Sunday, May 26, 2019

NPR Sunday Puzzle (May 26, 2019): Know Your Vowels

NPR Sunday Puzzle (May 26, 2019): Know Your Vowels:
Q: This week's challenge is not so hard. Take a common English word in 3 letters. Translate it into French — also 3 letters. (The French word is one everyone knows.) And between them these two words consist of 6 different vowels and no consonants. What words are these?
Is it as simple as it seems? Maybe not.

Edit: The title of the post is a hint. While some may say that YEA & OUI is a possible answer, the question does say the words consist of six different vowels and no consonants. In YEA the Y is acting as a consonant so my feeling is that answer should not be accepted (but it was).
A: AYE & OUI

Sunday, May 19, 2019

NPR Sunday Puzzle (May 19, 2019): Rubbernecking in Benin?

NPR Sunday Puzzle (May 19, 2019): Rubbernecking in Benin?:
Q: Name a profession in 13 letters that is associated with a particular 5-letter country. The letters of that country appear in left-to-right order, although not consecutively, in that profession's name. What is it?

Hint: The profession is a single word.
I'm pretty sure it's not a Quartermaster in Qatar.
A: HIEROGLYPHIST --> EGYPT

Sunday, May 12, 2019

NPR Sunday Puzzle (May 12, 2019): More Ways to Get From Here to There

NPR Sunday Puzzle (May 12, 2019): More Ways to Get From Here to There:
Q: Think of a 6-letter conveyance on wheels. Drop the first letter. Add a new letter at the end. The result will be another 6-letter conveyance on wheels. What conveyances are these?
I doubt I'll be using either of these conveyances this Mother's Day.
A: BOXCAR --> OXCART

Sunday, May 05, 2019

NPR Sunday Puzzle (May 5, 2019): Mixing Up Your Movie Title

NPR Sunday Puzzle (May 5, 2019): Mixing Up Your Movie Title:
Q: Name a popular movie of 2018. Add an R. You can rearrange the result to get three different titles for people. What are they?
No clue grows here this week.

Edit: My original hint was removed leaving this space barren.
A: A STAR IS BORN --> TSAR, SIR, BARON

Sunday, April 28, 2019

NPR Sunday Puzzle (Apr 28, 2019): Getting From Here to There

NPR Sunday Puzzle (Apr 28, 2019): Getting From Here to There:
Q: Think of a familiar three-word phrase with "and" in the middle ("___ and ___"). Move the first letter of the third word to the start of the first word, and you'll form two means of transportation. What are they?
Unfortunately... I have a fold in fabric or paper

Edit: Unfortunately referred to 13 years that have elapsed since a nearly identical version of this puzzle was aired. The second hint referred to "my crease" which hints at Mike Reiss (Producer for "The Simpsons") who independently came up with the puzzle back then.
A: ARTS and CRAFTS --> CARTS and RAFTS

Sunday, April 21, 2019

NPR Sunday Puzzle (Apr 21, 2019): Greetings and Salutations!

NPR Sunday Puzzle (Apr 21, 2019): Greetings and Salutations!:
Q: Think of a common greeting in another country. You can rearrange its letters to get the capital of a country that neighbors the country where this greeting is commonly spoken. What greeting is it?
Add 2 letters and rearrange to get a common greeting in the second country.

Edit: Add XC to get XIN CHÀO in Vietnamese.
A: NǏ HǍO (China) --> HANOI (Vietnam)

Sunday, April 14, 2019

NPR Sunday Puzzle (Apr 14, 2019): Liar, Liar, Pants on Fire

NPR Sunday Puzzle (Apr 14, 2019): Liar, Liar, Pants on Fire:
Q: Think of a word for a deceitful person. Move the middle letter to the end and you'll get another word for a deceitful person. What words are these?
Hint: Many fish

Edit: The Shoshone people identified themselves in sign language by moving a hand in a swimming motion to signify that they lived near the "river with many fish". European Explorers misinterpreted the wiggling motion to mean snake and hence misnamed the neighboring Snake River.
A: SNEAK --> SNAKE

Sunday, April 07, 2019

NPR Sunday Puzzle (Apr 7, 2019): How Do You Say Country In Your Country?

NPR Sunday Puzzle (Apr 7, 2019): How Do You Say Country In Your Country?:
Q: Name a country. Remove its last letter. The remaining letters can be rearranged to spell a word that means "country" in that country's main language. What country is it?
Here's a follow-up puzzle that may require some research. Add a letter to the word that means "country" to name a neighboring capital.

Edit: PAIS --> PARIS
A: SPAIN --> PAIS

Sunday, March 31, 2019

NPR Sunday Puzzle (Mar 31, 2019): Now Showing

NPR Sunday Puzzle (Mar 31, 2019): Now Showing:
Q: Name something you see when going to the movies, in two words. Change the sixth letter to an R, and you'll get something you might buy at a grocery, in three words. What things are these?
Another example of my trying to get too creative with the answer. As soon as I stopped thinking so hard, it just came to me.

Edit: I was thinking outside the box instead of inside the box. And rice is hard before it is cooked.
A: BOX OFFICE --> BOX OF RICE

Sunday, March 24, 2019

NPR Sunday Puzzle (Mar 24, 2019): H-Brand and M-Brand

NPR Sunday Puzzle (Mar 24, 2019): H-Brand and M-Brand:
Q: Think of a well-known brand name in 8 letters starting with H. Change the H to an M and drop the last letter. You'll get another well-known brand name in 7 letters. What commercial names are these?
I wouldn't have put these brands together otherwise.

Edit: Beer and cars?
A: HEINEKEN --> MEINEKE