tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-57303912009-07-16T15:04:30.541-07:00Weekly discussion on the NPR puzzler, Sudoku variations and more.Blainehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06379274325110866036noreply@blogger.comBlogger236125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5730391.post-83340696085069420712009-07-12T06:00:00.000-07:002009-07-12T06:00:01.310-07:00

NPR Sunday Puzzle (Jul 12): On Vacation -- Autopilot EngagedWe're still on vacation in (just add Z), but I didn't want to leave you without a place to post comments on the puzzle. Somebody help me out by posting a copy here. Then feel free to add your *hints*.Here's my standard reminder... don't post the answer or any outright spoilers before the deadline of Thursday at 3pm ET. If you know the

Blainehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06379274325110866036noreply@blogger.com46tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5730391.post-85945831539991729622009-07-05T17:56:00.000-07:002009-07-05T18:01:57.397-07:00

NPR Sunday Puzzle (Jul 5): I Won't Divulge the Answer: Think of two terms that mean 'to divulge information.' Write them one after the other with no spaces between words. The result is a nine-letter word for a card that you might hold in a card game. What card is it?I must admit I've been a little pre-occupied getting ready for our trip so I didn't add a post earlier. We'll be gone by the time

Blainehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06379274325110866036noreply@blogger.com41tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5730391.post-70247529937411642662009-07-02T21:07:00.000-07:002009-07-02T21:07:24.090-07:00

NPR Sunday Puzzle (Jun 28): Apparel Synonyms: Q: Take 'tire' and 'exhaust.' They're both things a car has. But as verbs, in a non-car sense, they're synonyms. The challenge is to name 2 articles of apparel, things to wear, each with 4 letters, and as verbs, in a non-apparel sense, the 2 words are synonyms. What words are they?No hints are necessary, just pay attention to the example Will

Blainehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06379274325110866036noreply@blogger.com44tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5730391.post-41552561802574773962009-06-25T23:16:00.000-07:002009-06-25T23:16:25.441-07:00

NPR Sunday Puzzle (Jun 21): Find a TV Celebrity with No Curves?: Q: Take the name Kevin Kline. The first and last names both have five letters. Written in capital letters — KEVIN KLINE — each name consists of exactly 13 straight lines and no curves.Name a well-known TV personality with five-letter first and last names. Each name contains exactly 14 straight lines and no curves. Who is this?Though

Blainehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06379274325110866036noreply@blogger.com40tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5730391.post-80761777611697061932009-06-18T22:06:00.000-07:002009-06-18T22:07:51.306-07:00

NPR Sunday Puzzle (Jun 14): Ready for a test?: Q: Think of one word that starts with 'te' and another word that starts with 'st' — and they're synonyms. Hint: The 'te' word has two syllables; the 'st' word has one.Anyone else worried that there might be several possible answers this week? I always hated when teachers had one answer in mind on a test that was worded such that there could be

Blainehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06379274325110866036noreply@blogger.com52tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5730391.post-62833181059732131132009-06-11T18:14:00.000-07:002009-06-11T18:14:39.300-07:00

NPR Sunday Puzzle (Jun 7): TV Personality Puzzle: Q: Think of a famous TV personality with five letters in the first name and four letters in the last name. Change the first letter of this celebrity's first name to M. Drop the first letter of the last name. Read the result in order, and it will spell something this person is famously known for doing many times. Who is this person?This may not be

Blainehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06379274325110866036noreply@blogger.com49tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5730391.post-25238798859870021762009-06-04T20:32:00.000-07:002009-06-04T18:33:19.514-07:00

NPR Sunday Puzzle (May 31): Indian Wrestle Anagram: Q: Take 'Indian wrestle,' rearrange the 13 letters to get three words that are all related. What are they? Hint: The word lengths are five, four and four letters, respectively.We'll have to see whether or not people can restrain themselves from giving obvious clues. Personally, I don't have time to provide a good clue because I'm off to Chicago

Blainehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06379274325110866036noreply@blogger.com46tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5730391.post-11101287180882580852009-05-28T17:47:00.000-07:002009-05-28T16:48:05.116-07:00

NPR Sunday Puzzle (May 24): Famous Person Puzzle: Q: Think of a famous person whose first and last names both have seven letters. Only two different consonants appear in this full name, each used more than once. Out of the 14 letters in the name, 13 of them appear in the first half of the alphabet, A-M. Who is this person?I'm so sorry guys... I dropped the ball on getting the puzzle posted on

Blainehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06379274325110866036noreply@blogger.com37tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5730391.post-15806648700480178622009-05-22T12:30:00.000-07:002009-05-22T12:51:48.071-07:00

