NPR Sunday Puzzle (Oct 26, 2025): Current American Singer

NPR Sunday Puzzle (Oct 26, 2025): Current American Singer

Q: Name a famous current American singer. Replace the last name with a colloquial term for a person from the place where this singer was born and raised. Say the result out loud. Phonetically, you'll get a form of singing the singer doesn't usually do. Who is the singer and what is the kind of singing?

I realize why I was having trouble with the puzzle. I knew the singer, but the "phonetically" was what threw me. I had to change my pronunciation for the sake of making the puzzle work.

Edit: My hint was sake referring to Japanese rice wine which is pronounced in Japanese as sah-keh while English speakers will often say sah-kee. Likewise the Japanese pronunciation of karaoke is kah-rah-oh-keh but English speakers turn it into care-ee-oh-kee.

A: CARRIE UNDERWOOD, OKLAHOMA (OKIE) --> KARAOKE

NPR Sunday Puzzle (Oct 19, 2025): Getting Out of Jail

NPR Sunday Puzzle (Oct 19, 2025): Getting Out of Jail

Q: Think of something to drink in two words. Rearrange the letters to spell a famous prison and a means of getting out of prison. What words are these?

You can also rearrange the letters to get a cookie and a storage container.

Edit: Gingersnap, Silo

A: SINGAPORE SLING --> SING SING, PAROLE

NPR Sunday Puzzle (Oct 12, 2025): Exceptionally Good

NPR Sunday Puzzle (Oct 12, 2025): Exceptionally Good

Q: Think of a word that means exceptionally good. Add two letters at the end of it to make a word that means the exact opposite. What words are these?

Change the last letter of the original word to three later in the alphabet, then add the same two letters as before. Rearrange to get a word meaning "sway".

Edit: superead --> persuade

A: SUPERB, SUPERBAD

NPR Sunday Puzzle (Oct 5, 2025): This Singer is Going Places

NPR Sunday Puzzle (Oct 5, 2025): This Singer is Going Places

Q: Think of a famous singer. Replace the last three letters of the first name with an E. Also replace the last three letters of the last name with an E. The result will be a world-famous location. What singer is this?

"Not Again."

Edit: This is a repeat of a puzzle from March 2018. My hint also refers to the frequently misquoted line "Play it, Sam. Play As Time Goes By". The word "again" is not part of the actual quote from Casablanca. Casablanca literally translates to "white house".

A: WHITney HOUSton --> WHITE HOUSE