Bert's Jobs in "Mary Poppins"

This week’s StearsWords crossword puzzle is dedicated to my nephew, Jon. As a child, he loved “Mary Poppins,” and this week, StearsWords pays tribute to the 50^th anniversary of “Mary Poppins.”

Mary Poppins scares me a little, as Christopher Rule pointed out in his recut trailer for YouTube.

Within the grid are the four jobs that Bert performed in the movie, in the order in which he performs them. Bert seems to be a nice guy. So, take this week’s puzzle with “A Spoonful of Sugar,” and “Stay Awake” long enough for a “Jolly Holiday” of solving! (“I Love to Laugh,” don’t you?)

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Click here to see the answer grid. *Check back on Friday, August 29 for the answer grid.

Movie Emoji 101 Answers

You'll also find a link to a .pdf on my website: https://sites.google.com/site/stearswords224/home/free-crosswords/movie-emoji-101

Movie Emoji 101

And now for something completely different...emoji! Those little smiley faces and other pictures got their start in Japan, but people are communicating with them all over the world now, and on June 16, the Unicode consortium announced the addition of over 270 new emoji. Emoji are a fun way to express yourself, or recreate famous paintings, like Michelangelo's The Creation of Adam.

Depending on your operating system, the pictures I've used may look slightly different from the ones on your phone. If you need a little help, iEmoji.com has a handy look-up guide.

This week's StearsWords puzzle, "Movie Emoji 101," can't be solved interactively, because my software doesn't support Unicode, but I've provided a .pdf with full-color pictures. Guess the movie title represented by the images, and fill in the grid, which is on the last page all by itself.

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"The Asylum" Answers

The answers to last week's StearsWords crossword puzzle:

The Asylum

This week, “Sharknado 2: The Second One” premiers on the Syfy channel, apparently because there were so many unanswered questions from “Sharknado.”
Did you know that The Asylum, creators of such mockbusters as “Sharknado,” “Age of Tomorrow,” and “Nazis at the Center of the Earth” have never lost money on a movie?
Filmmakers David Michael Latt, David Rimawi, and Sherri Strain founded The Asylum, and since 1997, have been producing straight-to-video low-budget films. The similarities between their titles and those of major studios are not very subtle, which means this week’s StearsWords puzzle has one of the easiest themes to parse. Seriously, don’t over-think it.
 Happy solving!

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"Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows" Answers

"Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows"

Can you believe it's already been seven years since Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows was published? And if that doesn't make you feel old, how about this: The first book in the Harry Potter series was published seventeen years ago.

When the first book came out, I started reading it to my daughter, who was in elementary school at the time. By the time the final book in the series came out, she was reading them by herself and no longer asking me "What does this word mean?" We even went to a Harry Potter party in honor of the Deathly Hallows, and she was delighted to be permitted to stay up until midnight--she even dressed up like Professor Sybill Trelawney!

This week's StearsWords puzzle pays tribute to the final book in the Harry Potter series, with a Trivia 101 crossword. The puzzle features 101 trivia questions related to Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. I hope you'll share it with your Potterhead friends; that's why my puzzles are always copyright-free.

Happy solving!

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• Click here to see the answer grid.  *Check back on Friday, July 25 for the answer grid, or join Team StearsWords.

"Dawn of the Planet of the Apes"

I loved the old “Planet of the Apes” movie series, and I’m loving the new series just as much. Clearly not playing second banana to its predecessor, it’s chimply awesome! Gun-toting, horseback-riding chimps and gorilla warfare…it’s a great ape movie.

If you think those puns were bad, wait until you solve this week's puzzle.

And would somebody please give Andy Serkis an Oscar already?!


Happy solving!

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"Transformers"

Much like corduroy pillows, Transformers are making headlines this weekend! "Transformers: Age of Extinction" opened last Friday, and StearsWords pays tribute with a crossword puzzle. And because I really like Transformers, it's an extra-large puzzle.

But it's not a trivia puzzle. Just something for fun. I hope you enjoy my sense of humor as much as I do.

Happy solving!

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• Click here to see the answer grid.  *Check back on Friday, July 4, or join Team Stearswords to get the answers.

