Friday, November 16, 2012

NPR Sunday Puzzle (Nov 11, 2012): Lead Pencil Puzzle

NPR Sunday Puzzle (Nov 11, 2012): Lead Pencil Puzzle:
Q: With one stroke of a pencil you can change a capital F into E; you can change an O into a Q, and so on. Write the phrase "LEAD PENCIL" in capital letters. Add a stroke to one letter and rearrange the result to name a classic movie. What is it?
Wake me when it's over.

The Four Tops had a hit with "Shake Me, Wake Me (When it's over)". The missing part of my hint was "Shake Me". And if you search for "Shake Me" it's a song by the group "Cinderella".
A: Change the P to an R, rearrange to get CINDERELLA

161 comments:

  1. Here's my standard reminder... don't post the answer or any hints that could lead directly to the answer (e.g. via Google or Bing) before the deadline of Thursday at 3pm ET. If you know the answer, click the link and submit it to NPR, but don't give it away here.

    You may provide indirect hints to the answer to show you know it, but make sure they don't give the answer away. You can openly discuss your hints and the answer after the Thursday deadline. Thank you.

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  2. This could be heaven or this could be hell. Could Mohammed move a mountain? Take it easy on the ice this winter.

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    1. Reminds me of the late Alistair Cooke's commentary about W's poor public speaking skills: "Watching George Bush approach a podium is much like watching a man on crutches approach an ice rink."

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    2. Archie Campbell was famous for his recitation of 'Rindercella', as well as his "That's good/that's bad" routines.
      I recall Alistair Cooke introducing an episode of 'Private Schulz', using the line, "They make money the old-fashioned way...they print it", and appearing quite pleased with the joke he had made.
      Please pardon my language difficulties.

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  3. The quality of these puzzles is definitely slipping. It's getting grim here in Blainsville.

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  5. I'll say that comment takes 1st place among giveaways. Even so, for those of you who still haven't got the "classic movie": it's nothing at all like Star Wars!

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  6. After a brief mental block, I got it. How uplifting!

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  7. It is appropriate in a way that the answer to this challenge will be given the week of Thanksgiving.

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    1. Nice narrative, but just a few too many clues which combine to lead directly to the answer.

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    2. You have left me clueless, Blaine.

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    3. Blaine has sharpened his machete and apparently embarked on his own version of Mao's Cultural Revolution attempting to prove that the sword is, in fact, mightier than the keyboard. I stood by and watched it all happen...

      First he went after 11th Place, and I didn't speak out because I wasn't a neophyte clue-giver.

      Then he came for SkyDiveBoy, and I didn't speak out because sometimes he is funny than I am (e.g., Clueless in Seattle) and I can do without the competition.

      Then Blaine came to censor me, and there was no one left to speak out.

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    4. AbqGuerrilla:
      Now you're reminding me of Germany, where they have an old saying: "Welcome to mein camp."

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  9. I'll spend the couple seconds it takes to solve this puzzle after I'm done ordering this year's Christmas seals.

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  10. Drop the altered letter from the answer and rearrange to get the possible title of a recent sports news story.

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    1. Or take the answer, switch one of the a repeated letters to another earlier in the alphabet and rearrange to name something that the main character might have been under.

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    2. It took me a while but now I see the light.

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    3. I also get a logical answer if one of the repeated letters is changed to one *later* in the alphabet!

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  11. I assume Will's mini hint in the statement of the puzzle was unintentional.

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  12. Very clever, Lorenzo! It's true that he did.

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    1. Now you're clueless, too, SDB.

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    2. At first I was heartbroken and felt slighted. But then when I saw that Blaine smote my ugly step-brother, SDB (hey, sorry, but you know, if the shoe fits...), as well, I felt ever so slightly vindicated.
      Dumbfounded in Provo.

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    3. There are some who would say Salt Lake City was dumbfounded.

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    4. I dig the Joseph Smith reference, SDB. Aren't we just a virtual suppository of historical information this morning? This puzzle is so boring, SDB. Whatdya say we move on to current events?

