By now everyone has figured this out so no clue is necessary.Q: Name a country. Drop one of its letters. Rearrange the remaining letters to name this country's money. What is it?
A: BELARUS (-A) = RUBLES
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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.
Take Blaine's instructions seriously; he doesn't mince words!
ReplyDeleteI would never have gotten it from Snipper's clever hint. But when forced to reevaluate it - it hit me like a rock in the head.
ReplyDeleteIraq in the head?
DeleteDon't fall for the trick, bromigos,
ReplyDeletesingular or plural?
ReplyDeleteThat clue troubles me.
DeleteRon:
DeleteThank you!
Yes, this puzzle falls very easily to the consultation of lists, so I will not try to come up with a hint.
ReplyDeleteI thought I might have been able to solve it without looking at any references, and I would have - if the currency of Brazil were the Libra (some sort of Latinish variant of the Pound?).
But I'll have to settle for going to Cuba to spend a Buc.
Zeke - Nice clue at the end of last week's thread, even if the currency was the wrong one.
ReplyDeleteFrankly, I had a hard time making cents of this puzzle. The first answer I came up with didn't require change to the order of the remaining letters. Baht since the country in question no longer uses the currency, I dinar think it would count. Then, like Lorenzo, I admired Zeke's clue - although I had some trouble with it. Looks like we'll have to wait till Sunday for the rial answer.
ReplyDeleteWhatever happened to the Franc of France? Aren't there a few of them still floating around?
DeleteIf it's Frank's, thanks!
DeleteOui monsieur Ron. C'est ca.
DeleteStill I hope I never have to exchange a colon for a quetzal.
DeleteHW,
DeleteThat would not be good; it could result in an itchy annulus.
SDB, also, if you stop for a picnic while traveling through the mid-west, don't sit on an MX silo, or you might end up with a miscellaneous.
DeleteWOW! Talk about a High Colonic!
DeleteDavid,
DeleteI never realized there could be a picnic where intestinal fortitude would come in handy. Don't the silo operators respect squatters rights?
Not to worry; there are no more MX missiles deployed. Still got 450 Minuteman IIIs, though. Reading an interesting book about a Titan II that blew up in its silo a few years back, among other issues.
DeleteSilo sweet cherry bomb.
DeleteAs you can see I am trying to adapt this to Swing low sweet chariot. You will no doubt agree that it could use a little more work. Any help out there?
There have been some pretty beautiful but sneaky clues given. I’m not going to point any out at this time since that would be a clue in itself.
ReplyDeleteChuck
My clue was so beautiful and sneaky that it led to my first censure from Blaine! But I'm not done yet!
ReplyDeleteBadge of honor.
DeleteI'm still not sure which one you were referring to: The one that's spelled similarly, or the one that sounds similar?
DeleteI think residents of both Washington and Colorado might have an advantage in solving this one.
ReplyDeleteTake a country, change one letter, and rearrange to get what that country's currency is (there are at least two answers).
ReplyDeleteI believe there's only one, although there's a country where you cut its name in half to get the name of its people and culture; and then to that, change the last letter and then read the result backwards to get that country's currency.
Delete...But then to the country which is the answer to your challenge, take the letter that was changed to get the currency; but change it again - without any rearranging necessary, to get another country! And then, change that same letter again, this time into two letters, and rearrange to get that country's currency.
The second of my answers is not as straightforward as my first (I cheat).
DeleteE&WAf, you can take the second half of your country above, change one letter and get a different country's currency (forward, no rearranging).
DeleteIf you haven't solved it yet, here is an alternate answer that WS probably will not accept, but you never know.
ReplyDeleteSUDAN > SAND
Musical clue: Bluebeard's Castle.
ReplyDeleteTutti
DeleteDetain Andy.
ReplyDeleteAfter Barney told me the answer, I struggled to think of an appropriate comment. Eventually, an anagram of the country, which I found amusing, came to mind. I only wish I had been able to think of a better anagram for Nite And Day.
DeleteI believe I have come up with an answer, however I am unsure as to whether or not it fits within the clue's specifications. It would be greatly appreciated if one of you fine people could email me at the email listed below. I will send you the answer I found, and you (without confirming if it's the same you found) can offer your view as to whether it fits the clue.
ReplyDeletePlease and Thank You,
S. Logans
Odienlogans@gmail.com
DeleteThank you to all who replied!
DeleteOnly 38 replies to this blog by Thursday morning ? ?? I doubt this was the hardest puzzle ever, so must be either hard to clue or many have just lost interest in the Sunday Puzzle of late...
ReplyDeleteIt threw me off for the longest time because the answer is plural.
ReplyDeleteSure about that, UJ?
DeleteYes hence the puzzle using the informal term "money" rather than the "official currency"
DeleteBelarus (rubles) - my clue: "singular or plural." And of course the "troubled" Ron gave it away for the at the time uncertain me! and "If it's Franks thanks," referring to the plural re-"franc." Franks was/is a beverage company, popular in Philadelphia.
ReplyDeleteSorry, I edited my comment & assumed a new confirmation number would appear; however, it just published.
ReplyDeleteBELARUS > RUBLES
ReplyDeleteMy hint:
“I think residents of both Washington and Colorado might have an advantage in solving this one.” Due to the legalization of Pot in these two states some of the residents may be stoned. Stoned being a hint at rubble, or stones, as inferred by several hints before mine.
