NPR Sunday Puzzle (Feb 1, 2026): Two Hooved Animals and an Actress

NPR Sunday Puzzle (Feb 1, 2026): Two Hooved Animals and an Actress

Q: Think of two hooved animals. Take all the letters of one of them and the last three letters of the other, mix them together, and you'll get the first and last names of a famous actress. Who is it?

I was initially convinced it had to do with a dromedary and Drew Barrymore.

Edit: My hint was "initially". Take Drew Barrymore's initials (D.B.) and reverse them (B.D.)

A: DEER + (spring*)BOK --> BO DEREK

*Note: There are many African antelope that would work (Blesbok, Bontebok, Bosbok, Duikerbok, Gemsbok, Grysbok, Klipbok, Reitbok, Rhebok/Reebok, Springbok, Steenbok/Steinbok and Waterbok)

NPR Sunday Puzzle (Jan 25, 2026): Famous Living Singer

NPR Sunday Puzzle (Jan 25, 2026): Famous Living Singer

Q: Name a famous living singer whose first and last names together have four syllables. The second and fourth syllables phonetically sound like things a dog walker would likely carry. What singer is this?

A very timely puzzle.

Edit: The singer's birthday is January 25, 1981.

A: ALICIA KEYS --> LEASH, KEYS
We're not going to quibble over syllabification of Alicia as A‑leesh‑a versus A‑lee‑sha, are we?

NPR Sunday Puzzle (Jan 18, 2026): Very Tiny, Very Large

NPR Sunday Puzzle (Jan 18, 2026): Very Tiny, Very Large

Q: Think of a word that means "very small." Move the first syllable to the end, separated by a space, and you'll get a two-word phrase naming something that is very large. What words are these?

Change the last letter of the word to an "i" and rearrange to get a word meaning "enterprising".

Edit: Changing the "c" to an "i" you can rearrange to get "ambitious". I was also reminded of Star Trek IV where the Enterprise landed in San Francisco, and Chekov was looking for a "nuclear wessel" in Alameda.

A: SUBATOMIC --> ATOMIC SUB
Possible alternate answer: "subnuclear" and "nuclear sub"

NPR Sunday Puzzle (Jan 11, 2026): Famous Duos

NPR Sunday Puzzle (Jan 11, 2026): Famous Duos

Q: Think of a well-known couple whose names are often said in the order of _____ & _____. Seven letters in the names in total. Combine those two names, change an E to an S, and rearrange the result to name another famous duo who are widely known as _____ & _____. Who are these couples?

If you take the last name of one of them, you can rearrange those letters to name another half of a famous duo.

Edit: (Sam) MOORE anagrams to ROMEO.

A: ADAM & EVE --> SAM & DAVE

NPR Sunday Puzzle (Jan 4, 2026): Equation of the Year

NPR Sunday Puzzle (Jan 4, 2026): Equation of the Year

Q: This week's challenge is a numerical one. Take the nine digits -- 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9. You can group some of them and add arithmetic operations to get 2011 like this: 1 + 23 ÷ 4 x 5 x 67 - 8 + 9. If you do these operations in order from left to right, you get 2011. Well, 2011 was 15 years ago. Can you group some of the digits and add arithmetic symbols in a different way to make 2026? The digits from 1 to 9 need to stay in that order. Will knows of two different solutions, but you need to find only one of them.

I'm a little annoyed that the example doesn't follow the order of operations and instead must be performed left to right. It would have to be (1 + 23) ÷ 4 x 5 x 67 - 8 + 9 to work correctly in most calculators.

I have one expression that works either way, three expressions that work left to right and one that only works using the standard order of operations. I have a feeling that Ed Pegg Jr. provided the two that work using the standard order of operations.

My only hint is 390,625.

Edit: To "brute force" this, you could take the digits 1 to 9. Then you have 5 choices of symbol (nothing, or one of the basic operators) to put in the 8 spaces between each digit. That results in 5^8 or 390,625 strings that would need to be evaluated. I submitted the first answer below because it has all the multiplication first so going left to right is the same as following the standard order of operations.

