I incorrectly assumed that each of the letters were replaced by an S (for a total of three Ss). Apparently that is not correct.Q: Name a well-known character of TV, movies and comics. Two words. Replace the 8th, 9th, and 10th letters with an S. Then rearrange the result to name a well-known actor who played this character on film. First and last names. Who is it?
A: GREEN HORNET --> GREENHO(S)T --> SETH ROGEN
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.
I see our colorful host made an incorrect assumption...
ReplyDeleteOr a misdirect...
DeleteAn extra "G" has appeared in your answer, Blaine. It's ROGEN not GROGEN.
DeleteI had a jam-packed week so no time or inclination to solve this puzzle. . .But, I do wonder why Will Shortz would spend energy on a movie that Roger Ebert reviewed thus: "The Green Hornet" is an almost unendurable demonstration of a movie with nothing to be about.
Couldn't be bothered with solving, WW?
DeleteKaolinite? Mesa Verde?
Don't kid a kidder.
Hmmm, Paul, I guess since we were talking about Young Martian Clay , perhaps my words were sub-limnal ;-).
DeleteGiven the fact that I am not into TV or comics at all, and into movies only marginally, I am surprised that I came up with the answer so quickly. Anyway, I am thinking of a particular fruit.
ReplyDeleteI too started out looking for the "three S" solution before re-reading the challenge and noting it said. "...with an S" rather than, "...with S's." Still, it's a pretty good puzzle, even if I don't really like that type of movie.
ReplyDeleteLoving pop culture, this came pretty quickly to me - within ten minutes or so. The thrill of those quick answers, knowing it won't eat at you all week, always makes my heart flirt and flutter. Or maybe it's just the palpitations...
ReplyDeleteFine! I don’t really care who let the dogs out. Exit dogs! What concerns me is who let the swine in.
ReplyDeleteMy first thought was that the character might be Daily Planet cub photographer Jimmy Olsen. But, on second thought, I thought not.
(1 hint in this post)
LegoBelievesJimmyOlsenWasPortrayedByThePseudonymousO.J.Simlym
I am separated from current popular culture, which shouldn't matter for this puzzle. Must be an old character to reach back to TV, movies, and comics.
ReplyDeleteFor this actor to think he could do a decent portrayal of the character, he must have been high.
ReplyDeleteI have finally just figured out it out, after a LOT of searching, but as per usual, I can't make any of the above-stated hints "go with" my answer. (That statement is NOT a hint, just my own puzzlement at obscure hints I can never decipher.)
ReplyDeleteI posted on Sun Dec 13, at 06:33:00 AM PST on last week's thread:
ReplyDeleteHmmm,.... What if Batman and Robin got into a fight; -- and ROBIN turned out to be the better fighter!?!?
About one of the other characters:
ReplyDeleteThere is a character who turns out to be a villain in the movie, but who had been a hero in the TV show.
Well, I figured this one out. But, it's a show I vaguely remember from TV, and the movie hardly registered. And, I never heard the radio version. It's interesting that this character has an assistant who shares a name, and many personal characteristics, with the assistant in another well-known series of films.
ReplyDeletePlaying this character was just one of his many jobs in film. Another nearly caused an international incident.
ReplyDeleteThis is the clue that gave it away for me. I worked backwards from Seth Rogen (The Interview) to get the answer.
DeleteI simply did a cut and past into Google.
DeleteIf you don't know the actor by now, this is not the end. It could have been(see previous post).
ReplyDeleteNot much fun. I merely spent time looking up things just to get an answer to enter. Gosh, what a lot of stuff I didn't know about comics and movies. I did not see this movie - maybe because of reading Roger Ebert's review. ---Rob
ReplyDeleteI did not read the full review. However, it could have also been modified slightly to describe this deplorable puzzle. Will Shortz doesn't seem to have any understanding of who his NPR audience is.
DeleteI was not going to even attempt to solve this piece of (guess) but someone on this blog cannot seem to stop posting giveaway hints in order to bolster his low self-esteem. That post allowed me to easily find the answer.
Sdbb you had to bust his chops dinchya
ReplyDeleteIt was intended to sting a bit.
DeleteFrom last week's bonus puzzle:
ReplyDeleteA person from Spokane, WA, (Spokaner in my mind) has something in common with people from Peoria, IL, and Topeka, KS.
