Q: Name a foreign make of automobile. Cross out several letters in its name. The remaining letters, reading in order from left to right, will spell a food that comes from the country where the car is made. What is the country, and what is the food?I'm going to have to go dark this week since we're going on vacation. Please moderate yourselves and play nicely with each other.
Edit: "Going dark" was a hint to the Mitsubishi car model, the Eclipse.
A: Mitsubishi --> sushi (both from Japan)
Here's my standard reminder... don't post the answer or any hints that could lead directly to the answer (e.g. via a chain of thought, or an internet search) 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.
How many vacations have you taken this year? This is at least your second one, but who's counting?
DeleteIt could be like Will. His job is going to Japan and playing ping pong. Awesome. I would be signing up for some serious overtime.
DeleteFor all those who have already posted earlier, isn't a squeamish enthusiast an oxymoron?
ReplyDeleteWell I live in Seattle and it would not be all that unusual for me to meet a Suquamish enthusiast.
DeleteAnd as the final 2020 Olympics vote nears in September, many a squash enthusiast will appear.
DeleteI have an answer that works. "Several" seems a little ambiguous.
DeleteDear Woman,
DeleteI share your passion for squash, and indeed hope for its inclusion in the Olympic Games. As a food it item, however, I find it outlandish. It makes my stomach curl, not unlike my response to the intensity of the sport of Olympic curling.
Dear 974,
DeleteDo you play squash? I played in college and for awhile in my 20's. My son is giving a go at pro squash and is playing in Australia for 6 months. The game is so much more popular there. It has been quite an adventure so far. We sure hope the Olympic Committee goes for squash!
As to eating it, I am a fan of zucchini, yellow, and grey squash. Have you tried spaghetti squash in lieu of pasta? Hopefully, no curling there!
My friend, Susan, who I don't think you've ever met, solved this in less than ten seconds.
ReplyDeleteTell Sue she's pretty sharp.
DeleteCan't you just smell her breath?
DeleteAs I posted earlier, another quick solve. Might as well roll back into bed and get some more zzzzzz's. I hope to stay in bed forever (and ever).
ReplyDeleteHave fun, Blaine!
ReplyDeleteMaybe the crux of the puzzle is to name the country and the food, not the car make. Say, when cars go to the junkyard do they meet their maker?
As I was going to St Ives. . .
When I awoke from my REM sleep this morning I had been dreaming of Arthurian days and that I was a chivalrous knight of the round table.
ReplyDeleteChuck
Are you implying the answer is Chuck Steak, Chuck?
DeleteIf all else fails listen to the live radio puzzle master segment for a great clue!
ReplyDeleteOtherwise, some people eat this item all the time.
I can think of two legitimate answers.
ReplyDeleteI have actually seen this on the back of a vehicle, with just the 3rd, 6th and 7 letters removed, making a strangely possessive food statement.
ReplyDeleteIf only you knew. . .
DeleteToo bounteous information?
DeleteI am hungry, now, for a fusion restaurant that I'm not sure exists...but it should!
DeleteI have also seen this vehicle with an additional letter fabricated with tape at the end to form somewhat of an expletive!
DeleteWhat ever did happen to ABQ? Did one of his wives off, ice, or ax him?
DeleteA couple of "comic" answers:
ReplyDeleteFIAT - FAT
MERCEDES BENZ - MERDE
Scheize, ron, merde is not German. But I did notice that earlier. :-)
DeleteNo, this is what the French think the Germans eat.
DeleteWhat it really is, is what we in this country eat.
DeleteI posted the following during the night on last week's blog:
ReplyDelete"Another non-puzzle. Now I really would like something I feel is more substantial."
and:
"Also within this first word is another word that also is sometimes used to describe a food and it has a strong connection to Indianapolis."
There is something I find very odd about how Will has asked us to demonstrate in our submissions that we have solved the puzzle. He is asking us to name the food and not the car, but the country. This is redundant and does not prove that the contestant solved the puzzle. Someone might just send in the name of the food and including the name of the country proves nothing. Providing the food and name of the car proves it, but adding the name of the country is superfluous.
