What three-letter mammal followed by a unit of time becomes a bird?
Darned if I know! I was looking for a quick warm-up puzzle for tonight's diary and spotted this one that I'd saved from the 2011 Page-A-Day puzzle calendar. Looks like it should be pretty easy, but I can't think of the answer at the moment (and with only 20 minutes until this diary is supposed to post, I don't have time to think about it until I finish getting the diary typed up).
Welcome to Sunday Puzzle, a weekly series for people who enjoy light mental exercise spiced with politics, humor, and odd bits of trivia.
As you probably know, this month marks an important occasion. It was 56 years and 4 months ago that Bizarro first appeared in the pages of Superboy # 68. That means that today is not his birthday. In fact, every day this month is not his birthday. And since Bizarros try to do things the opposite of what ordinary people do, that means today (and every day this month) is a Bizarro time for celebration.
But the war on Bizarro-non-birthday seems to get worse every year. Think about it. When was the last time someone grabbed your ass as you went into a store and called out, "Ha! Bum hug!"? When was the last time a store you shopped had someone say to you as you left the store, "Thank you for shopping across the street at our competitor next time!" or "Please don't come back!"?
Not one store circular, not one online ad, not one public service announcement has even mentioned Bizarro-non-birthday this year. Fortunately we have the Tea Party to keep at least some trace of Bizarro behavior alive.
Now, I realize not everyone celebrates the same way. But I did at least want to mention Bizarro-non-birthday. Whichever holiday tradition you belong to, I hope you enjoy tonight's puzzle!
JulieCrostics are a special kind of acrostic puzzle, named in honor of Julie Waters who started the Sunday Puzzle series here 7 years ago. If you're not familiar with how JulieCrostics work you can find a detailed explanation in last night's Sunday Puzzle Warm-Up.
If you're new you should be warned that we have some mischievous gremlins who like to tamper with the Sunday night puzzle clues. In particular you should keep in mind:
* you can't trust the clue capitalization;
* you can't trust the clue punctuation;
* sometimes you can't even trust the word spacing.
The gremlins also like bundling the clues into tidy little groups of 3, regardless of how many answers there actually are per row. If the number of clues doesn't divide evenly by 3, they add a space-filler clue or two at the end to fill out the final bundle.
A small request: please don't put any any spoilers in the comment subject lines. Use the subject line of comments to identify what your comment will be about but keep any guesses as to clue answers or the verticals confined to the comment itself. That way folks who are still trying to crack a clue for themselves won't inadvertently see the answer before they're ready to see it. Thanks!
Okay, I think that covers the basics. Here are the clues for tonight's puzzle:
1. honey-maker's class
2. like a famous King
3. sap, suckers
4. understands
5. starting golden
6. spherical toys
7. melody
8. add-on letters for row 2
9. home for clue 1
10. shift or show
11. often passed
12. delicate
13. TV calling
14. corroded
15. reliable
16. Goldline International
17. speed-wave number
18. caffeinated beverages
19. Nazi group
20. tied
21. flourish
22. Simmons et. al.
23. they're worn by jockeys
24. game of motor
25. kind of school
26. one who must be paid
27. once-popular cheap drink