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.

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

NPR Sunday Puzzle (Sep 8, 2024): Watercraft on Water

NPR Sunday Puzzle (Sep 8, 2024): Watercraft on Water

Q: Take the name of a watercraft that contains an odd number of letters. Remove the middle letter and rearrange the remaining ones to name a body of water. What words are these?

How close are you to the answer? Are you hot or cold?

Edit: Similar to a puzzle from Jan 21, 2018. You might see a gondola (basket) below a hot air ballon or gondola (lift) at a cold ski resort. But most often you'll see them in the Venice Lagoon.

A: GONDOLA --> LAGOON

NPR Sunday Puzzle (Sep 1, 2024): TV Personality of the Past

NPR Sunday Puzzle (Sep 1, 2024): TV Personality of the Past

Q: Name a famous TV personality of the past. Drop the second letter of this person's last name. Phonetically the first and last names together will sound like a creature of the past. What celebrity is it?

You can drop all instances of that letter and you still get the same answer.

Edit: DINA-SORE

A: DINAH SHORE --> DINOSAUR

NPR Sunday Puzzle (Aug 25, 2024): Single Consonant Name

NPR Sunday Puzzle (Aug 25, 2024): Single Consonant Name

Q: The word NONUNION has four N's and no other consonant. What famous American of the past -- first and last names, 8 letters in all -- has four instances of the same consonant and no other consonant?

I don't have a clue to help you identify the person... or do I?

Edit: The vowels in "identify" are the same vowels in the answer.

A: Eli Lilly (founder of the pharmaceutical company).

NPR Sunday Puzzle (Aug 18, 2024): A Famous Movie Star

NPR Sunday Puzzle (Aug 18, 2024): A Famous Movie Star

Q: Think of a famous movie star -- .first and last names, nine letters in all. The third, fourth, fifth, seventh, and eighth letters, in order, name a profession. The star's last name is something that this profession uses. Who is the movie star and what is the profession?

In one role, this actor played a [redacted].

Edit: My redacted clue was "king" as in Billie Jean King.

A: EMMA STONE --> MASON, STONE

NPR Sunday Puzzle (Aug 11, 2024): Six Letter Food Items

NPR Sunday Puzzle (Aug 11, 2024): Six Letter Food Items

Q: Think of a popular food item in six letters. Change the last two letters to a K to make a common five-letter word in which none of the letters are pronounced the same as in the six-letter food. What food is this?

Add the letters in the word DOTES to the food item, rearrange to get a place that was popular in the last century.

Edit: DISCOTHEQUE

A: QUICHE --> QUICK