ReplyDeleteSo sdb, You are saying I could just enter my favorite country and cuisine and If I am chosen, do a quick check of Blaine's Blog? Haa! Anyway, I can't go out and bake in the sun and try to solve puzzle cuz BenMar, I chose the wrong clue and traveled to the wrong place and later when safely nestled back inside my home I said DuuH!!
DeleteI miss ABQ
No, that is not what I am saying. I am saying Will usually with a puzzle like this asks for the two proofs, but in this case he only is asking for one proof. With all the hints posted on this blog someone could easily guess the food and that would tell him the country, but not the car. He could enter and win without actually solving the puzzle. Now do you understand?
DeleteI agree, SDB, that the "proof" is unusually inconsistent.
DeleteRoRo, I miss AbqGuerrilla also. Perhaps the proof is in the Provo pudding and he will resurface.
DeleteYes, SDB, the way the question is phrased it feels like the "test" we were given in grade school which said to read all the way through to the end before writing any answers. The last sentence read "Write your name only on the paper and turn your test over without making any marks."
Is that similar to being graded in biology class on how you follow dissections?
DeleteSDB I am Joking sdb don't go off half-baked
DeleteHe did say "NAME a foreign make of automobile..."
Deleteron:
DeleteYes he did, but that is an apples or oranges argument because he did NOT tell us to send in the name of the car, he only asked for us to send in the food and it's country or origin. You are confusing my statement. He screwed up and I think I know why it happened.
I meant OF origin.
DeleteYes, he screwed up. Nevertheless, when he says "NAME SOMETHING," there is a presumption he wishes you to name it in your response. Not just answers to "What is..." questions.
DeleteSorry ron, but that is not correct. The "name something" statement is his introduction informing us how to solve a puzzle he is presenting. At the end he is very specific in what he is asking us to send in, as he was in this case. There is no grey area here.
DeleteYou are talking about SPECIFIC requests and you are right about them and what they do and do not cover.
DeleteI, however, am talking about a PRESUMPTION and I am right about the "presumption."
No, ron, there is absolutely no presumption that we are expected to, or should, include the make of auto in our submission. It is what it is.
DeleteGo back over all the puzzles where Will says "Name something" or even "think of something" and see how many do NOT ALSO later request that this "something" be included in your response. If you cannot find any examples of this, then there is a "presumption" that that "something" be included in your response. We are both correct with each of our views.
DeleteI'm not buying any of this nonsense. Any presumption is in your mind and counts for nothing. Will makes errors in his NPR puzzles frequently and this is a glaring one in my opinion. About a year ago he had one asking for three words where something happens at the syllable breaks, but one of the words did not break at that point. You have to take the puzzles as they are presented; not as we feel they should be presented, and that is sometimes disappointing, as it is in this instance. Whether or not Will meant for the make to be submitted makes no difference because he did not state it. In effect all he asked us for was the name of the food. This is, for me, just another in a long string of reasons why I usually do not think much of Will's puzzles and have no desire to be on the air with him. I play for other reasons. Presume on ron, if you like, but presumptions are frequently why puzzles are difficult for people to solve. You must go with the facts as stated.
DeleteI see you are not big on presumptions, even "good" presumptions. Remember, you do not see things as they are, you see things as you are. The facts lie.
DeleteDoublespeak nonsense.
DeleteTruth trumps fact?
DeleteJust askin'.
Yes. Truth is much larger than just the facts. Truth encompasses the facts (by themselves alone, the facts lie)and goes beyond the facts. This is why SDB is correct about the facts, that Will did NOT specify that the make of car be included in the response to his challenge. Quite right, but Truth is much larger and more nuanced than this.
DeleteI will go out on a branch (not a limb) and predict that Will will vindicate both SDB & myself next Sunday. I predict, in his remarks about this challenge, that he will apologize for having erred and for not specifying that he wanted the make of car in response. This will vindicate SDB. I also predict he will assert that he had intended to ask for the make of car, but that he had erred, thus confirming the accuracy of my presumption.
DeleteAnd I'll sit here on my twig and....just try to keep sittin' here on my twig.
