Blaine's Puzzle Blog

NPR Sunday Puzzle (Feb 19, 2012): Adjoining States Puzzle

2012-02-23T15:00:00.000-08:00

NPR Sunday Puzzle (Feb 19, 2012): Adjoining States Puzzle:

Q: The word "marten," as in the animal, consists of the beginning letters of "Mississippi," "Arkansas," "Texas," and "New Mexico"; you can actually drive from Mississippi to Arkansas to Texas to New Mexico in that order. What is the longest common English word you can spell by taking the beginning letters of consecutive states in order as you travel through them? Puzzlemaster Will Shortz's answer has eight letters, but maybe you can top that.

I see a number of ways to match Will's answer but I'm still working on a way to top him.

Edit: The first word I found was millions, hence the clue above about "a number"

A: Assuming we can't visit a state more than once and we can't cross the four-corners diagonally, I have these words:

Common words:
omissions = oklahoma, missouri, iowa, nebraska, south dakota
ketamines = kentucky, tennessee, arkansas, missouri, nebraska, south dakota
millions = missouri, illinois, iowa, nebraska, south dakota
missions = missouri, iowa, nebraska, south dakota
misstate = missouri, tennessee, arkansas, texas
vitamins = virginia, tennessee, arkansas, missouri, nebraska, south dakota

Less common words:
illimitate = illinois, missouri, tennessee, arkansas, texas
artemisin = arkansas, tennessee, missouri, iowa, nebraska
coregnant = california, oregon, nevada, arizona, new mexico, texas
coregonid = california, oregon, idaho
florigens = florida, georgia, north carolina, south carolina
miltomate = mississippi, louisiana, texas, oklahoma, missouri, arkansas, tennessee
nevermass = new hampshire, vermont, massachusetts
virgining = virginia, north carolina, georgia
floriage = florida, alabama, georgia
floriate = florida, alabama, tennessee
misagent = mississippi, alabama, georgia, north carolina, tennessee
misatone = missouri, arkansas, texas, oklahoma, new mexico

Finally if you are going to allow repeated visits to the same state, I have:
non-omissions = new mexico, oklahoma, new mexico, oklahoma, missouri, iowa, nebraska, south dakota
concomitate = colorado, nebraska, colorado, oklahoma, missouri, tennessee, arkansas, texas
amalgamate = arkansas, mississippi, alabama, georgia, alabama, mississippi, arkansas, tennessee
amalgamist = arkansas, mississippi, alabama, georgia, alabama, mississippi, tennessee
mononomial = missouri, oklahoma, new mexico, oklahoma, new mexico, oklahoma, missouri, arkansas, louisiana
... and quite a few shorter words

NPR Sunday Puzzle (Dec 25, 2011): Unusual, Uncommon Entertainer

2011-12-29T12:19:00.000-08:00

NPR Sunday Puzzle (Dec 25, 2011): Unusual, Uncommon Entertainer:

Q: Name an occupation in nine letters. It's an entertainer of sorts — an unusual and uncommon but well-known sort of entertainer. Drop the third letter of the name, and read the result backward. You'll get two four-letter words that are exact opposites. What are they?

I'm sorry for the late post of the puzzle. There was some problem with our internet where it would be up for a little bit, but before I could finish a post, it would come back down. Anyway, it seems to have sorted itself out and my elder son is just grateful that he can get online with his Xbox again.

Edit: Okay, so our internet wasn't really dead (we were just busy with Christmas), but I did like the visual of something going up for a little bit and back down, like a daredevil jumping a canyon or a row of buses. The other hints were Grateful (Dead) and Xbox (Live) which are the antonyms.

A: DAREDEVIL --> LIVE + DEAD

NPR Sunday Puzzle (Dec 4, 2011): Forget this music, let's get some food!

2011-12-08T15:50:00.000-08:00

NPR Sunday Puzzle (Dec 4, 2011): Forget this music, let's get some food!:

Q: Name a style of music. Change the middle letter to a B, and you'll name a style of cooking. What are the style of music and the style of cooking? (There are several ways to spell the cooking style, but the answer is one of them.)

Hint: Bert Lance

Edit: Bert Lance, Jimmy Carter's Budget Director, is credited with popularizing the colloquial southern phrase "If it ain't broke, don't fix it."

A: Baroque --> Bar-B-Que

NPR Sunday Puzzle (Nov 27, 2011): Common 5 Letter Words Puzzle

2011-12-01T13:20:00.000-08:00

NPR Sunday Puzzle (Nov 27, 2011): Common 5 Letter Words Puzzle:

Q: Think of a common five-letter word in one syllable. Change the fourth letter to the next letter of the alphabet, and you'll get a common word in two syllables, also in five letters. What words are these?

