Blaine's Puzzle Blog

NPR Sunday Puzzle (Feb 26, 2012): The Best Actor Oscar Goes to...

2012-02-25T22:26:00.000-08:00

NPR Sunday Puzzle (Feb 26, 2012): The Best Actor Oscar Goes to...:

Q: Name a bird. Change its second letter to an E to get the first name of a famous actor. Then name the female of that bird, and double one of its letters. You'll get the last name of this actor. What are the birds, and who is the actor?

Little House on the Prairie?

NPR Sunday Puzzle (Dec 18, 2011): A Guy and Another Guy

2011-12-22T13:07:00.000-08:00

NPR Sunday Puzzle (Dec 18, 2011): A Guy and Another Guy:

Q: Take the word "at." Put a man's first name on each side of it, and say the word out loud. Phonetically, you'll get a word that describes a growing part of our country. What is it?

Will probably forgot to mention that these are two *different* men's names.

Edit: Sorry, I guess I was trying to imply that Will was getting forgetful in his "old age".

A: Jerry + at + Rick = Geriatric

NPR Sunday Puzzle (Nov 20, 2011): Food Item, Saying and Person's Name

2011-11-23T12:15:00.000-08:00

NPR Sunday Puzzle (Nov 20, 2011): Food Item, Saying and Person's Name:

Q: Name a food item. Divide this word in half. Take the second half followed by the first half twice, and you'll get a familiar saying. If you take the second half twice (followed) by the first half, you'll name a well-known person. What are the food item, saying, and person's name?

I vote for the food item being incomplete, but I guess if enough people vote against me, I'll rescind my complaint.

Edit: My hint was "nays" which when added to the food item (mayo) gives the full name (mayonnaise).

A: Food Item: Mayo(nnaise)
Saying: Yo' Mama!
Person: Yo-Yo Ma

NPR Sunday Puzzle (Oct 30, 2011): This Singer Keeps Company with a Logo?

2011-11-04T01:18:00.000-07:00

NPR Sunday Puzzle (Oct 30, 2011): This Singer Keeps Company with a Logo?:

Q: Name a well-known singer. Drop the first and last letters of the singer's first name and you'll get the letters of a well-known company. Drop the first and last letters of the singer's last name, and you'll identify the logo that the company is classically known for. Who is the singer and what's the company?

Musical clue: Adele & Lil Wayne

Edit: There were two clues in my answer. First I had an ampersand (&), hinting at the additional symbol needed in the company name. Second if you combine Adele and Wayne you get "Adele Wayne". Patti LaBelle played Adele Wayne, the mother of Dwayne Wayne on A Different World.

A: Patti LaBelle --> AT&T + A Bell

NPR Sunday Puzzle (Sep 4, 2011): Two-Week Challenge - Famous Person Palindrome

2011-09-17T21:00:00.000-07:00

NPR Sunday Puzzle (Sep 4, 2011): Two-Week Challenge - Famous Person Palindrome:

Q: This is a special two-week creative challenge involving palindromes. A palindrome reads backwards and forward the same. Write a palindrome that contains the name of a famous person. For example: "No, Mel Gibson is a casino's big lemon." Or "Ed, I saw Harpo Marx ram Oprah W. aside." You can use the famous person's full name or just the last name, whatever you like. The object is to write the most interesting palindrome that contains a famous person's name, past or present. Any length is fine, short or long. Palindromes will be judged on their interest, elegance and naturalness of syntax.

Given this challenge is open-ended, there are no hints in my post this time. So anyone going to tackle a Sarah Palin palindrome?

A: "Did I cite operas I'd revere? Verdi's are poetic. I did!"
Runners-up:
"Peewee let reborn Robert E. Lee weep."
"Yawn, Madonna may baby a man, no damn way!"

NPR Sunday Puzzle (Aug 28, 2011): Air Cushioned Anagram

2011-09-01T19:12:00.000-07:00

NPR Sunday Puzzle (Aug 28, 2011): Air Cushioned Anagram:

Q: Rearrange the twelve letters of the words "AIR CUSHIONED" to name a person in the media, first and last names.

Previously, this puzzle would have had the ability to heal nannies!

Edit: If you anagram 'heal nannies' you get 'Liane Hansen'.

