NPR Sunday Puzzle (Nov 18, 2012): Common Five Letter Words:
Q: 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 bet some people will be coming up with the answer almost immediately while for some it is going to take a few hours.
Edit: The hints were "bet" (as in alphabet) and "coming"/"going" (since aloha can mean hello or goodbye).
A: ALPHA --> ALOHA
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.
Correction: Because of Thanskgiving, the deadline this week is Wednesday at 3pm ET.
DeleteAnd please try to keep your discussions tied to discussing the puzzle.
ReplyDeleteHI there - I actually submitted a similar puzzle a while ago, with the same two words, but with different phrasing of the puzzle. I can see the one Will used is more elegant (note to self: submit puzzle with elegance and a link between the words) I think this puzzle is a little harder - took me several hours then I finally got it (unlike Will's French friend a while back)
ReplyDeleteI'm on the east coast, so I was pleasantly surprised to be greeted with this week's puzzler when I checked out the blog at 7:00 AM (EST), thanks SDB.
ReplyDeleteAmazed that I solved the puzzle in less than a minute. Hard to believe that my first guess of how to go about solving it led to positive results.
11thplace –
ReplyDeleteI don’t know what your method for solving the puzzle was but, for me, the answer was literally the first word pair I thought of.
Chuck
The real challenge, as always, is to try and figure out how Blaine's "clue" relates to the solution. It's like playing "Six degrees of Kevin Bacon".
DeleteSometimes I wish I hadn't gotten started with Will's puzzles in the first place. They can be very frustrating. Need some relaxation. Bye for now, going on vacation.
ReplyDeleteRegards - Phil J.
I'll bet a few will have trouble solving this, in layman's terms.
ReplyDelete(Posted to the end of last week's blog earlier)
ReplyDeleteThere 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.
Last night I posted these three:
ReplyDeleteNew puzzle is now up.
I might need a lot of help answering this one.
And a bit later:
The is a connection here to a line of banter we had in last week's puzzle blogging.
And finally:
Obama would most likely get this one.
I don't think you need a lot of help, SDB. All you really need is a little head outta ass removal service. May I assist you?
DeleteI think you may have assembled your post incorrectly.
DeleteAs in ass backwards? Perhaps 'tis I who needs the craniorectalectomy?
DeleteFigured it out in little time. Maybe I'll relax with some music by the King...
ReplyDeleteThe puzzle...
ReplyDeleteAll the clues given...
It's all Greek to me.
Ugh. I heard it wrong and thought I needed to change it to the following letter of the alphabet rather than the preceding. I came up with a nice pair that way, the second word of which had me thinking of spring. Ah well.
ReplyDeleteYeah, that's the version I mentioned above.
DeleteI agree with 11thplace that Blaine's clues can be almost as mysterious as the puzzle!
ReplyDeleteBut once I've solved the puzzle, your clues generally make sense, Blaine. (As does your clue this week.) And once you even posted a clue that gave me the answer. (It was for the puzzle whose solution was TINKERBELL--I forget how long ago that was.)
Happy Thanksgiving to all! Thanks for the puzzle and this blog, among many things....
KDW - I agree. Only once (many years ago) did Blaine's clue lead me to the answer. (As I recall, it involved "zot" and "aardvark".) After the fact, Blaine's clue(s) make sense this week, although I must confess that(unfortunately) I was not in the group that solved the puzzle immediately.
DeleteLet's see: Kenya is a five letter word with two syllables. Obama is a five letter word with three syllables.
ReplyDeleteThe Little Rascals are back on television!
I struggled with this one almost as much as I agonized over Blaine's admonition regarding "remaining strictly on topic." Aggressive male bloggers like SkyDiveBoy and me will not take literary castration lying down. After all, it's the loosely related banter that keeps this blog interesting -- at least for me. In case that clue was too vague, let me continue.
ReplyDeleteI gave up on this puzzle an hour ago, but wife #3 kept at it. I had my headphones on. My thoughts on some distant star as I listened over and over to my favorite track on the Magical Misery Tour album. She yanked off my earphones and exclaimed, "I've got it!"
