My wife and I use this all the time with each other. I can't think of a hint that won't lead to the answer via a search engine, so I'll just stick with last week's clue.Q: Think of a common exclamation in four letters. Move the last letter to the start, and then add a new letter to the end to get another well-known exclamation. What is it?
Edit: I suppose I might say "Ahoy, mate" to my wife. The hint of a search engine was obviously a reference to Yahoo. And last week's clue was to Montgomery, AL. But if you use the photo as a hint, it refers to Montgomery Burns of "The Simpsons" who answers the phone with Ahoy hoy
A: AHOY! --> YAHOO!
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.
Looks like one of those sesame street clues will work here again. This one is really easy.
ReplyDeleteThink of a somewhat common interjection in five letters. Reverse the first two letters and change one of them to a different letter to get another somewhat common interjection.
ReplyDeleteThis week’s NPR puzzle is pretty easy, but it will not elicit the 2,000-plus correct answers that last week’s anagram puzzle did. The exclamations are not all that common, IMO, but there are just not that many four-letter exclamations that have any hope of transforming into a five-letter exclamation.
LegoSomewhatCommon
Could it be EGADS>>>HEADS?
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DeleteI was amazed that for once my undergraduate studies naturally assisted me in getting the answer, the first word. ---Rob
ReplyDeleteBlaine, I couldn’t have said it better myself!
ReplyDeleteChuck
Hello?
ReplyDeleteyou know about alexander graham bell i guess
DeleteWhere is SDB when we finally need him? Michael, I think this comes dangerously close to giving the thing away.
DeleteI have two answers. I just hope everyone knows the difference between an exclamation and an interjection. An exclamation can be followed by 3 exclamation points whereas an interjection can only be followed by a single exclamation point. WOW!!! I MEAN IT!
ReplyDeleteThe following 3 posts came near the end of last week's thread:
ReplyDeleteBob Kerfuffle posted on Sun Dec 14, at 06:07:00 AM PST:
I have an answer which I like, but I know it's not what is wanted because
(1) each exclamation is two words
(2) they are in different languages, and
(3) maybe they aren't all that common.
But if you agree with my answer, give me a ring!
I then posted on Sun Dec 14, at 07:03:00 AM PST:
I believe I have the expected answer. In comparison with Bob Kerfuffle's:
(1) each exclamation is just one word
(2) they are both in English, and
(3) I think they're both quite common.
My only problem: If you enter the 5-letter exclamation on dictionary.com, you get 3 regular definitions and 1 British Dictionary definition, but all as nouns, not one as an interjection (which, of course, is what an exclamation is).
Most people do realize that it is an exclamation as well, though.
...And then Bob Kerfuffle posted on Sun Dec 14, at 07:16:00 AM PST:
Hi, I'm back, this time with the right answer. Thank you to one of the hints above. (Hey, I might have gotten it on my own, but unlike last week's Matt Gaffney meta answer, I'm not so swift.)
EaWAf,
DeleteYou are using the wrong dictionary; try using MERRIAM WEBSTER.
Hmm, some ancient exclamation there - these days I think Will is just phoning it in...
ReplyDeleteThis might have been more appropriate about three months ago.
ReplyDeleteSeptember 19 - International Talk Like A Pirate Day!
DeleteFrom Wikipedia:
The Yahoos are primitive creatures obsessed with "pretty stones" ... the term "yahoo" has come to mean "a crude, brutish or obscenely coarse person".
If the pegleg, eyepatch, and/or earring fits ...
I finally understand Blaine's clue. Yippee!
ReplyDeleteThis one is so easy. It's EGAD. Do the specified transformation, and you get the word that one yells when shown a painting of ballerinas: DEGAS!
ReplyDelete"Happy as a clam at high tide!" was her exclamation.
ReplyDeletePerhaps this one was left over from the on-air challenge.
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ReplyDeleteWhen I took a break for a snack yesterday afternoon, my snack was cookies and corn squeezins.
ReplyDeleteChips AHOY cookies
Deletecorn squeezins--YAHOO! Mountain Dew
of course, we see the word "Yahoo" all the time.
