Sunday, March 26, 2017

NPR Sunday Puzzle (Mar 26, 2017): Kitchen Remodel

NPR Sunday Puzzle (Mar 26, 2017): Kitchen Remodel:
Q: Name two things found in a kitchen — one starting with G, the other starting with K. If you have the right ones, you can rearrange the letters to name two other things, one of them found in the kitchen starting with F, the other one probably found elsewhere in the house starting with K. What things are these?
Anyone have an answer not involving a brand name?
A: GRIDDLE + KNIFE --> FRIDGE + KINDLE

92 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.

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  2. I got an answer which works but it does have that trademark name, so maybe it is not what Will wanted. But I am not fired up enough about the puzzle to continue to hunt, so I am sending in that answer. ---Rob

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  3. Two of the words involve a brand name. Probably.

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  4. I couldn't have used my answer 10 years ago.

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    Replies
    1. Sure, you could have. It just would have referred to something else. (And, therefore, yes, Blaine.)

      Delete
  5. The item "found elsewhere" could have applications throughout the house, including the kitchen, bathroom, or even while enjoying the warmth of a wood-burning stove.

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  6. The item "probably found elsewhere" does not exclude the kitchen.

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  7. Another unsatisfying puzzle easily solved while still in bed. Not even worth the effort to come up with a hint.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. What exactly is your idea of a satisfying puzzle?

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    2. A puzzle that doesn't leave you empty after having solved it, and saying, "So what?" I enjoy a puzzle where something is gained in the end and you may have learned something interesting about the world we live in, or there is a feeling of being clever in solving it. I get none of this with most of the WS puzzles. Most of these are simply tedious and boring.

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    3. Thanks, clotheslover, I find that to be an acceptable reply. :-)

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    4. clotheslover,
      skydiveboy is perhaps too modest to mention his excellent “52-Card Poker Pick-up” puzzle with which he graced Puzzleria! a few years ago.
      It is truly a creative gem, in my opinion, that exceeds his criteria for “a satisfying puzzle.”

      LegoWhoComposesPuzzlesAboutFarting

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    5. Right. After 20 years of Sunday Puzzle, I'm becoming less inspired by insipid puzzles. It seems that the puzzles have become dumbed down (probably for mass appeal and more submissions). So, last year, I thought to myself: "I should submit a worthy puzzle." Are others focused on that? Is there a forum for Sunday Puzzle creation?
      Jeff S.

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    6. I have created and submitted "worthy" puzzles for years now, all with no reply, other than the automatic NPR response. Lego has used several of them after there was no response from WS. I no longer submit anything and have little respect for him as a puzzle maker.

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  8. One of the four answers to this week’s NPR puzzle was one of the answers to a puzzle that appeared on Puzzleria! sometime during the past five or six months.
    (Spoiler? Please weigh in, Blainesvillians. Thanks.)

    We will likely post some Rip-Offs of Will’s/Mike’s puzzle in the March 31st edition of Puzzleria!... but the following effort definitely will not be one of them:
    Name things found in a kitchen starting with G, and name one thing found in a kitchen starting with K. If you have the right ones, you can rearrange the letters to name two other things, one of them usually but not exclusively found in the bathroom starting with F, the other one describing what the thing usually found in the bathroom does, starting with R. What things are these?

    LegoWhoObservesThatOneOfTheFourWordsInWill’sPuzzleNecessarilyOccuredInOurAncestors'Kitchens

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    Replies
    1. cl,
      Close. Things found in the kitchen are graters. So, farting reeks, usually in the bathroom, but not exclusively.

      LegoWhoHasNeverBeenMoreProudOfAPuzzle!

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  9. I'm using one of these right now in my bedroom. It might be a kitchen item, then again it might not.

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  10. I couldn’t solve it without using the brand name but that doesn’t worry me very much. A Vette is still a thing even if it is a (colloquial) car model.

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  11. Ah, anagrams.
    In my world one of the words is only a verb.

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  12. I think I've got it. Although, I personally don't want to think about any of the items being used in a bathroom. No matter how tempting and convenient it might be!

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  13. Ray Kroc might have enjoyed this one!

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    Replies
    1. If Ray Kroc had named the restaurants after himself, the signature burger probably would not be called the Big Crock.

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    2. In addition to the Filet-o-fish he could have had the Crock-o-sh*t.

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    3. I saw part of the answer on Sunday morning while perusing their menu.