A: The new host of Weekend Sunday Edition, Audie Cornish

NPR Sunday Puzzle (Jul 31, 2011): Hey! A New Puzzle!

2011-08-04T12:00:00.000-07:00

NPR Sunday Puzzle (Jul 31, 2011): Hey! A New Puzzle!: "

Q: Name a famous person from America's past who has four letters in his or her first name and five letters in the last. Take a homophone of the last name, move it to the front. The result would be something a woman might write. What is it?"

Doh!

Update: "Doh!" sounds like "Doe" which is a female deer.

A: John Deere --> Dear John

NPR Sunday Puzzle (Jul 10, 2011): Classic TV Show and a Well-Known Writer

2011-07-14T12:30:00.000-07:00

NPR Sunday Puzzle (Jul 10, 2011): Classic TV Show and a Well-Known Writer:

Q: Name a classic television show in two words with eight letters. Remove one letter from each word. The remaining six letters, in order, will spell the last name of a well-known writer. Who is it?

Musical hint: btmiihlsihhwbwr

Edit: Back in November we had a discussion about how there were actual lyrics written by Gene Roddenberry for the Star Trek theme. The clue above would be the first letter of each line.

A: STAR TREK
Remove T from the first word, K from the second word
Jean-Paul SARTRE

NPR Sunday Puzzle (Jul 3, 2011): Famous Film Director Puzzle

2011-07-07T12:18:00.000-07:00

NPR Sunday Puzzle (Jul 3, 2011): Famous Film Director Puzzle:

Q: Think of a common four-letter adjective. Then take its opposite in French. (It's a French word that everyone knows.) Say the two words out loud, one after the other, and you'll name a famous film director. Who is it?

It's déjà vu, all over again.

Edit: I used the comment "déjà vu" recently on the post entitled Same Puzzle: True or False?. In addition, a very similar form of this puzzle appeared back in January 2007.

A: TRUE + FAUX --> François TRUFFAUT

NPR Sunday Puzzle (Jun 5, 2011): TV Series and Famous Actor

2011-06-09T12:12:00.000-07:00

NPR Sunday Puzzle (Jun 5, 2011): TV Series and Famous Actor:

Q: Take the two-word title of a TV series. The first word contains a famous actor's first name in consecutive letters. The second word is a homophone for this actor's last name. Name the series and the actor.

My hint: 80% of Ararat in space... figure that one out.

Edit: In the main asteroid belt, between Mars and Jupiter, there is an asteroid with the designation 96205 Ararat. If you take one figure (digit) off the end you are left with 9620 (80% of the original). That asteroid has the designation 9620 Ericidle

A: American Idol --> Eric Idle

NPR Sunday Puzzle (May 8, 2011): Happy Mothers' Day

2011-05-13T11:57:00.000-07:00

NPR Sunday Puzzle (May 8, 2011): Happy Mothers' Day:

Q: Think of two common girls' names that are seven letters long and that start with the same four letters in the same order. Drop these four letters in each name, and mix the last three letters in each name to come up with another common girls' name in six letters. What names are these?

We were out all day in the sun celebrating Mothers' Day; I got a tan. By the way, is the six-letter name Barbie?

Edit: My hints: "a tan" reverses to be the first 4 letters of both names. "Barbie" referenced the phrase "put a shrimp on the barbie" which was popularized in ads for the Australian Tourism Board. Colloquially in Australia, a girl or woman might be called a "Sheila".

A: NATALIE and NATASHA --> SHEILA

NPR Sunday Puzzle (Mar 20, 2011): Consumer Protection Laws Anagram

2011-03-24T17:27:00.000-07:00

NPR Sunday Puzzle (Mar 20, 2011): Consumer Protection Laws Anagram:

Q: Take the phrase 'consumer protection laws,' and rearrange the letters to name a person in broadcasting and an issue of public debate. Hints: The name of the person in broadcasting has five letters in the first name and five letters in the last name. For the issue of public debate, it's a familiar two-word phrase with seven letters in the first word and five letters in the second. What name and phrase are these?

If NPR keeps posting the puzzle this early we'll have to stop calling it the Sunday puzzle! Are you following what I'm saying? Are you clear? Cool.

