I'm afraid I don't have the answer yet. I've been fixated on trying to make wrist, waist or chest work to create an -ist word. Perhaps it isn't a conventional doctor but is something else? Reminds me of our Halloween theme several years back.Q: Name two parts of the human body, 10 letters in all. Place their names one after the other. Take a block of three consecutive letters out of the second word and insert them somewhere inside the first word without otherwise changing the order of any of the letters. The result will name a kind of doctor. What kind of doctor is it?
Edit: Shortly after I posted I figured out that Will was looking for an adjective, not a noun. And as suspected, it wasn't a traditional human medical doctor.
A: VEIN + ARTERY = VETERINARY
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.
Good morning everyone. It's the 10:17 from Provo! First off, let me say that rumors of my death have been somewhat exaggerated, although I did have a brush with mortality. My gratitude to WW and Paul for taking note of my absence at the end of last week's blog. And thank you, Paul, for your backhanded well-wishes (sorta).. As it were, I drove up to Salt Lake on Wed. to visit my tailor. I was being fitted for a new suit of sheep's clothing. Mine had become threadbare and revealing, and one as vain as I, would not be caught dead in such attire for fear that I might be caught dead in such attire.
ReplyDeleteSpeaking of "dead," on my way home Friday evening, I decided not to take the Veteran's Memorial Highway (the arterial thoroughfare between SLC and Provo). Instead I took the old road, thinking it would be less monotonous. It was. The near-full moon was obscured by clouds and there was a steady drizzling rain. On a particularly dark stretch of road, I saw a tall man using a scythe as a walking cane as he ambled along the righthand shoulder. I realized immediately that it was the grim reaper. I grabbed my cell and dialed 911, "I'm following a guy in a hoodie and I can tell he's up to no good!"
The distraction caused me to veer off the road and crash into a "Caution: Mutilated Cattle Crossing" sign. I was only slightly injured, but had to finish the rest of my trip to Provo in an ambulance. Thank God, I was wearing clean magic underpants. Cat scan was negative and I have been happily reunited with the pack. (7 clues)
AbqGuerrilla Wolf, really glad you are back. Akin to parts of an Italian meal, we've been trained to anticipate your anti-pithy clues.
ReplyDeleteDelighted about your comment on being caught dead in such attire. Might you also say " I would not be caught dead in such satire for fear that I might be caught dead in such satire."
Or, for gemologists and queens, insert sapphire above.
We are in the midst of an old-fashioned blizzard here in Colorado so I should have plenty of time to get the gist of this puzzle.
Blizzard indeed! I have this image of you cracking the whip over a team of huskies as they leap through four-foot-high drifts. Middle-aged guys here in Provo pay big money for that kind of in-humane humiliation.
DeleteSince WW and I live in the same state, I'm enjoying the same blizzard. But, you'll notice the storm hasn't taken us out of circulation.
DeleteSaid Curtis with a hearty, husky laugh.
DeleteNot too many folks going out now, with or without pups. Even the Denver Zoo is closed...and they typically stay open every day of the year!
DeleteThat exasperating reaper!
DeleteGlad you made it through, bromigo. You must be a chosen vessel.
ReplyDeleteSeems like ya'll need a little nudge in the right direction. Will said a "kind" of doctor. To me, that implies a descriptor (such as witch, pulmonary, computer or foot). If you keep looking for those ~ist and ~ian suffixes, you'll never heal your aching hearts.
ReplyDeleteThe fine professionals in this field spend a lot of time with lab work.
ReplyDeleteMost excellent, Curtis. I should add that I have a close friend in Las Vegas who is a boxer. He was seriously injured in a fight last November. (His opponent bit off part of his ear -- just like the Tyson-Hollyfield fight.) He made several visits to one of these doctors who succeeded in patching him up.
DeleteMy wife and I used to have a close friend who was a professional racer, and she visited one of these doctors often.
DeleteI know the "female" in question, Curtis. "She" was a drag racer as I recall. It's like the recent survey that concluded 64% of the guests on daytime talk shows are female. What they failed to mention was that 29% of them were not born that way. Not that there's any problem with that.
