Time to play the NPR puzzle! Find the common word that fits in a pair of phrases.

Every answer today is a pair of phrases in the form of "___ of ___," where the phrases can end in two ways. I'll give you the two ways those phrases can end. You give me the starting word. Every starting word is five letters long. Ready to play?

 

Ex. Bread / Life --> SLICE (slice of bread, slice of life)

1. Way / First refusal

2. Mind / The Union

3. Purchase / The pudding

4. Wheat / The crop

5. Cards / Representatives

6. Paper / Cake

7. View / No return

8. May / All

9. Golf / Applause

10. Sheba / Hearts

11. Mind / Music

 

Answer Keys

    1.  right   (right of way, right of first refusal)

    2.  state  (state of mind, state of the union)

    3.  proof (proof of purchase, proof of pudding)

    4.  cream (cream of wheat, cream of the crop)

    5.  house (house of cards, house of representatives

    6.  piece (piece of paper, piece of cake)

    7.  point  (point of view, point of no return)

    8.  first (first of May, first of all)

    9.  round (round of golf, round of applause)

   10.   queen (queen of Sheba, queen of hearts)

   11.   sound (sound of mind, sound of music)

NPR Weekend On-air Challenge of Sunday Puzzle (from yesterday)

It is time to play to puzzle created by the puzzle master Will Shortz from NPR! Every answer today is a word or name that sounds like it starts with two spoken letters of the alphabet.

 

Example: Wanting what other people have --> ENVIOUS (N-V-ous)

 

1. Place for camels to drink

2. Capital of Austria

3. Try to be like as a role model

4. Boredom

5. 9 x 9

6. Activity of secret agents

7. One involved in trickery

[Each of the last answers starts with three spoken letters of the alphabet]

8. Following orders

9. Online travel agency that competes with Travelocity

10. [Fill in the blank:] "___, my dear Watson"

 

<Answer Keys>

    1.  oasis (O, A)

    2.  Vienna (V, N)

    3.  emulate (M, U)

    4.  tedium (T, D)

    5.  eighty one (A, T)

    6.  espionage (S, P)

    7.  deceiver (D, C)

    8.  obedience (O, B)

    9.  expedia (X, P)

    10. elementary (L, E)

Time to play the puzzle!!! (created by NPR's puzzle master Will Shortz)

Time to play the puzzle from yesterday’s NPR on-air challenge! Below are some clues. The answer to each one is one of the words in the clue with its vowel sound changed.

 

Example: What fish bite --> BAIT (the word "bite" with the long-I sound changed to a long-A)

 

1. Not day

 

2. It's made by moistening dirt

 

3. Jacket part that covers the head

 

4. Item that's sowed in a garden

 

5. The opposite of feast

 

6. Fail to hit a ball in fair territory

 

7. Painful illness you get in your joints

 

8. What kickboxers fight with

 

9. What might surround a castle

 

10. What a used towel is

 

11. [Fill in the blank:] Man in the ___

 

 

12. [Fill in the blank:] Last but not ___

Answer Keys

    1.  night

    2.  mud

    3.  hood

    4.  seed

    5.  fast

    6.  foul

    7.  gout

    8.  feet

    9.  moat

    10. wet

    11. moon

    12. least

Love eating? Join the club.

Are you a type of person who eats to live or lives to eat? Are you exercising to eat or eating just to fuel yourself to work out? Whatever you are, we all need to eat, and most of us enjoy tasty foods. Let us go over the difference between the following words.

 

gourmet: a connoisseur in food and drink and the discriminating enjoyment of them

(* synonyms: gastronome, epicure, foodie)

 

gourmand: a person who loves eating but often eats greedily or too much

(*synonyms: glutton, stuffer, gobbler, gutbucket, swiller, guzzler)

 

Time to practice using the right word in the following given sentences. You have a clue letter or two for each blank.

 

    1.  After the sw_____________ had her fill, she could not even sit still with her pants fully zipped.

 

    2.   Chef Pasidaro is such a _________met baker that people with fine taste get in line for because of her one-of-a-kind cakes and muffins.

 

    3. James is a __________tton who repeats binge-eating and drinking to a dangerous level.

 

    4.   They used to call Betsy an epi___________, because she has a discriminating taste for fine foods and beverages.

 

    5.   Timothy is a f___________ that has a special interest in or knowledge of food and even used to travel around the world to explore the world of exotic foods.