Each week, the Travel section of The New York Times includes "36 Hours in ..." some world city. I've always thought these brief trips were rather heavily weighted toward drinking and nightlife. This week, they visit Seattle, and for the first time they include a pot shop on the itinerary.
Deletejan, "...the residents tend to be muted..." That sure describes me, right?
DeleteBELARUS -> RUBLES
ReplyDelete> Take Blaine's instructions seriously; he doesn't mince words!
He doesn't Minsk them, either.
> I'm still not sure which one you were referring to: The one that's spelled similarly, or the one that sounds similar?
Barney Rubble or Barney Google?
Belarus --> rubles
ReplyDeleteLast Sunday I said, “There have been some pretty beautiful but sneaky clues given.” Beautiful referring to the Latin and Italian word “bella” - not exactly “bela” but close enough. I particularly liked Jan’s clue that Blaine doesn’t “mince” words. The capital of Belarus is Minsk.
Chuck
I submitted Vanuatu as the country and Vatu as the currency my rearrangement of the letters (after eliminating N) was by overlaying A over A and a U over U to effectively end up with the four letter currency word. This may have stretched the rules but one never knows with Will.
ReplyDeleteOf course that submission is just outrageous Vanutee.
Deletesdb! I'm surprised that you would know anything about that!
DeletePaul! I have lots of currency in this regard!
DeleteOf course you can start with BELARUS, drop the A, and get RUBLES. But you could also drop the S and get "A RUBLE". :>))
ReplyDeleteIn my submission last Sunday I purposely entered the transfer for Russian rubles to American dollars. I didn't want it to be a total dead giveaway.
ReplyDeleteAbove I wrote, "Take a country, change one letter, and rearrange to get what that country's currency is (there are at least two answers)."
ReplyDeleteThe first answer is Iran / Rial. My second answer (the "cheating" one) is Yemen / Money. (You might note that Will's puzzle referred to a country's money, but mine asked about a country's currency).
I gave a reply to David's post above on Tue Nov 18, at 04:05:00 AM PST:
DeleteI believe there's only one, although there's a country where you cut its name in half to get the name of its people and culture; and then to that, change the last letter and then read the result backwards to get that country's currency.
...But then to the country which is the answer to your challenge, take the letter that was changed to get the currency; but change it again - without any rearranging necessary, to get another country! And then, change that same letter again, this time into two letters, and rearrange to get that country's currency.
Cut THAILAND in half and you get THAI.
Change the last letter of that into a B, and read that result backwards to get BAHT.
Now take IRAN, (to which you could change the N to an L and rearrange into RIAL), but instead change it into a Q to get IRAQ, then change it again into DN and rearrange to make DINAR.
Then I said "E&WAf, you can take the second half of your country above, change one letter and get a different country's currency (forward, no rearranging)." The second half of Thailand is "land". Change the "L" to "R" to get "rand", South Africa's currency.
DeleteI was thinking that ISRAEL and LIRAS would have been a good answer (at least prior to 1980).
ReplyDeleteBELARUS >>> RUBLES
ReplyDelete"Badge of honor" referred to Marc Chagall, one of the most famous residents of Belarus, who was honored at the closing ceremonies of the Winter Olympics in Sochi in February, 2014.
Dave Taylor, busy week here.
I think it's safe to say no one here will fall victim to paläoweltschmertz,
ReplyDeleteBut, if you want to read more. . .
DeleteWell, I didn't expect that, now did I?
DeleteTsar chasm?
DeleteFashionably Polynesian.
DeleteBELARUS uses RUBLES as its money.
ReplyDeleteMy clue: “That clue tRoUBLES me.”
One Belarusian ruble is worth less than one ten thousandth of a dollar. Is it fair to call that money?
ReplyDeleteYou could always go to Belarus, get lots of money, and use it as wallpaper.
DeleteGo to Belarus Rubles then click on the picture on the right and look at all the pretty pictures.
My censured comment referred to shopping at Barneys (barney rubble) and beating the holiday rush (russia). My subsequent post said "I'm not done yet!" (Nyet).
ReplyDeleteAnd that hit me like a rock in the head!
DeleteThis puzzle reminds me of the wonderful sense of humor many Iraqis have and where it is common on paydays to hear wives remind their husbands not to be late for dinar as they head to work.
ReplyDeleteBelow is Bill Cosby's defense.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v...
Do people in Belarus ever transact business in Russian rubles? Inquiring minds want to know.
ReplyDeleteThey might want you to think that. If so, I suppose it would be a beautiful ruse.
DeleteI wonder if NPR has been delaying posting the Sunday puzzle because of our tendency to jump on it so quickly?
ReplyDeleteI think there was one time before when we had to hear it off of WNYC's link.
DeleteNext week's challenge: The letters in the name of a major American city can be rearranged to spell a traveling cultural museum. What is it? Each name is a single word, and the city's population is more than a half million.
ReplyDeleteJust want to be the first to say: WTF is a "traveling cultural museum"???
ReplyDeleteI bet that it is a nonce word that cannot be found in anagram machines.
ReplyDeleteRob loses his bet to a belly dancer.
Delete