For once I'm up early. Maybe it's a sign I should start my morning routine.Q: Name a world leader of the 1960s — two words. Change the last letter of the second word. Then switch the order of the words — that is, putting the second word in front. The result will name a hit song of the 1990s. Who is the leader, and what is the song?
Edit: The hints were up early/morning (a.m. = Alanis Morisette), sign (Burma Shave roadside signs) and morning routine (shaving = Burma Shave)
A: U THANT (Secretary General of the U.N., from Burma) --> THANK U (by Alanis Morisette)
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.
Yikes! Hoping everyone is ok in the CA quake, Blaine. (Great to see you up early though)
DeleteI can't speak for Blaine, but it was a long rocking motion in Berkeley. Talked to someone in SF who said it was sharper there, but it seems most of the damage is local to southern Napa County.
Delete3 am is pretty early - in the Bay Area a lot are now in sleep deprivation.
I experienced sharp then long rolling motion in Berkeley. Not fun.
DeleteI live in Seattle where earthquakes are an inevitability and just as serious a concern, if not even more so, than in California. I have protected myself by purchasing no-fault insurance.
DeleteMy wife's brother was in the airport terminal in Santiago, Chile, when last night's magnitude 6.4 quake hit there, and her sister's family in Piedmont, CA, was awakened by this morning's quake. So far, NJ seems stable.
DeleteIt sounds like Blaine had a close shave this a.m.!
DeleteHas anyone discovered whose fault it was?
DeleteIt must be an age thing. I clearly remember the leader, saw the potential for a song title, but had to use Google to confirm there was such a song. Can't say I'm familiar with the singer either. Glad my kids don't follow this blog or they'd have something else to tease me about.
ReplyDeleteI was familiar with the artist and the song, but had forgotten about the spelling of the song title. I too had to search to confirm.
DeleteInterestingly, the song mentions a country that borders the leader's country.
DeleteWhile the two countries are neighbors, they don't share a common border.
DeleteI believe they do. Double-check your maps and also search for the two country names and the word "border".
DeleteOops. Checked a different map. My error, There is a common border.
DeleteReposted from the bitter end of last week's Comments:
ReplyDeleteThere's an odd connection between our world leader and Mr. Auric Goldfinger.
I stopped paying attention to pop music (also quit watching TV) in the mid-80s so I’m woefully ill-equipped to handle popular culture questions after that period. I bid you all a fond adieu for this week.
ReplyDeleteChuck
Mamaw creek and I gave it the heave ho in 1985.
DeleteAcquaintances feared that we would be totally out of touch. I guess they've never heard of reading. :)
I'm feeling a bit sheepish that it took me so long to finally figure this one out.
ReplyDeleteYour clue has reminded me of phonetic palindromes; words or sentences which if spoken into a tape recorder and then the tape is played backwards, sounds the same. An example: Instructing a Scotsman, a German, and an American to each answer in the affirmative: "Say 'Aye', 'Ja', 'Yes'."
DeleteIn his book "Inversions", Scott Kim discusses these and gives a couple other examples: "Ominous Cinema", and another example with "revere" in the middle.
Why do I bring this up? Well, based on your clue, if you took a recording of the correct pronunciation of the first part of the world leader's name and then played that backward, I don't think you'd get what I think you think you'd get.
I think you are right about that.
DeleteEarlier this morning on last week's thread, after I quoted the new NPR Sunday puzzle, the following replies came along:
ReplyDeleteFirst, jan made a reply on Sun Aug 24, at 05:50:00 AM PDT which Blaine considered too much of a giveaway:
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
Then I replied on Sun Aug 24, at 05:59:00 AM PDT:
Yeah, but the first name of that world leader, and hence the last word in the song title, - is that really a word?
Then MrScience chimed in on Sun Aug 24, at 06:03:00 AM PDT:
There's an odd connection between our world leader and Mr. Auric Goldfinger.
Then jan on Sun Aug 24, at 06:05:00 AM PDT:
Actually, the first name really isn't.
And finally Blaine on Sun Aug 24, at 06:12:00 AM PDT:
Seems Mr. Shortz deliberately used "word" instead of "name".
Yes. It's a tough earthnut to crack.
DeleteCongratulations to the Little League team from Chicago. Beating that tremendous team from Nevada was a great feat, much less not getting run ruled.
ReplyDeleterun ruled is also known as the mercy rule. mercy merci thank you.
DeleteWasn't there some question of this world leader being accused of verbal bullying?
ReplyDeleteHey batter, batter...swing!
