Q: Think of an animal whose name contains an O. Change the O to an H, and rearrange the result to name another animal. What animals are these?Hint: Beautifull Desaster
An image search for "Antelope Elephant" came up with this image on DeviantArt by BeautifullDesaster.
A: ANTELOPE -O +H --> ELEPHANT
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.
ReplyDeleteYou 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.
Bonus point: Add another letter to the first animal and you get a homonym for something to eat.
ReplyDeleteDaveJ, that reminds me of Mel Gibson.
ReplyDeleteI solved this puzzle last night at a restaurant that was open late.
An Indian Goat sat down on the ghat and said, "By what tools might I overcome my sloth? Why, I have my great smart phone with a killer app. But the answer it suggests may only get me burned."
ReplyDeleteProbably not the right answer, nor the one others are suggesting.
I will not be discouraged by Blaine's disapproval of my words. I am the master of my fate:
ReplyDeleteI am the captain of my soul.
Tommy Boy: interesting coincidence: look right.
Tommy Boy, were you there with friends or was it just one plate?
ReplyDeleteI have a possible answer that that can be changed to
ReplyDeletetwo vegetables by rearranging the letters of one word and adding a letter to the other. But I have no idea if it relates to any of the previous comments, as I understand none of the clues!
I don't know if I'm on the right path with my answer but the first animals' name seldom is heard.
ReplyDeleteI had the second animal, but I forgot what it was.
ReplyDeleteJan, very elegant observation.
ReplyDeleteDAPF, I was alone, the food was to go and I reheated it at home on the stove.
What's gray and sings ?
ReplyDeleteriddle clue: What did the melon say to her unwed daughter when she wanted to run off to Vegas with a cucucumber?
ReplyDeleteMy radio was acting up this morning when Will was giving this week’s solve-at-home puzzle on the air so I wasn’t completely sure I heard it right. However, after I noted the written version here I found it to be one of the more appealing puzzles in recent weeks.
ReplyDeleteChuck
With the range of possible answers, I didn't want to play. But as much as I tried to pretend this puzzle didn't exist, I couldn't ignore it.
ReplyDeleteReminds me of one of the geographical features of the Great Salt Lake.
ReplyDeleteI am reminded of something my mother did before I was able to intervene.
ReplyDeleteThis is a puzzle that may bug some people.
ReplyDelete@dave J as for the second - one bite at a time
ReplyDeleteBob Kerfuffle's comment came close geographically to giving a clue to a second good solution (probably irrelivant).
ReplyDeleteIf you replace the o in pigeon you get two other animals: "pig" and "hen".
ReplyDeleteMusical clue: Henry Mancini
ReplyDeleteI think Tommy Boy's already given us a musical clue, almost.
ReplyDeleteHenry Mancini led me down the wrong path. But after a few drinks, I began to see the right pink.
ReplyDeletejan, I didn't realize that until after I posted it.
ReplyDeleteChuck, I'm wondering if you speak Hebrew. Because if you do, your clue spoke to me.
ReplyDeleteGod can remove any obstacles you may be experiencing in the solving of this puzzle.
ReplyDelete@sdb was that your mother or her sibling? did you say what you meant and mean what you said?
ReplyDeleteThere is a second possible solution, slightly more obscure but not terribly so. It has exactly half the number of letters as the solution you are all hinting at.
ReplyDeleteRoRo:
ReplyDeleteI said exactly what I meant.
Name the state song of Kansas.
ReplyDeletebenmar12001:
ReplyDeleteI'm not sure, but is it LOLA by the KINKS?
If not please hum a few bars for us.
By my estimation, a few of the literary and musical references here are a bit on the nose. I know emotions are running high but please, everyone, try not to get too carried away.
ReplyDeletePlannedChaos:
ReplyDeleteI will second that; I could not agree more. Also, I like your clever hint.
SDB:
ReplyDeleteTry Roy Rogers/Gene Autry!
Thanks to the recent hints, I now have another solution, and understand Dave J's homonym comment.
ReplyDeleteYou can also replace two letters in either word and rearrange to get another food item.
As an oceanographer I still prefer my original short
answer, which I think is the same one that michael202 is thinking of.
Put up some hints on last week's puzzle.
ReplyDeleteClick here
Anyone available for a test solve?
