Wednesday, August 31, 2011

Are You Talking to Me?

Q:


Take the nationalities of the starred countries.  Find a homophone of each.  Rearrange the result to complete this often asked question:


_________________ or _________________?




A:

The starred countries are Finland and the Czech Republic.  The nationalities are Finnish and Czech.  The homophones are finish and check.  The anagrams are chicken and fish.   

CHICKEN  or  FISH?

Tuesday, August 30, 2011

"What'd Ya Say, Abe?"

Q:


TLA stands for many things, but in this case, it stands for three letter abbreviation.  In the US(A), there are four very well known and very closely related TLA's.  Two contain a two letter US postal abbreviation.  The other two do not.  Name the four TLA's.






A:

Among many things, Abe Lincoln said "Four score...".  The image says "No Eye".  Coaches often tell their players, "There is no "I" in T-E-A-M".  So we are in the sports category.  National Basketball Association, National Football League, National Hockey League and Major League Baseball.  The states are Florida and New Hampshire.

NBA       N(FL)       (NH)L       MLB

P(GA) also fits but  is not part of what is referred to as the four majors.

On the radio version (no title or image) another acceptable answer is C(IA), FBI, (DE)A and ATF, all US government law enforcement agencies.  Thank you, Paul.




Wednesday, August 17, 2011

I'd Say Those Gloves Are Absolutely Winsome

Q:


With Labor Day fast approaching, it might be time to plan a picnic in the park.  The park I like has a picnic table under a tree by a river.  Here's the challenge.  Take the words

Tree        River        Labor       Day

Change one letter and rearrange the result to name something you might see in a park on Labor Day.




A:

A synonym for winsome could be fetching and the stitch in the gloves is called a fetching stitch.  Change the Y to an R and rearrange to get

Labrador Retriever





Wednesday, August 10, 2011

I Think Therefore I Am

Q:


Think of a two word phrase meaning "had".  Switch the order of the words to name how you would probably  feel.



A:

In this case, had means to be tricked or deceived.  The title refers to Rene Descartes and the image is that of an apple (duh) giving us Des apple cartes.

Set Up             Upset

Wednesday, August 3, 2011

This Just In (AVM Revisited)

Q:


Think of a four letter word that names (as far as kingdoms are concerned) a certain animal, a certain vegetable and a certain mineral.  Rearrange the four letters to name a certain twenty first century farm collective.



A:

The title refers to news and the image is that of an eland.  New Zealand is a solution of an NPR puzzle from March of 2010.  

A kiwi bird (animal kingdom) is indigenous to New Zealand.

A kiwi fruit (vegetable kingdom) is widely cultivated in New Zealand.  

A kiwi stone (mineral kingdom) is a type of quartz used in making faux jewelry.

And finally, a wiki farm is a web hosting service that connects any number of wikis (websites) to collectively create and share information.