NPR Sunday Puzzle (Dec 28, 2014): Those Barbarians Ambush Heavier Fiancees

NPR Sunday Puzzle (Dec 28, 2014): Those Barbarians Ambush Heavier Fiancees:

Q: Take the following 5-word sentence: "THOSE BARBARIANS AMBUSH HEAVIER FIANCEES." These 5 words have something very unusual in common. What is it?

You deserve brownie points if you can figure out other words that even broadly fit.

Edit: Brownie sounds like "brow-knee" and also has a hidden body part of BONE. Point hides PIT, and broadly hides BODY.

A: Reading every odd letter you get body parts TOE, BRAIN, ABS, HAIR and FACE.

NPR Sunday Puzzle (Dec 21, 2014): Christmas Decorations

NPR Sunday Puzzle (Dec 21, 2014): Christmas Decorations:

Q: Take the first and last names of a well-known actress. Her first name has two vowels. Change them both to new vowels, and the result names part of a common Christmas decoration. What is it?

Will threw a proverbial soft (snow)ball this week.

Edit: The key was "threw a" which anagrams to a "wreath".

A: HALLE BERRY --> HOLLY BERRY

Christmas Puzzle 2014 - Power of TEN

Our annual Christmas puzzle "Power of TEN" is available now. Every answer is a word containing the letters TEN. For example, if the clue were "These keep your hands warm when playing in the snow", the answer would be mittens.

As in prior years, the reward for solving is a video Christmas card, but you'll need to figure out the password by using the first letter of each word. As a hint, the password could be used to describe an occasion such as the new year.

Note: If you need some help, the full answer is posted here, but try solving it without help first... it's more fun that way.

Feel free to add a comment below to let us know that you successfully figured it out (without giving away the answer to others). We are always looking for new ideas for next year's Christmas puzzle, so submit those too.

NPR Sunday Puzzle (Dec 14, 2014): I heard him exclaim, 'ere he drove out of sight...

NPR Sunday Puzzle (Dec 14, 2014): I heard him exclaim, 'ere he drove out of sight...:

Q: Think of a common exclamation in four letters. Move the last letter to the start, and then add a new letter to the end to get another well-known exclamation. What is it?

My wife and I use this all the time with each other. I can't think of a hint that won't lead to the answer via a search engine, so I'll just stick with last week's clue.

Edit: I suppose I might say "Ahoy, mate" to my wife. The hint of a search engine was obviously a reference to Yahoo. And last week's clue was to Montgomery, AL. But if you use the photo as a hint, it refers to Montgomery Burns of "The Simpsons" who answers the phone with Ahoy hoy

A: AHOY! --> YAHOO!

NPR Sunday Puzzle (Dec 7, 2014): A few Texans come in...

NPR Sunday Puzzle (Dec 7, 2014): A few Texans come in...:

Q: Take the phrase "a few Texans come in." Rearrange these letters to name a geographical place. What is it?

I guess it's not "amalgamate my Boron".

Edit: That anagrams to "Montgomery, Alabama" which is another state capital.

A: SANTA FE, NEW MEXICO

NPR Sunday Puzzle (Nov 30, 2014): Bertrand Tavernier Word Play

NPR Sunday Puzzle (Nov 30, 2014): Bertrand Tavernier Word Play:

Q: Bertrand Tavernier is a French director of such movies as Life and Nothing But and It All Starts Today. What amazing wordplay property does the name Bertrand Tavernier have? This sounds like an open-ended question, but when you have the right answer, you'll have no doubt about it.

Do not attempt to adjust the picture. We are now controlling the transmission. We control the horizontal. We control the vertical.

Edit: The hint was to the striped shirts that this duo wears, one with vertical stripes (Bert) and the other with horizontal (Ernie).

A: Removing a few interspersed letters, 3 words remain --> BERT AND ERNIE

NPR Sunday Puzzle (Nov 23, 2014): Traveling Cultural Museum Puzzle

NPR Sunday Puzzle (Nov 23, 2014): Traveling Cultural Museum Puzzle:

Q: The letters in the name of a major American city can be rearranged to spell a traveling cultural museum. What is it? Each name is a single word, and the city's population is more than a half million.

If you haven't figured this out, you are probably getting stuck on the phrase "traveling cultural museum". Perhaps it isn't on a standard list of museums, or is on several you haven't checked. And yes, there is a hint hidden somewhere here.

Edit: If you anagram "or is on several", you get "Orioles Ravens".

A: BALTIMORE --> ARTMOBILE

NPR Sunday Puzzle (Nov 16, 2014): Show me the money!

NPR Sunday Puzzle (Nov 16, 2014): Show me the money!:

Q: Name a country. Drop one of its letters. Rearrange the remaining letters to name this country's money. What is it?

By now everyone has figured this out so no clue is necessary.

Edit: The hint was the first word in the sentence; the ISO country code for Belarus is BY.

A: BELARUS (-A) = RUBLES

NPR Sunday Puzzle (Nov 9, 2014): I got Caesar dressing on my clothes!

NPR Sunday Puzzle (Nov 9, 2014): I got Caesar dressing on my clothes!:

Q: Name a well-known clothing company. Move each of its letters three spaces earlier in the alphabet and rearrange the result. You'll name something you don't want in an article of clothing. What is it?

I generally enjoy these letter rotation type puzzles, but it took me awhile to figure this one out.

Edit: The two clues were "I general..." (referring to General Zod from Superman) = IZOD and "awhile" from the phrase, "In awhile, crocodile." Though many people thought the animal on the Izod Lacoste polo shirt was an alligator, it was actually a crocodile, referring to tennis player Rene Lacoste's nickname of "The Crocodile".

A: IZOD = FWLA --> FLAW

NPR Sunday Puzzle (Nov 2, 2014): An Apt Time for a Clock Puzzle

NPR Sunday Puzzle (Nov 2, 2014): An Apt Time for a Clock Puzzle:

Q: Write down the following four times: 3:00, 6:00, 12:55 and 4:07. These are the only times on a clock that share a certain property (without repeating oneself). What property is this?

I guess we all have an extra hour to figure this one out this week...

Edit: Time's up!

A: The intended answer is that the four times given visually form Roman numerals L(50), I(1), V(5) and C(100). (The other Roman numerals (M, D, X) can't be easily formed so are excluded.)

I take issue with the misleading wording (only times?) and that we have to visually view two straight hands as forming a curved letter of 'C'. I'm sure there will be some that call this puzzle bogus and you would be justified in saying so, but remember I'm just the messenger.