Are plurals allowed?Q: The letters of the one-syllable word "groan" can be rearranged to spell "organ," which has two syllables. Here's the challenge: Think of a common one-syllable, five-letter word whose letters can be rearranged to spell a common two-syllable word — and then rearranged again to spell a common three-syllable word. I have two different answers in mind, and it's possible there are others, but you only have to think of one.
Before I edited it down, my full hint was going to be "Who can help me? Are plurals allowed? Thoughts?" But that seemed a little too obvious.
A: AIDES, ASIDE, IDEAS or AIMED, AMIDE, MEDIA
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.
Blaine, 2 of my 3 words are plural.
DeleteWord is-are words, abobba who mau mau.
DeleteI did extract a solution, finally, and I have an answer to Blaine's question about plurals. ---Rob
ReplyDeleteNear the end of last week's thread:
ReplyDeletePaul posted on Sun May 10, at 06:05:00 AM PDT:
⅔ of my 2 answers (so far) may be unacceptable.
He then gave the following replies to his own post:
On Sun May 10, at 06:17:00 AM PDT:
3 answers, still 66.66% questionable (at best).
Then on Sun May 10, at 06:47:00 AM PDT:
4 answers, 58.33% disapproval rating.
I later posted on Sun May 10, at 08:09:00 AM PDT:
I've submitted 3 answers and a possible 4th. (The 3-syllable word has a 2-syllable alternate pronunciation.)
If Paul has two of my 3 answers, his concern about 2 of them may be that (at least with mine), in 2 of my answers the 1-syllable words are proper nouns -- and one of those is foreign!
One of my answers was mentioned on air.
ReplyDeleteNo plurals involved.
DeleteI have a 5th answer in which I have 0% confidence.
ReplyDeleteI have the answer using the most common words. There are others but one or more of the words are not very common.
ReplyDeleteBlaine, two of my three words are plural.
Chuck
Plurals Blaine?
ReplyDeleteWhile in one of my answers, the 3-syllable word is a noun whose dictionary.com definition begins "any of a group of ...", I didn't consider it to be a plural. It contains no S.
As a matter of fact, the only one of my answers that contains an S is that "possible" one of mine, and none of those 3 words are a plural! Do you have an answer which is not any of mine?
I get two nouns and an adverb - all containing S and all very common.
DeleteI have 5 answers, only one of them contains plurals and I made 1 answer out of thin air...but some of the words are not "common."
ReplyDeleteFinally, on #7, I got the 2-plural answer.
ReplyDeleteSeventh time's a charm(s).
DeleteHonored to have my iconic signature for this week's puzzle heading.
DeleteHappy to see AREPO as a HAPAX LEGOMENON, zeke creek, Blaine, and Lego.
DeleteJust once?
Delete2 answers. No s in either.
ReplyDeleteMythology and chemistry involved.
It might help to read or listen to the news.
Hugh - I too went with the compound word.
DeletePeas, carrots, and onions
ReplyDeleteThrow in some noodles -- does it for me.
DeleteI like rice
DeleteWhat I intended as merely a smart-alecky remark to vent my frustration at my inability to interpret WW's comment turns out to be a pretty good hint at an answer I think Will won't accept.
DeleteMy subconscious scares me sometimes.
Peas, carrots, and onions are, at times, A SIDE dish.
DeleteAIDES >>> ASIDE >>> IDEAS
Hope your subconscious is happy, Paul.
[Not to be confused with signing off from St. Paul ;-).]
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EaWAF: Considering Paul's post contains potential answers, I don't think further weakening the already short key is a good idea. But if you want to crack it yourself, might I suggest using your knowledge of this week's answers and applying that to the appropriate portions of the cipher text so as to extract various five-letter snippets of the key. In my case I was able to recognize a common three-word phrase in the cipher text and the key fell out from there.
DeleteAnd it has previously been established that we always use v1 of the vigenere cipher, as v2 has an off-by-one error last I checked.
This comment has been removed by the author.
Delete"ngwxhm" is not helping me crack mike's code.
