Sunday, February 14, 2016

NPR Sunday Puzzle (Feb 14, 2016): For Dinner Tonight We Have...

NPR Sunday Puzzle (Feb 14, 2016): For Dinner Tonight We Have...:
Q: Name something to eat. Change one letter in it and rearrange the result. You'll name the person who makes this food. Who is it?
No need to be an "old-timer" this week. This should be easily solvable by any age.

Edit: Old-timer is an anagram of Time Lord, and the fourth Dr. Who was played by Tom Baker
A: BREAD --> BAKER

99 comments:

  1. 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.

    You 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.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. If you want to pick a range, reply here with your pick as to the number of correct answers that will be submitted. Only one range per person and only one person per range.
      0 - 25
      26 - 50
      51 - 75
      76 - 100
      101 - 125
      126 - 150
      151 - 175
      176 - 200
      201 - 225
      226 - 250

      251 - 275
      276 - 300
      301 - 325
      326 - 350
      351 - 375
      376 - 400
      401 - 425
      426 - 450
      451 - 475
      476 - 500

      501 - 550
      551 - 600
      601 - 650
      651 - 700
      701 - 750
      751 - 800
      801 - 850
      851 - 900
      901 - 950
      951 - 1,000

      1,001 - 1,050
      1,051 - 1,100
      1,101 - 1,150
      1,151 - 1,200
      1,201 - 1,250
      1,251 - 1,300
      1,301 - 1,350
      1,351 - 1,400
      1,401 - 1,450
      1,451 - 1,500

      1,501 - 1,550
      1,551 - 1,600
      1,601 - 1,650
      1,651 - 1,700
      1,701 - 1,750
      1,751 - 1,800
      1,801 - 1,850
      1,851 - 1,900
      1,901 - 1,950
      1,951 - 2,000

      2,001 - 2,250
      2,251 - 2,500
      2,501 - 2,750
      2,751 - 3,000
      3,001 - 3,500
      3,501 - 4,000
      4,001 - 4,500
      4,501 - 5,000

      More than 5,000

      Delete
    2. I am certain this week will have no more than 25 correct answers since this is such a demanding puzzle.

      Delete
  2. And rearrange the letters of the person who makes the edible, and you get a word that describes what you do with it.

    ReplyDelete
  3. And rearranging the letters of the food will give you the author of an appropriately titled cookbook.

    ReplyDelete
  4. I'm not chicken to mention that a cook could cook a cock.

    And my Chex were made by a chef.

    Will can't afford too many puzzles as easy as this one, or as enigmatic as last week's.

    1,201 - 1,250, please.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Been here, done this. I'd choose puzzles closer to last week's than this one. Joe and I were on the same wavelength this morning as to solving time.

      2001-2250, please.

      Delete
    2. So, on average, the puzzles are just right!
      I'm with WW on mountain ranges and toughness-of-puzzle preferences. But, to be fair, this one actually took me several hours (of passively thinking about it throughout the day).

      Delete
  5. This comment has been removed by the author.

    ReplyDelete
  6. 1851 - 1900

    With wry humor, David Sedaris' story Six to Eight Black Men names the food as tapas and the maker as Santa.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Makes sense. Like the old parable, Santa has to have enough to go around the world.
      1501-1550

      Delete
    2. hilarious! I squawked so much about the negative idea of Black Peter, I suppose the people in Rotterdam did not want to tell me about the 6-8 Black men.

      Delete
    3. hilarious! I squawked so much about the negative idea of Black Peter, I suppose the people in Rotterdam did not want to tell me about the 6-8 Black men.

      Delete
    4. I asked a Dutch friend about the story, and he said they decided St Nicholas lived in Spain because before Columbus that's as far away as anyone knew, except China, but he couldn't possibly live there.

      The black men are supposed to be Moors, apparently, and aren't really slaves, but I don't think that is as clear.

      Delete
    5. Enjoyed the reading, eco, and the "rye" humour.

      Delete
  7. It came to me as I was straightening the pillows and blankets.

    ReplyDelete
  8. I once ate FACE (pig jowl, to be exact) cooked by a CHEF. It was fantastic.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I lived in Nigeria and once received a present of a ram's face during Ramadan. I must admit I discarded it. One can never get bored in West Africa.