DeleteI and my statements need no vindication as they speak for themselves via the published NPR Puzzle question and the audio version that anyone can listen to via computer. Whether or not Will intended to ask for the name of the car maker is immaterial to this argument because he did not do it. My statement stands on provable facts that anyone can access. Lipstick on a moose does not change the fact that it is still a moose. Of course if I happen to be desperate enough I would probably go for the moose wearing the lipstick as long as it was a shade I found attractive. But, please, let's not go there. Sheep are far more prevalent.
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ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteNatasha, my daughter just graduated from Cal and my son is entering his sophomore year there. GO BEARS!
ReplyDeleteSo, I do much of my biking in the Great Swamp in NJ, because it's flat and there's not much traffic and I like to see wildlife. Mostly, I want to see bears. There aren't many, but I had two sightings last year and two the year before. None so far this year.
DeleteThere are lots of bikers in the swamp on summer weekends, and we usually wave to each other, sometimes a quick "Good morning". As I passed a couple going in the opposite direction 2 weeks ago, we waved, and the woman shouted something to me about a bear. Instantly, I looked back, but there was nothing there. I biked on looking even more carefully than usual into the forest on both sides of the road, but nothing there, either. Oh well, must've missed him. A few minutes later, the light bulb went on: She was responding to my tee shirt. I was wearing the Cal shirt that my niece gave me, and she had said, "Go Bears". Such disappointment! I biked on.
Several miles later, I heard a rustling in the woods off to my left. I looked and saw nothing, but something about it reminded me of the sound made by the bear that burst out of the woods right behind me last year, so I slowed down and turned back to check it out. About a hundred feet ahead of me, a juvenile black bear comes galumphing out of the woods, crosses the road, and disappears into the woods on the other side. A couple of seconds later, another somewhat larger bear goes galumphing after him. Maybe mom, maybe big brother. My first double sighting.
Go Bears, indeed.
jan:
DeleteThat is a really long post, and with nothing to do with the puzzle, but I just want you to know that I decided to bear with it and read the whole thing.
Jan, any time you want to bare your soul about bears (or any wildlife for that matter) go right ahead. Especially if you include galumphing in your writing.
DeleteMy fav wildlife story is when our exchange student, Tamiko, saw a moose in the mountains at Snow Mountain Ranch. She did not listen to our cries to stop...The moose, completely unflummoxed simply walked to the pond and swam away. She was the most elegant, graceful swimmer I've ever seen.
WW:
DeleteWas it a chocolate moose? I've herd they are rather tasty. Or perhaps it was simply a loose moose pining for the Palouse, anyway no use loosing sleep over it like a silly goose. Did you say it was chartreuse? Or maybe it had the blues. Any clues?
It was a rather large Alces alces . Quite memorable. But no chocolate.
DeleteI just learned that Dr. Suess went along with the Americanized pronunciation of his name to rhyme with Mother Goose. His name was actually pronounced Soice or Zoice...not nearly as fun a Voice. It's funny what makes a word sillier than another. Dewlap cracks me up (speaking of moose).
I guess it did not have time to schmooze, but at least it did amuse before it decided to call a truce and vamoose, that obtuse, footloose recluse of a who knows whose moose.
DeleteDr. Zoice, I presume?
DeleteSoy sauce and I resume.
DeleteHis surname wasn't Seuss at all, of course. He was Theodor Seuss Geisel, aka Dr. Theophrastus Seuss, Theo LeSieg, and Rosetta Stone, besides Dr. Seuss. (Which means "sweet", as opposed to salty and umami soy sauce.)
DeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
DeleteReally!? I thought Sam, he was.
DeleteUmami wears army boots.
DeleteYes, but only when she goes to church.
DeleteI think it was Dr. Seuss who said, "Sam are I."
DeleteI suppose one must ask if dog is eaten in Afghanistan.
ReplyDeleteOr blankets.
DeleteNot those; they have a blanket rule against it.
DeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteI also have two legit answers but I think we know which one Will is thinking of
ReplyDeleteAnyone notice the misspelling of PORSCHE on Blaine's inset photo ?