This reminds me of a joke I heard a few years ago. Netscapes and Yahoo were planning to merge. The name of the new company would be Net and Yahoo (pronounced "Netanyahu")
Happy Holidays everyone!
Yahoo is a derogatory term coined by Jonathan Swift in 1726, in his "Gulliver's Travels." I wanted to post a hint to this, but again felt it too revealing.
DeleteI never heard of the Netanyahu joke, but I have always referred to Benjamin Netanyahu as Benjamin Nutty Yahoo, as I think it fits him well.
Thanks for reminding me, sdb, that in my second comment, after I had the answer, I noted that " unlike last week's Matt Gaffney meta answer, I'm not so swift." I hope that wasn't too revealing . . . or had the Yahoos already spilled the answer by that point?
DeleteI guess I can rule out most of my usual 4-letter exclamations.
ReplyDeleteRhymes with the name of a certain head-of-state.
ReplyDeleteRhymes with a sneeze
ReplyDelete--Margaret
O
ReplyDeleteI think one was used quite often during a recent television special. Not something I've ever said. Can this be it?
Already hinted at: what corporation links these two words together?
ReplyDeleteMany solvers see one of the answers every week and don't even give it any thought.
ReplyDeleteI am reminded of an old cartoon.
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ReplyDeleteTo Jason Leaker the eponymous:
DeletePlease say Hi to Harriet for us.
What skydiveboy means is, please delete your posting, which violates our rules against disclosing the answer before 3 pm ET on Thursday.
DeleteHint:Boy, all these comments have made me thirsty. Going to get some chocolate milk
DeleteI'm going with the nautical one.
ReplyDeleteSpanakopita. Yum.
ReplyDeleteMost recipes call for olive oil.
DeleteJust don't make the same mistake I did and mistake capers for peas.
DeleteI once mistook horse radish for mashed potatoes - boy was that an eye-opener!
Delete--Margaret G
Horseradish? I'm still working my way through the batch of Mama Stamberg's cranberry relish that I made for Thanksgiving. We had 11 guests, but no one else likes it. More for me!
DeleteThought of the answer while looking for last minute Christmas presents online. Finally finished...Yippee!
ReplyDeleteCan someone please teach me how to submit the puzzle? I don't know if I should send an e-mail, postcard, carrier pigeon, etc.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.npr.org/templates/contact/index.php?columnId=4473090
DeleteI used to use carrier pigeons until they all died out, but now I'm not so sure that is even true. Last July Fourth there was an aircraft carrier visiting for the celebrations here on Puget Sound, and I distinctly saw a group of pigeons perched on the radar structure.
DeletePassenger pigeons are extinct. Carrier pigeons are any homing pigeon used to carry messages. Obsolescent, maybe, but still around.
DeleteThey'd better be careful around the radar, between magnetic fields messing with their geomagnetic navigation and the risk of being microwaved. And the sailors: not sure how swabbies and squabbies get along...
Yes, very true, but the carrier pigeons I saw apparently were also passenger pigeons, or perhaps stowaways. But, let's not squabble over squab. I almost forgot to mention how disgusting I found all the pigeon's stool.
DeleteSpeaking of enhanced interrogation techniques, after a night in gale conditions, I'd sing like a canary, too.
DeleteI think we all would, but then you end up convicted and sitting on Canary Row.
DeleteIf you can't stand the pigeon's stool, stay off the poop deck.
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DeleteI have to agree with your stern advice as it's not safe to stand on a stool. I bow to your expertease.
DeleteAnyway, your memory is getting fuzzy. The carrier didn't get to Seattle until July 29, and it wasn't technically a carrier, but an amphibious assault ship (USS Essex, LHD-2).
DeleteThanks for the help, guys! Also, speaking of the Essex, I've heard P.M. Mantz is her captain now.
Delete(P.S, due to an error with my Google accounts, I have to use a different username with every computer I'm on-Ducky=S.Logans=Ducky.)
Speaking of amphibious, you're not one of those ducks, are you?
DeleteYou're right, I was feeling a bit groggy earlier. It was here for Seafair, but you have to be careful of sailor yarns. What I remember most is going on board with a friend and after a while he was nowhere to be found, so I had to leave the companionway behind. But thank you for your swell adVice Admiral.
