Thursday, January 24, 2013

NPR Sunday Puzzle (Jan 20, 2013): World Leader Puzzle

AFP/Getty - World Leaders G8 Summit 7/6/2009NPR Sunday Puzzle (Jan 20, 2013): World Leader Puzzle:
Q: Take the last name of a famous world leader of the past. Rearrange those letters to name a type of world leader, like czar or prime minister. What world leader is it?
I must be getting old as this puzzle took me longer than expected. My muddy thinking had me trying to make STALIN and SULTAN work, or LEAR and EARL.

Edit: The first clue was "...gettinG OLD As..." which hides the leader's first name. My second clue was muddy which hinted at MIRE as an anagram of both answers.
A: Golda MEIR --> EMIR

202 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 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.

    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. Use your brain to remember the last name of the leader's successor, who was assassinated by someone whose last name is pretty much the same as the type of world leader.

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    1. Meant to post this here: it merely takes some pondering.

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    2. ... and I can't begin to say who succeeded the leader's successor.

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  3. I wonder whether Will's choice of examples of types of world leaders was entirely random?

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    1. Along that line of thinking, Jan, I could easily imagine this particular leader locking horns with any head of state bearing this title.

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    2. Holy Moses, what an image!

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  4. Good clue Jan !
    The leader's name is also an anagram of one of today's on-air puzzle answers (minus one letter)

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  5. I don't know if I should stop now or keep thinking and rearranging.

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  6. If the Titanic could've talked, it might've said "Watch out for that berg, man!"

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    Replies
    1. And if the berg could've talked, it might've said "WTF, buddy!"

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  7. Greetings from Provo! As I lay snuggled between wife #1 and #3, listening to Will's clue, I thought to myself, "OK, I've gotta solve this quiz before Zeke gets home from Sunday school and certainly before SkyDiveBoy repacks his parachute and gets home from his anger management group."

    I have to admit that I struggled while I snuggled. "Could the world leader title be a long word requiring a lot of shuffling? Or might it be a short word with a mere single letter switch?" Probably something in between, or so I mused. At that moment, Wife #1 nuzzled my neck and whispered the answer in my ear. "Of course!" I exclaimed. We went downstairs and enjoyed the lox and bagels that #2 had waiting on the table. As we ate, we listened to the NPR stories about the young San Francisco author and the anti-inflationary movement currently afoot to make gold a standard again.
    Ciao for now!
    GuerrillaBoy

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    Replies
    1. abqg:
      counted five hints in that post - plus a misdirection - is really all there is ?

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  8. Okay, I came up with two answers to this puzzle. One had a generic title and one that I had never considered the full title (sort of an abbreviation). Which one to submit?

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  9. The puzzle was posted by NPR last night at 9:03 PM and I posted the following shortly after when I had submitted my answer:

    "New puzzle is now up. I hope none of you get too bogged down trying to figure it out.

    For a hint think of trillion dollar coin."

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    Replies
    1. The bogged down clue is obscure and clever, SDB. And, as an aside, it was my first ever pun. My junior high class was studying cranberries & other industries in MA. I said "Let's not get bogged down studying this." The whole class laughed/groaned. . .and I became a lifetime punster.

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    2. WW:
      Interesting, as I recall sitting near the front of my 7th grade Jr. Hi home room class one day, bored to tears as the teacher was telling us about a woman giving birth on a commercial airliner as a doctor relayed instructions from the ground. I quietly replied in a very bored way, "Airborne." There was a slight pause and the teacher was first to crack up followed by the rest of her class. I was surprised at the response, as I did not think it was as funny as they did.

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  10. A king rules a kingdom and a sultan rules a sultanate. So, why isn't the UK currently a queendom?

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    Replies
    1. Good point, Curt. It kind of begs the question: If Diana had lived and somehow ascended the throne, would the UK have become a "princessapality"??

      I see from your moniker, Curtis, that you are a photographer. Do you photograph anything other than johnsons? Just curious 'cause it seems rather specialized.

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    2. Thanks AbqGuerrilla, now I think I am beginning to understand why they impeached President Andrew Johnson.

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    3. And let's not forget sprinter Michael Johnson's ouster... And then there was Lady Bird's unfortunate fall from grace. Not to forget Shoeless Joe Johnson of the Chicago Black Sox. Plenty of disgraced johnsons over the course of history to hang on Curtis's wall of shame gallery.

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    4. And you've only just pricked the surface.

