Thursday, October 31, 2013

NPR Sunday Puzzle (Oct 27, 2013): Beer Anagram

NPR Sunday Puzzle (Oct 27, 2013): Beer Anagram:
Q: Name a brand of beer. Rearrange the letters to name an activity often associated with beer.
Maybe LAGER ALES are consumed at a REGAL SALE?

Edit: REGAL is a hint to King and SALE is something you should buy Now. King Now rhymes with my answer.
A: TSING TAO --> TOASTING

128 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 a chain of thought, or an internet search) 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.

    ReplyDelete
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    1. Blaine, I guess we could have expected the canned image. ;-)

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    2. Did I just hear the sound of gas escaping? :-)

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  2. I have a possible answer that reminds me of Key West.

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  3. I had a full breakfast this morning.

    Chuck

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    1. How many teapots did you use?

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    2. When in Germany, do as the Germans do. But how do you rearrange "frühstück" to spell a beer brand?

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    3. Chuck
      Perhaps you should wait before playing a puzzle.

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  5. After last two weeks' puzzle which I felt was best left to the computer experts among us, I was hoping that this week would be a challenge amenable to all of us. But, alas, I am not a beer drinker. Still, I shouldn't complain, since I have the answer.

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  6. I am wondering if Will is a secret Red Sox fan with a nod to Beer'd Land...

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  7. I now have the answer, but for an instant thought I had it earlier from a similar beer, but the activity word does not have that alternate spelling. Too bad, because it would work perfectly and with humor as well.

    Here in Seattle it was predicted we would have sunshine, but it has been raining all morning. Kind of fitting though.

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  9. My, my, there is such a large group from which to pick. Perhaps we could gather our minds together for this one.

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  10. I went to a great bar around the corner that had a wall of beer bottles, but not this one.

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    1. You mean it could not fit 100?

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    2. I guess that old song would be a good clue for this?

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  11. This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.

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    1. This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.

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    2. Oh the shame of it! I sure hope they make rhubarb beer.

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  12. Think I'll drink some Keystones before I deliver the keynotes.

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    1. Well in Nebraska they say this is a combine nation.

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  14. Who you calling a lush? Who you calling a liar? Why, I'll....

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  15. Bvrrk bmpdxb usksz'x inqki codo; A'f oliysury B'tc lgvq xg cceo ot.

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    Replies
    1. Inane ballet almost anagrams to Ballantine.
      Guessing almost anagrams to Guinness.
      "Junk it" sounds somewhat like taking a trip to China.

      TIRE GAMES anagrams to Stegmaier
      Rolling a tire down a hill wasn't as much fun as it seemed like at first.

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  16. Phonetically, I was once a victim of this activity. Then I had to foot the bill!

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  17. I launch into a speil every time I drink Piels.

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  18. Old Will will probably pound a few Strohs.

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    Replies
    1. Though, having converted to metric, Will can be seen kilogramming them, I expect.

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    2. Wonder when or if our fearless liter will chime in to the blog.

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    3. Barring any gram-matical issues...

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    4. No quart-er asked, none given.

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    5. I can't take any more of this dram-a.

      Or Brahma, for that matter.

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    6. Brahma Care! Is that a Kenyan beer? I don't MEAN to FOAM-ent obstructionist discourse, but just want to know the Re-PUB-li-CAN truth sans any TWIST-OFF CAP-ping.

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    7. I MEANT Brahma Chopp. My mistake, obviously.

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    8. Okay Paul, you've earned your Chopps, and please pop a Chopp for me while you're at it. And enough of this Bull. Let's get Bock to business on the double.

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    9. S'cuse me, who gets to say who'se earned anything?

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    10. St. Pauli Girl, of course. Now where are those brewskies?

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    11. Maybe that should be who's.

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    12. Now don't be stingy, Paul. We're all friends here.

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    13. But I think it's a valid question:
      Who gets to say who earns anything?

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    14. I hope you're not going to say Guinness.

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    15. I had planned to say. or allude to Guinness, on Thursday, but not in this context.

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    16. He wears shorts when he drinks Strohs.

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  19. What do you suppose could have inspired Will to come up with this puzzle last week?

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  20. "Texting US Senators" is one "u" short of a possible answer!

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    1. Appropro since some senators are one flower short of a rose garden. I remember way BACK when I danced in a Seattle Children's Festival, I saw a can of Carling's Black Label which I had not seen in years (maybe not produce on east coast anymore??) anyway I remembered the jingle associated with it and could not get it out of my head for the rest of the trip. Also, people actually fed me the puzzle answer with an egg while I was pregnant. Yuck!

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    2. Is it "strange unisex stout" or "sanest unisex rotgut" ?

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  21. One should know that the result of too many Dos Equis will keep you from being accepted into MENSA.

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    1. Shouldn't that be: 'Juan' should know...?

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    2. An Ay for an Ay, and a tooth for the Tooth Fairy. And while we're waiting, I'll have another Pauliner Salvatore, bitte.

