Blaine's Puzzle Blog

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 (Aug 14, 2011): Dog Breed and Animals Puzzle

2011-08-18T23:19:00.000-07:00

NPR Sunday Puzzle (Aug 14, 2011): Dog Breed and Animals Puzzle:

Q: Name a breed of dog that starts and ends with the same letter of the alphabet. Drop that letter at both ends, and if you have the right dog, the remaining letters phonetically will name some animals. What's the dog and what are the animals?

It's a bit of a stretch to say that the remaining letters are pronounced exactly like the name of some animals.

Edit: My clue was "stretch" referring to the shape of this dog. The puzzle also reminded me of this Sprint commercial

A: Dachshund --> "achshun" --> Oxen

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 24, 2011): Female Animal and Bird

2011-07-28T14:46:00.000-07:00

NPR Sunday Puzzle (Jul 24, 2011): Female Animal and Bird:

Q: Name the female of a certain animal, add the name of a bird, say these two words out loud one after the other, and phonetically you'll name a country. What country is it?

This reminds me of a puzzle from last year, and the weather forecast in Europe.

Edit: In the discussion on a similar puzzle, ewe + crane was given as a possible alternate answer. And my other hint was "U.K. rain(e)".

A: EWE + CRANE = UKRAINE

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 19, 2011): Things You Might See in a Mine

2011-06-23T17:56:00.000-07:00

NPR Sunday Puzzle (Jun 19, 2011): Things You Might See in a Mine:

Q: Think of a former world leader whose first and last names both sound like things you might see in a mine. Who is the leader, and what are the things?

Now that this blog has been mentioned on the NPR website, we can expect great things. Here come all the new visitors looking for the answers to last week's hat puzzle. For the rest of us, this week's puzzle shouldn't be too hard.

Edit: The hints this week: "Expect Great Things" is the slogan of Kohl's Department Store. "...come all the..." anagrams into "coal helmet". And the references to "hard" and "hat" should also get you to helmet.

A: HELMUT KOHL --> HELMET, COAL

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 (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 (Oct 24, 2010): That's a Capital Idea

2010-10-28T15:34:00.000-07:00

NPR Sunday Puzzle (Oct 24, 2010): That's a Capital Idea:

Q: Name the capital of a country. Rearrange the letters to spell a word that sounds the same as the name of another country. To approach the puzzle backward, name a country that has a homophone that is an anagram of a different country's capital. What country and what capital city are they?

The following list of country capitals could be handy. I'm still working on the intended answer since so far I found a perfect anagram, not one that is a homophone.

Update: I feel like such a heel for not having figured this out sooner.

Edit: My hint was "feel like such a heel". A shoe has a heel and a sole (sounds like Seoul). You could also say I felt like a louse. :)

A: SOUTH KOREA's capital is SEOUL which anagrams to LOUSE which sounds like the country of LAOS.

NPR Sunday Puzzle (Oct 10, 2010): Rhyme Time

2010-10-10T00:21:00.000-07:00

NPR Sunday Puzzle (Oct 10, 2010): Rhyme Time:

Q: What are the two longest rhyming words that have no letters in common? For example, 'pie' and 'guy' rhyme and do not share any letters. The answer words cannot start with an unaccented syllable, such as 'today.' The source for acceptable words is Merriam-Webster's 11th Collegiate Dictionary.

Hooray! This time the puzzle isn't one that can easily be solved via computer. In fact, depending on your definition of "rhyming" there may be several answers coming Will's way. Let's discuss, but don't give away an answer before the deadline.

NPR Sunday Puzzle (July 25, 2010): Make Your Own Spoonerism Riddle

2010-08-08T06:43:00.000-07:00

NPR Sunday Puzzle (July 25, 2010): Make Your Own Spoonerism Riddle:
NPR Sunday Puzzle (Aug 1, 2010): Make Your Own Spoonerism Riddle:

Q: This is a two-week creative challenge. Come up with a riddle that starts off with 'What's the difference between' and involves a spoonerism. A spoonerism is when consonant sounds are interchanged. For example, 'What's the difference between an ornithologist and a loser in a spelling bee?' The answer: 'One is a bird watcher, and the other is a word botcher.'

