NPR Sunday Puzzle (Jul 6, 2014): If You Cut In The Middle, Go To The End Of The Line:
Q: Name a famous actress of the past whose last name has 5 letters. Move the middle letter to the end to name another famous actress of the past. Who are these actresses?
Or, add T and rearrange to name a famous actor.
This was a variation on a puzzle given in the comments a few months back. Answer: (Humphrey) BOGART.
A: (Greta) GARBO --> (Eva or Zsa Zsa) GABOR
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.
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ReplyDeleteEcoarchitech's puzzle of a few week's ago.
ReplyDeleteIt seems to me I've heard this song before ...
ReplyDeleteAfter last week's stinker Will now gave another regrettable "puzzle."
ReplyDeleteSpeaking of "stinkers," one of the actresses qualify!
DeleteGlad I will not be working on this puzzle through the evening.
ReplyDeleteYou have to start with actresses in the correct order. The puzzle doesn’t work in reverse. The transformation changes accented syllables and vowel sounds.
ReplyDeleteChuck
Chuck Chuck, are you pro nun/CIA shunning these days?
ReplyDeleteWord "Hope Springs Eternal" Woman
Technically one of the actresses isn't past yet, though it's been 18 years since she acted.
ReplyDeleteSince this was so easy, here's another:
Name a famous celebrity whose first and last names have 5 letters each. Move the middle letter of the first name to the end to name a country. Who is the celebrity and what is the country?
I guess my below post refers to you, eco.
DeleteI suspect there will be several listeners who submit what they are sure is the correct answer, only to find they are mistaken.
ReplyDeleteGood observation!!
DeleteI said, 'One of these ladies is two-faced.' I was wrong.
ReplyDeleteThree-faced.
DeleteNot Sandra Bernhardt this time. The other one.
ReplyDeleteWhen our kids were kids, our extended family would play a game where everyone wrote the names of famous people on little slips of paper, which you'd pull out of a hat and try to get the people on your team to guess. With 8-year old girls around, you could always count on "She's an actress" "Mary Kate?" "No, the other one" "Ashley!", or "She's a singer" "Britney Spears?" "No, the other one" "Christina Aguilera!"
This clue cracked me up, jan. My kids did the same thing with their friends.
DeleteRegrets for not posting earlier but I was catching up on my sleep.
ReplyDeleteThe phone connection wasn't good but I thought I heard something about igneous rocks.
ReplyDeleteDon't mean to be intrusive, but that's a tuff clue.
DeleteTwo be, or not two be….
DeleteSo tuff, in fact, Martin Scoria is thinking of making a movie about it.
DeleteSpeaking of Martin Scorsese, TWO WS was three hours of our lives we'll never get back.
Two be, or not ….
DeleteThought you might have been referring to GABBRO, but that would have TWO Bs.
Indeed, DDL, it was GABBRO. (Is that when you chat with your bro buds also?)
DeleteThey don't see eye to eye on marriage.
ReplyDeleteSpeaking of 5-letter actresses of the past, good match at Wimbledon today (except the last 5 points).
ReplyDeleteshe was whooping it up and talking up a storm long before Sally met Hari
ReplyDeleteIt is true. Ever since that African Safari, where Beth and Brad went off to be alone on their honeymoon, the NPR challenges have been a bit on the easy side (except maybe for that brush with Colgate we had). But, to be fair, Will has given us some pretty good and challenging puzzles so far this year.
ReplyDeleteThanks for posting the celebrity/county puzzle, ecoarchitect, in your 10:56 AM post. For me, though, it is as difficult as this week’s actress puzzle is easy. So, I am stumped. Marda Gasca? Tanji Kista?
If only there were a puzzle blog out there somewhere that each week would post about three new puzzles of varying degrees of difficulty. A blog that this week, for example, might have a word puzzle somewhat easier than this “actresses” NPR puzzle, another word puzzle that is more challenging, and a third (number) puzzle that is much more challenging.
If only there were a puzzle blog with about two-months’-worth (about 25) of such puzzles in its archives.
Granted this hypothetical puzzle blog might not offer 20-carat-on-a-stick lapel-pin bling, along with all the “what are the other fabulous prizes, Don Pardo!” that NPR can spring for. But it still might be a fun blog to visit.
If only there were such a puzzle blog…
LegoPluggola
(By way of background, my only access to the internet is my desktop Mac.)
ReplyDeleteHeard the challenge on the radio on the way to the beach this morning. Haven't had a chance to respond until now, but no loss, I wasn't going to bother with it anyway.
And I haven't got ecoarchitect's solved yet. Where's that list of countries of the world?
i have solved ecoarchitect's challenge. I will post Thursday.
