Thursday, February 03, 2011

NPR Sunday Puzzle (Jan 30, 2011): Q to N, Synonym Puzzle

NPR Sunday Puzzle (Jan 30, 2011): Q to N, Synonym Puzzle:
Q: Think of a common word that's six letters long and includes a Q. Change the Q to an N, and rearrange the result to form a new word that's a synonym of the first one. What are the words?
I'm feeling this puzzle could be hard... how about you?

Edit: I had a couple hints, one about how you might feel and then hard was a synonym for "uneasy".
A: QUEASY - Q + N --> UNEASY

43 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. Hard, yes. It's making me ill thinking about it.

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  3. This is the simplest one in a long time.

    It makes me think of a Jack Nicholson movie that was also made in a parallel universe.

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  4. I can hardly believe that Blaine already figured it out.

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  5. It also reminds me of one of the countries in the last puzzle.

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  6. My reaction to the last State of the Union speech.

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  7. Hi SDB, Your energy lives up to your name (or v. versa) Anyway, I saw that movie in times square (the old one) when someone in the balcony yelled "he's gotta gun" I hid under my seat and then wondered if it was better to dodge the gun. afterward could really relate to this puzzle

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  8. My wife came up with the answer that everyone else seems to have. I came up with a different answer, perhaps not quite as good, that I think works. But I won't tell what it is (until Thursday). Has anyone else found an alternative answer?

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  9. Phil, does it remind you of the last name of a certain basketball player/coach?

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  10. I forgot to turn my phone on last Thursday. For some reason, I had Friday on my mind. I'll be more attentive this week.

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  11. RoRo:
    LOL
    However I think it is better to gun the Dodge than dodge the gun.

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  12. RoRo,

    Your reference escaped me at first. I did some checking. If you meant player then coach, and the first name starts with a W, then I think we are on the same wavelength (but let’s keep our secret).

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  13. Whenever I’m on NPR’s weekly puzzle page and I’m not absolutely sure about the answer I’ve typed, I always get an amorphous feeling of foreboding when my cursor approaches the “Submit” button. But I click it anyway. Is that courage or just a way to purge my misgivings?

    Chuck

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  14. Like so many puzzles where Mr. Shortz the answers synonymous, I disagree that these two words are true synonyms. They have related meanings, but that's as far as I'll take it.

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  15. Synonyms are not exactly the same; only similar in meaning. One must choose carefully to use the most appropriate one.
    Small and little are synonyms, but their meanings are not exactly the same.
    He is small for his age.
    He is little for his age.
    He is a little course.
    He is a small course.
    Get the drift?

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  16. I don't understand the puzzle. Why would you switch from the Q to the N?

    They both go from 42nd St. over to the east side. Simple -- same route. But then the Q stops at Atlantic Ave. and the N goes to Pacific Ave.

    I guess the N goes near the Helmsley Palace, but Leona seemed so evil. Who would marry Hemsley?

    -- Other Ben

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  17. I'm sick and tired of struggling with all the anagrams. I think I'll just move one stupid letter and be done with it.

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  18. I agree. Arnold Schwarzenegger could drop one letter and be done with it, too. (just like the sentence)

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  19. Arnold Schwarzenegger already did drop one letter. He dropped the T before the Z in his last name. In case you are unfamiliar with Deutch, a T is always sounded before a Z. In this stupid country the T is frequently added in. Oddly enough we do tend to pronounce Arnold's name correctly anyway.
    I have lived in Europe for years and it drives me craz(no T here)y the way people in the USA make little or no effort to pronounce foreign words properly. An example is BRAUN in German that is pronounced like our BROWN, and it means the same. So it is not at all difficult for someone here to pronounce it correctly, but no effort is made anyway.
    Sorry for my first rant of the week. Carry on please.

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  20. William:
    YES!
    Now I will be spending the rest of the day wondering how I managed to make that error.
    Danke.

    PS Perhaps I was taking Tommy Boy's suggestion and leaving out a letter subconsciously.

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  21. Given that Arnold is from Austria, do you really mean Österreichisches Deutsch? :-)

    I assume that Austrian German isn't that different from standard German though.

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  22. I almost made mention of Arnold being from Austria, but since I am unaware of any significant differences between German spoken in either country I chose not to. Keep in mind that Hitler was also from Austria and did not seem to have much difficulty communicating with the German People.
    I lived in Southern Germany for 2 1/2 years back in the 1960's and was aware of minor regional differences inside Germany, but I think these oddities are common all over the world, including in our country. The important thing is that I was always able to order a bier/beer successfully, anywhere I went.

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  23. Musical clue...Charlie Daniels

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  24. Did you catch my musical clue, phredp?

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  25. I've just been reading the customer reviews of "a certain product" on the website of "a certain retailer". Mostly positive. Seems like it diminishes stress and brings people together...like Sunday morning puzzles.

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  26. In the movie in question, was Nicholson's character idiosyncratic without being annoying?

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  27. I seem to have created quite a stir bringing up Arnold. I beg your pardon.

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  28. This group acts like quite a synod. Cut it out if you want the solution to the puzzle.

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  29. I think Hose Nose Mubarak in Egypt knows the answer to the puzzle.

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  30. Sorry I didn't have a puzzle posted last Wednesday, but here is the link for this week.

    Midweek Puzzler

    I have to get this posted before the "Death Storm" moves through Michigan!!

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  31. I was trying to find a "bridge" word for "quiets" and "unites" that would plausibilify that solution, based on the somewhat dubious Transitivity of Synonymity Principle. I thought of conciliates, pacifies, moderates, settles...couldn't quite get it. I believe it's there, but I couldn't just push a button to find it.

    I thought George Hanson was quirky but unirky. Robert Dupea....not so much.

    Happy (slightly belated) Birthday, Sherman; and congratulations to the evil queen and the uncredited dwarf on their impending nuptials!

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  32. I wrote that the Q and the N go from 42nd St. towards the East (which they indeed do) as a nod to the UN (as in United Nations, as well as UNeasy). Same with mentioning the Atlantic and Pacific.

    I mentioned that the N passes by the Helmsley Palace (which it doesn't) so that I might ask "who would marry Hemsley?"

    Hemsley is a nod to Sherman Hemsley, the actor better known as George Jefferson. And his wife is WEEZY.

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  33. How about Squeal and Unseal (as in to reveal or "Unseal your lips")? That was my alternate solution.

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  34. Squeal/unseal works for me, but who's the player/coach?

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  35. Paul,

    After researching, I assumed that RoRo's comment referred to Wes Unseld.

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  36. Jack Nicholson movie is Easy Rider.
    Uneasy Rider & Queasy Rider.

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  37. I think squeal equals unseal.

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  38. Yeah and I get it - squeal equals equals. Phil, you are right. Oh how I long for those days when I used to dress like a boy for safety and sneak a bottle of Boone's Farm in the Times Square movie and take the empty bottle home as a weapon if needed for the 5 block walk home ---NOT!

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  39. Prior to this week, I knew Charlie Daniels' biggest hit, and I knew his first hit; but I didn't know his first was...his. Thanks, phredp.

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  40. Did anybody get my musical clue about forgetting to turn my phone on last Thursday because I had Friday on my mind? "Friday on My Mind" was a '60s song by The Easy Beats.

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