ReplyDeletetaking off from skydive boys bullying post witth a little bit of taunting
DeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteWhat I said before is true - I know absolutely nothing about 1990s hits or musical artists. I have never heard of the song or the artist. Obviously, I have heard of the world leader. I just _hate_ to spend any length of time on Sunday afternoons looking through lists. But I finally got it and I am grateful.
ReplyDeleteChuck
Not to change the subject, or anything crude like that, but today on my bike ride which took me past a nursery several miles north of my house, I noticed they had placed a sandwich board sign proclaiming they were having a "dahlia sale" this weekend. I wanted to stop and go inside and ask if they might know what you call a beast of burden indigenous to Peru when it is loaded up with dahlias, but when I am moving, I am moving and find it difficult to stop for anything other than to release some of the mornings coffee. Oh, yeah, they call it a Dahlia Llama.
ReplyDeleteMamaw Creek aint into dahlias. She wants nothing but roses.
DeleteNot to change the subject, but what do you call 8 rabbits in a line all walking backwards?
DeleteA receding hareline, of course.
And remember when President Jimmy Carter was attacked by a rabbit? In order to fend it off he had to employ a rabbit punch. Carter wasn't about to put up with any bunny business.
Deletebut roses but roses dahlias. un secretary-general
DeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
DeleteThere was a young man of Westphalia,
DeleteWho painted his rear like a dahlia.
The drawing was fine,
The color divine,
But the scent... ah, that was a failia
Not to change the diaper, or anything really crude like that, but today on my bike ride which took me past a children’s nursery several miles south of my house, I noticed they had placed a sandwich board sign proclaiming they were having a "sandwich sale" fundraiser this weekend so they could purchase dahlias to plant around the nursery grounds. (I wish I could hook them up with a good dahlia nursery someplace!)
ReplyDeleteI wanted to stop and go inside and buy a ham-on-rye, so I did. On my way to the sandwich kiosk, I strolled past a trio of female toddlers each cradling a Betsy-Wetsy in their cherubically chubby arms. “Who are those little girls?” I asked the sandwich slinger. “Dolly Mamas,” she replied.
LegoLambdollymama
My dear lego,
DeleteYou do realize you have now stepped beyond the limits of polite discourse and that I will never be able to forgive you for this indiscretion no matter how humorous it may be. That being said it is rather creative for a Midwesterner. So, I say petal power to you. And at the risk of appearing crude, why haven't you solved my puzzles yet? I have more but hesitate to offer up such wealth where it is not fully appreciated.
Such as, What did Lake Washington say after the first heat of the hydroplane races earlier this month? "Okay, I'm a wake now."
skydive boy,
DeleteAt the risk of appearing crude, O’il keep trying to solve your puzzles. But it won’t be easy. They are murky and deep. And slippery. And quite right slick.
I believe it was Lake Washington who said, “I cannot tell a lie. It was I. I was the lake that became a wake. But I’d rather be waking than taking a snooze. I don’t wanna see Zees in a bubble hovering above my head. I have a plethora of apathy land a one-track-mind lack o’ wanna, when it comes to golden-slumber nirvana.”
(And I feel compelled to add), not to mention undisturbed serene surfaces (would be an inexcusable omission.)
LegoSleepDeprived.
So you solved another I C.
Deleteto cop a few Z's a ball peen hammer should do the trick.
DeleteAfter reading the above, decided alpaca another comment (or two) in...
DeleteStopped by a local llama farm and noticed they had put a bell the largest male, As a fan or 50's Rock and Roll, I immediately recognized this as a, "Ram o' Lama Ding Dong."
AND, with apologies to Ogden Nash, if a one l lama is a priest, and a two l llama is a beast, what is a three l lllama?
An anomallamy?
Deleteor an animal with too much teasterone, or a form of yeast.
DeleteWe've already discussed this. A 3-L lllama is what they call a big fire in Boston.
DeleteDag hammer should an ex un secretary-general.
DeleteAs usual, by the time I get the solution to the official challenge, this group has gone way beyond!
ReplyDeleteAnyhoo, I heard the challenge while driving to the beach yesterday morning, didn't see any dahlias, and forgot about it. I think I know too many world leaders from the 60s, and absolutely no songs from the 90s, so it seemed unlikely that I would ever solve it.
But something must have merged in my subconscious during the day and overnight, and when I rolled out of bed this morning I had acquired the answer! I had to google my suspected song title to see that it was in fact real, and there it was. So I should be grateful for the inner workings of my mind!
Bob, we certainly are grateful for the inner workings of your mind. Check out the just-posted last photo on this week's PEOTS for a clue to my brain's inner workings.