ReplyDeleteMe, too. But would you say I cheated? Judge not, lest ye be judged.
DeleteWere you thinking it was cheating to work backwards from a list of countries?
DeleteI almost said that would be cheating, but in a world saturated with celebrities of varying talent - that make it almost impossible to think and perhaps that is the point - working backwards might be the only method.
Quite seriously, I often think after posting a comment that I should have added a few smiley-face emoticons. I am rarely serious about puzzle answers, and was just being a little flippant above to set up for my "clue" phrase.
DeleteAnd if I hadn't consulted that list of countries, I never would have gotten the answer. But, again seriously, when I did get it, I truly thought, "How does anyone come up with these clever and obscure connections?"
I did get your clever reference. But I also wonder sometimes about the internal etiquette for solving puzzles. I personally try to let these dance around in my head, and only do the Google search when I'm desperate.
DeleteOne played a gardener, the other a housekeeper.
ReplyDeleteWhy don't you just say they were wholesome and leave it at that?
DeleteIn case you wondered (and even if you didn't), the hint refers to two old jokes: (1) "Why did Greta Garbo wear a grass skirt? 'I want to be a lawn.'" (2) Zsa Zsa for her part once said "I'm a very good housekeeper. Every time I get divorced I keep the house."
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ReplyDeleteAnother fucking idiot this way comes.
DeleteHortatory suggestion, matt r, read the instructions from Blaine above and remove your post, post haste.
DeleteThanks, Matt, you're a piece of ...work.
DeleteWhat's the mattr, can't you read
DeleteIn a sense might still not be a "dead" giveaway!
DeleteThanks, matt r. Just think about it--if we all just posted the answer this wouldn't be much of a blog that people visit to leave clever clues, riff off others' clues, and interact in a fun and interesting way...
DeleteWW
The WW is right-right!
DeleteHow I long for Harriet, Matt's other!
DeleteHortatory, eh, WW? My favorite Horta story was The Devil in the Dark. What's yours?
DeleteHortatory is a great word. My favorite HORTA is the backronym that was created for the underground positioning system used in mining to honor the subterranean Star Trek Horta. I like "backcronym" too.
DeleteAnd Ruth is, as usual, truthful.
DeleteHortatory? Backronym? No sweat. That's why she's Word Woman, folks.
I wonder what percentage of acronyms are actually backronyms. My guess is the majority of them if you count backronyms like SAD, MADD and ZIP code, but the minority if you just count common nouns that appear in the dictionary like RADAR and SNAFU.
And, one more time, Blainesvillians, is our working definition of an "initialism" an acrornym that is pretty much unpronouncable, like NCAA or NAACP?
Lego...
From Wikipedia:
DeleteOn July 4, 1833, the vila, through the initiative of the Duke d'Ávila and Bolama, was elevated to the status of city and the district capital, as a reward for the support that the people of the island had given to the Liberalist forces during the Portuguese Liberal Revolution. The city hall's coat of arms, by decree, was granted to promote “My Loyal City of Horta” by King Luis I on May 3, 1865.
I'm confused. If I were a Horta Tory, whose side would I be on?
Can you lead a Horta water? ... a Horta culture?
DeleteHorton and Horta Hear a Hoo?
DeleteI always thought a Hortatory was a makeshift toilet for a prostitute.
DeleteWOW maybe Blaine should have a hotline number for alerts against the likes of him.
ReplyDeleteSince Matt has spoiled this week's blogathon, I will just say that someoneelse fairly gave away the answer early yesterday, to me anyway. I got to wondering whether this person's comment was really a spoiler, and decided it wasn't, then I went back and read Blaine's and another person's clue and realized that the first "giveaway" clue had indeed led me to the right answer. It's nice to know we're sometimes able to figure out each other's hidden meanings, almost like we are cyber siblings. On an unrelated topic, I saw "Jason and the Argonauts" for the first time yesterday and for its time, it was quite an impressive piece of cinematography.
ReplyDeleteRuth, I missed some of the early posts but am curious as to which post tipped you off (I can wait til Thursday).
DeleteIt seems as though Will's puzzles involving female characters have been far too simple (Sarah Bernhardt, Beatrix Potter, this one.) The only challenging puzzle involving a woman was Golda Meir and emir about 1.5 years ago when I joined this
group. Thoughts?
In honor of friends who had a baby very early this morning, I send this puzzle:
1) Name a "maternal" spice. 2) Add it to the pot of boiling water together with a "baby" spice by changing the last letter to an "i". 3) Add a "paternal" crustacean.
What are the the three members of this spice/crustacean family?
