Sunday, December 22, 2013

NPR Sunday Puzzle (Dec 22, 2013): Going to the SUN-day Matinee

NPR Sunday Puzzle (Dec 22, 2013): Going to the SUN-day Matinee:
Q: Think of a well-known filmmaker, first and last names, add "S-U-N" before this person's first name and last name. In each case, you'll form a common English word. Who is the filmmaker?
This puzzle shouldn't take too long; you just need to rely on a small amount of memory.

Edit: The filmmaker's initials are KB, as in a small amount of memory.
A: KEN BURNS --> SUNKEN, SUNBURNS

NPR Sunday Puzzle (Dec 15, 2013): Oh, the Places You'll Go!

NPR Sunday Puzzle (Dec 15, 2013): Oh, the Places You'll Go!:
Q: Name an island in which some of the letters appear more than once. Drop exactly two instances of each repeated letter. The remaining letters can be rearranged to name something to eat. What is it?
This puzzle seems to have been inspired by the Quarrel Synonyms Puzzle from a few weeks back. I could try and solve this but instead I think I'm going to read some Dr. Seuss.

Edit: Obviously I was reading "Green Eggs and Ham"
A: Manhattan --> Ham

Sunday, December 15, 2013

NPR Sunday Puzzle (Dec 8, 2013): This City is Going Places

NPR Sunday Puzzle (Dec 8, 2013): This City is Going Places:
Q: Name a U.S. city in nine letters. Shift the third letter six places later in the alphabet. Then shift the last letter seven places later in the alphabet. The result will be a family name featured in the title of a famous work of fiction. What is the city, and what is the family name?
"I did not have sexual relations with that woman, Miss Lewinski"

Edit: My hints were relations (as in "The Brothers...") and woman as in "I've got a Gal in..."
A: KALAMAZOO --> KARAMAZOV

Sunday, December 08, 2013

NPR Sunday Puzzle (Dec 1, 2013): Let's Dance the Can-Can in Cancun...

NPR Sunday Puzzle (Dec 1, 2013): Let's Dance the Can-Can in Cancun...:
Q: Name a dance. Change one of the letters to a U. The resulting letters can be rearranged to name an event at which this dance is done. What is it?
If I weren't still recovering from eating too much on Thursday, I might have the energy to provide a clever clue. Since Will is using variations on old puzzles, I think I'm just going to recover by watching some TV re-runs.

Edit: It was quite a feast on Thanksgiving. I spent the day watching TV re-runs on Hulu, of the original Hawaii 5-0.
A: HULA - H + U = LUAU

Saturday, November 30, 2013

NPR Sunday Puzzle (Nov 24, 2013): Let's Ask Colonel Sanders...

NPR Sunday Puzzle (Nov 24, 2013): Let's Ask Colonel Sanders...:
Q: Name a tree whose letters can be rearranged to spell two herbs or spices. What are they? Hint: The tree has a two-word name.
If Will hadn't provided the extra hint, I would have said the Peppermint tree. I'm still waiting for the answer to hit me over the head.
A: OSAGE ORANGE --> SAGE + OREGANO

Thursday, November 21, 2013

NPR Sunday Puzzle (Nov 17, 2013): Quarrel Synonyms

NPR Sunday Puzzle (Nov 17, 2013): Quarrel Synonyms:
Q: Think of a word meaning "quarrel" in which several of the letters appear more than once. Remove exactly two occurrences of every repeated letter, and the remaining letters can be rearranged to spell a new word meaning "quarrel." What are the two words?
I did not search my synonym list thoroughly enough the first time...

Edit: The first four words "I did not search..." start with I, D, N, S which are the pairs of letters that are removed.
A: MisUndERsTAndiNG --> ARGUMENT

Thursday, November 14, 2013

NPR Sunday Puzzle (Nov 10, 2013): Where Do Politicians Eat?

NPR Sunday Puzzle (Nov 10, 2013): Where Do Politicians Eat?:
Q: There is a politician today, sometimes known by his or her full three-word name, whose initials are also the initials of a popular chain of restaurants. Who is the politician and what's the restaurant?
Seems like Will is stuck on a theme...

Edit: We've had several recent puzzles relating to stones which was a hint to rock. In addition, there's that saying about being stuck between a rock and a hard place.
A: Hillary Rodham Clinton --> Hard Rock Café (HRC)

Thursday, November 07, 2013

NPR Sunday Puzzle (Nov 3, 2013): Same Last Names, Famous Musicals

NPR Sunday Puzzle (Nov 3, 2013): Same Last Names, Famous Musicals:
Q: A famous actress and a famous director share the same last name, although they are unrelated. The first name of one of these is a classic musical. The first name of the other is an anagram of a classic musical. Who are they?
No need to be a great detective to figure this one out; all the clues are there.