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  14. I just had to bring mine into the bathroom with me! I hate that I even had to admit it, but I look forward to anyone else's responses. I did wash my hands, in case you were wondering.

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    Replies
    1. No need to get defensive, though sometimes you can score points in doing so.

      Delete
  15. NOT A CLUE: Are we scrambling word G_____ to get one of the resulting words and then scrambling K_____ to get the other word?
    OR are we to combine the letters from G_____ and K_____, anagram them, and then form the two resultant words ?

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  16. For you logicians out there, try this HAT PUZZLE. Only if your logic fails you, click on the solution.

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    Replies
    1. I like the joke that inspired the puzzle, according to that website:

      Three logicians walk into a bar. The waitress asks, “Do you all want beer?”

      The first logician answers, “I do not know.”

      The second logician answers, “I do not know.”

      The third logician answers, “Yes.”

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    2. Yes, but was it a green beer or a blue beer?

      LegoSays"JustPutTheCoasterOnMyHeadPlease,Bartender,SoICanSolveThisLogicPuzzle"

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    3. This comment has been removed by the author.

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  17. SUGGESTED READING:

    Google the following:

    Noam Chomsky: Trump's First 100 Days Are Undermining Our Prospects for Survival

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    Replies
    1. Here's a link to the article. (Written by C. J. Polychroniou, which may be ironic, as 100 days isn't a lot of time.)

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  18. LIked Chomsky article. However, no suggestions on how to counteract what is going on in the WH.

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    1. I don't see Noam Chomsky as a strategist, but more as being a wake up call for humanity. You must identify the problem before you can solve it, and we have not reached the point of critical mass where enough of us even realize the danger we are all in. He sees it in a clear and unemotional way with his amazing knowledge of history and ability to analyze reality from his knowing facts. It is up to us to act on this information. Paul Revere sounded the alarm, but did not offer a solution.

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    2. SDB: Well spoken response. Thanks. I wish more people would read that article. Maybe he needs to get on a horse!

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    3. Noam Chomsky and his horse have been traveling the world most of his 88 years and you should know about him but those in power, including NPR, do not really want the truth known. You can find extensive video coverage of his activism via YouTube, his numerous books and articles. You might ask yourself why everyone knows who Rush Limbaugh is, but not the MIT professor considered my many to be the number one intellectual on the planet.

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    4. Noam's not so unknown; just a little deep for popular consumption. If you're going to put Noam on a figurative pedestal, you might as well put him on a real one.

      Nim Chimpsky was pretty intellectual, too, for a dumb ape.

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    5. My mother took at class from his father and raved about him.

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    6. jan,

      I want one each of Noam and Howard to grace my vast, expansive front lawn.

      As to Noam being "just a little deep for popular consumption." I don't disagree, and would also include Chris Hedges in that category, but not the late Howard Zinn along with other liberal intellectuals who are never invited to speak on NPR, although there is never a shortage of right wing think tank ideologues paraded before us on this supposedly fair and balanced forum. We cannot have a democracy when those who tell the truth are silenced.

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    7. Well, NPR will soon be deleted by Trump anyway. We need to haul out the old soap boxes.

      Delete
    8. In many ways NPR would be better if they didn't have government funding, it might make them less compelled to "interview" professional Right Wing flacks and retired generals so often. But it would probably be devastating for educational programs on PBS.

      I've seen Noam Chomsky talk a few times (inspirational), but I've only seen Nim Chimpsky (or his cohorts) on TV (hilarious).

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    9. I think we'll just be stuck with the Orange Wonder for a couple of years, max - if we are so lucky. 
      I am just pessimistic, since he was elected in the first place.

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    10. All you can do is "resist, insist, persist & enlist!"

      Delete
    11. Apparently they cut out the best parts, like where the quoot kid picks up a small, dark object off the lawn and asks, "Ok Gnome, can I eat this?" And the reply is, "Sure, but you should know it is not a Baby Ruth bar." Or where she asks if her husband is cheating?

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  19. Ah, English !....still able to warm the heart of an old man ( 74 years old ! )...that's way cool !

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    1. Kindle used to mean lighting a fire !.( half a nod to warmth/cooking ) and now it's also a noun !...hard to keep up with "modern usage" when you were raised on "hip" and "cool" ( way cool is a nod to fridgedaire = fridge)..(.I DO like to say "shutup" incredulously ! )

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  20. Here's another one: The meaning of a common English word becomes plural when an A is added at its start. What is the word? I will post answer tomorrow.