DeleteAnd furthermore, her neuterioty was based largely on her identification as a transgender racer. My friend Howie is the one drove him up to Trinidad, Colorado, for the operation last spring. At the discharge window, Howie said there was a little bowl next to the cash register with a small sign that read, "Give a P_NIS TAKE A P_NIS."
DeleteCurtis, the lab(rador) work clue made me smile!
DeleteWW - your comment about a husky laugh made me laugh. My racer friend was the retired greyhound that we had for many years. She actually enjoyed going to the Vet because the Vet bribed her with peanut butter.
DeleteCurtis, smiling and laughing~~We Coloradans live in the second happiest state in the USA!
DeleteYour greyhound had a smart vet; my pup cowers at the vet as her first trip there after her Dumb Friends League adoption was an unpleasant one.
"Paging Dr. Kevorkian, paging Dr. Kevorkian . . . "
ReplyDeleteVery funny, Bob. Yer killin' me, bro.
DeleteNot an easy puzzle this week, but I guess I'm an old hand at it because I solved it.
ReplyDeleteClues in the the last six comments posted to last week's
ReplyDeletepuzzle were quite sufficient to get me on the right track for
this puzzle.
Just read an article about the economic pressures facing recent graduates in this field. Although I'm sure they're bright enough, the wording of the headline made them sound like oxymorons.
ReplyDeleteI don't mean to carp on, but I expect a low turnout again this week, which means it becomes more likely someone on this blog will be basqueing (or is that basking?) in the glory next Sunday.
ReplyDeleteSDB: If that is indeed the case, do you think Mr. Shortz will allow a shout out to Blaine's Blog?
DeleteNo, ABG, I think you may be barking up the wrong tree again.
DeleteOnly when I am standing on my hind legs, SDB. Typically, my species and gender approach trees on three legs. (BTW: You still make me howl once in a great while.)
DeleteOkay ABG, here is one of mine you just reminded me of:
DeleteImagine, if you will, that a dog is making his rounds in the neighborhood one fine day and suddenly has an urgent need to raise his leg, only to discover much to his dismay that there is no fire hydrant handy. What does he use?
A toilet tree. (Toiletry)
Clever, Jan.
ReplyDeleteAnd a few posts up ~~ Nice family photo, Blaine. I looked at some of your other Halloween photos; amazed your teenagers were still ok with being with their parents!
Not really, WW. You must know by now what a strict disciplinarian Blaine is. :-)
DeleteFor a while this morning I felt like I was just going around in circles but sometimes that’s the best way to do what needs to be done.
ReplyDeleteChuck
Is that a euphemistic way of saying you were out chasing tail at 2 AM, Chuck? How'd that work out for ya?
DeleteChuck, venn you are right you are right.
DeleteI must admit trying to solve this puzzle had me yelling my rage at Will this morning and I began to lose my voice just as I finally got the answer.
ReplyDeleteHas anyone noted that -- unlike any other doctors I know of -- these particular doctors come in two sizes. Seriously. Look it up.
ReplyDeleteAndrologists?
DeleteOuch! I shrivel at the thought!
DeleteMy son has a doctorate in economics. They come in micro and macro, among others.
DeleteAack! Now there are so many trains coming I can't keep up! ;-)
ReplyDeletePlease, don't let me be misunderstood, but when things get this fast and furious I can only think I've gotta get out of this place.
ReplyDeleteZeke ~ Heavens above on a street called love, bro! If you're gonna burdon us with musical clues, please wait till some night when the weather is a little warmer and we're all sitting on a dock baying at the moon so we can at least sing along. If not for the sake of this blog, then for the sake of your own peace of mind.
DeleteAnother ex-hippie who has narrowly escaped working for the corporate overlords.
GuerrillaBoy
PS: This clue is dedicated to Blaine's bloggers, who may not know it, but they are beautiful.
Love that two-door cartoon, Lorenzo (see below). Beautiful also.
DeleteReminds me of one of my favorite Gary Larson cartoons.