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    5. Did you guys miss junior high school?

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    6. @ Curtis: Perhaps it is not a Queendom because she is now past her Prime (Minister). ;-)

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    7. ...although Queendom is a perfectly acceptable English word.

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    8. By that, Word Woman, might we assume that if you were the monarch we'd be living in a Femdom? If so, I'm sure SDB and I would receive our come-uppance (bad boys getting what they deserve).

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    9. No, it would be Wisdom. And you _might_ be in the far reaches of this place.

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    10. Greetings from the far reaches of Fairview Elementary school where I am eating paste and doing finger painting! OK, got it. Whizdom. Sounds really magical.

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    11. So you enjoy being the only person in school on a holiday?

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  11. Theobald Osmic IV faced the same problems as the ruler in question.

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    Replies
    1. You are absolutely correct on this, Hugh. Too bad there was so much bad blood between them. Otherwise they might have consoled each other...

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    2. PS: Correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't Osmic the Fourth the recently deposed king of Manti Te'o's native Samoa? I got this from Manti himself.

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    3. I find the naming conventions of other cultures quite confusing- Mac, Fitz, (A)p (and p sometimes mutating to b), ie Robert and Probert, or Evan and Bevan. In this case Osmic should be Ogmic.

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  12. For diversion, remove the last letter from this actor's last name and anagram result to name another type of world leader.

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  13. It's a miracle!!! I solved it!!! Seriously.

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    Replies
    1. Snipper, congrats, but I think your miracle threshold needs reevaluation.

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    2. Speaking of thresholds: Forgive SDB's callous remarks, Snipper. I think someone lowered the bar (on his head) a few weeks ago. Back to you, SDB.
      ;-)

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    3. And here I sit without a knife in sight. :)

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    4. Why not just use your tongue. It's plenty sharp, SDB. Or better yet, borrow Word Woman's. Her's is reminiscent of Somerset Maugham's 1944 classic.

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    5. Sharp observation there AbG. And remember. the Little King was a short ruler.

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    6. SDB - no need to reevaluate my thresholds if you got both of my clues there.

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    7. @ SDB & ABQ, I suggest Occam's Razor.

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    8. Recently I attempted to purchase an Occam's Razor at Target, but they were out, so I simply opted for the Braun.

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  14. Replies
    1. Is it Lorne Green of the Ponderosa?

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    2. No, that would be his wife, Ponder Rosa.

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    3. I completely forgot about her! Now I remember it was she who was crushed and died while having sexual relations with her co-star Dan blocker who played Hoss. It turned out to be too weighty a role, not to mention roll, and her death was listed as sub-rosa.

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    4. I forgot to mention that this was the first time any cast member had relations with anyone other than their Chinese cook, who immediately quit the show in a fit of jilted rage. Of course this was downplayed by the producers and their sponsors. Lorne Green went on to a life of excitement pushing dog pellets.

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    5. Hey, leading a rag-tag fugitive fleet of 220 starships back to Earth isn't too tacky!

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  15. Oddly, since this person was in office, the country's political leadership has gone from Left to Right.

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    Replies
    1. As an aging techno-nerd, I found myself misled, by your clue, Jan, into searching for Swedish prime ministers prior to 1967!

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    2. Orangebus, before I decided to just think about the puzzle, I stumbled on the CIA site that lists every world leader and their top cabinet members...in a monthly PDF! Not your grandfather's CIA. . .

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    3. My cryptic comment here turns out to be an obscure hint to the new puzzle.

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  16. What a opportunity for creative thinking. And how ironic the result...

    Chuck

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  17. Glad you are able to illuminate with this scattering of clues.

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    Replies
    1. Meir means light and scattering refers to the diaspora associated with Israel.

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  18. It seems to me that the leader in question here was better known when I was young (a very long time ago) than now. Many younger folks might not even be aware that this leader existed.

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  19. I've read all the comments, and the answer to this really just isn't coming to me. :(

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    Replies
    1. Laura, just keep putting one foot in front of the other.

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    2. Laura, maybe if you haul out your old battle axe, you might be able to cut through some of the B.S. on this page and discern the more on-point clues.
      Or, perhaps if you climb into your boat and row out into the middle of A broad, shallow lake, it might come to you then.

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    3. Laura, carefully read Curtis Johnson's phrasing just above for a big clue.

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    4. Still nothing!! Maybe I'm one of the young people who isn't aware this leader existed.

