********* The Car Talk Puzzler Psychic Friends Network******* >From The Desk Of
Maury Maille Puzzler Tower Car Talk Plaza Hahvahd Squayah Our Fair City This Week's Puzzler: Confounding Compounding RAY: This puzzler was submitted by Peter... and, I guess he didn't want to give his last name. He writes, "Usually when the subject of a sentence is compound, and the components are connected by "and," the verb takes the plural form. For example, we say, "Bob and his wife ARE planning to drive to Florida"... not, "Bob and his wife IS planning to drive to Florida." Likewise, we say, "The vase and the book ARE on the table," not, "The vase and the book IS on the table." But, can you think of a situation where the components of a compound subject are connected by "and," yet the form of the verb must be singular, and not plural? TOM: I can do one right now! "The law firm of Dewey Cheetham and Howe IS located..." RAY: That's not a compound subject. TOM: But, it's a good fake. Can you think of an example? Drop us a note via http://www.cartalk.com/email/email.html If you're right and we select your answer, we'll ship you a $26 Shameless Commerce Gift Certificate. Want to listen to Raymond obfuscate the puzzler in person? Listen anytime, at http://www.cartalk.com/content/puzzler/ ************ Remember last week's classic puzzler? Tommy and his SRC's Ponder a Rail Oddity RAY: My brother has always been a keen observer of people and surroundings. Lately, he's taken to hanging around the train yard, where the guys hang out with those big barrels with the fires in them, roasting squirrels. Not much changes from day to day. Trains come and go, cars get loaded and unloaded, sometimes cars get taken and sometimes cars get added. After a few days, Tommy begins to notice something odd-- a pattern, so to speak. Just about every freight train that enters the yard seems to overshoot its intended target. The engineer then puts the engine in reverse and moves the entire train backwards some distance. It's hard to believe the engineers could miss their targets with such regularity, especially considering how excruciatingly slowly the trains are moving. None of Tommy's SRC's-- Squirrel Roasting Comrades-- can come up with an explanation. But, there is one. What is it? Here's what it is: http://www.cartalk.com/content/puzzler/ So, did you figure it out? Yours in weekly puzzler torment, Maury Maille Puzzler Dissemination Specialist Car Talk Plaza *********************************** Got more time to kill? This past weekend's new, lousy Car Talk show is now on the web site, at http://www.cartalk.com/Radio/Show/ ******************** Help Ray lose the night sweats he's been getting, trying to come up with a decent puzzler each week. E-mail him your suggestion any time, via http://www.cartalk.com/email/email.html ******************** Puzzled out? You can unsubscribe to the Car Talk Puzzler Psychic Friends Network anytime at http://www.cartalk.com/ct/maillist.jsp?puzzler_list=subscribe#psychic We'll forgive you.
