalu came up with a unique twist in which she used the words in a Scrabble like format. It was a brilliant idea and I though this week I would do something along those lines, but different enough that it won't be an outright copy of what was already done.

Generally this is where I'd list out all the words that would be used in the stories for the week. Instead I am going to give you a couple of puzzles and one story in which all the words can be found in each of them. At the end of this post I will give you the words along with the answers to the puzzles. If you are a participant in the weekly challenge these will be obvious, but if not, it will hopefully provide some entertainment.

So, here we go. This first one is a crossword. The letters in the red squares will solve the word scramble at the bottom. One of the letters is filled in as a bonus. Good luck.

(Click on the images if you need to see them in a larger view)

ACROSS
3) King's residence
4) Flaky quick bread
7) False pious
8) River drop off
9) Keyboard cleaner (2 words)
11) Molten rock
12) Damp fungus
13) Wide variety (3 words)
14) Breakfast beverage (2 words)

DOWN
1) Willy-nilly
2) Traditional
4) Purchaser's letdown (2 words)
5) Communication devise
6) Arcade game
10) Oak tree nut



Next up is a word search. Can you find all fifteen words?



Now if you still need help in identifying the words, they can all be found within the following story:

The parking lot at "Soup to Nuts" was already filling up and Buster couldn't wait to get inside. He absolutely loved this place. I mean where else could he find everything under one roof from the biscuit mix and fruit juice his wife needed to one of those canned air horn thingies for his boat?

First things first though, he still needed to find a place to park. After a couple of loops around the rows near the front of the store without any luck, he opted to take his customary spot out in the north forty. Up ahead he could see the familiar oak tree that he generally parked under. In fact, an examination of the bed of his truck would probably reveal an acorn or two from his last trip here.

After what seemed like a mile long hike, he'd made it to the front door. Fumbling through his wallet, he found the membership card that was required to get in. The girl at the door politely nodded at Buster as he strolled in waving his card in the air for her to see. Before he forgot, he quickly grabbed the couple of items his wife had asked him to pick up. Having completed this task, he would be free to walk about seeing what kind of goodies they had to offer that he simply couldn't live without.

His progress through the cavernous store was haphazard at best. There were just so many things vying for his attention that it made it hard for him to stay an any type of predetermined course. First he decided to meander around the electronics section. He couldn't help but wonder at all the amazing new devices there were displayed. There was even a cordless telephone that had a range of a quarter mile. He marveled at far they'd come since the old rotary dial types he remembered from his youth.

In another isle, he found a waterfall like outdoor fountain that they claimed would be soothing to a tired soul. "Soothing my foot," he thought, "all it makes me want to do is pee!"

Then he remembered they used to carry a lava soap he liked to use. It seemed to be the only thing that would cut through the mildew that would form on the sidewalks around the house during the rainy season. Guess nobody told him that bleach does the trick every time. Well, before he could find his beloved soap, something else caught his eye.

There at the end of the isle was a pinball machine called the "Sultans Palace". He'd been wanting a game like this for as long as he could remember, and he even figured he had a spot where it would fit perfectly. They even had it plugged in so he could give it a thorough test drive. Ah, it was perfect!

Just as he was preparing to launch his third ball into play, a young sales associate came up to him and said, "Hey mister, if you're interested, they just told me to put this on a markdown. Ya, apparently the last one of these in a box just got sold so they're taking off $300 'cause it's a display model."

Buster looked up at the original price and did the quick math. The discount would make the new price $1,950. When the shopper behind him started to show some interest, Buster quickly told the kid, "I'll take it!"

About twenty minutes later, Buster's shinny new pinball machine was being loaded into the back of his pick-up truck. About ten minutes after that, it hit him. Not more than two days earlier, he and his wife had had a discussion about cutting back and putting some money aside in a rainy day fund. Now he'd gone and blown just short of two grand on a toy he really didn't need.

"What a hypocrite!" he thought. Then another wave hit him, "Now I know what buyers remorse feels like too!"

~~~

So, how did you do? Do you know what the mystery words are? If you're still stumped, scroll down and you'll find the answers.

Sure you want to see them yet?



Don't peek too early.



Alright, here you go.

The words for the week are: palace, hypocrite, canned air, telephone, biscuit, pinball, acorn, customary, fruit juice, waterfall, buyers remorse, lava, haphazard, mildew, soup to nuts