Friday, April 04, 2008

NPR Sunday Puzzle (Mar 30): Over and Out

NPR Sunday Puzzle (Mar 30): Over and Out:
Q: Think of an adjective starting with 'over.' What follows 'over' is a word that has a homophone — that is, a word that sounds the same but is spelled differently. For example, in 'overcast,' 'cast' is a homophone of 'caste.' Think of an adjective starting with 'over' that is frequently used with the homophone of the word that follows. What is it?
I'm a little confused this week. I see lots of choices that might work but I'm not sure I get what the puzzle is asking. For example you could argue that any of the following might work: overseas --> seize, oversight --> site, overrode --> road, overhaul --> hall, oversees --> seas, overheard --> herd, overflew --> flue, overlaps --> lapse, overdue --> do, overawed --> odd, etc. I have a potential answer (not listed here), but I'm not even happy with it and am ready to discard it.

Edit: The title (Over and Out) was obviously a clue and so was the sentence about being unhappy and discarding some(one). I submitted the answer below, but there is still a possibility it isn't the intended answer. At least phredp (see comments) seems to concur, so hopefully it is right.
A: OVERTHROWN --> THRONE, as in the monarchy (throne) was overthrown.
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8 comments:

  1. Don HodunMon Mar 31, 09:55:00 AM PDT

    The key is to be very strict about the "over.." word being an adjective. The homophone HAS to be a noun. Unless you think this is just rubbish...

    ReplyDelete
  2. EricMargelMon Mar 31, 12:02:00 PM PDT

    Technically it doesn't say the homophone has to be a noun.

    I went through page after page of the dictionary looking at over- words before I figured this one.

    ReplyDelete
  3. phredpTue Apr 01, 01:39:00 PM PDT

    Ooh, this is a tough one and you have to know your parts of speech. I'd give a kings ransom for the answer!

    ReplyDelete
  4. Ginkgo100Thu Apr 03, 05:34:00 PM PDT

    I think using the adjective as "overseas" and the other frequently used word as "oversees" would answer the puzzle.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Joe WFri Apr 04, 12:45:00 AM PDT

    I don't think the homophone includes the "over" part of the adjective. I submitted "overnight" and "knight." The two words are used together but probably not frequently.

    ReplyDelete
  6. phredpFri Apr 04, 04:52:00 AM PDT

    Since the submit deadline has past, I used overthrown and throne
    (thus the kings ransom hint).

    ReplyDelete
  7. phredpFri Apr 04, 04:54:00 AM PDT

    Sorry, passed not past

    ReplyDelete
  8. BlaineFri Apr 04, 11:44:00 AM PDT

    I'm wondering if ericmargel's post was a clue with *page* after *page*. It also implies that the answer is later in the alphabet.

    I submitted the same answer as phredp. Alas, another week with no call from NPR. :-)

    ReplyDelete

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