Sunday, August 21, 2016

NPR Sunday Puzzle (Aug 21, 2016): Name that Rhyme

NPR Sunday Puzzle (Aug 21, 2016): Name that Rhyme:
Q: Name a famous person with the initials B.S. and another famous person with the initials G.M. — whose first and last names, respectively, rhyme with each other. One of the names has one syllable and one has two syllables. Who are these famous people?
I'd rather be reminiscing about my vacation.

Edit:The song Reminiscing mentions Glenn Miller, and during American Idol's 2007 broadcast of Idol Gives Back, Ben Stiller jokingly threatened to sing the song nonstop until $200 billion in donations was achieved.

425 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.

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    1. Blaine, any insight into why the notification of comments feature has stopped working for your blog? It is still working for other blogs I post to, including Lego's Puzzleria.

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    2. Hmmmm, anyone else having this problem? I've tried turning everything off and on again.

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    3. When you click on the "Notify me" button, you get the message "Follow-up comments will be sent to [your_email_address]." Does Blogger have the right address for you?

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    4. Yes, same address I've used the past three years here at Blaine's. Always check the box first thing. Something weird in Blogger Land today.

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    5. Yes, a dolo mite show that off! I have notifications again. Isn't life wonderful?!

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    6. This comment has been removed by the author.

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  2. Not a bad puzzle. I was sitting in the swing in my garden when I solved this one. It was just quieter there than in the house. ---Rob

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  3. I solved this one fairly early in the a.m.

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    Replies
    1. Showing your maternal side, WW?

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    2. Or perhaps movie knowledge, jan. . .We'll never know (until Thursday anyway).

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  4. There is a one-to-one relationship between these famous people. Sort of.

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  5. One has one syllable, one has two.
    What about the other ones?

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    Replies
    1. Mendo Jim,

      This confused me too. I infer that either both first names have one syllable or both first names have two syllables. It would of course follow that both last names have two syllables or both last names have one syllable.

      LegoAdds"ButMethinksMendoJimAlreadyKnewThat"

      Delete
  6. I have an answer that fits the initials, but not the one/two syllable part. I'll keep looking.

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  7. While waiting on my train ride, I got this. Kind of funny, if you ask me.

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  8. Mirror mirror on the wall who's the dumbest puzzler of all. Make no bones about it, that would be me.

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  9. Is it that Person A’s first name rhymes with Person A’s last name and Person B’s first name rhymes with Person B’s last name

    or

    that Person A’s first name rhymes with Person B’s first name and Person A’s last name rhymes with Person B’s last name?

    ReplyDelete
  10. This is another summer re-run. Essentially the same puzzle was used prior to the turn of the century. And one of the people was the answer to another puzzle more recently.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Fits in with that eerie sense of deja vu. Is it deja vu if you actually experienced it?

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    2. It's time for Will to face the music and quit using golden oldies and reruns.

      By the way, I wanted to submit a clue to last week's challenge, but it was too much of a giveaway, that being the country (along with several others) has been known by more than one name during its history.

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    3. Yes Jan I recognized this puzzle too. That's 4 reruns this summer.

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  11. It's all about being in the right frame of mind

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    Replies
    1. Yes, might be many who don't feel like solving this week's puzzle.

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  12. Having solved the puzzle I'm thinking that Blaine may be telling us that he revisited a previous location on his vacation.

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  13. No, Jan, that was a tiger that devoured my recently purchased Guccis .

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  14. Wicsobj JE yhg nzwqprr xs rfe i VTW sabg lecwwqi gwfhm. T lmclh "151 zc 190?" oe r emuwcyks, obx xj oplyb hywpfr sysx Xszubkkuc lvjvzio xs zfg bq zimewg px. Hsof ub gqb hsabx?

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    Replies
    1. P oyzk fyva ylsv'k oazapc, ozu V avpzw vca'a oyzk iynb avic uzhl atev fyr vwtppjg jhw cptqieqpn hz. Zspr, M ozb'f vimp rbzo kuhx ess wvl ughbd. Ewak mq jcg tyitptj?

