NPR Sunday Puzzle (Nov 22): Okie-Dokie!

NPR Sunday Puzzle (Nov 22): Okie-Dokie!:

Q: Think of a word containing the consecutive letters O-K. Remove the O-K, and you'll get a new word that's a synonym of the first word. What words are these?

The first thought I had when I figured out this puzzle was the Latin phrase "cavit lukom". You can argue that I haven't got the right conjugation but looking back on it, I still contend that the clue is useful nonetheless.

Edit: If you followed my hints you would take that bogus Latin phrase and write it backwards as MOKULTIVAC. After removing the OK you have MULTIVAC. If you Google for that you'll find that Isaac Asimov had a loosely connected series of stories involving a fictional computer called Multivac. One of those stories was Jokester (1956).

A: JOKESTER --> JESTER

NPR Sunday Puzzle (Nov 15): How About Tele-Commuting?

NPR Sunday Puzzle (Nov 15): How About Tele-Commuting?:

Q: Name an auto manufacturer and a telecommunications company, both well-known companies, whose names are exact opposites of each other.

I'm still going through the following lists so I think I'll quickly step out of the way and let others provide their clues.
List of Automobile Manufacturers
Telecommunication Companies

Edit: It's after the deadline, so I'll reveal my hints (going through = wading, quickly step = sprint). I'm not sure my answer meets the "exact opposites" criteria. If you have a different answer, add it to the comments.

A:
FORD - to cross a body of water by wading (moving or proceeding with difficulty or labor)
SPRINT - to run or go at top speed especially for a short distance.

Update: I'm 99.9% sure that Ken has the intended answer. It fits the criteria of being tricky and also *exact* opposites.

A: KIA and NOKIA

NPR Sunday Puzzle (Nov 8): Mirror, Mirror on the Wall...

NPR Sunday Puzzle (Nov 8): Mirror, Mirror on the Wall...:

Q: If you write 'WOW' in capital letters and hold up a mirror at the side of the word, you'll see 'WOW' perfectly reflected in the mirror. Here's the puzzle: Think of a nationality and write it in capital letters. If you remove one stroke from the first letter, and one stroke from the last letter, and hold up a mirror at the side, the name of the nationality will be perfectly reflected in the mirror. What nationality is it?

Looking at the comments that were added to end of last week's puzzle (regarding this week's puzzle), the most prevalent misunderstanding is what is meant by removing a pair of strokes and then looking at the reflection. Personally I hate it when a puzzle needs explanation but I think it is necessary this week to clear up the confusion. Basically if you take the name of the nationality as written in uppercase letters, it won't be horizontally symmetric. But if you remove a stroke from the first letter, and a stroke from the last letter, the remaining pattern of strokes will look the same when you reflect them in a mirror.

The alternate interpretation, and perhaps how this could have been made more elegant is to think of shifting a stroke in the first and last letters slightly. Then the resulting reflection would be of the original nationality, rather than just a horizontally reflective pattern of strokes.

Edit: The two hints hidden above were "prevalent" and "I hate it". René Préval is the current President of the Republic of Haiti.

A: HAITIAN --> IIAITIAII

NPR Sunday Puzzle (Nov 1): Noah Adams has False Teeth?

NPR Sunday Puzzle (Nov 1): Noah Adams has False Teeth?:

Q: Take the name 'Noah Adams,' as in the former host of All Things Considered. Add the phrase 'false teeth.' You can rearrange all 19 letters to name a famous work of literature. What is it?

I may not be as clear-headed in the morning, but am I the only one that thinks there's an extra article in the answer?

Edit: The two hints were "morning" and "am" which point to A.M. or Arthur Miller, the playwright.

A: (The) Death of a Salesman

NPR Sunday Puzzle (Oct 25): Where in the World...

NPR Sunday Puzzle (Oct 25): Where in the World...:

Q: Take the name 'Boris Karloff.' It contains the letters of 'Oslo' in left-to-right order (although not consecutively). Now write down these three names: Leonardo da Vinci, Frank Sinatra, Stephen Douglas. Each conceals the name of another world capital in left-to-right order, although not in consecutive letters. What capitals are these?

I wasn't able to post the puzzle earlier because I had just pulled an all-nighter. We had intended to get to bed at an hour that was reasonable. However, since we needed to construct our Halloween costumes in time for the parade today, we couldn't settle for inaction.