"It's a Contest!" Answers

What do PLAYING CARDS, SPIRAL NOTEBOOK, DIGITAL CAMERA, CAN OPENER, COMPUTER MOUSE, PAIR OF SCISSORS, and BALLPOINT PEN have in common?

These are all things that drive left-handed people crazy.

Nobody won the contest, so I'm going out for coffee by myself. :)

It's a Contest!

This week's StearsWords puzzle has a mystery theme. The seven theme entries all have something in common. Figure out what it is, and send me an email.
Your email should contain a few words explaining the theme, not a completed grid. Emails that contain picture files or have picture files attached will not be eligible to win.
Everyone who enters will receive StearsWords: Volume 4, a digital collection of 50 original crossword puzzles.
A randomly selected winner will receive Starbucks® gift card.
Answers must be received by Thursday, June 26, 2014, 11:59 pm (EDT). Answers will be posted on Friday, June 27, 2014.
Happy solving!

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• Click here to see the answer grid.  *Check back on Friday, June 27, or join Team Stearswords to get the answers.

Happy Father's Day Answers

Happy Father's Day

Being a dad is a lot like living in a frat house: everything is broken, you never get enough sleep, and there's a lot of throwing up. StearsWords celebrates Father's Day with an extra-large crossword. Solvers will discover a secret message that dads will understand. As my dad always used to say, "Go ask your mother."

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• Click here to see the answer grid.  *Check back on Friday, June 20 for the answer grid, or join Team StearsWords to get your free weekly puzzle (with the answers).

Baseball Hall of Fame Trivia 100

This week, StearsWords pays tribute to the boys of summer in a Trivia 100 crossword. The Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown celebrates its 75th anniversary, and this week's StearsWords puzzle includes some great baseball trivia about some of the Hall of Fame members.

As usual, StearsWords crossword puzzles are not copyrighted, so feel free to share them with your favorite baseball fans.

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• Click here to see the answer grid.  *Check back on Friday, June 13 for the answer grid, or join Team StearsWords to get your free weekly puzzle (with the answers).

Stephen King Trivia 100 Answers

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Stephen King Trivia 100

This week, StearsWords celebrates Stephen King with a Trivia 100 puzzle, just in time for his latest book release: Mr. Mercedes hits the stores on June 3.

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• Click here to see the answer grid.  *Check back on Friday, June 6 for the answer grid, or join Team StearsWords to get your free weekly puzzle (with the answers).

Batman Trivia 100 Answers

Happy birthday, Batman!

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Batman Trivia 100

Somebody's celebrating a birthday this month, and it's not me. It's Batman! The Batman first appeared in "Detective Comics" issue 27 in May 1939. He looks pretty good for 75 years old.

I'm not that old, but I do remember being a big fan of Adam West when I was a kid. I'm still a big fan of Batman...he taught me that anyone can be a hero, and that you don't need superpowers, just dedication, education, and a genuine desire to make the world a better place.

This week, StearsWords celebrates Batman's birthday with a Trivia 100 puzzle.

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• Click here to see the answer grid.  *Check back on Friday, May 30 for the answer grid, or join Team StearsWords to get your free weekly puzzle (with the answers).

Godzilla

If you watch "Godzilla" backwards, it's about a dinosaur who enthusiastically puts a city together and then moonwalks into the ocean. This week's StearsWords puzzle celebrates Godzilla in a special way. Hidden within each of the theme entries is the name of one of Godzilla's classic foes.

And while you're solving this puzzle, you might also enjoy listening to one of my favorite classic hits: "Godzilla" by Blue Oyster Cult..

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• Click here to see the answer grid.  *Check back on Friday, May 16 for the answer grid, or join Team StearsWords to get your free weekly puzzle (with the answers).

"How I Met Your Mother" Trivia 100

This week's puzzle is a special Mother's Day treat, honoring one of the most famous mothers of all time--the one who took us nine years to meet. The "How I Met Your Mother" Trivia 100 crossword is legen--wait for it--dary. Will you accept the challenge? This puzzle is redonkulous.

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• Click here to see the answer grid.  *Check back on Friday, May 16 for the answer grid, or join Team StearsWords to get your free weekly puzzle (with the answers).