Edit: The NPR puzzle is part of Weekend Edition Sunday (host Liane Hansen). The day before, NPR broadcasts Weekend Edition Saturday (host Scott Simon). "Are you following what I'm saying?" was a hint to the game Simon Says. "You clear" was a hint to "nuclear" while "Cool." was a hint to cooling down a reactor.

A: SCOTT SIMON, NUCLEAR POWER

NPR Sunday Puzzle (Mar 13, 2011): Sounds Like Another Name Puzzle

2011-03-17T12:20:00.000-07:00

NPR Sunday Puzzle (Mar 13, 2011): Sounds Like Another Name Puzzle:

Q: Think of a five-letter girl's name that ends in a 'J' sound. Change that to a 'CH' sound to get a common five-letter boy's name. What names are these?

Not to be a pest but didn't we have a puzzle recently involving names? If you thought Marsha and Martha were less common girl's names, what about the names this week? I was going to clump together a clue or two from last week, but I think I'll refrain.

Edit: The first clue was pest as in a tiny fly. The second hint was clump as in comic book character, Midge Klump. The third clue was a reference to last week's post where I mentioned people that shared birthdays on March 10, including gymnast Mitch Gaylord. The final clue was refrain, an indirect reference to the show Sing Along with Mitch.

A: Midge and Mitch

NPR Sunday Puzzle (Feb 27, 2011): Acacia and Acadia, I'm Done!

2011-03-03T12:12:00.000-08:00

NPR Sunday Puzzle (Feb 27, 2011): Acacia and Acadia, I'm Done!:

Q: Take a common girl's name that's six letters long. Change the fourth letter to the next letter in the alphabet to get another common girl's name. What names are these?

I had to laugh when I figured out the intended answer. But it reminded me I needed to pick up some candy at the convenience store.

Edit: My hints - MARS (candy), MART (convenience store), HA HA (laugh).

A: MARSHA --> MARTHA

NPR Sunday Puzzle (Feb 13, 2011): Two Presidents Visit the Capital

2011-02-17T12:51:00.000-08:00

NPR Sunday Puzzle (Feb 13, 2011): Two Presidents Visit the Capital:

Q: Name a world capital. Add the letter R, and rearrange the letters to name two U.S. presidents. What is the world capital and who are the presidents?

I'm primarily thinking of countries in Africa, maybe Chad?

Edit: The flag of Chad has the primary colors of blue, yellow and red in 3 vertical stripes. This matches exactly with flag of Romania which has the same tricolor pattern (with cobalt blue instead of indigo, but you can't tell me they look that different). The capital of Romania is Bucharest

A: BUCHAREST + R --> BUSH + CARTER

NPR Sunday Puzzle (Dec 26, 2010): It's Boxing Day, is that a clue?

2010-12-30T19:46:00.000-08:00

NPR Sunday Puzzle (Dec 26, 2010): It's Boxing Day, is that a clue?:

Q: Name a famous American from the past who has seven letters in his or her last name. Take the last two letters, plus the first four letters, in that order, and you'll name that person's profession. Who is it?

Given that this person's Wikipedia page lists 10 professions, can you be sure you'll find this person's intended profession in a sample list of occupations? Remember, your search needs to be exhaustive if you want to be sure not to miss it.

Edit: My hint was "be exhaustive" (i.e. "thorough")

A: Henry David THOREAU --> AU + THOR = AUTHOR

NPR Sunday Puzzle (Nov 14, 2010) : Tune into TNT

2010-11-18T14:19:00.000-08:00

NPR Sunday Puzzle (Nov 14, 2010) : Tune into TNT :

Q : What is the longest familiar phrase, title, or name in which the only consonants are N and T, repeated as often as necessary? The other letters are vowels.

On the air, Will mentioned he had an answer with 18 letters. I've matched 18 letters but have a feeling we can do better than that.

Edit : Did you notice that I placed an extra space in front of each colon in this post? The hint was the sci-fi series "Space: 1999".

A : The song "Nineteen ninety nine" by Prince.
Will also accepted the 1947 French film Antoine et Antoinette.

