Time to play the NPR Word Puzzle! The theme of this week's puzzle is TEACH, which is such a sacred word for everybody!

School is back, and today I've brought a game of Categories based on the word TEACH. For each category I give, name something in it starting with each of the letters T-E-A-C-H. For example, if the category were "Things to Have for Breakfast," you might say Toast, Eggs, Apple juice, Cereal, and Hash browns. Any answer that works is OK, and you can give the answers in any order.

** Note: In some cases, there may be other answers. Any answer that works will be counted as correct.

 

1. PARTS OF THE HUMAN BODY

 

2. PARTS OF A CAR

 

3. PLACES IN AFRICA

 

4. SHAPES AND LINES IN GEOMETRY

 

Answer Keys

       1.      Torso, Ears, Arms, Chest, Heart

       2.      Transmission, Engine, Accelerator, Clutch, Hood

       3.      Tanzania, Ethiopia, Algeria, Chad, Harare

       4.      Triangle, Ellipse, Arc, Circle, Hyperbola

Can cats predict weather changes?

Do you believe that feline friends are PURR-FECT prognosticators? What is the origin of the phrase “raining cats and dogs”? Can cats predict if a thunderstorm is on its way? How do cats seem to know about weather changes before we do? What do animals falling from the sky have to do with torrential downpours? Let’s explore the wonders of our feline friends!

 

Some authorities tie the idea of “RAINING CATS and 1. ____________” to Norse mythology. Odin, the Viking god of storms, was often pictured with

2. _________ and wolves, symbols of wind. Witches, who supposedly rode their brooms during storms, had black cats, which became signs of heavy rain. Therefore, “RAINING CATS AND 3. ___________” referred to a storm with wind and heavy rain.

While the story sounds good, the expression didn’t become popular until the 1700s, when 4. Johnathan __________________ (author of Gulliver’s Travels) used it in a satire.

He pictured snobby upper class aristocrats solemnly fretting that it would “RAIN CATS and 5. _________”.  Suddenly the saying caught on. Apparently, the English spent a lot of time chatting about rain and it was the latest hit phrase.

 

The cat/ witch connection created a lot of superstitions. Many European cultures believed that cats could influence or even forecast the weather.

-      In Britain, especially Wales, it was believed that rain was likely if a cat busily washed its 6.____________.

-      In Holland, cats could predict the wind by 7. _______________ at carpets and curtains.

-      In early America, if a cat sat with its back to the 8. ___________, it was foretelling a cold snap and if it slept with all four 9. _________ tucked under, bad weather was coming.

-      According to sailors, if a cat licked its fur against the grain, it meant a 10. ____________________ was coming; if it sneezed, 11. ________ was on the way; if it was frisky, the wind would soon blow.

 

So, can cats predict weather? It turns out that cats are more sensitive to changes in atmospheric pressure. Yes, their heightened senses can allow them to pick up hints that a storm is coming. Cats’ 12. inner _______ may detect the sudden fall in atmospheric pressure. A cat is also more sensitive to sounds and 13. _______________. Therefore, your cat will hear the rumble of a thunderstorm before you do. Likewise, your cat is more likely to 14. ______________ the incoming rain or that metallic odor of lightning in the air. Why don’t we give our feline friends some credit for their awesome capability to appreciate some sweet petrichor after the rain!!!

 

*Source from Old Farmer’s Almanac

 

Answer Keys

    1.  dogs

    2.  dogs

    3.  dogs

    4.  Swift

    5.  dogs

    6.  ears

    7.  clawing

    8.  fire

    9.  paws

    10.  hailstorm

    11.  rain

    12.  ears

    13.  smells

    14. smell

Let's go over some interesting EGGCORNs!

Do you often mishear what others say a word or two? Today, let’s talk about an eggcorn, which is a word or phrase that has been misheard but is commonly used in place of the original expression. The new word or phrase has a completely different meaning than the original, yet it is still used because it sounds similar and is seemingly plausible when used in the same context.

