That's silly, J.K. Rowlings name doesn't even contain an X!Q: Name a famous author, first and last names. Change an X in this name to a B, and rearrange all the letters. The result is how this author might address a memo to the author's most famous character. Who is it?
Edit: Silly is a reference to the Trix Rabbit which is both a hint to the author's first name (BeaTRIX) and her famous character (Peter RABBIT). J.K. Rowlings' famous character is Harry Potter, a hint to the author's last name.
A: BEATRIX POTTER --> TO PETER RABBIT
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.
Any clue from me would be a give-away.
ReplyDeleteRoger that.
DeleteY'all are buggin me.
DeleteYet another harebrained comment.
DeletePeter (Rabbit), you likely know that Beatrix also made puppets. It was news to me. I also didn't know that she lived on a farm in Cumbria, UK.
DeleteDid NOT know that WW -- to the Internets I go!
DeleteC'mon, Blaine. Clues that obvious would be panned by the acamedy!
ReplyDeleteI agree, I think this is probably the first time I've understood Blaine's clue.
DeleteI remember reading once that Aldous Huxley addressed all his memos "Ahoy, used bull!"
ReplyDeleteTrue enough, Jsulbyrne, but this has been overshadowed by the fact that after Alexandre Dumas gave up his career as a writer and became president of the Hair Club for Men, many of the memos he dispatched started with: Dear U.S.A. Bald Men. I'm just sayin'...
DeleteTricky puzzle. Might a "Wheel of Fortune" contestant have an edge here?
ReplyDeletePlaying Scrabble with no a, e, i, o, or u --feeling especially disemvoweled.
DeleteY?
DeleteBrevity is the soul of wit. This group has a ways to go (except you, ZC!).
DeleteGood morning, Woman of Few Words:
DeleteIn defense of the "atrocity" of verbosity, could it be that some of us have brains that have been conditioned by the media soundbite and need everything encapsulated in a brief headline or slogan, while others take pride in the mundanity of clichés ("brevity is the soul of wit")? Is there no room on this blog for creative, in-depth reporting (ala NPR). Just a little food for thought (be careful not to overeat; we know you're on a strict WordWatchers diet ;-).
JK = Just Kidding as well as Joanne K Rowling. I actually will admit to enjoying your posts. There, I've said it. I also enjoy some of the more pithy comments....Silly! A professor at Smith College told us "I will give you a week to write a 10 page paper and 2 weeks to write a 2 page paper". Food for thought.
DeleteLuckily I read this post just before cutting my wrists, WW. ;-) All's well that ends well (sorry, I'll let you handle the cliches). ;-)
DeleteNice to be appreciated, but that being said, I know Blaine truly does hate SDB and me hanging around here, cluttering up his blog, and driving his band width expenses through the cyber-roof. This, of course, makes it all the more fun.
So relieved, ABQ. And 2 smiley faces! I actually do understand using lots of words. When I was in hs, I wrote a column for my state's newspaper & was paid by the word. To balance out my early verbiage I've been trying to pare words ever since. Glad you and SDB are having one-derful fun chez Klee.
DeleteHow interesting...we have two signed Klee stone lithographs in our dining room. No kidding.
DeletePretty wild. Which ones?
DeleteNot sure how I would go about showing you pix, but I found links them online:
Deletehttp://www.passion-estampes.com/deco/affiches/klee/klee-parkbeilu.jpg
https://www.google.com/search?hl=en&safe=off&site=imghp&tbm=isch&source=hp&biw=1600&bih=764&q=paul+klee&oq=paul+klee&gs_l=img.3..0l10.4577.7055.0.7447.9.6.0.3.3.0.78.443.6.6.0...0.0...1ac.1.2.img.qfzEM1PSiZ4#imgrc=7jSgMdFKhUYbCM%3A%3BCUXSfnxLqV8PLM%3Bhttp%253A%252F%252Fartobserved.com%252Fartimages%252F2010%252F05%252Fh2_1984-1.315.57.jpg%3Bhttp%253A%252F%252Fartobserved.com%252F2010%252F05%252Fgo-see-paris-paul-klee-the-ernst-beyeler-collection-musee-de-l%2525E2%252580%252599orangerie-through-july-19th-2010%252F%3B300%3B450
Wonderful bold colors!
DeleteA name in the news this week!
ReplyDeleteCan we talk?
DeleteA sister of the famous character wound up at the Playboy Club.
ReplyDeleteAll examples that exist in my lexicon would be toxic, hence, extract no exotic clue from this axiom.
ReplyDeleteYou again with the x-rated entries. And I thought this was a family-friendly blog...
DeleteIf the author were Melville, this post would be aargh rated.
DeleteI think old Herman be a trickster, Curtis. Why else would he borrow the name of a dreaded STD for the title of his most famous novel?
DeleteBartelby the Scrivener is also the name of an STD? Who would have thunk it.
DeleteNo, and it ain't his 1853 short story, Cock-A-Doodle-Doo!, either. I think he only wrote one novel, mate. One more wrong guess and you walk the plank. ;-)
DeleteThat means I'll swim with the plankton.
DeleteYes, for as long as you can tread water with sharks lapin at 'yer flanks, Curtis. Eventually your strength will (insert character's first name here) ______ out and the headline in the Daily Maritime Bugle will read: "Johnson Reunited with League of Discharged Seamen at Bottom of Atlantic." Alas, poor Johnson, I knew him-- well, sorta.
DeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteSeems like there's a connection to one of last week's body parts.
ReplyDeleteThe pen is mightier than the sword? ;-)
DeleteAs cliches go, this is one of my personal favs, WW. The play "Richard III", penned by Shakespeare, certainly fared better than the self-appointed, sword-wielding monarch did in the Battle of Bosworth Field.
DeleteThe buff history buff,
GuerrillaBoy
(with a tip o' the hat to Zeke)
Lo! Richard III's skeleton was just identified yesterday under a parking lot in Leicester, UK. His skeleton, compete with evidence of scoliosis, was positively identified with DNA samples. I have a hunch this news may bring forth more puns, cliches and aphorisms.
DeleteMy dear word wench: 'Twas indeed the candle of inspiration that inspired this vile knave to prepend such a timely post.
DeleteAh yes, your lordship...but it was not Shakespeare who penned those words but most knaves believeth it was so. Care to not burn that candle at both ends in your search.
DeletePlease pardon this Jack of Knaves while he hops nimbly and hastily over the candlestick in search of his dust-covered edition of Bartlett's.
DeleteI'm back! 'Twas Edward Bulwer Lytton's fine example of a metonymy.
If you want me, I'll be in the drawing room.
With the candlestick, Colonel Metonymy?
DeleteWith the candelabra, my good friend. You forget i'm Mormon.
DeleteMormon than most, I'm quite certain.
DeleteLong ago in a far away land,
ReplyDeleteAn aspiring writer took pen in hand,
To tell a tale of one who harms,
Intent on creating four lucky charms.
The writer's hero, in search of treats,
Is spied in Eden and soon retreats,
He gambles despite a cautionary alert,
And pays the price, losing his shirt.
Commencing with treats, ending with tricks,
The author's tale never made flicks.
And the hero stands naked without any pants,
Singing on Easter Gregorian chants.
Anagram this work's setting to describe what it represents for the character.
ReplyDeleteGood one, Leo. Anagram the letters yet again and you get a Spanish word that describes the character's most notable physical attributes. Anagram them once more and you could complete this sentence: "The trouble began when the character ______ beyond his turf." Drop one letter and anagram the letters to describe the feelings our hero evoked from his enemy. Sorry to ramble on, but your posting really inspired me and I just got a wild hair up my arse (as some might say).
DeleteAfter dropping another letter, did his enemy fly into one of these?
DeleteYes, and if you drop the last letter from that entry, you'll be describing what his jacket was reduced to after his barbed wire encounter.
DeleteWait for tomorrow on the next anagram.
DeleteOld cartoons might help!
ReplyDeleteMy posts from the end of our previous puzzle:
ReplyDelete"I guess you could say the authors of this puzzle had to debug the name by changing the X to a B."
And:
"Can you even guess how mad it made me to spend time working on the wrong author at first?"
Whew! Finally got this figured out. Gonna break out the Scotch and wait for the SuperBowl!
ReplyDeleteAfter the game don your straw hat and meet us at the barn. we're gonna have a hoedown.
DeleteBack to mah fambly agin. Iffin you wants to know mo jis axe.
ReplyDeleteZeke the Veggie Mon.
A friend named her child
DeleteZxavier. He will be spelling that forever. . .Zeke, the Veggie Mon, how many hats do you wear?
One at a time.
DeleteI see. No caps for sale at your place.
DeleteJes thankin caps. der the ones wit de big point, right?
DeleteI tink dat's a dunts cap yer referin' to, Zeke.
DeleteGet thee to a haberdashery, mate. Mach schnell!
Aint got no dunts in ma haid, but point well taken.
DeleteZeke "double down on the mercury" boy.
I just got a haircut yesterday. Makes my ears look bigger, but not THAT big.
ReplyDeleteI am reminded of an author who is not the answer to this week’s puzzle. Though there is no X in his name there is another little used letter in his last name, K. A very small clue at best.
ReplyDeleteChuck
Chuck, if your clue means what I think it does, I think it's great. And it reminds me of a tangerine, which I should probably eat now, before it's too late.
DeleteCute. As a biologist, I always respected the precision and accuracy of this author's images.
ReplyDeleteThe simplicity of this puzzle does not warrent a giveaway clue. Let us hope that everyone gets it quickly, but I wouldn't be surprised if a lop-sided number of people dig themselves into a hole while looking for the answer. Good luck to everyone, somehow this may have been easier if they waited until next Sunday or even another Sunday a couple months out.
ReplyDeleteThe simplicity of this puzzle does not warrent [warren with a t] a giveaway clue. Let us hope that everyone gets it quickly, but I wouldn't be surprised if a lop-sided [lop-eared rabbit] number of people dig themselves into a hole [like a rabbit] while looking for the answer. Good luck to everyone, somehow this may have been easier if they waited until next Sunday or even another Sunday a couple months out [Chinese New Year or Easter]. I love rabbits, I have two house rabbits and got this puzzle very quickly!
DeleteLaura, I thought your clues were brilliant, especially the ones about warren & Easter!
DeleteLet's go folks! This no time to be hiding in your shell.
ReplyDeleteAnd self-published, too!
ReplyDeleteStill stumped? Try this:
ReplyDeleteIn the opening chapter of this revered literary work, the protagonist receives a stern warning from the story's chief authority figure. Had the hero, at that very moment, dismembered this individual and then kept a souvenir of this atrocity (as these types often do), his fortunes may have been favorably affected. As such, he perhaps would not have been forced to high-tail it down the road, when later in the book, the feces hits the motorized cooling device.