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    5. OK, Laura. Last chance for you. Come on now, put on your thinking hat and strike while the iron is hot!

      A year after this leader's death, a new world leader emerged and appropriated, or at least inherited, the former's nickname.

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    6. I got it...as suspected I was one of those young people who wasn't aware the leader existed. I admire your and Word Woman's authentically admirable help.

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    7. You are welcome. Glad you put on your thinking hat (& shoes).

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    8. Golly, I've gone from "the far reaches of wisdom" to "authentically admirable," all in the course of one puzzle.

      As for you, Laura: Always remember that on a streetcar named, Desire, and here on Blaine's blog, you can always depend on the kindness of strangers. (GuerrillaBoy twirls moustache, raises eyebrow nefariously, winks at audience and exits.)

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    9. AbqGuerrilla, since you mentioned your moustache, wanta bet on whose is longest?

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    10. Between mine and whose? Yours? Word Woman's? Tennessee Williams's?

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    11. ABQ, gollygee whiz. I have wondered, is ABQ for Albuquerque...or perhaps something more quirky?

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    12. Albuquirky, indeed. My hometown. Now known only for Heisenberg and hot air balloons.

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  20. For those looking for the answer online, I'm sorry to say, but it's not on yahoo or google.

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  21. This talk of Green reminds me of someone named Ximena.
    I don't believe the leader under consideration is French.
    One might search forever for the best reply to unseemly behavior.
    Perhaps a character map would be in order.

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    Replies
    1. Lorne is not Loren, but Sophia was Jimena, and Jimena is Ximena, in a manner of speaking.
      Leigh French wasn't a Head of State, nor was Pat Paulsen.
      Some French guy made some remark about 'unseemly behavior', but probably never studied martial arts.
      è is not é; Greene is not Green; and Soylent Green is people. Holy Moses!
      Barbra Streisand is not Alanis Morissette, but Simone Morisset bore Sophie to Benoit Maupu. God only knows where 'Marceau' came from. Apparently not from Marcel, who did study martial arts.
      Georges Bizet was French, and strangely enough, there was only one of him.

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  22. Does past leader mean that this person no longer leads? The only one I can think of is John Banor. Kind of a no-brainer.

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  23. If anyone here is interested in a real puzzle, then I would suggest checking out the Car Talk Puzzler for this week. It is presented as being mathematical, but I see it as a logic puzzle and math knowledge is irrelevant in solving it. I did so without any tools, even paper. So I am suggesting you try and solve it just by thinking about it logically and you will be pleased. I suspect many here already know of this puzzle, but I had not heard it before and unfortunately I just looked on line and the answer is easy to find there, but you won't get any joy that way.

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    Replies
    1. So, here's the Car Talk puzzler:

      RAY: I'm going to give you a thousand $1 bills. You come up with 10 envelopes. Here's your assignment: Figure out a way to put various numbers of dollar bills in those 10 envelopes, so that no matter what amount of money I ask you for, you can hand me some combination of envelopes and always be assured of giving me the correct amount of cash.
      TOM: Let me get this straight. If you say, "Give me $637," I can say, "Oh, that will be envelope number one, envelope number six, and envelope number two."
      RAY: You got it.

      So, SDB, what do you do when I ask for $2000?

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    2. Jan:
      Did you mean $200? Or if not and you actually mean $2,000 then I would send you to a bank. Gready guy!
      But if you meant $200 then you need to rethink the puzzle.

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    3. No, I meant $2000. I want to see a return on my investment. If you're OK giving me $1000 and asking for just $200 back, we need to talk offline!

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    4. Anyway, as John Brown said in last week's blog, there are 10 kinds of people, those that understand binary, and those that don't.

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    5. I refuse to continue until the gready/greedy controversy is resolved.

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    6. Agrea/Agree. I get most of the clue alluding except the Theobald Osmic IV one. Is this merely a chance to use Roman Numerals as in SuperBowl XLVII, World War II, & some clocks?

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    7. I didn't get Theobald Osmic IV either; I wouldn't worry about it; but, if you want to,....go....worry.

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    8. Not worried, Paul, curious. And since I have a dog but no cats, all should be ok.

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    9. I really enjoyed the car talk puzzle. No paper or pencil required. Will's puzzle took me a bit longer. And I still don't understand all the clues!

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    10. Enjoy! <a href = "http://imgur.com/r/funny/TwDHCTN>CATS</a>

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  24. A little birdie sat on my shoulder and whispered into my left ear that this puzzle is harder than it seems.