Edit: My hint was Sherlock Holmes --> Dr. John Watson --> Emma Watson --> Emma Stone.
Another connection is Sherlock Holmes --> Oliver Wendell Holmes --> Oliver Stone.
A: OLIVER and EMMA STONE --> "OLIVER" and "MAME"

Thursday, October 31, 2013

NPR Sunday Puzzle (Oct 27, 2013): Beer Anagram

NPR Sunday Puzzle (Oct 27, 2013): Beer Anagram:
Q: Name a brand of beer. Rearrange the letters to name an activity often associated with beer.
Maybe LAGER ALES are consumed at a REGAL SALE?

Edit: REGAL is a hint to King and SALE is something you should buy Now. King Now rhymes with my answer.
A: TSING TAO --> TOASTING

Sunday, October 27, 2013

NPR Sunday Puzzle (Oct 13, 2013): U.S. City Population Crossword Puzzle

NPR Sunday Puzzle (Oct 13, 2013): U.S. City Population Crossword Puzzle:
Q: Take a seven-by-seven square grid. Arrange the names of U.S. cities or towns in regular crossword fashion inside the grid so that the cities used have the highest possible total population, according to the 2010 Census. For example, if you put Chicago in the top row and Houston in the sixth row, both reading across, and then fit Atlanta, Oakland and Reno coming down, you'll form a mini-crossword. And the five cities used have a total population, according to the 2010 census, of 5,830,997. You can do better. (Note: This is a two-week challenge)
The first problem is going to be finding a list of U.S. cities by their 2010 census values, to match Will's example. Using the values from Wikipedia, I get a slightly higher value of 5,831,809 for his example grid. And trying to go to census.gov returns a message that it is closed due to the government shutdown. My other issue with this puzzle is whether or not common abbreviations like LA and NYC will be accepted. I hope Mr. Shortz will post here and clarify his intentions with the puzzle, or at least give more details next week on the air. In any case, this one will be a hard puzzle to discuss or hint at since there aren't really any good ways to give a hint. Even giving your population total will give too much away, so I think it's going to be a hard two weeks to comment.

Update: Using a revised list from Wikipedia showing the Top 25 U.S. cities, I get the exact same values as Will:
Chicago = 2,695,598
Houston = 2,099,451
Atlanta = 420,003
Oakland = 390,724
Reno = 225,221
TOTAL = 5,830,997

Edit: The winning entry from Glen, accepted by Will:
A:

Thursday, October 10, 2013

NPR Sunday Puzzle (Oct 6, 2013): Saying in Seven Words, Seven Consecutive Consonants

NPR Sunday Puzzle (Oct 6, 2013): Saying in Seven Words, Seven Consecutive Consonants:
Q: What familiar saying in seven words has seven consonants in a row? The answer is a common saying, in ordinary English. Sometimes it's expressed in nine words rather than seven, but it's the same saying. And either way, in one spot it has seven consecutive consonants. What saying is it?
I have one word, and it starts with C.

Edit: For those that live in glass houses, my one word is CURTAINS!
A: People (who live) in glass houses shouldn't throw stones.

Thursday, October 03, 2013

NPR Sunday Puzzle (Sep 29, 2013): Something in Your Home

What's That (Vowel) Sound? : NPR:
Q: Name something in seven letters that most people keep in their homes. Take the first, third, fourth and seventh letters and rearrange them. The result will be a four-letter word naming something that the seven-letter thing is commonly used for. What is it?
For some reason, the answer hasn't yet come to me so I can't post a clue. I'll leave that to all of you.

Edit: No clue here; didn't get it until Wednesday evening.
A: ASPIRIN --> PAIN

Thursday, September 26, 2013

NPR Sunday Puzzle (Sep 22, 2013): Character with All Five Vowels Puzzle

NPR Sunday Puzzle (Sep 22, 2013): Character with All Five Vowels Puzzle:
Q: The name of what character, familiar to everyone, contains each of the five vowels (A, E, I, O and U) exactly once? The answer consists of two words — eight letters in the first word, four letters in the second.
Anyone else feel they spent a lot of time poring through long lists of movie, cartoon or literary characters before finding the answer?