#3 is an extremely bright woman. We met 11 years ago on Match.com. She was a flight attendant for a small regional carrier. On our first date, she asked me if I had a lot of emotional baggage. I quipped, "Just a few carry-on items." We were married two months later and her company gave us two first-class tix to Europe where we rented a sports car and toured the continent.
Ciao for now. Hasta la bye-bye. Catch you on the rebound.
And if I don't see ya, I'll see ya!
GuerrillaBoy
So, a trip to Europe. Were you incontinent the whole time?
DeleteYer in big trouble, SDB. Better keep it on topic, lest you piss off the man.
DeleteLots of rain here this week; wish I were in the tropics.
DeleteI don't know why you don't say shalom, GB.
DeleteNever could figure out if shalom meant hello or goodbye, so I refrain from using the word. Wife #2 is Jewish. Last year we were unable to visit her parents over Passover because she had a yeast infection. She spent the entire weekend trying to teach me the Hebrew spelling system, but it was more like Greek than English. So I gave up.
DeleteI bet you really got a rise out of her though.
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ReplyDeleteThat clue is a bit of a revelation, Jim. Still, I only give these bloggers maybe one chance in eight of deducing its relevance.
DeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
DeleteSorry you deleted your OMG clue, Jim. I did not think it was obvious at all. Guess it's irrelevant now ;-) So what's with the Big O's? Are you a tire salesman doing a little product placement? Better be careful not to tread on Blaine's territory. You notice I've been keeping a low profile this week.
DeleteJim - your read my mind. (Great minds think alike?)
ReplyDeleteYes, and fools seldom differ...
DeleteGuerillaBoy,
ReplyDeleteYou gave away too much - about Wife #3, that is. I think I might know her. Will she turn 50 on December 7?
Leo, are you sure about 50? I thought she was much older.
DeleteOh, Lord, I thought she was the last wife and was 50. Just doing some detective work.
DeleteNo she will not be turning 50 on Dec. 7th. In all liklihood she will be turning around the dance floor in her hula skirt as we will be in Maui celebrating our anniversary on that date.
DeleteAs they say in them parts,
Adios little old howlie amigo!
The side show has run away with the circus!
ReplyDeleteShalom means peace. Last I checked.
DeleteHey, what's the Hebrew word for 'disturbing'?
DeleteThat would be interesting to know.
It's not a word, but a saying, "My mother's coming for dinner."
DeleteSorry, benmar, I meant to place these comments elsewhere, and Blogger......did what Blogger does.
DeleteBenmar:
DeleteSideshow? Circus? Man, them is some pretty cryptic clues. Took me forever to figure 'em out. Then I realized, hey, these clues are so far off the map they're not even in the continental United States. Very clever.
Kenya be more specific?
DeleteYeah, I 'ken' but I won't, Beavis.
DeleteAG must have been a Don Ho fan.
DeleteActually, I've been known to carouse with a Ho or two in my day, Benmar, but Don was not one of 'em.
DeleteMiss Congeniality. (You know, the Sandra Bullock movie.)
ReplyDeleteThis puzzle reminds me of America's number one naval destroyer.
ReplyDeleteAccording to my Internet research, America's #1 naval destroyer is a hula hoop with a tack in it.
DeleteAnd, just for the record, there IS a clue here.
AbqGuerrilla:
DeleteYes we know—you gave it away!
Blaine:
ReplyDeleteIf we all "try to keep (y)our discussions tied to discussing the puzzle," how will we know who wins?
In other words, ties are for Christmas.
DeleteDear Fellow Bloggers:
ReplyDeleteIf you have not solved this puzzle by now, you may as well give up because there are more giveaways on this page than Obama's re-election campaign. Speaking of free stuff, I'm gonna take my food stamps down to Safeway and see if they'll redeem them for a nice pineapple upside down cake.
I really think the blog administrator should go over this week's postings and make a few arrests.
Book 'em, Blaino!
What's with this self-incrimination, AbqG—you didn't have to do that! :-)
Delete(It doesn't take a PI or even state police to see you're just as guilty…!)
