tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5730391.post5331328323312416514..comments2024-03-27T18:57:50.424-07:00Comments on Blaine's Puzzle Blog: NPR Sunday Puzzle (March 27, 2016): Both man and woman...Blainehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06379274325110866036noreply@blogger.comBlogger158125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5730391.post-58141365331402123542016-04-03T06:37:46.469-07:002016-04-03T06:37:46.469-07:00Or should I say awkword ;-)Or should I say awkword ;-)Word Womanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15491300694641304112noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5730391.post-81972815954817832682016-04-03T06:37:11.481-07:002016-04-03T06:37:11.481-07:00awkwardawkwardWord Womanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15491300694641304112noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5730391.post-37049284183769746692016-04-03T06:36:08.831-07:002016-04-03T06:36:08.831-07:00I admit I wrote a little awk script to solve this ...I admit I wrote a little awk script to solve this one. But what was really embarrassing was when I told my wife the puzzle, and she got this distant look in her eyes, counted on her fingers for a second or two, and just announced one of the answers.janhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05927176621372532733noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5730391.post-72685670044779462912016-04-03T06:35:51.577-07:002016-04-03T06:35:51.577-07:00Aah, found a better one.Aah, found a better one.Paulhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11114786604125384958noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5730391.post-5609674005625962872016-04-03T06:30:49.996-07:002016-04-03T06:30:49.996-07:00It all seems a little fuzzy to me maybe if I went ...It all seems a little fuzzy to me maybe if I went back to schoolzeke creekhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12559686966843380823noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5730391.post-33887348701906371042016-04-03T05:57:35.581-07:002016-04-03T05:57:35.581-07:00Where there's a will there's a wayWhere there's a will there's a wayzeke creekhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12559686966843380823noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5730391.post-66150164783754653342016-04-03T05:50:58.714-07:002016-04-03T05:50:58.714-07:00Nice job, Berf!Nice job, Berf!janhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05927176621372532733noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5730391.post-15126217249338778482016-04-03T05:47:32.953-07:002016-04-03T05:47:32.953-07:00This comment has been removed by the author.Paulhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11114786604125384958noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5730391.post-33790801067748797922016-04-03T05:47:26.007-07:002016-04-03T05:47:26.007-07:00I have one answer that I don't like very much,...I have one answer that I don't like very much, but I like this puzzle.Paulhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11114786604125384958noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5730391.post-59852317417614748562016-04-03T05:31:11.866-07:002016-04-03T05:31:11.866-07:00This comment has been removed by the author.janhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05927176621372532733noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5730391.post-90019813818247982472016-04-03T05:18:20.194-07:002016-04-03T05:18:20.194-07:00I've got three answers, two of which appear to...I've got three answers, two of which appear together in a term used in information display.<br />janhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05927176621372532733noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5730391.post-55358222195305398812016-04-03T04:48:05.120-07:002016-04-03T04:48:05.120-07:00Next week's challenge: Take the word EASY: Its...Next week's challenge: Take the word EASY: Its first three letters — E, A and S — are the fifth, first, and nineteenth letters, respectively, in the alphabet. If you add 5 + 1 + 19, you get 25, which is the value of the alphabetical position of Y, the last letter of EASY.<br /><br />Can you think of a common five-letter word that works in the opposite way — in which the value of the alphabetical positions of its last four letters add up to the value of the alphabetical position of its first letter?janhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05927176621372532733noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5730391.post-15907098321576681772016-04-02T19:42:12.701-07:002016-04-02T19:42:12.701-07:00What I like about Barnes_Durco's "hymnal&...What I like about Barnes_Durco's "hymnal" solution is the contemporaneousness. I suspect that "Nellie" is the most common girl's name in 19th century songs (or a close second to Mary). And, in 1803, if a household had two books, the second one was a hymnal, which was a small book of sacred poetry with no music. The minister would announce the hymn and, separately, the hymn tune that matched the meter. For "Amazing Grace" in 1803, it was most likely "Auld Lang Syne" for the tune. 4-3-4-3 is called "common meter" for a reason. ("House on the Rising Sun" is most famously the old tune that goes with Amazing Grace.)<br /><br />I digress, but my point is that a hymnal was a small, important, affordable book. Thus him+Nell=hymnal is a delightful answer in hindsight, especially as we approach the "Year of Hindsight," 2020.DanAxtellhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10875400239413947054noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5730391.post-36933539541158600522016-04-02T18:50:41.078-07:002016-04-02T18:50:41.078-07:00It was fun, Dan Axtell, and it had us bantering an...It was fun, Dan Axtell, and it had us bantering and exchanging ideas more than in awhile. . .Word Womanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15491300694641304112noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5730391.post-28263179134998072582016-04-02T18:06:08.129-07:002016-04-02T18:06:08.129-07:00To be fair, the Master stated plainly that this wa...To be fair, the Master stated plainly that this was an experiment and not a typical puzzle:<br /><b>"I'd like to see if the collective brainpower of NPR listeners can be brought to bear to clear up this mystery."</b><br />I'm easily flattered, but I think Will Shortz is coy only in puzzle design. The Master enlisted our help with this archeological shard of a puzzle. I had fun and I'll try to help again the next time he asks.DanAxtellhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10875400239413947054noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5730391.post-19622550719783305762016-04-02T14:55:06.030-07:002016-04-02T14:55:06.030-07:00Ingenious in my book.Ingenious in my book.Paulhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11114786604125384958noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5730391.post-65241535839625060222016-04-02T14:44:10.227-07:002016-04-02T14:44:10.227-07:00Not in defense of Dr. S.
