I initially thought of a Siren and a siren, but there's no U added. I'll let you take it from here.Q: Name someone who welcomes you in. Insert the letter U somewhere inside this, and you'll name something that warns you to stay away. Who is this person, and what is this thing?
Thinking of the ocean and warnings should hopefully have led you to bell buoy, but if not, "let you take it from here" was a hint to a bell boy.
A: BELL BOY --> BELL BUOY
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.
WW,
ReplyDeleteIl fait trop droid en ce moment.
Zzzzzzzzeke
Froid, droid. The mistakes of a noid. :)
ReplyDeleteZzzzzzeke, best to a_void?
DeleteChange the first vowel to an a and you get a different someone excessively featured in the news this past week.
ReplyDeleteI was not pleased with the answer I got to the first part; it seems to me that the duties of this functionary are far more than simply welcoming others. But my undergraduate studies nailed again the second part, and there surely can't be any other welcomer / warning / add-a-u pair.
ReplyDelete---Rob
So you didn't spend your time navel-gazing like the rest of us?
Delete...and I guess you learned your 3 R's.
DeleteOmphaloskepsis
DeleteKinda like Ompha Loompahs?
Oh! Good one Jan! ---Rob
DeleteRob,
DeleteI was with you up until the very end of your 11:33 AM comment. But for the life of me I cannot figure out what in tarnation this puzzle has to do with hiring a domestic assistant from a foreign country to do nannying duties...
Oh wait, you said "add-a-u pair?" Oops. Never mind.
LegoLamdemilyLitella
golden
DeleteRob and Jan--I guess you both went to school in the US.
Deletejan, I thought your navel-staring was a nod toward naval staring >>> bellboy >>> bell buoy.
DeleteMight be simpler than expected.
ReplyDeleteI got up very late and still have not listened to the broadcast, but I have an answer that I suspect is intended, but am not thrilled with it. However, I too thought of siren, and thought it would be odd if it worked as I saw Tosca Friday evening where siren is used more than once. Anyway, that being said, I do need something to eat before I go bike riding in the sunshine and the only thing I have is a couple of lousy cupcakes. Yuk!
ReplyDeleteNo clue here but a rather clunky puzzle this week IMHO. The clues were unusually inept and shallow.
ReplyDeleteChuck
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteOne desires to fall over, and the other doesn't.
ReplyDeleteUpon reflection (thanks, Jan), I think I shall stick with last week's clue.
ReplyDelete--Margaret G (feeling a little sea-sick)
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteI'm going to keep quiet about a movie reference.
DeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
DeleteYou are being somewhat repetitive Jan.
DeleteMusical clue
ReplyDeleteTed Nugent
or Jerry Lewis
DeleteOr Steve Winwood
DeleteOr Charles Laughton
Deletehttp://www.funpic.hu/en/categories/dogs/2958_beware-of-doug
ReplyDeleteI think this might have been done a few years ago...
ReplyDeleteI honestly hate you guys. You get the stupid answer too fast, then you complain it wasn't a real challenge for you, then you say the stupidest things that those of us who haven't solved yet have to figure out as "clues". You people make me so sick. You and Ben Bass of Chicago can suck it until your cheeks cave in. Will Shortz's puzzle is not worth this.
ReplyDeleteI hope you guys know me. I won this puzzle a while back in a CREATIVE challenge. I didn't need to do anything special to any words, unscramble or insert letters or whatever. I don't need this crap. I got the lapel pin and everything. I still enjoy participating, but sometimes you guys get on my nerves, particularly when I have trouble solving it some weeks. Personally I think as puzzle fans go, y'all need to get over yourselves. So-called "anonymous" bloggers can be such jerks, and you often prove that perfectly. Screw you Blaine's bloggers!
Deletepatjberry,
DeleteI apologize for getting on your nerves. I did not mean to do that.
Congratulations for excelling in Will's creative challenge. That is really an admirable feat
I am not anonymous, at least not to some regulars here. Many Blainesvillians (because of my multiple shameless plugs for my blog on this blog) know my real name because I use it over on Joseph Young's Puzzle-ria!. (Still another shamefully shameless plug!)