For a touch typist Spokaner, Peorians, and Topekans each use 1 finger once and only once on a standard keyboard. Biplanes, panelist, captions, and esophagi are other words with that pleasing property.
I offered 2 clues: "I have in mind a somewhat different feint going here, just keep looking; you might find it." and "Spokanite still works with my intended answer, somewhat dubiously. False judgement kills logic; Spokaner is much more elegant."
Both sentences have words in order that begin with asdf(gh)jkl; - the middle row of keys. Spokanite does work but you use the i-k finger twice.
I hope SDB and others don't bust my chops
No, I won't do that eco. I should have figured that one out because those East of the Cascades have been giving us here on the West side the finger for a long time now. It's a Blue/Red thing, you know.
Deletehttp://kos.salsalabs.com/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=%2FnBvxg5vw05NBn%2BsfVFtVU%2FL5H%2BSby%2FW
ReplyDeleteReminds me of what may have been the worst idea in television history: Heil Honey, I'm Home the whacky adventures of Hitler and Eva Braun after they move into a London flat next door to a Jewish couple.
DeleteI've never had the stomach to actually watch more than a minute of the Youtube link, somebody please tell me it isn't as awful as I think.
Herr eco:
DeleteIt is definitely not as awful as you think!!!
In fact it is inspired. It is rare to find a sitcom so tightly written and staged with such accomplished actors that I was not even distracted and offended by the canned laughter. My only complaint is that so many were harmed in the making, but that was the old days, huh? I heily recommend you watch it. Also some of the comments are also inspired. I was frequently reminded of Mel Brooks, Groucho Marx, Laurel and Hardy, All In The Family and others as I watched it. Thanks for the link.
Oh, I forgot to mention that it is NOT in a London flat, but a German flat.
DeleteSorry, Charlie, it's not Ariella Kent, even if she does have x-ray vision. And it's not Ariel the mermaid, either.
ReplyDelete"Sorry, Charlie" alludes to StarKist, "mermaid" alludes to Chicken of the Sea, and I can only think of one other brand of tuna, but that's neither here nor there.
Delete"X-ray" points to Herr Röntgen (well, almost).
I agree that one of the posts here gave it away, not that I got the answer so quickly after reading it. I associate the character's sidekick with a certain well-known trial.
ReplyDeleteMy experience was different; more of a cumulative thing; beginning with what I perceive to be the first hint on this page.
DeleteGolly - I have looked through and don't find the giveaway anyone else has seen. (If I had, maybe I would have spent less time researching.) You guys are sharp. ---Rob
DeleteIt's really pretty cut and dry, Jan.
DeleteSometimes, I am so envious of y'all and your puzzling prowess. #5.
ReplyDeleteThanks to Spell Check, one in five children will be getting a visit from Satan this Christmas.
ReplyDeleteAlternate movie clues: Kill Bill, Grumpy Old Men.
ReplyDeleteI hereby propose that ubiquity be brought out into the open and made omnipresent. Please support me in this endeavor and I promise that if you do I will keep your identity hidden.
ReplyDeleteIf you're dyslexic, chances are you will be waiting up for Satan on Christmas Eve. You may also be the one caroler who sings"ONE-L! ONE-L!" or "TINSEL THING".
ReplyDeleteCould also be "LEON! LEON!" or "ENLIST THING". You never know. To all the Jewish dyslexics out there, I wish you all a happy CHAKA KHAN!
ReplyDeleteThe actor seems to have no need for Minoxidil. In fact, some images of him on the web show hair on his back.
ReplyDeleteI can't believe I got the answer before the deadline. My clue is Jim Henson. --Margaret G.
DeleteGood clue
DeleteYeah, and it's not easy coming up with good clues.
DeleteBut time's fun when you're having flies...
DeleteGREEN HORNET minus RNE + S = SETH ROGEN
ReplyDeleteMy hint:
"It was intended to sting a bit."
Hornets sometimes sting.
Green Hornet
ReplyDeleteSeth Rogen
Last Sunday I said, “Given the fact that I am not into TV or comics at all, and into movies only marginally, I am surprised that I came up with the answer so quickly. Anyway, I am thinking of a particular fruit.” Fruit as in Pineapple, and quickly as in Express. Seth Rogen starred in Pineapple Express as well as The Green Hornet.
