NPR Sunday Puzzle (June 17): Is it Philadelphia?

NPR Sunday Puzzle (June 17): Is it Philadelphia?

Q: Think of a well-known U.S. city; the letters in its name can be rearranged into a symbol for 1,000, a symbol for 10, and two words meaning zero. What city is it?

All this talk of U.S. cities reminded me of a puzzle from last November; it's likely you'll find a clue there. I got distracted for awhile thinking the answer was LEXINGTON (G, X, NIL, NOT, NONE?) but it obviously wasn't right...

Edit: Well it's after the deadline so here are my clues. First, what really helped me was to use a list of the 100 Most Populous Cities in the U.S., something that I posted in response to an NPR Puzzle post from last Thanksgiving. It's pretty obvious that the answer has to have an 'X' in it, so that narrows it down.

If that wasn't enough help, there were additional clues. The title refers to Philadelphia, the City of Brotherly Love and there were a couple clues (...November; it's likely... and the list with Lexington) that pointed to LOVE and NIL. So it is time for the answer:

A: KNOXVILLE --> K, X, NIL, LOVE

NPR Sunday Puzzle (June 10): Accidental Acrostics - Isaac

NPR Sunday Puzzle (June 10): Accidental Acrostics - Isaac

Q: A two-part challenge. Either half will work. Take the name Isaac. Those letters are the initials of a classic song. Name the song. (Hint: the 'I' does not stand for the pronoun and neither 'A' is the article.) So think of a famous song that represents an 'accidental acrostic' of Isaac — or think of any other legitimate 'accidental acrostic' of five or more letters.

There's a Fleetwood Mac song called "Hungry Country Girl" that has the lyrics "I sat around and cried" but that doesn't meet the puzzle criteria for a couple reasons (includes 'I' and isn't the song title).

Our family spent much of the weekend working on this and we truly don't have an answer to either part. However we are singing a couple new songs we created called "Iguanas, Sharks, Aardvarks and Camels" along with the soon to be a hit song, "In Summer, All Animals Combust"

If we figure something else out, we'll post a real clue here. (And we are truly clueless at this point, so don't go looking for hidden clues in the post above...)

Edit: I've since learned that there is an old song called "Ida, Sweet as Apple Cider." I think I might be a notch too young to remember it, so no wonder we never figured it out. I should have realized that "classic" might have meant written in 1903...

A: Ida, Sweet as Apple Cider

NPR Sunday Puzzle (June 3): Drop First Letter, Add a B

Drop First Letter, Add a B:

Q: Name a European nationality, drop the first letter, insert a 'b' somewhere later in this string of letters and the result will name a group of people found mainly in Asia. What groups of people are these?

Is it vital I answer this week? You can figure this out on your own, can't you? Okay, I'll give clue... think of being hidden in a place associated with Carroll O'Connor.

Edit: The first part of the answer was hidden in "Is it vital I answer..." and the second part referred to the Taliban hiding out in bunkers and caves in the border regions of Afghanistan.

A: ITALIAN - I + B --> TALIBAN

NPR Sunday Puzzle (May 27): Hi Ho Silver, away!

NPR Sunday Puzzle (May 27): Hi Ho Silver, away!:

Q: Each answer is a familiar two-word phrase in which each word has four letters. The middle two letters of the first word are 'hi' and the middle two letters of the second word are 'ho.' Two different phrases have this pattern. What are they?

I'm not putting a lot of effort into a clue this week so you'll have to be on the lookout for your own answers. I will tell you that I don't think the answer is CHIC SHOP, THIN CHOP, THIS SHOE or WHIZ SHOW, but I guess that was obvious.

Edit: The clues were all in this sentence, "I'm not putting a lot of effort into a clue this week so you'll have to be on the lookout for your own answers." In golf, when you are slightly off the green (not putting), you might use a CHIP SHOT. And if you are in the crow's nest (as the lookout), you might cry, SHIP AHOY!

A: The two-word phrases I came up with are:
CHIP SHOT and SHIP AHOY!

NPR Sunday Puzzle (May 20): Mother's Day Puzzle

NPR Sunday Puzzle (May 20): Mother's Day Puzzle:

Q: Name certain internal parts of the human body, five letters, the word is plural. This word contains an 'i.' Change the 'i' to an 'o,' spell the result backward, and you'll name another part of the body that's very near the first ones. What body parts are these?