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    1. I think you clearly misunderstood that little birdie, Curtis. He probably said "pretzel" not "puzzle." Otherwise he would have used the term, "more difficult."

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    2. AbqGuerrilla, are you being difficult?

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    3. No, the bird's enunciation was crisp and clear. After he spoke to me about the puzzle, he orated at great length about how ponderous, prattling, and picky some of the palaver had become.

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    4. Curtis, my good fellow, have you not heard there is a newly enacted ban on high-powered semi-automatic alliteration. Your magazine obviously holds in excess of three prominent lifts of a series of words or phrases.

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    5. AbqGuerrilla:
      Interesting observation. I was just now thinking about earlier arguements I had today re: all this nonsense about gun legislation, which I think is nothing but a diversion from the real issues facing us. I argue that no matter what we do or do not do nothing will change. I don't win these discussions because people do not reason when they are strongly influenced by emotion instead of logic. But consider this: fully automatic weapons have been allowed and banned and can you think of even a single case of someone being killed, or even wounded, in an incident with a shooter using a fully automatic weapon? I would bet there has never been one in this country. But even I would go along with banning fully automatic weapons for the citizenry.

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    6. I have to confess there were some cases of Thompson machine gun incidents involving organized crime during prohibition.

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    7. Really? Do we need to take this puzzle blog into divisive politics? That's not what I come to this blog to see.

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    8. I agree with Curtis. Let's drop the 2nd amendment stuff. OK, everybody? I'd much rather talk about Curtis's First Amendment right to take them pictures.

      On a related note, now we have women in the military barracks. That all well and good, but my questions is, "What are they gonna grab after they drop their socks?"

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    9. I think you have the order backwards.

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    10. Actually, you forced me to do a little online research, SDB, and apparently they changed the rhyme word to "crotch" a few years ago. As I was saying to my server at lunch today, "Ain't gender equality the swellest!"

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    11. I did not know that, plus I liked it much better when it was "roosters."

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  25. Ow, my otitis is really acting up.

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  26. Of course, then there’s hexadecimal. Probably less than 1 out of 2CFA people understand it.

    Chuck

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  27. Given this group's affinity for puns, I was somewhat surprised to find no postings about citrus fruit, delays caused by slow-moving lines, truncated calendars or Peter Sagal.

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    Replies
    1. Lorenzo, Come Thursday next, please E lab or ate. I anticipate and expect examples or pun ishment may ensue.

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  28. Strains of Alanis Morisette are ringing loudly in my ears. Or somewhere.

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    Replies
    1. Just curious, Ruth. After reading your post several times, I feel compelled to ask, have you had one of your ear drums transplanted to another location on your body?

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    2. Loved your clue, Ruthie. With this latest malady my ears are still rather plugged. Perhaps if I took a reamer to them...
      Zeke's not listening.

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  29. I noticed that part of the world leader's capital city has something in common with a recent puzzle answer.

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  30. Will keeps revealing how isolated he is with his puzzles. There is no way a lot of people will know about this person. The one I'm coming up with has a first name that, if you did the Tina Fey, "iron-y" conversion, would become a palindrome. Does Sarah live in one of those? Is it a hi-tech igloo?

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    Replies
    1. I don't see Sarah Palin as a dome girl. Too new-age-y for her.

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    2. Jan, how about a do me girl?

      Uncle John, your post has me wondering if you have an unintended answer, because the one I have is an extremely well known person.

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    3. I agree SDB Although I heard a lot about this person growing up because of being a shining example for the times. I don't think young folks have to be deep deep history buffs to have heard this name

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    4. RoRo, maybe younger folks just don't think about people who became famous in their golden years.

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    5. I must. I guess I'll submit it and see if Will bites. The country my past leader hails from would not be real cozy with the region where you would see the type of leader I came up with.

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    6. Good clues, you guys. I guess I got the same one as the rest of you. I think one's knowledge of this leader is VERY age-dependent. Oh yeah, and this puzzle is real tough!

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  31. Anybody seen Zeke around this week? I'm worried about him.

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  32. Thinking muddier than usual. The time just flu on by. Thanks for the mention. Getting better by the day.
    Zeke the puny.

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    Replies
    1. Glad you're feelin' better, compadre. Things have been a bit unstable around here without your voice of reason. Lots of talk of guns, knives and razors! We need our Zeke "Joe Biden" Creek!