GREEN HORNET -> SETH ROGEN
ReplyDelete> I associate the character's sidekick with a certain well-known trial.
Kato Kaelin, a witness in the O. J. Simpson trial, was nicknamed as a child for the Green Hornet's sidekick.
> Alternate movie clues: Kill Bill, Grumpy Old Men.
A jazz verion of Flight of the Bumblebee, called Green Hornet, is on the soundtrack of the former. Walter Matthau has fishing rod named the Green Hornet in the latter.
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteI wrote, "I merely spent time looking up things just to get an answer to enter. Gosh, what a lot of stuff I didn't know about comics and movies." The hint was that "enter. Gosh," which is an anagram of Seth Rogen. I posted this giveaway hint in order to bolster my low self-esteem. It worked! ---Rob
ReplyDeleteNot you Rob, your self-esteem is doing just fine as far as I can tell. Good hint by the way.
DeleteLOL! Thank you.
DeleteMinoxidil = Rogaine Seth Rogen has hair on his back.
ReplyDeleteCharacter – GREEN HORNET
ReplyDeleteDelete “RNE”, add an “S,” and rearrange to get
Actor – SETH GROGEN
My comment, regarding, “...type of movie,” was a reference to a movie's GENRE, which anagrams to GREEN. I doubt this was the comment which drew SDB's ire.
NO, SZ, it wasn't, but the answer is Rogen, not Grogen.
Deletedarn typos... Rogen...DOH
DeleteBust his chops - Bruce Lee with his martial arts
ReplyDeleteDinchya- A little gangsta talk
Envious - The color green fits
#5 - Adam Eve Cain Abel and Seth
"Chops" could also pertain to Al Hirt's trumpet skills.
DeleteGREEN HORNET ===> GREEN HOST
ReplyDelete─G───R───E───E───N──────H───O───S───T─┬──
═╪═══╪═══╪═══╪═══╪══════╪═══╪═══╪═══╪═╪══
─┼───┼───┼───┼───┼──────┼───┼───S───┼─┼─S
─┼───┼───E───┼───┼──────┼───┼───────┼─┼─E
─┼───┼───────┼───┼──────┼───┼───────T─┼─T
─┼───┼───────┼───┼──────H───┼─────────┼─H
─┼───┼───────┼───┼──────────┼─────────┼─
─┼───R───────┼───┼──────────┼─────────┼─R
─┼───────────┼───┼──────────O─────────┼─O
─G───────────┼───┼────────────────────┼─G
─────────────E───┼────────────────────┼─E
─────────────────N────────────────────┼─N
===> SETH ROGEN
I posted on Sun Dec 13, at 06:50:00 PM PST:
I posted on Sun Dec 13, at 06:33:00 AM PST on last week's thread:
Hmmm,.... What if Batman and Robin got into a fight; -- and ROBIN turned out to be the better fighter!?!?
In the movie, there is a scene where the Green Hornet gets into a fight with his sidekick Kato - and Kato proves to be by far the superior fighter.
I then posted on Sun Dec 13, at 06:54:00 PM PST:
About one of the other characters:
There is a character who turns out to be a villain in the movie, but who had been a hero in the TV show.
D.A. Frank Scanlon turns out to be a villain in the movie, discovering the Green Hornet's secret identity after he hires him to kill Britt Reid. He was a good guy throughout the TV series being the only person besides Britt, Kato and Britt's secretary to know his identity.
My hint was Jim Henson, which relates to the Muppets, in particular Kermit the Frog, who sings "It's not easy being green." ie Green Hornet.
ReplyDeleteI never saw any "give-away" hint here, by the way. And I thought that the fruit that Chuck mentioned must have been Apple, since Seth Rogen will be playing Steve Wozniak in the upcoming Steve Jobs movie. Interesting how one clue could be interpreted in multiple ways! --Margaret G.
For some reason, ron's description of Blaine as 'colorful' led me to 'green' right away, but the only character I could think of at the time was Green Lantern. 'Green' was stuck in my head as I thought about various fruits ... but almost all fruits are green at some point in their development. Eventually I got to lego's mention of 'O. J.' and started thinking of 'green oranges'. That's when it all came together for me; no single 'giveaway' clue from my perspective.
DeleteThe word colorful led me to look at Green Lantern and Green Hornet right away as well. But, I wouldn't call it a giveaway.