      Delete
    2. I lived in Nigeria and once received a present of a ram's face during Ramadan. I must admit I discarded it. One can never get bored in West Africa.

      Delete
  9. The Rock can make you eat crow

    ReplyDelete
  10. Back to solid, if pointless, ground with an anagram.
    I will submit that a cooker makes a cookie and leave it at that.
    Though it is certainly OK with me, I didn't suggest starting range guessing here.
    Even though it was my idea years ago, I only pay attention now when I suspect hanky-panky.

    ReplyDelete
  11. OK. This one is too easy, so here is the trivia question of the week (no hint here): What U.S. president was born in Delaware and also in Ohio? How is this possible? Don't post the answer; let everyone try his/her own internet search, but try to answer it from your own trivia database...

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Good question but easy to solve. The woman on the county courthouse is well endowed.

      Delete
    2. I'm astounded to see that a Vice President of the United States can make the same impossible claim!

      Delete
    3. I heard partial confirmation of my hunch before I finished typing it into the search box.

      Delete
    4. I guessed there might be a Delaware County, Ohio. Typing it into DuckDuckGo, I got as far as 'delaware co' when the Duck suggested both 'delaware county ohio' and 'delaware county auditor'. I figured I was on the right track. Turns out Delaware is the county seat and Rutherford B. Hayes was born there. Fairbanks, Alaska was named for 26th V.P. Charles W. Fairbanks, who was born in Unionville Center, Union County, Ohio, about 21 miles from Delaware. Fairbanks is not on the coast, as I ignorantly presumed, but is in the Alaskan Interior; in fact, it is known as The Golden Heart City.

      Delete
  12. I visited his residence last summer on the way back from the North coast

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Does the Department of the Interior have jurisdiction over that?

      Delete
  13. Replies
    1. World premiere production of Derrick Wang’s opera Scalia/Ginsburg at the Castleton Festival. Opening night July 11, 2015.

      That's Ginsburg as in Ruth BADER Ginsburg.

      Delete
  14. Kentucky Fried Geese --> Col. Harland Ganders?

    ReplyDelete
  15. Someone might be upset is I posted that a pig might make a pie, so I won't post that.

    Other than that, I say this is more an insult than a puzzle.

    ReplyDelete
  16. This one seems pretty easy, and a lot of people eat this daily... so I'll guess 2251-2500 --Margaret G. who also did not get the call last week.

    ReplyDelete
  17. I select 301-325 range please.

    ReplyDelete
  18. I've never understood the need for ranges, which advantage those who guess first. Why not pick a number, and whoever's closest gets the bragging rights?

    (You mean there's not a large cash prize?)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Written like a flatlander ;-).

      (We love our ranges here in Colorado.)

      Delete
    2. Written like a flatlander ;-).

      (We love our ranges here in Colorado.)

      Delete
  19. 0-25. Maybe it's a trick question.

    LegoLeery

    ReplyDelete
  20. I say it can be the best thing about a meal sometimes. No matter what you do to the rest of it, how bad can you ruin the food in question?

    ReplyDelete
  21. For those who are bored, this might be a little more challenging than our current puzzle. Name a common food in 7 letters. Add 1 letter and rearrange to name another common food. Hint: these 2 foods are generally not eaten at the same meal.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. parsley/lampreys
      risotto/tortoise
      haddock/shaddock

      Delete
    2. My thought was oatmeal and meatloaf.

      Delete
    3. And I was thinking brisket and rib steak.

      Delete
    4. That Ron considers lampreys and tortoise "common" foods has me wondering ... and nauseous.

      Delete
    5. Eely slow on that one, eco. . .

      Delete
  22. Got it, Chuck! Got it faster than a bat out of...well, you know.

    ReplyDelete
  23. Yes, ho hum, got this one, but how about a clue anyway: Take the name of one ingredient usually found in this food, add a letter, change one letter to another, keeping the original letters in order, and you have what someone might be called who eats TOO MUCH of this food!

    ReplyDelete
  24. Got that one too! Just came to me!

    ReplyDelete
  25. 1451-1500, please. I think it's fun. :)
    The Day quill is kicking in.

