NPR Sunday Puzzle (Dec 9, 2012): Three Letter State Abbreviation: Q: Name a major U.S. city in two words. Take the first letter of the first word and the first two letters of the second word, and they will spell the standard three-letter abbreviation for the state the city is in. What city is it?I was hoping Will was going to break the pattern of incredibly easy puzzles, but I guess that's not going to happen. It also appears Will has forgotten that we switched to two-letter abbreviations for the states awhile ago...
Edit: My hint was "break" as in a former popular springbreak destination.
A: Ft. Lauderdale, Fla.
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.
You don't need a college degree to solve this one.
ReplyDeleteGrouse, grouse, grouse :) I sing Will’s praises and look forward to the puzzle segment every week.
ReplyDeleteChuck
It is fun I agree, but when bouncing this puzzle off my grand daughter she said, "Papaw, that stuff belongs on Lol Blvd."
DeleteHow timely, now the elections are over.
ReplyDeleteUnfortunately, I don't get a good feeling about this puzzle.
ReplyDeleteWow, seriously? This post gave away the answer to me almost immediately. That's really low.
DeleteAgree with Blaine on this one - it hardly merits being called a puzzle. Perhaps it's time for a break.
ReplyDeleteApologies to Ruth:
ReplyDeleteMy entry at the end of last week's blog:
Bob KerfuffleSun Dec 09, 05:51:00 AM PST
Puzzle solved in less than a minute; time to take a break!
So Bob, before I spring into action responding to your post, I must ask: what's your point?
DeleteJefferson & Madison would have loved this one.
ReplyDeleteReminds me of the books by a novelist whose name contains an unusual triple-vowel combination.
ReplyDeleteBlaine, Mr. Reed would disagree with you. If you can't stand the heat, get out of the kitchen.
ReplyDeleteSorry Dave, you and I were on the same wavelength.
DeleteMusical clue: Lewis Allan would smile at this puzzle.
ReplyDeleteAnother Musical clue Fats Waller tune (figuring out the hints are more fun than the puzzle)
DeleteHe pretty much spells it out, eh?
DeleteAt the end of last week's blog I posted this hint:
ReplyDelete"Just hearing the name of the county this city is in gives me the creeps."
Some more now:
Dave Brubeck
Spain
Italy
This is another real stinker of a faux puzzle. Yuk!!!
Again, if you are looking for a real puzzle then there is a very good one provided by Car Talk for this week, but some may find it hard to solve because it requires thinking inside the box.
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DeleteI cannot tell you how frustrating it is to formulate a clue I believe will be difficult to decipher, only to then have someone post a sub-post give-away.
DeleteNothing intended, just caught up in the emotion:-(
DeleteThen please delete your above post. Think man.
DeleteHow? I am a newbie.
DeleteI think I am beginning to comprehend why Will is providing simplistic puzzles. How did we ever win WWII?
DeleteUltra-intelligent kngs in castles twiddling their thumbs while ignorant knights labored in the fiekds.
DeleteSo for real SDB How do you delete your own comment?
DeleteI was on the mobile version. Finally this weak minded wretch went to the web version and eureka. Thanks for helping the simple, sdb.
DeleteRoRoRoRoRoRoRo:
DeleteAfter you post your deathless prose there will be a green "Delete" word beneath. Now I just wonder what would happen should said poster click his rodent upon that singular, green word. One could take a deep breath and chance be taken. Oh, brave new world!
zeke creek:
DeleteI guess that explains it. I know nothing about the mobile version. I've never even been to Mobile, Ala. And, come to think about it, I probably don't care about either.
Endless Sky, I have clicked everywhere on my above post and have not seen a delete. Maybe you mean right after I post but I meant if I wanted to eradicate the evidence and do a anna fanna suzanna and say "never mind"
DeleteRo Ro:
DeleteIf you are using an iphone or android go to the bottom of th blog. there you will see "view web version". Click on that and the page will give you a button for deletion on every one of your posts.
Golly, this is a tough one. Let me think a bit here...
ReplyDeleteCould it be:
NAUGHTY EVENING, NEV.? Naw, doubt Will has ever been there.
WYLIE'S YODEL, WYO.? Reckon not.
How about LEVEE'S OUTDATED, LOU.? Doubt it.
Hey, what about WALKER'S ISLAND, WIS., the penal colony for union activists. Prob'ly not.
Maybe ASS LARD, ALA.? Too small, I fear.
There's always FOSSIL'S LANDING, FLA. Maybe?
Wait! I think I've got it!! TIERRA EXECUSIONES, TEX.!!
I'm goin' with that!
Now that I've solved the puzzle, I'm in the perfect state of mind to go outside and enjoy the apricity of this December morning
GuerrillaBoy
I am still waiting for Will to present us with a puzzle where the answer is Dildo, Newfoundland, Canada. And if you don't believe there is such a place, then go check it out and you might also notice there is a Dildo South as well. Eh!
