NPR Sunday Puzzle (Nov 20, 2011): Food Item, Saying and Person's Name

NPR Sunday Puzzle (Nov 20, 2011): Food Item, Saying and Person's Name:

Q: Name a food item. Divide this word in half. Take the second half followed by the first half twice, and you'll get a familiar saying. If you take the second half twice (followed) by the first half, you'll name a well-known person. What are the food item, saying, and person's name?

I vote for the food item being incomplete, but I guess if enough people vote against me, I'll rescind my complaint.

Edit: My hint was "nays" which when added to the food item (mayo) gives the full name (mayonnaise).

A: Food Item: Mayo(nnaise)
Saying: Yo' Mama!
Person: Yo-Yo Ma

NPR Sunday Puzzle (Nov 13, 2011): What Comes Next?

NPR Sunday Puzzle (Nov 13, 2011): What Comes Next?:

Q: What number comes next in the following series: 2, 4, 6, 9, 11, 15, 20, 40, 51*, 55*, 60 and 90?

See, I thought I had the answer to this, but if so, there are a couple numbers missing.

*Update: The consensus seems to be that Henry Hook and Will Shortz overlooked a couple terms in the sequence and it should be 2, 4, 6, 9, 11, 15, 20, 40, 51, 55, 60 and 90. Hopefully everyone is able to solve it now with the corrected wording. If anyone has direct access to Will's email, perhaps they could ask for a similar correction to the puzzle on the NPR website.

Will Shortz has confirmed (see his comment) that he extended Henry Hook's original series (2, 4, 6, 9, 11, 15, 20) and in the process overlooked the numbers above. The NPR website has been updated as well. Thanks to everyone that helped clear this up.

Edit: My hint was "See, I..." which sounds like CI which is 101 in Roman numerals

A: 101 is next in the sequence. When represented as Roman numerals, each number in the series requires exactly two letters (II, IV, VI, IX, XI, XV, XX, XL, LI, LV, LX, XC, CI...)

NPR Sunday Puzzle (Nov 6, 2011): Count the Equilateral Triangles

NPR Sunday Puzzle (Nov 6, 2011): Count the Equilateral Triangles:

Q: Take 15 coins. Arrange them in an equilateral triangle with one coin at the top, two coins touching below, three coins below that, then four, then five. Remove the three coins at the corners so you're left with 12 coins. Using the centers of the 12 coins as points, how many equilateral triangles can you find by joining points with lines?

Minnesota is the land of 10,000 lakes, but I know the answer is much smaller than that.

Edit: My hint points to a shorter form of Minnesota, namely the abbreviation MN. That's also the abbreviation for Manganese (Mn) which has an atomic number of 25.

A: 25 equilateral triangles total (see the video for details).

13 small triangles pointing up or down

4 medium triangles pointing up or down

6 medium triangles pointing left or right

2 large triangles at a slight angle

NPR Sunday Puzzle (Oct 30, 2011): This Singer Keeps Company with a Logo?

NPR Sunday Puzzle (Oct 30, 2011): This Singer Keeps Company with a Logo?:

Q: Name a well-known singer. Drop the first and last letters of the singer's first name and you'll get the letters of a well-known company. Drop the first and last letters of the singer's last name, and you'll identify the logo that the company is classically known for. Who is the singer and what's the company?

Musical clue: Adele & Lil Wayne

Edit: There were two clues in my answer. First I had an ampersand (&), hinting at the additional symbol needed in the company name. Second if you combine Adele and Wayne you get "Adele Wayne". Patti LaBelle played Adele Wayne, the mother of Dwayne Wayne on A Different World.

A: Patti LaBelle --> AT&T + A Bell

NPR Sunday Puzzle (Oct 23, 2011): Retail Store to Electronics Manufacturer

NPR Sunday Puzzle (Oct 23, 2011): Retail Store to Electronics Manufacturer:

Q: Think of a two-word name of a nationally known chain of retail stores. Insert the second word of the name into the exact middle of the first. The result will spell the name of a well-known electronics manufacturer. What are these names?