    ReplyDelete
  26. More than 5,000. I can't believe that range was still available this late!!

    ReplyDelete
  27. So easy it would make Homer Simpson say, "Doh!"

    ReplyDelete
  28. I once ate SOUP, but i had to POUR it.

    ReplyDelete
  29. Thanks to info posted yesterday, I boldly checked the "Notify Me" box and discovered a whole new world; it sort of accounts for what have seemed mysterious connections over the past few years.
    What it did today was deliver a very interesting post by Tony Cym that apparently never even got to "deleted" status.
    He sent what was essentially the "pajama" puzzle to NPR/Shortz almost five years ago.
    He got the standard non-answer which assumes the correspondent has somehow agreed to a really onerous litany of surrendered rights, stopping just short of giving up one's first-born.
    Perhaps Tony, in describing the incident, violated his "agreement" by discussing what in obviously now Willy's property without permission.
    I am interested in how others see this situation.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I also received that posting in my email, but cannot locate it on the blog and I have looked three or four times in last week's postings, where it was sent, and this week's postings as well.

      I have to say that when I read his puzzle as he sent it to NPR/WS I found it rather poorly written and not at all easy to understand. I imagine WS saw it the same way and did not waste any of his time trying to comprehend it, and therefor it was most likely tossed out.

      Delete
    2. This comment has been removed by the author.

      Delete
    3. Not sure why you can't find it in last week's blog, but here it is:

      Tony CwmThu Feb 11, 01:14:00 PM PST
      Several years ago, I sent a message to Will Shortz.
      Why are these words connected.
      PAJAMA. QUEEN. FROLIC


      I wonder if WS ignored it because there was no answer - he said once that he doesn't try to solve them on his own.

      Delete
    4. eco:
      I just now posted my reply to you and that the email Mendo Jim is referring to came today in our email accounts, but is not posted on the blog.

      Now my email is gone too! I cut and pasted the email he sent, but for some reason it does not post.

      Delete
    5. I will redact some of it and see what happens:

      Original Message: I have a word puzzle for Will Shortz. I would like him to be the first to solve it. However, I am going to give you the answer first, hoping that he will only see the question!
      On the telephone pad, there are three or four letters per number.
      A word like FROLIC requires 3 taps. There are other shorter words, one is IVY!
      Similarly, QUEEN and HEX need two taps.
      PAJAMA and JAW need one tap.
      In other words, if I asked what is the connection between FROLIC, QUEEN and PAJAMA, the answer is at everybody's finger tips but no one has been able to solve it.
      Somebody will eventually realize that FROLIC's alphabet positions are 6 18 15 12 9 3. Half way to solve it, perhaps?
      Thanks, Reginald



      Delete
  30. Private donations, the state historical society, and the center's own foundation.

    ReplyDelete
  31. When I was a kid, a farm girl I knew had a pet hen named Genevieve, Gen for short.

    A part of one of my answers on Puzzleria! this week is the same as (a part of) Will Shortz's answer this week. This proves that:
    A. I am clairvoyant.
    B. Will and I are in some kind of crazy cahoots.
    C. The common answer is a very common word.

    LegoTheCorrectAnswerIsNot"B"...Honest!(AskWillWhoWillAlsoDenyIt)

    ReplyDelete
  32. Tonight I had CHICKEN prepared in the KITCHEN.

    ReplyDelete
  33. I got a DRAFT BEER from the BARTENDER.

    ReplyDelete
  34. ecoarchitect and Mendo Jim:

    Tony Cwm again posted his submission (a cut & paste copy) to NPR at the end of last week's blog postings. He did this early this morning and this time it stayed posted. I would suggest you take a look and you will see that it is not well stated. Not the simple idea that he originally posted several days ago. I have no idea why he is still posting on last week's blog though instead of here where it might be noticed.

    ReplyDelete
  35. BREAD, BAKER

    > Will can't afford too many puzzles as easy as this one...

    Not enough bread.

    ReplyDelete
  36. Betty Crocker’s crackers. Oops. I mean bread --> baker.

    ReplyDelete
  37. BREAD >>> BAKER

    "Written like a flatlander ;-)." >>> i. e., your BREAD did not rise (or flatBREADS.)