I sat on the fence on this clue for nearly an hour, but decided it was not a giveaway.
Sounds like a flip-flopped version of Hansel and Gretel.
DeleteABQ, you'd be in trouble if Blaine charged by the word. Be a magician, ABQ, & shorten your clues! JK
DeleteEdgar Allan Poe got paid by the word...go Ravens!
DeleteThumped. Ouch!
DeleteBetter?
It's ok, ABQ. I'm sure the self-publisher ran the word count up, too, when paid by the word. ;-)
DeleteI cotton to the short story. Not too much fluff, but you know that you had your reading glasses on.
DeleteIf you are not a Super Bowl fan, NPR has an interesting alternative on You Tube about owl head turning titled "How about a SuperB owl?" Me, I'll be watching the Minah Bird confrontation.
DeleteI had to watch the stupid bowl cuz my girlfriend had money riding on it. But the power outage allowed us to watch Downton Abbey and still get back in time to see the last couple of minutes.
DeleteSouper bowl was awesome. It was a toss-up between the gumbo and chili. Fortunately we went into overtime!
DeleteI, at first, got a bit hung up on another, more famous, author who I thought must be the answer. If you should happen to get caught this way too, I hope you don't spend too long trying to make it fit or you may feel like a dumb ass later.
ReplyDeleteI could hint at the name of another famous author whose name I used as a clue to another puzzle over a year ago, but it would be too much of a give-away.
ReplyDeleteI got to thinking a moment ago:
ReplyDeleteHad the author capriciously elected to leave the main character out entirely, I suspect that censors would have been largely displeased...
I think the author will be the beneficiary of some good PR from this puzzle.
ReplyDeleteAnd the author's initials could sure use some positive PR.
ReplyDeletePretty slick observation there, Snipper Boy. Actually their positive PR is ubiquitous, self-manufactured and costing a pretty penny, no doubt.
DeleteIn a similar vein, I was in the supermarket last week, seated near the pharmacy, when a lady walked by and asked "Checking to see how ornery you are?" "Nah," I replied, "I already know that." True story.
Delete@ Paul: I ran into the main character from this book on my way home from church this morning. I mugged him in an alleyway and now I can pay you that money I owe you.
DeleteGuerrillaBoy
He'll be alright. As old as he is retirement is around the corner. On the other hand is he fully vested?
Delete@ AbqGuerrilla: I think I finally figured out the book you mean. Jaded, I await this month's final puzzle.
DeleteSnipper, that is actually a crude remark.
DeleteEspecially in Naphtha Valley.
DeleteNaphtha! Of course! You're a Woman of the Wor(l)d, WW; is there an Amish amusement park somewhere that features 'Hex Rides'?
DeleteClever, Sir Paul. Fraktur! Gotta love organic chemistry. :-)
DeleteCan't stop staring at the lovely 2-carat diamond ring my beloved gave me as an early Valentine's Day gift. He must be looney.
ReplyDeleteAww, some bunny loves you. Congrats! And congrats to the Baltimore Ravens while we're at it.
ReplyDeleteyay, I too am a proud Baltimorean I would have been hopping mad if they had not won. I am also a Smith Alum. Wonder Word Woman.
DeleteCool, RoRo. I lived in Lamont. How about you?
DeleteYour view seems to say Lamont, Calif rather than Lamont, Maryland. I live hare in Baltimore at the moment not far from the race track
DeleteLamont House @ Smith. I am in Colorado now.
DeleteI was looking for a "This comment has been removed by a blog administrator" in place of the clue that gave it away for me, but then I realized it was Blaine's comment and that I hadn't yet read any of the other comments.
ReplyDeleteStrange, almost.
Maybe I should have said, "Almost Strange. Almost."
DeleteYeh, lucky this isn't Wikipedia, Blaine. People are sure having a field day with the puns. I heard Eminem had an enmity toward this hare-brained protagonist, even though he found the culprit "cute-as-pie".
ReplyDeleteActually, Unc, "cute-as-pie" is an expression that would more aptly describe the culprit's father, who was known to "go off half-baked" now and then. Perhaps that was, in fact, at the heart of your Fuddian clue and I just failed to give you your due.
DeleteSpeaking of "giving one's due", I appreciated Will's "honorable mention" of Elliott's solution on Sunday.
DeleteYes! Thanks for bringing that up, Paul. I have been meaning to mention it and keep forgetting. Surprised it has taken this long for someone to make note.
DeleteWell, I'm not omniscient, AbqG.
DeleteIf you were, we'd call you "Know It All Paul."
DeleteElliott signed on today on last week's blog so I posted my note there early this morning. I wish Will had mentioned Elliott by name. . .He posted that the Tombstone and Styx clues convinced him he had the intended answer!
DeleteNow that's funny.
DeleteLiving in the past are we? Or just nostalgic? I can barely keep up with THIS week's blog.
DeleteJust new to blog thread etiquette here in Blaine's World.
DeleteThat's even funnier.
Delete;-). Feeling pretty fine not having been blog administratored this week. So far, anyway.
DeleteNo kidding, WW. I always sign on with a bit of apprehension after posting a "clue", and then "Whew!"... if Blaine didn't strike.