Perhaps as a character wi...<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NP9iOqdxS8c" rel="nofollow">Not in defense of Dr. S.<br />Perhaps as a character witness.</a>Paulhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11114786604125384958noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5730391.post-17332833470646554302016-04-02T14:43:42.970-07:002016-04-02T14:43:42.970-07:00I submitted ``I.'' I don't see how ``...I submitted ``I.'' I don't see how ``ruler'' naturally involves a rebus (I do see how it's a man, a woman, and goes to school). But ``pupil'' to ``eye'' to ``I'' does seem, to me, the kind of thing one might be expected to deduce from the riddle. Granted Will did not say that the riddle is a rebus. But his original source does, so if he's looking for a solution to the riddle as originally presented, seems to me it should be a rebus.<br /><br />Here's what I submitted: My answer is ``I.'' The London Magazine, Or, Gentleman's Monthly Intelligencer, Vol. XXVIII, For the Year 1759, page 677, has the rebus: ``I am both man and woman too, And go to school as good boys do.'' That journal, Vol XXIX, For the Year 1760, page 153, has the solution: ``The man and woman's name is I, Their son's the same, and so good by.'' To expand on the published answer, ``[I] go to school'' suggests ``pupil'' which suggests ``eye,'' a homophone for ``I.'' I think this is the chain that makes the riddle a rebus, because rebuses are supposed to involve a picture that suggests a word, often phonetically. A URL that will get you to either the 1759 or 1760 volume is http://onlinebooks.library.upenn.edu/webbin/serial?id=londonmag. For either volume, select the volume and put the page number in the ``Jump'' box at the top, and this will take you to the proper page. The rebus and the solution are at the very bottom of the respective pages. These predate the 1803 book ``The Citizen Poets of Boston: A Collection of Forgotten Poems, 1789-1820.'' I do not know whether there are earlier appearances of this rebus. <br />PellGuyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02313494428213371983noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5730391.post-72444294807241546722016-04-02T08:24:09.959-07:002016-04-02T08:24:09.959-07:00It is kind of neat how everyone has a different ta...It is kind of neat how everyone has a different take on this. I think we have this pretty well covered, which is what WS had in mind. (I still favor "I", though) Aye,aye!!68Chargerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08752278586155221236noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5730391.post-43146597414339716702016-04-02T06:07:05.748-07:002016-04-02T06:07:05.748-07:00I submtted him+Nell = hymnalI submtted him+Nell = hymnalBarnes_Durcohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17075302911008163089noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5730391.post-65793405658036969642016-04-01T17:02:02.011-07:002016-04-01T17:02:02.011-07:00No more surprised than eye.No more surprised than eye.skydiveboyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17174073226290431753noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5730391.post-3479812798509237792016-04-01T16:53:25.768-07:002016-04-01T16:53:25.768-07:00I think there must be somewhere over 1000 Sunday p...I think there must be somewhere over 1000 Sunday puzzles in the history of this endeavor. <br />So my putting it in the lowest 10% (see above) now seems generous. <br />I can't think of 20 or even 10 worse challenges, which puts it in the lowest 1% or 2%.<br />When has there been less agreement as to an "answer?"<br />I think there are four or more offerings with serious backing. <br />If I have read the comments right, Berf (a first time poster?) was the on-air contestant and told us Wee Willy wanted "ruler."<br />A discovered contemporary answer seems to be "I."<br />I think Lego is going for "pupil."<br />SDB and I are leaning toward "teacher."<br />There are various fishy offerings. <br />Sunday's show will be the perfect time for there to be a doctor in the house, one of enigmatology of course.<br />I think all of us should be comfortable with his precise and brilliant explanation. But I'll be surprised if it happens. Mendo Jimhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06481821676197739907noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5730391.post-55772691566131692402016-04-01T12:31:53.702-07:002016-04-01T12:31:53.702-07:00Careful guys, too much gropethink can only lead to...Careful guys, too much gropethink can only lead to trouble...<br /><br />To the puzzle, as the original 1759 answer was "I", "I" must retract my early statement about the "clever" Brits.ecoarchitecthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02824602705492756728noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5730391.post-34192731441113042332016-04-01T11:59:41.244-07:002016-04-01T11:59:41.244-07:00It is a straightforward word puzzle involving some...It is a straightforward word puzzle involving some math/position of letter in the alphabet. Sadly, there are at least 4 correct answers.Berfhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15788262186398438905noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5730391.post-19120196674621879522016-04-01T11:18:42.811-07:002016-04-01T11:18:42.811-07:00I just uploaded Puzzleria! a few hours ago.
We ha...I just uploaded <a href="http://puzzleria.blogspot.com/2016/04/the-mystery-of-missing-d-backward.html?showComment=1459532062427#c899430081646699926" rel="nofollow">Puzzleria!</a> a few hours ago.<br /><br />We have a great collegiate football rivalry puzzle created by patjberry. That’s all the reason you need to visit us.<br /><br />But there are also:<br />1. A Canada puzzle<br />2. A fast food menu item puzzle<br />3. A biblical puzzle<br />4. A current entertainment event puzzle with a predatory twist<br />5. Three “Ripping Off Shortz” puzzles, along with my explanation about why I think “pupil” is the best answer to Will’s offering this week<br />6. A palindromic big game/crying critter puzzle.<br /><br />LegoPleaseDropByForABite(WeDon’tBite)<br />legolambdahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18081014756741740081noreply@blogger.com