Q: Name a tree whose letters can be rearranged to spell two herbs or spices. What are they? Hint: The tree has a two-word name.If Will hadn't provided the extra hint, I would have said the Peppermint tree. I'm still waiting for the answer to hit me over the head.
A: OSAGE ORANGE --> SAGE + OREGANO
For NPR puzzle posts, don't post the answer or any hints that could lead to the answer before the deadline (usually Thursday at 3pm ET). If you know the answer, submit it to NPR, but don't give it away here.
You may provide indirect hints to the answer to show you know it, but make sure they don't assist with solving. You can openly discuss your hints and the answer after the deadline. Thank you.
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.
Is it just me, or is it getting hot in here?
ReplyDeleteMy comment is at the end of last week's thread.
Bob K., it's just yew.
DeleteNot to mince words, Blaine, but peppermint is a plant, not a tree, with square stems (a characteristic of all members of the Mint Family).
ReplyDeleteSpeaking of square and quarrels, I wonder if the root of quarrel in the word square lends itself to the phrase "to square off?"
Okay, back to the tree/spice/herb puzzle.
I think it's irrational to quarrel over square roots, you two.
DeleteRight! Roots is so Alex Haley and 1970's.
DeleteJan, radical! And very clever.
DeleteAnd, yes, indeed, Blaine, the "Peppermint Tree" Argonis Flexuosa in southwest Australia exists but is more often called a Peppermint Willow," but I can live with that. :-)
DeletePeppermint is also used as slang for currency down under. Now where did I put that peppermint?
? : French :: Yew : English
ReplyDeleteInstant solution. Great to play with as a kid in IL. Noisy and messy.
Hugh, if yew only knew...
DeleteThe tree relates "indirectly" to WW's clue of "b's and q's" of last week.
ReplyDeleteRon, your clue this week headed me straight in the right direction.
DeleteThe OSAGE ORANGE Tree. See:
Deletehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maclura_pomifera
This anagrams to SAGE & OREGANO.
The French settlers called this wood “bois d'arc” or bow-wood. The Osage tribe esteemed it especially for making bows.
Obviously the “yew clues” refer to the yew being used (yewsed) as the wood of choice to make longbows.
WW's clue to “quarrel” as minding “b's & q's,” bolts and quivers, the bolts being used with crossbows, became my clue for this week's tree and the wood's use as a bow or as the club that Blaine was waiting to be hit over the head with. Yes. This wood was used by the Osage Tribe to make clubs also.
HAPPY THANKSGIVING to everyone. Don't forget to set your scales back 10 lbs tomorrow at 3:00 pm EST!
For some wonderful autumn colors in the lower 48 (Find your state's photo among these), click on this link:
http://www.lovethesepics.com/2013/10/american-the-beautiful-in-autumn-peak-fall-foliage-dates-for-48-states-50-pics/
I should have said: "Copy and paste this link into your browser." See above for link.
DeleteI presume we will be posting our answers on WEDNESDAY, as the deadline for this week is 12:00 noon EST.
ReplyDeleteron:
DeleteNot noon, but 3 PM EST.
I had quite an education about this tree on a flight from LA to Texas.
ReplyDeleteA long story involving a geologist on a short flight?
DeleteHugh, it's like you were there!
DeleteI still think it's POOL TOYS.
ReplyDeleteAs for the cartoon, there is a large mongoose lurking about that no one seems to have noticed.
DeleteYou will have to describe where. I have printed out full page copies of the cartoon and no mongoose is present in any of them, and even if there were it would not fit with Kanin's style.
DeleteThe solution to this week's challenge is "lurking about" in the letters of A LARGE MONGOOSE. Remove LMO and rearrange the remaining letters to form OREGANO + SAGE, or OSAGE ORANGE (the tree), or GARAGE + NOOSE!
DeleteI'm sure glad you explained that. I couldn't figure what you were seeing.
DeleteI finally found a tree that works, but I will be surprised if it turns out to be the one intended.
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteIn the deep South, we are known to spice food with an "American Donut" (Mountain Cedar).
ReplyDeleteIt took me awhile, but I finally discovered the intended answer (tree). I had not heard of this tree before and the lists I was slogging through did not list it as two words, but one compound word. However, I think it is more properly a two word tree. So, now I have two answers that work—both with trees I am not familiar with. I have enough trouble trying to get to know my family tree. I guess I am branching out.