      Delete
    2. Tc qtfek pwotsyl ca altd dgqmtg, isqgfr Ipltbq jgitaso lvr uih aosv, zia vf xsm avx sljq srmp h ptl cs h ktgsmnng. YD fphzvlh "pgsd tymcy", ksaqu tmrsh yvnv of vtfh jhw ezc finvuwocwbg, vv te auxub oloy lvr vtazgukr, acyqlka olmyr ktrg qv pg. Zj KJ tej ycf yndg ispf oqkvpdguet ua jcxesaa ee lzx, shb olfpdm yvsvtbs wbz c zdzl hb zrply ue umt vky zwaa. Wsp ravf bjhh dgaramxpg. U kuqpr hssh'f dlle gtv qqf oscw. Abyi lmcgk gpca Hsmffkej.
      Lbknng, Gcscuzrhv td o ninvf vt rjovu ewnctfy, ixhwwspyl my eka tbvelbejogpsyd (qtvps nvqld cekmylbovf), pguqp lvr aaz yiysrzu.
      Avp csl jey ms dvqcelr eg "vvqenv". Ampom avi xagflh XU'g ofzuguh. T hfbiemwm eybcnkb'e zoil glwzqu nbvlbeaca as te.
      Yuuf bqkoj!

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    3. Ush th yrxmu zsyks. Nsp gpfk tymxlf. Vmrbz!

      Delete
  15. Replies
    1. jan, IS YOUR CAPS LOCK STUCK ON TODAY or is that part of your three clues?

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  16. Okay, one more, borrowing from January's word ladder puzzle:

    BUDDHIST HOER.

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    Replies
    1. I thought they raked those things.
      [Sorry to intrude. No idea what you're doing. Hope I didn't mess it up.]

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  17. This was so easy to solve. Now it's time for something else.

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    Replies
    1. SDB: Tooting own horn I see.

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    2. SDB: if you've solved this week's puzzle, then you should be able to understand Natasha's comment. If not, then the comment will prove instrumental in the solve. And now I shall mysteriously disappear…

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    3. PC: I solved the puzzle long ago and I am now wondering if you understood my hint. I have a bit of an idea as to N's post, but I don't see how it ties in with my hint. Maybe come Thursday I will feel foolish. Anyway I think this puzzle is beyond stupid and also very poorly stated, but even so easily solved.

      Delete
    4. …I have mysteriously reappeared. I don't recall reading that it had to tie in to your hint. I suspect Natasha simply saw an opportunity and seized it. If your question mark comment is also a hint, that's got to be the most efficient character-to-hint ratio ever!

      Delete
    5. PC:
      So soon you forget. Just two weeks ago my hint was: 4

      It was hinting at Formica.

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    6. PC: Your notes to SDB are appreciated.

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    7. SDB: Do you recall my comment a while ago
      " "?

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    8. Which one? I forget this stuff very quickly in most cases.

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    9. 4, that's a great clue. So now I will ponder the deeper meaning of your "?".

      Remember that time I intentionally didn't post? It was meant as a hint to the fleeting and existential nature of reality.

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    10. PC:
      Don't waste your time on ?. It was sorta like Freud's cigar, sometimes a ? is just a ?

      If I can't remember most posts, both mine and other's, then how am I supposed to remember the post that never was?

      Delete
    11. I've got it now: the question mark was meant to resemble smoke rising off of a lit cigar pointed at the viewer, as if to ask the question, "tell me about your mother". You never fail to impress. Back to the couch for me.

      As to questions of memory: if we accept as true the statement that "if something happened, then I forget", it follows from the (logically equivalent) contrapositive that "if I remember, then nothing happened". Lewis Carroll would like to have a word with me.

      Delete
    12. PC:

      I'm so happy you figured that out. It is giving me new confidence in my clue devising abilities. I am now feeling Jung again!

