Thursday, January 13, 2011

NPR Sunday Puzzle (Jan 9, 2011): A Peril, in Apparel

NPR Sunday Puzzle (Jan 9, 2011): A Peril, in Apparel:
Q: Name an article of apparel in the plural form, ending with an S. Rearrange the letters to name an article of apparel in the single form. What things to wear are these?
Alternatively, name an item of food in the plural form. Rearrange to name something you might do on a bike.

Edit: My alternate puzzle results in the additional anagrams of TACOS and COAST.
A: COATS --> ASCOT

52 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. Not many answers sent in last week. But this new one seems easier, so we're really off to the races!

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  3. Yes, a disappointing showing (200 entries) for last week. And nary a mention of earaches or heartaches. Guess no one wanted to stick his neck out. Anyway, this week’s puzzle is a lot easier.

    Chuck

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  4. I agree with William. This puzzle has a loesser degree of difficulty. It's a winner.

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  5. Tommy, Musician insiders are lucky.

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  6. Michigan outsiders, not so much.

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  7. Frankly, Tommy, since you are an unusual guy, you could say no, no, no.

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  8. I'm going out to run out & put in the ansewr

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  9. Mrs. Lorenzo, I'm curious. As a singer, are you the type that strives for an elegant guise and dolls herself up for performances?

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  10. BONUS QUESTION:

    Anagram the plural name of an article of clothing to get a singular name for an item of clothing. The plural name is actually a company name and is sometimes used as the generic name of the article of clothing, i.e., Kleenex is used for tissues.

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  11. Blaine, can you see the ocean from Gotham City?

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  12. Last week's puzzle had less than 200 entries. So was it too hard or were people too busy to enter? Will suggested the former.

    And yes, a very similar puzzle was used back in September 2005, but because of Hurricane Katrina coverage, it was only posted on the web.

    Finally, if you enjoyed the on air puzzle ("If you think it rhymes, think again"), our family did a similar themed puzzle for Christmas 2006 - Close but no Rhyme

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  13. This is a tough one. Should I contact Sherlock Holmes or CNN's Roland Martin for help?

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  14. Dave:
    How about a clue?? Got all the others but your puzzler stumps me...

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  15. I guess if I looking for a clue to this week's puzzle, I'd call up Scooby Doo an friends...

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  16. By George she's got it, by George she's got it!

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  17. I think Linda wants a clue to Dave's bonus puzzle; I'm not getting it either. I was thinking the plural in his puzzle must be something like "Keds", "Nikes", "Pumas" or "Levis"

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  18. With all due respect, might I suggest that the singular article is the company in question?

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  19. With all due respect, I believe Dave's singular article is something a pre-roaring 20's babe might have worn, and the company plural is a division of one of the companies Blaine mentioned.

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  20. Blaine, you got the right idea. Burning hot with Kids, Nikes and Pumas. It would be quite a feat if you were to get the answer. The answer is a combination of last week's puzzle and this week's puzzle, in a sense.

    Linda, see the above hint.

    Paul, I don't think that we're thinking of the same company.

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  21. Dave, since we're all in cyberspace, aren't we all metaphorically wearing the plural article?

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  22. Darn, I thought Dockers/red sock would fit Dave's puzzle to a T.

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  23. I had these also but I am not so sure that this is the intended answer...

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  24. Not my intended answer, but I like both of them.

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  25. Do you think that this week's NPR puzzle is going to be a harbinger of more easy puzzles in the future?

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  26. I've been advised by a reliable source that my clue was too obscure. Here's a more accessible restatment:

    Description of a player currently ranked #4 in the world by the ATP.

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  27. Lorenzo, you're giving the answer away.

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  28. Happy Wednesday!!!

    A new challenge is up at Midweek Puzzle Break.

    Here's the link

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  29. Dave, you may be correct. I'll expect Blaine's removal!

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  30. I don't know why I am so stumped on Dave's. My name is Robin but I can't tweet this one. I thought of trousers and tressoour but that does not fit the clues.

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  31. Think feet for the plural article of clothing, and keep in mind that there's an element of last week's puzzle (ayes) in my puzzle.

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  32. I'm not certain that anyone here cares about current events. But I am certain that we are indeed a great big pile of word geeks.

    So I feel obliged to point you to this breaking news story, which is All About Alla Bout.

    http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/2011/01/13/world/europe/AP-EU-Russia-Bout.html

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  33. Curious as to how Will judges my answer:

    Sportcoats/ Sports Coat, according to my internet searches they are both legitimate!

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  34. Joe Kupe, I don't know about Will but it gets my vote. Clever.

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  35. I don't think you have a chance, Joe.

    Has anybody figured out my puzzle? It's really not that difficult.

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  36. Dave - we fold. Show your hand!

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  37. Congratulations on the stumper, Dave. I'd never heard of Tevas before, but...I've never worn sandals.
    I thought Lorenzo had your answer because I thought you were looking for athletic shoes. Sooooo.....I still don't know what a Swedish tennis player has to do with any of this.
    Or Roland Martin.
    Or Scooby Doo.
    Or Nathan Detroit.
    Howsomever:
    Mel Gibson suggests Braveheart, which suggests kilts.
    What do Scotsmen wear under their kilts? Shoes.
    This particular style of shoes anagrams into something not unlike an ascot.
    Aye, Tommy?

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  38. Sunday's puzzle is already posted - building on last weeks ascot and tacos - I think they're getting easier...

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  39. Tevas are sandals that are very popular with the REI crowd.

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  40. Paul,the player currently ranked #4 in the world by the ATP is Andy Murray, a Scot.

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  41. Thanks for the response, Lorenzo. I don't follow tennis, but my research indicates that the rankings CHANGED between your first and second posts last week, unbeknownst to either of us, apparently. You may want to check it out; if we're living in parallel universes it might be good to know!

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  42. Paul, you're absolutely right! I was looking at the 2010 end-of-season rankings. I guess Soderling must have played well in the pre-season tune-up in Dubai!

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  43. Paul, Mel Gibson played William Wallace (WoW) in Braveheart, a Scot.

    Nice call on Nathan Detroit in "guise and dolls". Building on Frank Loesser whose academy award winning song, "Baby It's Cold Outside" refers to coats.

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  44. Thanks, Tommy. I guess "Baby It's Cold Outside" did cross my mind, but I wasn't sure about it; and I have no idea how ascot/a Scot completely escaped me.
    "Kilties", it turns out, can refer to people who wear kilts, OR a style of shoes with a flap covering the laces. "Kilties/silk tie" was actually the first answer that occurred to me(without being sure that "kiltie" was even a word), but silk tie led so immediately to ascot, which was so obviously Will's intention, that I pushed it aside...until Dave started talking about footwear.

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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.