DeleteYeah, Uncle John, he can be the Blaine of our existence. ;-)
DeleteGood one, WW! I have a tough time deciding when to delete. If it is egregious, that's easy. But usually I'm faced with something in the middle. The problem comes when the next post reinforces what would have been a possibly overlooked clue by either commenting on the clue or by giving another, almost identical clue. In other words a single post may not give it away but once several are considered together the answer emerges. But I can't delete every comment in the blog at that point, can I?
DeleteSo I generally rely on people self-policing. Remember, I do this to have fun and to make it fun for others. For some, seeing a giveaway clue ruins the fun, but for others it is the hinting and conversing that is fun so I aim to keep a balance between the two.
Thanks for edifying us, Blaine. Now we have some insight as to how you operate and what to expect. As WW might say, "Forewarrened is forearmed." Or perhaps it might be more apropos, given the main character in this week's puzzle to employ a little triple entendre and say, "Forewarrened is foreskinned."
DeleteCwazy for puns,
Elmer "GuerrillaBoy" Fudd
Blaine, you do an excellent job making it fun & interesting, keeping us in line, and encouraging the word play. Get thee to a punnery, aka Blaine's blog. And thank you.
Delete...Get thee to a punnery...
DeleteAlas, Word Woman that you would pen a pun of such keen wit and that it not be first of my own making!! O that this blog were big enough for both of us.
Thy wit is a very bitter sweeting, it is a most sharp sauce. (Romeo & Juliet - save ya the trouble of lookin' it up.)
And is it not well served into a hare, er, goose?
DeleteFetch thine pot, er, pan from thine hutch and let us feast upon the wit of fools such as this flat earth has never known. If that doesn't sound appetizing, we can wait and see what Orion brings home for dinner.
DeleteThe pot, er (Potter) clue was quite delightful, by the way, AbqGuerrilla.
DeleteI can barely recall writing that one. Must have been the pot, er, hash. Not sure which...
DeleteAlot of that going on in Colorado since November. Maybe you are just inharently funny.
DeletePerhaps, or maybe I'm just lapin up the last-minute opportunities to squeeze every ounce of humor out of this nearly dead horse before the new puzzle comes out. As for my punsmanship, I actually design bumperstickers for a living (honestly), so that's how my brain is wired. Like Buster Keaton, most of my stickers are seriously funny. Of course, that's just my opinion.
DeleteIf you want a sample of where my sense of humor lies, check out this 8 sec video from the New Yorker (speaking of Peter Rabbit). I think it's hilarious and it sparked a couple of my clues this week.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5l8FX4wWK8Y
AbqGuerrilla:
DeleteMy sources inform me this is in fact the first job you were able to stick with. Is that so? Or were you simply bumped upstairs?
My friend Harvey dabbles in Dutch ceramics. He had no trouble with this puzzle.
ReplyDeleteGot an old billhilly pal named Harvey from Dapuka, Tenkucky.
ReplyDeleteIf you want a literary(?) clue, The Griff, a graphic novel.
ReplyDeleteThe author seems destined for sainthood, perhaps because a distant ancestor received a visit from the prophet Jeremiah?
ReplyDeleteI heard the resistant ones only thought they were outstanding in their field.
ReplyDeleteZeke broken but humble.
I was the one who first posted about the new puzzle being up and quoting it in last week's thread. In that post I asked whether my suggesting being in the mood for a candy bar would be clue or a hint at the wrong author?
ReplyDeleteI later posted that I now realize that saying I'm in the mood for a candy bar would be a hint at the wrong author, but saying I'm in the mood for a bowl of cereal is a hint at the right answer!
BTW, I thought PlannedChaos left a terrific clue to this puzzle in last week's thread.
PC, if you're reading this, why haven't you reposted it here yet?
Sun Feb 03, 03:27:00 AM PST
ReplyDeleteTake the last four letters of the author’s first name to get a product that is off limits to the author’s most famous character.
Unless you are kidding, you are just being silly.
DeleteThat's what Jan said. Or maybe Jan's comment was directed at me; I suggested that PC's comment was TMI.
DeleteI was riffing off PC's clue.
Delete... and I believe that Blaine's "silly" was in the same vein.
DeleteNo cereal killers on this blog. . .
DeletePerhaps because we adhere to the canons of good taste (from which my cereal happens to be shot, as it were).
DeleteOh dear AbqGuerrilla, A forced pun never fires.
DeleteJust exercising my 2nd Amendment right to fire off lousy puns. Perhaps all the bloggers should chip in and buy me a silencer while they're still legal. (And maybe see if you can get a deal on a pair of 'em -- one for Wayne LaPierre.)
DeleteYour puns already read quite silently, AbqGuerrilla. Warmly, Word Woman
DeleteI don't know about anyone else, but I'm totally on board with the grapes of wrath fermenting rebellion.
ReplyDelete@WW DuuuuH! (the punsters keep me around cuz I bring out their artistic sides) I lived in Lawrence House two years then lived Senior year in Mary Ellen Chase (NOT TO BE CONFUSED WITH MARY COYLE CHASE – CLUE FOR THIS PUZZLE).
ReplyDeleteRoRo, such great houses on Green St...and the wonderful porch of Lawrence! Good to make the connection... Mary Coyle Chase, another Denverite! Secret code: yet another clue.
ReplyDeleteEven the animals loved Green Street. There was a skunk named Cabbage who lived under Lawrence House. He did not bother us if we did not bother him. (True story!)
ReplyDeleteWW and RR,
ReplyDeleteRemember those pizzas you could get at Little Italy?