Edit: The clue to the character was obviously at the end...
A: QUESTION MARK

Thursday, September 19, 2013

NPR Sunday Puzzle (Sep 15, 2013): Noteworthy Names of the 20th Century

NPR Sunday Puzzle (Sep 15, 2013): Noteworthy Names of the 20th Century:
Q: Name a well-known person from the 20th century who held an important position. Take the first and last letters of this person's last name, change each of them to the next letter of the alphabet, and you'll get the last name of another famous person who held the same position sometime after the first one. Who is it?
I got the answer right away, then thought, wait they didn't hold the same position. Anyone think the same thing for a moment?

Edit: I started looking at a list of Presidents. Ford immediately led to Gore, but then I thought, Gore wasn't president... then it dawned on me. My (not very good) hint was the word "for".
A: FORD & GORE were both Vice Presidents in the 20th century

Thursday, September 12, 2013

NPR Sunday Puzzle (Sep 8, 2013): Shortest Path to the Answer


NPR Sunday Puzzle (Sep 8, 2013): Shortest Path to the Answer:
Q: Name a famous person in history with four letters in the first name and six letters in the last. Move the first letter of all this to the end. The result will be a two-word phrase that might be defined as "the opposite of a curve." Who's the famous person, and what's the phrase?
What is this? Another reference to the puzzle from three weeks ago? At least we know the answer isn't EDIR ECTLIN.

Edit: The puzzle 3 weeks ago was the one involving a Roman numeral. And this week the puzzle involves a Roman general under Julius Caesar.
A: MARC ANTONY --> ARC ANTONYM

Friday, September 06, 2013

NPR Sunday Puzzle (Sep 1, 2013): One Name Celebrities

NPR Sunday Puzzle (Sep 1, 2013): One Name Celebrities:
Q: Think of a well-known celebrity who goes by a single name — the last two letters of which are alphabetically separated by only one letter (like A and C, or B and D). Replace this pair of letters with the one that separates them, and you'll have a common, everyday word. What is it?
I wonder if this was inspired by the puzzle of two weeks ago? Anyone know?

Edit: The puzzle from two weeks ago was about the Roman numeral XXXVIII; Beyoncé sang the National Anthem at Super Bowl XXXVIII. And the word "know" at the end of my comment was a hint to her last name of Knowles.
A: Beyoncé --> Beyond

Thursday, August 29, 2013

NPR Sunday Puzzle (Aug 25, 2013): Open for Business

NPR Sunday Puzzle (Aug 25, 2013): Open for Business:
Q: Think of a business that's found in most towns. Its name consists of two words, each starting with a consonant. Interchange the consonants and you'll get two new words — neither of which rhymes with the original words. What business is it?
Checking with my dictionary, I can confirm the words don't rhyme. That goes double for last week's answer.

Edit: My hints: The words "Checking with" start with the same letters as the answer. Doubling 38 from last week you get 76 which is the name of a gas station (which may also have a car wash) and is the year the movie Car Wash was released.
A: CAR WASH --> WAR and CASH

Thursday, August 22, 2013

NPR Sunday Puzzle (Aug 18, 2013): Roman Numeral XXXVIII

NPR Sunday Puzzle (Aug 18, 2013): Roman Numeral XXXVIII:
Q: The Roman numeral for 38 is XXXVIII. What is special or unusual about this Roman numeral that sets it apart from every other Roman numeral that can be written?
I'm sure I'll figure this out next month when I go to New Jersey.

Edit: If you sort the months alphabetically, September comes last. Similarly, if you sort the state capitals, Trenton comes last
A: XXXVIII sorts last alphabetically.

Thursday, August 15, 2013

NPR Sunday Puzzle (Aug 11, 2013): Twisted Family Tree

RiddleNPR Sunday Puzzle (Aug 11, 2013): Twisted Family Tree:
Q: It's a twist on an old puzzle: Nieces and nephews have I none, but that man's father is my father's son." What is the gender of the speaker? And who is the speaker referring to?
Honestly I don't see the reason, except for the slight wording change at the beginning, that this is any different than the classic puzzle. Am I missing something? Was it perhaps stated differently on the air?

Edit My hint was the word "reaSON". Again, I don't see why this puzzle is much different from the classic puzzle. Working backwards, my father's son is either the speaker himself or the speaker's brother. If that person was "that man's father" it would either be the speaker's son or speaker's nephew. In the classic puzzle this second case was eliminated because the speaker has no brothers. In the revised version, it is still eliminated because he has no nephews. But in either case, the answer is the same.
A: The speaker is male and he is talking about his son.

