NPR Sunday Puzzle (Apr 29): Up a Tree Without a Clue

NPR Sunday Puzzle (Apr 29): Up a Tree Without a Clue:

Q: Name a famous character in literature and legend, two words, five letters in the first name, four letters in the last. The second letter of the first name is 'R.' Move this 'R' to the second position of the second word, say the result out loud and you'll name a vehicle. Who is the character and what is the vehicle?

Someone's going to have to come to my aid with a clue this week...

Edit: Who comes to the aid of a cat stuck up a tree? Okay, I know the clue was obvious, but I hope you enjoyed it anyway.

A: FRIAR TUCK --> FIRE TRUCK

NPR Sunday Puzzle (Apr 22): Is that Really an Office *Item*?

NPR Sunday Puzzle (Apr 22): Is that Really an Office *Item*?:

Q: Name something commonly found in an office. It is two words, with five letters in the first word and four letters in the last. Both words are the last names of famous singers. What is the office item, and who are the singers?

It might be a trivial distinction, but I'd hardly call this an office item. Technically it is something found in an office... but I don't think of it as a single, tangible item.
Edit: Okay, so perhaps I was getting a little petty, picking on the puzzle clue.

A: TOM PETTY and JOHNNY CASH --> PETTY CASH

NPR Sunday Puzzle (Apr 15): Two-word Phrases and Car Parts, a Common Theme

NPR Sunday Puzzle (Apr 15): Two-word Phrases and Car Parts, a Common Theme

Q: Take the phrase 'saturated fat,' which contains the letter pair 'AT' three times, and think of another familiar two-word phrase, this time containing the lettered pair 'SE' three times. Drop the 'SEs' every time they appear and the remaining letters, in order, reading left to right, will name part of a car. What is it?

I have to get on Will's case. Just three weeks back we had a puzzle involving two-word phrases and a car part. Practical wisdom would say that you need to vary your puzzles a little. Sounds like he might not be listening to me however...
Edit: The clues were "Practical wisdom" and the reference to the puzzle a few weeks back with the faulty car horn (and the words "sounds" and "listening").

A: HORSE SENSE --> HORN

NPR Sunday Puzzle (Apr 8): I'll State for the Record that I'm No Fool

NPR Sunday Puzzle (Apr 8): I'll State for the Record that I'm No Fool:

Q: Take the names of two U.S. States, mix them all together, then rearrange the letters to form the names of two other U.S. States. What states are these?

I had the answer to this puzzle after a few minutes of thinking but thought I must have missed something. The answer seemed like an oversight on Will's part. I even spent time writing a few Excel macros to find 1225 combinations of the 50 states (50 x 49 / 2, excluding duplicates), sort the letters alphabetically then find matches. All that effort was overkill, because it brought me back to the original "simple" answer I had at the beginning. Next time I'll focus on the date the puzzle is aired, rather than when the answer will be announced.

Edit: Sure enough, there is only one set of four states that answer the puzzle. And they are the first four I thought of. This was obviously an April Fool's joke to make us think the puzzle was much more complicated than it really is.

A: NORTH CAROLINA + SOUTH DAKOTA
= SOUTH CAROLINA + NORTH DAKOTA

NPR Sunday Puzzle (Apr 1): Rejuvenate Puzzle

NPR Sunday Puzzle (Apr 1): Rejuvenate Puzzle:

Q: Take the word, rejuvenate. Add two S's, and rearrange the resulting 12 letters to name a famous person (first and last names). Who is it?

I've been trying to think of somebody famous... I figure this person might be known for being on TV, or in movies, or in politics, or as an athlete. Unfortunately, I don't have a clue to give you and it is late. Taking a hint from the puzzle, I need to get to bed and let the body and mind rejuvenate.

Update: Someone asked me if I was truly not going to give a clue this week. Yes, he thought I had failed to solve the puzzle and therefore couldn't provide a clue. I would venture a guess that he hasn't read many of my posts, because he would see that I often try to fake people out, but really do have a clue there. In fact there are numerous hints in this post, but just don't try to pin me down to admitting where they are, at least not before the deadline.

Edit: Well, the person in question has been known for all of those roles from a WWF Wrestler on TV, to film roles, to being Governor of Minnesota. His nickname was "The Body" and that clue was hidden in my first post. In the update, if you read it aloud, you'll hear the words "Yes, he" and "venture a" which sound like his name. And "fake" and "pin me down" were obvious references to WWF/WWE wrestling, though many will still contend that it is real wrestling.