Finally, I will not give a hint to this week's puzzle. Blaine may zap me for this, but I will now reveal my answer:
First, I confess I own a pet dugong (I call her T-Rex, or Trex for short). She is just like a real person to me. When I come home from work, there she is waiting for me in her dugong-tank wagging her dugong tail. Dugongs can be very welcoming and human-like!
Ever hear of the Igbo people of Nigeria? They are welcoming also. But for the purposes of this week’s puzzle, we are more concerned with their native music… and, more specifically with two their native percussion instruments which the Igbo sometimes use as instruments of warning: the udu drum and olu gong.
Add a “U” to “dugong” (welcoming) to get “udu-gong.” (warning).
That crafty Will Shortz. Using “dugong” as a part of his intended answer two weeks in a row!
LegoLapelPinHereICome!
T-Rex is a silly name for a dugong.
DeleteBut I guess it's not as silly as making your dog wear an anemometer on her head.
patjberry,
DeleteI confess I am not really understanding your complaint with us here at Blaine's. Is it our using handles, instead of real names? If so, then so are you. If you really think I want to identify myself as Mark Scott of Seattle, then you are a fool. Or perhaps your complaint is that we don't intentionally give clue/hints in order to lead one to the answer. We are NOT about that. Read the intro above if you are unclear about this. But why are you lurking here if you are so upset? I hope you don't harm yourself when you stick your lapel pin where I think it belongs.
Lego,
DeleteAs you are aware, my cat died a few years ago, as did yours, but I never made him wear anything other than a small collar with his phone number. Well there was this one exception. My house is on the corner and one summer evening there was a knock at the front door. When I answered I found a much younger gentleman (I use the term loosely) facing me. He was irate that my male cat was going around the neighborhood dishonoring the reputations of female cats, including his. He informed me in his much agitated state that if this continued he would fix my cat himself. I found all this greatly amusing as my cat was fixed prior to my acquiring him at about seven months of age (his, not mine) and my cat was not black, but a tabby. After I informed him of where the black cat lived this man left my porch looking more than a bit foolish, but he did it without so much as a weak apology. I got my revenge by then attaching a sealed condom on my cat's collar for about a month or so.
Gee, I didn't really understand that patjberry's comments constituted a complaint.
DeletePaul,
DeleteWhat part of "Screw you Blaine's bloggers!" are you have a problem comprehending?
I REALLY hope "screw U" isn't essential to the solution. That would be disappointing.
DeletePaul,
DeleteI'm not sure which State Screw U is in. Do the have a revolving door policy?
State with a capital S -- where have I seen that before?
DeletePaul, In my erstaz "DUGONG/UDU-GONG" solution above, it is essential to "screw" the added U inside-out: from the inside of DUGONG, and out through the "D" to form UDU-GONG.
DeleteLegoSayingScrewUtoAllOfWill'sPuzzleInstructions
I posted much earlier today that I had solved the puzzle. I had not! I went back shortly after I posted that and discovered that once again I had misread the puzzle presentation. I both thought it was asking for an anagram and was unclear about the second part too. Well I discovered the actual answer after I returned from my bike ride and now that I have finished dinner with a wonderful wine my spirits are much lifted. I thought you would all want to know. Except for patjberry perhaps.
ReplyDeleteMy GRAMPS always welcomes me in and the predatory killer whale, the GRAMPUS, just by his presence, always warns me to stay away. Not the intended answer, I didn't think so!
ReplyDeleteYes. Another marine mammal!