DeleteB ohvgs jbbu JG: fkodokbt vqcbiul qbr ds nl nhh ev mvf twnmem vnwhet. (Os jsyinhf llght st cgame nlrnuixu vrkm). Pbihkg!
DeleteSorry Paul -- my bad -- thought encode/decode was symmetric (and hit the wrong one). Mikey is Yourkey!
DeleteMight the three syllable word only have two syllables when pronounced with a Boston accent?
ReplyDeleteMight I suggest, Jim, that this is not the best of all possible worlds?
DeleteSo Paul I think one is supposed to cut and paste your clue into: http://sharkysoft.com/vigenere/1.0/
ReplyDeletethen the keyword is this weeks answer? all three words? what order?
You're right about the cutting and pasting.
DeleteBut the keyword is not this week's answer.
Hell, I don't know this week's answer!
Paul, your candid comment reminds me of the (true) story of the calculus-textbook author who served Liebniz biscuits and fig newtons at the book fair.
DeleteWell, I tried "cake pan", "pancake", both of those things ROT13'd, both of 'em backwards, and both of 'em ROT13'd AND backwards.
DeleteNothing.
So Paul, is the key any of the answers of the past few weeks? And if we DO figure out what you've used for the key, anything ELSE we need to do with it? ROT13 it? Spell it all backwards? Both?
The key is "to be continued."
DeleteMy first three answers were MAINE / AMINE / ANIME; ROUTE / OUTER / UTERO; and BOYNE / BONEY / EBONY. Of these, I think UTERO shows the most promise, owing, in large part, to timing (Will said he's had the puzzle in the file for some time).
Continuing:
Berf pointed me to AIMED / AMIDE / MEDIA, which I think may be the runner-up answer.
HOYLE / HOLEY / ELOHY and PAISE / APIES / SEPIA don't even deserve to be mentioned.
"The" answer is AIDES / ASIDE / IDEAS.
I have a great deal of confidence in the trisyllabic nature if IDEAS, but what about IDEAL? That's what I was thinking of when I dashed off my "Candide" (and perhaps too revealing (4 syllables?) response to Jim.
DeleteI missed a nested paren, just above, and, btw, I suppose PC used "I don't know" discern my key.
Delete...to discern.
DeleteYes, "I don't know" is what did it.
DeleteDid almost everyone get two plural answers in this one? I could only think of one singular and two plurals, then I went back to bed. Unfortunately, they did make Mother's Day plans after all. They took my mom out for lunch, and I missed it. I do love my mother though. Never ask your mother if she knows if they're going to do anything for her for MD. They could have at least told me.
ReplyDeleteI came up with one of the two probable answers. I have no inkling of how to hint at it without giving an obvious clue. Sorry to be of no help; all I can do is step out of the way, and let others hint.
ReplyDeleteI came up with two plurals answers, too.
ReplyDeleteJust an off the cuff comment here to several above, including yours, Natasha. Plurality rules!
DeleteThanks, folks!
ReplyDeleteI had no hope of solving this one until I read all the comments above, but it just took one (obviously I can't say which; that would constitute a giveaway) to point me to at least one of the possible answers, no ciphers required!
My global answer is way out there, but it's just a game!
ReplyDeleteGot a feeling, gotta get away. Monday morning, everyday rain, creepin' fog. I'm down, sorrow raining in my heart - hard to handle. The warmth of the sun always on my mind. Still I'm sad, it doesn't matter any more, you can't always get what you want.
ReplyDeleteThe end of the world? I see the light; I'll feel a whole lot better.
Couldn't solve this initially, so I paused to watch a South Park episode and then the 'Eureka!' moment struck. Got my 3 word ducks in a row (sort of)!
ReplyDeleteOn an unrelated note, some helpers told me there is notion that this is a repeat, or reconstruction, of a prior puzzle.
ReplyDeletePaul,
ReplyDeleteI went organic last week with HERB POT and POTHERB.
This week you're close, but think inorganic.
Yes I knew the desired answer, but I tend to be contrary.