Hmm... not much to comment on this week. Obviously this is different than most of Will's puzzles in that it is open-ended and is a two week challenge. Start collecting your ideas and we'll discuss them all in two weeks after the deadline.

Winner:
What's the difference between a wedding chapel and a restaurant's daily specials? One is a marrying venue, the other is a varying menu.

Runners-Up:
What’s the difference between a guinea hen and a young witch? One is a wild chicken and the other is child wicken.

What’s the difference between a dasher and a haberdasher? One makes short spurts and the other makes sports shirts.

NPR Sunday Puzzle (Jun 6, 2010): One Swell Foop

2010-06-10T14:30:00.000-07:00

NPR Sunday Puzzle (Jun 6, 2010): One Swell Foop:

Q: A 'spoonerism' is when you interchange the initial consonant sounds of two words to get two new words. For example, with 'right lane,' you'd get 'light rain.' Think of a familiar two-word phrase that's an instruction seen on many containers. 'Spoonerize' it to name two things seen at the beach. What's the phrase and what are the things?

I'm not happy with my current answer. Phonetically I have a problem with the sound on one of my words, so I'm hoping that perhaps there is a better answer.

Edit: The title of this post was a hint to the intended answer. As for my alternate answer, the key was the "Ph" in Phonetically.

A: SHAKE WELL --> WAKE, SHELL

Blaine's close miss: PULL HERE --> HULL, PIER

NPR Sunday Puzzle (Mar 21, 2010): Know your Animals

2010-03-25T17:59:00.000-07:00

NPR Sunday Puzzle (Mar 21, 2010): Know your Animals:

Q: Take the plural name of one animal and the singular name of another animal. Say the two words out loud one after the other and you'll name a country. What are the animals, and what is the country?

See, I knew Will Shortz would put his years as a crossword puzzle editor to good use and come up with something interesting...

Edit: My hint was "knew" which is another homonym for the first animal and the first part of the country. Also, both words are the type of words that crossword puzzle solvers have seen often, so I mentioned that as an additional hint.

A: GNUS + ELAND = NEW ZEALAND

NPR Sunday Puzzle (Mar 14, 2010): Tasty Opposites

2010-03-19T06:29:00.000-07:00

NPR Sunday Puzzle (Mar 14, 2010): Tasty Opposites:

Q: Think of two words that are opposites, beginning with the letters 'H' and 'M.' Change the 'H' to an 'M.' Say the result out loud, and you'll have the name of something nice to eat. What is it?

At least this week's challenge doesn't involve anagrams. (However, if you miss them and want to hear some more, listen to the on-air puzzle; it's all about anagrams.) Just like a couple weeks ago, I think the wording of the puzzle is a little misleading. If you want something nice to eat, don't take a small bite. You want the whole thing.

Edit: My hint was "some more" as in "s'more"

A: HARSH + MELLOW --> MARSHMALLOW

NPR Sunday Puzzle (Feb. 28, 2010): Name Those TV Shows

2010-03-04T13:41:00.000-08:00

NPR Sunday Puzzle (Feb. 28, 2010): Name Those TV Shows:

Q: Name an animal in two syllables. Add an S at the end of the first syllable, and you'll get the name of an old TV show. The second syllable, phonetically, is the name of a current TV show. What animal is this?

This puzzle is really easy if you interpret it correctly and really hard if you don't. The primary actors on the old TV show were born about the same time as the main actor on the current TV show.

Edit: I initially read the puzzle and thought the S was inserted between the first and second syllables to form the name of the old TV show. When I focused more on the second syllable, all of a sudden I figured out my mistake and came up with the answer.

A: Chipmunk --> CHiPs and Monk

NPR Sunday Puzzle (Sep 13): Voulez-vous coucher avec moi?

2009-09-13T06:29:00.000-07:00

NPR Sunday Puzzle (Sep 13): Voulez-vous coucher avec moi?

