2016-02-21 npr puzzle synopsis

[Joe Wander]

   NPR Weekend Edition Puzzle 

Rachel Martin and Will Shortz

2016-02-21    

The current challenge: Name something to eat. Change one letter in it and rearrange the result. You'll name the person who makes this food. Who is it? The intended answers are bread and baker; however, Will's lesson for the week was that temaki [a sushi hand roll] is prepared by an itamae [sushi chef].

Rachel reported more than 1200 correct answers this week. This week's player was retired Spanish and German Teacher Mary Ann Gaeddert, of Georgetown, Kentucky, a member of WEKU. Rachel asked, "Did you get it quickly?" and Mary Ann said 'yes," and mentioned that there was bread on her breakfast table when she heard the challenge.

Today's on-air challenge has a lengthy title at NPR's site that has no obvious connection to its content---"The Phrase or Name Is Familiar: Try This Puzzle and See What They Are"; on the air Will gave the apt and compact title "Hide Your E-GO." Each prompt identifies a two-word phrase whose first word ends in E and whose second word starts with GO.. For the example prompt given, "something you might say when you're about to take a plunge," the answer is "HerE GOes."

Prompts: [* indicates that a hint was given and appears below]

1. An outdoor game, also called 'Putt-Putt"

2. Odin or Thor

3. a term in economics for items like cars or home appliances that are expected to last a long time*

4. jacking up the cost of things during an emergency*

5. chitchat about rumors and such

6. Howard Hughes' airplane

7. to silently signal one's party from a distance

8. political entity between federal and local

9. another name for the ibex, referencing the mountain range it inhabits

10. singer of the '60s, '70's and '80s, married to Steve Lawrence

11. Words of praise after someone does a fine job*

 

 

Next week's challenge from listener Alan Christensen of Seattle:  Think of three eight-letter words that are identical in spelling except for the fourth letter. Each word contains a G ... that is pronounced differently in all three words. What words are they?

Answers must be received by 3:00 p.m. EST on Thursday. One entry per person. Be sure to include a telephone number where you can be reached at that time if you are selected as the winner. 

Entries may be submitted at the NPR web page; you can also get to this page by going to http://npr.org/puzzle and clicking the "Submit Your Answer" link.

You may also submit a suggestion for a new puzzle by selecting Puzzle Idea from the "I'd Like to" pulldown, and you may comment about any NPR programming at the same site. 

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Editor's notes:

Puzzles, and contents of Weekend Edition/Sunday puzzle segment are ©copyrighted 2015 by Will Shortz and NPR. Reprinted here with permission.

Slow week for chatter, but Rachel did allow Mary Ann to speak well of her Bluegrass neighborhood and to identify herself a bit. Her tenure as a puzzle player did not come up. 

 

Hints:

3. first word means "sturdy."

4. [Rachel] they raise their ___    

   11. not "good"; nice ____ 

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Mail:

NB, please: We editors are always eager to receive e-mail comments (even when you are pointing out one of our slips), and we will generally add them to this section of the following week's synopsis. Please let us know in the first line of your message if you would like your comment included or withheld from the synopsis. Also, if you DO want your comment included, let us know if it is okay to share your name and email address! If no constraints are mentioned, we will assume it is okay to publish it as it arrived---with comment, name, and e-mail address intact.

No mail this week, unless I missed it.

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Here is our "regular" monthly puzzle transcription schedule :   

1st Sunday Even-numbered months: Joe; odd-numbered months: Jerry

2nd Sunday Richard

3rd Sunday Joe

4th Sunday Jerry

5th Sunday Richard

Our e-mail addresses are:

Richard Renner <rrennerATigc.org>
Joe Wander <jdwandersrATgmail.com>
Jerry Miller <jmmillerATmiamioh.edu>

E-mail for next week should be sent to Jerry, with a "carbon copy" (cc) to 

Richard and me, please.

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Our group of volunteer co-editors distributes these free weekly synopses of the NPR puzzle segment. You can read more about this free distribution here.

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NPR posts the weekly challenge (and the previous week's answer) on its World Wide Web page.  You can also listen to a recording of Weekend Edition Sunday program after 12:00 noon ET each Sunday by going to this page and clicking on the blurb about the puzzle sequence.

Submit answers as well as comments about any NPR programming here.

Podcasts are available here; podcasts of the Sunday puzzle are available here.

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Copy the URL [above this paragraph] into your preferred podcasting tool software (e.g. Odeo, iTunes, iPodder). You will automatically receive this podcast each time it is published.

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Links of possible interest:

Blaine's Puzzle Blog (snarky takes on the listener challenges)

American Crossword Puzzle Tournament  World Puzzle Federation

Merl Reagle's article on constructing crossword puzzles

World Scrabble Championship  World Sudoku Puzzle Championships

U.S. Puzzle Championship info,and US PC Team info and registration 

Ed Pegg Jr.'s puzzles  National Puzzlers' League

Kristy Fowler suggests linguaphiles visit A.Word.A.Day

To join Kathie Schneider's email list for accessible word and logic puzzles, send a blank email to blind-puzzle...@googlegroups.com

Matt Jones' Jonesin’ Crosswords

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Prompts [answers]:

1. An outdoor game, also called 'Putt-Putt"  [miniaturE GOlf]

2. Odin or Thor [NorsE GOd]

3. a term in economics for  like cars or refrigerators, expected to last a long time* [durablE GOods]

4. jacking up the cost of things during an emergency* [pricE GOuging]

5. chitchat about rumors and such [idlE GOssip]

6. Howard Hughes' airplane [SprucE GOose]

7. to silently signal one's party from a distance [wavE GOodbye]

8. political entity between federal and local [statE GOvernment]

9. another name for the ibex, referencing the mountain range it inhabits [AlpinE GOat]

10. singer of the '60s, '70's and '80s, married to Steve Lawrence [EydiE GOrme]

11. Words of praise after someone does a fine job* [nicE GOing] (No idea why [donE GOod] was excluded.)

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Joe Wander

    Panama City, Florida