DeleteTalk about "breaking bad!"
DeleteCogito ergot sum.
Ihqfrwm fzxy lreo hu Wvsvfmf Ycxmlv Vnzaep txfhvw? Uy filmvfv.
ReplyDeleteBkwf kjxyb bz th roeyqtg ehre yy frnqb rbr hypru ilrldn bgwym hhre wto jembh. (Wa hypru pvrwh, tf vtccx bilelcat pqjvgl.) Nv pdll yhj wvkm yiydvcgsa, guc shm jtx lrubcew qy xnmumtnx efj qbeb llfrvytl sklcxsiez bjy buvdrnia zyzn.
DeleteMy key is"I used to be the next President of the United States."
DeletePC's key eludes me.
My key is a natural extension of the one you used, if you do a web search. The key refers to the speaker not seeing the humor in the situation.
DeleteWish me luck. Tomorrow I have to go back to the dentist. I chipped a crown, and it needs fixing. No hints here.
ReplyDeleteGood luck, patjberry.
DeleteI have a question, however. After your dental mishap did Jill come tumbling after?
LegOverTheHillAndNotSoFetching
It took a while, but I figured out the plurals. My mind is bushed - I'm not even going to try to come up with anything else. --Margaret G.
ReplyDeleteI am sure everyone knows that every date this week is a palindrome when written in the American month-day-year format:
ReplyDelete5/10/15
5/11/15
5/12/15
5/13/15
5/14/15
5/15/15
5/16/15
This continues into next Tuesday.
I know it now. Thanks, ron.
DeleteIf anyone would enjoy a nice U.S. geography puzzle, I just posted a bonus slice to the menu of this week's Puzzleria!
It is called CSI: USA.
LegoJustLookingForCluesAtTheSceneOfTheCrime
world, drowl, dworl- my clue-- global
ReplyDeleteUm, which word has 3 syllables?
DeleteDrowl and dworl are not words as far as I can tell.
DeleteJim: arguably "dworl," has 3 syllables; otherwise, search engines characterize all 3 as "words."
DeleteGoogle didn't. What do these "words" mean? My dictionaries don't have them and neither did Merriam-Webster online.
DeleteHere it is used in a sentence: Where in dworl (pronounced duh worl) does benmar come up with these funny answers!
DeleteGoogle dworl--not too helpful but claims to be a definition.
DeleteAIDES > ASIDE > IDEAS
ReplyDeleteMy Hint:
“Just an off the cuff comment here to several above, including yours, Natasha. Plurality rules!”
My “off the cuff comment” was an ASIDE.
I knew my answer was correct after reading your clever clue, SDB.
DeleteNatasha, I couldn't have done it without your setup. Thanks.
DeleteMAINE, AMINE, ANIME, or AIDES, ASIDE, IDEAS
ReplyDeleteMaine was mentioned during the on-air puzzle.
DeleteWhich militates in its favor.
DeleteAnd amine & amide are equally ... whatever.
And Will might think a knowledge of anime proves him "hip", so ---
IDK
Last Sunday I said, “I have the answer using the most common words. There are others but one or more of the words are not very common.” For example, aimed, amide, media. How many times have you used amide?
ReplyDeleteChuck
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDelete"Thanks, folks!" [You're my AIDES.]
ReplyDeleteI had no hope of solving this one [It was so hard to avoid saying "I had no IDEAS.]until I read all the comments above, but it just took one (obviously I can't say which; that would constitute a giveaway) [that's an ASIDE.] to point me to at least one of the possible answers." [And that was Jim's reference to "pronounced with a Boston accent."]
I hope mine wasn't too much of a giveaway! I felt Blaine would have gotten rid of it if that was the case.
DeleteNo, probably not, Jim. It was more likely a case where my brain had been primed by turning over possible words in deep background, and somehow the Boston accent hint set me onto ideas/ideers. When you know an answer, almost all hints seem obvious; when you don't quite know an answer, the right hint may spring the trap.