Edit: Three airport codes are hidden in the last word of each sentence (alL-nigHteR=LHR, rEaSonaBle=ESB, InaCtioN=ICN). Doesn't really help you solve the puzzle, but it might have confirmed you had the right locations.

A: LONDON (England), ANKARA (Turkey), SEOUL (South Korea)

NPR Sunday Puzzle (Oct 18): Bonnie Raitt Anagram

NPR Sunday Puzzle (Oct 18): Bonnie Raitt Anagram:

Q: Take the name of the singer Bonnie Raitt, rearrange these 11 letters to be two words that are loosely synonyms. What are they?

Hope I have the right answer; it relies on the words being loosely related since I wouldn't say they are direct synonyms.

Edit: It's after the deadline so I think it is okay to reveal my hint. It was Hope+I = Hopi, as in the Native American Tribe/Nation. There were others I considered using like Oneida, Cherokee, etc.

A: BONNIE RAITT --> TRIBE, NATION

NPR Sunday Puzzle (Oct 11): Name That Beverage

NPR Sunday Puzzle (Oct 11): Name That Beverage:

Q: Think of a beverage with a 2-word name. The first word has 3 letters and the second word has 9. Arrange the letters of the 9-letter word in a 3x3 box with the first 3 letters across the top, the middle 3 across the center and the last 3 across the bottom. If you've named the right beverage, you can read down the center column to get the 3-letter word in the beverage's name. What beverage is this?

This should be another easy week for everyone. I thought of a few 3 letter words and the 9 letter word came to me instantly. Given that it is so easy, I'm not going to give a hint on the puzzle.

Edit: Okay, that was a fib. I did provide several hints. The first clue was "instantly" since most people use an instant mix to make this beverage. Also, if you look at the first letters in "hint on the..." you'll see that they spell hot.

I don't know if you also noticed that one word was different in my standard reminder (first comment below). This was so the initial letter of each sentence (Here, Once, Thank you) would also spell out HOT.

A: HOT CHOCOLATE

NPR Sunday Puzzle (Oct 4): Chain Reaction

NPR Sunday Puzzle (Oct 4): Chain Reaction:

Q: The challenge is to find a chain of 'C' words to connect 'carbon' to 'circuit.' Each pair of words completes a compound word or familiar two-word phrase (e.g. CASH COW or CREDIT CARD). Will's chain has seven words between 'carbon' and 'circuit' for a total of nine words. The answer doesn't have to match Will's, but each word has to start with 'C,' and each has to combine with the words before and after to make a compound word or familiar two-word phrase.

You can work this forward and/or backward; I did both. In retrospect I shouldn't have had so much trouble finding the joining word in the middle. It's hard to give clues without revealing the answer. I'll just say I'm pretty sure I have the same list as Will.

Edit: The hint above referred to the middle word in the chain which coincidentally was "center".

A: CARBON - COPY - CAT - CALL - CENTER - COURT - CASE - CLOSED - CIRCUIT

NPR Sunday Puzzle (Sep 27): Name That Country...

NPR Sunday Puzzle (Sep 27): Name That Country...:

Q: Take the family name of a famous world leader in history. Drop the last letter, then switch the last two letters that remain. The result will name the country that this leader led. Who is it and what is the country?

Gee, I planned to get this puzzle posted earlier, but I've had a lot on my plate. My hint this week: Work backwards; it's much easier.

Edit: The hiddens clues were Gee (G) and Plate (China). Put them together and you have the answer.

A: Chiang Kai-Shek (CHIANG) --> Country (CHINA)

I actually found it easier to work backwards thinking of country names, flipping the last two letters and seeing what letter might be added to make a name. CHINA became CHIAN which immediately made me think of CHIANG (Kai-shek).

NPR Sunday Puzzle (Sep 20): Higher Education

NPR Sunday Puzzle (Sep 20): Higher Education

Q: Name a well-known university. Move the last letter three places earlier in the name. The result will be a phrase meaning 'represent.' What's the university and what's the phrase?

Did you hear about the blonde that wanted a higher education? She did her homework in a tall tree. Okay, that was a silly joke. Back to giving clues on the puzzle. I don't know about you, but I didn't much care for the movie; however, I really did enjoy the play.

Edit: The hints this week were "tall tree" (which is the literal translation of Palo Alto) and of course the famous Big Game ending called The Play

A: STANFORD --> STAND FOR