I know I ought'ta provide a clue to this puzzle, but I was too busy organizing a Mother's Day Brunch for my wife, my mother and my sister. A trio of moms, near and dear to my heart, were all treated to a scrumptious buffet in the atrium of a nearby hotel. Maybe if I have time, I'll post a clue later in the week.

Edit: So you caught all the clues, right? We had the phrase "I ought'ta" which sounds like "aorta" and then "A trio" which sounds like "atria". There was mention of my "heart" and finally the hotel atrium (plural = atria).

A: ATRIA (two upper chambers of the heart) --> AORTA (large artery leaving the heart)

NPR Sunday Puzzle (May 13): I've Been By This River...

NPR Sunday Puzzle (May 13): I've Been By This River...:

Q: Think of two countries whose names start with the same three letters. Set these names side by side, drop the first three letters from each of the names, the remaining letters, in order, will spell the name of one of the longest rivers in the world. What are the countries and what is the river?

I actually went past this river on a trip my family took in 1980. I'm going to give a big clue; the river doesn't go by any major cities. And notice the puzzle says one of the longest rivers, so we can rule out the Nile naturally.

Edit: The Lena River is in Russia and flows to the northeast out of Lake Baikal then eventually due north into the Laptev Sea. My family rode the Transiberian Railway in the spring of 1980, shortly before the boycotted Olympics in Moscow. Most people aren't familiar with this river unless they've seen it in a crossword puzzle, but it is categorized as the 10th longest river in the world at approximately 2,650 miles. Incidentally, the name of the river was hidden inside of Nile naturally.

A: CHI(LE) + CHI(NA) --> LENA.

NPR Sunday Puzzle (May 6): Knock, Knock... Who's There?

NPR Sunday Puzzle (May 6): Knock, Knock... Who's There?:

Q: Think of a six-letter plural word naming a certain category of foods. Change the first letter to a 'C,' then re-arrange the result to get an adjective that describes many of these foods. What is it?

The important letter in the clue is 'C'... Aren't you glad I'm here to give you clues?

Edit: Remember this old Knock, Knock joke?
"Knock, knock" Who's There?
"Banana" Banana Who?
"Knock, knock" Who's There?
"Banana" Banana Who?
"Knock, knock" Who's There?
"Banana" Banana Who?
"Knock, knock" Who's There?
"Orange" Orange Who?
"Aren't you glad I stopped saying Banana?"

The other clue was the letter C, as in vitamin C which is prevalent in citrus fruits.

A: FRUITS +C-F --> CITRUS

NPR Sunday Puzzle (Apr 29): Up a Tree Without a Clue

NPR Sunday Puzzle (Apr 29): Up a Tree Without a Clue:

Q: Name a famous character in literature and legend, two words, five letters in the first name, four letters in the last. The second letter of the first name is 'R.' Move this 'R' to the second position of the second word, say the result out loud and you'll name a vehicle. Who is the character and what is the vehicle?

Someone's going to have to come to my aid with a clue this week...

Edit: Who comes to the aid of a cat stuck up a tree? Okay, I know the clue was obvious, but I hope you enjoyed it anyway.

A: FRIAR TUCK --> FIRE TRUCK

NPR Sunday Puzzle (Apr 22): Is that Really an Office *Item*?

NPR Sunday Puzzle (Apr 22): Is that Really an Office *Item*?:

Q: Name something commonly found in an office. It is two words, with five letters in the first word and four letters in the last. Both words are the last names of famous singers. What is the office item, and who are the singers?

It might be a trivial distinction, but I'd hardly call this an office item. Technically it is something found in an office... but I don't think of it as a single, tangible item.
Edit: Okay, so perhaps I was getting a little petty, picking on the puzzle clue.

A: TOM PETTY and JOHNNY CASH --> PETTY CASH

NPR Sunday Puzzle (Apr 15): Two-word Phrases and Car Parts, a Common Theme

NPR Sunday Puzzle (Apr 15): Two-word Phrases and Car Parts, a Common Theme

Q: Take the phrase 'saturated fat,' which contains the letter pair 'AT' three times, and think of another familiar two-word phrase, this time containing the lettered pair 'SE' three times. Drop the 'SEs' every time they appear and the remaining letters, in order, reading left to right, will name part of a car. What is it?

I have to get on Will's case. Just three weeks back we had a puzzle involving two-word phrases and a car part. Practical wisdom would say that you need to vary your puzzles a little. Sounds like he might not be listening to me however...
Edit: The clues were "Practical wisdom" and the reference to the puzzle a few weeks back with the faulty car horn (and the words "sounds" and "listening").

A: HORSE SENSE --> HORN