DDL, I don't think I ever went to Little Italy. Are you in NoHo? RoRo, a skunk named Cabbage--perfect! Reminded me of childhood times hanging out with friends in New England marshes. Skunk Cabbage was everywhere!
ReplyDeleteGunaxf gb JJ, 'senxghe' vf abj va zl ibpnohynel, ohg V fgvyy nccneragyl arrq gb fbeg bhg zl 'cynva' naq 'snapl'. Nzvfu naq 'urk' ernyyl qba'g zvk. V jnf npghnyyl nvzvat ng Uroevqrf, nf va Svatny'f Pnir, nxn Gur Zvanu Oveq Fbat.
ReplyDeleteSryf-Ancgun vf n xvaq bs fbnc; n fbnc bcren vf n xvaq bs frevny; 762767372 pbhyq or n frevny #, be vg pbhyq or 'cubar pbqr' sbe 'fbncbcren'.
OC yrsg nyzbfg nyy ure cebcregl gb gur Angvbany Gehfg; orvat bearel be penool pna nqirefryl nssrpg lbhe OC.
V qba'g guvax Ohfgre Penoor rire nccrnerq va n zbivr jvgu Rfgure Jvyyvnzf. V gubhtug Rfgure jnf va bar jvgu Wbuaal, ohg V thrff V jnf zvfgnxra. Nyy guerr jrer va Ovyyl Ebfr'f Ndhnpnqr; Ovyyl vf perqvgrq nf ylevpvfg bs 'Zr naq Zl Funqbj'.
Cuvy fnj uvf funqbj ynfg jrrx. Ur yvirf va n oheebj. Wbna Eviref zneevrq na Rqtne naq unf bar qverpgbevny perqvg.
Purrgn unq ab ont bs gevpxf gb ernpu vagb, naq fb pbhyq abg gujneg gung zhttvat va gur nyyrljnl. Vs gurl rire pngpu gur thl jub qvq vg, V ubcr gurl guebj gur obbx ng uvz, naq V zrna gur jubyr Zrtvyynu.
'Wnqrq, V' vf na nantenz bs 6/11 bs n anzr gung nccrnerq va gur arjf guvf jrrx ( gur bgure 5/11 unf orra oybggrq bhg), ohg gung fgbel frrzf gb unir nyernql orra sbetbggra, fb V ernyyl fubhyqa'g unir zragvbarq vg. Fbzrqnl V'yy yrnea: "Vs lbh pna'g fnl fbzrguvat avpr...".
On the bean with a rot13.
DeleteBeatrix Potter --> Beatrib Potter --> To Peter Rabbit
ReplyDeleteLast Sunday I said, “I am reminded of an author who is not the answer to this week’s puzzle. Though there is no X in his name there is another little used letter in his last name, K. A very small clue at best.” I was referring to John Updike who wrote a series of books featuring a central character named Rabbit Angstrom. And in science an angstrom is a very small unit of measurement – one ten-billionth of a meter – making this a very small clue indeed :)
Chuck
I went with Steinbeck, Of Mice and Men, and Lennie Small, who dreamed of tending rabbits. The 'tangerine' comment refers to a parody of The Battle Hymn of the Republic; The Battle Hymn of the Republic contains the phrase 'the grapes of wrath'. There actually was a tangerine in my refrigerator, left over from the holidays. Only two sections were affected by mold; I threw them out and ate the rest. It was good. Thanks.
DeleteBeatrix Potter > To Peter Rabbit
ReplyDeleteMy Hints:
"I guess you could say the authors of this puzzle had to debug the name by changing the X to a B." (Hinting at bugs Bunny.)
And:
"Can you even guess how mad it made me to spend time working on the wrong author at first?" (Hinting at being hopping mad.)
And:
"Let's go folks! This no time to be hiding in your shell". (Hinting at the Tortoise and the Hare.)
And:
"I, at first, got a bit hung up on another, more famous, author who I thought must be the answer. If you should happen to get caught this way too, I hope you don't spend too long trying to make it fit or you may feel like a dumb ass later." (Hinting at Alexander Dumas. When I thought of his name I figured I was onto the right track, but soon discovered I had been foiled again.)
And:
"I could hint at the name of another famous author whose name I used as a clue to another puzzle over a year ago, but it would be too much of a give-away." (Hinting at John Updike & Rabbit Run.)
I thought you were mad as a March hare.
DeleteNo, that only happened once. It was several years ago when I was having lunch at a posh bistro and was outraged when I discovered there was a hare in my soup.
DeleteSDB, I'm not sure how you'd measure the fame of Alexandre Dumas vs. Beatrix Potter. Or whether it needs measurement... I have read a couple of Dumas's works...and more than a dozen of Potter's works. Enjoyed both very different genres. She also wrote and illustrated scientific papers on mushrooms which were given acclaim after her death. They were both outstanding in their respective fields.
DeleteNo call again from NPR - I'm fruthtrated!
ReplyDeleteJust think about it...the average age of our bloggers plus 20 years...many of us have a 65% chance before we hit a youthful 90 (or so). I'm getting cranked up!
DeleteMy clue: re-cartoons (lots of rabbits!)
ReplyDeleteBEATRIX POTTER >>>TO: PETER RABBIT
ReplyDeleteMy clues focused on hare-brained, hare and bunny. I also alluded to Beatix's love of writing things in secret code. She also self published her first works. There are now books and tours titled "From Beatrix Potter to Harry Potter. "My favorite clue was "Be a magician (trickster), ABQ, and shorten your clues."