Sunday, August 11, 2013

NPR Sunday Puzzle (Aug 4, 2013): Foreign Cars and Foreign Food

NPR Sunday Puzzle (Aug 4, 2013): Foreign Cars and Foreign Food:
Q: Name a foreign make of automobile. Cross out several letters in its name. The remaining letters, reading in order from left to right, will spell a food that comes from the country where the car is made. What is the country, and what is the food?
I'm going to have to go dark this week since we're going on vacation. Please moderate yourselves and play nicely with each other.

Edit: "Going dark" was a hint to the Mitsubishi car model, the Eclipse.
A: Mitsubishi --> sushi (both from Japan)

Friday, August 02, 2013

NPR Sunday Puzzle (Jul 28, 2013): What Does NPR Stand For?

NPR logoNPR Sunday Puzzle (Jul 28, 2013): What Does NPR Stand For?:
Q: In three words, name a product sold mainly to women that has the initials N-P-R. The answer is a common phrase.
My wife's first answer: Nipple Piercing Ring. Okay, just forget I said that.

Edit: In other words, remove that thought.
A: Nail Polish Remover

Thursday, July 25, 2013

NPR Sunday Puzzle (Jul 21, 2013): Fun with Syllables

NPR Sunday Puzzle (Jul 21, 2013): Fun with Syllables:
SyllableA: Think of a three-syllable word in four letters, add two letters and rearrange everything to become a two-syllable word in six letters. Then add two more letters and scramble them to get a one syllable word in eight letters.
I have several answers that will work, but they all start with the same four-letter word. Each of the four answers meet the puzzle criteria. If I'm correct, the three-syllable word has an anagram that is not three syllables.

Edit: The first and last letters of the first two sentences are I-D-E-A and the anagram is AIDE.
A: A few possible answers:
IDEA --> REPAID --> SPRAINED
IDEA --> DETAIN --> STRAINED
IDEA --> TIRADE --> STRAINED
IDEA --> REPAID --> TRAIPSED

Thursday, July 18, 2013

NPR Sunday Puzzle (Jul 14, 2013): Organizing the Clothes Closet

Clothes ClosetNPR Sunday Puzzle (Jul 14, 2013): Organizing the Clothes Closet:
Q: The phrase "clothes closet" describes a place to keep your clothes. What's interesting about the phrase is that all the letters of the second word are found inside the first one. Think of another two-word phrase that names a place to keep clothes, in which all the letters of the second word are found inside the first. The first word of the phrase has nine letters, and the second word has six. What common phrase is this?
You don't need an additional hint from me since the puzzle provides plenty of clues. The answer is not "roughened ground" or "ephemeral hamper" though.

Edit: My hint was in "You don't" where the initials U.D. are hidden between the words.
A: Underwear Drawer

Thursday, July 11, 2013

NPR Sunday Puzzle (Jul 7, 2013): Country Mix-up

Country FlagsNPR Sunday Puzzle (Jul 7, 2013): Country Mix-up:
Q: Rearrange the letters of INDIA + BELARUS to name two other countries. What are they?
The capitals of the resulting countries are about 3,000 miles apart, and neither contains the letter "E".

Edit: The capitals are Monrovia and Khartoum.
A: LIBERIA + SUDAN

Thursday, July 04, 2013

NPR Sunday Puzzle (Jun 30, 2013): Truck Part / FEMA Spoonerism Puzzle

NPR Sunday Puzzle (Jun 30, 2013): Truck Part / FEMA Spoonerism Puzzle:
Q: Next week's challenge involves a spoonerism, in which you reverse the initial consonant sounds in one phrase to make another phrase. For example, if you spoonerize "light rain," you get "right lane." Name part of a truck in two words; spoonerize it, and you'll name something FEMA uses. What is it?
Remove the third letter from "something FEMA uses", swap the letters before and after it to describe an action that can result in disaster for some.

The answer to my mini-puzzle was "fold map"
A: MUD FLAP --> FLOOD MAP

Thursday, June 27, 2013

NPR Sunday Puzzle (Jun 23, 2013): Words with Unusual Properties II

NPR Sunday Puzzle (Jun 23, 2013): Words with Unusual Properties II:
Q: Write down these five words:
"aide," "heart," "tough," "gelatin" and "emanate." There is something very unusual they have in common. What is it? And what's another word with this property?
When my computer is not crashing and is able to filter my word grids, it does a most capable job. Anyway, at the moment it has about 800 words, possibly with some as long as 11 letters but I can't check them until it is done calculating.