Note: The two answers following PEMDAS order are the ones that Ed Pegg Jr. provided in his Wolfram Community post which makes me think the PEMDAS answers are what were originally given to Will. I've contacted Will to see if that's the case and if Will introduced the non-standard "left to right" example and wording. I'll let you know if I hear back.

A: 12 x 34 x 5 - 6 - 7 + 8 - 9 = 2026 | PEMDAS or L to R
(1 + 2) x 3 x 4 x 56 - 7 + 8 + 9 = 2026 | L to R
(1 x 2 + 34) x 56 - 7 + 8 + 9 = 2026 | L to R
(12 - 3) x 4 x 56 - 7 + 8 + 9 = 2026 | L to R
1 + 2 + 345 x 6 - 7 x 8 + 9 = 2026 | PEMDAS

Note: As suspected, the intended solutions followed PEMDAS without parentheses and the whole "left to right" example was a confusing red herring introduced by Will

NPR Sunday Puzzle (Dec 28, 2025): Seven Letters, One Syllable

NPR Sunday Puzzle (Dec 28, 2025): Seven Letters, One Syllable

Q: Think of a two-syllable word in four letters. Add two letters in front and one letter behind to make a one-syllable word in seven letters. What words are these?

Remember: another Wednesday deadline - work at a quick pace!

Edit: Or feverishly.

A: AGUE --> PLAGUED (also accepted: PLAGUES or LEAGUES)

NPR Sunday Puzzle (Dec 21, 2025): Out to Sea

NPR Sunday Puzzle (Dec 21, 2025): Out to Sea

Q: I was at a library. On the shelf was a volume whose spine said "OUT TO SEA." When I opened the volume, I found the contents had nothing to do with sailing or the sea in any sense. It wasn't a book of fiction either. What was in the volume?

I can't say that I've read the whole book, but the section I read was riveting. Remember the deadline this week is Wednesday.

Edit: A section on RIVETING might appear in the volume.

A: It's an ENCYCLOPEDIA

Our Annual Puzzle and Video for Christmas 2025!

Our Annual Video for 2025 is a celebration of 25 years as a couple and a family. To get the password, solve the puzzle in the image below.

Note: You can't directly type on the PDF so either print a copy, or write the words down on a separate piece of paper. Extra points if you can solve it in your head!

Once you have figured out the 6-letter password, click on the cute little mascots above, type the password and you'll be ushered into our Video Vault. Keep an eye out throughout the video as our mascots switch outfits at the beginning of each section.

As always, post a comment below about your favorite part of the video to show you've solved the puzzle, but don't give away the password directly.

P.S. If you need help, here is the answer key with the password. Also, add comments below if you encounter any issues entering the password or playing the video.

NPR Sunday Puzzle (Dec 14, 2025): International Foods

NPR Sunday Puzzle (Dec 14, 2025): International Foods

Q: Name a famous female singer of the past (five letters in the first name, seven letters in the last name). Remove the last letter of her first name, and you can rearrange all the remaining letters to name the capital of a country (six letters) and a food product that its nation is famous for (five letters).

Her daughter has the same middle name.

Edit: Deborah Lois Atkins

A: SARAH VAUGHAN --> HAVANA, SUGAR

NPR Sunday Puzzle (Dec 7, 2025): Song Birds

NPR Sunday Puzzle (Dec 7, 2025): Song Birds

Q: Think of a famous living singer. The last two letters of his first name and the first two letters of his last name spell a bird. Change the first letter of the singer's first name. Then the first three letters of that first name and the last five letters of his last name together spell another bird. What singer is this?

I'm not sure he'd like having his first name changed to that.

Edit: My Japanese teacher would pronounce my name with an "r" sound; I didn't mind the nickname "Brain". On the other hand, if you change the P in the singer's first name to an F...

A: PLÁCIDO DOMINGO --> DODO, FLAMINGO