Wednesday, November 07, 2007

NPR Sunday Puzzle (Oct 28): Why a Question about Summer in the Fall?

NPR Sunday Puzzle (Oct 28): Why a Question about Summer in the Fall?:
Q: Name something you might wear in the summer. The answer will have two words, with five letters in the first word and three letters in the second. Remove the next-to-last letter and read the result backward and you'll get a word that means 'blocks.' What words are these?
I'm not thinking about things you'd wear in the summer right now. Instead we are focused on our family Halloween theme. I can't reveal what we are all going as yet. You'll have to check our family website for when we post pictures. In the meantime, I will tell you about one of my favorite family themes we did... The Wizard of Oz. Click on Halloween Costumes, on our Family Blog. Look at 2003. The things we had the most problem with were the grass sticking out of my costume (Scarecrow), the funnel on Michael's head (Tin Man) and the warts on my wife's nose (Wicked Witch). Anyway, check back for photos of this year's costumes and perhaps clues to this puzzle.

Edit: Well, I was busy updating our family website with the latest Halloween costumes... but I hope you figured out the clues (Scarecrow = straw, Tin man = hat, Witch = th' warts)
A: STRAW HAT -A --> THWARTS

8 comments:

  1. hi friend can i know how to add the Google powered search option in the blog which you have added.

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  2. Hey Blaine, you really had to put your thinking cap on to solve this puzzle!

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  3. Very clever. Solved it in no time with your post.

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  4. You made it too easy - too much of a giveaway. There should still be some challenge after people read your post.

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  5. I vacillate between clues that are too easy and those that are too hard, and I never seem to make everybody happy. You always have the option not to read my comments. :-)

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  6. True enough. I like your clues generally. Part of what motivated my post in this case was that it's nearly impossible to get on the air as a contestant, and if you make it too easy, it gets even harder.

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  7. I've given up on ever making it on the air. I've entered practically every week for years! It's even more annoying when I hear someone on the air say this is the first time they ever entered. I know random chance says I'm not "owed" a turn on the air, but...

    Anyway, at this point, I just solve the puzzles and post about them here for my own enjoyment. There have only been a few stumpers, so I don't really think I'm giving a lot away, but I'll try not to give away the farm in future posts.

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  8. It's far easier for a good puzzle solver or trivia maven to get on Wheel of Fortune and Jeopardy (I've done both) than it is to get on with Shortz. The hurdle is higher, but if you can get over it, your odds of getting on are very high, as opposed to infinitesimal (as you know, something like 1/1200 in a typical week).

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For NPR puzzle posts, don't post the answer or any hints that could lead to the answer before the deadline (usually Thursday at 3pm ET). If you know the answer, submit it to NPR, but don't give it away here.

You may provide indirect hints to the answer to show you know it, but make sure they don't assist with solving. You can openly discuss your hints and the answer after the deadline. Thank you.