Edit: Hints: "not crashing" = stable, "word grids" = tables, "most capable" = ablest. Some other words (6 letters or more) are given below. I tried to avoid plurals, but stable/tables/ablest was too good to ignore:
A: The property that the five words share is that if you move the first letter to the end, another word is formed.
aide --> idea
heart --> earth
tough --> ought
gelatin --> elating
emanate --> manatee

Here are a few words that also share this property:
dangle --> angled
echoic --> choice
height --> eighth
ramble --> ambler
revoke --> evoker
stable --> tables --> ablest (chain of 3 words)
yowler --> owlery
tangelo --> angelot
trundle --> rundlet
dalliance --> allianced
dunpickle --> unpickled
lethologica --> ethological

Thursday, June 20, 2013

NPR Sunday Puzzle (Jun 16, 2013): Words with Unusual Properties

NPR Sunday Puzzle (Jun 16, 2013): Words with Unusual Properties:
Q: Write down these five words: "mate," "peck," "miss," "pot" and "blunder." There is something very unusual they have in common. What is it? And, can you name one other word with the same property?
The hard part will not be figuring out the pattern but finding another word. But even that shouldn't be difficult if you have a good list. The really hard thing will be to provide a clue that doesn't give things away and since I can't think of one, I'll just say, "Happy Father's Day!"

Edit: The word "list" follows the pattern. I think you could also make a case for "pappy" or at least "pop" which are synonyms of father.
A: The property that these words share is that you can replace their first vowel with any of the standard 5 vowels (a, e, i, o, u) to create a valid word:

mate --> mate, mete, mite, mote, mute
peck --> pack, peck, pick, pock, puck
miss --> mass, mess, miss, moss, muss
pot --> pat, pet, pit, pot, put
blunder --> blander, blender, blinder, blonder, blunder

A few possible answers using common words.
bad, bed, bid, bod, bud
bag, beg, big, bog, bug
last, lest, list, lost, lust
pap, pep, pip, pop, pup
patting, petting, pitting, potting, putting

If you allow some latitude with archaic words:
blathering, blethering, blithering, blothering, bluthering
slathering, slethering, slithering, slothering, sluthering

Thursday, June 13, 2013

NPR Sunday Puzzle (Jun 9, 2013): Name that Movie Title

NPR Sunday Puzzle (Jun 9, 2013): Name that Movie Title
Movie ReelQ: Name a movie in two words — five letters in each word. Both words start with vowels. Take one letter in the first word, move it two spaces later in the alphabet, and rearrange the result. You'll get the second word in the movie's title. What movie is it?
If you take the initials in the name of the main character and change them to one earlier and one later in the alphabet, you get the initials of the actor that played that character. And I'm sure you can find another similarity between the character name, actor name and the movie title.

Edit: The character is Kaita Raige (KR) played by Jaden Smith (JS). The names and the movie title are all 5 letters.
A: AFTER EARTH (2013)

Saturday, June 08, 2013

NPR Sunday Puzzle (Jun 2, 2013): I've got 3 words for you...

Merl Reagle, courtesy Norwalk Citizen
NPR Sunday Puzzle (Jun 2, 2013): I've got 3 words for you...:
Q: Can you name three common three-letter words that are all synonyms and which together consist of nine different letters of the alphabet? Here's a hint: The letters A and O are not used.
Merl Reagle is one of my favorite puzzle constructors, so I can't add much to this puzzle. If I have the right words, you can rearrange the nine letters to form a pair of words that could be considered synonyms.

Edit: I figured the words had to use the remaining vowels of E, I and U so came up with CUT, HEW and NIP which could be anagrammed to INPUT and CHEW. Others had Merl's intended answer
A: BUG, IRK, VEX

Thursday, May 30, 2013

NPR Sunday Puzzle (May 26, 2013): G is for..., T is for...:
G is for..., T is for... Q: Think of a word starting with G. Change the G to a T, and rearrange the letters after the T. The result will be a new word with the same meaning as the original word. What words are these?
S.S. last week, J.C. this week.

Steven Spielberg was the director mentioned last week. James Cameron directed Titanic.
A: GIANT --> TITAN

Thursday, May 23, 2013

NPR Sunday Puzzle (May 19, 2013): Read the Book, Watched the Film

Books to FilmNPR Sunday Puzzle (May 19, 2013): Read the Book, Watched the Film:
Q: Name a category of books, in two words. Add one letter to each word — the same letter of the alphabet in each case. Rearrange the letters of the first word plus the added letter to make a new word. For the second word simply insert the new letter somewhere inside it. The result will be the two-word title of a famous movie, which is based on a book, which is definitely not found in the category of books you originally named. Name the category of books and the movie.
The initials of the director relate to the puzzle in a couple ways.