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    3. When I worked in Sonora, Mexico, for six months it was great to have a Dos XX after geologic field mapping. Never saw any XY on the shelves, though. ;-)

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    4. Nothing wrong with that, just as long as you were not also caught geologic field napping.

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    5. Pero, no, señor, mapping and napping went hand in hand at siesta time.

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    6. mY X XX put III XYs on the shelf :-)

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    7. zeke creek, at least you knew it wasn't you!

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    8. Dos Equis >> Soused IQ (which at least hampers your chances of entry into Mensa

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  22. The cause of and solution for all of life's problems.

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  23. I couldn't come up with the answer during my long run yesterday, but I did come up with an alternate puzzle. Name a different brand of beer. Move two letters two letters forward in the alphabet (for example, A becomes a C). Rearrange the new letters to name an activity often associated with beer.

    While waiting for my computer to connect this evening, an answer came to me.

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  24. I need both of my Hamm’s to open the Schmidt house door so my Heineken Schlitz and I can Tecate Wizz.

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  25. I vote for NEGRO MODELO and OGLE DOORMEN.

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    Replies
    1. Whew! I thought I was the only one.

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    2. I might also argue that I enjoy a NEWCASTLE when I CLAW TEENS, but that might get me thrown in the slammer.

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    3. You might be ok with it tonight, eighdreeuhn, at the haunted house. Happy Halloween, everyone!

      Word (Rosalind Franklin) Woman

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  26. Was Sisyphus drinking Rolling Rock while Rock Rolling?

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    1. Take the names of two U.S. states, then re-arrange their combined letters to name two other U.S. states.

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    2. Bob, that was the puzzle on April 1, 2007.

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  27. This comment has been removed by the author.

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    1. Itchy trigger finger, eh? Down, boy!

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    2. Nope. I had to choose a profile and log in again. I wish I knew why this happens. And when it does it won't let me out unless I post something such as a blank space even.

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  28. TSINGTAO > TOASTING

    My Hint:

    “Here in Seattle it was predicted we would have sunshine, but it has been raining all morning. Kind of fitting though.”

    tSinging in The Rain.

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    1. In trying to interpret this hint, I happened upon the bit of trivia that Tsingtao appeared in 'Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind' (as well as 'Blade Runner' and "Gran Torino').

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  29. Tsingtao, toasting

    Last Sunday I said, “I had a full breakfast this morning.” It included toast.

    Chuck

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    1. I was going to ask you what kind of plates you served your toast on? e.g. china, but thought that may be too obvious

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    2. TSINGTAO, the number one selling Chinese beer in the U.S.

      It anagrams to TOASTING, “an activity often associated with beer.”

      When I responded to Chuck with "teapots" I knew Chuck was referring to "toast" as part of a "full breakfast." Teapots contains the letters of toast.

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  30. > Who you calling a lush? Who you calling a liar? Why, I'll....

    TSINGTAO (Qingdao) means "lush island". Another name for the area is Qindao, "string instrument island", which I figure is close enough to "lyre isle".

    > What do you suppose could have inspired Will to come up with this puzzle last week?

    He was in China (Beijing, not Qingdao) for the World Puzzle Championship (which he founded in 1992).

    > Color clue: Pink

    Raise Your Glass. (I thought it would be too obvious if I labeled it a musical clue.) (But maybe I should've been more cryptic, and said "Green," as I'm color-blind...)

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  31. There is a beer, SINGHA, that I at first thought might be the answer, but HASING is not HAZING, the correct spelling. It would have worked and been an even better answer, I think.

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  32. Replies
    1. Very nice alternative answer, ben. You had me fooled into thinking you were just Guessin'.

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    2. My clue was: "Oh Danny Boy," sung by the crooners!

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  33. My original comment referred to not whining, because when I had the answer of TOASTING, I was hung up on the idea of toasting with wine instead of beer.

    I must apologize for my unfortunate comment in Chinese (which was Google's translation of "What the hell?"), which was in response to a posting of the answer, Tsingtao, by someone else. (At the time I may have been less hung up than hung over - I was at a family Oktoberfest that day!)

    But for future reference, what should be the proper course of action when someone, presumably mistakenly, posts the answer ahead of the deadline?

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    1. And of course my reference to the US states' anagram was just a silly comment on the ROLLING ROCK => ROCK ROLLING comment.

      I didn't remember where I had heard that one, and I certainly wasn't claiming to have made it up. Should have known that someone here would be able to cite chapter and verse!

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    2. Waterboarding for a first offense.

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  34. My alternate puzzle above was: Name a different brand of beer. Move two letters two letters forward in the alphabet (for example, A becomes a C). Rearrange the new letters to name an activity often associated with beer.

    PABST, moving P to R and B to D and anagram to DARTS.

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    1. PBR is also brp, an activity often associated with beer.

