Sunday, May 29, 2022

NPR Sunday Puzzle (May 29, 2022): Be Right Back

NPR Sunday Puzzle (May 29, 2022): Be Right Back
Q: Take an abbreviation found in text messages. Reverse the first two letters, and the result sounds like something else often found in text messages. What are these things?
I might say something else used in text messages. And again, I question the pronunciation.

Edit: Apart from variations in the first vowel sound (EE, IH, UH?), I've always seen the M sound included as part of the second syllable, instead of the first. Oh well ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
A: OMG --> MOG --> EMOJI

Sunday, May 22, 2022

NPR Sunday Puzzle (May 22, 2022): A Pair of Islands Puzzle

NPR Sunday Puzzle (May 22, 2022): A Pair of Islands Puzzle
Q: Take the name of an island. Move its first letter two spaces later in the alphabet (so A would become C, B would become D, etc.). Reverse the result and you'll have the name of another island. What islands are these?
Regulars to this blog have an advantage. While I submitted this awhile ago and don't remember hearing back, I guess it got added to the queue of puzzles. Well, I can't change yesterday, but we can change tomorrow! I say we "keep calm and carry on".

The day before the puzzle was May 21. On that same date in 1976, I was living on Guam and went through Supertyphoon Pamela that went straight over the island. And in May 23, 1960 a tsunami hit the Hawaiian Islands. The other hint was "keep calm" which was what it was like in the eye of the storm (a really eerie experience if you've never gone through such a storm) and also a callback to another puzzle where I mentioned keep calm and love Maui.
A: GUAM --> MAUI

Sunday, May 15, 2022

NPR Sunday Puzzle (May 15, 2022): Merci Beaucoup

NPR Sunday Puzzle (May 15, 2022): Merci Beaucoup
Q: Name a famous living movie star. Insert an R in the middle of the first name, and drop the last two letters of the last name. You'll get a familiar French phrase. What is it?
Déjà vu, for the third time

Edit: Variations of the puzzle appeared in April 2014 and November 2015. I also mentioned the actor in another puzzle from February 2022.
A: CATE BLANCHETT --> CARTE BLANCHE

Sunday, May 08, 2022

NPR Sunday Puzzle (May 8, 2022): Name that Sitcom

NPR Sunday Puzzle (May 8, 2022): Name that Sitcom
Q: The initial letters in the title of a popular movie from this century spell the name of a popular sitcom from the last century. What titles are these?
I'm not going to lie but I thought there might be a link to Mother's Day... there is, but I'm not happy with it.

Edit: LIE -> LYE -> SOAP and also the memorable quote from the movie, "I have had it with these motherloving snakes on this motherloving plane!" (slightly altered from the original).
A: Snakes on a Plane (2006) --> SOAP (1977-1981)

Sunday, May 01, 2022

NPR Sunday Puzzle (May 1, 2022): Take 4 Steps Forward

NPR Sunday Puzzle (May 1, 2022): Take 4 Steps Forward
Q: This week's challenge is more challenging than last week's. Write down the name of a number. Move each letter four spots later in the alphabet — so A would become E, B would become F, etc. The result will be a number that's 44 more than your first one. What numbers are these?
More challenging? That's debateable. This is basically a Caesar cipher, except shifting by 4 letters.

Edit: In retrospect, perhaps mentioning a Roman statesman whose eponymous cipher usually involves a shift of three letters was a bit too revealing.
A: THREE --> XLVII (47)

Sunday, April 24, 2022

NPR Sunday Puzzle (Apr 24, 2022): The Cat's Meow?

NPR Sunday Puzzle (Apr 24, 2022): The Cat's Meow?
Q: Name a sound made by a certain animal. Change one letter in it to the next letter in the alphabet and you'll get a color associated with that animal. What's the sound, and what's the color?
Don't get stuck on this puzzle -- I spent more time transcribing the puzzle than I did answering it.

Edit: Don't get stuck in the mud, like a pig.
A: OINK --> PINK

Sunday, April 17, 2022

NPR Sunday Puzzle (Apr 17, 2022): Name That Vehicle

NPR Sunday Puzzle (Apr 17, 2022): Name That Vehicle
Q: Name a vehicle in two words — 4 letters in the first, 5 letters in the last. Move the second letter of the last word into the second position of the first word. The result phonetically will name a popular figure from legend. Who is it?
Is it the Skipper from Gilligan's Island?

Edit: In 1938's The Adventures of Robin Hood, another character (Little John) was played by Alan Hale, Sr., the father of Alan Hale, Jr. who played the Skipper.
A: FIRE TRUCK --> FRIAR TUCK

Sunday, April 10, 2022

NPR Sunday Puzzle (Apr 10, 2022): Silent L Puzzle

NPR Sunday Puzzle (Apr 10, 2022): Silent L Puzzle
Q: Think of a 5-letter word with an "L" that is pronounced. Add a letter at the start to get a 6-letter word in which the "L" is silent. Then add a new letter in the fifth position to get a 7-letter word in which the "L" is pronounced again. What words are these?
Are we back to the ARSON --> ASH puzzle?

Edit: Johnny Carson was older than Johnny Cash. Also, if you want to get to the prior puzzle on the desktop version of this blog, you click on "Older Post"
A: OLDER --> SOLDER --> SOLDIER

Sunday, April 03, 2022

NPR Sunday Puzzle (Apr 3, 2022): Celebrities of the Past

NPR Sunday Puzzle (Apr 3, 2022): Celebrities of the Past
Q: Name two well-known celebrities of the past who had the same six-letter first names and the same initial in their last names. What follows that initial in one of the last names is a criminal activity. And what follows that initial in the other name is the result of that criminal activity. What celebrities are these?
The first celebrity I had in mind wasn't that far off, but as a result it took me quite a while to get there in the end.

Edit: I first thought of George Burns which coincidentally had BURNS and URNS. In the end we all turn to ASH but we can all hope we take as long as George Burns to get there.
A: JOHNNY CARSON, JOHNNY CASH --> ARSON, ASH

Sunday, March 27, 2022

NPR Sunday Puzzle (Mar 27, 2022): State with All the Vowels

NPR Sunday Puzzle (Mar 27, 2022): State with All the Vowels
Q: Name a state that contains all five vowels — A, E, I, O, and U — once each.
I went from thinking this would be easy, to impossible and finally...

Edit: ...I was very happy! By the way, this puzzle was very reminiscent of another "state" puzzle for April Fool's week in 2020. Coincidence?
A: A state of EUPHORIA (Other accepted answers included Mozambique, the Republic of Chad, and different states of being — such as anxiousness, exhaustion, pandemonium, and perturbation.)