The latest Word Puzzle from NPR!

Time to play the latest word puzzle from NPR! I'm going to give you two five-letter words. Rearrange the letters in one of the words to get an antonym of the other. Which word is the anagram and which is the antonym is for you to discover.

Ex. SMALL REGAL --> LARGE (anagram of REGAL, antonym of "small")

 

1. LANCE DIRTY

2. LOWER ARISE

3. BORES DRUNK

4. WORDY RESET

5. THOSE SHEET

6. SERVE PROSE

7. BOWEL ABOVE

8. LOVED DEATH

9. FRIED HIRED

10. WRONG GIRTH

11. HARPS BLUNT

12. SMART NEEDS

 

 

Answer Keys

    1.   CLEAN (ANAGRAM OF LANCE, WHICH IS OPPOSITE TO DIRTY)    

    2.   RAISE (ANAGRAM OF ARISE, WHICH IS OPPOSITE TO LOWER)   

    3.   SOBER (ANAGRAM OF BORES, WHICH IS OPPOSITE TO DRUNK)

    4.   TERSE (ANAGRAM OF RESET, WHICH IS OPPOSTIE TO WORDY)

    5.   THESE (ANAGRAM OF SHEET, WHICH IS OPPOSITE TO THOSE)

    6.   VERSE (ANAGRAM OF SERVE, WHICH IS OPPOSITE TO PROSE)

    7.   BELOW (ANAGRAM OF BOWEL, WHICH IS OPPOSITE TO ABOVE)

    8.   HATED (ANAGRAM OF DEATH, WHICH IS OPPOSITE TO LOVED)

    9.   FIRED (ANAGRAM OF FRIED, WHICH IS OPPOSITE TO HIRED)

    10. RIGHT (ANAGRAM OF GIRTH, WHICH IS OPPOSITE TO WRONG)

    11. SHARP (ANAGRAM OF SMART, WHICH IS OPPOSITE TO SMART)

    12. DENSE

Let's Play Winter Word Scramble!

Like it or not, it feels like we are still in deep winter. Can you rearrange the following letters to make words related to wintertime?

e.g., eezfgrni  anri: freezing rain

 

    1.   nseffil: _________________

*meaning “to repeatedly take air into your nose in short breaths that are loud enough to be heard because of a cold or crying”

 

    2.   irteosftfb: _________________

*meaning “damage to tissues from freezing due to the formation of ice crystals within cells, rupturing the cells and leading to cell death”

 

    3.   arakp:___________________

*meaning “a large windproof and/or waterproof jacket, typically with a hood, of a kind originally used in polar regions”

 

    4.   oht  thcoaeolc: _________   __________________

*two words, meaning “a hot drink made with milk or water and chocolate or powdered chocolate”

 

    5.   emrsfufa: ________________

(plural form of a noun) *meaning “a pair of soft fabric coverings, connected by a band across the top of the head, that are worn over the ears to protect them from cold or noise”

 

6.   smtntei: _______________________

(plural form of a noun) *meaning “a glove with two sections, one for the thumb and the other for all four fingers = boxing gloves”

 

    7.   lropa: ___________________

*relating to north or south pole

 

    8.   htaw: __________________

*meaning “(of ice, snow, or another frozen substance, such as food) become liquid or soft as a result of warming”

 

    9.   facnure: __________________

     *meaning “an appliance fired by gas, oil, or wood in which air or water is heated to be circulated throughout a building in a heating system” or a noun used to describe a very hot place.

 

    10. gnogbaot: ___________________________

*meaning “a long narrow sled used for the sport of coasting downhill over snow or ice. It typically is made of a lightweight board that is curved upward and backward at the front”

 

    11. lgno  snjho: _________________    ____________________

*two words, meaning “underwear with closely fitted legs that extend to the wearer's ankles, often with a long-sleeved top”

 

    12.liecic: _______________________

*meaning “a hanging, tapering piece of ice formed by the freezing of dripping water”

 

<Answer Keys>

    1.  sniffle

    2.  frostbite

    3.  parka

    4.  hot chocolate

    5.  earmuffs

    6.  mittens

    7.  polar

    8.  thaw

    9.  furnace

    10.   toboggan

    11. long johns

    12.  icicle

The Presidents Day in the U.S.

The Presidents Day in America is a holiday celebrated on the third Monday of February. Originally established in 1885 in recognition of President George Washington, the holiday became popularly known as Presidents Day after it was moved as part of 1971’s Uniform Monday Holiday Act for the nation’s workers. Presidents Day is now popularly viewed as a day to celebrate all U.S. presidents, past and present.

 

As the Presidential Oath of Office states, all Americans hope that our national leader will preserve, protect, and defend the Constitution of our country. I believe this is what people around the world wish for their leaders as well.

 

Here is a set of some trivia about the presidents in the United States of America for you to fill in the blanks to complete each one.

    1.   ___________________________ was the only American president to be unanimously elected.

 

    2.   Not knowing that ______________________ had already passed, John Adams was quoted as saying, “___________________ survives,” when he whispered his last words.

 

    3.   William McKinley was the first president to campaign by ________________.

 

4.   _________________________ was the first president to call his residence in Washington, D.C. the “White House”. Prior to his term, it had been called the Executive Mansion or the President’s House.

    

    5.   ___________________ was the first American president to name an African American to his cabinet.

    

    6.   _____________________ is the only American president to be elected four times.

    

    7.   ______________________ was the first president to hold a press conference on TV.