      To add a twist to your joke of 3 or 4 weeks ago, SDB, General Petraeus was known as a great leader of men, but in the end, he failed to control his privates. And what an unfortunate title for her book (All In: The Education of Gen. David Petraeus -- Personally, I would have opted for All In: Gen. David Petraeus Gets Smart). Speaking of which, not since episode 17 of "Get Smart" has a CIA man received such a quick and sobering education. Gen. Dave even got him one of those shoe phones (like Maxwell had) in order to keep things on the QT, but it backfired on him. I have it on good information that his actual undoing was the result of his inability to find that shoe under a motel bed in order to take an urgent call about a lack of security in Benghazi. Oh well, time wounds all heels, I reckon...

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    5. AbqGuerrilla:
      Very good! Perhaps she was referring to Flynn. In general I prefer Smedley Butler, myself.
      But seriously, as head of the CIA, why didn't he just say he was working under cover?
      When I got out of the army in 1966 and returned to Seattle, I was recruited by the CIA to work for them. It was all done secretly, like in a cheap Hollywood movie. I have no regrets that I turned them down. I doubt I would have lasted long with them either with my big mouth and liberal point of view.

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    6. AbqGuerrilla:
      Not sure who this Josept Smith guy was. Was he the husband of Mrs. Smith of frozen pie fame?

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    7. AbqGuerrilla:
      You may recall her famous cookbook: "Day Of The Low Crust."

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    8. Speaking of "The Day of the Locust", SkyDiveBoy, could you imagine for a moment if Petraeus was a praying mantis and came home to his wife late one night, sans head? I could see her now, standing there in her housecoat, arms akimbo, raging "You slept with her, didn't you!!"

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    9. AbqGuerrilla:
      Are you going to bug me all day?

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    10. I saw that Farside cartoon, too.

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    11. I've got you in my tangled web of digression now, SDB. Back to the General. The Huffington Post just broke a story that Paula Broadwell's husband may have spilled the beans to the NY Times in an anonymous letter.

      http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/11/10/paula-broadwells-husband-wrote-letter-nyt-affair-david-petraeus_n_2109455.html

      Her book, by the way, jumped from #76,792 to #111 on Amazon since the story broke. Well, everywhere except Texas where books are primarily used to boost Baby Bubba up in his chair at the dinner table. In fact, the last person to even notice a textbook in the Lone Star State was Lee Harvey Oswald...

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    12. Right on! The Lee Harvey Oswald affair was a textbook case alright.

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    13. Author's note: It wasn't a Far Side cartoon, Jan. It was from the New Yorker Magazine circa 1995. The Far Side...sheesh, gimmie a break, Man. I am deeply offended. The is no room for Gary Larsen on the back of my throne, Jan. You might have me confused with SkyDiveBoy.

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    14. I guess she turned out to be a star reporter.

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  14. There’s a strong connection between this puzzle and another recent one. Since Blaine’s in his Blog Administrator mode, I say no more on this subject :)

    On the other topic of discussion here, the following is an actual ABC News headline: “Paula Broadwell, David Petraeus' Alleged Mistress, Embedded With Him for 1 Year in Afghanistan.” I bet the headline writer had fun with that one :) And, of course, the bio she wrote couldn’t be more aptly titled than “All In” :)

    Chuck

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    1. This is a case of medaling in a general's affairs.

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    2. I heard the woman in question received a general discharge.

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    3. Good one, Chuck. Yes, the late night TV hosts are gonna have a field day with this one. Repubs and Dems are still bickering as to whether the surge worked. I guess it worked for the General. Do you 'spose there'll be any chance that Will's next puzzle will go something like this: Take the word, "surge." Remove one letter, and you will get a new word that describes Gen. Petraeus's feelings while being interviewed by his lady biographer. Replace that letter and then remove a different letter and you will get her verbal response to his advances. (I'm certain there's a Battle of the Bulge joke in here as well, but I'm late for church. Gotta jet!)

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    4. Too-shay, SDB! I'd venture to say she may have received several general discharges. Once again, despite my best efforts at being clever, you get "Joke of the Day" honors. Gotta steal that one for my show as well. Hope that's OK.

      I do feel sorry for the general's wife however. She's certainly entitled to a Purple Heart, but I doubt that will be of much consolation...