6, 2, 7, 6D --> 8, 9, 11, 29D

Edit: Since Will Shortz is the editor of the New York Times crossword puzzle, my hints are to those puzzles. On 6/2/2007 the clue for 6 down was Charm (Ans: ENDEAR) and on 8/9/2011 the clue for 29 down was Chasm (Ans: ABYSS).

A: CHARM --> CHASM

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 (Nov 6, 2011): Count the Equilateral Triangles

2011-11-10T12:00:00.000-08:00

NPR Sunday Puzzle (Nov 6, 2011): Count the Equilateral Triangles:

Q: Take 15 coins. Arrange them in an equilateral triangle with one coin at the top, two coins touching below, three coins below that, then four, then five. Remove the three coins at the corners so you're left with 12 coins. Using the centers of the 12 coins as points, how many equilateral triangles can you find by joining points with lines?

Minnesota is the land of 10,000 lakes, but I know the answer is much smaller than that.

Edit: My hint points to a shorter form of Minnesota, namely the abbreviation MN. That's also the abbreviation for Manganese (Mn) which has an atomic number of 25.

A: 25 equilateral triangles total (see the video for details).

13 small triangles pointing up or down
4 medium triangles pointing up or down
6 medium triangles pointing left or right
2 large triangles at a slight angle

NPR Sunday Puzzle (Oct 23, 2011): Retail Store to Electronics Manufacturer

2011-10-27T12:54:00.000-07:00

NPR Sunday Puzzle (Oct 23, 2011): Retail Store to Electronics Manufacturer:

Q: Think of a two-word name of a nationally known chain of retail stores. Insert the second word of the name into the exact middle of the first. The result will spell the name of a well-known electronics manufacturer. What are these names?

Edit: Time to reveal the answer.

A: Pier One (Imports) --> Pioneer

NPR Sunday Puzzle (Oct 9, 2011): A Group of Twelve and a Group of Nine

2011-10-13T19:32:00.000-07:00

NPR Sunday Puzzle (Oct 9, 2011): A Group of Twelve and a Group of Nine:

Q: Name something that is part of a group of twelve. Change the first letter to the next letter of the alphabet to name something that is part of a group of nine. What are these things?

Now that I have the answer, anyone care to have a discussion on whether there are eight or nine in that last group?

Edit: My comment was an attempt to mislead people into thinking the group of nine was planets (8 now without Pluto). My hint was "answer" which rhymes with the answers. The starting letters were hidden in care and discussion.

A: Cancer (from the 12 signs of the zodiac) and Dancer (from Santa's 8 reindeer plus Rudolph).

NPR Sunday Puzzle (Oct 2, 2011): A Meal Composed of an Entrée and a Dessert

2011-10-06T13:30:00.000-07:00

NPR Sunday Puzzle (Oct 2, 2011): A Meal Composed of an Entrée and a Dessert:

Q: Think of a common one-word entrée and dessert. When you insert the name of the entrée into the dessert's name, it will read as a certain meal. Name the entrée, dessert, and meal.

To everyone that appreciates this blog, I say, "Thank you, thank you very much!"

Edit: My hint was a reference to Elvis Presley who starred in the 1967 musical film Clambake. Incidentally, a version of this puzzle appeared back in August 2007

A: LAMB + CAKE --> C(LAMB)AKE

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 21, 2011): Certain Amphibians Need Not Apply

2011-08-25T13:29:00.000-07:00

NPR Sunday Puzzle (Aug 21, 2011): Certain Amphibians Need Not Apply:

Q: Take the name of an aquatic animal, in two words, six letters in the first word and four letters in the second. Remove the first letter of each word, the remaining eight letters in order, will spell a word that might describe an animal that is not aquatic.

This seems to be a common problem for me. I should know this answer, but instead it is right on the tip of my...

Edit: My hints were "common" as in the "common seal" (also known as the harbor seal) and "tip of my..." referring to the way a trained seal can balance a ball on the tip of his nose.

A: HARBOR SEAL --> ARBOREAL

So, would a tree frog be both arboreal and aquatic?

NPR Sunday Puzzle (Jul 17, 2011): Vacation Hospitalization

2011-07-21T12:01:00.000-07:00

NPR Sunday Puzzle (Jul 17, 2011): Vacation Hospitalization:

Q: Think of an adjective that might describe a child before a summer vacation. Change the second letter to the next letter of the alphabet, and you'll name someone you might see in a hospital. Who is it?

I'm sorry to dash your hopes, there are no clues in this post today.

Edit: In printing, there's an em dash (—) and an en dash (–), related in size to the printed letter 'm' and 'n', respectively. That was a hint to the letters that are changed. Also, the sentence included "I'm" and "in", the prefixes to the answers.