My clues:
ReplyDeleteConnection to last week's puzzle = wheelchair = hair = hare
Author would be beneficiary of some good PR = Peter Rabbit
And author's initials could use some good PR = BP (oil spill).
I liked the replies to this one re "slick observation" and "crude remark"!
"Almost Strange. Almost."
ReplyDeleteFrom Harry Potter, there is a character with last name "Lestrange", therefore almost strange. Her first name is "Bellatrix", therefore the second almost, for Beatrix.
Also, the lierary clue "The Griff", refers to the names of three of the griffins, Flopsy, Mopsy and Cottontail. By chance, I got the book out of the library on Monday and read it that evening.
─B─e─a─t─r─i─x─ ─P─o─t─t─e─r─
ReplyDelete═╪═╪═╪═╪═╪═╪═╪═ ═╪═╪═╪═╪═╪═╪═
─┼─┼─┼─t─┼─┼─┼─ ─┼─┼─┼─┼─┼─┼─ T <== capitalize...
─┼─┼─┼───┼─┼─┼─ ─┼─o─┼─┼─┼─┼─ o
─┼─┼─┼───┼─┼─┼─ ─P───┼─┼─┼─┼─ P <== already uppercase!
─┼─e─┼───┼─┼─┼─ ─────┼─┼─┼─┼─ e
─┼───┼───┼─┼─┼─ ─────t─┼─┼─┼─ t
─┼───┼───┼─┼─┼─ ───────┼─e─┼─ e
─┼───┼───r─┼─┼─ ───────┼───┼─ r
─┼───┼─────┼─┼─ ───────┼───r─ R <== capitalize again...
─┼───a─────┼─┼─ ───────┼───── a
─B─────────┼─┼─ ───────┼───── b <== ...and lowercase it.
───────────┼─x─ ───────┼───── b <== Change an X to a B.
───────────i─── ───────┼───── i
─────────────── ───────t───── t:
To Peter Rabbit:
Hope you folks find the above anagram-diagram nice-looking. It'll look even nicer if you select it, copy it, and then paste it into your text editor.
If your text editor is Notepad, no problem; if it's Edit Pad or Edit Pad Lite, then after you've set up a new document you'll want to select "Convert", "Text Encoding", then select "Unicode UTF-8". Do this BEFORE you paste!
Now, about the clues I posted:
I posted on Wed Feb 06, at 03:48:00 AM PST:
...I asked whether my suggesting being in the mood for a candy bar would be clue or a hint at the wrong author?
I later posted that I now realize that saying I'm in the mood for a candy bar would be a hint at the wrong author, but saying I'm in the mood for a bowl of cereal is a hint at the right answer!
AleXandre Dumas, writer of "The Three Musketeers", was NOT the author for which the puzzle was asking.
BeaTRIX Potter, writer of "The Tale of Peter Rabbit", IS!
...And finally, and also slightly off topic...
In case there are any Sudoku lovers out there now wondering that perhaps the box characters I've been using might make a great text file with which to solve Sudokus, to them I say "You're right, and I've already made what I think is a terrific Sudoku Template!"
You can download it from http://users.az.com/~jwaters/Puzzles/Sudoku/SudokuTemplate.txt
─B─e─a─t─r─i─x─ ─P─o─t─t─e─r─
Delete═╪═╪═╪═╪═╪═╪═╪═ ═╪═╪═╪═╪═╪═╪═
─┼─┼─┼─t─┼─┼─┼─ ─┼─┼─┼─┼─┼─┼─ T
─┼─┼─┼───┼─┼─┼─ ─┼─o─┼─┼─┼─┼─ o
─┼─┼─┼───┼─┼─┼─ ─P───┼─┼─┼─┼─ P
─┼─e─┼───┼─┼─┼─ ─────┼─┼─┼─┼─ e
─┼───┼───┼─┼─┼─ ─────t─┼─┼─┼─ t
─┼───┼───┼─┼─┼─ ───────┼─e─┼─ e
─┼───┼───r─┼─┼─ ───────┼───┼─ r
─┼───┼─────┼─┼─ ───────┼───r─ R
─┼───a─────┼─┼─ ───────┼───── a
─B─────────┼─┼─ ───────┼───── b
───────────┼─x─ ───────┼───── b
───────────i─── ───────┼───── i
─────────────── ───────t───── t:
To Peter Rabbit:
Aha!! By clipping off the end-comments, it looks even nicer here too!
Now that we're in the Thursday-afternoon-to-Sunday-morning lull, I'd like to return to Blaine's probability analysis from last week. He showed that if you sent in a correct puzzle entry every week for 20 years, you'd have about a 65% chance of getting picked to play on air. Blaine's calculations were familiar to me, but I'm less sure how to answer this question: How long do you have to continue sending in entries without being called before you can reasonably suspect a no-random process is involved? To use a simpler example, how many heads do you have to toss in a row before you believe you're not using a fair coin?
ReplyDeleteJan:
DeleteAs to your last question, I wonder if Queen Elizabeth I would have been able to provide a suitable answer.
Jan, a common statistical measure would be that you would reject the random hypothesis when there is less than a 5% chance that the results you got would happen if it was random.
DeleteUsing that measure and a 1 in 1000 chance of getting picked, it would take 2995 weeks of not getting picked before you would be able to reject the hypothesis that getting picked was random. That works out to about 57 1/2 years.