ReplyDeleteI wonder if Liza Minnelli is having difficulty solving this puzzle today.
I know you're not speakin' to me these days, SDB (too bad--'cause we used to have so much fun back in the day), however, I feel compelled to suggest a hypothetical question for your posting:
DeleteRACHEL: OK, Will. What's up for next week?
WILL: Yes, this week's challenge comes from listener SkyDiveBoy of Seattle, Washington. He says, "Name the only city in the world where the Democratic National Committee could host their annual convention and actually have the attendees' airport luggage tags promote the event?" And here's a hint: The city is not necessarily in the U.S.
RACHEL: OK, good one. When you have the answer, go to our website, npr.org/puzzle and click on...blah,blah,blah.
(Now can we pleeese be friends again?)
I have no idea about that, but how about a convention in the U.S. city/town where you must leave the lower 48 and go via another country to get there, and the city/town is in the lower 48 states?
DeleteSDB: Could that be Lower Tsawwassen Peninsula in your fine state of Washington? Accessible only (by land) via Canadian Routes 99 and 17. Just a wild guess.
DeleteWarmly yours,
And as always, nuttier than a squirrel turd.
GuerrillaBoy
It could be. Perhaps it was just a wild guess, but did you say a thank you to Google anyway?
DeleteI have been to Dildo, NF (as well as to Come-By-Chance and Goobies, which are both nearby). Leading Tickles is further north, by Twillingate. These places are all real - Newfie names are legendary.
DeleteIf you want to visit Paradise, go to Newfoundland.
DeleteParadise is also in Lancaster County, PA next to Blue Ball and Intercourse.
DeleteKen #2
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ReplyDeleteWhy does Will get so much flack from everyone about his puzzles.
ReplyDeletePlease allow me to fully explain this to you in detail. Most of them suck lately.
DeletePut another way, Leo, most Sunday mornings I feel like a man doing life in prison who is desperately hungering for some deep reading in which I might escape (mentally). You know, "Madame Bovary," "Crime and Punishment" or maybe "The Snows of Kilimanjaro." Then along comes Will, the prison librarian who hands me through the bars a copy of "The Little Train That Could."
DeleteNice, but did it hurt when the prison librarin handed you through the bars?
DeleteAfter prison rations for three years, it was not that much of a squeeze.
DeleteTwo weeks after that incident, another inmate and I were brought before the firing squad. We were both offered one last wish. The other guy went first and said, "I've always been a big fan of the Will Shortz puzzles on Weekend Edition Sunday. Do you think you could replay last week's episode in the execution chambers? The warden surprisingly agreed to his request. At that point, I wriggled out of my ball gag and begged, "Could you please just shoot me first?"
Wise choice. Unnecessary suffering could be detrimental to your health. But I see you seem to have not gotten your wish.
DeleteThis comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
ReplyDeleteI awoke and the entire nation was blue. The south has won.
ReplyDeleteDo I need to consult some old Postal abbreviations for this? Or is the answer simply the first 3 letters of the state? A puzzle based on the the 3 letter FAA airport codes might be a real challenge!
ReplyDeleteHi Uncle John! Yes, indeed. It is not a matter of just using the first three letters. You'll need the old postal abbreviations. I drove by my local post office to get you a list, forgetting it was Sunday. (Their flag was at half mast, by the way, which I believe indicates they are hiring.) Anyway, I found a list online. Here's a link: http://www.acronymfinder.com/stateabbreviations.asp
DeleteWarm regards,
GuerrillaBoy
PS Just had to tell you: I'm not a groupie or anything, but I love your band!
Is this a brand new band U.J.? Freddie's Lucky Lindy out in Hollywood is looking for good talent.
DeleteThank you so much! We go way back, actually thinking of taking it on the road. Do you want a CD?
DeleteIs it live?
DeleteBetter yet, when you're in town we'll come hear.
DeleteMusical Clue: Allan Sherman
ReplyDeleteMusical/Topographical Clue: Guys and Dolls
Musical Clue: Runnin' Wild
ReplyDeleteBlaine, an abbreviation isn't specific enough. Had Will said POSTAL abbreviation, you'd be spot on. Which I hope I will be if I get the answer.
ReplyDeleteAnother musical clue: Ozzy Osbourne
ReplyDeleteSo why are complaints that the puzzle is too easy followed by clues?
ReplyDeleteGreat question, Bryan! Don't ask me, maybe bloggers are leaving them for the clueless. Sorry, I think that is no longer a politically correct term. Let's try it again: Maybe bloggers are leaving clues for those who are experiencing cluelessnous.