ReplyDeleteWe're really zeroing in, eh Lo? I'd hate to think we were having this much fun in vain.
DeleteHeading off to sing...You probably think this song is about you. . .
DeleteFor years, I thought she was singing about Mick Jagger. Apparently not...
Deletehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/You%27re_So_Vain
Wearing your apricot scarf are you, AbqGuerrilla?
DeletePlural; probably plural; singular.
DeleteNo, I still don't have the answer....son of a gun!
Thought maybe you were hit by a train in the tohubohu, Paul. It'll come.
DeleteLorenzo:
DeleteI am sure I know the cartoon you are referring too, and I like it a lot too.
Just tried on my apricot scarf, WW. I asked Wife #3 if she thought it was too gay. She sized me up, gave me a thumbs-up and responded, "Just gay enough."
DeleteK, nine clues up l had a comment but now we're completely off topic.
DeleteWe slow ones jest gotta play ketchup. Got it runnin in mah innards.
DeletePaul: {{{adjective}}}.
DeleteThanks, WW, but I already gathered that from AbqG's 'descriptor' remark...sorta.
DeleteMy deleted clue (below) was on the blog for a few hours this morning until I decided it pointed too directly to the answer. It's the only thing I really care to say about this puzzle. I guess I can say it was a 6-digit number, and the sum of the digits was 13 without giving too much away.
As I'm sure you're aware, the plural/singular comment above does not refer to the puzzle, but to three instances of one pronoun in the song.
Anyone notice that consecutive letters of the answer form at least four relatively common female names?
ReplyDeletePsycho is not a female name, Lo.
DeleteAh ha. I got it, the clues above and on the last post made this puzzle very easy.
ReplyDeleteSo, Laura, were you hitching at these posts or twitching at them? And WW are you going to a school to help you train for these train situations?
DeleteRoRo, glad to see you're back. I will likely need to choo-choose a school with a loco motive. ;-)
DeleteDid you catch any of Rally Day at our alma mater? Hats off to all.
Bully Bully!!
DeleteMy father was this kind of doctor. Wonder why this took me so long. grrrrrrrrr
ReplyDeletewww.condenaststore.com/-sp/Grrr-is-not-a-word-New-Yorker-Cartoon-Prints_i8948083_.htm
DeleteNatasha ~ It's probably one of those "can't see the forest for the trees" kinda things. You couldn't sniff out the answer, yet it was right under your snout the entire time.
DeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
DeleteHow about grrrreat?
DeleteZeke the cereal killer
More musical clues: Patti Page, Baha Men, Tom Jones, Elvis....
ReplyDeleteRough puzzle for us experienced ones. It had me going in all directions, but finally got it.
ReplyDeleteRough, rough?! C'mon Snipper, it wasn't that baad.
DeleteCome on, Snipper! With a name like yours, I would have assumed you went to this kind of doc for your annual check up. (Just funnin' ya, man ;-)
DeleteGood one; perhaps you too?
DeleteI haven't thought about Pat Buttram and the WLS National Barn Dance for a long time.
ReplyDeleteCertainly vary in their ability. Lots of instinct!
ReplyDeleteRolling Stones clues: "Wild Horses" and "Let it Bleed"
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteThe deleted comment was: 180112
DeleteIt refers to a train they call the James Herriot.
Roughly the same information can be obtained by decoding my Vigenère cipher at Tue Feb 26, 11:55:00 AM PST with the keyword veteranery; if you use veterinary, you still might be able to figure it out. I don't know, I guess Mr. Applegate made me do that.
Exelon operates a power generating station in a place called Eddystone. The Baldwin 60000 was built by the Baldwin Locomotive Works in Eddystone in 1926. And I thought Baldwin made pianos. Nowadays, an outfit called Enbridge is converting the train facility at Exelon's retired Unit2 to receive tankers of North Dakota Bakken crude for East Coast refineries.
If all the blood vessels in your body were placed end to end, you'd be dead.
You gotta have miles and miles and miles of capillaries, too.
My apologies to all. When I posted the correct answer at the end of last week's blog, I had no idea it was the correct answer. I was just wandering.