Jan, there's an intriquing article by Gelman and Nolan titled "You can load a die but you can't bias a coin." They write about a biased coin being the unicorn of probability as it does not affect flipping (though it would affect the outcome of coins standing on edge on a table and being bumped). Me? I don't think the process is completely random especially when the contestant lives in a city where Will is about to have a puzzle event. Maybe just sour grapes here. Now, if word gets out I'll never be selected. ;-)
DeleteTo be honest, I don't believe in random processes, or unfairness...but that's just me...and maybe Einstein...and maybe others.
DeleteInteresting post, Paul. I find myself frequently using the term, luck in ordinary conversation although I really do not subscribe to luck. I have not found a suitable substitute however. On the surface luck seems to be an obvious reality, but I cannot ignore the two times, 40 years ago, where my life was saved by an audible male voice that simply said, "Don't go" as I was both times waiting for the lite to change. Had I gone I would have been instantly killed by a speeding car. Of course this begs the question, why me and not those who die every day the same way? I do not know the answer to that one. I only know this happened to me and I also heard this same exact voice one time previously in 1963, when it told me, "The President's been shot." No one heard this but me and moments later it was confirmed. Because of my three strange experiences I have long wondered about those members of society who are said to be mentally ill when they say they hear voices. Again I have no answer, but just the question. I do now have an intellictual understanding that things are not as they appear to be. Gotta go now. A couple of gentlemen are at my front door wearing white coats.
Delete@skydiveboy,
DeleteMmm, spooky. To pass the time in your nice padded room, here’s some reading material.
I’ll see myself out now…
I got the news of JFK's death the same way a lot of people did, I suppose; in a classrom, from the teacher. I remember joking(for lack of a better word) about it at recess: "Now we'll get Johnson; he'll be just as bad", even though I had no idea what kind of president JFK was, or what kind LBJ would be. I just knew it was fashionable to criticize politicians.
DeleteYou may just be 'shining me on' (in which case, go to hell), but I must ask; did the voice sound more like Aldous Huxley or C.S. Lewis (even though I wouldn't have a clue to the difference).
PC:
DeleteI am aware of the begging the question issue you refer to, but choose to use this term as is commonly done today.
"Spooky." Not so much as you might think. It really does get your attention, but things get back to "normal" quickly. Many years passed before I decided I would mention that story to anyone. I thought I was being selfish not to share this with anyone. I expected ridicule, but was surprised to find several people would look around to see if anyone else was listening and then go on to tell me their similar encounter with an audible voice from beyond. Others told me other kinds of strange encounters they had never shared before. Most of these are very intriguing stories.
Paul:
DeleteNo, I am not pulling your leg, this really happened. I have thought a great deal about the voice and its quality. It was super clear and perfect in all respects. It was too perfect to be human, yet it seemed human. I suspect the voice is so perfect so as for me not to recognize it. I can understand why some might think a voice such as this was God, but I did not.
I too was in a classroom at the time of the first encounter. I was at Ft. Gordon, GA attending cryptography school. This was after I had completed basic training at Ft. Ord, CA. I was in an old barracks type wood building that had two large classrooms on the main floor and an upstairs I never saw. Our instructor, a Specialist E-4, had left the room after instructing us (about 45 or so) to practice typing groups of five letters, seperated by a space that was not to be typed, on our teletypewriters. I had already become proficient at this task and was completely bored, but did not want to be the only one not typing when the instructor returned, so I forced myself to continue typing. I was seated near the middle of the group. It was cold outside and all doors and windors were closed and the din from the machines was such that conversation would not be possible, yet I suddenly heard this voice that seemed to be coming from just a little above my head and it was clearer than possible. I immediately stopped typing and looked to my right and then all around the room to see if anyone else had stopped typing. Nope. Everyone was just as before, only I was not typing. I sat there a bit stunned and then began typing again only to again hear the voice say the same thing a couple of minutes later. This repeated itself about four times and it was obvious no one else was aware at all. Right after I heard this voice the last time the instructor opened the door, came in and turned on the 25" TV that was on a metal stand beside the entrance. It was about five minutes before the last person stopped typing and we could now hear the early reports of the assassination attempt in Dallas, TX. The instructor never said a word, but just stood quietly. Later he sent us outside for a break and I knew better than to say anything about my experience. Had I done so, I am sure I would have been quickly removed from my training since it was highly classified and no one could possibly have understood.
Grammar Girl…
DeleteBegs to differ.
YEEEEEEAAAAAAHHHHHH!
Your tale nicely illustrates the all-too-common folly of assuming that the input we receive from our sensory apparatus consistently mirrors reality. (For instance, see pareidolia or the ideomotor response.) On the one hand, life would grind to a halt if we had to constantly question our senses. On the other hand, I wear a ring.
Wait, is that a ring? I think it might be a spider. Oh geez, I think it might be a whole bunch of baby spiders, hatching and crawling and…
OHGODGETTHEMOFFME
It is very comforting for many people to believe they have a simplistic, pat answer to someone elses seemingly impossible experience. I think it would be preferable to just keep an open mind.
DeleteTalk about spooky... I used to work with Mark Liberman, quoted in that Wikipedia paragraph.
DeleteActually, it’s comforting to believe there’s some meaning in the occasional neural misfire.
DeleteBOOM. Turned it right around.
(Sunday can’t get here soon enough.)
Meanwhile, it might be interesting to know what kind of malicious mischief I might have downloaded by clicking PC's links...twice!...want me to do it again?...keepin' stats?