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    2. Agreed. Zeke is a great moderator. And I am working on this puzzle now: SDB=ABQ and ABQ=SDB. C'est vrai?

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    3. Sorry Word Woman. Although peeps on this blog have been known to assume noms de plume from time to time, 'tis not the case with the Dive Boy and the Guerrilla Boy. He is in Seattle. I am in Provo. If he were I, I'd commit suicide just to rid us all of him. ;-)

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    4. And if I were YOU, GuerrillaBoy, I'd pat myself on the back for being my favorite blogger.

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    5. ABQGuerilla, you do have a kindler, gentler side. Please don't take that the wrong way. And on another note, my son is moving to Australia in May to play squash. Anyone know folks down under? He is a recent Brown U grad with good manners and a great smile. Thanks.

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    6. My word, woman. Nice of you to notice. I can be R-rated and sarcastic, but never mean-spirited or angry.

      I noticed the "kindler." Thought it was being used to complement the sudden thawing of your tones. I know plenty of folks who reside down under, but alas, a mere six feet or so.

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    7. ABQ, looking back on it, the "typical American ignoramus" comment did make me feel incredibly welcome. Just like working with 20 guy geologists during the latest oil boom. I did enjoy their practical jokes though I've never understood why they were practical..Anyway, thanks for you kindnesses...and wit.

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    8. Just to be clear, if you re-examine the earlier postings, you'll note that the "typical American ignoramus" comment was not mine.

      I get what you are saying about "practical" jokes. I prefer the impractical variety myself. One might also ask, "What's so happy about 'happy hour'?" And why do we park on driveways and drive on parkways?

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    9. Mea culpa, ABQ. You are correct. Now perhaps you can remove that fake post !

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    10. Tres gentil, Monsieur AbqG. Je trouve.

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  33. And Blaine, fearless leader, how are you?

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    Replies
    1. Me? I really am fine... But thanks for checking. If others on this blog are asking, tell them I ran off to Australia.

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  34. Glad to hear you are well. Have you gone to Australia to play tennis with Sloane Stephens?

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    Replies
    1. Me? I really... = MEIR
      ...them I ran... = EMIR
      Australia's country code is AU which is also the chemical symbol for Gold (Au).

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  35. All this pseudopoetry frosts me.

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  36. Another one that may elude the younger of us. Take the last name of a famous world leader of the past. His name sounds like something that happens to most of us each March. Who is he?

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  37. Is it former Soviet foreign minister, Blouen Hatzov (1948-1953)?

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  38. Non, mon frere. C'est Itzhak Haig.

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  39. I got it!! It's the deposed East German Chancellor, Dreinkt Greenbier (1958-1961). God, took me forever to nail this one! Great puzzle!

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  40. Wasn't it that monarch, Enemade' Cezar? or his son who used to be in the senate, Frankel Cezar? Or maybe I had too much green beer with the sangria.

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  41. Drop two letters from the last name of a retired world leader and rearrange the remaining letters to come up with another name for a type of world leader.

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  42. Chuck, Can you please explain the significance of 1 out of
    11,514? I like it better in binary (0011011011111010) then
    hexadecimal (2CFA).

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    Replies
    1. That should have been (0010110011111010)

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    2. None. I just wanted a relatively large number that used a lot of letters.

      Chuck

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  43. Golda Meir --> Emir

    Last Sunday I said, “What a opportunity for creative thinking. And how ironic the result...” The grammar mistake, “a opportunity,” was intended to evoke “a golden opportunity,” like Golda. Ironic was intended to evoke the disharmony between the name of an Israeli leader and a type of Arabic leader.

    Chuck

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    Replies
    1. I thought "ironic" referred to her "Iron Lady" nickname -- see AbqGuerrilla's hints to Laura above.

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  44. EMIR > GOLDA MEIR

    My Hints:

    "New puzzle is now up. I hope none of you get too bogged down trying to figure it out.

    For a hint think of trillion dollar coin."


    Bogged down refers to mire, as in mired down.

    Trillion dollar coin has been in the news lately and assumed it would not be made of gold, but platinum.
    I later made reference to golden years. Another hint at Golda.

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  45. My hint re-Made in USA. She actually grew up in Milwaukee.

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  46. > Use your brain to remember the last name of the leader's successor, who was assassinated by someone whose last name is pretty much the same as the type of world leader.

    Meir was succeeded by Yitzhak Rabin (anagram of "brain"), who was shot by Yigal Amir.