DeleteI would sort of like to apologize for my angry tone earlier this evening. You see, I had an especially hard time with this particular puzzle, considering I really had nothing to go on as far as any sort of reference point I might look up. This is not my first time being stumped by one of Ben Bass's puzzles. I think the last time I must have told him off in my "answer". Anyway, it's not necessarily you guys as it is how it appears in writing, like you have some kind of attitude like "we know, we got it the fastest, anybody else won't". It just seems that way to me. As for my ability to solve these things it's really been a blessing and a curse. On one hand I enjoy doing the puzzle, but on the other hand it does sometimes end up being a chore of having to look up something on, say, Wikipedia, or failing that, going to some God-knows-what kind of source I'd probably never ordinarily look at in my leisure time. (Although being into cryptic crosswords and actually being able to make up my own over time, I may sometimes need to look up things.) As for my anger about this particular puzzle, you should know it's not the first time I'd ever gotten upset. It just seems like sometimes the puzzle may not be so easy at first, but eventually the answer will come to me after really thinking long and hard about it, or usually after looking up something and finding it fits perfectly. It's probably been a long time in coming that I'd tell you guys off, but as I say it just seems like you tend to be so blase about that week's puzzle not really challenging you. I don't know what time you usually hear the puzzle and eventually solve it, but I usually wake up to go to the bathroom and then check out the puzzle, either on my Kindle Fire or on the radio. Then I look up what I might need to, and go from there. If I'm lucky I can get it before going back to bed. Sometimes it may take longer. But I'm kind of a nightowl, so I might not have gotten enough sleep. If this means I'll be in a bad mood with the puzzle on top of that, let's just say I probably shouldn't correspond with anyone in this matter. Actually, I've tried to get on this blog before and had trouble. I always have trouble trying to use a valid password in matters like this. But I'm sorry if I went too far. If anything I tend to write angrier than I really am. Also, Legolambda, I actually get the feeling you were just trying to make up something to get rid of me. I doubt you would actually reveal that much of the real answer without flagging it later. I did look up Igbo music and it sort of sounded okay, but if you're only trying to say something to get rid of me or make me feel better(or even worse), I understand and I probably deserve that. Just know that I am new to this blog, and who knows I may write in many times or never again, but I have won this thing at least once, so I can do this puzzle occasionally. My mother can't even believe I'm good at it. The only puzzle she could figure out was the one with AFRICA and SAFARI, and she actually got it faster than I did! If I do write in again, I promise I won't take it out on you guys. BTW I still have my lapel pin, but I don't keep it where you were thinking. It's on one of my caps.
ReplyDeleteWell patjberry, I believe we are all a rather forgiving lot and can this time excuse your rant, however I know I, and perhaps Lego, am having a bit of trouble getting over your posting an even more lengthy post than we are frequently wont to do.
DeleteSorry, once I got started I just couldn't stop.
ReplyDeleteI knew that; I was joking.
Deletepatberry,
Deleteskydiveboy is correct. Joking is a big part of what we do here.
But, more seriously:
Apology sort of accepted (at least by me). We all need ot vent occasionally. And you made some valid points. I, for one, often feel that I am too “full of myself”… which is not that shocking because I have been told I am full of crap.
The first part of my response to you was sincere. I really do admire your creativity in succeeding at Will Shortz’s creative challenge. We all have different skill sets, and that one (as well as constructing cryptic crosswords) are good ones to possess.
I also admire your raw honesty, and your ability to admit your vulnerabilities and shortcomings. I myself have flaws galore that are difficult for me to admit, so I have some measure of expertise in this area.
As for my puzzle solution, however, I was not sincere... as faux as the faux gold on your NPR lapel pin. First, on Blaine’s blog it is not permitted to reveal our answers until Thursday at 3 p.m. Eastern Time. My answer was a spoof: However welcoming it may be, a DUGONG is not a person. And to produce the far-fetched UDU-GONG the U must be appended to the front of dugong, not the interior as Will stipulates.
I was not trying to “get rid of you,” patberry, but, yes, I was trying to make you “feel better,” trying to lighten the mood and calm things down a tad.
I would ask you to keep following this excellent blog, and to write again with your insights and other comments. We all co-exist here under a pretty big big-top tent: dogs, gnus, cats, chimpanzees, lambs and dugongs, lions and tigers and bears, oh my!
We, (if I can speak for Blaine and others here) enjoy having bright, passionate and creative contributors such as you on our blog. Just count to 10 sometimes before clicking that “PUBLISH” button. I know I do.
And keep that faux gold pin displayed proudly on your cap… up there where the sun does shine.