I didn't notice because I had to enlarge the photo in order to even see the print, but you are right and it is enough to give me the Willys.
DeleteHow about 'Ba' for lamb and Subaru ;-)?
DeleteI did notice the misspelling, DaveJ, and the little blue VW bug my dad had. Loved that car. It ran practically forever...til it met its maker.
Are you trying to pull the wool over our Eisenglass?
DeleteI submitted the country, the car maker and the food just to be on the safe side...
ReplyDeleteChuck
I don't know about everyone else, but I wrapped this one up early.
ReplyDeleteDitto, yet self-doubt caused me to ask "Was I being too sudden?"
DeleteI got the intended answer in the time in takes to shut off the car radio, get out of the car and shut the garage door.
ReplyDeleteI thought of an alternate answer on my run that is only kind of cheating, but then you can get another make of car from the same country, cross out some letters, then reading backwards get a food that frequently(?) goes with the first.
Also, you can take a make of cars, cross out some letters and get a poster to this blog.
Here is a little poem with rhyming heteronyms (4 of them)!
ReplyDeleteThere comes to me a question, your ear toward me bow,
Pray listen to my ditty and do not start a row –
I’ve lots of words peculiar, enough to fill a mow —
And thoughts crowd in upon me, like piglets by a sow.
So lay aside your weapons, let no one draw the bow,
And sit yourselves around me, all neatly in a row,
On clover leaves and timothy, all ready for to mow –
Alas, we must be moving, the farmer wants to sow.
– “Cryptox,” in the National Puzzlers’ League publication Enigma, May 1945
If you don't believe the 2 pronunciations of "MOW," check out the two pronunciations here: http://www.thefreedictionary.com/mow
Just click on the two pronunciation icons.
Ron, bravo! Mow! Mow!
DeleteFound 3, Two of the xy variety and one of the Island group.
ReplyDeleteI once wrote "Cartesian" next to race on a form. No one said anything about it.
DeleteWW: Obviously there were not very coordinated...
DeleteXtra yyy's you are, DaveJ.
DeleteInordinately !
DeleteTwo are from axis countries. Japan Mitsubishi sushi. Germany BMW brats. One from the island nation of England Aston Martin tart.
DeleteTo Chuck and DaveJ:
ReplyDeleteIn your two legitimate answers, is it the same country in both cases?
@ EAWAF: nope - two different countries (and very different reputations for food)
DeleteIn country two are the remaining letters consecutive?
DeleteIt would be a very interesting mix with the cuisine of country one, the "preferred" answer.
For my second answer the last two letters of the auto maker are the same as the last two letters of the country (but not consecutive). I am pretty sure this is not Will's intended answers
DeleteHere are some incorrect answers:
ReplyDeleteMaserati, Meat
Yamaha, yam
Rolls Royce, rolls
How should we react to Blaine going dark?
I don't think we should be to hard on Blaine for revealing his dark side, especially since it is usually not obvious to the naked (there I said it) eye. Remember there is always a tunnel at the end of the light. But on the other hand, it is never good to have tunnel vision, unless you happen to be traveling from England to France, that is.
DeleteYou could also throw in Lamborghini, lamb.
DeleteI so wanted the answer to be "Paddywagon/peppermint patty," but finally had to give up.
DeleteI'm very late to the party, but I'm willing to venture that a great many people (though not those on this blog, of course) have a wrong idea about what the food name in Will's (presumably) preferred answer actually refers to.
ReplyDeleteMusical clue: CCR's signature song.
ReplyDeleteDat's tubular, Ruthie.
DeleteTesla?
DeleteThe Tubes had a song called Sushi in the 80's
DeleteSince this one is so easy, what we should do to pass the time we would otherwise be spending on this puzzle challenge is fly to the capital city of the country that is the answer and meet at the Hertz car rental counter to rent a few cars of this make, then meet for lunch or dinner of this delicacy.
ReplyDeleteOutlandish idea, but I could roll with it.
DeleteBreakfast and I'm in, sez me!
DeleteWe may run into "you-know-who".
DeleteAbqGuerrilla?
DeleteHow about the most honorable Will Ping-Pong?