DeletePlease don't get me started on, Ride the Ducks. I usually replace the first word with another 4 letter exclamation. I hate those disgusting monsters that clog our streets with swarms of loud, obnoxious tourists who can't find anything better to do with their time here in Seattle, but ride around on these dangerous leftovers from much earlier wars. They have nothing to do with Seattle and have a history of accidentally opening when on the water and sinking with numerous passengers. Several years ago there was a plea published in The Stranger here pleading with us residents to BA these when we see them. Seeing the Ducks on our roads always puts me in a foul mood.
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ReplyDeleteReminds me, if I every go out to sea, not forget my laptop!
ReplyDeleteGoogle was NO help in solving this.
ReplyDeleteWe're coming up on Will's annual new names in the news for 2014. Maybe this year will be an alliteration edition:
ReplyDeleteKim Kardashian, Mitch McConnell, Ray Rice, Seattle Seahawks, California Chrome, Chris Christie, and I'm sure I'm forgetting one or two more
Putin Putsch.
DeleteMork Mort.
DeleteTrouble is, none of those names are new in the news this year
DeleteMy list:
Bowe Bergdahl
Cliven Bundy
Mo'ne Davis
Adele Dazeem
Kaci Hickox
Bridget Ann Kelly
Philae
Coming soon from 12
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteI notice that both exclamations are each made of 2 separate interjections/ exclamations, in order. At least in some cultures.
ReplyDeleteAnd if you reverse each exclamation, you also get 2 separate interjections/ exclamations, in order.
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ReplyDeleteWay too early. Please delete.
DeleteDid Uncle John defect and join up with Harriet?
DeleteI apologize. I woke up and thought it was Friday.
DeleteAHOY & YAHOO
ReplyDeleteI wanted to post Wylie Gustafson, but felt it could be googled to discover that he was the voice of the Yahoo Yell, so I didn’t post a hint.
AHOY -> YAHOO
ReplyDelete> Seems vague. But when the chips are down, I check the Internet for lists.
As in <Chips Ahoy! and yahoo.com.
> Hello?
Alexander Graham Bell thought the telephone should be answered with "Ahoy!" Edison favored "Hello," which won out, and that greeting became much more widely used.
> Coming soon from 12
Marissa Mayer and the Fight to Save yahoo!, by Nicholas Carlson. An excerpt will appear in the New York Times magazine this Sunday.
My two word, linguistically conflicting, not-so-common answer:
ReplyDelete"O, man!" => "no mas!".
Although I have long known of A.G. Bell's suggestion of using "ahoy!" to answer the phone, when I said in my original post, "give me a ring," that was meant as a reference to the boxing ring in my obviously incorrect answer.
And to get the correct answer, I took jan's clever hint literally and looked online for a list of exclamations, which of course there was, and found the answer very quickly.
I had said, "I was amazed that for once my undergraduate studies naturally assisted me in getting the answer, the first word."
ReplyDeleteIt's true; I graduated from the US Naval Academy, and really have used "Ahoy." And I used the initials in "undergraduate studies naturally assisted." ---Rob
And what did you do after graduation? I used to subscribe to the USNI Proceedings (no direct relation, I know), just because I thought it was a very interesting journal.
Deletejan,
DeleteHe obviously went on to have a maritime.
Rob,
DeleteI thought you might have been a Georgetown HOYA.
Congrats on graduating from the USNA, and thanks for serving our country. I had a high school buddy that graduated from the USNA also (1969-73). You’ve got to be elite to get in.
Speaking of elite, elite puzzle solver ron (see his post below) came up with ALAS/SALAM an alternative to Will’s intended AHOY/YAHOO. I considered that also, figuring Salam is likely some variant of Shalom, but also figured it would be to weird for Will, so didn’t even bother to DuckDuckGoose it.
Early Sunday, at 8:25 AM, I posted a piggyback puzzle to Will’s puzzle. At the time, I had not yet come up with AHOY/YAHOO. I thought UMPH/HUMPH was Will’s intended answer.