      Delete
    13. Thanks. For a while your clue didn't Adler up, but then it just Popper into my head Fromm out of nowhere! I was briefly worried I'd hit a new Maslow, but I reminded myself that to Ellis human and there's more than one way to Skinner a cat. I'm not usually the Kahneman who would Asch you to do this, but I'd Pavlov to clue with you again if you'll have me Beck!

      Delete
    14. I Kinsey PC and SDB are headed down that path again....you Otto Rank this as a new low. It hasn't Binet long wait, but I Wundt want to see it happen again!

      Delete
  18. Too bad we can't phone in the answer. Anyway, let's begin...

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    Replies
    1. Tell me if you've heard this one before: Alas, poor Yorick, I don't know you all that well.

      At least there's a loose (yet skin-tight) connection to this week's puzzle, although it's not that surprising when the subjects are famous persons.

      Delete
    2. Actually it is:

      A lass! Poor Yorick! ... I knew him, Horatio.

      I believe it was Shakespeare's first transgender play.

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  19. Replies
    1. I'll guess that Gil digs your comment more than Bill does. Not by an awful lot, maybe, but I doubt that Bill digs it at all.
      Did I step across a 5D/Friends o'D boundary there? Whoops!

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    2. Oh, well Gill digs it a lot more!

      Delete
  20. I finally got the answer after I got my brain to stop trying to make it Barry Sanders and Gerry Manders.

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    1. This answer took me exactly 7,365,000 seconds to get this correct.

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  22. I finally got the answer after I got my brain to stop trying to make it Barry Sanders and Gerry Manders.

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  23. Replies
    1. Roger Stauback was born in Cincinnati, that the hint?

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  24. In reality, there's something about this puzzle that seems like BS to me, but eventually I got it after realizing nothing rhymes with Groucho Marx.

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  25. I have to admit there's something about this puzzle that put me in the mood to do it.

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  26. Replies
    1. Sandy Kofax won the Cy Young award, or Mike Garrett won the Heisman trophy?

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  27. I am thinking that this is an easy challenge and that I should get it if I spent some time.
    I am also thinking that it is not completely clear if each person's first and last name should rhyme with each other or if the two first names should rhyme as should the two last.
    I also think that two of the four names better have three or more syllables.

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    1. The puzzle is stated incorrectly.

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    2. Incorrectly or just plain poorly stated.

      The two first names rhyme, as do the two last names. Either the first names have 1 syllable and the last names have 2, or the first names have 2 and the last have 1. Is that clearer?

      Bonus clue: B.S. was once an M.G., and G.M. was once an S.B.

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    3. Yes. This is the incorrect part:

      "One of the names has one syllable and one has two syllables."

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    4. Spend some time but not your whole dime

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    5. Spend some time but not your whole dime

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  28. An Early-in-the-week Ripping Off Shortz Enigma (ROSE)

    Name a famous past title TV character with the initials P.M., and a somewhat-well-known past British TV personality with the initials L.G. — whose first names rhyme with each other and whose last names rhyme with each other. All four names have two syllables. Who are this TV character and this TV personality?
    Hint: The British TV personality and actor who portrayed the character on American TV both were alive in the years from 1923 to 1993.

    LegoPiggybackingOnTheShouldersOfGiantsWithARedRoseBetweenHisTeeth(WhichIsBetterThanSpinach!)

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    Replies
    1. Wrong time of year for the actor, eh, Lego? Soon though.

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    2. Lego--I'm 99% certain I know who you have in mind, but saying the first names rhyme strikes me as a bit of a stretch. I'm not taking an ironclad positions this. Just expressing a concern.

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    3. Yes, not to take sides on this one, Lego, but I, too, have this concern.

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    4. Maybe it's a USA regional pronunciation thing? I reside in MinneSOHtah...
      I know you two both know the TV character, but do be all have the same TV Brit, the L.G. guy?

      LegoHenryHiggoLambda

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    5. Do be all LG refrigerator on us, Lego ;-)?

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    6. Colorful language, Lego. I retract my earlier rhyme concern. It's a perfect rhyme in Coloradoan.

