Thursday, November 27, 2008

NPR Sunday Puzzle (Nov 23): Famous Singer Anagram

NPR Sunday Puzzle (Nov 23): Famous Singer Anagram:
Q: Name a famous singer from the past who has five letters in his or her first name and six letters in the last. Rearrange the letters of the last name, plus the last letter of the first name (seven letters in all) to name a place where this singer famously performed. Who is the singer and what is the place?
In the comments from last week, Natasha says this is easy. I've obviously been overthinking it then.

Edit: I was less familiar with this singer so it took longer to get the answer. There were some good clues in the comments, including "alas, I am, Carl" which was an anagram of the singer's full name and uses of the word "callous".
A: Maria Callas --> La Scala

Thursday, November 20, 2008

NPR Sunday Puzzle (Nov 16): Authors Beginning with C

NPR Sunday Puzzle (Nov 16): Authors Beginning with C:
Q: Name a famous author whose last name starts with the letter C. Cross out four letters in it. The remaining letters, in order, will name another famous author also starting with C. Who are these two writers?
I'm not sure if I have the intended answer but I have a pair of authors that will work... it helps if you have a list of authors starting with C

Edit: It's after the deadline, so I'm going to reveal what I think is the intended answer.
A: Miguel de CERVANTES (famous for "Don Quixote")
(cross out e,v,t,s)
Stephen CRANE (famous for "Red Badge of Courage")

Thursday, November 13, 2008

NPR Sunday Puzzle (Nov 9): A Pair of Animals, Running Wild in the Capital!

NPR Sunday Puzzle (Nov 9): A Pair of Animals, Running Wild in the Capital!:
Q: Take the names of two animals. Drop the third letter from each name. Read the remaining letters, in order, from left to right and you'll name a world capital. What is it?
There are several ways to approach solving this puzzle. You could look at lists of animals, or perhaps it might be easier to look at a list of world capitals. I don't think you'll find it too difficult. Oh, my clue this week is that "tiger" is not one of the animals. Does that help?

Edit: My clues were "Oh my" and "tigers". At least my clues were less obvious than some posted in the comments section. I had to delete one that had the outright answer. Please wait until after the Thu. 3pm ET deadline to post spoilers.
A: BEaR + LIoN --> BERLIN (Germany)

Thursday, November 06, 2008

NPR Sunday Puzzle (Nov 2): Setting the Clock Back

NPR Sunday Puzzle (Nov 2): Setting the Clock Back:
Q: The names of presidents Ronald Reagan and Bill Clinton have something unusual in common. In fact, these are the only presidents in U.S. history whose names share this characteristic. What is it?
I was in the middle of setting my clocks back this morning so didn't hear the puzzle. Is anything missing from what I wrote?

Edit: It's now after the deadline so I can reveal my hints. The key words were "middle" and "missing". Also, the reference to setting the clock back was a hint to think back to prior presidents.
A: Ronald Wilson Reagan and William Jefferson Clinton -- their middle names are the last names of former U.S. presidents