A: REJUVENATESS --> JESSE VENTURA

NPR Sunday Puzzle (Mar 25): Motto Puzzle

NPR Sunday Puzzle (Mar 25): Motto Puzzle:

Q: Think of a well known two-word motto. Say it quickly and it will sound like a different two-word phrase for the result of some auto garage work. What is it?

I don't think a clue is merited this week. If you just sound it out, you'll get the answer.

Edit: Reread those last two sentences and you'll find the hidden clues that I gave you (even though I said I wouldn't). Merited should make you think of merit badges and scouting. What's the motto of the Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts? Also, the word sound when you are thinking of a car should make you think of the horn...

A: BE PREPARED --> BEEP REPAIRED

NPR Sunday Puzzle (Mar 18): Best S'porting Actress

NPR Sunday Puzzle (Mar 18): Best S'porting Actress:

Q: Take a six-letter word used in a certain sport. Add the letter 'I.' Re-arrange the resulting seven letters to spell the first name of a famous actress. This actress's last name, in five letters, identifies the place where the sport is played. Who is the actress and what is the sports term?

I may have this completely wrong, but I think I saw this actress on a late-night infomercial trying to sell teriyaki however, given the early hour, it's likely my brain was just a little scrambled.

Edit: Get it? Sell Teriyaki... unscrambled becomes...

A: Well the sport is bowling. When you knock down all the pins, you have a:
STRIKE + I --> KIRSTIE
And bowling is played in an:
ALLEY
So the answer is KIRSTIE ALLEY

NPR Sunday Puzzle (Mar 11): Good = Yummy or Healthy?

NPR Sunday Puzzle (Mar 11): Good = Yummy or Healthy?

Q: Name something to eat in two words, with seven letters in each word. All the letters in the first word are in the first half of the alphabet, A to M. All the letters in the second word are in the second half of the alphabet, N to Z.
It's something good to eat, and the answer is plural. And here's a hint: the initials of the two words are A.S.

No hints this week, but just be sure you don't make the mistake I made... I thought the last letters of each word had to be A.S. Silly me!

Edit: I would have thought that chocolate cake was good to eat, but I guess Will was going for good for you, not just good tasting. Oh you caught me, I did leave a clue with the A and S. First word starts and ends with A, and the second word starts and ends with S.

A: ALFALFA SPROUTS

NPR Sunday Puzzle (Mar 4): Scrambled actress

NPR Sunday Puzzle (Mar 4): Scrambled actress:

Q: Take the thirteen letter word, Melancholiacs, add the letter R, then re-arrange all the letters to name a famous actress. Who is it?

This one took awhile to figure out because you can form all sorts of common female names with those letters. Plus with the Academy Awards on, I kept thinking that there would be a connection to some recent actress, or someone receiving a lifetime award. Well, I was wrong...

Edit: Time for the answer. I remember this actress from her days on Mary Tyler Moore and later on her own show as Phyllis.

A: CLORIS LEACHMAN

NPR Sunday Puzzle (Feb 24): As Easy as Pi...

NPR Sunday Puzzle (Feb 24): As Easy as Pi...:

Q: The object of this challenge is to develop nine different mathematical expressions that equal eight. You must use the digits 2, 7 and one other. And that other digit must be a one in the first expression, two in the next expression and so on, up to nine. You can use a digit once and only once in each expression.

You may use the four arithmetic symbols: plus, minus, times and divided by, as well as exponents and decimal points. You may use parenthesis as you need them.

Yippee! Another math puzzle! I like the word puzzles, but it's nice to have a math puzzle now and again. Unfortunately any clue I could provide would give away too much... just read the puzzle carefully and use all operators mentioned. As an extra challenge, see if you can make eight from 2, 7 and 0 also.

A: Here are my answers. As mentioned, I found I had to use the four basic operators and exponent and decimal too.
ONE: 7 + 2 - 1 = 8
TWO: 7 + ( 2 / 2 ) = 8
THREE: 7 + 3 - 2 = 8
FOUR: 2^( 7 - 4 ) = 8
FIVE: 7 + ( 2 * .5) = 8
SIX: (2 * 7) - 6 = 8
SEVEN: ( 7 / .7 ) - 2 = 8
EIGHT: 7 + .2 + .8 = 8
NINE: (7 + 9) / 2 = 8
ZERO: 7 + 2^0 = 8