ReplyDeleteI'm just about to print and mail out our Annual Christmas Puzzle 2011 but I was hoping I could get some of you to do a test solve. Let me know if the instructions are clear enough, how easy/difficult the clues are, approximately how long it takes, etc.
Any feedback, suggestions for wording changes or other improvements will be welcomed. I have a feeling this is an easy/medium level puzzle and that is what we are aiming for. Nothing too easy, but definitely not something that will frustrate. Let us know your thoughts.
Thanks,
-=Blaine, Felicia and family=-
I could try it. I am the lower rung of this prestigious think tank. So I could add diversity. Do you need my email or something?
ReplyDelete@RoRo, just download the PDF in the link and try it out. Feel free to post your comments here. Or if you want to send something directly, mail me at nprfan(at)penguin(dot)e4ward(dot)com.
ReplyDeleteBlaine,
ReplyDeleteI think the puzzle is clear. It shouldn't frustrate anyone, as you are always making some progress. I timed myself - 15 minutes for me.
ANTELOPE & ELEPHANT
ReplyDeleteMy Clues:
"I am reminded of something my mother did before I was able to intervene."
My mother eloped many years before I was born. RoRo seemed to think I might have meant my aunt, but there was no aunt.
"This is a puzzle that may bug some people."
Now, here we have an insect and it could even be an ant.
"God can remove any obstacles you may be experiencing in the solving of this puzzle."
No, I did not lose my mind and become a bible thumper. This is hinting at Ganesh, aka Ganesha, the ubiquitous Hindu God that has the head of an elephant. This god is known for removing obstacles.
On Sunday I wrote: “My radio was acting up this morning when Will was giving this week’s solve-at-home puzzle on the air so I wasn’t completely sure I heard it right. However, after I noted the written version here I found it to be one of the more appealing puzzles in recent weeks.”
ReplyDeleteNOTE + PEAL anagrams to ANTELOPE.
Chuck
I knew my answer was not the one others had!
ReplyDeleteI was thinking ORCA -- CHAR, (They are both animals, one even a mammal!) clued in my post thusly:
(Goat -- ghat and tools -- sloth -- Two non-answers that followed the mechanics of the challenge.)
"great smart phone with a killer app" cluing ORCA, "may only get me burned" cluing CHAR.
@sdb I thought you probably meant your mom but was playing off of ant for aunt. I also quoted Dr. Seuss "I meant what I said and I said what I meant an elephant's faithful 100%" - Horton Hatches the Egg. Also, Dave J got the homonym for first animal but was referring to the popular query of "How do you eat an elephant?" answer - one bite at a time. So is your gray singer Ella Phantsgerald?
ReplyDeleteFollowing up on Tommy Boy's post:
ReplyDelete> I solved this puzzle last night at a restaurant that was open late.
in which "open late" anagrams to antelope, I responded with:
> Tommy Boy, were you there with friends or was it just one plate?
in which "one plate" also anagrams to antelope
Blaine, like Ken, I solved it in approximately 15 minutes. However, using the "obvious" answer to the coded question as the password did not open a video.
ReplyDeleteBob K- This is indeed the answer I had. My clue was
ReplyDeletean anagram for orca, which was ocra, and a letter
added to char, giving chard.
EKW - I thought that was what you meant, but as they say in the crossword blogs, I have never ever seen the word spelled other than "okra."
ReplyDelete@Ken, thank you for the test solve. Did you have the same problem as Lorenzo? Let me check that right away!
ReplyDelete@Lorenzo, thanks for mentioning that. I had it set to a temporary password and forgot to set the final one! Try it now.
ReplyDeleteBlaine, it works now. Happy holidays to you and your family and thanks for making this blog available.
ReplyDeleteBlaine, better late than never. Took me 10 minutes. Knowing the word lengths made the question easier to discover without solving all the clues. The link did not work in Google Chrome. I had to use explorer.
ReplyDeleteMy censored clue was a little too close to "aunt elope" for comfort, I guess.
ReplyDelete"Discouraged.... word" refers to "Home on the Range" (or "Stove", if you ask Tommy Boy).
The final quote from "Invictus" was supposed to invoke (via Nelson Mandela and the movie of the same name) the Springbok, an antelope that had been the symbol of South Africa.
Blaine, I'm glad it wasn't my stupidity that made your holiday video fail to appear. Now that the password is correct, it's definitely not too hard a puzzle.