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    7. If you're taking votes put mine in the "don't rhyme" hopper, do we need an election monitor?

      But I don't want to sully the conversation or shut that door of debate.

      The actor and the Brit personality had one other thing in common, not so well known for one.

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    8. But, not in the least bit jarring. . .

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    9. And, while we're on jars, nice kitchen, by the way, eco.

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    10. Okay, eco, I can see by your comment that you have my answer, but I cannot see by your outfit if your are a cowboy! Are you from cowboy country? New England? Breadbasket. BibleBelt? Deep South?
      And what about you, SuperZee?
      If I could only hear you fine Blainesvillians speak, I could then don my Henry Higgins Hat and pinpoint your exact geographical coordinates via by phonetics acumen! And, in the process, explain why your rhyming compasses do not read true norths (rhymes with two-fourths = 0.5).

      LegoPinesForAWorldFullOfGophersAndBadgers!

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    11. Lego: I am near the city that was the setting for the actor's 2nd longest running role.

      WW: you have sharp eyes, and your hands and feet glow with true iridescence.

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    12. I was born and raised in New York City, but never had a stereotypical New Yawk accent as my mother was English. Then again, the first nanes are close enough in sound that once I had guessed the TV show, I was able to deduce the name of the Brit. It's just that to my ear, ferry, furry, and fairy don't rhyme.

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    13. America! America! eco and SuperZee,
      Misunderstood? No, both speak good
      From sea to shining sea!

      KatharineLeegoLambdates -- 1913

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    14. Close, eco. The image is of fingers and fin. The fish fins developed into fingers over time.

      Though, it's true that some of us swimmers keep the fins!

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    15. Ah yes, many years ago I read Stephen Jay Gould's well-written (for us amateurs) accounts of that development sequence.

      Speaking of fins, what do down-Easters say when a boy first tries swimming?

      Helsinki will.

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    16. At least I think that's what Gould wrote, he was tracing bone structure, not genetics, of course. But maybe he was connecting something other than fins....

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    17. I'm not really sure either, but I do think he had his finger on it.

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    18. eco: Indeed, Gould discussed this evolution quite eloquently but now we know the mechanism on a cellular level with research published just this month.

      SDB: toetally

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    19. WW: makes Darwin all the more prescient, as well as that other great scientist Gary Larson, who also provided this scientific theorem.

      SDB is at the peak of evolution, he has out-groan us all.

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    20. Some recent discoveries in epigenetics make me wonder whether Lamarck might have not been as off-base as we thought.

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    21. Fun comics, eco.

      Willing to stick your neck out here, I see, jan.

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    22. No, I'm not saying that my parents' lack of interest in the tasty leaves at the tops of trees is to blame for my lack of NBA prospects.

      But it's clear that some traits can be inherited other than through the usual channels.

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    23. Yes, eco, I took a good look at Darwin and his evolution theory and then I listened to the news this morning and came to the conclusion that he may have got things backward. I am not saying he was a heel, but may have had an in-groan toenail.

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    24. jan, I inherited my traits from the English Channel. (Interesting stuff in your link, btw).

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    25. Why would anyone want to channel the English when you can channel Ramtha?

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    26. Is that a clue, WW? Or am I being a boob by missing a reference to the Beeb?

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    27. 'Twas, jan. Though yesterday I thought it too obvious. Today, context made me do it.

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    28. I saw the recent movie version of The Little Prince last week; this puzzle struck a chord.

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    29. Have book autographed by Gould. He gave a lecture at UC Berkeley that I attended. He was amazing.

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    30. Gould had incredible curiosity about so many arenas, not unlike this illustrious group of bloggers. Glad you heard him speak, Natasha.

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    31. I read all his books and saw his tv series.

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  29. Easier one than those on your website, Lego. Are you holding out on all of us on Puzzleria!?