NPR Sunday Puzzle (May 17): Back to Words: Q: Think of a 6-letter word in which the third letter is 'S'. Remove the 'S' and you'll be left with a 5-letter word that means the opposite of the 6-letter one. What is it?For anyone that gave up on the difficult puzzle last week, don't worry. This week's puzzle is so easy that it sounds like NPR will be deluged with answers.Edit: We have a synonym for

Blainehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06379274325110866036noreply@blogger.com75tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5730391.post-40793292517286466162009-05-14T12:22:00.000-07:002009-05-14T12:23:02.990-07:00

NPR Sunday Puzzle (May 10): Another Numeric Brainteaser: Q: If 5 = 4, 7 = 17, 9 = 25 and 35 = 2, what does 14 equal?Will Shortz admitted this is a tough puzzle. Frankly, I'd be surprised if many people are able to figure this one out. It took me all day, but I'm positive I have the right answer now.Edit: It's after the deadline, so I can reveal my clues here. First the title indicates that you

Blainehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06379274325110866036noreply@blogger.com99tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5730391.post-86625546013373418012009-05-07T12:11:00.000-07:002009-05-10T23:39:01.597-07:00

NPR Sunday Puzzle (May 3): Make A Name For Yourself: Q: Take a common five-letter first name that contains one V. Change the V to an L, rearrange the letters and you'll get a familiar last name. The first and last names go together to name a famous star living in Hollywood. Who is it?I would definitely agree that the first name is common. As for the last name, I'd have to say maybe.Edit: The clue

Blainehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06379274325110866036noreply@blogger.com43tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5730391.post-83381706221217135702009-05-01T00:34:00.000-07:002009-05-01T00:34:00.479-07:00

It's Friday and you are looking forward to the weekend, but an evil genius has locked you in a room. The door to the room is protected by a special electronic lock with four identical buttons equally spaced along the rim of a circular dial.Each button toggles an internal switch within the mechanism. You can attempt to open the lock by simultaneously pressing any set of the 4 buttons which will

Blainehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06379274325110866036noreply@blogger.com16tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5730391.post-65174205069272149812009-04-30T12:08:00.000-07:002009-04-30T12:08:24.949-07:00

NPR Sunday Puzzle (Apr 26): I Thought NPR Always Did Word Problems: Q: If 5=4, 7=5, 8=1 and 26=9, what does 12 equal?It appears that Will has given us a rare puzzle involving numbers. Have fun figuring it out. I'll give you one clue: 23,041=500Edit: My first thought was that the answer was the number of letters in the number when spelled out in English. FIVE has 4 letters, SEVEN has 5 letters,

Blainehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06379274325110866036noreply@blogger.com46tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5730391.post-51882112424695066282009-04-23T12:12:00.000-07:002009-04-23T12:12:12.114-07:00

NPR Sunday Puzzle (Apr 19): Periodically Mixed Up: Q: Take the phrase 'more corruptness.' Rearrange these 15 letters to name a popular magazine. Tip: It's a magazine this phrase definitely does not apply to, so it's more of an 'anti-gram' than an anagram!I suppose if you are involved in "more corruptness" you'd want to keep a lid on things.Edit: My hint was "Keep a Lid on Things" which is a song

Blainehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06379274325110866036noreply@blogger.com30tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5730391.post-51938472025408139172009-04-16T18:15:00.000-07:002009-06-21T10:06:29.709-07:00

NPR Sunday Puzzle (Apr 12): Easter Puzzle: Q: Think of the name of a country. Change its first letter to a 'D,' and then read the word backward. The result will be a creature that lives in that country. What's the country and what's the creature?Hopping off to church, no time to provide a hint. Discuss this among yourselves.Edit: This clue was a bit of a misdirection. In my comments I talked

Blainehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06379274325110866036noreply@blogger.com36tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5730391.post-57600729381081828522009-04-09T17:28:00.000-07:002009-04-09T16:28:41.129-07:00

NPR Sunday Puzzle (Apr 5): Keep It Short:Q: Think of a four-letter word with a short 'A' sound, and specifically the 'A' is the second letter. Switch the third and fourth letters and you'll get a new word, also with a short 'A' sound. The two words go together to make a phrase that names something that existed from 1982 to 2000. What is it?Hint: The answer is something that still exists in some

Blainehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06379274325110866036noreply@blogger.com28tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5730391.post-17484931213515702772009-04-02T14:00:00.000-07:002009-04-02T13:59:52.181-07:00