DeleteU THANT >>> THANK U
Delete"Bob, we are certainly grateful. . ." so THANK U!
I appreciate the hints.
ReplyDeleteHmmmm . . .
DeleteWould someone mind emailing me the answer as I am stumped and cannot figure this out.
ReplyDeleteWe don't do that. Tune in after noon on Thursday.
DeleteI think you are close, tho.
DeleteFear not, Mr. Duck, you are in good company. This one's a stumper for sure, but I'm thinking the key is in the "world leader" designation. Beyond that, my cup runneth dry.
DeleteRuth - much appreciative. Your hint clinched it for me. Before that I was feeling so disconnected and vulnerable.
DeleteRoRo, I'm all too happy to help a fellow (or is it fella?) Blainster find the answer - paying it forward, if you will - even though I remain stumped. Eagerly awaiting your explanation later today of how I helped.
DeleteThe name is on this page, but not in the 'World leaders' section.
DeleteAnd didn't Alanis Morissette portray a 'world leader' in 'Dogma'?
DeleteNOT A CLUE:
ReplyDeleteLooking for the popular theme song to a 1990's movie where a shadowy governmental department purloins a French teenage junkie out of a life sentence in exchange for training her as Le Cordon Bleu aboard a passenger ship.
Well, this one almost stumped me. I was only vaguely aware of the world leader, I don't recall the song; I know the artist, but not the song.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Curtis. Obscure. I just got it. No gratitude to anyone here because your hints didn't help. A true world leader, though.
ReplyDeleteBeing ungrateful is a really bad habit. :-(
DeleteU N grateful. U thant.
DeleteThe post I wanted to make but knew would be axed: " U-2 aerial photos shared during the Cuban Missile Crisis by one U (Kennedy) to another U.
DeleteSo glad that Blaine came out okay. It was. a. really. close. shave.
ReplyDeleteBlaine woke early,
DeleteShaken from bed.
Why'd he delete
What jan said?
It was. a really. close shave.
Deletethis is my poor attempt at a Burma Shave drive by advertisement.
U Thant was Burmese
I wonder if Alanis Morissette ever recorded "Myanmar Shadow"?
DeleteU THANT -> THANK U
ReplyDelete> It sounds like Blaine had a close shave this a.m.!
As in Burma Shave, and Alanis Morissette.
> Actually, the first name really isn't.
"U" is not Thant's first name, it's an honorific, akin to "Mr."
> I think you are close, tho.
I didn't think Blaine would let me get away with posting "I think u r close"....
My comment that Blaine deleted was something like "I am not ungrateful that this was easy to solve." "Am" for
Alanis Morissette, "un-" for United Nations, and "grateful" for "Thank U". (So, why did 3 other "grateful"comments pass muster?)
Sorry, Verizon Wireless definitely said it was 3:00 pm EDT when I hit "publish".
Deletejan:
DeleteI guess you'll have to broaden your Verizons. :-)
UN Secretary General U Thant > Thank U by Alanis Morissette
ReplyDeleteMy Hints:
“I'm feeling a bit sheepish that it took me so long to finally figure this one out.”
A female sheep is a EWE.
“Wasn't there some question of this world leader being accused of verbal bullying?”
His name is likely to many times be pronounced, YOU TAUNT. This sounds as if he were being accused of bullying.
I saw the Blaine deleted post by jan, but it did not lead me to the answer, in fact it lead me far afield looking at songs by The Grateful Dead. I solved it by going through a list of world leaders until I came to the answer name and realized it was the solution immediately. Had to Google the song though. No idea what that and the artist are about. I was not aware there were popular songs in the 1990s. I still hold out hope we may have them again though.
Anyway an easy puzzle to solve, but still a good one. I can’t remember how long it has been since I have heard U Thant’s name, yet it was common at one time. Thant’s For The Memories.
U Thant --> Thank U by Alanis Morissette
ReplyDeleteLast Sunday I said, “What I said before is true - I know absolutely nothing about 1990s hits or musical artists. I have never heard of the song or the artist. Obviously, I have heard of the world leader. I just _hate_ to spend any length of time on Sunday afternoons looking through lists. But I finally got it and I am grateful.” Grateful as in thank you.
Chuck
From my comment, one of my six-degrees-of-separation markers: "something must have merged " . . . and . . "I had acquired the answer!" is a reference to a (presumed) gentleman on the Rex Parker blog who goes by the name of M&A (in his case for Masked and Anonymous, but same initials as Mergers and Acquisitions), who has an uncommon attachment to the letter "U", enough to stand for U Thant. And of course, I was grateful along with everyone else.