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  35. I submitted Guinness Stout - Sunset Outings

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  36. My clues:
    "...great bar....with wall of beers..." referenced the Great Wall in China.

    Phonetic clue referred to "toe sting", and "footing" the bill.

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  37. Didn't get beyond "Guinness Extra Stout" minus "u" => Texting US Senators.

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  38. TSINGTAO >>> TOASTING

    My carefully crafted, home-brewed clue referred to Japanese-born Red Sox relief pitcher (but not of beer;-)) Koji Uehara. I was hoping the Japanese reference to another Asian beer, from China, was oblique and obscure enough. After last night's Sox in Six win, "Koji, Uehara my sunshine!"

    Also, I was sure it was a Chinese beer because Will didn't talk about his trip to China!

    Englishman, the Sunset Outings is inspired. I hope Will mentions it on Sunday.

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    1. I had a tough time with this one but have been submitting for about twenty years. However, when much younger, I would often hike to an English country pub and enjoy the Sunset while sipping a Beer or glass of Guinness. I have also been fortunate enough to have met with Will, it was on the evening prior to his receipt of Doctor of Letters at Wabash College Indiana. I currently reside in the USA but have traveled extensively and have rarely missed submitting an answer. But still await a call. I'm now planning a move to Malta where I'll change my ID to Maltaman

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    2. E/Mman, join the awaiting club!

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    3. Might I say how much this group feels like home?!

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    4. WW, You're referring, of course, to that crazy uncle in the attic.

      Just preppin' you for T-day.

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  39. POLO Beer from Illinois scrambles to POOL, an activity often associated to beer.

    "Wait before puzzling" refers to the practice of waiting to enter the POOL after a big breakfast.

    large group (POOL) to pick from...

    Gather our minds (POOL).

    "Right here in Louisville...", "Right here in River City...POOL" from The Music Man.

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    1. zeke creek, I had scrambled eggs like that once: sunny side up with a corner flipped over. ;-)

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  40. Guiness Stout - sings out tunes

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    1. Bryan, if you were to spell Guinness correctly it might qualify.

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    2. Actually, "sings out tunes" needs both of the n's in "Guinness"!

      BTW, I wonder how many followers of this blog are, like me, willing to admit to never having heard of Tsing Tao beer before yesterday, when the answers started rolling in?

      Has anyone here ever seen an ad for it?

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    3. Tsingtao (ONE WORD) beer is fairly well known. See:

      https://www.tsingtaobeer.com/

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    4. Oops, made a typo. I guess I was having trouble handling my beer...

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  41. My hint, "reminds me of Key West", was for the answer:
    GUINNESS STOUT -> SUNSET OUTINGS.

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  42. Wow! Not being a beer gourmet I was so wrong. I went with Guinness Stout - sings out tunes. I thought the teapot hint was "I'm a little teapot short and stout" and the 99 bottles of beer on the wall confirmation. Wow, if my email was chosen would I have qualified? Anyway, the Caribbean party song was "be Happy , #$#$#$ (censored), When you finish, Drink a Guinness" It was very popular in St. Croix in the 70's. People there made a tonic when I was prego out of Guinness, raw egg, and nutmeg spice. No one talked about avoiding alcohol at that time.

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    1. RoRo, " sings out tunes " seems legit, if a little awkward! The tonic sounds awful, pregnant or not.

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    2. These days, your GYN wouldn't let you have the raw egg. Pregnant women are considered in the same category as the immune-compromised. And with the report that came out the other day about so many imported spices being contaminated with salmonella, you'd probably have to skip the nutmeg, too. I'd stick to the Guiness -- It's Good For You!, as they say.

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  43. I always belt out tunes when I drink (and when I don't drink) One time there were drunken Italian sailors in a restaurant in St Croix and they asked If I knew Italian. I said only one Christmas Carol and we rocked that song "o bambino, mio Divino....". My boyfriend was not too happy and there were no other patrons to mind.

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  44. If you wait until later tomorrow morning to reset your clocks, you'll have an extra hour to work on next week's puzzle.

    According to my railfan brother-in-law, and various web sources, when clocks are turned back an hour, Amtrak trains actually stop wherever they happen to be and wait an hour to keep to their published schedules.

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    1. They train all year for this. What is even more interesting is when we go on DLS time and they have to speed up in order not to fall behind schedule. I wonder who is keeping track of this. Anyway this only happens a couple times a year.

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  45. Next week's challenge from the Emmy-winning TV comedy writer Mike Reiss: A famous actress and a famous director share the same last name, although they are unrelated. The first name of one of these is a classic musical. The first name of the other is an anagram of a classic musical. Who are they?

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    1. Should be an easy one for Word Woman. A New Testament phrase comes to mind, too.

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    2. Way too easy even though I never heard of one of them.

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For NPR puzzle posts, don't post the answer or any hints that could lead to the answer before the deadline (usually Thursday at 3pm ET). If you know the answer, 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 assist with solving. You can openly discuss your hints and the answer after the deadline. Thank you.