    > ... and I can't begin to say who succeeded the leader's successor.

    Menachem Begin.

    >> Rearrange those letters to name a type of world leader, like czar or prime minister.
    > I wonder whether Will's choice of examples of types of world leaders was entirely random?

    Meir was born a subject of Czar Nicholas II, and became Prime Minister of Israel.

    >> Along that line of thinking, Jan, I could easily imagine this particular leader locking horns with any head of state bearing this title.
    > Holy Moses, what an image!

    Think Michelangelo.

    > Oddly, since this person was in office, the country's political leadership has gone from Left to Right.

    ... while their writing continues to go from right to left.

    > I don't see Sarah Palin as a dome girl. Too new-age-y for her.

    "A dome girl" anagrams to Golda Meir.

    ReplyDelete
  47. "Merely" meant to evoke Meir. The Golda Meir Library in Milwaukee is built near 4 bogs; that's what i thought ABQ referred to. Reference to shoes and feet in clues to Laura were meant to evoke the "ugly, sensible shoes" Golda wore. And finally, emphasis on Queendom, brought up by Curtis, was to evoke a female leader. It would be curious to see an age distribution of our group.

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    Replies
    1. Oops, bog clue was SDB. I am still thinking you are alter egos.

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    2. Clarification:
      I am one who goes later. AbqGuerrilla is Church of Alter Day Saints. Please do not ask me what this means. We don't want to get bogged, or blogged, down.

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    3. I did not overlook your cryptic below-the-belt insult, SDB ("I am one who goes later."). In my own defense, I should like to say that I am working two jobs and I need my sleep as I have to get up very early most mornings.

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  48. My comment: "Wonder if these two leaders ever got together for a picnic with beer and brats" was a bit snarky, I'm afraid. Of course Golda Meir grew up in Wisconsin, famous for its bratwurst, or brats, but as usually defined as a pork sausage that would be off-limits to the Jewish leader, while beer would be off-limits to an Islamic Emir.

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  49. Q.(Above) Take the last name of a famous world leader of the past. His name sounds like something that happens to most of us each March. Who is he?

    A. Konrad Adenauer

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    Replies
    1. Technically when we move the clocks forward in the spring, we lose an hour from our day. :)

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    2. 2:00 becomes 3:00, add an hour (to the time)

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    3. Blaine:
      Of course you are right, but David may have been thinking about our adding an hour of daylight to our evenings.
      I did not get this one as all I could think of was March Madness. Strange for me since I am not at all into spectator sports, but I do love the car that was presented to Adenauer when he took power, which caused it to be nicknamed The Adenauer.

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  50. Itzhac Haig...Easter egg...even though it's mixing oil and water.

    My favorite deviation to the accepted answer was Nelson Mandela and the obscure adelman which is a conjunction of the Hebrew word from the Levitical side adel meaning nobel, and the German mann. nobleman.
    Happy to be back.
    Zeke the more gooder :-)

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  51. FOR THOSE OF YOU WHO DO NOT OWN A MAGIC DECODER RING:

    I have to admit that I struggled while I snuggled. "Could the world leader title be a long word requiring a lot of shuffling? Or might it be a short word with a mere (EMIR single letter switch?" Probably something in between, or so I mused. At that moment, Wife #1 nuzzled my neck and whispered the answer in my ear. "Of course!" I exclaimed. We went downstairs and enjoyed the lox and bagels (GOLDA'S FAV BREAKFAST) that #2 had waiting on the table. As we ate, we listened to the NPR stories about the young San Francisco author and the anti-inflationary movement currently afoot to make gold a (GOLDA) standard again.

    Laura, maybe if you haul out your old battle axe (HARSH, I KNOW, BUT AFTER ALL, SHE WAS THE IRON LADY), you might be able to cut through some of the B.S. on this page and discern the more on-point clues.
    Or, perhaps if you climb into your boat and row out into the middle of A broad, shallow lake (A MERE), it might come to you then.

    A year after this leader's death, a new world leader emerged and appropriated, or at least inherited, the former's nickname (IRON #1 WAS GOLDA, #2 WAS THATCHER).

    You are absolutely correct on this, Hugh. Too bad there was so much bad blood (GOLDA DIED OF LEUKEMIA) between them. Otherwise they might have consoled each other...

    See everyone on Sunday!
    GuerrillaBoy



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  52. GuerrillaBoy, was "whispered in my ear (Meir) another clue?

