NPR Sunday Puzzle (Jan. 24, 2010): After the Operation, He Became a She...

NPR Sunday Puzzle (Jan. 24, 2010): After the Operation, He Became a She...:

Q: Think of a common first name for a boy, starting with the letter E, two syllables. Rearrange all of the letters to form a common first name for a girl, also with two syllables. What names are these?

I wanted to get this posted before bed, since I see the puzzle is on the NPR site already. It shouldn't take you too much to figure this out. Just go down a list of common boys names starting with E and play with the letters. When you get to one that can be scrambled to a girl's name, you are done.

Edit: The hints were "before bed" which leads to Good Night (Irene), and "done" which leads to (Irene) Dunne.

A: ERNIE --> IRENE

NPR Sunday Puzzle (Jan. 17, 2010): The Last Shall be First, and the First Last

NPR Sunday Puzzle (Jan. 17, 2010): The Last Shall be First, and the First Last:

Q: Find the full names of well-known female TV stars — one actress and one comedian. The first four letters of the actress' first name are the last four letters of the comedian's last name, and the first four letters of the comedian's first name are the last four letters of the actress' last name. Who are these well-known entertainers?

This could be hard if you aren't familiar with the comedienne. Also, be sure to read the puzzle carefully. I will say that both were on screen together in a scene involving a math competition. How's that for a useful clue?

Edit: First, the initials of the actress and comedienne were hidden in my post above, several times (THis COuld, THe COmedienne, maTH COmpetition). TH = Teri Hatcher, CO = Cheri Oteri.

Second, Cheri Oteri was half of the Spartans Cheerleaders duo with Will Ferrell on Saturday Night Live. Teri Hatcher hosted SNL back on April 20, 1996 and joined them as Gabrielle in a skit entitled Spartans Math Competition

A: CHERI OTERI and TERI HATCHER

NPR Sunday Puzzle (Jan. 10, 2010): I Love Anagrams!

NPR Sunday Puzzle (Jan. 10, 2010): I Love Anagrams!:

Q: Think of a familiar 10-letter hyphenated word that uses all seven letters of the alphabet from 'F' to 'L' plus three other letters of your choosing. What word is it? It's a word everyone knows, and it's in some dictionaries.

Is it just me or does Will seem to be in love with anagram puzzles?! In terms of the puzzle, I've checked a few dictionaries and only one had a specific entry for the answer. I agree we've all heard it, but you might have to seriously think awhile to get the answer. On a lighter note, did anyone read about the New York judge sworn in with his hand on a dictionary. I guess the dictionary should be considered the new Bible. ;-)

Edit: There were several clues, "seriously" and "lighter note" were two of them. Then there was "on a" which appeared a couple times. Those are the missing letters of the anagram.

A: HALF-JOKING

NPR Sunday Puzzle (Jan. 3, 2010): It All Adds Up to a New Year

NPR Sunday Puzzle (Jan. 3, 2010): It All Adds Up to a New Year:

Q: Write down the digits from 2 to 7, in order. Add two mathematical symbols to get an expression equaling 2010. What symbols are these?

Yippee! A math puzzle for 2010. The most obvious question is, do you need to get fancy with symbols beyond the standard operations of multiplication, division, addition and subtraction? For example, do you need to use a decimal point, factorials, exponentiation, square roots, etc.? Would Will be so diabolical or would he start us off easy in 2010?

I will say, using just the standard four operations between the digits, you can get 160 different results (4 x 4 x C(5,2) = 160). Of these results, 69 are positive integers. Once you have solved the puzzle for 2010, have fun seeing if you can create any of these results: 1, 623, 1102, 1103, 2291, 4572 or 4573. Also, what's the largest number you can create with just the standard operations?

Edit: The largest number you can form is 2345x6x7 = 98,490. If you study that number you'll see it is 49 times the desired solution of 2010. So just divide by 7 instead of multiplying.

A: 2345 x 6 / 7 = 2010

NPR Sunday Puzzle (Dec. 27): Last Puzzle of 2009

NPR Sunday Puzzle (Dec. 27): Last Puzzle of 2009:

Q: Take the phrase 'pray when.' Double four of these letters. Using these letters plus the four singles, rearrange all 12 letters to spell a familiar phrase. What phrase is it?

Anyone else think this is one of the easiest puzzles of the last twelve months? Let's hope the puzzles for 2010 are more challenging.