DeleteIt wasn't a giveaway. The giveaway is the one way above that can be cut and pasted to Google and immediately get the answer. That is how I solved this awful puzzle that I had no intention of even attempting to solve, but when I saw that obvious path to the answer I took the bait and got the answer in moments. This should not happen on this blog. Our hints are not supposed to be helpful, but only to show, perhaps later, that we have solved it.
DeleteGREEN HORNET (2011 film)
ReplyDeleteGREEN HOST anagrams to SETH ROGEN, who played Britt Reid, the Green Hornet, in the 2011 film.
My hint: “color(ful) host”>>> “GREEN” + HOST = SETH ROGEN.
I posted about quick answers making me flirt and flutter.
ReplyDelete"Flirt and flutter" is a line from Poe's "The Raven" which is about Lenore. Cameron Diaz plays Lenore Case in "The Green Hornet."
I'm glad I didn't say anything like "colorful" to give anything away. I did suggest he had to have been high, because let's face it, SETH ROGEN usually tends to act like he's on something in most of his work. I also referenced the Steve Jobs film and "This Is the End" and "The Interview", and almost thought you were talking about me having the giveaway hint. I'm still relatively new to this blog, so you'll have to bear with me if I go over the line hint-wise. I know we're not supposed to make it too easy for others. It may take time before I'm as good at being obscure as y'all. Please bear with me, and especially SDB, don't be too offended.
ReplyDeleteGREEN HORNET=GREEN HOST=SETH ROGEN
Unfortunately I think you were the giveaway. As SDB notes above cutting and pasting your "international incident" comment has Rogen come up as #3.
DeleteA subtle clue might have been "this actor was unhelpful in foreign relations (with the "un" being a subtle reference to Kim Jong Un.
I didn't see through it; I'm still working on an anagram for Mr. Mxyzptlk/ mrmxyzps
If you cut and paste: nearly caused an international incident, and precede it with Actor who, you now have "Actor who nearly caused an international incident" This is what I cut and pasted in a Google search and this is what came up #1:
DeleteBefore Seth Rogan Causes World War III - Moviepilot
moviepilot.com/posts/1687702
My clue:
ReplyDelete"Fine! I don’t really care who let the dogs out. Exit dogs! What concerns me is who let the swine in" is very similar to Chuck's clue ("...enter, Gosh!" anagrams to "Seth Rogen"... see his Dec. 17 at 12:02 PM post)
who let the dogs out? = exit dogs!
who let the swine in? = enter hogs!
ENTER HOGS anagrams to SETH ROGEN
LegoExclaims"Gosh,Chuck,GreatMindsThinkAlike!"
Anyone else catch Will Shortz on Jeopardy! yesterday?
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteJust caught it on YouTube. Imagine, so many answers beginning with G and ending with X! And if I hadn't counted the letters, I probably would have said GROUCHO instead of GUMMO Marx too.
ReplyDeleteThat was from an April 1, 2009, show, PJB. Friday's show included clues from this past week's puzzles.
DeleteNext week's challenge, from listener David Aukland, of Tarrytown, N.Y.: Think of four common six-letter words that all end in the same five letters, in the same order. And the first letters of these four words are consecutive consonants in the alphabet (like B, C, D, F). No other common six-letter words end with these five letters. What are the words?
ReplyDeleteI'd be in denial if I said it wasn't a venial sin to ask our genial host to perform the menial task of removing duplicate postings like the ones above.
ReplyDeleteAs I sought the answer, I fought with a word list, but it bought me nought.
ReplyDeleteActually, I have the answer, but I have no idea how to clue it without giving it away.
DeleteBelieve it or not, I've thought of five common five-letter words that all end in the same four letters, in the same order. And the first letters of these five words are consecutive consonants in the alphabet (like B, C, D, F, G). No other common five-letter words end with these four letters. But now here's where this gets weird! I can simply put an S at the end of the first four words and I still have valid words, but if I put an S at the end of the fifth word IT will NOT be a valid word, so I could submit the first four six-letter words for the answer! I'd have done so already, but for the nature of these words as I have explained, which leads me to conclude that Will has some other solution in mind. Of course I'll ADD this when I think of that.
ReplyDeleteSpell check will help for Will's intended answer.
ReplyDeleteI found 2 solutions.
ReplyDelete