Q: Take a familiar French word with three letters. It's a word everyone knows. Then take its meaning in English, also with three letters. Say these two words one after the other, and phonetically they'll sound like another French word everyone knows. What word is it?

Well, I must admit I know very little French. And despite the title, I wouldn't recommend learning conversational French from songs.

When I saw this puzzle, I tried to make MOI or OUI work. We've all heard Miss Piggy utter "moi" (meaning me). And isn't "yes" one of the first words we learn in whatever language we are studying? Unfortunately MOI-ME and OUI-YES, don't result in familiar French words.

Edit: My hints take a little bit of explaining. We have MOI or OUI. MOI translates to ME. Then you have the word "OR". And OUI is YES, but in another language would be SI. So all together you have ME OR SI which sounds like MERCI.

Several people will probably complain that MER is not a common French word, but those people just haven't done enough crossword puzzles. Plus you could have solved this working backwards, which is exactly what I did.

One additional hint, if you read my standard reminder at the top of the comments, you'll notice I left off the "Thank you" at the end.

A: MER + SEA --> MERCI

NPR Sunday Puzzle (Feb 1): Famous Living Woman...

2009-02-05T14:01:00.000-08:00

NPR Sunday Puzzle (Feb 1): Famous Living Woman...:

Q: Think of a famous living woman whose first and last names are each accented on the second syllable. Say the second syllable of her last name, followed by the second syllable of her first name, and phonetically you'll get a word meaning very attractive woman. Who is it?

This one isn't that hard. The first woman I thought of was the right answer. Note: Put the syllable in the *last* name first.

Edit: The first woman I thought of was the first lady...

A: MICHELLE OBAMA --> BAM-CHELLE = BOMBSHELL

NPR Sunday Puzzle (Jan 11): The Sound of Letters

2009-01-15T17:40:00.000-08:00

NPR Sunday Puzzle (Jan 11): The Sound of Letters:

Q: Take a very common three-letter word. Say the letters phonetically and together they'll sound like a six-letter word meaning knockout. What word is it?

I think I have the answer, but I'm not sure. I don't usually pronounce the six-letter word that way.

Edit: I've checked 3 dictionaries and none of them have the 3-syllable prounounciation, though I'm sure we've heard it pronounced colloquially with 3 syllables. You shouldn't have needed much help this week, but if you did, I've included it a couple times in this post.

A: BUT --> BEAUTY (bee-YOO-tee)

NPR Sunday Puzzle (Jan 4): She was Bitten by the Acting Bug

2009-01-08T17:19:00.000-08:00

NPR Sunday Puzzle (Jan 4): She was Bitten by the Acting Bug:

Q: Take the last name of a famous actress in 2 syllables and 9 letters. Transpose the syllables and you'll have, phonetically, the word for a common ailment. Who is the person and what is the ailment?

For some reason I came up with the names Meryl Streep, Maureen Stapleton, Stockard Channing and Catherine O'Hara. They don't seem to match the puzzle at all, do they?

Edit: If you look up those actresses in IMDb, you'll find they were all in the same 1986 Movie

A: Sarah Bernhardt (1844–1923) --> Heartburn

NPR Sunday Puzzle (Sep 28): Just Desserts

2008-10-02T17:16:00.000-07:00

NPR Sunday Puzzle (Sep 28): Just Desserts:

Q: Name a popular dessert that has two syllables, in which the vowel sound in the first syllable is a short E. Change this to a long A, and phonetically you'll name a famous singer. Who is it?

I liked my clue from a couple weeks ago regarding the B.C. Comic. I wish I had a similar clue this week. Oh wait, maybe I do...

Edit: My clue above was to the comedian Bill Cosby and he is associated with this dessert.

A: JELLO --> J. LO (Jennifer Lopez)

NPR Sunday Puzzle (Jul 20): Weekend Edition Sunday Puzzle

2008-07-20T05:00:00.000-07:00

Well, this is an interesting post. I'm on vacation, so I'm actually still not around to be able to tell you what the puzzle is or to give you any hints.

