Last week's challenge
Start with the phrase RANKED FIFTH. Change one letter to an N and you can rearrange the result to spell a five-letter word for a way to show gratitude and a six letter-word for someone you might show that gratitude toward. What are the words?
Answer: If you can change an F to an N, you can spell THANK, FRIEND
THIS WEEK'S CATEGORY: COOK “OUT”
On-air questions: Well Mike, this weekend is the traditional start of summer, with Memorial Day commemorations, backyard barbeques, and boating. In honor of the many cookouts that will be happening this weekend, we’ll have a cookout of our own tonight. We’ll start with some food, and you cook “out” some letters to get the right answers.
1. Let’s start with a Mexican dish that consists of a stuffed tortilla, often just with cheese, then warmed on a stove, and end up with a title type of communication on an album including “Sure Shot” and “Sabotage.”
2. A Thanksgiving dessert standard whose essence has become an early fall harbinger becomes Angel Hernandez, Joe West or Lance Barksdale.
3. A stalked vegetable often paired with chicken in stir fry cooking becomes a toxic type of culture tied to Silicon Valley that according to one Medium article is “characterized by young, white men who spend a lot of time partying, being generally sexist, with high expectations of privilege and entitlement.”
4. A kielbasa, blood or bratwurst becomes reason, Aquarius or, as we discussed last week, Ultron.
5. A national fruit of multiple Asian countries and the base of a popular chutney becomes the first name of the director of “The Wedding Banquet,” “Brokeback Mountain,” and “Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon.”
Extra credit
1. A fruit often added to a brunch cocktail as a garnish becomes a fatal Shakespearian snake.
2. A stuffed, steamed masa dish often wrapped in a corn husk becomes a highland hat.
This week's challenge
Start with the name of a common food item seen at Memorial Day cookouts. Rearrange the letters and you can spell the name of another food item and a figure from Greek myth. What are the words?
ANSWERS
On-air questions
1. Quesadilla, “Ill” (“Ill Communication” by the Beastie Boys was released May 31, 1994)
2. Pumpkin pie, “ump” (Joe West umpired from 1976 through 2021 and now hosts a podcast called 5,460, a nod to his record-setting number of games umpired)
3. Broccoli, “bro”
4. Sausage, “age”
5. Mango, “Ang” (Ang Lee has been nominated for three Best Director Oscars)
Extra credit
1. Raspberry, “Asp”
2. Tamale, “tam”