ReplyDeleteBlaine, forgive me. It won't happen again. I hope.
Just didn't want anyone to think you to be an mtbiker (militant tellall blogger).
DeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
DeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
DeleteOh my God, Mr. Science, if that's true, then you proved that the "infinite monkey theorem" is indeed true! I thought that axiom had been completely debunked with the advent of the Internet.
DeleteIf you ever get to Utah, I'd like to shake your paw. ;-)
MrScience, your posting on last week's blog had me convinced that veterinarian could not be right since it had 12 letters and since the clue remained on the blog so long. It took me awhile to come back to veterinary. So, like my pup, I spent time circling around and around . . .when the answer was right there all along. <Exit clicking ruby slippers>.
DeleteAbqG:
DeleteReminds me of the old Bob Newhart routine. Thousands of monkeys given typewriters (told you it was old). Checkers wander by to see what's been done. Eventually, one calls out "Hey, Ed! I think I got one. This must be famous or something ... 'To be or not to be, that is the gzornenplutzx.'"
WW, thanks for your encouragement. When I finally solved it, I was in no shape to do anything. (Mrs. Science and I were away for a long weekend in the mountains.) When I next got on line, I was pleased to see that Blaine had already deleted it.
GuerrillaMan:
Want next week's answer? Your favorite simian is already on the case. It's coming to me .... Closer ... There! It's one of:
A. 43
B. Veterinarian
C. Cleanthes Fudwillow and his Orchestra
Remember, you saw it here first.
Itinerant blogging~~no mads here. We have nary a worry here, MrScience. Enjoy the journey. §§ Word Woman
ReplyDeleteY'all are putting me to sleep with these boring clues. Or maybe I'm just dog-tired from staying up late to watch the Oscars.
ReplyDeleteI'm surprised no one has yet pointed out how the two body parts are complimentary to each other; like one is the "yin" to the other's "yang".
ReplyDeleteYip, er, yep.
DeleteYou have us coming and going.
DeleteExactly, WW. Kind of elegant relationship between the pair.
DeleteJrx llnqvvb zmzlky glfsnegh, fnr lllyvxh kwrpmc kikxriaw km Vpy Azgux.
Delete60000
DeleteExelon
DeleteOh, I get it Weird Al ~ It's kinda like me and SDB. One comes in with the good jokes and the other goes out with the bad jokes. Right?
DeleteRemind us, AbqGuerrilla, Who goes first? (Also, see below).
DeleteHaving a tougher time figuring this one out than the rawhide bone Benji is chewing.
ReplyDeleteRuth, Sun 11:15:00 AM may be of help. Just taking the "having" vs "had" at face value.
ReplyDeleteMusic could lead one to the two body parts and the kind of doctor that is the answer. One of Simon and Garfunkel's lesser known works, but outstanding nonetheless comes to mind. So does a song from "Damn Yankees."
ReplyDeleteOne of Simon and Garfunkel comes to mind.
Delete... and it ain't Pauly.
DeleteOh, pshaw!
DeleteMaybe it's the name of a particular doctor. Doctor Kildare? Ben Casey? Marcus Welby? Dr. Doolittle?
ReplyDeleteDr Duval
DeleteCan't really do much with that.
DeleteWW, c'est l'indice fantastique.
DeleteZeke le voyageur.
ZC, alas, my comment was meant as a clue and a riff to the comment above yours. Do you ever find clues don't stay where you put them?
Delete"Yet all the suns that light the corridors of the universe shine dim before the blazing of a single thought."
Well, maybe not some of our thoughts here on the blog ;-).
At times I'm dueless in the payment dept.
DeleteZeklueless:-)
This message comes straight from the Department of Redundancy Department.
DeleteHope n change agin?
DeleteCzar zeke d'creek
Doctor Who?
ReplyDeleteHe's on first, right?
DeleteAye.
DeleteDr. No
ReplyDeleteDr. Who's creator of the Daleks, Ron Cusick, just died. :(
ReplyDeleteI'd like to think that Ray can now see for light-years and light-years and light-years....
