Sunday, August 02, 2026

NPR Sunday Puzzle (Aug 2, 2026): Get Moving

NPR Sunday Puzzle (Aug 2, 2026): Get Moving
Q: Think of a type of exercise equipment in three syllables. Remove the two middle letters and you'll name a means of transportation. What words are these?
It was worded differently, but we've seen this wordplay twice before.

31 comments:

  1. Congrats, once again, Cap! Now for a hint...

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    1. By belated congrats also to "Our CAP with a Cape!"
      LegoRiddler

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    2. Here is a puzzle that I plan to run as a "riff' on this Thurdsday's edition of Puzzleria!:
      Will Shortz’s August 2nd Weekend Edition Sunday Puzzle Challenge, from Michael Schwartz of Florence, Oregon, reads:
      Think of a type of exercise equipment in four syllables. Remove a preposition from the middle. You’ll name:
      1. the profession one who helps you remain healthy, followed by...
      2.letters that can be anagrammed to spell a small sticky concave slip with instructions on how to help you maintain that health.
      Name the exercise equipment, the profession, and “sticky slip” that helps you remain healthy. (All three answers apply to our proficient puzzle-maker... who – not surprisingly – earned a medical degree and practiced his craft for nearly 30 years).
      Who is this puzzle-making healer and health-enhancer?

      Lego...

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    3. I guess you just have to submit a puzzle from a few years ago now?

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    4. I'm sure this puzzle was an independent creation. I blame Will and NPR staff for not checking for duplicates.

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  2. I'm thinking of an anagram of the final word in a John Barth novel.

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  3. Remove the first and last letters from the transportation, and rearrange. You get a fish.

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    1. Completing the circle, a means of transportation was named for this fish!

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    2. Wikipedia lists 8 means of transportation named for that fish.

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  4. If you wanna talk quanta, we'll talk quanta.

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  5. Rearrange the letters in the means of transportation to get
    another transportation related word.

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    Replies
    1. The other transportation related word often involves exercise too.

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    2. I think we came to the same conclusion.

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    3. You might, actually, use one to get around the other.

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  6. Wow, one of the occasions Blaine is referring to was shockingly recent.

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  7. The first syllable of the equipment is another way to exercise.

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    1. I guess it's actually the first syllable plus the first letter of the second.

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  8. What's the best inorganic substance?

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  9. The removed letters stand for an institution long in existence, even back to our earliest days as a country.

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    Replies
    1. Good one, though my usage of those letters denotes something else.

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  10. Anagram to get a country and an island.

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  11. Interesting that someone from Okemos (Michigan) had trouble in the on air game with “okies”, but apparently the locals there don’t use that moniker. Anyway, it’s disappointing to have a repeat-type puzzle. But in the spirit of the on-air game, a popular brand of the exercise equipment backwards might signify a certain region of a state (though apparently not commonly used).

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  12. This equipment is best used during a certain season.

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  13. The exercise equipment is commonly used this time of year.

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  14. The section removed could be seen as a means of conveyance stretching back to antiquity.

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  15. Nicely done, Cap!

    My clue is -- oh, wait, someone's at the door!

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  16. There's a connection between the word's roots and the removed letters.

    Therefore, you have to be carefully taught!

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