NPR Sunday Puzzle (Apr 4, 2010): Death and Taxes

NPR Sunday Puzzle (Apr 4, 2010): Death and Taxes:

Q: Think of a 15-letter word that is spelled without using any of the letters T, A, X, E or S. And it means how Stephen King writes.

Every Sunday I feel the pressure to come up with a solution to the puzzle and then post a good clue as quickly as possible. Other times I can't figure it out and just have to rely on others to post their hints. I guess that's just the way it is.

Edit: My hints were "pressure" (as in blood pressure) and "way" (as in curds and "whey")

A: BLOODCURDLINGLY
Some have proposed blood-chillingly as an alternate answer, but most sources have it hyphenated

NPR Sunday Puzzle (Mar 28, 2010): The Name's the Same

NPR Sunday Puzzle (Mar 28, 2010): The Name's the Same:

Q: What 6 letter word beginning with the letter 'S' would be the same if it started with 'TH?'

So I was thinking I should have words like SOUGHT and THOUGHT, or SINNER and THINNER. But those aren't the same in the end. I'm open to any hints...

Edit: Indeed I did have "open" as my hidden hint. The puzzle intentionally tried to mislead us into thinking we were looking for synonyms. You'll notice I didn't put this puzzle in the synonym category however.

A: SESAME --> THE SAME

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.