DeleteYes, Ray. :)
DeleteI was so frustrated with this puzzle that I walked 3 blocks in the rain to my friends Klaus and Klaudia to ask for help. When they opened the door they took one look at me and said in unison, "Come inside, you're all wet!"
ReplyDeleteIn recognition of the much anticipated retirement of the ex-Nazi Pope Eggs Benedict, I have just now coined the following:
ReplyDeleteWhat do the Vatican and Pamplona, Spain have in common?
They both engage in a great deal of disseminating of bull.
Along those lines, SDB...I have a part-time night job as a front desk clerk at the Provo Hyatt. There is an eccumenical conference being hosted here this week and last night I was checking in a Father Delaney from New York. After he signed in, he asked me, "Please make certain that all the X-rated movies on the TV in my room are completely disabled." With a complete straight face, I responded, "I'm so sorry, Father, we only have regular X-rated movies at our hotel."
DeleteOne of these days my horsing around is gonna land me at the unemployment office...or worse yet, in the emergency room.
PS: Speaking of horsing around, veteran pedophile, Jerry Sandusky, missed his calling. Instead of coaching football, he should have become one of these doctors. When Papa Joe saw four feet --all facing the same direction-- under the shower curtain, the explanation Jerry offered for his antics would have been more plausible.
DeleteABG, it wasn't Joe who witnessed the deed, but his assistant. But, getting back to my original post, red shoes; brown shoes——a shitneel nonetheless. And that reminds me of the transgender Mother Superior who, after gender reassignment, went from Nun the Less to Les the Nun. Just another case of Jerry man enduring.
DeleteFeeling a wee bit Popeless at this moment.
DeleteWW: Soon you may be popefull.
DeleteThis is confusing, never try artificial intelligence!
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
DeleteI think Elliott's lyin'. I tried some in my Visine and instantly, it made my eyes smart.
DeleteIn the beginning I ran through doctor types just to jog my memory:
ReplyDeleteAllopath, homeopath, osteopath, naturopath, psychopath.
No help there.
Obviously, you're jogging down the wrong paths, Hugh. I suggest you giddyup and try a new trail, pardner.
DeleteBorderline sociopath in residence,
GuerrillaBoy
Clearly, you're jogging down the wrong path.
Delete... and clearly, great minds think alike.
DeleteAnd so do yours.
DeleteIndeed, Jan, great minds do think alike. Alas, however, fools seldom differ.
DeleteAh, I missed the furry, er, flurry.
ReplyDeletevein, artery. Move “ter” to get veterinary
ReplyDeleteLast Sunday I said, “For a while this morning I felt like I was just going around in circles but sometimes that’s the best way to do what needs to be done.” Just like blood circulating through your veins and arteries to deliver oxygen to your organs.
Chuck
Or a dog circling in on a comfortable sleeping position.
DeleteOr the trajectory of my dog on the lawn before making a deposit!
DeleteVEIN & ARTERY = VETERINARY
ReplyDeleteRather poorly worded in my opinion and I would like to have posted the following as a hint, but being that desecration is the better part of velour, I restrained myself. Anyway:
I think Will Shortz should vet these puzzles before he posts them.
Now My Actual Hints:
"Not an easy puzzle this week, but I guess I'm an old hand at it because I solved it." An old hand is a veteran.
"I don't mean to carp on, but I expect a low turnout again this week, which means it becomes more likely someone on this blog will be basqueing (or is that basking?) in the glory next Sunday." Glory as in vainglory. Also Basque people living in America are noted for raising sheep, but in Spain for carp fishing. Both are of the animal kingdom.
“I must admit trying to solve this puzzle had me yelling my rage at Will this morning and I began to lose my voice just as I finally got the answer." When one loses his voice it may be said that he became horse.
"Paging Dr. Kevorkian . . . " because in my experience vets are the only doctors who routinely, openly, and legally practice euthanasia.
ReplyDeleteMy clues: Rough puzzle for us experienced ones. It had me going in all directions, but finally got it.