DeletePorsches were, and evidently still are called "pork chops" Schwester Susie verkauft Schweinekoteletts an der Meeresküste.
ReplyDeletePretty normal, I'll get it when I stop thinking about it. Now to stop thinking...
ReplyDeleteHow many best friends does a girl need ?
ReplyDeleteDave Taylor, are you on the right blog?
ReplyDeleteWW - this is a hint if you know the language of the country...
DeleteHow about Bayerische Motoren Werke (BMW) and either beer or bier (auf Deutsch).
ReplyDeleteThat is the wurst! But I like it and think Will would have to accept it as valid.
DeleteJan-
DeleteThat is sort of half of my alternate above. In English, Bavarian Motor Works gets you "Brats" and Mercedes Benz backwards gets you "Beer".
Also, Rolls Royce leads to RoRo.
France. Citroen = roe
Deleteand
Peugeot = pug & pet
and
Renault = nut and I promise not to mention renal
England Aston Martin = tart
DeleteIndia Mahindra & Mahindra Limited = naan
Sweden Koenigsegg = egg
England Allard = lard
None of the above (Nun Of The Above is Mother Theresa) are the intended answer. Just so you know, but you already figured it out anyway. Sheesh!
DeleteI submit his answer is only one of many correct responses.
DeleteSo David, that means I am good enough to eat? Oh I forgot this is not that kind of blog. Would not want anyone to Nippon me.
DeleteLucy may have driven one of these.
ReplyDeleteI bet Lucy has three best friends...
DeleteOh, I see, Dave T.
DeleteMake of car: Mitsubishi
Country: Japan
Food: Sushi
"If only you knew." If you knew Susie/Sushi like I knew Susie/Sushi..."
Too Bounteous Information (TBI, analogous to TMI) referred to the letters removed from Mitsubishi and alluded to the 'M.'
Tamiko was our first Japanese student who ran toward the moose. We still call her Moose!
"Sez me" (sesame) often used in Sushi Rolls.
Lucy was in the sky driving a Diamante. My other clues: "WAS I B eing Too Sudden?"; Outlandish idea (Mitsubishi Outlander); Roll with it (obvious); CCR Rolling On A River (obvious). I had fun with this one. A simpleton's delight!
DeleteNippon/Nihon/Japan Sushi Mitsubishi
ReplyDeleteMy Hints:
"Another non-puzzle. Now I really would like something I feel is more substantial."
and:
"Also within this first word is another word that also is sometimes used to describe a food and it has a strong connection to Indianapolis."
Many people think Sushi is unfulfilling.
The Indianapolis Cruiser (not the city) was sunk by a Japanese sub shortly before the war ended and this became an enormous flap, including the court-martial of Captain Charles McVeigh. Sub is short for submarine and also submarine sandwich.
Japan --> Mitsubishi --> sushi
ReplyDeleteLast Sunday I said, “When I awoke from my REM sleep this morning I had been dreaming of Arthurian days and that I was a chivalrous knight of the round table.” I intended to evoke the Mitsubishi Lancer and Galant (gallant).
Is irony the opposite of wrinkly?
Chuck
It depends on who you press for an answer.
DeleteAnd how steamed up you are.
DeleteAnd it only in-creases.
Deletebut only in the summer when it sizzles
DeleteRoRo, udon well with that one.
DeleteI hope you will tempura your next comments.
Deleteu can wakame tamari but if I have an ichi I have to follow my yen
DeleteWell some of us have a hari burden to kari.
Deletesushi/Japan
ReplyDeleteMitsubishi = "Three Diamonds" in Japanese (hence the logo)
ReplyDeleteSo Chuck and DaveJ:
ReplyDeleteWhat were your second legitimate answers?
@E -
DeletePerhaps you misinterpreted something I wrote - I never had a second answer. Can't speak for DaveJ...
Chuck
Aston Martin = Tart
DeleteEnglish pastry type food
I don't know if Mastretta and masa from Mexico is legitimate or not.
DeleteAnd I don't really see anything wrong with Crespelle and crepe.