ReplyDeleteI forgot to provide a hint. So here it is. There is something this tree has in common with one of my posts from last week. Tune in Wednesday for conclusion.
Delete
ReplyDeleteI have a straight-forward answer to this puzzle, and I was not familiar with the tree before. But I do not see a connection to an SDB post from last week. Of course there were quite a few of those, so I may have missed it.
It is obscure, but if we have the same tree in mind, and you look very carefully you might see the connection, especially if you re-read my above post more carefully.
Deletethis may be a really stupid question but is the word "tree" included in the anagram?
ReplyDeleteYou're barking up the wrong tree, RoRo.
DeleteNo, but 3/4 of the letters in tree are included in the answer, RoRo.
DeleteThis is not a math puzzle, WW. I see no reason to Spruce it up.
DeleteThat's funny. . .What's your Engle, mann?
DeleteNada, but life as a tree must be a real pitch.
DeleteFir cryin' out loud...
ReplyDeleteOak A, stop yer Weeping Willow Yew?
DeleteYou sprouts have your fun. As for me, I'm alder but no wiser.
DeleteAlderfer/Three Sisters Mountain Park in Evergreen is almost a Doubletree. . . very accommodating.
DeleteI'm not Wicked, but I know about Pop'lar.
ReplyDeleteSoon we'll all cedar answer.
Back in the day, as a college freshman, one of the professors started out: "My name is Pines, maples, oaks and pines." Everyone laughed.
ReplyDeleteOSAGE ORANGE > SAGE & ORANGE
ReplyDeleteALSO:
CRAPE MYRTLE > CAPER & MYRTLE
My Hints:
“There is something this tree has in common with one of my posts from last week. Tune in Wednesday for conclusion.”
Last week I posted something in a reply having to do with orange segments. Also “Tune in ~ for conclusion.” Indicates a TV sitcom/soap segment.
OSAGE ORANGE >>>> SAGE, OREGANO
ReplyDelete“I had quite an education about this tree on a flight from LA to Texas.”
This referred to Scottish-born geologist, William MACLURE, who is the namesake for Maclura pomifera , the Osage Orange. Maclure believed universal education, especially for women, was critical (And I did get quite an education at Smith). I believe Hugh was also referring to Maclure on my imaginary plane ride (see below).
The flight from LA to Texas referred to LATEX, a naturally occuring emulsion of polymer particles in an aqueous medium found in Osage Orange and other plants.(It’s that milky white stuff.)
Also, the natural range of the tree is mostly in east TEXAS, home of a few oil wells and where I started my geologic career (the glamorous life sitting wells from 7 p.m. to 7 a.m., 7 days a week, next to those lovely, milky, monkey-brain Osage Oranges).
Getting to Tyler, TX, for my first well was, well, something. The person doing the travel plans did not have a map I guess and flew all 20 of us to Houston. Then, those of us going to Tyler and environs flew back to Dallas so we could drive to Tyler. Upon arriving at the well site, the geologist who was to teach me the ropes proclaimed “Aw, you look like you can figure it out. I’m going in the back of the trailer to get drunk.” I did think the well might blow at any minute. . .
May all your holiday travel plans involve maps when necessary and may your wells never blow. Happy Thanksgiving to some of my favorite bloggers!
You guys work too hard:
ReplyDeleteThe name of the PEPPER CINNAMON tree (Canella winterana) can be rearranged (not surprisingly) into CINNAMON and PEPPER.
And a merry Thanksgivukkah to all!
Berry rasp. :)
DeleteSpeaking of trees not on the lists, did anyone find it interesting that Mango tree did not show?
DeleteMango is on this list:
Deletehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_trees_and_shrubs_by_taxonomic_family
jan:
DeleteNow tell us the truth. Were you able to unravel PEPPER CINNAMON into CINNAMON PEPPER on your own, or did you utilize an anagram solver? I would have had a hard time with it, had I even discovered it on a list.
I found BAMBOO on some lists, and it is a grass, not a tree. But some actual trees never showed up at all.
Mango seems to be poplar at sporting events. You hear the spectators yelling "Go Mango!"