DeleteIn a reply to Paul, I replied Sun May 10, at 03:44:00 PM PDT:
ReplyDeleteI've discovered 7 solutions so far, including the one found by Blaine, Word Woman, ron and rob containing 2 plurals; the one found by Berf (last week's thread); 3 solutions which each start with proper nouns for the 1-syllable word, and in one of those, the definition of the 2-syllable word (which differs by just one letter from the 2-syllable word in Berf's answer - it's definition as well - both involve the same compound); and one of hugh's 2 answers - the one involving mythology. I believe I've eluded to 6 of the 7 solutions I've found thus far; the last one is that "possible" solution I eluded to in my first post from last week's thread, where the 3-syllable word has an alternate pronunciation in 2 syllables.
The 7 answers that I found:
AIDES, ASIDE, IDEAS . . . . . . . . . The one found by Blaine, Word Woman, ron and rob containing 2 plurals;
AIMED, AMIDE, MEDIA . . . . . . . . . The one found by Berf (last week's thread - He had posted "I hope my answer found the bullseye");
LAINE, ALINE, ALIEN . . . . . . . . . 3 solutions which each start with proper nouns for the 1-syllable word,...
LOIRE, OILER (or REOIL), ORIEL
MAINE, AMINE, ANIME . . . . . . . . . ...and in one of those - well the definitions of amide and of amine - both involve ammonia
OARED, ADORE, OREAD . . . . . . . . . and one of hugh's 2 answers - the one involving mythology.
RAISE, ARISE, SERAI . . . . . . . . . That "possible" solution (serai can be pronounced two ways: suh-rah-ee and suh-rahy)
I thought of RAISE and ARISE, but leaned toward SERIA, which ties in with OPERA in Blaine / zeke's illustration. Either way, I think we're in the tall grass here, which is a shame, because RAISE and ARISE are both good, solid words.
DeleteI just selected, copied and pasted SERIA into dictionary.com, and instead of giving me any results for that, it asked me, "Did you mean serai?"
DeleteWell, DuckDuckGo points me first to the town in the Belait District of Brunei Darussalam, makes a stab at diverting me to Syria, but coughs up opera seria if I scroll a little further.
DeleteAnd I admit I was completely unfamiliar with SERAI.
Looking over my output from the computer program I wrote and used to find the answers, I discovered another one I had missed; AIRED, AIDER, and REDIA or IRADE [Turkish ih-rah-de] a decree of a Muslim ruler.
DeleteSee my link to SERIA below.
DeleteI wrote:
ReplyDeleteGot a feeling, gotta get away. Monday morning, everyday rain, creepin' fog. I'm down, sorrow raining in my heart - hard to handle. The warmth of the sun always on my mind. Still I'm sad, it doesn't matter any more, you can't always get what you want.
The end of the world? I see the light; I'll feel a whole lot better.
Those sentences are made entirely of songs that appeared as the "B-Side" (as opposed to a-side) of well-known songs, and several of them were hits on their own.
For the geeks and trivia buffs:
Got a feeling, The Mamas and The Papas (1966, flipside of Monday, Monday)
gotta get away The Blues Magoos (1967, flipside of "We Ain't Got Nothin' Yet)
Monday morning, Fleetwood Mac (1976, flipside of Say You Love Me)
everyday Buddy Holly (1957, flipside of Peggy Sue)
rain, The Beatles (1966, flipside of Paperback Writer)
creepin' Stevie Wonder (1977, flipside of Another Star)
fog. Radiohead (2001, flipside of Knives Out)
I'm down (The Beatles, 1965, flipside of Help!)