E.g., “lack toast and tolerant” is the eggcorn of “lactose intolerant”

 

Guess what the following underlined eggcorns in each sentence are originally referred to.

    1.   Whether a cup of coffee or two is good for your health is still a mute point. => ___________ point

 

    2.   Tim hasn’t been recognized for his capability at work yet, but he’s never going to give up. He is biting his time.  => _____________ his time.

 

    3.   It was hilarious when Eric said “super salad” when he was asked by the waiter what he’d like to have before the main entrée. => _____________  or salad

 

4.   I had a hard time holding back my laughter when my boss said he got terribly mad at the damp squid of our latest project. => damp _____________

 

    5.   Marley is an ex-patriot who left his home country 30 years ago. => __________________

 

    6.   Phoebe is the escape goat in her family. Even her parents accuse her of things that she’s not involved with.

          => ________________ goat

7. Could I have a cup of expresso? => _________________

     

8. The minister was hopeful that his request would illicit a positive      response. => _________________ a positive response9.

 

9. Bobby is such a dead wringer of Santa Claus! => dead ___________

 

10. You need to stay alert to survive this doggy dog world.

=> __________________________ world

 

 

Answer Keys

    1.  moot

    2.  biding

    3.  soup

    4.  squib

    5.  expatriate

    6.  scapegoat

    7.  espresso

    8.  elicit

    9.  ringer

    10. dog-eat-dog world

Interested in baseball game? This Sunday Puzzle presents you a short quiz related to easy-peasy baseball terms.

Every answer today is a baseball term. Name them from their anagrams.

 Ex. IDLER + S --> SLIDER

 

1. UNDO + M

 

2. TREAT + B

 

3. LOBED + U

 

4. CIPHER + T

 

5. FLOUTED + I

 

Answer Keys  

    1.  mound

    2.  batter

    3.  double

    4.  pitcher

    5.  outfield

'Tis the season for PUMPKINS! Let's talk about these gems from our favorite seasons of all!

*Photos were taken from Jean's local grocery market

Autumn is the season for pumpkins! Pumpkins are not just round and orange. Delight yourself with all those fun and creative pumpkins you’ll find at farmers markets, orchards, and garden centers! Technically, all pumpkins are edible with a long storage life. However, if you’re just going for a culinary pumpkin, the small, round sugar pumpkins called 1. __________ pumpkins are best for cooking. In 1842, Lydia Maria Child, wrote her famous poem about a New England Thanksgiving that began, “Over the river, and through the woods” and ended with a should “Hurrah for pumpkin pie!”

 

Pumpkins have deep American roots. The Pilgrims subsisted on these edibles during their harsh winters, thanks to 2.___________________ people, (which American Native Indian tribe?) who helped them survive their first year at Plymouth Colony. The Pilgrims had gone hungry their first winter, turning up noses at the long-storing foods like pumpkins and squash. When summer came, the colonists planted the seeds given to them by their Native American neighbors. The pumpkin is a native American crop, believed to have originated in Mexico at least 10,000 years ago. Along with 3. ________ and beans, which were domesticated much later, it joins the legendary Three sisters of early Native American agriculture.

 

As stated above, Native Americans introduced the European Colonists to the many uses of pumpkin, which quickly became a common staple food, as suggested by this couplet from a Pilgrim verse written around 1633:

“We have pumpkins at morning and pumpkins at noon,

If it were not for pumpkins we should be undoon.”

(*undoon in this poem was an old English expression for ‘undone’. “to be undone” means “to be without hope for the future”)

 

Answer Keys

    1.  Pie

    2.  Wampanoag

    3.  Corn (=maize)

*Photos were taken from Jean's local grocery market

Care for some idioms using the word “PUMPKIN”?

pumpkin head: a dim-witted or unintelligent person; a dolt; a dumb

 

some pumpkins: someone or something that is particularly great, special, wonderful, etc.

to turn into a pumpkin: to have to return home or go to bed due to the late hour of the night. (Usually used as a present participle, the phrase is a reference to the story of Cinderella, whose magic carriage turned into a pumpkin at midnight.)

