NPR Sunday Puzzle (Mar 21, 2010): Know your Animals

NPR Sunday Puzzle (Mar 21, 2010): Know your Animals:

Q: Take the plural name of one animal and the singular name of another animal. Say the two words out loud one after the other and you'll name a country. What are the animals, and what is the country?

See, I knew Will Shortz would put his years as a crossword puzzle editor to good use and come up with something interesting...

Edit: My hint was "knew" which is another homonym for the first animal and the first part of the country. Also, both words are the type of words that crossword puzzle solvers have seen often, so I mentioned that as an additional hint.

A: GNUS + ELAND = NEW ZEALAND

NPR Sunday Puzzle (Mar 14, 2010): Tasty Opposites

NPR Sunday Puzzle (Mar 14, 2010): Tasty Opposites:

Q: Think of two words that are opposites, beginning with the letters 'H' and 'M.' Change the 'H' to an 'M.' Say the result out loud, and you'll have the name of something nice to eat. What is it?

At least this week's challenge doesn't involve anagrams. (However, if you miss them and want to hear some more, listen to the on-air puzzle; it's all about anagrams.) Just like a couple weeks ago, I think the wording of the puzzle is a little misleading. If you want something nice to eat, don't take a small bite. You want the whole thing.

Edit: My hint was "some more" as in "s'more"

A: HARSH + MELLOW --> MARSHMALLOW

NPR Sunday Puzzle (Mar 7, 2010): Messing up the Receiving Line

NPR Sunday Puzzle (Mar 7, 2010): Messing up the Receiving Line:

Q: Take the phrase 'Receiving Line'. Rearrange these 13 letters to name a common profession

Okay, before I say something rude, isn't this about the 6th anagram puzzle this year? Really Will, can't you construct an interesting NPR puzzle that doesn't involve anagrams? And what's up with the NPR site? Where's the link to the puzzle on the NPR puzzle page? You know, I don't think I'm even going to bother supplying a hint this week.

Edit: not rude = civil, construct = engineer

A: RECEIVING LINE --> CIVIL ENGINEER

NPR Sunday Puzzle (Feb. 28, 2010): Name Those TV Shows

NPR Sunday Puzzle (Feb. 28, 2010): Name Those TV Shows:

Q: Name an animal in two syllables. Add an S at the end of the first syllable, and you'll get the name of an old TV show. The second syllable, phonetically, is the name of a current TV show. What animal is this?

This puzzle is really easy if you interpret it correctly and really hard if you don't. The primary actors on the old TV show were born about the same time as the main actor on the current TV show.

Edit: I initially read the puzzle and thought the S was inserted between the first and second syllables to form the name of the old TV show. When I focused more on the second syllable, all of a sudden I figured out my mistake and came up with the answer.

A: Chipmunk --> CHiPs and Monk

NPR Sunday Puzzle (Feb. 21, 2010): Anagramming Brooklynite

NPR Sunday Puzzle (Feb. 21, 2010): Anagramming Brooklynite:

Q: Take this word: Brooklynite. Rearrange these 11 letters to get the names of two world capitals. What are they?

Talk about déjà vu. Didn't we just have a puzzle involving anagrams?

Edit: Last week's answer involved troops fighting in a war. Déjà vu should have led you to think of experiencing a second war as in World War II, where the U.S. fought Germany and Japan. I had intended for deja to be another clue for the internet domains of Germany (.de) and Japan (.ja) except the correct domain is .jp. Oops!

A: Brooklynite --> Berlin + Tokyo

NPR Sunday Puzzle (Feb. 14, 2010): Anagramming Proust

NPR Sunday Puzzle (Feb. 14, 2010): Anagramming Proust:

Q: Take the name 'Proust,' as in Marcel Proust. Using these six letters, repeating them as often as necessary, spell a familiar bumper sticker with three words, 16 letters altogether. What bumper sticker is it?

This puzzle is so obvious it doesn't need a hint. Instead, I'm going back to watching the downhill heats. My two favorite skiers are currently tied for 4th place.

Edit: The hints were "tied" and "4th place". Typically one receives a yellow ribbon for a 4th place finish, but it is also a symbol in support of military troops away from home.

A: SUPPORT OUR TROOPS

NPR Sunday Puzzle (Feb. 7, 2010): In Honor of the Super Bowl

NPR Sunday Puzzle (Feb. 7, 2010): In Honor of the Super Bowl:

Q: The nickname of well known queen is an anagram of the name of a well known king. What are their names?

The bigger question for most people will be, who's going to win? The Saints or the Colts? Or are you just watching to see who has the best commercial?

Edit: An annual award for the best commercials is called the Clio which sounds like "Cleo". Additionally, Colts starts with the sound "Cole" and if you remember the nursery rhyme, Old King Cole called for his pipe, and he called for his Bowl...

A: Queen: CLEO (as in Cleopatra)
King: COLE (as in Old King Cole)

NPR Sunday Puzzle (Jan. 31, 2010): But I Really Don't See a Pattern?!?

NPR Sunday Puzzle (Jan. 31, 2010): But I Really Don't See a Pattern?!?:

Q: Take four words: Croquet; Lunette; Renoir; Turnstile. They are all two-syllable words, but aside from that, they all have something unusual in common: a property that virtually no other words have. What property is it?

I thought this was tough for awhile, but if you listen to the puzzle broadcast on the air, Will provides an additional hint. My hint? Use your brain.

Edit: The first clue were the first letters of the title which spells out "BIRDS..." Also, there was the clue "brain" as in (bird)brain.

A: The first syllable of each word, though it doesn't spell out a bird name, sounds like a four-letter bird name:
Croquet --> CROW
Lunette --> LOON
Renoir --> WREN
Turnstile --> TERN

I'm not sure if it is important to the answer, but all the bird names are exactly 4 letters long and the original word does not have the same spelling, only the sound of the bird in the first syllable.

NPR Sunday Puzzle (Jan. 24, 2010): After the Operation, He Became a She...

NPR Sunday Puzzle (Jan. 24, 2010): After the Operation, He Became a She...:

Q: Think of a common first name for a boy, starting with the letter E, two syllables. Rearrange all of the letters to form a common first name for a girl, also with two syllables. What names are these?

I wanted to get this posted before bed, since I see the puzzle is on the NPR site already. It shouldn't take you too much to figure this out. Just go down a list of common boys names starting with E and play with the letters. When you get to one that can be scrambled to a girl's name, you are done.

Edit: The hints were "before bed" which leads to Good Night (Irene), and "done" which leads to (Irene) Dunne.

A: ERNIE --> IRENE

NPR Sunday Puzzle (Jan. 17, 2010): The Last Shall be First, and the First Last

NPR Sunday Puzzle (Jan. 17, 2010): The Last Shall be First, and the First Last:

Q: Find the full names of well-known female TV stars — one actress and one comedian. The first four letters of the actress' first name are the last four letters of the comedian's last name, and the first four letters of the comedian's first name are the last four letters of the actress' last name. Who are these well-known entertainers?

This could be hard if you aren't familiar with the comedienne. Also, be sure to read the puzzle carefully. I will say that both were on screen together in a scene involving a math competition. How's that for a useful clue?

Edit: First, the initials of the actress and comedienne were hidden in my post above, several times (THis COuld, THe COmedienne, maTH COmpetition). TH = Teri Hatcher, CO = Cheri Oteri.

Second, Cheri Oteri was half of the Spartans Cheerleaders duo with Will Ferrell on Saturday Night Live. Teri Hatcher hosted SNL back on April 20, 1996 and joined them as Gabrielle in a skit entitled Spartans Math Competition

A: CHERI OTERI and TERI HATCHER