Edit: Time to reveal the answer.

A: Pier One (Imports) --> Pioneer

NPR Sunday Puzzle (Oct 16, 2011): Two-word Rhyming Phrases

NPR Sunday Puzzle (Oct 16, 2011): Two-word Rhyming Phrases:

Q: Think of a familiar two-word rhyming phrase that starts with the letter F, like "fat cat." Change the F to a G and you'll get another familiar two-word rhyming phrase. What are these phrases?

My wife and I came up with the same answer and we need to get a hint up quickly, so I guess we'll go with that. I like the first as a familiar two-word rhyming phrase, but I'm not as excited about the second.

Update: After listening to the audio of the puzzle, I discovered that Will provided several other examples of two-word rhyming phrases (fun run, fine line, flower power) which would preclude them from being the answers. So you can scratch my original comment since it no longer fits and would have to change anyway.

Edit: My revised hints were "scratch" and "change".

A: Fender Bender --> Gender Bender

NPR Sunday Puzzle (Oct 9, 2011): A Group of Twelve and a Group of Nine

NPR Sunday Puzzle (Oct 9, 2011): A Group of Twelve and a Group of Nine:

Q: Name something that is part of a group of twelve. Change the first letter to the next letter of the alphabet to name something that is part of a group of nine. What are these things?

Now that I have the answer, anyone care to have a discussion on whether there are eight or nine in that last group?

Edit: My comment was an attempt to mislead people into thinking the group of nine was planets (8 now without Pluto). My hint was "answer" which rhymes with the answers. The starting letters were hidden in care and discussion.

A: Cancer (from the 12 signs of the zodiac) and Dancer (from Santa's 8 reindeer plus Rudolph).

NPR Sunday Puzzle (Oct 2, 2011): A Meal Composed of an Entrée and a Dessert

NPR Sunday Puzzle (Oct 2, 2011): A Meal Composed of an Entrée and a Dessert:

Q: Think of a common one-word entrée and dessert. When you insert the name of the entrée into the dessert's name, it will read as a certain meal. Name the entrée, dessert, and meal.

To everyone that appreciates this blog, I say, "Thank you, thank you very much!"

Edit: My hint was a reference to Elvis Presley who starred in the 1967 musical film Clambake. Incidentally, a version of this puzzle appeared back in August 2007

A: LAMB + CAKE --> C(LAMB)AKE

NPR Sunday Puzzle (Sep 25, 2011): Occupational Study Puzzle

NPR Sunday Puzzle (Sep 25, 2011): Occupational Study Puzzle:

Q: Think of a ten-letter occupation ending in "er." The first four letters can be rearranged to spell something that person would study, and the next four letters can be rearranged to spell something else that person would study. What is the occupation?

This week I'm going to put my feet up and let everyone else come up with the obvious clues.

Edit: You put your feet up on a footstool or ottoman. The flag of the Ottoman Empire had both a STAR and a MOON.

A: ASTRONOMER --> STAR, MOON

NPR Sunday Puzzle (Sep 18, 2011): College Campus Mix-Up

NPR Sunday Puzzle (Sep 18, 2011): College Campus Mix-Up:

Q: Take the name of a well-known university in two words. Switch two letters in the respective words; that is, take a letter from the first word, put it in place of a letter in the second word, and put that letter where the first letter was. The result will name something you might take on a camping trip. What are the names of the university and the camping item?

To tell the truth, while the two-week challenge was interesting, I'm glad we are back to our regularly scheduled program with a weekly NPR puzzle.

Edit: The original host of To Tell the Truth was Bud Collyer. On radio (and later TV and film) Collyer supplied the voices of both Superman and his alter ego Clark Kent.

A: KENT STATE --> TENT STAKE