Thursday, May 22, 2008

NPR Sunday Puzzle (May 18): Change One Letter in the Last Name

NPR Sunday Puzzle (May 18): Change One Letter in the Last Name:
Q: Think of a well-known person on TV who has eight letters in their first name and four letters in their last. The last name consists of: consonant, vowel, consonant, consonant. If you change the vowel in the last name to an 'a,' the result will be a word that is defined by the first name.
Good, we are getting back to challenging puzzles. Saying this person is a well-known person on TV is like saying Tiger Woods is a popular TV personality. Yes, he is on TV, but is he most well-known for being on TV? I had more luck working backwards on the puzzle.

Edit: Some of my clues were explicit (such as thinking of someone associated with TV, but known for something else.) There were a few "less obvious" clues (Tiger is an animal, luck rhymes with puck, back rhymes with pack).
A: WOLFGANG PUCK --> WOLF GANG = PACK
Now read the comments and you'll see the creative hints that were left by others.

18 comments:

  1. so you're not going to tell us what you got? this one is driving me crazy, and I AM working backward (and getting a headache!)

    ReplyDelete
  2. Me and my big mouth. As soon as I complain about the puzzles being too easy, along comes this week's stumper. People are emailing me for hints and I haven't solved it yet.

    ReplyDelete
  3. it took a while, but working BACKwards definitely did the trick, and you were right about the Tiger comparison....definitely someone whose fame comes other than from television.

    ReplyDelete
  4. oh man, thanks for that clue kola. damn that Wil Shortz. This puzzle was driving me crazy. Here's my clue for all of you:

    I'll murder Warren, take pride, cackle, and litter the whole colony.

    ReplyDelete
  5. I've got the answer now but don't understand either Kola's or Happy Steve's clue.

    ReplyDelete
  6. They make perfect sense to me... I'll reveal it tomorrow after the deadline (just under 24 hours from now).

    ReplyDelete
  7. I was on the right road - but the 8 lanes were a bit much. Thanks to Ben for the assist.

    ReplyDelete
  8. Cheers to Wil for a challenge this week. This puzzle was a good way to spend a midsummer night.

    ReplyDelete
  9. Yeah, Will definitely cooked up a good one this week..

    ReplyDelete
  10. I give up and I'm starving. Time to wolf down lunch and wait for the answer.

    ReplyDelete
  11. Looks like Phred's packing it in.

    ReplyDelete
  12. normally i'm pretty slick with figuring the clues. but i have no flippin' idea about this one.

    (and that is not a clue, i really have no idea)

    ReplyDelete
  13. Well, one last final glimmer at Npr guess: Pick Up Creative Klues

    ReplyDelete
  14. Oh, now I get Steve's comment. Clever.

    ReplyDelete
  15. (meaning the Warren murder one)

    ReplyDelete
  16. Mrs Hill named her son Corridor--Corridor Hill/Hall.

    ReplyDelete
  17. They erred when they said to think of a person on TV. This had most people thinking of sitcom stars, late night hosts, etc. They could have just asked for a celebrity; the TV angle was just a confusing distraction.

    On to this week's...

    ReplyDelete

For NPR puzzle posts, don't post the answer or any hints that could lead to the answer before the deadline (usually Thursday at 3pm ET). If you know the answer, submit it to NPR, but don't give it away here.

You may provide indirect hints to the answer to show you know it, but make sure they don't assist with solving. You can openly discuss your hints and the answer after the deadline. Thank you.