2020-08-30 NPR puzzle synopsis
Kristy Compton
NPR Weekend Edition Puzzle Synopsis
Debbie Elliot and Will Shortz
2020-08-30
Last week's challenge from Chicago listener Sandy Weisz: “Think
of a place on earth with a four-word name. Take the third word. Advance three
of its letters to the next letter of the alphabet (so A would become B, B would
become C, etc.). You'll get the fourth word in the name. What place is this?”
The answer was: Cape of Good Hope
Debbie reported 153 correct responses, and today’s on-air player was Laurel Edgecomb of Walnut Creek, California. She and her husband have been working Will’s puzzles together “for about thirty years…since 1987?...we love it, and we worked on it together.” Laurel and her husband tried to solve the challenge starting with places that had “GREAT” in it, with no luck, but then “Cape of Good Hope worked beautifully…it was like our 10th or 11th thing we tried.” She and her husband listen to Los Angeles station KCRW.
For playing the puzzle today, Laurel won a “Weekend Edition” lapel pin, as well as puzzle books and games.
Today’s on-air challenge: Every answer today is a made up two-word phrase in which you switch the first and third letters of the first word to get the second word. For example, if Will were to say “a trick that is certain to work,” the answer would be “SURE RUSE.”
Prompts: (* means a hint other than a repetition was given; see Editor’s Notes below for Will and Debbie's hints)
1. Final bit of table seasoning
2. Dangerous dog along Rome's river*
3. Dish of mashed-up food that costs one unit of Indian currency
4. Combination of fruits — one that's yellow and sour, the other that's large and has seeds
5. Metalworker with a torch who is more lascivious
6. One who raises a device for removing impurities*
7. Highway marker made
of a hard sedimentary rock*
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The challenge for next week, as posted on the web site: “This week's
challenge comes from listener Joe Young, of St. Cloud, Minn. Name a famous
person in history (5,4). The letters of the last name can be rearranged to name
a popular game. And the letters in the first name can be rearranged to name an
action in this game. Who is this famous person?”
So five letters in the first name and four letters in the last name (5, 4).
The deadline to submit is Thursday at 3:00 p.m.
Eastern Time. 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 here 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"
pull-down, and you may comment about NPR programming at the same site.
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Editor's notes:
Puzzles, and contents of Weekend Edition/Sunday puzzle segment are
©copyrighted 2020 by Will Shortz and NPR. Reprinted here with permission.
Kristy Compton serves as your humble puzzle
transcriptionist this week.
*Hints:
2. Will: “You know the 5-letter river that goes through
Rome?”
Will: “The river starts with a T.”
Debbie: “The postal delivery person
does NOT want to meet.”
Will: “Just change the T and the B in
Tiber.”
6. “It’s six letters.” ~and~ “So what removes impurities?”
7. “This is a nine letters, and think of a highway marker that’s every five thousand or so feet.” ~and~ “Okay, if you’re driving along, and at the side of the road is a marker…”
Wishing everyone good health and great books
this week!
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Mail:
Note, please: We editors are always eager to receive email comments (even when
you are pointing out one or more of our slips), and we will generally add them
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mentioned, we will assume it is okay to publish it as it arrived---with
comment, name, and email address intact.
No correspondence this week, even though I
expected some good-natured reminders that this month was a 5-Sunday month from
my fellow transcriptionists. (They showed remarkable restraint, imho, as I’m
prone to forget…not to mention that our school district went back to
face-to-face instruction last Monday. This was a back-to-school unlike any other
in my long career in education, to say the least.)
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Here is our regular monthly puzzle transcription schedule:
1st Sunday: Joe
2nd Sunday: Richard
3rd Sunday: Joe
4th Sunday: Richard
5th Sunday: Kristy
Our email addresses are:
Richard Renner <rrennerATigc.org>
Joe Wander <jdwandersrATgmail.com>
Justin Basset <justin.t.bassettATgmail.com>
Kristy Compton <bisonbooksATgmail.com>
Mail this week should be sent to Richard with a courtesy Cc to the other
editors, replacing the AT in the email addresses above with the @ symbol.
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Links of possible
interest to fellow puzzle enthusiasts:
Audio clips of past NPR puzzle segments
Blaine's Puzzle Blog (snarky takes on the listener challenges)
American Crossword Puzzle Tournament (April 23-25, 2021, tentatively)
World Puzzle Federation
Merl Reagle's classic article on constructing crossword puzzles
North American Scrabble Championship (moved online this year and wrapping up
TODAY!)
World Sudoku/Puzzle Grand Prix 2020
Ed Pegg Jr.'s puzzles
National Puzzlers' League
Kristy Compton suggests linguaphiles visit “A Way with Words” and 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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Answers to today’s on-air challenge:
1. Final bit of table seasoning è LAST SALT
2. Dangerous dog along Rome's river è TIBER BITER
3. Dish of mashed-up food that costs one unit of Indian currency è RUPEE PUREE
4. Combination of fruits — one that's yellow and sour, the other that's large and has seeds è LEMON MELON
5. Metalworker with a torch who is more lascivious è LEWDER WELDER
6. One who raises a device for removing impurities è FILTER LIFTER
7. Highway marker made of a hard sedimentary rock è LIMESTONE MILESTONE
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