2020-08-02 NPR Puzzle Synopsis

[Joe Wander]

NPR Weekend Edition Puzzle

Lourdes Garcia-Navarro and Will Shortz

2020-08-02

 

Last week's challenge  From listener Dominick Talvacchio of Chicago. Think of a common two-word phrase for something you experience in a desert. Rearrange the letters to get a single word for something you should do in the desert as a result.

Will's answer is dry heat and hydrate.

 

Lulu reported over 2500 correct responses.  This week's on-air player was first-time player Brian Dunworth of Tallahassee, Florida, who listens to WFSU and fell into the answer as Will was reading the question.

 

The theme of today's puzzle posted to the NPR site is "Capital Scramble." Each prompt is two words. The letters in the first word appear in left-to-right order, although not consecutively, in a state capital. The letters in the second word appear in left-to-right order in that capital's state.

For the example given, "Scant, Corn," the answer would be Sacramento, California.

Prompts (*A hint was given)

 

1. Annals, Aryan

2. Singed, Lois

3. Alas, Ford

4. Saul, Mines

5. Boon, Assets

6. Motor, Lama

7. Mason, Coin

8. Prince, Resand

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Editor's notes:

No news items or upcoming events announced. 

Puzzles, and contents of Weekend Edition/Sunday puzzle segment are copyrighted 2020, by Will Shortz and NPR. Reprinted here with permission.

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Mail:
NB, please: We editors are always eager to receive e-mail comments (even when you are pointing out one or more 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 that 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.

Correspondence this week:

Nonw.

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 This week's challenge from listener Alan Hochbaum, of Duluth, Georgia: Think of a famous living American whose first and last names have a total of eight letters — all different. Five of these letters are consecutive in the alphabet. The remaining three can be rearranged to spell a woman's nickname. What famous American is this?

Here is our current monthly puzzle transcription schedule :  

1st Sunday  Joe

2nd Sunday Richard

3rd Sunday Joe

4th Sunday Richard

5th Sunday Kristy

Our e-mail addresses are

Richard Renner <rrennerATigc.org>

Joe Wander <jdwandersrATgmail.com>

Kristy Compton <bisonbooksATgmail.com>

Justin Bassett <justin.t.bassettATgmail.com> 

Still on schedule. Mail this week should be sent to Richard  with a "carbon copy" (cc:) to Justin,  Kristy, and me  please.  

 Hints:

1. East Coast

2. Midwest

7. upper Midwest

8. New England; smallest state

How do I subscribe to this podcast?

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

North American Scrabble Championship  World Sudoku Puzzle Championships

 

Our group of volunteer co-editors has distributed these free weekly synopses of the NPR puzzle segment. Read more about this free distribution here.

You can subscribe from this page, too.

 

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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 programs after 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 of NPR shows are available here.

U.S. Puzzle Championship info   Audios of past NPR puzzle segments

Ed Pegg Jr.'s puzzles  National Puzzlers' League

Kristy Compton 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 and answers

1. Annals, Aryan  --  Annapolis, Maryland

2. Singed, Lois  --  Springfield, Illinois

3. Alas, Ford  --  Tallahassee, Florida

4. Saul, Mines  --  St Paul, Minnesota

5. Boon, Assets  --  Boston, Massachusetts

6. Motor, Lama  --  Mobile, Alabama

7. Mason, Coin  --   Madison, Wisconsin

8. Prince, Resand  --  Providence, Rhode Island

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Joe Wander

Panama City, Florida