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    Replies
    1. Spoiler Alert (I owe Ron a few): this was the NPR puzzle on August 28, 2005, and a somewhat similar puzzle was used on January 2, 2011.

      Delete
    2. Good one, ron.
      I like your puzzle so much that I plan to run a few "Ripping Off ron On Blaine's Blog" puzzles in tomorrow's (Friday's) edition of Puzzleria!...
      If it is okay with you, of course.

      LegoWhoHopesToServeUpHisInaugural"ROrOBB"SlicesAnon

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  21. It concerns me, Paul. Thank you for linking to this wonderful site. I can use it to perhaps increase my word power!

    LegoTheVoraciousHasThisSomethingInsteadOnThisDiningRoomTableAndKitchenNookTable

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  22. GRIDDLE & KNIFE > FRIDGE & KINDLE

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  23. KNIFE, GRIDDLE -> FRIDGE, KINDLE

    >> I couldn't have used my answer 10 years ago.

    > Sure, you could have. It just would have referred to something else.

    kindle

    [kin-dl]

    verb (used with object), kindled, kindling.
    1.(of animals, especially rabbits) to bear (young); produce (offspring).

    verb (used without object), kindled, kindling.
    2. (of animals, especially rabbits) to give birth, as to a litter.

    noun
    3. a litter of kittens, rabbits, etc.

    Origin
    1175-1225; Middle English kindelen, v. use of kindel offspring, young, equivalent to kind- (Old English gecynd offspring; see kind2) + -el -le

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  24. I wrote that I had the trademark name in the answer, but "I am not fired up enough about the puzzle to continue." The trademark name is Kindle. ---Rob

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  25. "Fridge" originated in the 1920's and may have been a shortened version of Frigidaire.

    My response to cranberry about being defensive referred to William "the Fridge" Perry, an enormous defensive lineman for the Chicago Bears, who was occasionally brought in to score a touchdown on short plays.

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    Replies
    1. eco,
      I didn't expect such a cool post from you. Chilling!

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    2. I see.

      In addition to being Amana great weight, Perry stood at 6'-2". I guess you could say he was fair in height.

      I Maytag you with more.

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    3. eco:
      You beat me to it. About 15 minutes prior to your above post I was at the library and logged on to post: My fridge is Amana all seasons. However, the blog would not allow me to log in to post, so now I see you won by default. They do have de-faults in California, don't they? So you found my Coldspot, but I am looking for my cat. I think maybe Kelvinator. At least she didn't get Kitchenaids.

      Delete
  26. knife, griddle
    fridge, Kindle

    Last Sunday I said, “I couldn’t solve it without using the brand name but that doesn’t worry me very much. A Vette is still a thing even if it is a (colloquial) car model.” A Kindle is still an E-reader even though it’s a particular brand of E-reader.

    Interestingly, if you search dictionary.com for kindle, it’s all verbs until right near the very bottom. Then then have it as a noun and define it as a trademarked E-reader.

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  27. There are no griddles or e-readers (Kindle or otherwise) in this house. We have books and frying pans.

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  28. My hints:
    "One of the four answers to this week’s NPR puzzle was one of the answers to a puzzle that appeared on Puzzleria! sometime during the past five or six months..."
    In the # SEVEN puzzle of my "Ripping Off Shortz And Collins Slices: R.I.M.E. in the U.S.A." (Friday, March 17, 2017 Puzzleria!), I asked solvers to "Name a 6-letter Amazon tech product that is a collective term for a young feline mammal that appears in the lyrics of a Johnny Mathis hit song."
    The Amazon tech product is a Kindle. "Kindle," as jan pointed out, is a collective term for kittens, one of which appears in the lyrics of "Misty" sung by Johnny Mathis ("Look at me, I'm as helpless as a kitten up a tree...").

    LegoWhoSignedOffByObservingThatOneOfTheFourWordsInWill’sPuzzleNecessarilyOccuredInOurAncestors'Kitchens...AndOfCourseOurAncestorsOftenHadToKindleFiresToCookFood

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  29. I like the small k kindle answer.
    I didn't know that word when I asserted that one of the words (assuming large K Kindle is what WS wants) is not part of my world,
    I have had kindles of kittens and rabbits without knowing it, but only the kittens in the house.
    Interesting that all the definitions I found for this usage say: "kittens, rabbits, etc," but never say what animals fall under the "etc."

    How about this: "Gorsuch's nomination should be denied for the same reason as Garland's since both were made in the last year of a presidency."