Yes, Wolfie, I felt it best to come clean since the Big Kahuna is on the warpath this week. I 'spose a lot of folks around here would be happy if I just "hit the road, Jack." Lord knows I mean well. My best defense is the fact that although I dish out quite a few verbal pokes-in-the-ribs, 25% of them are self-inflicted wounds. Bottom line is that it is not my intent to poi-son this blog, Captain. Cooking up stimulating repartee, you sea, is my only fun on weekends.
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DeleteGotta do what you gotta do, AbqG. You sound like a true role model. I know the type: working Saturdays and Sundays, and no drinking, either. Well, I must say I'm not quite like that (if you haven't already noticed).
DeleteThis is a video that everyone must see:
ReplyDeletehttp://vimeo.com/35055590
Cute! Some part of the story is missing, though.
DeleteWent to the KC Chiefs game today and got to go on the field (they still lost another). The only memorable thing I left with was that stupid Baha Men song they played. I hate that song.
ReplyDeleteWho Let the Dogs Out? (Alpha Dog)
DeleteAt this very moment, WNYC-FM (Will Shortz's local NPR station) is running David Garland's One-Hour Hawaiian War Chant Extravaganza. Hum along:
ReplyDeletewww.wnyc.org/shows/spinning/2012/nov/18/
Seems like a lot of give-a-way clues this week.
ReplyDeleteI think there may be a new trend happening here lately that could destroy this blog. It might help if each of us were to ask ourselves if we might be the culprit. The way I see it a very few are becoming indiscriminate in their posting of clues that are not well thought out so as to not give the answer away. Another trend I have noticed is occasionally someone will feel the need to elaborate on another persons hint, even to the point of eliminating the obscurity that was originally intended by the first.
ReplyDeletePerhaps we could all take a moment to reflect and see if we could modify our posting in a more thoughtful manner that will benefit us all. Let us not point fingers, but simplly do a little reflecting.
Well put, SDB. Thanks for the post.
DeleteI think it would be a lot more interesting if we start a finger pointing brawl.
DeleteWe could celebrate with a Hodown on Wednesday at 3 PM.
DeleteDon Ho is a well-known singer from Hawaii, the ALOHA state.
DeleteHello? It would be interesting to know why Blaine deleted some comments, but not others. Apparently, there were more blatant giveaways than what's already been posted. Goodbye.
ReplyDeleteLeo,
DeleteI don't Blaine deleted ANY comments this week. All of the ones that have been deleted so far have been done so by the folks that made the comment in the first place. I only took my post down because Abq inferred that my original post was a "bit of a revelation". Then I made it worse by typing a message with a bunch of capital letters - that I felt compounded the problem - so I deleted that one too.
To my knowledge, our kind blog administrator has not deleted a single post this week . . . .
yet!
Maybe Al Gore? There's some disagreement on this.
ReplyDeleteNot many posts relating to "alpha", so here's mine. There was disagreement among pundits during the 2000 Presidential Election whether/not Al Gore was an ALPHA male.
DeleteIs that an allegory?
DeleteGot puzzles?
ReplyDeletePlace celebrity photo here
oooh baby let's stay together Lovin this weather weather times are good or bad
ReplyDeletePrime directive sing like nobody's listening!!
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
ReplyDeleteYou gave it away to soon!!! Wednesday at non, this is Tuesday.
DeleteGave it away? Who says?
DeleteOnce again I'm reminded of my favorite bumper sticker:
DeleteSO MANY IDIOTS. SO FEW COMETS.
We all doin' what we can, sdb.
DeleteAnd wasn't it an asteroid? Or have I misinterpreted?
DeletePaul:
DeleteIt was Heaven's Gate cult and the Hale-Bopp Comet. They committd suicide thinking they would reach the alien spacecraft that was following behind it. They didn't even make it behind the Comet under the sink in their kitchen.
Ah, I did misinterpret. Didn't really follow all the details of that story. Thanks.
DeleteCult? I thought they were an "Away Team".
Deletejan:
DeleteOh no, you didn't!
Isn't that what they called themselves? And wasn't Uhura's brother among them?