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    6. Yes, he will get the Condemnation Medal and she will get Horrible Mention.

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  15. I'm clueless. Someday I'll get it, maybe with my sisters help.

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  16. Do you suppose Paula "majored" in General Education at West Point? 'Cause the guy certainly learned his lesson thanks to her. I'm just sayin'...

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    1. Yes, she was a drum major and he was close to being drummed out.

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    2. So far it is not being reported that what really tipped them off to Gen. Petraeus's rendezvous is that he made the mistake of referring to it as, Base Headquarters.

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    3. John Pope's "Headquarters in the Saddle" dispatch comes to mind.

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    4. Jan:
      You are now reminding me of 1972, when I was living in Italy, South of Roma. I was close friends with a young American couple also living there at the time. These two announced they were about to end a self imposed period of celebacy, and this immediately caused me to begin singing a rendition of, "Back In the Saddle Again," made popular by Gene Autry. Fortunately they also shared my sense of humor.

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    5. I think that song was used in "Sleepless in Seattle", with the same meaning.

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    6. Jan:
      Now that is disturbing because I tried on two occasions to watch that awful movie, only to get about 20 minutes in each time. I simply cannot bear the thought of another attempt just to find that scene.

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  17. Getting back to the puzzle:

    You can lead a horse to water, but a pencil must be lead.

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    1. Actually, the only time in life that it's good to be #2 is when you're a pencil.

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    2. I'm holding off until Thursday with what I consider to be a funny/cute hint that would be too much of a give-away.

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  19. Rule out a meaningful associate of someone whose notion of the truth is not that which is commonly understood as being true by most people.

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  20. My wife and I had a ball with this one. We found the clues quite charming.

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  21. I was watching SNL while waiting for the puzzle, but it did not show up in time. Then I got up Sunday a.m. to hear the puzzle on the air but my watch was still on daylight time, so I was an hour off. But, when I finally saw the puzzle, I got it right away.

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  22. As a new commenter, please excuse if this sounds 'off', but doesn't Blaine have his movies mixed up (with his initial hint, that is?)

    As for all the Petraeus stuff, it's hilarious. Those 'surge' cracks made me howl. You guys are too much!

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  23. Finally got around to solving the puzzle. Since it took me until Tuesday, I feel like I'm slower than a cheap watch.

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  24. So can any of you erudite, analytical and clever minds tell me the difference between a film and a movie? Serious reponses only, please, lest I be tempted to remove my question and become Ruthless once again.

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    1. I think these words are too close to synonomous to differentiate effectively. For example: The venue at which one would attend a Film Festival is most likely a Movie Theater. Okay, it could also be called a Cinema, but what do you usually watch at the cinema: a movie. I think anyone who tells you there's a difference between films and movies is full of celluloid.

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    2. A movie is a moving picture. Remember that Hollywood tends to call movies, pictures.
      Film is what you get on the inside of your windshield when your heater core fails.

      In Italy in 1972 I went each evening to a lecture given by Maharishe Mahesh Yogi. The earlier one was in the cinema (pronounced: chinema) and then the later one was in another part of town in the teatro (theater). At first I thought this odd, but quickly figured out that the cinema was for movies/films and the theater was for opera and plays, etc.
      Anything that is produced to be presented on a screen and moves is a film, but a movie tends to be fictional and tell a story. Over time the terms seem to have merged. There is a serious lack of respect for the English language in this country.

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  25. Hi Ruth ~
    I think it's kinda like the difference between a vaze (sp.) and a vase. When I was kid, my grandma cleaned house for these rich folks uptown. One day, the old biddy complained that grandma had cracked a "vaze" while changing the flowers. I asked my grandmother, "Gram, what's the difference between a vaze and a vase?" (the only pronunciation that I was previously aware of). Grandma replied sarcastically, "If it costs more than 50 bucks, it's a vaze."

    I believe that similar thinking applies to the film vs. movie controversy. If the picture involves a car chase, a sappy boy meets girl scenario, stars Arnold Swartznagger, or features lots of explosions or martial arts, it's basically a "movie." If the piece makes you think, is not picked up by multiplex theaters, features a bunch of actors you've never heard of (or stars Harvey Keitel), or flashes the word FIN instead of THE END at the conclusion, it's considered to be a "film."