ReplyDeleteAnd when I thought I was being thanked for hints by someone using only the name "hugh" (could that stand for "U"?), I could only wonder if M&A visits this blog also.
Once again, my "take things too literally" weakness sent me down the wrong path. "U" isn't a word, or is it? I can just hear Alanis saying "You Oughtta Know." Ah well, adieu til next time...
ReplyDeleteSDB, I also went back in time when I was little girl (yes, Ruth) and that name was like a household word I heard very often.
ReplyDeleteI was stumped for a while. I focused on Burma and Laos but on heads of state. Jan, if you don't have a clue the grateful hint did not matter. I was searching to see if the Grateful Dead had gotten back together to make a new hit in the 90s LOL.
Ruth, I thought you were speaking generally, did not realize you did not have answer. Your tip to concentrate on "World Leader" prompted me to think of UN Secretary General and led me to answer. I think it was exactly 1990 when I stopped focusing on popular music as "my music" so I missed this one which I am sure had to be controversial at the time.
U Thant - Thank U
ReplyDeleteKing Idris - I Drinking, Country Western of course.
And now ... The discovery no one cares about ... U Thant and Auric Goldfinger both orchestrated something called "Operation Grand Slam."
ReplyDeleteThant (or is it U?) was tying to rid the Congo of secessionists, while Goldfinger's goal was a bit more far reaching -- to rid the world of Pussy Galore, and to irradiate Ft. Knox's Gold supply, thus driving up the price of his holdings. Isn't this interesting?
I wrote: 3 am is pretty early - in the Bay Area "A Lot Are Now In Sleep" deprivation.
ReplyDeleteFirst letters spell ALANIS, and as others have noted her initials are am. My Only Regret Is Submitting Simple, Easy Tips Than Exhausting possibilities for her last name.
Mr.Science,
ReplyDeleteThat is a nice coincidence (and as far as we know, neither Auric nor U was much of a power hittler, both banjo hitters). There is also a nice tie-in between Auric Goldfinger’s shenanigans and the second of three puzzles this week over on Puzzleria!, one that involves the Wizard of Oz.
New Puzzleria! puzzles uploaded there every Friday!
As for this week’s NPR poser…
ecoarchitect, U could have hit me over the head with a hammarskjold and I still wouldn’t have solved it.
Still, I came so close, yet was so far. So, no Red Auerbach cigar!
I just chose the wrong U.N. Secretary General, the little known U Nothingcomparex 2, who succeeded U Thant and whose tenure lasted just a day or two. Sometimes his name is spelled U Nothingcomparex II, like they do with royalty, popes, and, at least for the time being, Super Bowls… Oh, excuse me, I mean “The Big Games.” I wasn’t sure what letter to change, what with the “2” and all, so I just changed the “x” to an “s” and, voila!, there appeared “Nothing Compares 2 U” penned by Prince, another world leader of sorts, and sung by another angst-ridden singer of the 1990s named Sinead who I think might have been related to a late cardinal from New York.
Legoldfinger
My computer has been down since Wednesday. Here's what I had intended to post on Thursday:
ReplyDeleteU THANT
“U” is an honorific roughly equivalent to Mr. in Burmese.
THANK U (1998)
“EARTHNUT” contains the letters U THANT + ER.
Next week's challenge: This challenge comes from listener Peter Gwinn, a former writer for The Colbert Report. Think of a word that means "to come before." Replace its last letter with two new letters to get "someone who comes after you." These two words are unrelated etymologically. What words are they?
ReplyDeleteHmm,.... I've thought of a word that means "to come before", to which I can replace its last letter with three new letters to get "someone who comes after you - to punish you!
DeleteToday (8/31)'s challenge is so easy that I can't think of a hint which wouldn't give it away immediately. But I do want to go back to a comment I made on August 14, wherein I said that Will Shortz seemed never to use the word "anagram." Today, he did use the word anagram in setting up the on-air puzzle. My apologies to Will, and may he not bring down a curse upon my children and their children and all the others who come after me.
ReplyDeleteBob K, perhaps Will was simply concerned about making an anagrammatical mix-up.
DeletePlease bear with me if I drone on, but I'm feeling pretty good about my solution.
ReplyDeleteThe first word also refers to some popular online activities,
ReplyDeleteSo does the second word, unfortunately.
ReplyDeleteSince this puzzle was so easy, I started playing around with Google Translate on the first word. I find it fun to translate a word or sentence into another language, such as Macedonian, and then translate it back into English. It's almost always something similar, but not quite the same.
ReplyDelete