Showing posts with label names. Show all posts
Showing posts with label names. Show all posts

Sunday, November 17, 2024

NPR Sunday Puzzle (Nov 17, 2024): An American Author's Body of Work

NPR Sunday Puzzle (Nov 17, 2024): An American Author's Body of Work
Q: Think of a classic American author, whose first and last name's are each one syllable. The last name, when said aloud, sounds like part of the body. Insert the letters "A-S" into the first name and you have the location of this body part. Who is the author?
I had to nix my previous hints.

Sunday, November 03, 2024

NPR Sunday Puzzle (Nov 3, 2024): Experimental Place

NPR Sunday Puzzle (Nov 3, 2024): Experimental Place
Q: Name a place where experiments are done (two words). Drop the last letter of each word. The remaining letters, reading from left to right, will name someone famously associated with experiments. Who is it?
Rearrange the letters in the person's full name and you get a quiet animal.

Edit: NIKOLA TESLA --> SILENT KOALA
A: TEST LAB --> TESLA

Sunday, August 25, 2024

NPR Sunday Puzzle (Aug 25, 2024): Single Consonant Name

NPR Sunday Puzzle (Aug 25, 2024): Single Consonant Name
Q: The word NONUNION has four N's and no other consonant. What famous American of the past -- first and last names, 8 letters in all -- has four instances of the same consonant and no other consonant?
I don't have a clue to help you identify the person... or do I?

Edit: The vowels in "identify" are the same vowels in the answer.
A: Eli Lilly (founder of the pharmaceutical company).

Sunday, August 18, 2024

NPR Sunday Puzzle (Aug 18, 2024): A Famous Movie Star

NPR Sunday Puzzle (Aug 18, 2024): A Famous Movie Star
Q: Think of a famous movie star -- .first and last names, nine letters in all. The third, fourth, fifth, seventh, and eighth letters, in order, name a profession. The star's last name is something that this profession uses. Who is the movie star and what is the profession?
In one role, this actor played a [redacted].

Edit: My redacted clue was "king" as in Billie Jean King.
A: EMMA STONE --> MASON, STONE

Sunday, July 21, 2024

NPR Sunday Puzzle (Jul 21, 2024): For General Audiences

NPR Sunday Puzzle (Jul 21, 2024): For General Audiences
Q: Take the name of a famous actor of the past. Say it out loud, and phonetically you'll describe what a famous general's horse did. Who is the actor and who is the general?
I need an "L" to make my answer work.

Edit: "L" is 50 in Roman numerals; Grant is pictured on the $50 bill.
A: CARY GRANT --> CARRY (ULYSSES S.) GRANT

Sunday, July 14, 2024

NPR Sunday Puzzle (Jul 14, 2024): Classic Movie Couple

NPR Sunday Puzzle (Jul 14, 2024): Classic Movie Couple
Q: Think of a famous actor and a famous actress who co-starred in a classic movie of the past. The actress's first name, when reversed, and the actor’s last name, spelled forward, are similar romantic gifts. Who are these film stars?
Somehow I don't think it's Fay Wray and King Kong.

Edit: It was a different "classic" film set in New York.
A: Meg Ryan, Billy Crystal ("When Harry Met Sally") --> GEM, CRYSTAL

Sunday, June 23, 2024

NPR Sunday Puzzle (Jun 23, 2024): Colorful Film Actor

NPR Sunday Puzzle (Jun 23, 2024): Colorful Film Actor
Q: Name a famous film actor of the past (4,6). Swap the second and third letters of the first name to name a color. Change the third letter of the last name to get another color. What actor is it?
The actor died 6 days after their birthday.

Edit: Born May 7, 1901, Died May 13, 1961
A: GARY COOPER --> GRAY, COPPER

Sunday, June 02, 2024

NPR Sunday Puzzle (Jun 2, 2024): Name That Writer

NPR Sunday Puzzle (Jun 2, 2024): Name That Writer
Q: Think of a famous writer with a three-word name. The first two letters of the last name followed by the first two letters of the middle name followed by the first two letters of the first name, in order, spell an adjective that describes this author today. Who is it?
Take the last two letters of each name, rearrange those six letters to get something you might do while solving this puzzle.

Edit: AR-CE-HS --> SEARCH
A: EDgar RIce BUrroughs --> BURIED

Sunday, May 26, 2024

NPR Sunday Puzzle (May 26, 2024): Lights, Camera, Action!

NPR Sunday Puzzle (May 26, 2024): Lights, Camera, Action!
Q: Think of a well-known actor of the past whose last name is also a brand name. Remove the last letter of the actor's first name and you'll have a product produced by that brand. What is it?
We could have had this puzzle about 3 weeks ago.

Edit: ...on Star Wars Day (May the 4th)
A: ALEC GUINNESS --> GUINNESS, ALE

Sunday, April 28, 2024

NPR Sunday Puzzle (Apr 28, 2024): Male Singers of the Past

NPR Sunday Puzzle (Apr 28, 2024): Male Singers of the Past
Q: Think of a famous male singer of the past with two A's in his name. Drop both A's and the remaining letters can be rearranged to name a popular make of automobile. What is it?
Take a model of that automobile, drop all A's to name a sports figure.

Edit: LeBaron --> LeBron
A: RAY CHARLES --> CHRYSLER

Sunday, February 18, 2024

NPR Sunday Puzzle (Feb 18, 2024): Famous Year in History

NPR Sunday Puzzle (Feb 18, 2024): Famous Year in History
Q: Think of a famous character in American literature. Change each letter in that character's name to its position in the alphabet — A=1, B=2, etc. — to get a famous year in American history. Who is this person and what is the year?
The author was born shortly after the famous year.