A: Children's Lit. --> Schindler's List

Thursday, May 16, 2013

NPR Sunday Puzzle (May 12, 2013): On a Scale of One to Ten...

NPR Sunday Puzzle (May 12, 2013): On a Scale of One to Ten...:
Definition of AttractiveQ: Name a famous American man, first and last names. Change the first letter of his first name from T to H. The result will sound like a term for an attractive person. Who is it?
He is a very colorful character, isn't he...

Edit: He received flak for broadcasting colorized versions of classic movies on his network.
A: Ted Turner --> "Head Turner"

Thursday, May 09, 2013

NPR Sunday Puzzle (May 5, 2013): Famous Performer

Duck on a Piano WallpaperNPR Sunday Puzzle (May 5, 2013): Famous Performer:
Q: Name a famous performer whose last name has six letters. Move the first three letters to the end — without otherwise changing the order of the letters — and add one more letter at the end. The result, in seven letters, will name a place where this person famously performed. Who is it, and what's the place?
Reminds me of the joke, "What's the difference between a piano and a fish?" You can tune a piano, but you can't tuna fish.

Edit: How is a piano like a fish? They both have scales... This puzzle was previously featured in November 2008
A: MARIA CALLAS --> LA SCALA

Thursday, May 02, 2013

NPR Sunday Puzzle (Apr 28, 2013): Six-word Proverb Puzzle

Proverbs from around the World, TotallySevere.comNPR Sunday Puzzle (Apr 28, 2013): Six-word Proverb Puzzle:
Q: The first 12 letters of the alphabet are A to L. Think of a familiar, six-word proverb that contains 11 of these 12 letters. The letters may be used more than once, and you may use additional letters from the second half of the alphabet. What proverb is this?
Will has given us a task that's akin to finding a needle in a haystack, but I'm not one to judge a book by its cover. Let's not count our chickens before they hatch, but we can figure this out, can't we?

Edit: Several proverbs get close to using most of the letters in A through L, but the ones I gave weren't the answer. But if we work together...
A: Birds of a feather flock together

Friday, April 26, 2013

NPR Sunday Puzzle (Apr 21, 2013): Location, Location, Location...

NPR Sunday Puzzle (Apr 21, 2013): Location, Location, Location...:
Q: Name a geographical location in two words — nine letters altogether — that, when spoken aloud, sounds roughly like four letters of the alphabet. What is it?
Hint: It's 261m.

Edit: The oil tanker "Aegean Sea" responsible for the oil spill in 1992 was 261 meters long.
A: Aegean Sea = AGNC

Thursday, April 18, 2013

NPR Sunday Puzzle (Apr 14, 2013): 90° Letter Rotation

NPR Sunday Puzzle (Apr 14, 2013): 90° Letter Rotation:
Q: Take a common English word. Write it in capital letters. Move the first letter to the end and rotate it 90 degrees. You'll get a new word that is pronounced exactly the same as the first word. What words are these?
I think it is a foregone conclusion that Will intends us to get creative with how we write our letters.

Edit: The two hints were "foregone" and "write" which contain hints to two possible pairs. The picture gives an example of how you might write a W so it looks like an E when rotated. By the way, the picture is of a set of Ambigrammic Letter Tiles created by Eric Harshbarger.
A: WON, ONE or WRY, RYE

Thursday, April 11, 2013

NPR Sunday Puzzle (Apr 7, 2013): Commonly Read on Sunday Morning

Sunday FunniesNPR Sunday Puzzle (Apr 7, 2013): Commonly Read on Sunday Morning:
Q: Name something in nine letters that is commonly read on Sunday morning. If you have the right thing, you can rearrange all the letters to name a bygone car model that you still see on the road today. What are they?
I have a really great clue, but I'm going to save it for when I have the answer. :)

Update: 562-87-4193 is not my social security number.

Edit: Assuming the first word is 123456789, the second rearrangement is 562874193.
A: SCRIPTURE --> PT CRUISER

Thursday, April 04, 2013

NPR Sunday Puzzle (Mar 31, 2013): Resistance is Futile (Ohm)...

