Thursday, February 10, 2011

NPR Sunday Puzzle (Feb 6, 2011): You are Cleared for Take-off

NPR Sunday Puzzle (Feb 6, 2011): You are Cleared for Take-off:
Name two things an airplane does. Each of these is a single word. Put them together, one after the other, to make a compound word that names something it's nice to have as big as possible. What is this thing?
I don't know about you, but I like my porterhouse as big as possible...

Edit: Porterhouse is a type of steak which is a homophone of stake which is a synonym of the answer.
A: BANK + ROLL = BANKROLL

41 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. Mister Showmanship would get a chuckle out of this one.

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  3. Anyone going to watch the Superbowl?
    I'm in it for the commercials.
    Anyone know how much per minute they cost this year?

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  4. After listening to the on-air challenge, I'm thinking about trying to arrange those clues in order of difficulty. I don't remember them all, so I'll have to wait for the transcript, but I think I know which one I'll place 4th.

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  5. I really don't feel like rummaging through this puzzle. Must be a seasonal thing. I need a vacation . . .

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  6. I am vaguely reminded of Midnight Cowboy...

    Chuck

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  7. The first word I thought of is pretty common, but the second is not that familiar unless you know a certain Dutch/Swiss Mathematician - is that what others found ? The answer sounds Shortz-worthy..

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  8. Something many airlines could use right now.

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  9. Elvis was headed in that direction.

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  10. Midnight Cowboy, hmmm . . . because the main character is from the Lone Star state? Yet another reminder of our previous president . . .

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  11. Definitely watching the Super Bowl today. The experts say that Green Bay is the hot team, but I bet on my Steelers. I'm not sure what I'm going to do with my winnings.

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  12. I wonder if this clue has anything to do with the fact that it's pledge drive time at many NPR stations...

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  13. Speaking of super...musical clue this week might be superbad..not to be confused with Super Freak!

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  14. My Midnight Cowboy reference was intended as a musical clue although perhaps too subtle for those who are not fans of Harry...

    Chuck

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  15. I was watching a completely different movie earlier today: Capricorn One--you know, where they pretend to send a manned spacecraft to Mars; a completely fraudulent claim they don't deserve credit for . . .

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  16. I'd like to thank Col. Chuck Yeager for his contributions to my flying vocabulary that allowed me to solve this puzzle so quickly :)

    @DaveJ: The answer I have uses two very simple and common words. I think we're on different flight paths.

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  17. I felt like a Whopper so I ran 2 BK 4 1. lol

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  18. I think I chose my words poorly. A better explanation might be; I could easily imagine saying to a fellow passenger, 'Hey can you feel the plane "WORD#1"ing' ? but just cannot imagine saying 'hey does anyone notice the plane is "WORD#2"ing' or is it just me ?

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  19. @DaveJ - Ahh, yes. The second word (as it applies to airplanes, and spacecraft for that matter) is more technical, so probably less well-known to the general public.

    And if you *did* notice the plane doing much of #2, you'd have to shout to be heard over the screaming :)

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  20. If the airplane were to "WORD#2," one of the better scenarios would be it did that while "WORD#1"ing . . .

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  21. There are at least two answers to this puzzle. The bigger is better idea depends on your perspective and values.

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  22. Well I have a different perspective on this.
    First is that in order for #2 to occur #1 is not involved.
    Second is that the passengers most likely would have no idea it ever happened.
    I speak from experience on this matter.

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  23. I am reminded of the Burt Parks and Wink Martindale. Maybe I'm showing my age.

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  24. Parkland
    Bankroll

    which is the correct answer?

    I go with parkland

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  25. Obviously the answer is bankroll.
    My clue about Mr. Showmanship refers to Liberace and his famous line: "I laugh all the way to the bank."

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  26. ok SDB but if I can't have a large bankroll I will settle for large parklands all over America at taxpayers expense. Although not a compound word, my cruise ship can be pretty large also as long as it does not get stranded in Mexico.

    You had me guessing all over the place with Liberace. Words like spin, strut, etc. came to mind.

    DaveJ - What was yours? seemed different.

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  27. If you think of a stunt plane, bank and roll are common actions. Yes, I agree you wouldn't want your commercial jetliner doing barrel rolls though.

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  28. Barrel rolls are extremely smooth when performed properly. If one is not looking out a window one most likely would not know anything had happened. A roll is not related to a bank. If you suddenly feel the nose rise a bit then you might look to see if the pilot is initiating a barrel roll. They are very easy to perform and not at all uncomfortable. I would love to be on a passenger jet (prefer Boeing) where the pilot performed one just to see if anyone else knew what had happened.

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  29. I sure hope the next puzzle will be more challenging than the recent ones. This one took only 90 seconds. Come on Will!

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  30. I thought I might rank the on-air "boll" question 4th (rank boll 4, with appropriate shifting: bank roll $). It actually was 5th, in my opinion.
    Spin + drift = spindrift (anagram "find trips") may or may not be a good answer.

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  31. Wow, it seems no one thinks TAX BREAK is even an option. My answer was TAX BREAK, and I came up with it within a couple of minutes.

    Yes, I know Porterhouse is a steak, and I took that as rhyming with "break."

    My hints were: "seasonal" (tax) and "vacation" (break), "Lone Star State" (Texas = taxes), and "fraudulent claim they don't deserve credit for" (as in tax fraud).

    It seemed to me some of the other posts were compatible with the TAX BREAK answer...

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  32. Oh, and another hint I placed: "rummage through," as in "sift through tax receipts."

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  33. What do tax and break have to do with airplanes?

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  34. @ skydiveboy: An airplane "taxes" on the ground (between gate and tarmac/runway), and yes, airplanes can break--hopefully not at an altitude of 35,000 ft . . .

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  35. Wolfgang:
    The government taxes.
    Airplanes taxi.
    Taxes can break your bankroll.

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  36. A long time ago Wink Martindale emceed the game show "High Rollers" and Burt Parks emceed "Break the Bank."

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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.

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