Sunday, August 27, 2023

NPR Sunday Puzzle (Aug 27, 2023): A Seriously Bad Effect

NPR Sunday Puzzle (Aug 27, 2023): A Seriously Bad Effect
Q: Think of a noun in six letters. It sounds like a two-word phrase (2,6). And the thing named by the noun can have a seriously bad effect on what's named by the phrase. What is it?
I would not eat them here or there. I would not eat them anywhere.

Edit: I would not eat green eggs and ham. I do not like them, Sam-I-Am. That anagrams into the answer.
A: MIASMA --> MY ASTHMA

Sunday, August 20, 2023

NPR Sunday Puzzle (Aug 20, 2023): A Jumble of Body Parts

NPR Sunday Puzzle (Aug 20, 2023): A Jumble of Body Parts
Q: Name part of the human body above the neck in 9 letters. Rearrange them to name another part of the human body found below the neck. Only some people have the first body part. Everyone has the second one. What parts of the human body are these?
The wording bugs me a little which caused me to have a mental block. I do have the answer finally so I can stop pacing back and forth trying to figure this out.

Edit: I was thinking of Bugs Bunny with large front teeth. And after pacing, I'd sit down on the other part.
A: BUCK TEETH --> BUTT CHEEK

Sunday, August 13, 2023

NPR Sunday Puzzle (Aug 13, 2023): Contemporary Singer on Repeat

NPR Sunday Puzzle (Aug 13, 2023): Contemporary Singer on Repeat
Q: Name a famous contemporary singer (6,4). The second, fourth, sixth, eighth, and ninth letters, in order, spell a repeated part of a song that everyone knows. What is it?
It's not the first time someone's made this observation.

Edit: Celine Dion Had A Farm
A: CELINE DION, "Old MacDonald had a farm. E-I-E-I-O!"

Sunday, August 06, 2023

NPR Sunday Puzzle (Aug 6, 2023): Found In England

NPR Sunday Puzzle (Aug 6, 2023): Found In England
Q: Name something found on a map of England. Two words. The last two letters of the first word are the same as the first two letters of the last. If you go to England, you can't see this place. You can see it only on a map. What is it?
Don't forget to submit your answer by Thursday, Aug 10 at 3pm ET. Hopefully you'll get the call.

Edit: My comment included a few hints. "3pm ET" was a hint to the initials PM in Prime Meridian and Eastern Time being a time zone relative to Greenwich Mean Time. In addition, "get the call" could have been phrased as "be on the LINE (with)".
A: PRIME MERIDIAN

Sunday, July 30, 2023

NPR Sunday Puzzle (Jul 30, 2023): I'll Drink to That

NPR Sunday Puzzle (Jul 30, 2023): I'll Drink to That
Q: Name a well-known U.S. city in nine letters. Change the third and fifth letters to get the name of a beverage. What is it?
Remove the fourth letter of the city, rearrange and... not again!

This was a callback to the NPR puzzle from Feb 15, 2009, possibly the first involving a common historical person.
A: PENSACOLA --> PEPSI-COLA

Sunday, July 23, 2023

NPR Sunday Puzzle (Jul 23, 2023): Classic TV Show

NPR Sunday Puzzle (Jul 23, 2023): Classic TV Show
Q: Name a classic TV show in two words, in which the respective words rhyme with the first and last names of a famous writer - four letters in the first name, five letter in the last name. Who is it?
This is kind of a spinoff of the on-air puzzle.

The initial letters of "Kind Of A Spinoff" when rearranged spell KAOS.
A: Get Smart, Bret Harte

Sunday, July 16, 2023

NPR Sunday Puzzle (Jul 16, 2023): Lovely Day for a Picnic

NPR Sunday Puzzle (Jul 16, 2023): Lovely Day for a Picnic
Q: Name a famous singer (first and last names, 12 letters in all). Add a Y at the end, and the result, with respacing but not rearranging any letters, will spell a possible contribution to a picnic and how it might be served. What singer is it?
The answer is a little contrived, but at least I don't need to use my "Phone a Friend" lifeline.

Edit: My hint was to the song "Who Wants to be a Millionaire" from "High Society"
A: Frank Sinatra --> Franks in a tray

Sunday, July 09, 2023

NPR Sunday Puzzle (Jul 9, 2023): Lights, Camera, ...

NPR Sunday Puzzle (Jul 9, 2023): Lights, Camera, ...
Q: Take the first name of a famous movie director. Write it in upper- and lowercase letters. Rotate the third letter of this name 180° and you'll get the name of the main character in one of this director's most popular movies. Who is it?
Take the full name of the director. Remove the third from the last and the last letter of each name. You can rearrange the letters to get an apt anagram. Or rearrange them again to get a different apt anagram.

Edit: RID(l)E(y) SC(o)T(t) --> DIRECTS, CREDITS
A: Ridley (Scott) --> (Ellen) Ripley

Sunday, July 02, 2023

NPR Sunday Puzzle (Jul 2, 2023): Time To Play!

NPR Sunday Puzzle (Jul 2, 2023): Time to Play!
Q: Name a sports facility in two words. (This is a general term, not a specific place.) Three consecutive letters in the first word also appear consecutively in the second word. If you reverse these three letters, you'll name something seen in this sports facility. What is it?
Take the last letter of the sports facility. Change it to the letter that appears 3 earlier in the alphabet. Rearrange to get a word or phrase used in a recent puzzle.

Edit: Change the ending K to an H and rearrange to get CHARACTER.
A: RACE TRACK --> CAR

Sunday, June 25, 2023

NPR Sunday Puzzle (Jun 25, 2023): Who's Your Favorite TV Character?

NPR Sunday Puzzle (Jun 25, 2023): Who's Your Favorite TV Character?
Q: Name a well-known TV character (5,6). Change the first letter of the first name to a Y and read it (the modified first name) backward. You'll get a synonym of the character's last name. Who is it?
The name of the TV show can be rearranged to two related words -- ones you might hear today.

Edit: This was a callback to the puzzle from Nov 15, 2020 (PERRY MASON --> PRAY, SERMON)
A: DELLA STREET --> ALLEY, STREET