100 Ohm, 1/4W Resistor, oskay@flickrNPR Sunday Puzzle (Mar 31, 2013): Resistance is Futile (Ohm)...:
Q: Name something in four letters that you use every day. Add the letters O, H and M, and rearrange all seven letters. You will name something else you probably use every day. This seven-letter thing is usually found near the four-letter thing. What are they?
If you search for the answer words, the first results are from people that don't use each of these every day. By the way, the answer is not LANE and MANHOLE.

A: SOAP and SHAMPOO

Thursday, March 28, 2013

NPR Sunday Puzzle (Mar 24, 2013): [Solution] Five by Five Word Square

NPR Sunday Puzzle (Mar 24, 2013): [Solution] Five by Five Word Square:
5x5 solutionA: PANDA, APART, NASAL, DRAMA, ATLAS
The hints in the original post were "Aside from" = APART, "Subjecting" = things you might study as in PANDA (zoology), DRAMA and ATLAS (geography). The last clue was "& let" since the consonants in "aMPeRSaND LeT" are the ones used in the puzzle.

Sunday, March 24, 2013

NPR Sunday Puzzle (Mar 24, 2013): Five by Five Word Square

NPR Sunday Puzzle (Mar 24, 2013): Five by Five Word Square:
Nasal 5x5Q: Take the four words "salt," "afar," "lava" and "trap." Write them one under the other, and the words will read the same vertically as horizontally. This is a word square of four-letter words. Note that the only vowel in this example square is an A. The object of the challenge is to create a five-letter word square using only common, uncapitalized English words, in which the only vowel in the entire square is A. The word in the center row, and column, is NASAL.
Aside from subjecting you to some obvious clues, there isn't much I can add, so I'll just give you a picture of the grid & let you figure it out from there.

Thursday, March 21, 2013

NPR Sunday Puzzle (Mar 17, 2013): Water, Water, Everywhere

Falling Water, ericskiff@flickrNPR Sunday Puzzle (Mar 17, 2013): Water, Water, Everywhere:
Q: Take an eight-letter word for something used in water. Phonetically remove a word for something else used in water. Squish what is left together. The result, phonetically, will be a verb describing what water does. What words are these?


Edit: In my comment, I said "See, I'll..." as a hint to the chemical symbol of Cl
A: CHLORINE = CL(OAR)EAN --> OAR and CLEAN

Thursday, March 14, 2013

NPR Sunday Puzzle (Mar 10, 2013): As the Saying Goes

QuoteNPR Sunday Puzzle (Mar 10, 2013): As the Saying Goes:
Q: Think of two familiar three-word sayings in which all three words are the same length. The middle word in both sayings is the same. In each saying, the first and last words rhyme with each other. What two sayings are these?
Maybe these sequences will provide a clue: 0, 0, 8, 102... and 1, 9, 41, 129...

Edit: The sequences above are found in the Online Encyclopedia of Integer Sequences (OEIS) as A001575 and A001846. The phrases were first recorded in the years 1575 and 1846, respectively.
A: "Haste makes waste" and "Might makes right".

Thursday, March 07, 2013

NPR Sunday Puzzle (Mar 3, 2013): Dinner Party Musical Chairs

NPR Sunday Puzzle (Mar 3, 2013): Dinner Party Musical Chairs:
Q: Eight people are seated at a circular table. Each person gets up and sits down again — either in the same chair or in the chair immediately to the left or right of the one they were in. How many different ways can the eight people be reseated?
For this puzzle, I think we have to assume each seat position and person is unique. Also, I assume Will wants seating arrangements where each person has their own chair (no sharing). What I don't see, is why the table has to be circular. Couldn't it be square and we could still figure out how to move left or right?

Edit: The first case that might get overlooked is everyone returning to their original seat. The next two cases are where all 8 people move clockwise or counter-clockwise one seat. There can't be any other cycles involving more than two people because that would require someone to move more than one seat, so the remaining cases involve neighboring "couples" swapping seats while others stay still. All that is required is to enumerate the ways to swap couples.
A: There are 49 ways that 8 people could stand up and be reseated (link to PDF containing diagrams). Incidentally, the Online Encyclopedia of Integer Sequences has the answers for various table sizes (A0048162 = 1, 2, 6, 9, 13, 20, 31, 49...) which confirms the answer for 8 people is 49 ways.