DeleteI have been under the weather and eating more oranges than I care to admit. You would have thought I would get a clue. SDB, I fixated on dates when I looked at your old clues which lead me down a path (lovely as it was) of Mediterranean trees. So outside of Texas and Ohio folks do you think a lot of people came up with the answer?
DeleteWell, RoRo, since it seems most of us have not heard of this tree, including me, and that the lists seem to list it as a single word, when in fact it is a two word name, I would say you have it right, and very few of yew will have sent in the correct answer. Does this now make me an old Sage? Or perhaps just an Oreganoian.
DeleteRoRo, hope you are feeling better. Were your ears burning? A fellow Smithie and I were talking about you, dancing and Meryl. ;-)
DeleteThere are two Osage Orange trees at Smith. http://rbg-web2.rbge.org.uk/cgi-bin/nph-readfile.pl/dataset=smith/parent=names407/filename=acc407?5305994|retq=ETI%3Dosage%2Borange|firstval=1|lino=1|nocount=|dataonly=|SID=5376.1385788238
I remember the one near Sessions Annex. That milky latex stuff is amazing.
Saw "Hunger Games:Catching Fire" today. Lots of crossbows but no Osage Orange trees.
WW Now that you mention it I knew I had seen that fruit somewhere. It was sticky and we sometimes threw them like snowballs. Only if we were wearing jeans. Thanks for thinking of me All that, I believe, helps the healing process. I snuck out of the house tonight because I was not going to let my jazz/symphony ticket go to waste. New Orleans Preservation Hall Jazz Band. Lots of fun.
DeleteHad not read Hunger Games but was interested. Now that I know Jeffery Wright is in it I will go next week. I have seen him in diverse roles. He played a mean role so scary and funny at the same time that you almost did not mind the rest of the movie was not so hot.
DeleteIs it Prickly Pear or pickley prayer? Please pare with me on this one. And remember, you can pick your nose, or nick your pose, but you can't prick your rose.
DeleteMy comment at the end of last week's thread, "Lett's just say you're getting warm . . . getting warmer . . . getting hot . . !"
ReplyDeleteNot a typo - Tracy LETTS is the author of the play (later movie) "August: Osage County", my marker for Osage Orange (since August is hot in the Northern hemisphere!)
No wonder I couldn't figure out your clue, Bob, I live in Seattle. What does hot mean?
DeleteBob, I thought you were referring to sage and oregano inside the dressing in a Thanksgiving turkey getting hotter and hotter.
DeleteI suspect you were only having a hot flash. :-)
DeleteI spent so much time this week browsing lists of spices and (nut) trees that I almost forgot the spicy nuts I make every Thanksgiving. But not quite. Enjoy:
ReplyDeleteSpicy Nuts
Makes 4 cups
3 Tablespoons peanut oil
2 cups whole almonds
2 cups whole pecans
1 cup sugar
1 Tablespoon salt
1 Tablespoon ground cumin
1 Tablespoon hot red pepper flakes
2 Tablespoons sugar
Heat the oil in a heavy pan over medium-high heat. Add the nuts and sprinkle the 1 cup sugar over them. Saute until the nuts become golden brown and the sugar completely caramelizes.
Remove the nuts from heat and toss with the salt, cumin, pepper flakes, and the remaining sugar.
Spread onto baking sheets to cool. Store in an airtight container.
This looks great cumin from you, Jan.
DeleteI was sure when I was on the right track with Bald Cypress, but after Parsley, I had used all the vowels and the consonants weren't MSG.
ReplyDeleteI've heard Disodium Beta-carotene can enhance the flavor of food, but I'm afraid of the side-effects.
DeleteI swear this puzzle was used previously:
ReplyDeleteNext week's challenge: Name a dance. Change one of the letters to a U. The resulting letters can be rearranged to name an event at which this dance is done. What is it?
Yup: definitely used within the past decade.
DeleteThis overused puzzle should get laid to rest.
DeleteHaving solved this puzzle I will now head out to edge my lawn.
ReplyDeleteDarn, doesn't quite fit, but I seem to recall reading somewhere recently that all the hipsters in Brooklyn are doing "a twerk" while "at work" in their underground clubs. (Why can't it be "at wurk"?)
ReplyDeleteIt's legal now where I live.
ReplyDelete