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    Replies
    1. Perhaps the following early blooming "ROSE" may be tougher to pick:

      Name a famous singer-songwriter with the initials A.M., a past stand-up comic/TV game show host with the initials J.M., and a linebacker with the initials D.C. who played for the pre-Super-Bowl-era Green Bay Packers.
      Their three one-syllable first names rhyme, as do their three two-syllable surnames. Who are these people?
      Hint: The "M surnames" not only rhyme... They are spelled exactly the same!

      LegoHopesTheseRhymesAreLessControversial

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    2. Too easy, though I never heard of the football player. Makes me hungry.

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    3. True, I'd never heard of the football player either. The comic I'd recently seen on a rerun of Car 54 Where Are You?

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  30. And, speaking of Puzzleria!:
    This week's NPR puzzle reminds me a tad of a few I composed and put on Puzzleria! just this past June:
    One in the June 3 Puzzleria! titled "Media Jackal Morsel: Chickens in the kitchen?"
    And another in the June 24 Puzzleria! titled "Puzzle YYYY Solvers Dessert: Rhymes, Synonym… Hyphen!"

    LegoLambda(AlsoKnownAsMegO'Limeranda)

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  31. For those of you who may want to pre-contemplate our proposed rhyming Ripping Off Shortz Enigma Slices (ROSES) that will appear on Puzzleria! this Friday:
    1. An American actress and a baseball great (2 syllables, 1 syllable)
    2. A former White House staffer and a former darn good NFL QB (1 syllable, 2 syllables)
    3. A somewhat experimental pop singer/songwriter and a Motown singer (2 syllables, 2 syllables)
    (You will find more information about who they are on Friday morning's Puzzleria! blog... and perhaps even more ROSES!)

    LegoPresentsHis"WarOfTheROSES"InMoreAmpleDoses

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  33. How about a British New Wave singer and a former American President?(2 syllables, 2 syllables)

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  34. Or the co-founder of a popular 70s rock group and a former American President?(2 syllables, 2 syllables)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Very fine piggyback puzzle, patjberry. You ought to begin penning your own biography, "My Life as a Puzzler."

      Lego'sSelf-PennedBioIsTitled"MyLifeAsAGuzzler"

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    2. It is a little-known fact that our 42nd president's second middle name is "Starship".

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    3. I suppose that's how he got the "Slick" nickname.

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    4. BTW, this also serves as a hint for a rebus I posted over on Lego's Puzzleria!

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  35. Or a late American TV and radio personality and a British filmmaker/animator?(1 syllable, 1 syllable)

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    1. This comment has been removed by the author.

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    2. Should I list initials too for anyone(like PC)who may be off in that respect? If so, here:
      1. G. N., H. T.
      2. D. F., R. R.
      3. D. C., N. P.
      4. L. D., E. M.
      Lego, I just hope I'm not stepping on any toes by coming up with my own. I'm sure on Friday you'll have a few I may never figure out.

      Delete
  36. Or one American actress and another American actress who was one half of a famous comedy team?(2 syllables, 1 syllable)

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  37. I hope the two sets of initials separated by a comma doesn't look too confusing. If so, it should be thus:
    1. G. N. and H. T.
    2. D. F. and R. R.
    3. D. C. and N. P.
    4. L. D. and E. M.
    So there!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Very good, thanks. One suggestion: I think the combination of "former American President" and having their initials makes it too easy. I would scrub the second set of initials in numbers 1 and 2.

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    2. Former president whose initials are the same consonant and frozen dessert quality inspector (?).

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  38. I'm not trying to be too tricky, but I fully understand. Initials for former Presidents does narrow the field down quickly.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Fantastic puzzles, PJB! I greatly enjoyed them!

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    2. Agreed, though L.D. was pretty obscure.

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    3. I had heard her name before, but I had to check her bio to make sure about who she is/was.

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    4. I'd heard the name of one of her husbands also an L.D.

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  39. Would some kind soul here restate the puzzle without the ambiguities?
    Thanks

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. The first names rhyme with each other, and the second names rhyme with each other. And one of two things is true: either the first names have one syllable each and the second names have two syllables each, or the first names have two syllables each and the second names have one syllable each.