A: IMPATIENT and INPATIENT

NPR Sunday Puzzle (Jun 12, 2011): Sam Loyd's Hat Rack Puzzle

2011-06-16T12:00:00.000-07:00

NPR Sunday Puzzle (Jun 12, 2011): Sam Loyd's Hat Rack Puzzle:

This Hat Rack Puzzle by Sam Loyd was published 100 years ago in Woman's Home Companion:

Q: A hat room contains a wall with 49 pegs, arranged in a 7-by-7 square. The hat clerk has 20 hats that are to be hung on 20 different pegs. How many lines, containing four hats in a straight line, is it possible to produce? A line can go in any direction: horizontally, vertically or obliquely. To explain your answer, number the pegs in order, from 1 in the upper left corner to 49 in the lower right corner; list which pegs you put the 20 hats on, and give the total number of lines containing four hats in a row.

Liane has left, but it also seems like the NPR website editors are gone. Last week they had "goose" as a two word phrase (instead of "roast goose") and this week they misspelled Sam Loyd (as Sam Lloyd). Anyway, back to the puzzle; not counting rotations and reflections, I have 3 ways to get the answer.

Edit: If you re-read my post you'll see the phrase "are gone" at the end of the first sentence. This is a homphone of Argon with atomic number 18, a clue to there being 18 lines in the solution(s).

A: I found 3 main solutions (not counting reflections and rotations). Click each one to see a larger view with any rotated/reflected variants.

NPR Sunday Puzzle (May 29, 2011): Same Puzzle: True or False?

2011-06-02T12:30:00.000-07:00

NPR Sunday Puzzle (May 29, 2011): Same Puzzle: True or False?:

Q: Think of two five-letter words that are exact opposites, in which the first two letters of each word are the same as the first two letters of the other, only reversed. Hint: The fourth letter of each word is A. What two words are these?

Déjà vu. Okay, so time for some open discussion. What do you think of Audie being the regular host of NPR: Weekend Edition Sunday? Is she doing a good job? How does she compare to Liane? How is Will with a new puzzle partner? Do you even listen to the puzzle on-air or do you read it online only? What do you think of them repeating a puzzle? Do you have a better puzzle?

A: Same as last week

NPR Sunday Puzzle (May 22, 2011): Five Letter Opposites

2011-05-26T12:00:00.000-07:00

NPR Sunday Puzzle (May 22, 2011): Five Letter Opposites:

Q: Think of two five-letter words that are exact opposites, in which the first two letters of each word are the same as the first two letters of the other, only reversed. Hint: The fourth letter of each word is A. What two words are these?

I don't know what they mean... for about two months now.

Edit: The lines above are from a funny YouTube clip. Try not to laugh too loudly! Newlywed Game: Urban or Rural

A: URBAN and RURAL

NPR Sunday Puzzle (May 15, 2011): Four by Four Crossword Square

2011-05-19T12:00:00.000-07:00

NPR Sunday Puzzle (May 15, 2011): Four by Four Crossword Square:

Q: Create a 4-by-4 crossword square with four four-letter words reading across and four different four-letter words reading down. Use the word 'nags' at 1 across and the word 'newt' at 1 down. All eight words must be common, uncapitalized words, and all 16 letters must be different.

You could use recent hints in my other post...

Edit: My hint last week was "a tan" which coincidentally works this week as a clue to the least common word in the grid. I'd put ecru in the same family as tan, beige and khaki. In addition, reading the first letter of each word in my clue (Y,C,U,R,H,I,M,O,P) gives you the set of letters needed to complete the crossword square.

A:
Across: NAGS, ECRU, WHIM, TYPO
Down: NEWT, ACHY, GRIP, SUMO

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 (May 1, 2011): Transferring Universities

2011-05-05T12:39:00.000-07:00

NPR Sunday Puzzle (May 1, 2011): Transferring Universities:

Q: Take the name of a well-known U.S. university. One of the letters in it is a chemical symbol. Change this to a two-letter chemical symbol to name another well-known U.S. university. What universities are these?

If you are a regular visitor to this blog, you'll know I sometimes complain about the puzzles Will picks. This time, since it was submitted by a regular visitor (Dave Taub), I'll try to be not so critical. I will say I like how the chemical elements are related, but I feel one of these universities may not be as "well-known" to some.

Edit: All of my hints referred to the chemical elements. Both are radioactive hence the comments about "critical" and being related. Also the post started with "...you are a..." = U, Ra.

