SPANISH to ENGLISH: Time to play the Word Puzzle (from NPR- aired on October 25th, 2020)

This last Sunday’s NPR on-air challenge of word puzzle was changing the Spanish words into English words by rearranging letters. You are given five-letter words in Spanish. For each one, rearrange the letters to spell a common, uncapitalized word in English.

Example: CESTA (basket) --> CASTE

 

    1.   TODOS (all or every)

 

    2.   TRUCO (trick)

 

    3.   BANCO (bank)

 

    4.   ARROZ (rice)

 

    5.   CINCO (five)

 

    6.   JABON (soap)

 

    7.   TORRE (tower)

 

    8.   PECHO (chest)

 

    9. HUESO (bone)

 

    10. ODIAR (to hate)

 

 

Answer Keys

    1.  stood

    2.  court

    3.  bacon

    4.  razor

    5.  conic

    6.  banjo

    7.  retro

    8.  epoch

    9.  house

    10.  Radio

*Picture Source: https://blog.parlam.com/best-english-to-spanish-translators/ 

Complete the Compound Words! (Sunday Word Puzzle from NPR, aired on October 18, 2020)

Time to play the puzzle (created by Will Shortz) from this last week's NPR Sunday On-air challenge! Let us complete the following compound words!

 

(picture source: https://inspiration.design/posts/573221-why-skip-website-spot-illustration-pbj-insights) 

The theme of this puzzle is P, B & J. I'm going to give you three words starting with the letters P, B and J. You give me a fourth word that can follow each of mine to complete a compound word or a familiar two-word phrase.

 

Example: Parking, Back, Job --> LOT (parking lot, back lot, job lot)

 

Starting with three-letter answers:

 

1. Penalty, Boom, Juke

 

2. Power, Buzz, Jig

 

3. Present, Birth, Judgment

 

4. Pill, Bed, Jitter

 

 

Now four-letter answers:

 

5. Perp, Board, Jay

 

6. Paddle, Basket, Jump

 

7. Parting, Big, Jell-O

 

8. Plymouth, Bed, Jailhouse

 

Some five-letter answers:

 

9. Pogo, Broom, Joy

 

10. Pocket, Butter, Jack

 

11. Passion, Bearing, Juicy

 

Finally a six-letter answer:

 

12. Pickled, Bell, Jalapeno

 

Answer Keys

    1.  box

 

    2.  saw

 

    3.  day

 

    4.  bug

 

    5.  walk

 

    6.  ball

 

    7.  shot

 

    8.  rock

 

    9.  stick

 

    10.  knife

 

    11.  fruit

 

    12.  pepper

Idiomatic Expressions to Describe People

 What type of person are you? What kind of person seems right up your alley? Let’s check out some fun expressions in English that describe people’s personality.

  

    1.   a card.:   Someone is a bit funny/ somewhat eccentric or strange/ entertaining/ quick-witted.

 

    2.   a dark horse: someone who reveals little about his or her activities, especially one who has unexpected talents or abilities

 

    3.   a good egg/ a bad egg: a nice person or a nasty person

 

    4.    a good laugh: a fun or amusing person to be around

 

    5.   thick as a plank: somebody who is more than stupid or dumb

 

    6.   a social butterfly: someone who is VERY social and easygoing; can be either a male or a female. Usually these people don’t belong to a particular group, but rather jump from one group to another. They are somewhat accepted in all of them, but do not really have any deep friendship connections in any of them.

 

    7.   a tearaway: a reckless/ irresponsible/ somewhat dangerous person

 

 

Time to practice!

1.   Josh is a bit of a ________________.    He just dances in a shopping mall whenever he feels excited.

 

2.   Conner is a good ____________ in my office. Everybody wants to be around him, because he’s got what it takes to amuse people.

 

 

3.   Anthony is not the sharpest tool in the drawer! I can’t trust his capability at all in any projects. He is simply ____________ as a plank.

 

4.   Little have I heard that Joe used to be such a social ________________ back in his college days! His old friends said he was busy mingling with people from other Frats every weekend.  He’d also been a lead vocalist in a rock band. What a dark ___________!

 

5.   Aaron is such a good _________ who’s always willing to pick up daily mails and even mow the lawn while their neighbor is away on a short trip.

 

6.   My mom is not quite impressed by my choice of friends. She thinks all my friends are a bad case of ______________.

 

 

Answer Keys  

    1.  card

    2.  laugh

    3.  thick

    4.  butterfly, horse

    5.  egg

    6.  tearaway

     image source: https://drshveatamishra.wordpress.com/2017/03/10/an-introduction-with-personality/ 

This last weekend's Word Puzzle from NPR (aired on October 11, 2020)

Time to play this last Sunday’s on-air challenge of word puzzle by Will Shortz from NPR! Every answer today is a word or phrase in which the only consonants are P and R — repeated as often as necessary. The other letters are all vowels. Let us play the following easy peasy puzzle!