      Delete
  40. Actually, here is a try:
    Name two famous people whose initials are "B.S." and "G.M."
    Their first names rhyme and their last names rhyme.
    There is a one syllable name (word) and a twp syllable name (word); the other two names (words) have more than two syllables.
    So Bowmary Spammypoor and Garry Moore would work if everyone had heard of both of them.

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    Replies
    1. None of the names has more than two syllables.

      Delete
    2. Here's my rewrite:
      Name a famous person with a three-syllable name and initials B.S. The name of another famous person with the initials G.M. rhymes with the first person’s name. Who are these famous people?

      LegoWhoWillPostARipOffInvolvingRhymingNamesOfFiveSyllablesOnPuzzleria!ThisFriday

      Delete
  41. Maybe I was the only one confused.
    Though I expect little rigor, I still resent its frequent absence.
    Good on those here that read past it.
    I would like one of Wiily's Ivory-billed apologies.

    ReplyDelete
  42. I think many in this blog overthink and unnecessarily complicate the clues; we've all done it. In general I've found the simplest reading of WS's clues are the intent, even if they're poorly stated.

    In the WS universe Spock rhymes with Bach, but doesn't rhyme with Barack. So the first names match syllables (1 or 2) and the last names match syllables (2 or 1).

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. You just watch it ecoarchitect, I don't think most of us here are going to put up with you calling us thinkers. No sir! We support Donald Trump.

      Delete
    2. Anyone who thinks wouldn't jump out of an airplane....

      I saw a strange tv ad the other night: woman was dual jumping (or whatever you call it, she was attached to a guy who was pulling the strings) and he kept saying you've got to let it go. Finally she snaps a photo, uploads an ad to one of these Craigslist type sites, another parachutist comes flying down at high speed, she lets go of an old sewing machine and it floats over to the other person, who catches it mid-air. Then they pull the ripcord. Not sure if they actually did this in flight or faked it, can't remember the company.

      See that?

      Delete
    3. No, I don't watch TV. I tried Googling it with zero joy. It sounds dangerous to me. If you find a link, I would like to see it. It must have been done over a desert due to the danger of it falling on something. Years ago some guys were jumping with a pumpkin, which falls at the same rate as a normal human. When they opened (dumped) the pumpkin headed for the roof of a house and fell through into the kitchen. Fortunately the residents were not home at the time, but were a bit surprised when they returned to find their kitchen completely destroyed. Had it been a sewing machine I don't think it would have left them rolling on the floor in stitches either.

      Delete
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  44. Swing comedian? Hasn't Will used this puzzle before in another incarnation?

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  45. I got one syllable, two syllable, and I'm happy with it. End of discussion.

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  46. Of the 15 BS, GM, 3 syllable names I came up with, there was only one pair that rhymed.

    ReplyDelete
  47. "Overthinking" ambiguous clues is no vice, ignoring them is no virtue.

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  49. Replies
    1. O.M.G you did it! I'm so proud of you!

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    2. No, I was on the ground. It was a Russian pilot.

      Thanks LOL

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    3. Looks like an RC model, but still pretty cool.

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

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    5. We're visiting all sorts of places today. Luckily those planes will help me get there. That flushing sound is coming from Michael Bay losing all respectability as a film maker. The real question is, did he have any to begin with? I'm not sure.

      Delete
    6. You'll just have toilet it go.

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    7. Urinal aught of good company.

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    8. You did me a solid and now ammonia one.

      Delete
    9. I'm glad to know I am not the only one who calls her Urethra Franklin. Otherwise I would be pissed. But that's just a piddling thing when you tink about it.

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    10. What do they call a dancer with poor aim? Tinkle toes

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    11. That could leave a pirouette.

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    12. That's our SDB, always en pointe.

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    13. Yes, but I do have to split now before Trader Joe's closes.

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    14. We plungered into this septic battle with wit as our only tulle of war. Two men enter, two men leave, and then grand pas takes a nap.

      Delete
    15. On the other hand I hate to see a Hortensia evening at a variation.

      Delete

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.