Probably my post led Ruth to the "correct" answer. But it's not a slam dunk as SKB so astutely observed. A fitting and proper punishment for Matt would be to get the call on Thursday from Will.
DeleteOr a call from Harriet ( ;-), for you, Bob Kerfuffle).
DeleteYeah fix them up so they can keep busy and not spoil things for rest of us
DeleteGreat stuff, Ruth
DeleteYes, Ruth, I did like your comparing us to cyber siblings. We may squabble here and there but we mostly get along in Blaine's World. And we don't appreciate squealers! ;-)
DeleteThanks for the "Jason and the Argonauts" recommendation. Hope to catch it tonight on Netflix.
WW, your "Chuck Chuck" comment early on Sunday gave it away for me because I remember someone once remarking that Zsa Zsa was famous for being famous. Somehow Will's adjective "famous" and your repetition clicked in my Sunday morning fuzzy brain, and I thought of Zsa Zsa/Ava. Then I read Chuck's comment about how the two names (Garbo and Gabor) had to be in the correct order, which confirmed my guess, and finally Blaine's "Bogart" clue tied it all up in a pretty bow.
DeleteGARBO >>>> GABOR
DeleteMy sprinkling grass seed at the end of last week referred to Greta Garbo sprinkling grass seed in her hair and saying "I vant to be a lawn."
"The phone connection wasn't good but I thought I heard something about igneous rocks" referred to a GARBLED connection (darn Verizon!) and the igneous intrusive rock GABBRO.
Chuck Chuck was a reference to ZSA ZSA. My interpretation is that "of the past" could refer to either their acting careers or the women themselves. EVA, ZSA ZSA and MAGDA were all three billed as "actresses" and ought to be acceptable answers, IMHO.
Ruth, glad my clue helped your thinking, though nothing could help quite as much as what matt'rs.
Something different for everyone: STUPID OR SMART.
ReplyDeleteWhen it says you only have 8 seconds to answer the question, they aren't kidding!
Re-taking the test mixes up the questions so you can't gain anything there.
This is VERY FAST, so be prepared.
You only have 8 seconds for each question.
Click on the word Smartorstoopid below and have fun.
Smartorstoopid
Well, Ron, that was more fun than I had playing with Google Earth earlier today. I wish there were other versions of the test with different questons, so I could retake it without repeating the same Q&As.
DeleteTry the Jeopardy! online test the next time it's offered (probably next January). You get about twice as much time per question, but it's much tougher, and not multiple choice. You can find an untimed practice test in a different format here,
Deletejan, Great practice test! Harder than my timed test. Thanks.
DeleteYes, good tests, ron and jan. I suspect a higher than average percent of us like taking tests ;-).
DeleteThis is another of Will's summer reruns.
ReplyDeleteBy now most, if not all, of you have become aware that Washington State has yesterday issued the first two dozen marijuana store licenses and the first of them opened for business today. There are still many more in the offing, but I guess they felt it was appropriate to begin with a token hit—sort of a puff piece.
ReplyDeleteIf they opened more joints, it'd be a drag on the market, and they'd have to weed some out.
DeleteI asked my younger brother if he was interested in going into business with me growing pot. It would be a joint venture, I told him.
DeleteBong! I don't have a joke. Bong. Bong. Still no joke. Bong. Bong. Bong................
DeleteI would need a can-a-biscuits after my visit.
ReplyDeleteGreta Garbo & Ava Gabor
ReplyDeleteNOT Za Za Gabor, who is still extant @ 97 and keeping abreast of things yet.
My Hints:
“After last week's stinker Will now gave another regrettable "puzzle."”
While there is an obscure hint at the first record of the brown marmorated stink bug, Halyomorpha halys (Hemiptera: Heteroptera: Pentatomidae), in Hungary, with description of the genitalia of both sexes and GÁBOR VÉTEK, that is not really what I am hinting at.
I phonetically included the first names of both of these famous actresses of the past.
“gAVE Another reGRETTAble” Had it been Za Za, I doubt I could have made it work.
Last Sunday I said, “You have to start with actresses in the correct order. The puzzle doesn’t work in reverse. The transformation changes accented syllables and vowel sounds.”
ReplyDeleteVoila!
Greta Garbo, Eva Gabor
Chuck
My hint: "I wasn't going to bother with it anyway", a reference to the always mis-quoted "I want to be left alone" attributed to Ms. Garbo.
ReplyDeleteIn answer to @ecoarchitect's challenge: "But would you say I cheated? Judge not, lest ye be judged." I know nothing about Paula Abdul (move the "u" to the end, get Palau) except that she is/was a *judge* on one of those TV shows I've never seen.