ReplyDelete"Rough" = ruff (dog bark)
"Experienced ones" = veterans
"all directions" = weather "vane" (or blood flows in all directions)
VEIN & AR(TER)Y ==> VETERINARY
ReplyDeleteOne of the replies to my post above by Paul, was a crypto-post using a misspelling of the answer as the key. Using "veteranery" as the key in that crypto-post has it making sense.
"K, nine clues up" referred to canine. Many hints at vain (vein), nary (veterinary) and pups and animals at the zoo.
ReplyDelete"Can't do much with that." referred to Dr. Doolittle in the clue above it.
Furry...Fur the umteenth time,no call from NPR. Going into sequester for the Pope and March madness.
My hint: Certainly vary in their ability. Lots of instinct!
ReplyDeleteSelf explanatory.
My friends Klaus and Klaudia are German and pronounce W as V . "Come inside. You're all vet!"
ReplyDeleteThe headline in the NY Times was "High Debt and Falling Demand Trap New Vets"
ReplyDeleteMusical clues: "How Much is that Doggie in the Window?", "Who Let the Dogs Out", "What's New, Pussycat?", "Hound Dog"
Belated musical clue: "Beast of Burden," Latin for veterinarius.
DeleteOne of the dictionary sites I looked at said veterinary is used rarely as a noun and rarely as an adjective. Let that be your beast of burden.
Chosen vessel/veins & arteries.
ReplyDeleteMusic clue/the Animals.
Vain/vein.
Grrrreat/Tony the Tiger.
60000/approx # miles of veins & arteries.
Dr. Duval/Dr. in Fantastic Voyage thru the veins and arteries.
Fantastique...voyageur/I can free up 501 days to go to Mars!
Play ketchup/blood in arteries and veins.
ReplyDeleteWhen acting with Gene Autry, Pat Buttram (and Smiley Burnette) called him "Mister Artery".
ReplyDeleteI thought this was a good puzzle.
veterinary(n) = veterinarian, according to MWCD, and OED which calls it a substantive - it can stand alone as a noun.
I believe ABQ pointed this out earlier. Did he delete his comment?
So ,yes, veterinary is probably more commonly used as an adjective, but, to me, that makes the puzzle better rather than poorly stated.
> these particular doctors come in two sizes
ReplyDeleteI always stumbled every time I tried to parse Baxter "former large-animal veterinarian" Black's intro on NPR.
Cowboy: "Ya either are one or ya aren't!" I miss Baxter Black's comments.
DeleteTHe poet lariat.
DeleteGood one, Uncle John.
DeleteI finally found what I take to be ABQ's hint that veterinary is both noun and adjective:
ReplyDeleteSun Feb 24, 01:04:00 PM PST
Lorenzo, I'm guessing that the cartoon you were referring to was the "I'm getting tutored" one?
ReplyDeleteFar Side (Gary Larson)
Blaine:
DeleteIt had to be that one. My heart goes out to that poor dog.
And what about Biff? Was he jealous or did he know the awful truth and chose to remain silent?
DeleteHi Lorenzo, I am laughing out loud re: your above post about Biff because I almost posted similar comments yesterday when I looked at the cartoon again via Blaine's link. I hadn't seen it in many years, but frequently find myself thinking about it. After I noticed that the cartoon was oriented slightly differently than my mind sees it, I looked at Biff and immediately began wondering what he must have been thinking. I thought he looked like he knew the awful truth, but also recognized the futility of the situation.
DeleteI also became aware, again via Blaine, that this particular Gary Larson cartoon seems to stay with many of us, probably mostly men.
The Biff cartoon stuck with me, too...Hence, my comment above Lorenzo's about "two-door." It's just funny.
DeleteClearly, Biff is on the horns of a dilemma. Me, too. I've been invited to a party, and, while I'd like to wish the honoree all the best, I hesitate to even open the door when it's fluctuating around zero(plus or minus 11.42857). Besides, I don't think my Tate's compass will even get me to Stockton, frankly. Maybe next year.
Delete"Tastes more like cornflakes."
Horse. It's what's for dinner.
ReplyDeleteMy hint: 'This is confusing, never try artificial intelligence!'