 

    6.   Matt, please don’t be a ________bbler at the party tonight. Nobody there would eat without decorum.

 

    7.   The banquet will make a fun present for any _____tronome and wine connoisseur.

 

 

Answer Keys  

    1.  swiller

    2.  gourmet

    3.  glutton

    4.  epicure

    5.  foodie

    6.  gobbler

    7.  gastronome

Sunday Word Puzzle from NPR (aired today, January 10, 2021)

 Today, I've brought a game of Categories based on the word FIRST. For each category I give, name something in it starting with each of the letters F-I-R-S-T. Any answer that works is OK, and you can give the answers in any order.

 

Example: If the category were "Girl's Names," you might say Flo, Iris, Rosa, Sarah and Teresa.

 

1. State capitals

 

2. Parts of the human body

 

3. Terms in mathematics

 

4. Appliances you plug in

Answer Keys

    1.  Frankfort (capital of Kentucky), Indianapolis (capital of Indiana), Richmond (capital of Virginia), Sacramento (capital of California), Tallahassee (capital of Florida)  

    2.  Face, Index finger, Rib, Stomach, Toes

    3.  Factor, Integers, Rhombus, Theorem, Set     

    4. Fan, Iron, Refrigerator, Stove, Thermomix

Easy breezy search for words

Let’s learn and live English! Using the context along with your educated guesswork, fill in the blanks of each sentence given below.

We are in the middle of deep winter now. Seasonal flu virus would be the harsh last straw on camel’s back as people are struggling with their toxic fear of Covid-19 virus. Here are some natural remedies for getting __________ of a cold and staying healthy.

 

    1.   Rose hip tea is ____________ of vitamin C and can help _________________ colds.

(clues:  1. meaning “filled with”,  2. meaning “to fend off/ to keep … from something)

  

    2.  Lemons, oranges, and apple cider are all _______________________ to be cold remedies. (clue: meaning “viewed/ seen as…”)  

 

    3.   Historically, the layers of the onion were believed to draw ____________________ diseases from the patient; onions were often hung in sick rooms. Today, we know that onions have ____________________ qualities. Boil a whole onion, and afterward, drink the water.

(clues: 1. meaning “transmissible or infectious”   2. meaning “disinfectant or aseptic”)

 

4.   Cut up fresh garlic ________________ and add them to chicken soup or other foods, or swallow small chunks of raw garlic like pills.

(clue: in plural form; “one of the small bulblets that can be split off of the axis of a larger garlic bulb”)

5 .   Like onion and garlic, horseradish ___________________ lots of heat to help offset colds. According to one farmer we know, a daily horseradish sandwich is the best cold remedy out there!

(clue: meaning “to produce/ give rise to/ bring about…”)

 

6.   Eat loads of hot and spicy foods like chili to clear the ____________________.

(clue: in plural form; the spaces behind the face that lead to the nasal cavity)

7.   Prunes are ____________ in fiber, vitamins A and B, iron, calcium, and phosphorous.

(clue: meaning “having an abundance of something, especially some valuable resource other than money”)

8.   To treat ____________ lips, go to bed with honey on them.

(clue: meaning “blister, bump, lesion or ulcer occurring on the lips”)

 

Answer Keys

     rid

    1.  full, prevent

    2.  considered

    3.  contagious, antibacterial

    4.  cloves

    5.  generates

    6.  sinuses

    7.  rich

    8.  sore

The final Sunday Puzzle (aired on December 27th, 2020) from NPR of last year

Every answer today is an eight-letter word that consists of a three-letter word inserted inside a five-letter word. I'll give you a clue to the three-letter word as well as the five-letter word itself. You tell me the eight-letter word.

 

Example: Wrigley's product + AREN'T --> ARGUMENT

 

1. Tennis court divider + MAGIC

 

2. Oil installation + IRATE

 

3. What a hot dog goes in + TRIAL

 

4. Everything + BROOM

 

5. Have dinner + ENTRY

 

6. Opposite of young + DRUMS

 

7. To employ + CAROL

 

8. Health resort + DITCH

 

9. Fruit preserves + BENIN

 

10. Cry of disgust + LATER

 

12. Be successful at bat + GRAPE

 

13. Affirmative response + EIGHT

 

Answer Keys 

    1.  net in magic: magnetic

    2.  rig in irate: irrigate

    3.  bun in trial: tribunal

    4.  all in broom: ballroom

    5.  eat in entry:entreaty

    6.  old in drums: doldrums

    7.  use in carol: carousel

    8.  spa in ditch: dispatch

    9.  jam in benin: Benjamin

    10. ugh in later: laughter

    11.   hit in grape: graphite

    12.  yes in eight: eyesight