    "(We love our ranges here in Colorado.)" >>> for BAKERS making BREAD.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. And here I thought it was a "pointed" reference to Edwin Abbott Abbot's 1884 book.

      Delete
  38. BREAD --> BAKER
    My cookbook author/anagram comment was a reference to James Beard, who authored the cookbook, "Beard on Bread."

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yes, SuperZee, although I could never quite enjoy "Beard on Bread," anagram or not.

      Though, I will say it is nice to be kneaded. . .

      Delete
    2. WW, I mustache you go easy on the puns

      Delete
    3. As my upper lip demonstrates, I can HANDLE(bar) it.

      Delete
    4. Don't make a fuzz. Your lip service gets my goatee.

      Delete
  39. BREAD>>>BAKER

    Rob's Challenge: BREAK BREAD.

    Super Zee's Challenge: Food Guru & Author: JAMES BEARD.

    My Challenge: President Rutherford B. Hayes was born in DELAWARE, OHIO.

    Bob K. VP, Al Gore, born: Washington & D.C. (not a State)

    ReplyDelete
  40. My comment on the challenge: "I won't be losing any prime sleeping time over this one." "Sleeping time" = "dozin" = "dozen". And "prime" = 13 = "Baker's dozen."

    ReplyDelete
  41. There are a large number of (not as good) multi-word answers similar to Steamed Rice > Rice Steamer, Broiled Meat > Meat Broiler, etc.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. They do not qualify. The puzzle calls for WHO makes it.

      Delete
    2. Grilled Burger > burger griller. A burger griller can be a device or a person. And so on.

      Delete
  42. This was hard to find alternates for but how about CREAM CAKE and CAKE MAKER ?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I figured COHO (salmon) and COOK and (ham) HOCK and COOK were too obscure.

      Delete
  43. @ron -- I'm not completely sure what your remark about Al Gore means. I never mentioned him.

    When I said, "I'm astounded to see that a Vice President of the United States can make the same impossible claim!", I was referring to your question, "What U.S. president was born in Delaware and also in Ohio?" The Vice President I had in mind was Charles W. Fairbanks. If you look at the Wikipedia entry for Delaware, Ohio, you will see that they simply claim Fairbanks as one of their famous natives. The entry on Fairbanks is a little more weasel-ish, saying,"Charles Warren Fairbanks (May 11, 1852 – June 4, 1918) was an American politician who served as a Senator from Indiana from 1897 to 1905 and the 26th Vice President of the United States from 1905 to 1909.

    Born in a log cabin near Delaware, Ohio, . . . . "

    ReplyDelete
  44. BREAD -> BAKER... I said "This one seems pretty easy, and a lot of people eat this daily" - the reference to "daily" in "give us this day our daily bread" --Margaret G.

    ReplyDelete
  45. BREAD and BAKER
    The staff of life.

    ReplyDelete
  46. I was on a roll with this one(pardon the bun).

    ReplyDelete
  47. This comment has been removed by the author.

    ReplyDelete
  48. Straightening the pillows and blankets-bed maker-bread baker

    ReplyDelete
  49. Being on too much cold medicine makes reference to Breaking Bad. A while ago we had the cooking puzzle of baking bread which anagrams to breaking bad.

    ReplyDelete
  50. Next week's challenge: Think of three eight-letter words that are identical in spelling except for the fourth letter. Each word contains a G ... that is pronounced differently in all three words. What words are they?

    ReplyDelete
  51. I believe Rachel said "over twelve hundred" entries last week. So, I think that makes jan the winner, although Lorenzo, FloridaGuy, WW, RoRo, ecoarchitect, Curtis, E&WAf, and zeke creek also picked ">1200" ranges.
    Now, if jan had picked a number, say 1221, and I had picked, say 1234, which one of us would have won?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. There's a hint to this week's answer in my comment, above. (Sort of.)

      Delete
  52. I believe I have an answer, but as is not uncommon with this sort of puzzle, once I start pronouncing a list of three words aloud, I start to have greater and greater doubts as to whether the "G" sound is different in each.

    ReplyDelete

For NPR puzzle posts, don't post the answer or any hints that could lead to the answer before the deadline (usually Thursday at 3pm ET). If you know the answer, submit it to NPR, but don't give it away here.

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.