GARBO, GABOR (as matt r said)
ReplyDelete> I'm going out for some fresh air.
At 0:53, e.g.
> Or a conversation between a bank deposit and a waterfowl chick. Or a customer at a butcher shop.
"I want to be a loan", "I want to be a loon", "I want to buy a loin".
> Three-faced, actually.
Magda Gabor, though less well-known than Zsa Zsa or Eva, was the older sister who became an actress first.
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ReplyDeleteYou've already seen GARBO ==> GABOR. Blaine added to the puzzle: "Or, add T and rearrange to name a famous actor."
ReplyDelete(Humphrey) BOGART
So WW, what is the answer to your spicy Crawdaddy puzzle?
ReplyDeleteRoRo,
DeleteI ought to have mentioned they all start with the letter C.
The maternal spice is cardaMOM,
child is CHILI,
and crustacean is crawDAD.
Et tu, Faye?
The little one who inspired the puzzle is CHARLIE, born on the hottest day of the year so far.
WW
Speaking of crawdads, in all my biking through NJ's Great Swamp, I'd never seen one. Last Friday, there were two, miles apart. So why, all of a sudden, did the crayfish cross the road?
DeleteIt was late and he was caught in a pinch!
DeleteTo get to the supercomputer, of course.
Deletejan,
DeleteThe crayfish thought they would be “movin’ on down, movin’ on down the road” (“The Wiz!” allusion) but found themselves on the other side because they are sideways-walkers.
A hint that no one needed:
In my Puzzleria! pluggola post I wrote : “Ever since that African Safari, where Beth and Brad went off to be alone on their honeymoon…” W(A)NT (off) TO BE ALONE is the Greta Garbo misquotation.
LegoGarboJackoNipsey
To party and get its Cray on? to find a crawmama?
DeleteI don't know. Anyway, I got 2 out of WW's 3 but was somehow stuck on mint and mini.
Perhaps he was in a snit because someone called him a Red Snapper. Anyway I heard he was only a shell of his former self.
DeleteI agree with WW that either Eva or Zsa Zsa should be acceptable, Zsa Zsa is a past actress, even though a present person. Still alive at 97, after 9 husbands (current 26 years her junior) Zsa Zsa puts the lie to any benefits of clean living. Not sure Magda qualifies as "famous" - did anyone know of her before this?
ReplyDeleteAnd Bob K correctly answered my alternative puzzle, which I added the clue about "dancing in my head". Paula Abdul was a talented dancer (apparently excellent cheerleader for the Lakers) and decent singer in the MTV world before becoming a "judge".
ReplyDeleteGreta GARBO
Three sisters, all actresses/socialites:
1. Zsa Zsa GABOR
(Still living)
2. Eva GABOR
3. Magda GABOR
Ecoarchitect's challenge: Celebrity: PAULA ABDUL.
Country: PALAU.
Eva & Greta
ReplyDelete"Regrets" for greta garbo and "catching up on sleep" for zzzz's, as in zsa zsa gabor.
ReplyDeleteNext week's challenge: This week's challenge comes from listener Ben Kaufman of Portland, Ore. Think of a popular TV show about cooking. I guarantee it's a show everyone has heard of. Remove the second and third letters of the first word and insert them after the first letter of the second word. You'll get a phrase for a different kind of cooking. What is it?
ReplyDeleteI've heard of the show but never seen it. I think there was a hint in the on-air puzzle.
ReplyDeletePaul - Same here (to both of your comments).
DeleteI remember when Will's puzzles were interesting and exotic. I'm afraid he's gone from the exotic to the plain and ordinary.
ReplyDeleteSo here's how I solved the challenge: I assembled a panel of Paula Deen, Emeril Lagassi, Daniel Beard, Julia Child, and Yan. Had them sit down and confer for two hours. Came up with nothing. Then I took a shower, and Bingo!, there it was.
ReplyDeleteNow I need to dream up another panel to help me construct an appropriate clue.
Bob:
ReplyDeleteSome of the things you might observe while showering I really don't want to think about. If the answer has anything to do with cheese balls, Emeril's recipe for prickly pear margaritas, or cooking with asafoetida, I'm not going to get it.
Please hurry with your clue. I'm going to hunt for a towel.
Sat down with Ambrose Bierce, G.B. Shaw, Robert Benchley, and Karl Rove, and they agreed, "Forget about posting a clue; this conversation is not going in the right direction!"
DeleteAsafoetida alone was worth the price of admission, Mr. Science. Thanks.
DeleteBob. K, I showered as you suggested but still no bingo. Does water temperature matter?
What about water pressure>?
Delete