DeletePeople scoured the skies looking for them, but the kitchen remained soiled as it was lacking Comet.
Delete"Uhura's brother".....good find....I guess...
DeleteIf you never crap up the sink, you never need Comet...just sayin'.
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ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteI was thinking along the same lines. Either a case of hit and run, or too stupid to even figure out how to delete his post. Perhaps he hit the trail in a big way.
DeleteHas anyone seen mtbiker on this blog before? I haven't, so as far as I'm concerned, he has made quite the first impression with his entrance. (Yes, I'm assuming mtbiker is a guy. A girl would think twice if it was five minutes past the hour and no one had posted the answer yet.)
ReplyDeleteDeja vu all over again. :)
DeleteThis comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
DeleteSkyDiveBoy:
ReplyDeleteNow that the jig is up, I want to set the record straight on something. When you posted the clue "America's favorite naval destroyer," I thought for sure you were making reference to Leo's December 7th reference, which was clearly a nod to Pearl Harbor and that you were somehow pointing to one of the eight battleships that were sunk that day. So I responded with my little hula hoop reference. I had no f-ing idea that you were laying down a super-obscure Hawaii clue. That only became clear to me when you chided me for my hula hoop comment. No foul intended, bro. Will you still be taking me to the luau on Friday night?
I'd also like to weigh in on the subject of giveaway clues. Most importantly, to quote George W. Bush (sorta): "Blaine is the decider." If he did not feel any of this week's comments disclosed too much, then I'm cool with that. I would only add that in all the months that I have been lurking around this blog, not once, let me repeat, not once, has a clue I have gleaned from this site led me to the solution. Not once. Many of them are so vague (i.e., 26 degrees of separation) that when I do solve the puzzle, I'm left scratching my head wondering, "Where the heck was s/he going with that one?"
Aloha,
Guerrilla Boy
A little premature ABQ. Have you been told that before?
DeleteI would like to begin by saying "Hello." You all are a great help to me in providing laugh, chatter and clues. Eucharisteo (thanks). Zeke
ReplyDeleteOne of the words was spoken exactly halfway through a TV time slot last Monday.
ReplyDeleteAll in all, this has been a very unsatisfying NPR Puzzle week. I feel so disconnected. Romeo, where art thou?
ReplyDeleteRuth:
DeleteHey "Babe," you really hit that one outta the ballpark!
Okay, so I wasn't going to post this, but your Alpha Romeo hint is forcing the issue. The last couple of days I've had this Alpha Romeo hint knocking around in the empty space between my ears, but have not been able to quite make it work, and besides it being a giveaway.
This Italian on a business trip to Hawaii drives a hard bargain aloha the place.
I know, it need a little more time in the oven. Just couldn't make it come together.
But that does remind me of the Hawaiian joke I made up last year.
If Alaska is a giant size state, and Rhode Island is a tiny size state, then I suppose Hawaii is palm size.
I know you were hinting at ALFA Romeo, but I was "congratulating" you on your triple entendre, automotive, Shakespearean, and International Phonetic Alphabet-ish: ALPHA, BRAVO, charlie, ..., india, JULIET, kilo, ... quebec, ROMEO, sierra, ...
DeleteI believe that we need a VP of operations as a Blaine backup. For example, the "giveaway" remained on the blog too long.
ReplyDeletePlease allow me to nominate SDB.
ALPHA = ALOHA
ReplyDeleteMy hints:
"Last night I posted these three:"
New puzzle is now up.
I might need a lot of help answering this one.
And a bit later:
There is a connection here to a line of banter we had in last week's puzzle blogging.
And finally:
Obama would most likely get this one.
ANSWERS:
1. "a lot of help answering" The initial letters spell ALOHA
2. In that banter we spoke of ALPHAbet soup.
3. Obama was born in Hawaii when he wasn't also being born in Kenya. I understand he delayed releasing some documentation proving he was born in Hawaii in the belief he could use it later as a Trump card.
Answer: alpha, aloha
ReplyDeleteLast Sunday I said, “The answer was literally the first word pair I thought of.” Alpha, of course, is the first letter of the Greek alphabet and means something that is first.