A: DUKE (University) - U + Ra = DRAKE (University)

NPR Sunday Puzzle (Apr 17, 2011): Sports Venue Transforms into Sport Equipment

2011-04-21T12:01:00.000-07:00

NPR Sunday Puzzle (Apr 17, 2011): Sports Venue Transforms into Sport Equipment:

Q: Think of a nine-letter word naming a venue for certain sports. Three letters in the word are repeated. Remove all the repetitions, and the remaining six letters can be rearranged to name a piece of sports equipment. What are these two words?

I might have to pray to a Norse god for assistance on this.

Edit: The hint pointed to Odin, the Norse god. O is an oval shape, like a racetrack, while din is a synonym for racket.

A: Racetrack (remove the duplicated letters r,a,c and rearrange) --> Racket

NPR Sunday Puzzle (Apr 3, 2011): Moby Dick scores an 82

2011-04-07T15:14:00.000-07:00

NPR Sunday Puzzle (Apr 3, 2011): Moby Dick scores an 82:

Q: Assign every letter of the alphabet a numerical value: A=1, B=2, C=3 and so forth. Think of a classic work of literature that has eight letters in its title. When the letters are given a numerical value, they add up to 35. What's the title? Clue: The title has two words.

Clue: 12,672

Edit: First hint was 12 as in Adam-12, second hint was 672 as in the birth year of Venerable Bede

A: ADAM BEDE, the first novel by George Eliot

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 (Jan 23, 2011): Another 5-letter Countries Puzzle

2011-01-27T13:02:00.000-08:00

NPR Sunday Puzzle (Jan 23, 2011): Another 5-letter Countries Puzzle:

Q: Name a nationality. The third, fourth, fifth, sixth and 10th letters in order name a country. Also the fourth, fifth, seventh, ninth and 12th letters in order also name a country. Neither country is related to the nationality. What nationality is this?

Both countries have been the answer to recent NPR puzzles. That aside, a couple lists I checked for nationalities had a shorter version, but thanks to this puzzle, I stand corrected on the nationality name.

Edit: We had a recent 5-letter country names puzzle. And we've seen Ghana and Haiti mentioned in other puzzles. My hint was the "ISTAN" from "I stand". The lists I checked had "Afghani" as the nationality rather than "Afghanistani".

A:
afGHANistAni (GHANA)
afgHAnIsTanI (HAITI)

NPR Sunday Puzzle (Jan 16, 2011): ABCDEFG plus 1 minus 1

2011-01-20T18:15:00.000-08:00

NPR Sunday Puzzle (Jan 16, 2011): ABCDEFG plus 1 minus 1:

Q: Take the first seven letters of the alphabet, A through G, change one of these letters to another letter that is also either A, B, C, D, E, F or G. Rearrange the result to spell a familiar seven-letter word. What word is it?

The old adage goes something like "don't deface the facade with a cabbage"... right? Oh, that's not a clue at all. While you are waiting for a better clue, here's a short musical interlude.

Edit: I composed that musical piece with the notes F,E,E,D,B,A,G repeated several times. I varied the octaves but otherwise they were always those notes.

A: ABCDEFG - C + E = FEEDBAG

Write the Alphabet Backwards, Quicker than Forwards!

2011-01-18T17:40:00.000-08:00

I was reminded recently of a way to impress your friends and perhaps win a bet too. It involves writing the alphabet backwards faster than they can forwards.

The key is to learn the backwards alphabet as "words" rather than individual letters. If you break it into chunks of 4 letters (with 2 left over) you have:

ZYXW VUTS RQPO NMLK JIHG FEDC BA
Phonetically think of this as the phrase:
"Zixwa Vuts Irqpo Nimlick Jig Fedic Bah"

Practice saying this as you write each set of letters one after the other. With a little practice you'll be able to write this very quickly.

Now you are ready to challenge your friends to a race. You can even bet them that you'll write the alphabet backwards faster than they write it forwards. The reason it works is you won't need to stop, think, sing that alphabet song, go back a few letters, etc. You simply write down your 7 "words" as quickly as possible and you are sure to beat them.

Enjoy!

NPR Sunday Puzzle (Jan 2, 2011): First Puzzle of the New Year

2011-01-06T12:04:00.000-08:00

NPR Sunday Puzzle (Jan 2, 2011): First Puzzle of the New Year:

Q: Take a plural noun that ends with the letter S. Insert a space somewhere in this word, retaining the order of the letters. The result will be a two-word phrase that has the same meaning as the original word, except in the singular. What word is this?

Hmm... the first puzzle of the new year is usually easy. I would like to say I have it, but the answer currently eludes me. I'm positive I'll get it eventually.

Edit: Yes, I had the answer despite what I wrote. Here are my hints: "Easy" is an anagram of the answer. "I have it" is close to the phrase "the ayes have it". If you combine "say" with the "e" in eludes, you also get the letters in the answer. And "positive" was a hint to "yes" being a positive response.

A: AYES --> A YES