DeleteYes "people first language" as I am told by the anti-stigma police at my agency who can really give some heat to me and mine
DeleteHmmm,....
ReplyDeleteI suppose right about now is as good a time as any for me to repost my last two posts on last week's thread:
I posted on Sun Dec 09, at 03:33:00 AM PST:
New puzzle is up, and I've said this before for several of the past few puzzles, but it applies to this one as well.
There are gonna be some people who solve this week's puzzle in two seconds – and still be angry at themselves for not solving it in less than one second!
And then I posted on Sun Dec 09, at 03:51:00 AM PST:
Movie hint: Goldfinger
I need a vacation from all of these easy challenges.
ReplyDeleteWill has had at least 2 challenges relating to 2 letter postal codes. The first was back in the postcard days: to find the longest word such that every pair of successive letters forms a 2 letter postal code.
ReplyDeleteThe other was to find 2 well-known US cities whose last 2 letters were the 2 letter postal code of the state in which they were located. While Will was perhaps only aware of 2 such cities, I know of at least one more that could be considered as wall-known, for it's the hometown of a famous football player. I can also think of at least 5 states with a lesser-known towns having that property also.
Albany, NY and Kodiak, AK immediately come to mind.
DeleteKen #2
Will's answers were Santa Monica, CA, and Albany, NY. I thought of Kodiak, AK also. The other well-known city is Aliquippa, PA, the hometown of Heisman Trophy winner and Pro Football Hall of Famer Tony Dorsett.
DeleteThis comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
ReplyDeleteThis is the same cretin who did the exact same thing Nov. 20th.
DeleteI think he might be from Major Ass, Mass. which would totally explain it.
DeleteI suspect he is intentionally doing this as it may be the only way he can validate his existence. He is pathetic in any case.
DeleteOh, I get it, SDB. You think he might actually be from Obvious Rectum, Ore. Now that I think about it, you might be right. Come on, Blaino. Yer asleep at the switch today. We got a guy making FLAgrant violations of the honorary bloggers' code here. I say, "Let's string him up down in Neck Break, Nebr."
DeleteMay your knubs find traction on a grzzly's backside. That was malicious.
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Deletezeke creek:
DeleteWhat you may knot know is that mtbiker posted the answer. He did this same thing KNov. 20th as well. Know you know.
Knobs + nubs = knubs. I thought you gnu that. :-) mtbikes got knobby nubs.
DeleteHonest to goodness: I was out and never saw mtbiker's post (which is deleted as of this writing), but I didn't have to see it—I got the answer from Blaine's clue! Ha! Talk about giveaways!
DeleteThe distinction, of course, is between the postal code (such as "MA") and the standard abbreviation used in the media (such as "Mass.").
Anyway, the answer is someplace I'd rather be for Christmas! :-)
zeke creek:
DeleteNever heard of it. I think I may have heard the tires called knobby. I'm into road racing bikes.
Mtbikes are well within the hillbilly domain. Therefore we take legal license of the vernacular thereat. Knub will be in wikipedia as soon as said poster figures it out. ;-)
Deletezeke the newbie moon tan boy
Mtbiker - It's too early to reveal the answer.
ReplyDeleteCan someone please remove that comment?
ReplyDeleteBlaine is the only one who can remove someone elses post. He obviously has not seen it yet. I suspect that, unlike some of us, Blaine has a life.
DeleteIf only Blaine had "flag as spam"...
DeleteIs there a way that Blaine can permanently block mtbiker or his IP address?
ReplyDeleteTomorrow is 12/12/12. The next such occurrence will fall 88 years, 20 days later. I'll look forward to it.
ReplyDelete@ken
ReplyDeletebig wheels keep on turnin'
SDB Roseanna danna here. I figured out that you have to be on the same computer you made the comment on. I was accessing site from another computer so you can stop roroaring at me with your mouse
ReplyDeleteOkay, Grand Duchess Gloriana XII.
DeleteAnd don't dilute the wine while I am reviewing the eye candy, I mean expeditory forces, in Wibberly Isle, Wisconsin
DeleteAnd here I thought you were in Grand Fenwick.
DeleteI am considering retirement
DeleteWell if you will be moving, then I would consider converting to Euros.
DeleteHere is an even easier one:
ReplyDeleteName a well known city in two words where the first two letters of each word are that state's postal abbreviation.
Shucks, it's on the tip of my tongue. I lost my wallet there while wallpapering my friend Wally's apartment with one-dollar bills, but the name of the town escapes me.
DeleteYou must have that Georgia state of mind thing going on.
DeleteWell,well...
DeleteAs AGB figured out, and perhaps Ken as well, the answer is Walla Walla, WA. I do not get the Georgia on my mind connection???