Thursday, February 28, 2013

NPR Sunday Puzzle (Feb 24, 2013): Body Parts and Kind of Doctor Puzzle

NPR Sunday Puzzle (Feb 24, 2013): Body Parts and Kind of Doctor Puzzle:
Halloween - Doctor Costumes Q: Name two parts of the human body, 10 letters in all. Place their names one after the other. Take a block of three consecutive letters out of the second word and insert them somewhere inside the first word without otherwise changing the order of any of the letters. The result will name a kind of doctor. What kind of doctor is it?
I'm afraid I don't have the answer yet. I've been fixated on trying to make wrist, waist or chest work to create an -ist word. Perhaps it isn't a conventional doctor but is something else? Reminds me of our Halloween theme several years back.

Edit: Shortly after I posted I figured out that Will was looking for an adjective, not a noun. And as suspected, it wasn't a traditional human medical doctor.
A: VEIN + ARTERY = VETERINARY

Sunday, February 17, 2013

NPR Sunday Puzzle (Feb 17, 2013): The Cat is Away

Computer Mouse, Pockafwye@FlickrNPR Sunday Puzzle (Feb 17, 2013): The Cat is Away:
Since I'm not going to be around to comment on the puzzle, I'm putting this week's puzzle on "auto-pilot". Please play nicely and don't give the puzzle answer away.
Here's my standard reminder... don't post the answer or any hints that could lead directly to the answer (e.g. via Google or Bing) before the deadline of Thursday at 3pm ET. If you know the answer, click the link and 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 give the answer away. You can openly discuss your hints and the answer after the Thursday deadline. Thank you.
A: POLICE ACADEMY --> POLIE AADEMY

Thursday, February 14, 2013

NPR Sunday Puzzle (Feb 10, 2013): Foreign President Puzzle

Country FlagsNPR Sunday Puzzle (Feb 10, 2013): Foreign President Puzzle:
Q: Take the last name of a former president of a foreign country, someone well-known. Change the last letter of this name to an O and rearrange the result. You'll get the last name of someone who wanted to be president of the United States. Who are these two people?
I would have gotten to the puzzle sooner, but the cable modem was on the blink. My hint? The first names have the same number of letters and the middle names almost have the same number of letters.

Edit: Another way to say something is "on the blink" is to say it is "on the fritz". Walter F. Mondale went by the nickname Fritz.
A: (Nelson) MANDELA --> (Walter) MONDALE

Friday, February 08, 2013

NPR Sunday Puzzle (Feb 3, 2013): Famous Authors Puzzle XLVII

NPR Sunday Puzzle (Feb 3, 2013): Famous Authors Puzzle XLVII:
6 famous authorsQ: Name a famous author, first and last names. Change an X in this name to a B, and rearrange all the letters. The result is how this author might address a memo to the author's most famous character. Who is it?
That's silly, J.K. Rowlings name doesn't even contain an X!

Edit: Silly is a reference to the Trix Rabbit which is both a hint to the author's first name (BeaTRIX) and her famous character (Peter RABBIT). J.K. Rowlings' famous character is Harry Potter, a hint to the author's last name.
A: BEATRIX POTTER --> TO PETER RABBIT

Thursday, January 31, 2013

NPR Sunday Puzzle (Jan 27, 2013): Move your Body Parts

Bond's Jet Pack in ThunderballNPR Sunday Puzzle (Jan 27, 2013): Move your Body Parts:
Q: Name a personal mode of transportation. Remove its first and sixth letters. What remains — in sequence, without rearranging any letters — will spell the names of two parts of the human body. What are they?
Sorry, I'm a little distracted; I just read that Jeopardy champ Ken is saying that Chimborazo is the highest point on earth.

Edit: My clues hinted at Everest and Jennings. Harry Jennings and his disabled friend Herbert Everest, both mechanical engineers, invented the first lightweight, steel, collapsible wheelchair in 1933 and went on to become the first mass-manufacturers of wheelchairs.
A: WHEELCHAIR --> HEEL, HAIR

Thursday, January 24, 2013

NPR Sunday Puzzle (Jan 20, 2013): World Leader Puzzle

AFP/Getty - World Leaders G8 Summit 7/6/2009NPR Sunday Puzzle (Jan 20, 2013): World Leader Puzzle:
Q: Take the last name of a famous world leader of the past. Rearrange those letters to name a type of world leader, like czar or prime minister. What world leader is it?
I must be getting old as this puzzle took me longer than expected. My muddy thinking had me trying to make STALIN and SULTAN work, or LEAR and EARL.

Edit: The first clue was "...gettinG OLD As..." which hides the leader's first name. My second clue was muddy which hinted at MIRE as an anagram of both answers.
A: Golda MEIR --> EMIR