Edit: I really don't know the answer to this week's puzzle so I'll just wish everyone a...

A: HAPPY NEW YEAR!

NPR Sunday Puzzle (Dec. 20): After Dinner and Before a Job

NPR Sunday Puzzle (Dec. 20): After Dinner and Before a Job:

Q: Think of a familiar two-word phrase, five letters in each word. The second word starts with P. The phrase names something that is nice to have after dinner. Change the P to an S, and you'll get another familiar phrase that names something that's nice to have before you start a job. What phrases are these?

Whoever came up with this has created a neat little puzzle. I only wish I could come up with a neat little clue to go with it.

Edit: Neat is a synonym for clean...

A: CLEAN PLATE --> CLEAN SLATE

NPR Sunday Puzzle (Dec. 13): All The Digits Puzzle

NPR Sunday Puzzle (Dec. 13): All The Digits Puzzle

Q: Name five two-digit numbers that are evenly spaced out — like 32, 34, 36, 38 and 40 — in which all 10 digits from 0 to 9 are used once each. What numbers are these?

The first answer came to me as I was driving and listening to the puzzle. However, as I was typing this clue, I came up with another answer that also works. How to give a clue without giving it away, I don't know.

Edit: The clues were to driving which should have made you think of either a car (ie. Car 54) or golf (ie. 18 holes). Those were the starting numbers of two of the four possible sequences.

The tens digit will either step by 1 (5,6,7,8,9) or by 2 (1,3,5,7,9) always ending on 9. The ones digit will also step by 1 (0,1,2,3,4) or by 2 (0,2,4,6,8) always starting (or ending) on 0. That leads to 4 possible sequences:
Starting with 10 stepping by 22 (20+2)
Starting with 18 stepping by 18 (20-2)
Starting with 50 stepping by 11 (10+1)
Starting with 54 stepping by 9 (10-1)

A: There are four possible sequences of two-digit numbers:

10,32,54,76,98

18,36,54,72,90

50,61,72,83,94

54,63,72,81,90

NPR Sunday Puzzle (Dec. 6): Pleasantly I Anagrammed

NPR Sunday Puzzle (Dec. 6): Pleasantly I Anagrammed:

Q: Take the letters in 'PLEASANTLY,' plus the letter I. Rearrange these 11 letters to name a well-known place. What is it?

When they involve anagrams, we might be tempted to solve puzzles using methods online. Now I could have resorted to an online anagram applet, but this puzzle can easily be solved by hand. I suggest using the latter method for more enjoyment.

Edit: Hidden hint -- Take the first letters of "...solve puzzles using methods online. Now I..." and you get the word spumoni. Quoting from Wikipedia, Spumoni "is a molded Italian ice cream made with layers of different colors.... This dish comes from Naples, and the three-flavored Neapolitan ice cream evolved from it."

A: NAPLES, ITALY

NPR Sunday Puzzle (Nov 29): I'm not a Poet...

NPR Sunday Puzzle (Nov 29): I'm not a Poet...:

Q: Think of three six-letter words starting with B, G and F. The last five letters of the words are the same and in the same order, yet none of the words rhymes with any of the others. What words are these?

This puzzle is rather easy and I don't have time to come up with a clever clue, but this does remind me of our annual Christmas Puzzle from 2006 entitled Close But No Rhyme. It's based on the same concept of non-rhyming words that only differ in their first letter. Enjoy.

Edit: The clue word was "rather". Also, question #17 on our Christmas puzzle used 2 of the 3 words.

A: BATHER, FATHER and GATHER

NPR Sunday Puzzle (Nov 22): Okie-Dokie!

NPR Sunday Puzzle (Nov 22): Okie-Dokie!:

Q: Think of a word containing the consecutive letters O-K. Remove the O-K, and you'll get a new word that's a synonym of the first word. What words are these?

The first thought I had when I figured out this puzzle was the Latin phrase "cavit lukom". You can argue that I haven't got the right conjugation but looking back on it, I still contend that the clue is useful nonetheless.

Edit: If you followed my hints you would take that bogus Latin phrase and write it backwards as MOKULTIVAC. After removing the OK you have MULTIVAC. If you Google for that you'll find that Isaac Asimov had a loosely connected series of stories involving a fictional computer called Multivac. One of those stories was Jokester (1956).

A: JOKESTER --> JESTER