Friday, April 27, 2007

NPR Sunday Puzzle (Apr 29): Up a Tree Without a Clue

NPR Sunday Puzzle (Apr 29): Up a Tree Without a Clue:
Q: Name a famous character in literature and legend, two words, five letters in the first name, four letters in the last. The second letter of the first name is 'R.' Move this 'R' to the second position of the second word, say the result out loud and you'll name a vehicle. Who is the character and what is the vehicle?
Someone's going to have to come to my aid with a clue this week...

Edit: Who comes to the aid of a cat stuck up a tree? Okay, I know the clue was obvious, but I hope you enjoyed it anyway.
A: FRIAR TUCK --> FIRE TRUCK

Saturday, April 21, 2007

NPR Sunday Puzzle (Apr 22): Is that Really an Office *Item*?

NPR Sunday Puzzle (Apr 22): Is that Really an Office *Item*?:
Q: Name something commonly found in an office. It is two words, with five letters in the first word and four letters in the last. Both words are the last names of famous singers. What is the office item, and who are the singers?
It might be a trivial distinction, but I'd hardly call this an office item. Technically it is something found in an office... but I don't think of it as a single, tangible item.
Edit: Okay, so perhaps I was getting a little petty, picking on the puzzle clue.
A: TOM PETTY and JOHNNY CASH --> PETTY CASH

Friday, April 13, 2007

NPR Sunday Puzzle (Apr 15): Two-word Phrases and Car Parts, a Common Theme

NPR Sunday Puzzle (Apr 15): Two-word Phrases and Car Parts, a Common Theme
Q: Take the phrase 'saturated fat,' which contains the letter pair 'AT' three times, and think of another familiar two-word phrase, this time containing the lettered pair 'SE' three times. Drop the 'SEs' every time they appear and the remaining letters, in order, reading left to right, will name part of a car. What is it?
I have to get on Will's case. Just three weeks back we had a puzzle involving two-word phrases and a car part. Practical wisdom would say that you need to vary your puzzles a little. Sounds like he might not be listening to me however...
Edit: The clues were "Practical wisdom" and the reference to the puzzle a few weeks back with the faulty car horn (and the words "sounds" and "listening").
A: HORSE SENSE --> HORN

Thursday, April 05, 2007

NPR Sunday Puzzle (Apr 8): I'll State for the Record that I'm No Fool

NPR Sunday Puzzle (Apr 8): I'll State for the Record that I'm No Fool:
Q: Take the names of two U.S. States, mix them all together, then rearrange the letters to form the names of two other U.S. States. What states are these?
I had the answer to this puzzle after a few minutes of thinking but thought I must have missed something. The answer seemed like an oversight on Will's part. I even spent time writing a few Excel macros to find 1225 combinations of the 50 states (50 x 49 / 2, excluding duplicates), sort the letters alphabetically then find matches. All that effort was overkill, because it brought me back to the original "simple" answer I had at the beginning. Next time I'll focus on the date the puzzle is aired, rather than when the answer will be announced.

Edit: Sure enough, there is only one set of four states that answer the puzzle. And they are the first four I thought of. This was obviously an April Fool's joke to make us think the puzzle was much more complicated than it really is.
A: NORTH CAROLINA + SOUTH DAKOTA
= SOUTH CAROLINA + NORTH DAKOTA