LegoThisIsWhatSkydiveboy’s”LengthyPost”AllusionWasAbout
I ditto everything Lego just posted. Well almost everything as I have no flaws or vulnerabilities or shortcomings.
DeleteSort of.
DeleteLego -- Hmmm . . . From a true copy to a falsified document . . . FAX => FAUX. Gotta be a puzzle in there someplace . . .
DeleteBob K,.
DeleteExcellent observation. That is the kernal of a puzzle. Thank you. I will work on developing it into a puzzle to put on Puzzleria! (I would post it here but Blainesvillians would be ready for it.) Indeed, I'll have to hurry; because it may well show up as WS's NPR puzzle within the next month or so!
LegoFaxGoingTheWayOfTheDodo
ROTE & ROUTE
DeleteHOSE & HOUSE
FOR & FOUR
TOT & TOUT
These are examples of Ufemisms.
LABOR & LABOUR
DeleteCOLOR & COLOUR
FLAVOR & FLAVOUR
NEIGHBOR & NEIGHBOUR
These are examples of Britticisms.
I amour those. Please sir, may I have anouther?
DeleteEureka!
ReplyDeleteBen – Thanks for a refreshing puzzle that did not involve tedious lists, anagrams or google searches.
ReplyDeleteCongratulations, Lorenzo. And, you make an interesting point about puzzles involving lists, Internet searches and, especially, anagrams.
DeleteWhat if Will Shortz would put a two-month moratorium on any NPR puzzle involving an anagram? I am too lazy to check if he has ever gone two months not using a puzzle that includes no anagrams, but I do sense that his puzzles involve A LOT (ALTO) of anagrams
I am almost certain that I have never gone two months on my blog, Puzzleria!, without using any puzzle involving anagrams, but then again, I post three puzzles per week (and sometimes even more).
The proliferation of online anagram servers and letter-rearrangement engines has greatly facilitated the production and solution of anagrams. ERGO (GORE), there are OODLES of anagrams LOOSED on the all-too-suspecting puzzle-solving public. I resolve to try toning it down, at least a bit and as much as possible, over on Puzzleria!
By the way, I told Bob Kerfuffle (see above posts) that he had “a kernel of a puzzle” with his FAX/FAUX observation. Actually, it was more than a mere kernel; it was a full-blown morsel of popcorn, just waiting to be “packaged” and poured into a puzzle bag. Here is how it might taste:
“Name a word that means a reproduction that is true. Insert the letter U somewhere inside this, and you'll name a word that meansfalse.” What are these words?”
Lego(OGLE)
Take patjberry's initials and anagram for a staple gradeschool feast. (For only a sample survey of blue-eyed children) ;)
ReplyDeleteWelcome to the gang.
Zeke,
ReplyDeletePeppercorn Beef Jerky?
LegoPeanutButter&JerkyGoGoodTogetherToo!
In the vein of exactly 50-50, peppercorn butter jellerky, and four is still the best answer. :)
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteI just thought it was time I posted something again.
ReplyDeleteI just wanted to mention - I hardly *ever* get the puzzle answers before the week is out. Getting it two times in a row is a minor miracle. But I always enjoy reading this site even though the clues are generally a mystery to me. -- Margaret G
ReplyDeleteYou're in good company, Margaret. ;)
ReplyDeleteHaving been inspired by Margaret G's refreshing and honest rant, can I just say I have no use whatsoever for a stupid lapel pin? Why aren't we given options, like an NPR mug or teeshirt or a PhotoShopped "picture" taken with Will, or something else interesting and different? ARRRRGHHH!!!
ReplyDeleteWhere was Margaret's rant? I saw none. We all surely don't do this for the prizes. . .
DeleteYou don't have to wear it as a lapel pin. Other piercings work, too. E.g., anagrammatically, la nipple.
DeleteOops, you're right, WW. I meant Pat's rant...sorry for falsely accusing you, Margaret. And as for wearing the lapel pin on something other than clothing, Jan, would you be willing to try it first and share photos with the bloggers?
DeleteMaybe after I get my second one. Gotta be symmetrical, you know.
DeleteThe snappy repartee is getting a wee bit slower around here ;-).