Edit: Herman Melville was born in 1819.
A: (Captain) AHAB --> (War of) 1812

Sunday, October 15, 2023

NPR Sunday Puzzle (Oct 15, 2023): If Life Gives You Fruit...

NPR Sunday Puzzle (Oct 15, 2023): If Life Gives You Fruit...
Q: Name a famous athlete, first and last names. Interchange the initials of those names. Then add an appliance. The result, reading left to right, will name a fruit. What is it?
Take the athlete's middle name. Keep the first letter and the last four letters. Insert a fruit and phonetically you have another fruit.

Edit: Constantine --> C + LEMON + TINE --> Clementine
A: DAN MARINO --> MAN DARINO + RANGE --> MANDARIN ORANGE

Sunday, August 13, 2023

NPR Sunday Puzzle (Aug 13, 2023): Contemporary Singer on Repeat

NPR Sunday Puzzle (Aug 13, 2023): Contemporary Singer on Repeat
Q: Name a famous contemporary singer (6,4). The second, fourth, sixth, eighth, and ninth letters, in order, spell a repeated part of a song that everyone knows. What is it?
It's not the first time someone's made this observation.

Edit: Celine Dion Had A Farm
A: CELINE DION, "Old MacDonald had a farm. E-I-E-I-O!"

Sunday, July 16, 2023

NPR Sunday Puzzle (Jul 16, 2023): Lovely Day for a Picnic

NPR Sunday Puzzle (Jul 16, 2023): Lovely Day for a Picnic
Q: Name a famous singer (first and last names, 12 letters in all). Add a Y at the end, and the result, with respacing but not rearranging any letters, will spell a possible contribution to a picnic and how it might be served. What singer is it?
The answer is a little contrived, but at least I don't need to use my "Phone a Friend" lifeline.

Edit: My hint was to the song "Who Wants to be a Millionaire" from "High Society"
A: Frank Sinatra --> Franks in a tray

Sunday, July 09, 2023

NPR Sunday Puzzle (Jul 9, 2023): Lights, Camera, ...

NPR Sunday Puzzle (Jul 9, 2023): Lights, Camera, ...
Q: Take the first name of a famous movie director. Write it in upper- and lowercase letters. Rotate the third letter of this name 180° and you'll get the name of the main character in one of this director's most popular movies. Who is it?
Take the full name of the director. Remove the third from the last and the last letter of each name. You can rearrange the letters to get an apt anagram. Or rearrange them again to get a different apt anagram.

Edit: RID(l)E(y) SC(o)T(t) --> DIRECTS, CREDITS
A: Ridley (Scott) --> (Ellen) Ripley

Sunday, June 25, 2023

NPR Sunday Puzzle (Jun 25, 2023): Who's Your Favorite TV Character?

NPR Sunday Puzzle (Jun 25, 2023): Who's Your Favorite TV Character?
Q: Name a well-known TV character (5,6). Change the first letter of the first name to a Y and read it (the modified first name) backward. You'll get a synonym of the character's last name. Who is it?
The name of the TV show can be rearranged to two related words -- ones you might hear today.

Edit: This was a callback to the puzzle from Nov 15, 2020 (PERRY MASON --> PRAY, SERMON)
A: DELLA STREET --> ALLEY, STREET

Sunday, June 11, 2023

NPR Sunday Puzzle (Jun 11, 2023): Sing It Again

NPR Sunday Puzzle (Jun 11, 2023): Sing It Again
Q: Name a famous singer (6,6) whose last name is a body of water. And if you remove a letter from the first name you'll get a landform. What singer is this?
I've looked nearly all around my globe for bodies of waters that could be the last name of a singer.

A: On his expedition to circumnavigate the globe, Magellan sailed a strait in southern Chile, later named in his honor as the Strait of Magellan.
A: GEORGE STRAIT --> GORGE, STRAIT

Sunday, June 04, 2023

NPR Sunday Puzzle (Jun 4, 2023): A Singer Does Some Singing

NPR Sunday Puzzle (Jun 4, 2023): A Singer Does Some Singing
Q: Name a famous singer (6,4). Remove the last letter of the first name and the first letter of the last name. The result, reading left to right, is a word for some singing. What is it?
You can also rearrange the 10 letters of the famous singer to get a color and an action.

Edit: ORANGE, LICK
A: CAROLE KING --> CAROLING

Sunday, May 28, 2023

NPR Sunday Puzzle (May 28, 2023): Author turned Pro Athlete

NPR Sunday Puzzle (May 28, 2023): Author turned Pro Athlete
Q: Think of a well-known author whose first name is nine letters long, and last name six letters. Change the first letter of the last name and anagram those six letters to spell a word. Now read everything together — the author's first name plus the anagram with a letter changed of the last name — and you'll get a certain professional athlete. Who is it?
The new 6-letter part can also be rearranged to get the last name of an actor whose first name starts with the same 5 letters as the author or athlete.

Edit: Charl(ize) Theron
A: CHARLOTTE BRONTE, CHARLOTTE HORNET

Sunday, January 08, 2023

NPR Sunday Puzzle (Jan 8, 2023): Elementary!

NPR Sunday Puzzle (Jan 8, 2023): Elementary!
Q: Name a famous living person — first and last names. If you drop the last letter of the first name, you get an element on the periodic table. And if you drop the last letter of the last name, you get the chemical symbol of another element. What celebrity is this?
I found an answer for a non-living celebrity which led directly to the correct answer. Note: If you take the movie or series that the person is best known for, each word starts with a chemical symbol (one letter for the first word, two letters for the rest).

My initial thought was Tiny Tim before switching to Tina Fey.
Note: S(aturday) Ni(ght) Li(ve) = S(ulfur) Ni(ckel) Li(thium)
A: Tina Fey --> Tin, Fe (Iron)