NPR Sunday Puzzle (Jun 20, 2021): Take the Car out for a Spin

NPR Sunday Puzzle (Jun 20, 2021): Take the Car out for a Spin

Q: Name a make of car. Write it in all capital letters. Rotate one of the letters 90 degrees and another letter 180 degrees to make a woman's name. What is it?

I think this might be Will's favorite make of car.

NPR Sunday Puzzle (Jun 13, 2021): Famous Woman with a Three Part Name

NPR Sunday Puzzle (Jun 13, 2021): Famous Woman with a Three Part Name

Q: Name a famous woman in American history with a three-part name. Change one letter in her first name to a double letter. The resulting first and second parts of her name form the first and last names of a famous athlete. And the last part of the woman's name is a major rival of that athlete. Who are these people?

I just noticed something about her initials.

Edit: Lady Bird Johnson (LBJ) and Lyndon Baines Johnson (LBJ).

A: Lady Bird Johnson --> Larry Bird, (Magic) Johnson

NPR Sunday Puzzle (Jun 6, 2021): Best Picture Oscar Winners

NPR Sunday Puzzle (Jun 6, 2021): Best Picture Oscar Winners

Q: Write down the name of a country plus its capital, one after the other. Hidden in consecutive letters inside this is the name of a film that won an Academy Award for Best Picture. Name the country, capital, and film.

It definitely helps if you put the country FIRST, then the capital. :) Also, didn't we just have a puzzle involving an Oscar winner?

Edit: My first hint was "definitely" and the second was that we had a recent puzzle that was related, not the Chloe Zhao puzzle but instead the Ma Rainey puzzle.

A: BAH(RAIN MAN)AMA

NPR Sunday Puzzle (May 30, 2021): A=1, B=2, C=3, ...

NPR Sunday Puzzle (May 30, 2021): A=1, B=2, C=3, ...

Q: Name a famous city in 10 letters that contains an "S." Drop the "S." Then assign the remaining nine letters their standard value in the alphabet — A = 1, B= 2, C = 3, etc. The total value of the nine letters is only 25. What city is it?

Now that I've solved that, I can go back to watching sitcoms.

Edit: I was thinking of "I Love Lucy" which hints at the fossils of Lucy (Australopithecus) found in Ethiopia and housed in a museum in the capital city.

A: ADDIS ABABA

NPR Sunday Puzzle (May 23, 2021): In a Quandary

NPR Sunday Puzzle (May 23, 2021): In a Quandary

Q: Think of an eight-letter word in which the third and sixth letters are "A." Remove the A's. The remaining six letters start a common series. What is it? And what comes next in that series?

Edit: I was in a quandary because the reminder that I post at the top of the comments each week has the word directly. Do I change the word? Or do I just leave it as is?

A: "standard", remove the A's and you have "st nd rd" which is part of the series of ordinals (1st, 2nd, 3rd, ...) so the next item in the series is "th" (4th)

NPR Sunday Puzzle (May 16, 2021): It's not Cher, Sting or Prince

NPR Sunday Puzzle (May 16, 2021): It's not Cher, Sting or Prince

Q: Name a popular singer — first and last names. Change one letter to a "P" and read the result backward. You'll get what many people do around this singer. Who is it?

Am I the only one that thought the singer was using a stage name?

Edit: I actually thought her name meant "two lips".

A: DUA LIPA --> APPLAUD

NPR Sunday Puzzle (May 9, 2021): 11 Letter Word with 6 Syllables

NPR Sunday Puzzle (May 9, 2021): 11 Letter Word with 6 Syllables

Q: Think of a word with six syllables that's spelled with only 11 letters — and the four middle syllables have the same vowel. What word is it?

I'm not sure if I'm allowed to post a hint.

Edit: I was questioning my eligibility.

A: ELIGIBILITY

NPR Sunday Puzzle (May 2, 2021): Singing the Blues

NPR Sunday Puzzle (May 2, 2021): Singing the Blues

Q: Name a famous blues singer — first and last name as this person is generally known. Change the first letter to a "B," and phonetically you'll get a nationality. Who's the singer, and what's the nationality?

Today I learned two things

Edit: Ma Rainey is a real person and someone from Bahrain is Bahraini.

A: MA RAINEY --> BAHRAINI

NPR Sunday Puzzle (Apr 25, 2021): Consonants and Vowels

NPR Sunday Puzzle (Apr 25, 2021): Consonants and Vowels

Q: Think of a person in the news (5,4). The first name and last name each have at least two consonants and two vowels. All the consonants in each name come at the start, and all the vowels come at the end. The letter "y" is not used. Who is this famous person?

I usually have an answer Sunday morning, but this took me until later on to solve. Ironically, the first name was a variant of the first one I thought of.

Edit: The first name I thought of was Khloé Kardashian which I quickly dismissed. It wasn't until after the Academy Awards coverage that I figured out the answer.

A: Chloé Zhao, winner of Best Director for Nomadland

NPR Sunday Puzzle (Apr 18, 2021): "Never Work with Children or Animals" - W.C. Fields

NPR Sunday Puzzle (Apr 18, 2021): "Never Work with Children or Animals" - W.C. Fields

Q: Name a famous actor — 4 letters in the first name, 7 letters in the last. You can change the first letter of the actor's first name to name a bird. And you can change the first letter of the actor's last name to name a mammal. Who's the actor?

No clue, just a picture.

Edit: The color green, for The Hulk

A: MARK RUFFALO --> LARK, BUFFALO