ReplyDeleteConfusing suggesting an anagram: Never try AI = veterinary
In this weeks puzzler you do not want to weigh in too many times. To do it properly one must needs to deduce the coin too heavy.
ReplyDeleteYou got the call !? How was it?
ReplyDeleteOr could it be that zeke created the puzzle and was notified that his was to be used? Or perhaps this is a reference to the NPR spring pledge drives currently underway.
ReplyDeleteI believe he is referring to the Car Talk Puzzler. An easy one to solve too.
DeleteI believe skydiveboy is correct on both counts.
DeleteYes. See: www.cartalk.com/content/boooogus-coin?question
DeleteDid anyone else have trouble finding this site earlier today, or was it just a hiccup in my local DNS?
You could find the bugus (heavy) coin in 4 weighings even if the pile was larger than 50, but I suppose if they gave the maximum coins possible it would make the method obvious.
DeleteSorry not to be more explicit. Twas the cartalk.:-(
ReplyDeleteSorry, Zeke. I was ready to be vicariously thrilled! ;-)
ReplyDeleteNew puzzle's up, and like the Car Talk Puzzler, it's mathematical: Eight people are seated at a circular table. Each person gets up and sits down again — either in the same chair or in the chair immediately to the left or right of the one they were in. How many different ways can the eight people be reseated?
ReplyDeleteWith rules like that, I guess we have to assume this is also the kind of dinner party where they don't let people sit on other people's laps, which is always too bad,,,
ReplyDeleteI'll order the combo meal excluding the mutated chicken, thank you.
DeleteTo solve this puzzle, must we have taken in other considerations, such as menu, lighting, conversational skills, etc?
ReplyDeleteProbably man/woman, married/single, elligible...surely this is a proper occasion. Hey Lmpy, have you got it? Only 150 on last week's easy puzzle. You and your ilk should really shine this week. Choice of majors may make all the difference. :-)
DeleteI recommend just playing it out.
ReplyDeleteThink I will just go play for awhile. After last Sunday's blizzard, 60 degrees and March sunny looks pretty good!
DeleteI'm jealous! I'm facing a 30 degree bike ride with 20 mph wind gusts here in NJ.
DeleteLet's say we number the seats clockwise from 1 to 8. Now one of the ways to reseat the people is seats 1 & 2 swap and everybody else stays where they were. Another way is seats 2 & 3 swap and everybody else stays where they were.
ReplyDeleteNow one thing that bothers me is, did I just give 2 different possible arrangements, or would Will say that just gave the same possible arrangement twice?
Those are 2 different arrangements. Let's number the chairs clockwise from the top, 1 through 8. Let's name the people A through H. Everyone's sitting in a chair initially, lets call the initial configuration {A1,B2,C3,D4,E5,F6,G7,H8}. Your arrangements are {A2,B1,C3,D4,E5,F6,G7,H8} and {A1,B3,C2,D4,E5,F6,G7,H8}. Keep going....
ReplyDeleteIf Arthur and Betty swap, Arthur is now between Betty and Cleo, but if Betty and Cleo swap, Arthur is still stuck next to Herb, and they always get into an argument of some kind.
ReplyDeleteJan, I sure hope Will agrees with you. I've already submitted my answer based on that.
ReplyDeleteMy concern was this: Suppose we represent the possible solutions by two circles, one inside the other, both marked off every 45°, with paths drawn from initial position (inside) to new position (outside)? Now suppose the area between the circles can be rotated around. If two rearrangements could be considered identical if one can be rotated into the other, then that would certainly reduce the number of possible rearrangements now, wouldn't it?
The trick is to look when they stand up and see whose bottoms are threadbare and need to be reseated.
ReplyDeleteI do believe the shape of the table is significant, or Will wouldn't have mentioned it.
ReplyDeleteAnyone remember the Paris Peace Talks, '69 - '73?
DeleteOr perhaps homage to his status as one of the Knights of the Round Table?
ReplyDelete150 enteries?
ReplyDeleteThis blog generated more interest than that last week!
Delete