NPR Sunday Puzzle (May 9, 2021): 11 Letter Word with 6 Syllables

NPR Sunday Puzzle (May 9, 2021): 11 Letter Word with 6 Syllables

Q: Think of a word with six syllables that's spelled with only 11 letters — and the four middle syllables have the same vowel. What word is it?

I'm not sure if I'm allowed to post a hint.

Edit: I was questioning my eligibility.

A: ELIGIBILITY

NPR Sunday Puzzle (May 2, 2021): Singing the Blues

NPR Sunday Puzzle (May 2, 2021): Singing the Blues

Q: Name a famous blues singer — first and last name as this person is generally known. Change the first letter to a "B," and phonetically you'll get a nationality. Who's the singer, and what's the nationality?

Today I learned two things

Edit: Ma Rainey is a real person and someone from Bahrain is Bahraini.

A: MA RAINEY --> BAHRAINI

NPR Sunday Puzzle (Apr 25, 2021): Consonants and Vowels

NPR Sunday Puzzle (Apr 25, 2021): Consonants and Vowels

Q: Think of a person in the news (5,4). The first name and last name each have at least two consonants and two vowels. All the consonants in each name come at the start, and all the vowels come at the end. The letter "y" is not used. Who is this famous person?

I usually have an answer Sunday morning, but this took me until later on to solve. Ironically, the first name was a variant of the first one I thought of.

Edit: The first name I thought of was Khloé Kardashian which I quickly dismissed. It wasn't until after the Academy Awards coverage that I figured out the answer.

A: Chloé Zhao, winner of Best Director for Nomadland

NPR Sunday Puzzle (Apr 18, 2021): "Never Work with Children or Animals" - W.C. Fields

NPR Sunday Puzzle (Apr 18, 2021): "Never Work with Children or Animals" - W.C. Fields

Q: Name a famous actor — 4 letters in the first name, 7 letters in the last. You can change the first letter of the actor's first name to name a bird. And you can change the first letter of the actor's last name to name a mammal. Who's the actor?

No clue, just a picture.

Edit: The color green, for The Hulk

A: MARK RUFFALO --> LARK, BUFFALO

NPR Sunday Puzzle (Apr 11, 2021): Scrambled Body Parts

NPR Sunday Puzzle (Apr 11, 2021): Scrambled Body Parts

Q: Think of part of the body in seven letters. Add an "N" and rearrange all the letters to name two more parts of the body (none related to the original word). What body parts are these?

Edit: I didn't want to draw too much attention to the picture, but images 1 and 3 were definitely clues.

A: KNEECAP + N --> NAPE, NECK

NPR Sunday Puzzle (Apr 4, 2021): Cars, Cars, Cars

NPR Sunday Puzzle (Apr 4, 2021): Cars, Cars, Cars

Q: Write in capital letters the name of a popular vehicle brand. Move two vertical lines closer together. Add a horizontal line. The result will be another popular vehicle brand. What names are these?

It didn't say popular car make, or popular car model...

Edit: Apparently Will was trying to use a more encompassing term so that we didn't complain that one is a car make and the other is a car model.

A: CIVIC --> GMC

NPR Sunday Puzzle (Mar 28, 2021): One For the Birds

NPR Sunday Puzzle (Mar 28, 2021): One For the Birds

Q: Name something birds do. Put the last sound of this word at the start and the first sound at the end, and phonetically you'll name something else birds do. What are these things?

I almost posted a picture of a bird doing both things.

Edit: The first picture I picked had an open-beaked bird on a branch.

A: CHIRP⟷PERCH

NPR Sunday Puzzle (Mar 21, 2021): Zany Box Kept Him

NPR Sunday Puzzle (Mar 21, 2021): Zany Box Kept Him

Q: Take the phrase ZANY BOX KEPT HIM. Write it in capital letters. Something is special about the 14 letters in this sentence that sets them apart from all the other 12 letters of the alphabet. What is it?

Not this week.

Edit: If it had been last week, Pi Day (3/14) might have made the puzzle too obvious. Also, week rhymes with Greek.

A: The 14 uppercase latin letters in that phrase look like uppercase Greek letters Α(alpha), Β(beta), Ε(epsilon), Ζ(zeta), Η(eta), Ι(iota), Κ(kappa), Μ(mu), Ν(nu), Ο(omicron), Ρ(rho), Τ(tau), Υ(upsilon), Χ(chi).

NPR Sunday Puzzle (Mar 14, 2021): Not Six Flags

NPR Sunday Puzzle (Mar 14, 2021): Not Six Flags

Q: This week's challenge is more challenging than it sounds. Name a well-known tourist locale that attracts millions of visitors a year. It has a two-word name. The first word is a number. And that number is the same as the total number of letters in the name. What's the tourist site?

The nearby airport is associated with a number that is one smaller.

Edit: The nearby airport is Ian Fleming International author of the James Bond (aka "007") novels. By the way, this list was helpful to solving the puzzle.

A: OCHO RIOS (Jamaica)

NPR Sunday Puzzle (Mar 7, 2021): Country Anagrams = Mr. Guyana Cartons

NPR Sunday Puzzle (Mar 7, 2021): Country Anagrams = Mr. Guyana Cartons

Q: Think of a country with a one-word name. You can rearrange its letters to identify a member of one of our country's armed forces. Who is that, and what's the country?

The map on the right should keep you busy.

Edit: Clearly the answers weren't on the map.

A: SURINAME --> US MARINE, MYANMAR --> ARMY MAN, ARMENIA --> A MARINE