Blaine - Oh the Ludite that I am! I linked under family blog and found 2010's puzzle as the latest. Loved it but also linked under Xmas puzzles and only found 2010. Could be my outdated software capacity. I did not realize til now that your name is the same upside down. That is so cool! (now you see why I need help finding your latest puzzle)
ReplyDeleteJust noticed Tommy's blog. I have google chrome and maybe that is why.
ReplyDelete10 minutes to solve all except G,K,&Q, which was enough to determine the final answer. Still working on K.
ReplyDeleteBefore Blaine added the correct answer at the top, if you looked right from Tommy Boy's first comment (about Mel "Mel...on" Gibson), you saw a link to Mellow Melon's Puzzles.
ReplyDeleteJan, I looked to the right of your comment to the September archive where on 9/17 there is a reference to Mel Gibson in the celebrity palindrome challenge.
ReplyDeleteMel Gibson anagrams to "big melons" in reference to Dave J's cantaloupe comment.
Blaine:
ReplyDeleteIt is easy to solve your puzzle, but I have been unable to get to the video. I have tried numerous password answers. I did not try Brussels Sprouts.
Hi Blaine,
ReplyDeleteGreat to see that your son has followed your footsteps to Cal. Go Bears!
@SDB, would it help to mention that it is 11 letters long, all one word, lowercase? Or are you trying that and it isn't working?
ReplyDeleteC+Antelope > Cantaloupe
ReplyDeleteRoro got the singing reference !
My clue referred to Antelope Island, the largest of the islands in the Great Salt Lake.
ReplyDeleteThe xmas2011 puzzle works just fine in Safari. Watched all 01:05 of the nice video!
ReplyDeleteBlaine:
ReplyDeleteThat worked instantly. I cannot remember now if I typed in the intended answer or just thought I did. It was not my first choice as I did not consider it an ingredient. I do remember thinking of the word as I was solving the first parts and I do recall entering the first part of the answer. Also I had trouble solving O. I was thinking of another context. I solved the puzzle before I answered O.
All the same I like your puzzle. It seems like a crossword type puzzle to me and I never do them, so that might explain my problem with O.
Happy Holidays to you all.
Paul and Blaine, K took a few minutes but F was the one that took me the longest.
ReplyDeleteBlaine:
ReplyDeleteI almost forgot to ask. Are we supposed to be able to type in our answers in the boxes? If so, I was unable to do so, although I did get a cursor.
Another point I almost forgot to mention is re: G. On my wall, just to the right of this computer, I have a copy (could not afford the original) of Raphael's painting, "Saint George and the Dragon." George is not using the weapon your answer requires, but a much longer implement. That caused me some trouble too, but not as much trouble as that which the dragon suffered.
ReplyDelete@SDB, perhaps this link will help you:
ReplyDeletehttp://www.woodlands-junior.kent.sch.uk/customs/stgeorge2.html
According to this version of the tale, the dragon busted the longer implement, and SG then used the shorter one to finish the job.
Evidently Raphael didn't stay around till the end of the event! He was more interested in providing a scoop for the magazine that employed him!
William:
ReplyDeleteThanks for the info. I never got into fantasy, science fiction, religion, so I can't say I know much more than I see in the painting. However, I did figure out what type of song St. George was singing as he rode out to save the maiden. It had to be a sleighing song.
Bob Kerfuffle, I took your non-answer to be
ReplyDeleteSEROW > SHREW (esp. Himalayan Serow,Capricornis thar), a legitimate answer for which you gave a good actual clue.
My misspelled "irrelivant" was supposed to refer to "her elephant".
Anybody up for a last minute follow-up puzzle?
ReplyDeleteThink of an animal whose name contains the letter O. Drop the O and rearrange the remaining letters to name another animal.
A messier puzzle, first and foremost.
ReplyDeleteHmm, the new one has me stumped so far. From the puzzle transcript I can't tell if it is a different name on either side of AT or the same name ?
ReplyDeleteCHUCK, I now see the explanation for your clue, but my reference was different and I think you unintentionally gave me a clue.
ReplyDeleteThe Hebrew word for ELEPHANT is, phonetically, PEAL (or peel, or, PIL, as it is usually transliterated.
So, thanks for that, unintentional though it might have been!