Sunday, May 31, 2026

NPR Sunday Puzzle (May 31, 2026): Song Title: Two Words, Two Countries

NPR Sunday Puzzle (May 31, 2026): Song Title: Two Words, Two Countries
Q: Name a classic song with a two-word title. Drop the first letter. Add an R after the new first letter. The result will be the names of two countries one after the other. What song is this?
Clue: Dolour

Edit: Dolour is a band led by Shane Tutmarc. His name anagrams to "Tehran Muscat".
A: PIANO MAN --> IRAN, OMAN

Sunday, May 24, 2026

NPR Sunday Puzzle (May 24, 2026): A Singer of Human Desire

NPR Sunday Puzzle (May 24, 2026): A Singer and Human Desire
Q: Think of a famous female singer (eight and four letters, respectively). The first syllable of her first name, the second syllable of her first name backward and the last name forward again are all verbs associated with human desire. Who is this singer?
Rearrange all the letters in her name to get an instrument and a type of belt.

Edit: The instrument was a LUTE and the type of belt was a CONVEYOR
A: COURTNEY LOVE --> COURT, YEN, LOVE

Sunday, May 17, 2026

NPR Sunday Puzzle (May 17, 2026): Actor and Character

NPR Sunday Puzzle (May 17, 2026): Actor and Character
Q: Name a famous actor of the past, seven letter first name and seven letter last name. Remove three consecutive letters from his last name and the remaining letters in order will be the well known lead character from a long running series of films. What actor and character are these?
Rearrange the letters of the actor and you'll get an animal and a fruit.

Edit: You get a CHINCHILLA and a PEAR.
A: CHARLIE CHA(PLI)N --> CHARLIE CHAN

Sunday, May 10, 2026

NPR Sunday Puzzle (May 10, 2026): Baseball and Movie Franchises

NPR Sunday Puzzle (May 10, 2026): Baseball and Movie Franchises
Q: Think of a popular film franchise with many sequels. Hidden in consecutive letters inside its name is a place mentioned multiple times in the Bible. Replace that place with a single letter and you'll name a Major League Baseball team. What franchise and team are these?
I was just reading about Dorothea Waley Singer who spent time arranging and cataloguing all medical and scientific manuscripts in Great Britain and Northern Ireland from the Middle Ages to the early modern era. I don't know why I mention that, but I'll explain on Thursday.

Edit: If you rearrange the letters in D.W. SINGER, you get RED WINGS, the hockey team for Detroit.
A: T(HE AVEN)GERS --> TIGERS

Sunday, May 03, 2026

NPR Sunday Puzzle (May 3, 2026): Fore! Five!

NPR Sunday Puzzle (May 3, 2026): Fore! Five!
Q: Name a well-known comic actor (4,5) whose name is an anagram of two terms in golf (4 and 5 letters, respectively). Who is it?
It's been a few years since we've had a puzzle involving this actor. Surprisingly it didn't involve elements.

Edit: The other Seth Rogen puzzle was from December 2015. I think there could have been a puzzle where you change his first name to "Hyd" or "Nit" and get an element.
A: SETH ROGEN --> SHOT, GREEN