 

Time to practice!

    1.   Oh, gosh! It’s already midnight? I'm _________________ into a pumpkin if I don’t head home right now!

 

    2.   Did you see Hans’s new laptop? It’s ____________  pumpkins, huh?

 

    3.   Why did I ever hire that pumpkin _____________? He can't do anything right around here.

 

Answer Keys

1.  turning

2.  some

3.  head

Time to play the latest NPR Sunday Puzzle! Find the two-word phrases with the initials H and R!

Today's theme is "H.R." Every answer is a familiar two-word phrase with the initials H.R.

Ex. Corporate department --> HUMAN RESOURCES

 

1. Kentucky Derby or Preakness

 

2. Big baseball hit

 

3. Vehicle in a drag race

 

4. List of top students

 

5. Waterway past New York City

 

6. African American cultural movement of the 1920s-'30s

 

7. Weapon in H.G. Wells' "The War of the Worlds"

 

8. Operation for someone who has difficulty with walking

 

9. Hobby through which amateurs send messages around the world

 

10. Place to hang one's chapeau

 

11. Spa

Answer Keys

1. Horse Race

2. Home Run

3. Hot Rod

4. Honor Roll

5. Hudson River

6. Harlem Renaissance

7. Heat Ray

8. Hip Replacement

9. Ham Radio

10. Hat Rack

11. Health Resort

LET'S TALK about LABOR DAY

People are enjoying the long weekend here in the U.S. this week. Monday (September 4^th, 2023) is “LABOR DAY” that celebrates all workers here in America. Work is a blessed endeavor. Whether it is baking a casserole or doing laundry; serving customers or compiling a report; teaching a class or making a hospital bed: Our daily labors earn our daily bread and more.

It was envisioned by the founders to honor the American worker; the driving engine behind the most productive economy in the world, and the American work ethic that resulted in one of the highest standards of living in the world. All of this came out of a belief in economic and political democracy.

Labor day not only celebrated the American workers but also protected their quality of life. Back in the 1800s, the Labor movement was created to address some of the serious problems of the day including long working hours and lack of time off.

Do you know who invented Labor Day? Labor Day was the idea of Peter J. Maguire, a labor union leader who, in 1882, proposed a celebration honoring the American worker. Peter Maguire was the general secretary of the Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners.

 

In the U.S., the first Labor Day parade was on Tuesday, September 5, 1882 in 1. (                                      ) City. By 1894, 23 more states had adopted the holiday, and on June 28, 1894, President Grover 2. (                            ) signed a law making the first Monday in September a legal national holiday every year.

 

Even though the American workforce has changed dramatically since the industrial revolution, many Americans still work more hours and take less vacation their western counterparts. Take this day of honor to reflect on all your hard work and, if you can make it happen, take a break to relax and enjoy the last hurrah of summer because you deserve this national day of leisure.

 

Now let’s get to that common question. Why is there an old-time rule about not wearing 3. (which color?:                        ) after Labor Day? And does it still apply? 

One theory about wearing the color 4. (                                 ); the color 5.(                         ) reflects the sun instead of absorbing it. Another theory is that the end of summer meant a return to the city and work life, as many people used to take the month of August to visit seashore. Returning to city life (often dirty) meant that dark clothes returned and the aforementioned color was not practical. Today, there really aren’t such rules about the color 6. (                              ). We have air conditioning, lighter fabrics, and clothing has generally become more casual and comfortable.

 

Answer Keys

    1.  New York City

    2.  Cleveland

    3.  White

    4.  White

    5.  White

    6.  White

 

*Source from the Old Farmer’s Almanac