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.

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

NPR Sunday Puzzle (Sep 28, 2025): Places to See Actresses

NPR Sunday Puzzle (Sep 28, 2025): Places to See Actresses

Q: Name a famous actress (five letters in the first name, six letters in the last name). Change the first and third letters of her first name and the first letter of her last name. The resulting letters in order from left to right will name a place where you might see this actress.

There's a connection to Ben Kingsley and this place.

Edit: Ben Kingsley played Salvador Dali in Daliland. Dali created In Voluptas Mors which is used in place of the skull markings on the death head moth on the iconic Silence of the Lambs movie poster.

A: JODIE FOSTER --> MOVIE POSTER

NPR Sunday Puzzle (Sep 21, 2025): ET Phone Home

NPR Sunday Puzzle (Sep 21, 2025): ET Phone Home

Q: Take the phrase EASTERN TIME. Change one letter and rearrange the result to name a place that observes Eastern Time.

Could it be in the 410 area code?

Edit: It took 410 days to build the Empire State Building

A: EMPIRE STATE (New York)

NPR Sunday Puzzle (Sep 14, 2025): Loose Cannons

NPR Sunday Puzzle (Sep 14, 2025): Loose Cannons

Q: In a certain classic film, the protagonist uses two weapons. The name of one of these has 10 letters. If you take its first letter and last six letters, you can rearrange them all to name the other weapon this protagonist uses, in seven letters. What weapons are these?

The protagonist uses a different pair of weapons towards the end of the movie.

Edit: [spoiler]Toward the end of the "classic" film, Star Wars, Luke Skywalker fires a pair of proton torpedos into the exhaust port to destroy the Death Star[/spoiler]

A: LIGHTSABER, BLASTER

NPR Sunday Puzzle (Sep 7, 2025): Male Animals and NFL Included

NPR Sunday Puzzle (Sep 7, 2025): Male Animals and NFL Included

Q: Think of a popular commercial name that ends with the names of two male animals one after the other. If you have the right commercial name, its first six letters can be rearranged to spell the name of an N.F.L. team. What is this commercial name?

If you change the fifth letter in the commercial name to an H and rearrange the letters, you get a part of the lower body.

Edit: Hamstring

A: INSTAGRAM --> STAG, RAM --> GIANTS

NPR Sunday Puzzle (Aug 31, 2025): English Writer Goes to the City

NPR Sunday Puzzle (Aug 31, 2025): English Writer Goes to the City

Q: Name a famous English author. Change the first letter of the last name to an S. Then move the first, second, and final letters of that last name in front of the first name. The resulting string of letters reading from left to right will name a major American city. What city is it?

[redacted]

Edit: My hint was that the author might be my sixth cousin which was a reference to Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon.

A: FRANCIS BACON --> SAN FRANCISCO

NPR Sunday Puzzle (Aug 24, 2025): A Tale of Two Athletes

NPR Sunday Puzzle (Aug 24, 2025): A Tale of Two Athletes

Q: Take the first and last names of a famous athlete. Change the first letter of the last name to L, and rearrange the result to get the first and last names of another famous athlete. In each case the first name has 6 letters and the last name has 5. These are athletes everyone knows. Who are they?

Drop the last two letters of the first athlete's first name and add a P. I tried to rearrange the result, but I couldn't do it.

Edit: Follow the steps and you get IMPOSSIBLE.

A: SIMON BILES --> LIONEL MESSI

NPR Sunday Puzzle (Aug 17, 2025): Sylvester and the Magic Pebble

NPR Sunday Puzzle (Aug 17, 2025): Sylvester and the Magic Pebble

Q: Take the classic illustrated children's book Sylvester and the Magic Pebble. Rearrange its 26 letters to name a famous film director (first and last names) and a noted role on stage (in two words).Who is the director and what is the role?

I removed the letters AVSI.

Edit: I removed (or took out) AVSI which refer to Act V, Scene I of Macbeth. The sentence ended with a period (or a damned spot).

A: Steven Spielberg, Lady Macbeth