Sunday, April 26, 2026

NPR Sunday Puzzle (Apr 26, 2026): Religious Figures

NPR Sunday Puzzle (Apr 26, 2026): Religious Figures
Q: Name an animal whose first five letters in order spell a religious figure. And if you change the animal's next-to-last letter, its last five letters in order will spell another religious figure. What animal is this?
Is this a joke? So easy!

41 comments:

  1. I thought it was luck, but I got this one right away. And I think a lot of other people will too

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  2. Write down the names of the two religious figures. If a letter repeats, remove all instances of that letter. You are left with a tumult.

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  3. Reminds me of a famous Chief Justice.

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  4. And Will turned down the puzzle suggestion I sent him for this?

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    Replies
    1. I sympathize, but I have to admit I think it's kind of cute.

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  5. I'm still out in left field on this one.

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    1. I guess there's no harm in revealing that my first guess was "angelfish" but I couldn't think of ANY word starting with "lf".

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  6. Musical check-in Sunday since this isnt much of a puzzle. Loop and everyone, are you a fan of Trampled by Turtles? Their song, Duluth, is playing now. Just found them through a 20 year old plumber who unclogged my drain. Really enjoying their vibe. Folksy, blue-grassy. And the 20 year old was the first 20- or 30-something I've asked recently who knew James Taylor. He said "Of course, the singer/songwriter who made all of the the following folks possible!"

    This made me happy.

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    1. The Roman Spring of Mrs. Stone. Ever heard o' that?

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    2. We were recently at an outdoor karaoke event and we struck up a conversation with the couple next to us (30ish) who had a very friendly dog. I jokingly said "you should send him up to the stage to sing Werewolves of London. The guy looked at me kind of puzzled so I said "Have you ever heard of Warren Zevon?" and he said "No, can't say that I have." My husband got the last laugh. He figured they were too young. 😂

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    3. Scarlett, right?

      "James Taylor? Is he a make-up
      artist?"

      This cover of Iris Dement's "Our Town"
      by Trampled by Turtles is inspired. My 20nyeat plumber says he likes to slow down like a meandering river and let the turtles trample away.

      Have a listen to the sweet "Our Town," as you wind your way through Sunday morning. >>>

      https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=ch0J8FtMSA0

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    4. OUR TOWN Trampled by Turtles cover of Iris Dement, an Arkansan by birth.

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    5. Thanks for sharing this. I had never heard of Trampled by Turtles, but I'm an instant fan as of now.

      We've seen Iris Dement in concert a couple times, but it's been awhile. She's absolutely top shelf right from the get-go!

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    6. I know. Her songwriting skills are sublime. And I love seeing Emmy Lou Harris backing her up.

      My dentist's receptionist (!) knows Iris and is going to ask her if she would talk to me about growing up in Arkansas, a Stone's throw away from Fifty-Six, AR.

      Fifty-Six could be Our Town or many Our Towns.
      .

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  7. Got it before the on-air puzzle had been read through. Figuring out a non-TMI clue will take me much longer.

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    1. Replace each vowel in the animal with a different vowel. Phonetically, you get something associated with laws.

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  8. The first hint I thought of involved the three answers, but then I read Blaine's and decided I couldn't top it.

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

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  10. On a different topic, many of us are likely familiar with the story from last week that the New York Times Sunday Crossword Puzzle had an error. In a rather strange coincidence, the Saturday paper had an error in the 6x6 KenKen puzzle.

    I usually knock out the KenKen puzzles in a few minutes. After running into a dead end a few times Saturday morning, I set the puzzle aside, and went on with my day.

    This morning, I tried again, and once again hit a dead end, in the same area. So, I tried pulling up an online KenKen solver. After carefully checking that I had entered all of the information correctly, the solver told me there was no solution!

    So, I'm looking forward to Monday's paper, to see what the error is.

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  11. Heads up, Blaine, Blogger is playing its "Newer Post" tricks again.

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  12. I'm trying to picture a full barrel in the hold of a sailing boat.
    (My TMI average is about 50%, I beieve.)

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  13. I agree with some of the observations above - this is a bit silly for a Sunday challenge, though if it’s going to be offered nonetheless, I’m surprised it wasn’t timed to a more appropriate time of year.

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  14. Blaine’s hint is one of the best I’ve seen, bar none.

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  15. Growing up, we couldn't have Lucky Charms, but ....

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  16. There are a few reasons I might get this.

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  17. I understand the wait staff at the White House Correspondents dinner were recommending duck with no cover charge.

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    Replies
    1. Really? I thought Trump always chickens out?

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  18. BTW, off the subject, but if you haven't seen the recent animated Iranian Lego propaganda videos from Explosive Media, they're pretty cute.

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