NPR Sunday Puzzle (Oct 3, 2010): Third Time's a Charm

2010-10-07T17:00:00.000-07:00

NPR Sunday Puzzle (Oct 3, 2010): Third Time's a Charm:

Q: Name a famous person whose first name has six letters and last name has eight. In this person's first name, the first two letters are the same as the last two letters. And, these two letters also start the last name. The first two letters of the last name are pronounced differently from how they're pronounced in the first name. Who is this person?

Just so we are on the same page, united in thought so to speak, the pair of letters keeps the same order each time it is used.

Edit: I tried to include some misdirection (page=Author, thought=Philosopher, speak=Orator/Actor/Politician). The only real clue was united (as in United Airlines), which has used Rhapsody in Blue for years in its commercials.

A: GEorGE GErshwin

NPR Sunday Puzzle (Jun 13, 2010): One of these things is not like the others

2010-06-17T12:29:00.000-07:00

NPR Sunday Puzzle (Jun 13, 2010): One of these things is not like the others:

Q: Write down the following five names: Christian Dior, Anne Boleyn, Edna Ferber, Indiana Jones and Richard Simmons. The first four names have something unusual in common that the fifth name does not. What is it? Give another name that shares this property. Hint: It's a property that only a few names have. To show that you have the right answer, think of another name that shares the same property. Any name that shares the property will be considered correct.

183 kg cat?

Edit: Okay, so 183kg is 403lb. If you Google for "403 pound cat" you'll end up finding the Jacksonville Jaguars Mascot who has been portrayed by Curtis Dvorak

A: You should have noticed that the letters of the first and last names are consecutive. But what about Richard Simmons? Some have suggested that the first letter should be in an *odd* position of the alphabet (e.g. A, C, E, G, etc.). But that's like saying it should be people with consecutive letters that aren't exercise gurus. The actual answer is that both the first and second letters in each name are consecutive.
Christian Dior, Anne Boleyn, Edna Ferber, Indiana Jones. But Richard Simmons' second letters are "i" and "i" which aren't consecutive.

So what names did you come up with? Here's just a few of the one's I thought of:
Adrián Beltré - Boston Red Sox 3rd baseman
Andy Borowitz - Comedian and Satirist
Andrea Bocelli - Italian pop tenor
Charles Dickens - English novelist
Chris Dimarco - American golfer
Curtis Dvorak - portrays the Jacksville Jaguars mascot, Jaxson de Ville
David Ebersman - CFO of Facebook
Don Eppes - FBI agent on the show Numb3rs
"Duke" Evers - Trainer of Apollo Creed and later Rocky Balboa
Harry Ibrahim - Asian Fashion Designer
Odalis Perez - MLB pitcher, formerly of the Washington Nationals
Ogden Phipps - Financier, Tennis Champ and Racing Horse Breeder
Rhea Silvia - Mythical mother of the twins Romulus and Remus
Robert Sproul - Former University of California President
Ross Spencer - Mystery Writer
Shirley Tilghman - President of Princeton University
Tom Upton - Former MLB shortstop

NPR Sunday Puzzle (Apr 25, 2010): Name Two Birds...

2010-04-29T18:45:00.000-07:00

NPR Sunday Puzzle (Apr 25, 2010): Name Two Birds...:

Q: Name a famous person whose first name is seven letters long and ends with the name of a bird, and whose last name is also seven letters but starts with the name of a bird. Hint: One of these birds is the general name for the bird, and the other is a specific type of bird. Who is it?

Finally a nicely constructed puzzle with enough clues to confirm your answer, but not too many that they give it away. Are the bird names long or short? Is this person part of history? Or part of the present time? Not wanting to ruin the puzzle, I'm steping out of giving a clue this week and leave it to you to ponder.

Edit: If you read the last word of each question you get short/history/time --> A Brief History of Time. Also, I deliberately misspelled step(p)ing because that's what is left after removing the birds from his name.

A: stepHEN HAWKing

NPR Sunday Puzzle (Feb. 7, 2010): In Honor of the Super Bowl

2010-02-11T15:18:00.000-08:00

NPR Sunday Puzzle (Feb. 7, 2010): In Honor of the Super Bowl:

Q: The nickname of well known queen is an anagram of the name of a well known king. What are their names?