    And I am only half joking.

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  26. To beat a dead horse - the answer in Italian rhymes with GRANOLA. Not that it matters, and to add to Blaine's list of words that fit the pattern is GRANITE - WS didn't specify that all letters in the answer must come from the two original words. I'm surprised that Lorenzo didn't come up with GRANITI or GRANITA (or did he?)

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    1. Will did say that the new word must have 5 letters in common with ORGANIC and 5 letters in common with NATURAL. GRANITE has 5 letters in common with ORGANIC, but only *4* letters in common with NATURAL (unless you are trying to count A twice).

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  27. Movie/film/cinema clue: Pretty Woman (without the in-between profanity).

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    1. Good cross reference, Wolfgang. And I might add that both of these films basically inform little girls that there is no need to make something of yourself in life. Just wait for a wealthy guy to come along and solve all your problems. Unfortunately, too many gals wait a lifetime for that guy to show up. When my daughter was 9 years old, my ex-wife (her mom) bought her a copy of Pretty Woman on VHS which my daughter started to watch every single day after school. In a very short time, I tossed it in the dumpster and told her it was not an appropriate movie for her to be watching (nor is the film that Will is referring to in my opinion). My daughter was super pissed and did not speak to me for a week. Today she has a degree in Cinematic Arts and makes her own (independent) films for a living. Seriously.

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  28. Start with the phrase "a real rabbi," add a stroke to one letter, and rearrange to name a classic B movie.

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    1. Yes, Ward, we know. All rabbis wear those little caps.

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    2. I'm fond of the opening scene...

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    3. If memory serves, the main antagonist was an English new wave band.

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    4. Just realized, the keyboard is the main place I see that letter without strokes already. I wonder if it has to do with regional variations or am I just being spacey?

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    5. I'm not sure, RoRo, but did you just watch, Being John Malkovich, and now think you are a Kevin?

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    6. Thanks Ward -- that ended up being a more titillating puzzle than Will's.

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    7. I yam what I yam is that KEVIN or KEV|N?

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    8. Tuber, or not tuber. That is the question.

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  29. This one took me a while, was thinking the wrong letter was the most logical for the pencil stroke. Had a dream this morning that pointed out another letter that I hadn't even thought of. Looked at lots of anagrams that were no help. Do you think Will reverse-engineered this one?

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  30. If the letters were right, do you think we could turn an “S” into a “$” and get “A Fistful of $s”. Or turn a “C” into a “¢” (and with the use of homonyms) get “¢s and Sensibility”?

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    1. I saved a dollar once, and it made cents to me.

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    2. You obviously bucked the trend on that particular day, SkyDiveBoy.

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    3. Yes I did AG, but I soon was changed.

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    4. These old puns have no currency.

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    5. Maybe we should phrase them out before we're all spent. Check back with me later.

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    6. We should try to buck this trend.

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    7. Buck up, jan. That pun was used by AbG. five posts above. Try and draught something new.

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    8. Sorry, missed that one. I'll have to coin a new phrase.

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    9. That's okay; I'll lend you one of mine if you don't mind borrowing. Interested?

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    10. Francly, I think you pounded this into the florin. Mark my words, I think it is grosz. There is no drachma left, baht you should kip it rial. Glad I rand inca you, even though euro making a lira out of me.

      Scudo me, but I have a yen for dinar. I’m kina thinking of having a birr, maybe a Krona or a Sol, like they have been shilling on TV, if I don’t have to peso much.

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    11. Well, David, now that all my beads are spent, I think I will enjoy my Manhattan.

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    12. Wow, David, that was special. You have truly outshone all the dollar minds. I thought you would have left SDB speechless but instead you left him in a New York state of mind.

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    13. Yes, RoRo, I may be a bit soggy after my Manhattan, but I am going out now for a subway.

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    14. That David sure gave me dosh a wampum!
      I faired he would never quid and I'm still a bit tender and not yet feeling my pelf. I hope things will lucre up soon dough. Anyway, he did show some currency. Now it's late and I'm off to bet.