Deletejan,
DeleteI hope you're not suggesting one be used as a Prince Albert.
I will try and do better.
ReplyDeleteDon’t worry, Ruth. You’re doing just fine. True, the NPR lapel pin is admittedly a tacky prize. And Dr. Shortz even confessed on-air a few weeks ago that it was made with faux gold.
DeleteNevertheless, Ruth, if I were a woman I would employ my lapel pins as earrings. I don’t wear lots of lapelly clothes, so I use my lapel pins instead as cufflinks, even on my short-sleeved shirts. I also use them to deflate footballs… as well as the egos of friends of mine who put on airs. (I let the airs out of their balloons, so to speak.) So, Ruth, lapel pins, though faux, are very versatile and valuable.
LegoAllMyFriendsAreFaux
Yeah, Ruth and Lego, and I was mostly razzing jan anyway. But, as usual, he comes up with a great comeback.
DeleteI would like to see the cufflinks on your short-sleeved shirt though, Lego.
It's not snappy repartee, but something caught my attention Sunday morning. I quote from the transcript:
DeleteMARTIN: For playing the puzzle today, you get a WEEKEND EDITION lapel pin, maybe we'll send two 'cause you have twins and maybe each of them wants one. That's what I'm thinking. Puzzle books and games as well. You can read all about it at npr.org/puzzle. And before we let you go, Michael, where do you hear us? What's your public radio station?
I'm quite certain Rachel's intent was for Michael to keep those pins in a safe place and present them to the twins when they are of an age to know that they are inedible. And I'm quite certain Michael has that much common sense, anyway. So, I've got nothing to rant about. I wouldn't be surprised, however, if Rachel receives a rant or two about it. I wouldn't be surprised if she doesn't. And I'm not really trying to start trouble. It's just that I've got this "nothing gets by me" reputation to uphold ...
One of your most endearing qualities, Paul. Anemometers and such.
Delete"Snap rep" is overrated anyway.
Paul,
DeleteJust who are you trying to pin this on? Rachel or NPR or Will Shortz?
sdb,
DeleteIf you think I'm trying to pin anything on anybody, something got by you.
Paul,
DeleteI was afraid that one might miss. I was playing with the word PIN. I can't seem to make italics work here.
Legolambda, thanks for a great idea. Should I ever get a Weekend Edition lapel pin, rather than complain on air that I would like something else, I will - avec class - hold my head up high and convert the pin to something I can wear on a chain as a necklace. Solved!!
ReplyDeleteAhoy, mateys, This was naut easy. Though Who would know.
ReplyDeleteAvast! Wait for 6 bells!
DeleteBELLBOY > BELLBUOY or BOY > BUOY
ReplyDeleteI suspect Will Shortz will prefer BELLBOY, but I prefer BOY because I like the subtly of a boy inviting/welcoming others into the pool or lake where he is swimming. I also do not believe bellboys tend to welcome hotel guests in most cases. Usually the guests have already been welcomed by front desk staff and perhaps a doorman after which a bellboy, or more likely a bellman, is summoned.
My Hint:
“I returned from my bike ride and now that I have finished dinner with a wonderful wine my spirits are much lifted.”
I could have said my spirits were BUOYED.
bellboy, bell buoy
ReplyDeleteLast Sunday I said, “No clue here but a rather clunky puzzle this week IMHO. The clues were unusually inept and shallow.” I realize clunky isn’t exactly clangy, but it was the best I could do on short notice. And shallow goes with shoal which is one of those things bell buoys warn of.
Chuck
BELLBOY -> BELL BUOY
ReplyDelete> None can say this is harder than last week's puzzle.
Hints at nun and can buoys.
>I don't much like Will's description of the second object, though.
Buoys are used to mark channels as well as to warn of hazards.
> Unknown Margaret: Gonna stick with last week's clue?
Something about ringing a bell.
> ...and I guess you learned your 3 R's.
"Red right returning": mnemonic for remembering on which side of the buoys is the channel.
> I'm going to keep quiet about a movie reference.
In The Bellboy (1960), Jerry Lewis stars as a mute bellboy.
