A math conundrum!Q: This week's challenge is something different. It involves Pi Day, which is this coming Saturday, March 14 — commonly written as 3/14. That's been designated Pi Day because 3-1-4 are the first three digits of pi. Well, the letters of "Pi Day" also have a curious mathematical significance. What is it?
A: The position of each letter in the alphabet is a perfect square: A(1), D(4), I(9), P(16), Y(25).
I could sew burlap together and make the opposite of these pants.Q: Think of a hyphenated word that describes certain pants. The first half of the word and a homophone of the second half are synonyms. What kind of pants are these?
A: HIGH-WAISTED --> HIGH, WASTED
So to verify, 8 for the first part and 7 for the second.Q: Name a well-known game in 8 letters. Drop the 5th letter, move the 1st letter into the vacated spot, and you'll name, in order, a part of the human body. What game is it?
A: CRIBBAGE --> RIB CAGE
I hope I don't get called this week.Q: What familiar 10-letter word contains a silent B, E, and O — not necessarily in that order. And those three letters don't have to be consecutive in the word.
A: SUbPoENAeD
This puzzle shouldn't require much more than a list or an atlas.Q: My friend Penelope, who is from La Jolla, went on a world vacation. She stopped in Santa Rosa, Toronto and Casablanca. What European capital did she also visit?
A: AMsterdAM follows the same pattern as PEneloPE, LA jolLA, SAnta roSA, TOronTO and CAsablanCA.
I guess I'll just be content knowing I finally have the answer, even if I had to ask family members for help.Q: The actress Michael Learned, who played the mother on The Waltons, has an unusual property in her name. The last three letters of her first name are the same as the first three letters of her last name reversed. The name of what current celebrity has the same property? Here's a hint: The first and last names each have 6 letters.
A: BILLIE EILISH
I believe the operative word is "write".Q: Write down the letter C. Beneath that write ENT. And beneath that write a G. What profession do these letters represent? Here's a hint: It's a two-word phrase — 10 letters in the first word, 5 letters in the second.
A: Under C, Over a G, ENT --> UNDERCOVER AGENT
P.S. If anyone is interested, an almost identical version of the puzzle was played on-air about 10 years ago.
I'm pretty sure my grandpa doesn't have this.Q: Name something everyone has, starting with H. Add an E, and rearrange the letters. You'll name two things that every person must do to stay alive.
A: HEARTBEAT + E --> EAT, BREATHE
I might have heard my wife utter this in the last couple weeks.Q: Think of a familiar three-word phrase that has the following property: The first word is a number. Let X be that number. Then the last X letters of the second word form, in order, a common abbreviation for the third word.
A: TWO LEFT FEET --> FT., FEET
I got stuck on "beer gut" but I should have used the resources at hand sooner.Q: Think of an informal term for part of the human body that consists of two alcoholic beverages, one after the other. What is it?
A: NOG + GIN = NOGGIN