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  31. Went whale watching years ago. Took lots of pictures. Sent the film off to be developed. Waited a long time for my prints of whales, thinking, "Someday..."

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    1. The FBI had a similar problem trying to obtain good whale prints.

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    2. "... my prints will come."

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    3. I hope you will be able to pronounce his name, when he does.

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  32. P --> R

    CINDERELLA

    Last Sunday I said, “There’s a strong connection between this puzzle and another recent one.” I was referring to the Halloween puzzle two week’s ago. Halloween is associated with pumpkins (like Cinderella’s carriage). And Halloween is associated with scaring people by saying “Boo” (like Cinderella’s Fairy Godmother’s "Bibbidi Bobbidi Boo").

    Chuck

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    1. I thought you might be thinking of Pinocchio.

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  33. CINDERELLA P=R (A glass act)

    My Hint:

    "Jackie Moms Mabley"

    This comic did a very, very funny take-off she called, Little Cindy Ella who was African American. Not at all PC and probably would not fly today, but this was fifty years ago.

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  34. In LEAD PENCIL, change P to R and rearrange letters to get CINDERELLA.

    My clues:

    “(The classic movie is) nothing at all like Star Wars!”
    A reference to recent news that the Star Wars franchise was recently bought out by Walt Disney, the producer of…Cinderella!

    “Movie/film/cinema clue: Pretty Woman (without the in-between profanity).”
    In that movie, there is a dialogue between the Julia Roberts character and another hooker, who at one point sarcastically refers to “Cinde-fxxxing-rella”; hence the reference to the profanity “in between.”

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  35. My clue referred to a meaning associate of whom I described as Pinochio, i.e. arguably, at list cartoon classic filmwise, circa 1950s, Cinderella.

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  36. Cinderella, Snow White, Sleeping Beauty, The Little Mermaid: all the same movie. First, kill off mom. Then teach the little girl that all she needs to do is wait for a handsome prince to save her. They don't call (some of) them Grimm for nothing.

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    1. Don't forget about the one where the beautiful girl begins gaining lots of weight. Beauty and the Feast.

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    2. Since we're on the Disney thing, I recall the time I accidentally rear-ended a Buick Regal in downtown Denver 12 years ago. Turns out the Buick was driven by a dwarf. The guy got out of his car, walked up to my window and started screaming, "I am NOT happy!" I rolled down my window and said, "Well, OK. Then which one are you?"

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    3. Good one AbG, but consider this: midgets are the most overlooked members of society.

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    4. Come on, SDB. Why don't you pick on someone your own size?

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    6. Okay, AbG, don't you be short with me.

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  37. My clue, cheap watch, referred to a Mickey Mouse watch, hinting at the mutual creator of that popular rodent and Cinderella.

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  38. "Mental block" was reference to cinder block. "Uplifting" was reference to a cinderella story.

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    1. I'm still stuck on Ward's puzzle. Since it's Friday, why not give it up Ward?

      And speaking of lead in yer pencil, I just had a dozen oysters on-the-half-shell at the local seafood bar here in Provo. Unfortunately, all three of the wives are in Salt Lake for the weekend so, alas, I have no one to write too.

      Gonna sit right down and write...let's all sing along shall we?

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    2. Gee, I envy you, AbG. Here I am stuck in Seattle and you are living by the sea in Provo, eating oysters at the local Shell station. Did you find any pearls of wisdom this time?

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    3. Shucks, no, SkyDiveBoy. But you sure can rock a feller back on his heels with yer quick wit.

      OK, bruddah. Here's yer pearl of wisdumb for the day:

      i before e except when painting the town beige after pulling a feisty freight train heist with a weird foreign neighbor.

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    4. Reminds me of the one about the difference between the way a prostitute, a mistress and a wife make love.
      The prostitute lies on her back, stares at the ceiling and says, "Faster, faster!"
      The mistress lies on her back, looking up and says, "Slower, slower!"
      The wife lies on her back and looks up and declairs, "Beige, I think I'll paint the ceiling beige."

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    5. That's funny, my wives seem to comment more on the color of the sheets. I guess we approach matters differently, SDB.