 

Example: More mature, as fruit --> RIPER

 

1. What beats rock but loses to scissors in a children's game

2. Musician with a flute

3. Partner of salt

4. Fix, as an appliance

5. Brand of bottled water

6. Open grassland, as in Kansas and Nebraska

7. Like reasoning by theoretical deduction (2 words)

8. Come into view again

 

Answer Keys

    1.   paper

    2.   piper

    3.   pepper

    4.   repair

    5.   Perrier

    6.   prairie    

    7. a priori

    8.   reappear

P    picture source: https://cargocollective.com/awool/P-R-WEDDING 

)

Test your own grammar in sentences: Rise or Raise?

Check out your grammar capability! Choose the right one:  RISE or RAISE?

(source from English Grammar Quizzes: level V)

 

    1.   In ancient Rome, the peasants ___ up against the Emperor many times.

    a.  raise   b. raised   c. rose                 

 

     2.   He is an early ___ but he hates to stay up late.

         a.   riser     b. roser   c. raiser

 

     3.   Gradually the beanstalk ___ higher and higher until it reached the sky.

         a.   rise     b. rose    c. raise

 

 

     4.   To taste good, bread must ___ properly.

         a.   rise    b. be raised   c. raise

 

     5.   He had ___ flowers every year until this year. Now he grows only vegetables.

         a.   risen   b. raised   c. rised

  

     6. The flag ___ every morning at 6:00 a.m. until yesterday.

         a.   raised     b. was rised     c. was raised

 

     7.   The temperature has ___ all day long.

         a.   rose   b. risen   c. raised

 

     8.   Higher inflation usually ___ prices.

         a.   raised   b. raises   c. rises

 

     9.   The army ___ its flag over the island.

          a.   rised   b. raised   c. rose

 

     10.  The sun ___ at 6:30 this morning and it was a beautiful sunrise.

           a.   raises   b. rose   c. rises

 

     11.   The government ___ interest rates for three years until yesterday.

            a.   had not raised    b. had not rose   c. had not risen

 

     12.     At the meeting the committee ___ six questions.

a.   rose   b. raised   c. rise

 

answer keys 

    1.  rose

    2.  riser

    3.  rose

    4.  rise

    5.  raised

    6.  was raised

    7. risen

    8.  raises

    9.  raised

    10.  rose

    11. had not raised

    12. raised

Finding the common four-letter word (not swearing though ^^)

 NPR SUNDAY PUZZLE created by Will Shortz aired on October 4^th, 2020

Are you good at using 'set phrases'? Complete the following incomplete phrases. Put the same word in each blank to complete them. Every answer is a four-letter word.

Ex. ___ of wolves / ___ of cigarettes --> PACK

 

1. ___ of sale / ___ of rights

2. ___ of arms / ___ of paint

3. ___ of thought / ___ of scrimmage

4. ___ of fire / ___ of wax

5. ___ of thumb / ___ of law

6. ___ of mouth / ___ of God

7. ___ of hands / ___ of force

8. ___ of Africa / ___ of plenty

9. ___ of paper / ___ of the tongue

10. ___ of luck / ___ of both worlds

 

Answer Keys

   1.  bill

   2.  coat 

   3.  line

    4.  fall

    5.  rule

    6.  word

    7.  show

    8.  horn

    9.  slip

   10.  best

NPR Sunday Puzzle aired on the Last Week of September, 2020

Time to play the puzzle by Will Shortz on NPR Sunday On-air challenge!! In each of the given sentences below, the name of a state capital is hidden in consecutive letters. You name the capitals.

 

Example: Check the chart for details. --> HARTFORD

1. You can't rent only one trailer.

2. How does golf rank for television?

3. That's not too pleasant a feeling.

4. Dad prepared flapjacks once.

5. The numeral eight comes before nine.

6. We fly to Zurich Monday.

7. Are you and Eric on cordial terms?

8. I wanna polish off dinner.

 

Answer Keys    

    1.  Trenton (capital of New Jersey)

    2.  Frankfort (capital of Kentucky)

    3.  Santa Fe (capital of New Mexico)

    4.  Jackson (capital of Mississippi)

    5.  Raleigh (capital of North Carolina)

    6.  Richmond (capital of Virginia)

    7.  Concord (capital of New Hampshire)

    8.  Annapolis (capital of Maryland)