Elite puzzle-solver ron soon posted a perfectly good answer (EGADS/HEADS) to my puzzle, but my intended answer was ACHOO/YAHOO. So, in my subsequent post acknowledging ron’s alternative answer I also gave clues to my intended answer: “one interjection is mouthed involuntarily (ACHOO), the other is related to the Internet (YAHOO). When Will’s intended answer dawned on me. I posthaste deleted my post that gave clues to my piggyback, fearing that ACHOO/YAHOO might somehow be a give-away to AHOY/YAHOO.
If you haven’t checked out Blaine’s annual Chistmas puzzle, do so! It’s clever and fun, and the payoff is heartwarming.
Speaking of Christmas puzzles, why not mosey and meander or scamper and skedaddle on over to my Puzzleria! puzzle blog early tomorrow (Friday) morning? You can feast on a generous Yuletide menu of “puzzle slices” holiday-seasoned just the way you like them.
LegoTellItOnTheMountain
Oh, I am quite elite. I graduated from USNA in 1972, spent five aimless years in the Navy, and then went to medical school via the Air Force, where afterwards I did my total of 24 years of service. Retired now from the military, but still working in clinics full time. When I am not working on the puzzle, that is. ---Rob
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DeleteMy cartoon reference above was to Yippee, Yappee and Yahooey. Go to about 1:30 in for a typical entrance.
ReplyDelete"Teach" was a reference to Edward Teach, AKA Blackbeard.
ReplyDelete"E-mail" was a hint at Yahoo, and
"P.M. Mantz is the captain now" was an allusion to "Captain Phillips", where Muse (Barkhad Abdi) the pirate states "I'm the captain now".
ahoy, yahoo
ReplyDeleteLast Sunday I said, “Blaine, I couldn’t have said it better myself!” You said, “a hint that won't lead to the answer via a search engine.” Like Yahoo for instance :)
Chuck
AHOY >>> YAHOO
ReplyDelete’"Happy as a clam at high tide!" was her exclamation' referred to the nautical AHOY!
As I said, "I have two answers."
ReplyDeleteAHOY ! YAHOO !
ALAS ! SALAM ! (Word for “peace” in Arabic)
My hint: “WOW” is related to “YAHOO.”
My clue: "Reminds me, if I every go out to sea, not forget my laptop!"
ReplyDeleteMy clues -
ReplyDeleteSesame street clue referred to cookie monster, who I'm sure would enjoy some chips ahoy. "....is really easy" was reference to Israel and its leader - Netan"yahu".
For those of you that use Google, Facebook, etc., you need to watch this TED VIDEO. Remember DUCKDUCKGO.COM does not track you. The internet is changing... You have much less choice and personal control than you formerly did...
ReplyDeleteSo, the same week that the Sony/DPRK hacking crisis is in the news, CAPTCHA protection mysteriously disappears from this blog site. Coincidence, or ???
ReplyDelete(Sorry, there should be a ;-) emoticon at the end of the previous post.)
DeleteBlainesvillians:
ReplyDeleteThis week’s Puzzleria! features six Yuletide-themed puzzles, a half-dozen appetizers to Will’s NPR main course tomorrow… or to your Christmas dinner on Thursday, however you prefer to look at it. We post our Puzzleria! answers on Tuesdays, but you can post hints to your answers at any time.
Thank you.
LegoGrinchNo
Next week's challenge: This week's challenge comes from listener Peter Collins of Ann Arbor, Mich. Take the first and last names of a well-known actress. Her first name has two vowels. Change them both to new vowels, and the result names part of a common Christmas decoration. What is it?
ReplyDeleteOn, Comet!, etc.
DeleteWhen the answer is a well-known actress, I obviously can't use any of her roles or films/plays/TV as references. My hint-giving powers, feeble to begin with, are on life support!
ReplyDeletePart of a Christmas carol hint: As <something> as any <something>
ReplyDeleteNeither of the two <something>s is any part of the actress's name or the Christmas decoration part. It's just that if I revealed what the two <something>s are, Blaine would delete this post for sure!
Since the puzzle calls for an actress, the answer can't be Richard Dere's brother Ryan.
ReplyDeleteIsn't it Richard Gere anyway?
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