NPR Sunday Puzzle (July 31, 2022): American TV Personality

NPR Sunday Puzzle (July 31, 2022): American TV Personality

Q: Name a famous person in American television — 6 letters in the first name, 4 letters in the last. Switch the last letter of the first name with the first letter of the last. Then reverse the order of the two modified names. You'll get a phrase meaning "almost typical." What is it?

There's clearly a reason this puzzle was picked. That being said, I can't think of a single show I've seen them on.

Edit: There was cLEARly a reason, since he just celebrated turning 100. He's a famous person for writing and producing numerous television shows, but he's had only a smattering of acting roles. He has appeared on lots of shows as himself however.

A: NORMAN LEAR --> NEAR NORMAL

NPR Sunday Puzzle (July 24, 2022): 1989 and 1992

NPR Sunday Puzzle (July 24, 2022): 1989 and 1992

Q: This week's challenge will require a little research. The 1989 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction and the 1992 Olympic gold medal in giant slalom both suggest, phonetically, a certain square number. What is it?

Research and read carefully. You can't say this about Where I'm Calling From or Luxembourg.

Edit: They didn't get second place...

A: Anne Tyler (A.T.) and Alberto Tomba (A.T.) won --> "A.T. won" --> 81

NPR Sunday Puzzle (July 17, 2022): Let's Eat!

NPR Sunday Puzzle (July 17, 2022): Let's Eat!

Q: Name a food item in seven letters. Move the first letter to the fifth position and you'll get two words that are synonyms. What are they?

A: BRISKET --> RISK, BET

NPR Sunday Puzzle (July 10, 2022): Presidential Motorcade

NPR Sunday Puzzle (July 10, 2022): Presidential Motorcade

Q: Write down the last names of two U.S. presidents. Move a letter from the second name into the first one. You'll name a vehicle that's used for special occasions. What is it?

Coincidentally, the names are in the order they were president.

A: CARTER, BUSH --> CHARTER BUS

NPR Sunday Puzzle (July 3, 2022): Add -s, -es, -ies or -ves?

NPR Sunday Puzzle (July 3, 2022): Add -s, -es, -ies or -ves?

Q: Name a well-known fictional character in two words. Remove two letters from the first word in the name. The result is the plural form of the second word. What character is this?

My first thought was a fictional detective by a well-known author.

Edit: Sherlock Holmes? No I was thinking of Mickey Spillane's Mike Hammer.

A: MICKEY MOUSE --> MICE

NPR Sunday Puzzle (Jun 26, 2022): The Lord is a Shoving Leopard

NPR Sunday Puzzle (Jun 26, 2022): The Lord is a Shoving Leopard

Q: How old was Reverend Spooner when he found happiness?

I started counting cobblestones and got the answer.

Edit: The 59th Street Bridge Song (Feelin’ Groovy) by Simon and Garfunkel mentions cobblestones.

A: FIFTY NINE --> NIFTY, FINE

NPR Sunday Puzzle (Jun 19, 2022): Who Are These People?

NPR Sunday Puzzle (Jun 19, 2022): Who Are These People?

Q: Think of two famous people — one from business and one from entertainment — whose last names are anagrams of each other. Now take their first names, drop the last letter of each of them, and put the result together, without rearranging, and you'll get the full first name of a famous fictional character. Who are these people?

You can also rearrange the last names to get a place that you might have seen one of these people, maybe both.

Edit: Their last names also anagram to STAGE

A: (BIL)L GATES + (BO)B SAGET --> (BILBO) BAGGINS

NPR Sunday Puzzle (Jun 12, 2022): Twentieth Century American

NPR Sunday Puzzle (Jun 12, 2022): Twentieth Century American

Q: Take the last name of a famous 20th-century American. The 5th, 6th, 7th, and 1st, 2nd, and 3rd letters, in that order, name a European capital. Who is the person, and what capital is it?

Change one letter in the capital and rearrange to get a country. Repeat the process to get an element. Repeat the process one last time to get some gemstones.

Edit: BERLIN --> BRUNEI --> ERBIUM --> RUBIES

I had to change the book cover I originally used because it featured pictures of Lusitania, JFK and the Berlin Wall. Oops!

A: LIN(d)BER(gh) --> BERLIN

NPR Sunday Puzzle (Jun 5, 2022): Do You Smell Something?

NPR Sunday Puzzle (Jun 5, 2022): Do You Smell Something?

Q: The name of what country contains a deodorant and an air freshener in consecutive letters?

I'm just going to keep quiet and say I agree.

Edit: The additional letters are SH ("keep quiet"). And in French, "d'accord" means I agree and it is pronounced similar to the capital of Dhaka.

A: BAN + GLADE (+ SH) = BANGLADESH

NPR Sunday Puzzle (May 29, 2022): Be Right Back

NPR Sunday Puzzle (May 29, 2022): Be Right Back

Q: Take an abbreviation found in text messages. Reverse the first two letters, and the result sounds like something else often found in text messages. What are these things?

I might say something else used in text messages. And again, I question the pronunciation.

Edit: Apart from variations in the first vowel sound (EE, IH, UH?), I've always seen the M sound included as part of the second syllable, instead of the first. Oh well ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

A: OMG --> MOG --> EMOJI