NPR Sunday Puzzle (Nov 17, 2024): An American Author's Body of Work

NPR Sunday Puzzle (Nov 17, 2024): An American Author's Body of Work

Q: Think of a classic American author, whose first and last name's are each one syllable. The last name, when said aloud, sounds like part of the body. Insert the letters "A-S" into the first name and you have the location of this body part. Who is the author?

I had to nix my previous hints.

NPR Sunday Puzzle (Nov 10, 2024): Panders for Seafood

NPR Sunday Puzzle (Nov 10, 2024): Panders for Seafood

Q: Using only the letters of PANDERS, and repeating them as often as desired, spell a certain entrée at a seafood restaurant (3-6 3 7).

I got the first two words and the last two words. I didn't think there was a dish that put them together. Update: I had the incorrect first two words... no wonder it didn't make sense. As a hyphenated word it makes more sense.

Edit: I initially came up with Red-pepper red snapper.

A: PAN-SEARED RED SNAPPER

NPR Sunday Puzzle (Nov 3, 2024): Experimental Place

NPR Sunday Puzzle (Nov 3, 2024): Experimental Place

Q: Name a place where experiments are done (two words). Drop the last letter of each word. The remaining letters, reading from left to right, will name someone famously associated with experiments. Who is it?

Rearrange the letters in the person's full name and you get a quiet animal.

Edit: NIKOLA TESLA --> SILENT KOALA

A: TEST LAB --> TESLA

NPR Sunday Puzzle (Oct 27, 2024): Where in the World?

NPR Sunday Puzzle (Oct 27, 2024): Where in the World?

Q: Name a place somewhere on the globe -- in two words. Rearrange the letters of the first word to name some animals. The second word in the place name is something those animals sometimes do. What is it?

I've heard of REED PARK, but I'm not letting any DEER have the keys to my car, red jacket or not.

Edit: I was originally focused on BAY as a sound that canines might make. I was almost ready to dismiss the idea when I saw a (now deleted) comment about Sherlock Holmes which immediately made me think of The Hound of the Baskervilles and thus the answer.

A: HUDSON BAY --> HOUNDS, BAY

NPR Sunday Puzzle (Oct 20, 2024): Greetings from...

NPR Sunday Puzzle (Oct 20, 2024): Greetings from...

Q: The city of UTICA, NEW YORK, when spelled out, contains 12 letters, all of them different. Think of a well-known U.S. city, that when its name is spelled out (including the state), contains 13 letters, all of them different. Your answer doesn't have to match Will's.

A typo was introduced when the city name was registered; if that hadn't occured, it wouldn't be composed of 13 unique letters.

Edit: While the name is derived from Fort Caspar and Lt. Caspar Collins, it is officially named "Casper" due to a typo occurring during the official registration.

A: CASPER, WYOMING

NPR Sunday Puzzle (Oct 13, 2024): Have a Drink

NPR Sunday Puzzle (Oct 13, 2024): Have a Drink

Q: Think of something to drink whose name is a compound word. Delete the first letter of the first part and you'll get some athletes. Delete the first letter of the second part and you'll get where these athletes compete. What words are these?

The removed letters form a state abbreviation.

Edit: SD --> South Dakota

A: SCREWDRIVER --> CREW, RIVER

NPR Sunday Puzzle (Oct 6, 2024): Two Word Place Names

NPR Sunday Puzzle (Oct 6, 2024): Two Word Place Names

Q: Think of a place in America. Two words, 10 letters altogether. The first five letters read the same forward and backward. The last five letters spell something found in the body. What place is this?

The first letter of each word is a hint to the answer.

Edit: New England is NE (North East).

A: NEW ENGLAND (NEWEN/GLAND)

NPR Sunday Puzzle (Sep 29, 2024): They're Gr-r-reat!

NPR Sunday Puzzle (Sep 29, 2024): They're Gr-r-reat!

Q: Name a certain breakfast cereal character. Remove the third, fifth, and sixth letters and read the result backward. You'll get a word that describes this breakfast cereal character. What is it?

Change the fifth letter of the character's name to an 'O' and rearrange to get something Russian.

Edit: COSMONAUT

A: TOUCAN SAM --> MASCOT

NPR Sunday Puzzle (Sep 22, 2024): New Towels

NPR Sunday Puzzle (Sep 22, 2024): New Towels

Q: Take the phrase NEW TOWELS. Rearrange these 9 letters to get the brand name of a product you might buy at the supermarket. What is it?

I saw an AD for this product just the other day.

Edit: The product would need an additional AD to spell out AND; it's just 'N. By the way, this same product was mentioned in a similar puzzle from November 2018. The color of the bottom towel in the picture was also a hint to the product's pink packaging.

A: SWEET 'N LOW

NPR Sunday Puzzle (Sep 15, 2024): A Fancy Capital Entree

NPR Sunday Puzzle (Sep 15, 2024): A Fancy Capital Entree

Q: Name a U.S. state capital. Then name a world capital. Say these names one after the other and phonetically you'll get an expensive dinner entree. What is it?

Change the last letter of the dinner entree to the letter directly to its right on a standard typewriter keyboard. Rearrange to name something we might fear.

Edit: Change the last E to an R and rearrange to get OVERLORDS.

A: DOVER (Delaware) + SEOUL (South Korea) --> DOVER SOLE