DeleteNo, you did not. You are simply pissing in the wind. You have not offered any explanation as to how I could have known Kennedy had been shot before it was announced. Nor how my life was saved later from certain death.
DeleteWhile you are wondering that, Paul, here’s another sketchy link for your enjoyment.
Delete@PC: Clicked, didn't stay, looks LONG, prosaic, unmalicious. I'm good.
DeleteBuggin me/Bugs Bunny
ReplyDeleteY?/rabbit ears
straw hat, hoedown/angry farmer
my family again/Cousin Caroline the Harey Potter
cotton, fluff/Peter's tail
fully vested?/Peter's lost clothing
Dapuka/invisible rabbit
Outstanding in their field/Greg's reference to Jeremiah's potter's house and the field of rejects
A FEW HIGHLIGHTS FROM THE 27 CLUES I DROPPED THIS WEEK)
ReplyDeleteI think old Herman(be a tricks)ter, Curtis.
Yes, for as long as you can tread water with sharks lapin (FRENCH FOR RABBIT) at 'yer flanks, Curtis.
Long ago in a far away land,
An aspiring writer took pen in hand,
To tell a tale of one who harms (FARMER MCGREGOR),
Intent on creating four lucky charms (RABBIT'S FEET).
The writer's hero, in search of treats,
Is spied in Eden (THE GARDEN) and soon retreats,
He gambles despite a cautionary alert,
And pays the price, losing his shirt (ON THE FENCE).
Commencing with treats, ending with tricks, (BEA-TRIX)
The author's tale never made flicks. (DISNEY SCRAPPED MOVIE DEAL)
And the hero stands naked without any pants,(LOST THEM WITH HIS SHIRT)
Singing on Easter (BUNNY), Gregorian (MCGREGORian) chants.
In the opening chapter of this revered literary work, the protagonist (PETER) receives a stern warning from the story's chief authority figure (HIS MOM). Had the hero, at that very moment, dismembered this individual and then kept a souvenir of this atrocity (A RABBIT'S FOOT), his fortunes may have been favorably affected. As such, he perhaps would not have been forced to high-tail (FLEEING BUNNY TAIL) it down the road, when later in the book, the feces hits the motorized cooling device.
I sat on the fence (SAME ONE PETER GOT HUNG UP ON) on this clue for nearly an hour, but decided it was not a giveaway.
Thumped. Ouch! (AKA THUMPER)
@ Paul: I ran into the main character (PETER) from this book on my way home from church this morning. I mugged him in an alleyway and now I can pay you that money I owe you. (ROBBED PETER TO PAY PAUL)
Actually, Unc, "cute-as-pie" is an expression that would more aptly describe the culprit's father (PETER'S FATHER WAS BAKED IN A PIE BY THE FARMER) who was known to "go off half-baked" now and then.
"Forewarrened (WARREN = RABBIT TUNNELS) is foreskinned." (OF COURSE, THERE'S MORE THAN ONE WAY TO SKIN A RABBIT)
(YOU) Cwazy (WABBIT) for puns,
Elmer "GuerrillaBoy" Fudd
(NEMESIS OF BUGS BUNNY)
Fetch thine pot, er, (POTTER) pan from thine hutch (RABBIT COOP) and let us feast upon....blah, blah, blah... If that doesn't sound appetizing, we can wait and see what Orion brings home for dinner (IN ASTRO-MYTHOLOGICAL LORE, ORION WAS HUNTING RABBITS ).
AbqGuerrilla, you mention Nemesis, the Greek goddess of divine justice. Given today's snow storm in the northeast perhaps she would be called Nemosis... and her sister, Charlotte. (Though I like calling them blizzards!)
ReplyDeleteWW: I'm afraid your humor is so esoteric, even I'm lost.
ReplyDeleteGod, I hate being a pee-brain and asking people to explain their jokes, but as my Dad used to say, "Son, it takes a big man to admit he's small."
May I ask a very small favor c.: 'pea-brain'...please.
DeleteLike pee-wee size, Paul.
DeleteAs long as you make that clear, Z. :)
DeleteI just got drug tested for a new job two days ago. It looked pretty clear to me, P. :))
DeleteOtherwise, you're in trouble?
DeleteZ - Are you perhaps a cyclist?
DeleteNo worries, C.Z. And, welcome! I am referring to the dual-named storm in the northeast. My mom in CT says it is being called both Nemo & Charlotte. Why it needs a name and who decides these things gives me pause. The Blizzard of '78 was a perfectly good name! The grounds crew at college had us students shoveling walks because they couldn't keep up with all the snow! It was a wonderful sense of community and amazingly beautiful.
ReplyDeleteWhere I am, it's snowing, but barely accumulating. Now.
DeleteI agree, no fictional fish, nor thousands (ten thousands?, hundred thousands?) of human beings should be saddled with the burden of a natural catastrophe...which I doubt this will be.
Technically, I think 'blizzard' has more(or at least as much) to do with 'wind' as it does with 'snowfall'.
Check it out and get back to me Science Woman.
Project Manager Paul
Yes! And they called the wind Mariah...Don't you have a project schedule that needs updating ;-) ? Please get back to me with the blow by blow description.
ReplyDeleteSchedule? We don't need no steenking schedule!
DeleteLooks like it's finished snowing here; didn't amount to much.
DeleteWW, I do hope your mom is safe and warm in CT.
Thanks, how kind! She has about 20 inches of snow so far. She is hunkered down with her cat, Charlotte. (No Nemo) Where are you?
ReplyDelete