The bigger question for most people will be, who's going to win? The Saints or the Colts? Or are you just watching to see who has the best commercial?

Edit: An annual award for the best commercials is called the Clio which sounds like "Cleo". Additionally, Colts starts with the sound "Cole" and if you remember the nursery rhyme, Old King Cole called for his pipe, and he called for his Bowl...

A: Queen: CLEO (as in Cleopatra)
King: COLE (as in Old King Cole)

NPR Sunday Puzzle (Jan. 24, 2010): After the Operation, He Became a She...

2010-01-28T20:56:00.000-08:00

NPR Sunday Puzzle (Jan. 24, 2010): After the Operation, He Became a She...:

Q: Think of a common first name for a boy, starting with the letter E, two syllables. Rearrange all of the letters to form a common first name for a girl, also with two syllables. What names are these?

I wanted to get this posted before bed, since I see the puzzle is on the NPR site already. It shouldn't take you too much to figure this out. Just go down a list of common boys names starting with E and play with the letters. When you get to one that can be scrambled to a girl's name, you are done.

Edit: The hints were "before bed" which leads to Good Night (Irene), and "done" which leads to (Irene) Dunne.

A: ERNIE --> IRENE

NPR Sunday Puzzle (Jan. 17, 2010): The Last Shall be First, and the First Last

2010-01-21T12:22:00.000-08:00

NPR Sunday Puzzle (Jan. 17, 2010): The Last Shall be First, and the First Last:

Q: Find the full names of well-known female TV stars — one actress and one comedian. The first four letters of the actress' first name are the last four letters of the comedian's last name, and the first four letters of the comedian's first name are the last four letters of the actress' last name. Who are these well-known entertainers?

This could be hard if you aren't familiar with the comedienne. Also, be sure to read the puzzle carefully. I will say that both were on screen together in a scene involving a math competition. How's that for a useful clue?

Edit: First, the initials of the actress and comedienne were hidden in my post above, several times (THis COuld, THe COmedienne, maTH COmpetition). TH = Teri Hatcher, CO = Cheri Oteri.

Second, Cheri Oteri was half of the Spartans Cheerleaders duo with Will Ferrell on Saturday Night Live. Teri Hatcher hosted SNL back on April 20, 1996 and joined them as Gabrielle in a skit entitled Spartans Math Competition

A: CHERI OTERI and TERI HATCHER

NPR Sunday Puzzle (Oct 25): Where in the World...

2009-10-29T23:25:00.000-07:00

NPR Sunday Puzzle (Oct 25): Where in the World...:

Q: Take the name 'Boris Karloff.' It contains the letters of 'Oslo' in left-to-right order (although not consecutively). Now write down these three names: Leonardo da Vinci, Frank Sinatra, Stephen Douglas. Each conceals the name of another world capital in left-to-right order, although not in consecutive letters. What capitals are these?

I wasn't able to post the puzzle earlier because I had just pulled an all-nighter. We had intended to get to bed at an hour that was reasonable. However, since we needed to construct our Halloween costumes in time for the parade today, we couldn't settle for inaction.

Edit: Three airport codes are hidden in the last word of each sentence (alL-nigHteR=LHR, rEaSonaBle=ESB, InaCtioN=ICN). Doesn't really help you solve the puzzle, but it might have confirmed you had the right locations.

A: LONDON (England), ANKARA (Turkey), SEOUL (South Korea)

NPR Sunday Puzzle (Sep 27): Name That Country...

2009-10-01T20:30:00.000-07:00

NPR Sunday Puzzle (Sep 27): Name That Country...:

Q: Take the family name of a famous world leader in history. Drop the last letter, then switch the last two letters that remain. The result will name the country that this leader led. Who is it and what is the country?

Gee, I planned to get this puzzle posted earlier, but I've had a lot on my plate. My hint this week: Work backwards; it's much easier.

Edit: The hiddens clues were Gee (G) and Plate (China). Put them together and you have the answer.

A: Chiang Kai-Shek (CHIANG) --> Country (CHINA)

I actually found it easier to work backwards thinking of country names, flipping the last two letters and seeing what letter might be added to make a name. CHINA became CHIAN which immediately made me think of CHIANG (Kai-shek).