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  30. GRIDDLE
    KNIFE
    FRIDGE (Brand name: Frigidaire.)
    KINDLE (Brand name: Amazon Kindle.)

    There is also a “kindle (litter) of kittens” which could probably be found somewhere in a house.

    The meaning of a common English word becomes plural when an A is added at its start. What is the word?

    Answer: YES>>>AYES I did not realize this was a WS repeat!

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    Replies
    1. Great minds think alike, ron... you puzzlemeister you! I have very much appreciated the several clever and creative puzzles you have contributed to Puzzleria!overthe past few years.
      I still plan to run some Rip-Offs of your "YES>>>>AYES" puzzle on tomorrow's Puzzleria!

      LegoLamentsThatTheSolutionsToHisRipOffPuzzlesWillNotBeSynonymousPairsHowever(AsTheyAreElegantlyInron'sPuzzle)

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  31. Too busy enjoying my grandson to post earlier today.
    Knife, Griddle, Fridge, Kindle.

    My R2D2 comment was a reference to R2D2 being an android...and the Kindle's operating system being Android.

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  32. It was tough cluing this in without giving it away. That's why I used the McDonald's hint. I was referring to the McGriddle sandwiches.

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  33. GRIDDLE and KNIFE, FRIDGE and KINDLE
    I use my Kindle to post on this blog and listen to music, among its many, many uses. I too had forgotten about the "kindle" that means a litter of kittens. Sometimes I have brought it in the bathroom with me, but only when I don't want to miss a podcast, but I really have to go.

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  34. So, did anyone not have an answer involving a brand name?

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  35. My hint involved the fact that a Kindle is not just a device, but also an app for iOS and Android.

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  36. A discussion of Kindles being used in bathrooms from days gone by. My comments revolved around the ideas of water in a glass vs. water on a glass(mirror). "Condensation" is the specialty of the Reader's Digest.

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  37. My clues -
    "Piece of cake" referred to griddlecakes.
    Reference to prior puzzle - "Fridge" + "I dare" = Fridgidaire".

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    Replies
    1. I inferred that the reference to the prior puzzle involved reading on a Kindle...

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    2. KNIFE, GRIDDLE >>> FRIDGE, KINDLE

      I got there but it was a meh moment. . .so no clues from me this week.

      We are snuggled in for a major spring snowstorm tonight into tomorrow with lots of moisture and big flakes. Yeah! This is not an April Fool's Day joke (we hope).

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    3. Well, yeah. That snow never materialized. Just wetness.

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  38. This week's Puzzleria! is now uploaded.
    We feature a wonderfully clever and fantastically fun puzzle created by Pat J. Berry ("cranberry") that involves single-named entertainers.

    Also, we offer up seven rip-offs of ron's "YES>>>AYES" puzzle (see his Thu Mar 30, 03:16:00 PM PDTpost on this blog).

    Plus:
    * three puzzles that riff-off and rip-off Shortz,
    * a challenge requiring captions of critters, and
    * a numismatic conundrum.

    Go to Blaine's PUZZLE LINKS and click on "Joseph Young's Puzzleria!"

    LegoSaysTheseFourteenBrainTeasersCanTideYouSmartSolversOverForThr48HoursOrSoBeforeWillShortzSpringsHisNextChallengeOnUs

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  39. Late to the party, but Griddle/Knife /Fridge/Kindle. It bugs me when I'm using a public restroom and 2 separate ladies are having 2 seperate conversations on their phones, all while taking care of business. Personally, I have boycotted all mobile device use in the bathroom, and I think others ought to as well. Honestly, hearing a flush on the other end of a phone conversation is the worst. Also,I feel that screen time use out of control. In fact, I am sitting outside by a pool right now in sunny Florida and well over half of the kids and adults are bowing their heads to the screen. They look like praying robots.

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    1. I couldn't agree more! And that is why I swore off using the women's restrooms and have returned to the men's restrooms.

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  41. Next week's challenge: This week's challenge comes from listener David Edelheit of Oyster Bay, N.Y. Think of four 4-letter proper names that are all anagrams of each other. Two of them are first names — one male and one female. The other two are well-known geographical names. What names are these?

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  43. I can get a third geographical name if I can singularize a common plural.

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  44. My wife and niece and I just found a second, completely different answer.

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  45. This comment has been removed by the author.

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  46. Haven't we seen this one before? I seem to remember working with the same four letters in the past.

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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.