Thursday, September 16, 2010

NPR Sunday Puzzle (Sept. 12, 2010): Compound Word Puzzle

NPR Sunday Puzzle (Sept. 12, 2010): Compound Word Puzzle:
Q: Think of a common compound word in which each half starts with the letter C. Change both Cs to Bs, and you'll get the names of two related objects. What objects are they?
Well ladies and gentlemen, girls and boys, I don't have a good clue at all, so you are on your own to figure this out.

Edit: The clues were ladies and gentlemen (man and woman), girls and boys. You can put each of these words together with the parts of the answer to make other words (Catwoman, Batman, callgirl, ballboy). The other hidden clue was "at all" which is the answer without the leading letters.
A: CATCALL --> BAT and BALL

31 comments:

  1. Here's my standard reminder... don't post the answer or any outright spoilers before the deadline of Thursday at 3pm ET. If you know the answer, click the link and submit it to NPR, but don't give it away here. Thank you.

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  2. The Puzzler is really slipping! This was too easy!

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  3. I agree Doc. The puzzle seems to be a little off its game.

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  4. I actually howled when I heard this puzzle. The compound word was seen at the world trade center site yesterday and the "b" words weren't too far away.

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  5. I think this puzzle is a bit of a stretch.

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  6. Hey! It's Abe Burrough's birthday! No, wait! Not Abe, but one of the Burroughs. Not Queens either.

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  7. Musical clue: carbon circuit - ring a bell?

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  8. Please visit my puzzle blog. tomspuzzlebreak.blogspot.com

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  9. If you ever owned a Chevy Vega, you got the answer right on the nose.

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  10. You can find all in Pittsburgh this year.

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  11. I caught onto this one right away - it might have been the fastest I've ever solved one of Will's puzzles. My first instinct was to work backwards, starting with the B words, and they were the first ones I thought of. This time I managed to stop short of blurting it out so my husband got a crack at it. He's still stumped. :)

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  12. After 24 hours and much eyestrain, I came to the conclusion that I was stubbornly misunderstanding the question:
    Not asked for a compound word related to the given one, but -
    asked for 2 related B words (that I had found early on, but rejected.) Boohoo.

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  13. I was born in "da Bronx" so I don't get my felin's hurt as easily.

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  14. Jan, I don't quite get the reference to the Vega. Can you give me a hint?

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  15. Hi, all. I posted this week's a day early. Tom
    http://tomspuzzlebreak.blogspot.com

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  16. I'm not sure I've got the right answer, but I tried.

    Here's a direct link:
    Tom's Puzzle Break

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  17. I was expecting some berry clues this week.

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  18. Okay, everybody. Here's how you can increase your chances of getting "The Call" from NPR on Thursday morning. Say you're from Eugene, OR. Our population is only 150,000, yet three competitors in less than two years have hailed from Eugene. Kevin Miller from Eugene was the contestant in October, 2008, I was the contestant on May 30, 2010, and Kevin Callahan was the contestant on September 4, 2010. Either Eugeneans are smarter than other people, more of us listen to NPR and submit answers than other people, or we're just lucky. Coincidentally, Kevin M.'s daughter played on my daughter's basketball team, which I coached, and Kevin C.'s daughter played on my daughter's soccer team, which I also coached. It's a very small world.

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  19. Dave, maybe it is just good karma. Have you all been doing alot of Agnohotra in your mini fur-naces lately?

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  20. I've posted what I believe is the correct answer based on the Vega clue. Until I read Jan's post, I wasn't sure.....my insticts were stopping me from submitting.

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  21. I went to one Web site with a list of compound words and checked all the ones where both parts started with C, but I completely struck out. Then the correct answer suddenly hit me.

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  22. Jan, thank you for your clue. I believe I have the correct answer, but I don't see how that answer is related to Vegas or the vertical packing of cars. Blaine's clues usually leave me cold. References to the Bronx, on the other hand...

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  23. Maybe we are getting two different answers because the Vert-a-pac makes perfect sense as a clue to me but the reference to the Bronx goes right over my head.

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  24. Yes, I think two different answers are being hinted.

    But I question whether the Vert-a-pac one is a true compound word, and suggest that the Bronx one is the superior answer.

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  25. I agree. The Vert-a-Pac answer is two words, not a compound word. I've not even been able to find it hyphenated, though the B words do go together nicely.

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  26. Since it is after the deadline, I believe the intended answer was catcall --> bat + ball. I don't think you can argue that car carrier is a compound word, though bar and barrier are nicely related.

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  27. Check

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/English_compound

    Evidently compound nouns may take different forms at the writer's option including spaces and hyphens.

    "Shoeshine", the answer missed by both Liane and the on-air contestant, doesn't appear in the MWC Dictionary #10.

    My favorite close miss was "crew cut" leading to "brew butt" = beer barrel

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  28. Dave - two people from Houghton, MI, a town of just under 10,000, were the winners in the last 4 months. They both used to bowl in the same bowling league. I'm not sure Eugene is the answer.

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  29. Bryan, I'm moving to Houghton. What are the odds of two people from such a small town getting "The Call?" And what are the odds of them being in the same bowling league?

    Will used a question that I had submitted for the weekly challenge, so we had at least three competitors and one weekly challenge from Eugene in less than two years.

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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.