DeleteThe name escapes me brings mind into play and Georgia refers to the venerable g.w. on the dollar bill. Watered down brings in the commonly assumed definition of Walla Walla being many waters.
DeleteSDB: Once again sorry about stumbling onto the take five reference in my sorrow.
DeleteZeke the learner
I thought you were referring to the song, Georgia by Ray Charles. R U sure it's many waters? It could be waters many.
DeleteI consulted a shaman. Then I dropped a coin into the machine, and there was the answer; right between the orange and the cherry.
DeleteMany waters/waters many...be could? :-)
DeleteYou thank.
DeleteCome on gang. This blog is getting watered down.
ReplyDeleteThat may be a very sound decision for me to retire there
ReplyDeleteFort Lauderdale (Fla.)
ReplyDeleteLast Sunday I said, “Grouse, grouse, grouse :) I sing Will’s praises and look forward to the puzzle segment every week.” “Sing Will’s praises” was intended to evoke “laud” as in Lauderdale.
Chuck
Fort Lauderdale, Floridate (sic)
ReplyDeleteMy Hints:
"Just hearing the name of the county this city is in gives me the creeps.
Dave Brubeck
Spain
Italy"
Broward County is the hotbed in the overthrow of the election where the votes were repressed.
The late Dave Brubeck is known for Take Five. A reference to Spring Break.
Both Spain and Florida are peninsulas.
Both Ft. Lauderdale and Venice are cities with canals.
For what it's worth, I thought your 'creepy' clue might have had something to do with what you acknowledge, or with something a trifle more recent, which I gleaned from a Wikipedia page.
DeleteI gave the movie hint: Goldfinger
ReplyDeleteAnyone who has ever watched that movie knows that the story winds up in Fort Knox.
So, Fort Knox ==> "Maybe the answer starts with "Fort" as the first word?" ==> "Well then, the state would have to be Florida" ==> "So, what city in Florida is Fort La<something>?" ==> "Why, of course! Fort Lauderdale, Fla!"
> Musical Clue: Allan Sherman
ReplyDelete"The Streets of Miami":
They came with a posse and toook my six-gun away.
The crowd was too anygry to leave me in jail.
The sheriff said, "Outlaw, I'm gonna let you run away,
But don't ever be seen south of Ft. Lauderdale."
> Musical/Topographical Clue: Guys and Dolls
When you see a gent paying all kinds of rent
For a flat that could flatten the Taj Mahal...
FLA is FLAt, FLAt, FLAt!
That stuff belongs on lol blvd. refers to Las OLas blvd. a main drag tourist attraction in Ft. LAuderdale.
ReplyDeleteMy hint re-Jefferson & Madison: they were obtaining obsessed with Fla.
ReplyDeleteMusical Clue: Runnin' Wild is from the comedy Some Like Hot, starring Tony Curtis, Jack Lemmon, and Marylin Monroe. Part part of the movie is set in Florida
ReplyDeleteMy clue about the novelist with the triple-vowel combination referred to Carl Hiaasen, who writes about the wackiness that is Florida.
ReplyDeleteFats Waller - FLAt foot FLoozie with the FLAw FLAw
ReplyDeleteUncle J.: Freddie's Lucky Lindy in Hollywood. FLL airpiort for Hollywood/Fort Lauderdale.
ReplyDeleteJim Loftus outsmarted me; I only had the horizontal solution, but at least I knew it wasn't easy! And I agree with Ray about top and bottom not being equivalent...there's a certain 'flakiness' issue.
ReplyDeleteI was too lazy to check very diligently about any other connection between Michael and Alf.
I saw the horizontal solution immediately and knew it was only mentioned in order to discount it, so I only sent in the proper answer. Damn! I guess I will just have to keep on using my old tire pressure guage, also a dial indicator type, but theirs has a hose extension. Whatever am I do do?
DeleteI have a solution to the new one, but it's a little 'out there'.
DeleteI just submitted what I am confident is the intended answer. I'm not so sure though, that you need to think outside the terminal.
DeleteI don't think my solution requires any such excursion, depending on what you mean by 'the terminal'.
DeleteNow, don't get yourself all boxed in on terminalogy.
DeleteTerminalogy....hmm....terminalogy. Could be worse!
DeleteStill waiting for the next puzzle.
ReplyDeleteI checked last week's thread and apparently, the last puzzle wasn't up until 3:33am Sunday.
I'm not seeing it anywhere, yet.
DeletePaul and sdb: on what site are you getting your info?
ReplyDeleteThey're talking about the Car Talk puzzler.
DeleteThe new puzzle is up. See http://www.npr.org/2012/12/16/167357366/sticking-with-the-sunshine-state. It's another stinker, and the intended answer doesn't even correctly answer the puzzle question. I would stay at least 3 meters away.
ReplyDeleteReally? That's the answer?!?
Delete