Chuck
My "reversed" word pair was PEONY and PENNY.
ReplyDelete> I don't know why you don't say shalom, GB.
"Shalom", like ALOHA, is used for both "hello" and "goodbye". My wording refers to the Beatles' song, "Hello, Goodbye", to which GuerillaBoy alluded.
My comment about aardvarks and zot was both a true statement as well as a hint to alpha-omega.
ReplyDeleteTrue, clever, subtle, succinct, unobtrusive, inoffensive...imagine that.
ReplyDeleteWhat about ample and amole?
ReplyDeleteNo soap, Capt. Nemo, because amole does not qualify as a "familiar" word. Well, perhaps at MI-6 they do.
DeleteThis raises a good point though. I was pleased Will did not specify the words were common, instead he said familiar.
I was just playing around with an AL Greene song and changing whether to weather in honor of Hawaii's climate which sure beats Baltimore's about now. Prime similar to alpha. I usually get a response to my antics from SDB but the biker chick? trumped me
ReplyDeleteMy clues:
ReplyDeleteMiss Congeniality—alluded to the scene where the Sandra Bullock character talks about how "Aloha" means both "hello" and "good-bye."
"It doesn't take a PI or even state police"—a reference to the shows Magnum, P.I. and Hawaii Five-O.
"I know the type: working Saturdays and Sundays, and no drinking, either. Well, I must say I'm not quite like that (if you haven't already noticed)."
Those were references to the Jack Lord character from Hawaii Five-O for one and to my very "casual" pic (with a Hawaiian-style short on) for another.
"Cute! Some part of the story is missing, though."
A reply to the video to which Jim's post was linked. That video patchworks snippets from movies to the lyrics of the Lionel Richie song Hello. With the "part missing," I was referring to "Aloha" also meaning "Good-bye."
I meant "Hawaiian-style shirt, of course.
DeleteMy clue: (side show/circus) - Hawaii being the "side" show with the Pres.
ReplyDeletetimer and tiler.
ReplyDeleteAnd the third syllable is hiding where?
DeleteSuch a stickler for details SDB!
DeleteWell Jim, the puzzle is about converting a five letter, two syllable word into a three syllable word by changing the middle letter to the one preceding it in the alphabet. What do John Solo's two words have to do with this puzzle? Nothing at all!
DeleteMay be a stretch, but I was thinking 'tiler' as in someone who puts down tile for a living is pronounced ti-l-er (i.e. ty-el-er) Certainly two words far more common than alpha and aloha.
ReplyDeleteJohn Solo:
DeleteThere is no need for anyone to experience lasting confusion as to the pronunciation of the words we use. That is why we have dictionaries. Here is a link to a free one, available to all online that even provides audible pronunciation to this two syllable word:
http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/tiler?s=t
I strongly recommend dictionaries to anyone wishing to stretch his mind.
I assumed (like almost everyone else?), that to convert from 2 to 3 syllables, you'd need to convert a consonant to a vowel. Maybe John Solo's postulate is worth exploring.
DeleteHaving done only a fraction of my dictionary homework, I think:
DeleteTILER is two syllables(Tippecanoe is four)
LYRE is one syllable
LIAR is two
FIRE? I want to stay on the good side of the Pointers....and the Boss.
What's IDEAL? Go figure.
My Clues: I'll bet a few will have trouble solving this, in layman's terms.
ReplyDelete"I'll" as in hawaiian isle
"Bet a" as in alpha beta (similar to blaine's clue)
"layman's terms" as in hawaiian lei
I really like "PEONY" and "PENNY", Jan. You should have suggested that pair to WS.
ReplyDeleteI did. No reply.
DeleteNew puzzle is up and it is surprisingly easy to find the (intended) answer.
ReplyDeleteI agree and already sent in my answer.
DeleteAt first I thought it was going to be the second time I do a load of laundry and all my socks survive.
DeleteI can't wait to see what Blaine puts up for a clue because I'm having no luck at all coming up with one.
DeleteNow I think about it there may be celebrations in many parts of the world to mark this occasion.
Delete