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    6. PS SkyDiveBoy:

      Now that I think about it, I do recall reading somewhere that you had accepted a missionary position up in Seattle several years ago. How's that workin' out for ya?

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    7. Well, you're right, we did try it for awhile. We became pros at lasting.

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    8. Anyway, to get back to your question, the answer to Ward's puzzle was "Barbarella".

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    9. Oh. Was never too fonda that flick.

      Speaking of Jane, am I the only one who sees the irony in the fact that she plays the owner of a major national cable news outfit (ACN) on HBO's "Newsroom." Didn't a former husband of her's found CNN?

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    10. Crap, dude. I was signing in as you beat me to that lame joke. Sorry everybody.

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    11. Most Vietnam vets feel pretty strongly that she married the wrong Turner...(as in Ike).

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    12. I didn't even know CNN was lost.

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    13. He was the Turner of the Screw.

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    14. Very funny. Speaking of lost, apparently Paul Newman has gone missing. I bought a some spaghetti sauce yesterday and they had his picture on the jar.

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    15. For how long are you gonna milk that one?

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    16. SDB-
      You probably know of the four kinds of orgasm:
      1) The positive orgasm: "Oh yes. Oh yes."
      2) The negative orgasm: "Oh no. Oh no."
      3) The religious orgasm: "Oh God. Oh God."
      4) The fake orgasm: "Oh Skydiveboy. Oh Skydiveboy."

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    17. Nope, never heard that one. (4)

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    18. Which wife did you hear, "Oh Skydiveboy. Oh Skydiveboy" from?

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    19. SDB, Must a been Sheba cuz that was a good comeback

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    20. Thanks, RoRo. But did you get my proselytizing quip earlier? Not sure if it worked for anyone.

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    21. Not sure, all your words are well equipped but do you mean that Sheba could have said that, and been faking but she just did not say it to you?

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    22. No, earlier today re: missionary position.
      Let's say goodby to Sheba for now.

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    23. ok, we can cease our talk about Sheba although I am sure she was traveling from Egypt with a mission. Right now, after dealing with two unusual guys in a row, I am a pro at fasting

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  40. New puzzle is now up.

    Think of a familiar five-letter word in two syllables. Change the middle letter to the preceding letter of the alphabet, and you'll get a familiar five-letter word in three syllables. What words are these?

    I might need a lot of help answering this one.

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  41. The is a connection here to a line of banter we had in last week's puzzle blogging.

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  42. Obama would most likely get this one.

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  43. Excellent clue, SDB.

    I was gonna offer the clue that one of the words can be found in the Bible, but then I wondered if everybody would accept that. I understand that in the early centuries of Christianity, there was a council in which the canon of scripture was chosen in which the book of James made in into the New Testament by only ONE vote!

    I don't think they would've agreed that either of the words in the new puzzle's answer is in the Bible at all.

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    1. They didn't need to use a canon, when a sword would have done just as well.

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  44. There is also a (different) answer to this puzzle if you turn it around: Think of a familiar five-letter word in THREE syllables. Change the middle letter to the preceding letter of the alphabet, and you'll get a familiar five-letter word in TWO syllables. What words are these? One of these words also relates to a line of banter we had in last week's puzzle blogging.

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  45. I'll bet a few will have trouble solving this one in layman's terms.

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  46. Stop running this script?

    A script on this page is causing your web browser (IE8) to run slowly.

    :(

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  47. Here's a two-for-one Vigenere Cipher:

    For those of you who, with Will Shortz's puzzle and Jan's alternative puzzle, have solved one but are still stuck on the other; you can use one of the answers to get the key to the other.

    Either use the first word asked for in Will's puzzle as the key, in which case you'll get the answers to Jan's alternate puzzle, or use the first word that Jan asks for as the key, and you'll get the answers to the NPR puzzle.

    You can click here on Sharky's Vigenere Cipher and enter the following in the "Input:" field:

    PPDUY & PPCUY

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  48. The guy who got picked saw the P to R as the only choice. It took a dream to get me to that. I thought I to T as most likely, or even L to U. Do I think too hard?!!

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    1. I noticed that too. He wasn't all that smart. How about I to L and C to G?

      Delete

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