Chuck:
DeleteMy apologies. It was Charles, who on Sun Aug 04, at 09:10:00 AM PDT posted:
I can think of two legitimate answers.
And then later DaveJ, who on Sun Aug 04, at 11:52:00 AM PDT:
I also have two legit answers but I think we know which one Will is thinking of
Anyone notice the misspelling of PORSCHE on Blaine's inset photo ?
So Charles and DaveJ:
What are your second legitimate answers?
Tamiko taught us a few phrases including counting to 10 in Japanese. Ichi, ni SAN...not Mitsu...so I was thrown off for a bit...She made sushi for us at least once a week and made rice balls to take to school for her lunch. I learned a lot about the myriad types of rice that summer. :-)
ReplyDelete"a great many people (though not those on this blog, of course) have a wrong idea about what the food name in Will's (presumably) preferred answer actually refers to."
ReplyDeleteBecause my understanding is that the word "sushi" refers to the rice base - the raw fish etc. is sashimi.
Correctamundo, highly esteemed Kerflufflesan. To be exact vinegared rice.
DeleteHmmm. My understanding is that sushi is anything that is rolled together with the vinegared rice, be it raw fish, cooked fish or seafood or vegetables.
DeleteSashimi is raw sliced fish served by itself. The cut of this fish is very important to the presentation and taste of sashimi. Since the raw fish is rolled in sushi rice, the cut is less important in making sushi.
I.e., if you want really fresh raw fish (that may have been frozen), order sashimi rather than sushi.
Rolling on. . .
I went with "Pretty normal, I'll get..." with Normal, Ill. being the home of Mitsubishi's only North American manufacturing facility.
ReplyDeleteWell, I don't know about you, but I can hardly wait to hear what Will says about the car maker controversy. Or not...
ReplyDeleteUntil then, we are sure enjoying our 70 degrees August days. No dog days here. Maybe bear. ;-)
> Not so long ago, there were just about zero restaurants in the U.S. serving this food. (Zeke Creek should understand that clue.)
ReplyDelete> It's hard to type at 6AM without making errors.
The MITSUBISHI A6M carrier fighter was known as the Zero or Zeke.
"Might as well roll back into bed" referred to sushi roll.
ReplyDelete"...forever (and ever)." Referred to the mitsubishi endeavor.
> I SUBMIT HIS answer is only one of many correct responses.
ReplyDeleteAnagram of MITSUBISHI
jan, you are truly a wicked and evil person! :-)
DeleteJan, I know something's up when your grammar/phrasing is just a little bit off.
DeleteI'd go with clever and sly, though.
New puzzle: "Nieces and Nephews have I none, but that man's father is my father's son." What is the gender of the speaker? And who is the speaker referring to?
ReplyDeleteSounds familiar.
maritime history is not a necessity for this one
Deletebenmar12001 neglected to mention that the new puzzle starts off with the words: "It's a twist on an old puzzle:"
ReplyDeleteHEY, WILL SHORTZ, it's NOT ENOUGH of a twist!"
Sheesh!! If Will wanted to do a twist on an old puzzle, how about this?
You guys remember the old 12-coins puzzle, right? You have 12 coins, all the same size, shape and weight; only one of them has been replaced with a counterfeit - it's either heavier or lighter than each of the others (you don't know which). You have a simple two-pan balance scale and you're allowed to do three weighings in which to determine which one of your 12 coins is the counterfeit and whether it's heavy or light.
Here's my twist: I'm only interested in solutions which are weighing schedules with which you can CALCULATE the coin# of the counterfeit by setting C to 1 with the first weighing to result in an imbalance one way or the other, then each weighing afterwards multiply C by 3 and add 1 if the first down side is down again, subtract 1 if the first down side is up this time, and of course leave the C that you've just tripled as is if balanced. Then after the last weighing and recalculation of C, C NOW EQUALS THE NUMBER OF THE COUNTERFEIT!
Did I say that THAT was my twist? No, actually my REAL twist is this: HOW MANY such schedules are there?
Enya:
DeleteSorry, it wasn't what I didn't ment to do!
Teslaw
ReplyDeleteMercurry