Q: What is the answer to the puzzle on the NPR Website?

My wife and I should be in Akureyri in Northern Iceland at this point. We are planning on doing a whale-watching trip. I think we'll need to bundle up because it can get nippy out on the water watching whales frolick. If I'm lucky, that will be a fruitful clue to this week's puzzle and be central to solving it, but I doubt it. Help each other out, but don't give away the puzzle until after the dead line on Thursday 3pm ET.

NPR Sunday Puzzle (Apr 27): A Challenge for Star Gazers

2008-05-01T07:29:00.000-07:00

NPR Sunday Puzzle (Apr 27): A Challenge for Star Gazers:

Q: Insert a long E sound after the first letter of 'bond' and phonetically you get 'be-ond.' Insert a long E sound after the first letter of 'renter' and you get 're-enter.' Name something found in outer space. Insert a long E sound after the first letter, and you'll name a resident of a major American city. What are the words?

Are they kidding? With all the things in space, this could be like searching for a needle in a haystack!?!

Edit: Get it? Space... Needle? I know, the puzzle was SO easy, who needed a hint? Let's hope Will Shortz comes up with some more exciting puzzles in the coming weeks.

A: SATELLITE --> SEATTLELITE

NPR Sunday Puzzle (Mar 30): Over and Out

2008-04-04T06:57:00.000-07:00

NPR Sunday Puzzle (Mar 30): Over and Out:

Q: Think of an adjective starting with 'over.' What follows 'over' is a word that has a homophone — that is, a word that sounds the same but is spelled differently. For example, in 'overcast,' 'cast' is a homophone of 'caste.' Think of an adjective starting with 'over' that is frequently used with the homophone of the word that follows. What is it?

I'm a little confused this week. I see lots of choices that might work but I'm not sure I get what the puzzle is asking. For example you could argue that any of the following might work: overseas --> seize, oversight --> site, overrode --> road, overhaul --> hall, oversees --> seas, overheard --> herd, overflew --> flue, overlaps --> lapse, overdue --> do, overawed --> odd, etc. I have a potential answer (not listed here), but I'm not even happy with it and am ready to discard it.

Edit: The title (Over and Out) was obviously a clue and so was the sentence about being unhappy and discarding some(one). I submitted the answer below, but there is still a possibility it isn't the intended answer. At least phredp (see comments) seems to concur, so hopefully it is right.

A: OVERTHROWN --> THRONE, as in the monarchy (throne) was overthrown.

NPR Sunday Puzzle (Dec 16): Pronounced twice?

2007-12-20T14:13:00.000-08:00

NPR Sunday Puzzle (Dec 16): Pronounced twice?:

Q: Think of a common six-letter word with the following unusual properties: The third and fourth letters are consonants, which are silent, and the fifth letter is a 'T' which is pronounced twice. What word is this?

I think I have the intended answer, but I would object to the contention that the 'T' is pronounced twice. I've checked 8 to 10 dictionaries and each time the pronunciation key has shown a single 'T' sound.

Edit: I was thinking "eighty"... but I'm pretty sure that isn't correct because all the dictionaries show it as pronounced "long A, T". But since I looked, I found a different answer which must be what Will was intending.

A: EIGHTH

NPR Sunday Puzzle (Aug 12): No Help Today

2007-08-11T00:11:00.001-07:00

I'll be on vacation this next week, so I won't be able to post clues about the puzzle.

Edit: For completeness, here's last week's puzzle and answer:

NPR Sunday Puzzle (Aug 12): No Help Today

Q: Think of a pair of words that commonly go together. They're part of a larger group, but this pair of words is commonly said together. The first word contains a "W" sound without the letter "W" being in it. And the second word contains a "W" that is silent. (The pronunciation of the word wouldn't be changed if you remove the "W.") Name this pair of words.

The date of the puzzle was August 12, made up of the digits "1" and "2". I wonder if that was a hint?

A: ONE, TWO