Thursday, April 28, 2011

NPR Sunday Puzzle (Apr 24, 2011): A Place of Power Puzzle

NPR Sunday Puzzle (Apr 24, 2011): A Place of Power Puzzle:
Q: Think of a familiar three-word phrase in the form '___ and ___'. If you remove the 'and' and put the second word in front of the first word, you get a compound word naming a place of power. Hint: The compound word has nine letters. What is the three-word phrase, and what place of power is this?
I'm going to have to lie back on the sofa and ponder this puzzle.

Edit: Sofa is a synonym for divan which is also the Muslim word for council chamber or boardroom.
A: Room and Board --> Boardroom

48 comments:

  1. Here's my standard reminder... don't post the answer or any hints that could lead directly to the answer (e.g. via Google or Bing) 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.

    You may provide indirect hints to the answer to show you know it, but make sure they don't give the answer away. Thank you.

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  2. Will my nail gun work in space?

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  3. "One does not simply walk into Narnia!" said Boromir. "You're likely to be molested by a Fawn or something!"

    For my musical selection, something from the O'Jays would be appropriate, I would think.

    Seriously, this week's puzzle took me longer to read than to solve.

    @Mike: It ought to, but that sounds dangerous. Why wood you do such a thing?

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  4. This puzzle did not have the capacity to sustain my interest. Oh well, at least I have the company of my fellow bloggers.

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  5. I'm going back to listen to Frank S.

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  6. benmar, you trumped me with your clue. How about an old Lovin' Spoonful song as a clue instead?

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  7. This puzzle reminds me of several characters in the original version of "The Day the Earth Stood Still."

    www.curtisjohnsonimages.com

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  8. Another stupid and far to simple minded puzzle, but I do wish Frank S. were here to verify my answer.

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  9. Also I have already found all my eggs! On the other hand there is still one missing that I was unable to find from last year. I don't even know which part of the house it is in, but the stink has driven all my renters out.

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  10. I guess no one here would buy the phrase bagels and lox, the place being where you loxbagels...

    My musical clue would be the Drifters.

    Chuck

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  11. Will Shortz is King of Crosswords,
    But with him I have some cross words.
    __His recent NPR teasers,
    __Have not been pleasers.
    As they only appeal to posh nerds.

    Perhaps he has become too conventional,
    And I am sure it is not intentional
    __All we ask of Will
    __Is to challenge our skill.
    But crosswords are so two dimensional.

    So come on now Maestro Will,
    And present us with a real thrill.
    __Please get some new cohorts,
    __To provide you, Mr. Shortz,
    With no more of this simple krill.

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  12. Chuck:
    Isn't this the day stale bagels rise from the dead

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  13. I like the Drifters too but see-
    Give me just a little more time

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  14. I have a high school senior and my intuition tells me I'll need more money soon.

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  15. As for musical clues, I'd go with the Beach Boys. Although you'd expect the Carpenters to have some familiarity with the subject matter, too... I guess we're all suffering from ennui here (Frankie most of all, maybe).

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  16. Three-day weekend: leave the oscillations of the S&P behind, check into a quiet B&B for a bit of R&R listening to some R&B.

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  17. Lorenzo, thanks for reminding me.

    @EVERYBODY

    Since we've made short work of Shortz's work, try this:

    Rearrange the letters of the words auto and rig to name a common spring event.

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  18. Hmm... I'm thinking summer. Specifically June 27 of last year.

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  19. Law, regarded reformationally, is a synchronizer of harmonious progress (6,5)

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  20. Blaine, your knowledge of your archives is truly impressive. Mine's a little rocky.

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  21. Dave, if you're referring to my challenge, add the consecutive letters 'ten' somewhere in my query for a 2x4 to the head hint.

    If not, take the initials of the words monkeys and orangutans to see a clue given by several posters here.

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  22. Blaine - it's pretty impressive to be on the first page of an obscure Google search. Congrats!

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  23. Tommy, Blaine, anyone thinking about this time of year, reminds me of Igor

    ROISTERING S#!@* F!@* or
    PREFIGURATIONS minus a u ...
    or FINGERTIPS

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  24. Tommy Boy, actually I'm still stuck on Will's puzzle.

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  25. Dave, I am a bit stuck on this one too.

    @tommyboy I wonder if the m and o you mentioned refers to ebb and flow in some way.

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  26. Finally figured it out. Now all of the musical hints make sense. I was taking the wrong approach on the compound word. Meow.

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  27. @Kaleena: Perhaps a little free association on the following might help:
    2x4
    Snow
    Dark
    Bath

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  28. Kaleena, where does the elite group meet to make decisions? Think New York.

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  29. Thanks everyone, I finally got it. I was interpreting "place of power" in too many different ways which was causing me to get stuck. I can now rest easy knowing the true answer to the puzzle. Anyone up for a quick game of Clue?

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  30. A little mixed up...2 ways to get around in Oz?

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  31. Nice, Mike. Kind of reminds me of Yogi Bear.

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  32. This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.

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  33. @dumpster, I'm removing your clue because, in my opinion, it leads directly to the answer.

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  34. tb:
    "Nobody goes there; it's always too crowded."

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  35. Rearrange the letters of the words AUTO AND RIG to name a common spring event.

    GRADUATION

    Monkeys And Orangutans --> MAO as in Chairman

    And if you still haven't had enough...

    Midweek Puzzle Break

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  36. Paul, 24 hours later it's deja vu all over again. Nicely done.

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  37. I got an e-mail from Will Shortz today, telling me that he's using my puzzler on Sunday. Good luck to all!

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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.