We Have an Answer, But...

Here's this week's NPR Sunday Puzzle:

Name two animals. Exchange their initial consonant sounds, and the result in two words will be the name of a third animal. What is it?

Ross came up with two answers, one clearly wrong. Let's get the wrong one out of the way first, okay?

COB (male swan or a type of horse) + BAT = BOBCAT

You see the problem immediately: the third animal is supposed to be two words, like a black bear or a flying fox.

Ross's second answer may be the one Will Shortz is looking for:

SHEPHERD (as in German Shepherd, or a Border Collie, etc., or even, I suppose, the man who tends sheep) + LARK = LEOPARD SHARK

It's a neat puzzle, but the different natures of the animals rather ruins it for me. Lark/shark--no problem. But a shepherd is a breed of dog and that seems on a different level from the other words. Just the fact that it could mean a dog (defined by its occupation) or a man (defined by his occupation) is problematic. But that's just me.

Here's what I get when I plug these animals into Flickr:

















Time for

Here are this week's picks:

Zero and fewer     1 - 50 -- Paul  51 - 100 -- Legolambda 101 - 150 -- Margaret G. 151 - 200 -- Word Woman 201 - 250 -- David 251 - 300 -- B. Haven 301 - 350 -- Joe Kupe 351 - 400 -- Maggie Strasser 401 - 450 -- Ross 451 - 500 -- Magdalen 501 - 550 551 - 600 601 - 650 651 - 700 701 - 750 751 - 800 801 - 850 851 - 900 901 - 950 951 - 1,000

1,001 - 1,050 1,051 - 1,100 1,101 - 1,150 1,151 - 1,200 1,201 - 1,250 1,251 - 1,300 1,301 - 1,350 1,351 - 1,400 1,401 - 1,450 1,451 - 1,500 1,501 - 1,550 1,551 - 1,600 1,601 - 1,650 1,651 - 1,700 1,701 - 1,750 1,751 - 1,800 1,801 - 1,850 1,851 - 1,900 1,901 - 1,950 1,951 - 2,000

2,001 - 2,050 2,051 - 2,100 2,101 - 2,150 2,151 - 2,200 2,201 - 2,250 2,251 - 2,300 2,301 - 2,350 2,351 - 2,400 2,401 - 2,450 2,451 - 2,500 2,501 - 2,750 2,751 - 3,000 3,001 - 3,250 3,251 - 3,500 3,501 - 4,000 4,001 - 4,500 4,501 - 5,000  > 5,000  > 5,000 + new record

Our tie-break rule:   In the event that a single round number is announced with a qualifier such as "about" or "around" (e.g., "We received around 1,200 entries."), AND two separate people picked the ranges of numbers just before and just after that round number, the prize will be awarded to whichever entrant had not already won a prize, or in the event that both entrants had won a prize already or neither had, then to the earlier of the two entries on the famous judicial principle of "First Come First Serve," (or in technical legal jargon, "You Snooze, You Lose").  As of July 2012, this rule is officially no longer obsolete (and also I still just like having fine print).