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    Replies
    1. I think the more interesting question would be our wondering about GorillaBoy's sleeping arrangements with his harem of devoted Ladder Day Supplicants. Taking turns, free for all, lottery, etc. Or perhaps, as I suspect, Go Lirra (notice the Italian connection,? or is that a Japanese deviation?) our fellow blogger is in fact SINGLE! Oh the shame!
      Okay, I’ve caused enough trouble for today.

      Delete
    2. Yes, WildWoman, good catch on "my ear." I overlook my own cleverness sometimes.

      As for you, arch-nemesis SDB, I think you are projecting here. "Our" wondering should be "My" wondering, as it would appear that you are the only one on this blog who entertains lascivious fantasies about my sex life here in Provo. For your information, it's not entirely a bed of roses (or even poses), my friend. Imagine coming home from work some evening and before you can even set your lunch box on the counter, you see three perturbed women sitting at the table and they ALL want to talk about the relationship! Do me a favor, SDB, if I ever hint that I am considering taking on a fourth, please give a good swift verbal kick in my magic underpants!

      Incidentally, Wife #1 read your posting out loud over b'fast this morning and quipped, "Hah, he only THINKS he's single sometimes."

      Delete
    3. ABQGuerrilla, if you are, indeed, single in that famous Utah city would you be Provolone?

      Delete
    4. Very good, WW. I can't wait for ABQ's reply, if there is to be one, as I made a similar comment November 3, 2012.

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    5. I'll handle the jokes, WW. ;-)

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    6. When will you start, AbqGuerrilla ? ;-)

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    7. As soon as my brother, Quasimoto, straightens out.

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  53. Clues were:

    Its A MIRacle. I solved it. Seriously (as in syria-sly).

    "It's not on yahoo..."= Netanyahu

    Recent puzzle was salem, as in Jerusalem.

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    Replies
    1. I should have caught those, Snipper. Now I fool feelish. Oh, and I refer to him as Bibi Nutty Yahoo. And by the way he was also educated here in this country. Or at least we tried.

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    2. He actually graduated from the same high school I did, just outside of Philadelphia. He was in the class 2 years ahead of me.

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  54. Theobald Ogmic IV - Yes, I flubbed the original anagram which I corrected an hour later replacing the s with a g.

    Goldie Mabovitch - Her nickname,(picked up as a girl in Milwaukee?), and maiden name.

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    Replies
    1. Abq says you be a Johnson. Say it aint so, Joe.
      Love, Michael Jackson. :-)
      Zeke 1919 Creek.

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    2. Zeke ~ Enjoyed reading this post (even more than my own!) this morning. I was sure that I had slid that one by everyone, but alas, you caught it (unlike Joe himself) and exposed my inaccurate post with wit and humor. Too-shay! The Jackson's of the world salute you (and the Johnson's hang their heads in shame).

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  55. There were several comments that this puzzle favored the elderly among us, and Word Woman (not "Wurd Grrrrlll"?) is curious to see an age distribution of our group. In the interest of scratching that intellectual itch, I'll start this off. I'm 60.

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    Replies
    1. Oy! I've got socks that are 60.
      Keep on keepin' on young fella.
      Zeke of the holey toes

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    2. To provide some anonymity, I added a poll in the upper right. Now you can submit your actual age bracket without feeling self-conscious.

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    3. Thanks for the poll, Blaine. Is adding photos as clues ok? If so, what's the best way to do that?

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    4. WW, First you invest in an Instamatic and then.....:-)

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    5. Actually I don't think there is a way for us to add photos; I wish there were. Get the picture?

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    6. I've noticed that after voting, I had to select from the top of the bar graph to the bottom in order to read the percentages.

      So, you might want to adjust either the font colors and/or the background color.

      Delete
  56. WW, while you can't add images directly in a comment, you could add a link to one stored in Flickr, Picasaweb, imgur, etc.

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  57. New puzzle is up: "Name a personal mode of transportation. Remove its first and sixth letters. What remains — in sequence, without rearranging any letters — will spell the names of two parts of the human body. What are they?" I'm not able to think of any non-obvious clues yet.

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  58. And let's avoid the bathroom humor this week, OK?

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  59. Agreed, Jan. Both body parts begin with the same letter.

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  60. I feel that the speed in which I solved the personal transport puzzle makes up for the trouble I had last week (which I still blame on not being old enough to know the leader!)

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  61. This comment has been removed by the author.

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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.