NPR Sunday Puzzle (Mar 29): Just add Z: Q: Name a country somewhere in the world. Insert a 'Z.' The result can be broken up into 3 consecutive words. The first word is a popular brand name. The second word is something this product uses, and the third word is the kind of product it is. What's the country?I just like saying the name of the capital...Edit: Antananarivo.A: MADAGASGAR --> MAZDA, GAS,

Blainehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06379274325110866036noreply@blogger.com42tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5730391.post-69036262656348112472009-03-27T17:55:00.000-07:002009-03-27T17:55:00.281-07:00

Can you figure out the next few terms in the following sequence?Q: 1, 3, 7, 12, 18, 26, 35, 45, 56, 69...I'll post the answer some time next week.

Blainehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06379274325110866036noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5730391.post-12651708093707340502009-03-26T12:15:00.000-07:002009-03-26T12:15:43.924-07:00

NPR Sunday Puzzle (Mar 22): Add 3 Letters Twice: Q: Here's an example: Take the letters I, L, R and T. Insert a trigram (three-letter group) twice into these letters to complete a familiar 10-letter word. If you add S, P and O, you would get the answer, 'spoilsport.' Now, take R F E and R. Insert a trigram twice somewhere in these letters to complete a familiar two-word phrase. What phrase is it?

Blainehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06379274325110866036noreply@blogger.com29tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5730391.post-31087621007068351602009-03-19T13:23:00.000-07:002009-03-19T14:23:49.643-07:00

NPR Sunday Puzzle (Mar 15): Female TV Host PuzzleQ: Name a female host of a popular TV program. Rearrange the letters of her first name to name a god in mythology. Rearrange the letters in her last name to name a type of god that this god is not. Who is the TV host and what are the anagrams?So you've looked at this week's NPR puzzle and you've decided you need some help. Okay, before you light a

Blainehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06379274325110866036noreply@blogger.com30tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5730391.post-57070177146804302342009-03-12T12:24:00.000-07:002009-03-12T15:24:25.758-07:00

NPR Sunday Puzzle (Mar 8): Cat Got Your Tongue?: Q: Think of a familiar phrase in five words that means 'tongue tied.' One word in it has one letter, one word has two letters, one has three, one has four and one has five — though not necessarily in that order. What is the phrase?This week, I have no way of providing a clue that won't give away the puzzle.Edit: I was speechless, completely

Blainehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06379274325110866036noreply@blogger.com43tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5730391.post-6303218521406900422009-03-05T15:30:00.000-08:002009-03-05T15:34:46.547-08:00

NPR Sunday Puzzle (Mar 1): A Tale of Two Cities: Q: Take the phrase 'atlas of the world,' change the 'E' to an 'R,' and rearrange all the letters to name two cities that are closely related.The puzzle implies an atlas of the world is required... but maybe not.Edit: A U.S. atlas would suffice.A: DALLAS, FORT WORTH

Blainehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06379274325110866036noreply@blogger.com35tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5730391.post-34398202585158523792009-02-26T17:26:00.000-08:002009-02-26T16:26:31.186-08:00

NPR Sunday Puzzle (Feb 22): What's on your desk?: Q: Name an item often found on a desk. It's a hyphenated word. Add an 'S' to the beginning of each part, and you'll get two synonyms. What's the item?I'm looking at my desk trying to figure out what this item must be. My desk is pretty clean except for the items I'll eventually need to do my taxes (...that nasty IRS!). My wife was thinking it's

Blainehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06379274325110866036noreply@blogger.com43tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5730391.post-27447850796581832322009-02-19T17:16:00.000-08:002009-02-19T15:17:27.318-08:00

NPR Sunday Puzzle (Feb 15): Pensacola Anagram: Q: Take the name 'Pensacola,' remove one letter and rearrange the letters that remain to get the first and last name of a famous person in American history. Who is it?Here's a couple hints: The person died in Florida. Also, I don't think the timing of this puzzle is coincidental.Edit: The puzzle was aired a day after Valentine's Day... 80 years after

Blainehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06379274325110866036noreply@blogger.com27tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5730391.post-47283296884850207432009-02-12T13:15:00.000-08:002009-02-12T13:19:03.098-08:00

NPR Sunday Puzzle (Feb 8): What is the Country? What are the Synonyms??: Q: Take the name of a country, interchange two consecutive letters. Add an 'e' after the fifth letter. The result will be two synonyms, one after the other. What is the country, and what are the synonyms?Anyone notice that the language of this country sounds like another synonym?Edit: The language is Finnish, a homonym for "

Blainehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06379274325110866036noreply@blogger.com37