    

    8.   The term “O.K.” is credited to ___________________________ who was raised in Kinderhook, New York. After he went into politics, _____________________________________ became known as “Old Kinderhook.” Soon people were using the term O.K. referring to Van Buren and the word “okay” was derived.

 

Answer Keys   

1.  George Washington

    2.  Thomas Jefferson

    3.   telephone

    4.  Theodore Roosevelt

    5.  Lyndon B. Johnson

    6.  Franklin D. Roosevelt

    7.  John F. Kennedy

    8.  Martin Van Buren

Time to play the latest Sunday Puzzle from NPR! Try to find a new word by adding 'OM' to the first answer!

Today's puzzle involves a bit of meditation. I'm going to give you clues for two words. Insert the letters O-M inside the first word to get the second one.

Ex. Sprinted / Person from the capital of Italy --> RAN, ROMAN

 

1. Brontosaurus or Iguanodon, informally / Game piece with dots

2. Store event with reduced prices / Richard Strauss opera

3. Popular sandwich cookie / Cry from Juliet

4. Wild Australian dog / )Spanish for "Sunday"

5. Come into contact with, as with the hand / Oversupply (2 wds.)

6. Word of appreciation / Star of "Forrest Gump" (2 wds.)

7. Consist of / Meet someone halfway

 

(* Picture source: https://tryhardguides.com/5-letter-words-with-om-in-the-middle/

Answer Keys      

    1. Dino, dominoes

    2. Sale, Salome

    3. Oreo, O Romeo! 

           4. Dingo, Domingo

    5.  touch, too much

    6.  Thanks, Tom Hanks

    7.  Comprise/ compromise

Let us get these Gen Z's slang down pat!

Which generation do you belong to? Are you the one called boomers or zoomers? Here I present some popular words or phrases among Generation Z – the ones born in the range of timeline between 1997 and 2012. Would you try to fill in the blanks before going over the expressions?

 

    1.   Felicia’s so extra and ch_________! She always poses at fancy places and uploads a ton of pics of pricey meals from posh restaurants.  

(*the adjective/ noun meaning “so uncool” or “trying too hard to be in   style/ to look good”)

 

    2.   Wow! Look at you! You’ve seriously got dr______! Where did you get those groovy shades and one-of-a-kind leather jacket?

(*the adjective/noun meaning “extremely fashionable” or “swag”)

 

    3.   Trust me, I’m sending you the finalized draft tonight! No more dilly-dally, no c___p.

(*expression meaning “for real” or “no lies”)

 

    4.   Hey, have you guys checked out motorhead Hans’s new tuner? It looks sn_______ed!

(*adjective meaning “looking sleek/ great/fashionable)

 

    5.   Lady Gaga really understood the _________________ in the movie House of Gucci! She never disappoints us.

(*expression used to compliment someone’s awesome job in doing…)

 

    6.   Sheila is so obsessed with designer clothing or boujee purses, but all she’s carrying and wearing don’t look as d_________ as your cheap but chic shirts.

(*adjective meaning “totally awesome/cool”)

 

    7.   Thomas: Your presentation was trash. You should’ve made it way simpler to get your ideas across better.

Jamie: Whoa, you’re about to ____________ch these hands!

(*phrase meaning “to pick a fight” or “to come at someone” or "want a piece of someone")

 

    8.   Hannah says her boyfriend has been acting pretty s___s. I know what she means. Jimmie has truly been acting shady lately.

(*short for the word meaning suspicious or not trustworthy)

 

    9.   Joshua made you invest that much money in his new business? Uh-oh…looks like you got fin_________! What a shame that you haven’t checked his credit score and career history!

(*a verb meaning “to trick or manipulate someone or a situation in order to get something they want”)

 

    10. Don’t be such a s________! You have done too much for that girl and she doesn’t even care at all! Time for you to quit being whipped by her.

(*a word meaning a guy that is overly desperate for women, especially if she is a bad person, or has expressed her disinterest in him whom which he continues to obsess over)

 

Answer Keys

    1.  cheugy

    2.  drip

    3.  cap

    4.  snatched

    5.  assignment

    6.  dank

    7.  catch

    8.  sus

    9.  finessed

    10. simp

 

NPR Sunday Word Puzzle! Let's find words ending in sound /tu:/

Last Wednesday, Feb. 2, was abbreviated as 2/2/22. And the 22nd this month will be 2/22/22. So here is a puzzle based on "2." Every answer today is a word or name that ends in the syllable "2" (/tu:/ sound) in any spelling.

 

Ex. Language group of southern Africa --> BANTU

1. Design made with ink on the skin

2. Temporary shelter with a slanted roof (hyph.)

3. Noisy parrot with a decorative crest

4. Unplanned or off-the-cuff, as remarks

5. Along with the Tutsi ethnic group, one of the main ethnic groups in Rwanda

6. In ___ (as originally found)

7. Classic 1922 silent horror film

8. South Pacific island nation NE of Australia

9. Town in Mali whose name is sometimes used to designate any remote place

10. Boxing combination consisting of a left and a right (hyph.)

11. Social movement whose name starts with a hashtag

 

Answer Keys     

    1.  tattoo

    2.  lean-to

    3.  cockatoo

    4.  impromptu 

    5.  Hutu

    6.  in situ

    7.  Nosferatu

    8.  Vanuatu

    9.  Timbuktu

   10.  One-two

   11.  Metoo