I posted and deleted: Reminds me of a disney movie. Thought Jan did not like my post and removed it. The movie was on Sunday morning: Home Alone 2. Lots of bellboys in that movie and that is how I got the answer.
DeleteNo, I didn't think there was anything wrong with your post; I was just adding my own movie hint.
DeleteThanks, Jan. Wish I had thought of The Bellboy movie.
DeleteThink? Who needs to think when you have Wikipedia and IMDB?
DeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
DeleteGluegled.
DeleteI prefer Gielgud.
DeleteI am sorry for the repetitive nature of my hint, which was saying “But my undergraduate studies nailed again the second part,” which includes a phrase with the acronym USNA, for my dear old US Naval Academy. But if Will keeps giving nautical puzzles, I will probably do it again. ---Rob
ReplyDeleteMy comment from last Sunday:
ReplyDelete"Just now I heard the re-broadcast at 10:40 AM (NPR never airs an hour just once!), and something came to me immediately, but I said, "No, that can't be!". Looked it up in the dictionary, and what do you know, it was.
None of this has anything to do with the fact that Ben Bass and I are BFFs. (translation - I've met him at a couple of ACPTs, shook his hand and talked with him. Nice guy.)"
The overuse of B's (broadcast, can't be!, Ben Bass, BFFs) was my hint to having gotten bellboy/ bell buoy.
Swimming boy, swimming buoy.
ReplyDeleteCome on in, the water's fine.
No spaces were added as in bellboy/bell buoy.
DeleteBELLBOY>>>BELL BUOY, a poem by Rudyard Kipling.
ReplyDeleteEureka! --> Archimedes --> buoyancy
ReplyDeleteEureka! --> Archimedes --> Screwed
DeleteExcellent clue from Lorenzo, as always.
DeleteAnd excellent exoneration of pjb from MrScience.
My clue - Change the first vowel to an a and you get a different someone excessively featured in the news this past week - referred to bell boy becoming ball boy - a reference to the likely deflate-gate culprit in New England.
ReplyDeleteBELLBOY BELL BUOY Well played. I even started looking through my dictionary on Sunday(a futile task, I might add), and glossed right over bellboy without even thinking about it or seeing bell buoy. Again sorry about the rant. It just seemed like a good idea at the time. I didn't even care how you might answer back, but I later realized it wouldn't be pretty. Anyway, I also think the fact everyone has been sick around here with some sort of a cold could have had something to do with it. I 've had a scratchy throat that's come and gone for about a week now, and today it came back with a vengeance. My two young nieces were over here the other day, and one of them left feeling kind of sick. It's going around. BTW interesting bit of trivia: When I won the puzzle and we recorded our segment, I had already been sick a week with a cold. It made my week, I have to say. Oh, and I like the bit you did with my initials. Now that was super easy! You guys actually don't do too bad on this blog. Keep up the good work, talk to you later!
ReplyDeleteFailed to deliver this week. I thought the answer was host>shout when I didn't read carefully enough and notice there wasn't an anagram component to the puzzle. Then again, "host" always seems to come to mind for me.
ReplyDeleteI did/thought the same thing, whost. Phooey!
DeleteThis was just lame, in my opinion.
ReplyDeleteNext week's challenge: It's a spin-off of the on-air puzzle. Think of a well-known place name in the U.S. that's four letters long. Switch the second and third letters to get a well-known place name in Europe. What is it?
ReplyDeleteHauntingly easy.
ReplyDeleteNow, back to my Superbowl Party preparations.
I may die a critic, but some would object to the spelling of your answer.
DeleteWhen you dye a critic, does is color his reviews?
Delete"Common knowledge" has it that Isaac Newton died a virgin, but there's no record of what color.
Delete(Works lots better when spoken.)
MrScience, that joke does not have a certain gravitas. ;-)
DeleteIt's somewhere on the artistic spectrum.
DeleteWhat a strange puzzle for Super Bowl Sunday!
ReplyDeleteJimmy Cliff got it,
ReplyDeleteFormer NFL-er turned broadcaster Shannon Sharpe may like this puzzle.
ReplyDeleteLooking at this from acute angles.
ReplyDelete