Sorrow (The McCoys, 1966, flipside of Fever)
Raining in my heart, (Buddy Holly, 1959, flipside of It Doesn't Matter Anymore)
hard to handle, (Otis Redding, 1968, flipside of Amen)
The warmth of the sun (The Beach Boys, 1965, flipside of Dance Dance Dance)
always on my mind (Elvis Presley, 1973, flipside of Separate Ways)
Still I'm sad, (The Yardbirds, 1965, flipside of I'm A Man)
it doesn't matter any more, (Linda Ronstadt, 1975, flipside of When Will I Be Loved)
you can't always get what you want. (Rolling Stones, 1969, flipside of Honky Tonk Women)
The end of the world? (Herman's Hermits, 1965, flipside of I'm Henry The VIII, I Am)
I see the light (The Music Explosion, 1967, flipside of Little Bit O'Soul)
I'll feel a whole lot better (The Byrds, 1965, flipside of All I Really Want To Do)
I wrote, "I did extract a solution, finally..." The hint that I had gotten the answer was that the words acronym for IDEAS, the answer I got. It is fun seeing the alternatives others have come up with! ---Rob
ReplyDeleteIt seemed to me that "extract a solution" could be pointing to either AMINE or AMIDE.
DeleteWow! I had no idea of that connection.
DeleteI appreciate this blog so much. None of my friends are interested in the Sunday Puzzle. Nice to know there are others as addicted as I.
ReplyDelete1. AIDES
ReplyDeleteASIDE
IDEAS (the plurals answer)
2. AIMED
AMIDE
MEDIA (“I made...” see below)
3. AIRED
AIDER
REDIA (larva stage of flatworms)
4. YAIRD (obsolete form of “yard”)
DAIRY
DIARY
5. RAISE
ARISE
SERIA (geographic location).
My hints: “I made...” anagrams to MEDIA, AIMED & AMIDE; “thin Air” suggests words with AIR: answers 3,4 & 5 all contain the letters A,I,R.
My answer: AIDES ASIDE IDEAS Surely this is the answer, as it is the most common appearing in almost everyone's posts.
ReplyDeleteDo you suppose AIMED AMIDE MEDIA is the "other answer" that Will had in mind?
DeleteHow about route, outer, utero?
ReplyDeleteI took anatomy. The route outer utero is the cervix. Or, I suppose we could have a vagina dialogue.
DeletePaul, I have heard of Florence Foster Jenkins who appears to be linked to Barham.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.geneanet.org/genealogie/fr/foster-barham.html
Check
www.youtube.com/watch?v=qtf2Q4yyuJ0
at your peril.
Meryl Streep?
I just played a very short part of an old record.
I think my father-in-law used to play it to annoy his wife.
I thought of ROUTE, OUTER, UTERO (although the last of these three is really Latin, but it is used in medical English in the expression "IN UTERO," meaning "in the womb").
ReplyDeleteBy the way, I'm not wild about the answer ending in IDEAS, because the third syllable in IDEAS is really weak -- many people will hear "IDEA" as a two-syllable word with a long second syllable. (In fact, people who speak dialects of English where final r's are dropped, like in the NYC area and much of New England, often ADD an "r" to words ending in certain vowels, and one of those words is "idea," so you'll hear some New Yorkers and New Englanders pronounce "idea" like "idear," with plural "idears," and to them this will be just two syllables.)
ReplyDeleteSHAMELESS PLUG ALERT!!!
ReplyDeleteLego, over at http://puzzleria.blogspot.com/ has posted another of my puzzles this week. This time it is an easy picture puzzle. Hope you like it.
It's the only puzzle "over there" that I have the answer to. It is a good puzzle.
DeleteThanks, ron. I originally made it up as a joke.
DeleteThat progressive lady (no, not Elizabeth Warren) says go with it.
DeleteLooks and sounds like TV star Amy got naked.
DeleteNext week's challenge: This is a spinoff of the on-air puzzle. Name a country with at least three consonants. These are the same consonants, in the same order, as in the name of a language spoken by millions of people worldwide. The country and the place where the language is principally spoken are in different parts of the globe. What country and what language are these?
ReplyDeleteThis puzzle definitely has some holes in it. Even though my answer works there are other consonants involved.
ReplyDeleteThere is an answer where the consonants in both the country and the language are identical, with no leftovers.
DeleteMy country and language have exactly the same consonants with none leftover.
DeletePerhaps zeke creek thought that the country is one of those that starts with "The" as in "The Bahamas" or "The Gambia". Look again, zeke, it does NOT!
Delete