I'm not sure I'd call it "sensible" unless it was spoken by someone a little nutty.Q: Take six different letters. Repeat them in the same order. Then repeat them again — making 18 letters altogether. Finally add "tebasket" at the end. If you have the right letters and you space them appropriately, you'll complete a sensible sentence. What is it?
My hint was to nuts, bolts and washers.
A: HERWAS --> HER WASHER WAS HER WASTEBASKET
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.
Like Blaine, I'd need to put a bit of a spin on sensible to make this work.
ReplyDeleteThe answer seems rather bizarre, whereas "sensible" seems a bit of a stretch.
ReplyDeleteI pulled and pulled to find an answer, and got a grammatic sentence but it is as silly as this one; I am not going to tug for any moor. ---Rob
ReplyDeleteI didn't care too much for this puzzle but appreciated all of the dry sense of humor evidenced above.
ReplyDeleteI am waiting for some wet sense of humor.
DeleteYup, toss this one into the non-sensible arena.
I guess you didn't spot any above? Oh well.
Delete-..
Delete.
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. - - .
Bucking the trend, or fawning?
DeleteThe folks here at Blainesville probably collectively spent 6010 times more thought on last week's challenge than the whole of Will's "team," whatever that is.
ReplyDeleteMight as well have said 6010 doesn't fit because it has an "x".
Shortz just does not seem to have the balls to suck it up and discuss alternatives.
It is ironic, and somewhat Trumpian, that the PM took this week to reiterate the part of his manifesto that players need not pencil and paper.
I can see a car load of family on the way to church with everyone claiming eight different letters to be inserted.
Three possibilities for success: a recording device, access to the internet or Ray Babbitt on board.
Grammatical yes, sensible no.
I stand by my solution to last weeks number challenge as a valid answer (a,e,i,o,u in only two words).
DeleteFrom Will's wording, the 2nd repeat (letters 13-18) is not in order?
ReplyDeleteIt kind of makes sense, if you're not on the grid.
ReplyDeleteNouveau American Gothic
ReplyDeleteHey, what happened to all the usual trash talk?
ReplyDeleteWe cleaned that up.
DeleteWhew! Glad to hear it. I was afraid the usual suspects had been rounded up for Summer Camp.
DeleteIt's been replaced by "t rash" talk.
DeleteIt's hard to keep up with all the twists and turns sometimes, being the sort of token Deplorable who drops in from time to time.
DeleteDeplorables! Maybe that's t[h]e basket we're looking for!
DeleteI think I have the answer, but it sure seems pretty silly. Not as silly as my first answer, which involved someone named Ina, but not the sort of story you hear every day.
I think I'm right about the three letters that come before tebasket, but it gets tough after that. I hate to say anything about Will's sanity at this point, but this puzzle is weird even for him.
ReplyDeleteSanity, sanitation. You say potato, I say whatevs
DeleteTabasco, hot. Tebasket, not so much.
ReplyDeleteThe word I'm thinking of with tebasket at the end is where I think this week's challenge should have gone in the first place.
ReplyDeleteSince everyone's lovin' this puzzle so much, how about a bonus? Same rules, repeat same 6 letters 3 times, and finally add "mful".
ReplyDeleteSentence makes about as much sense, I'll try for better.
"Repeat the same 6 letters 3 times, and finally add "trel"."
DeleteIs yours simply a variant of the PM's?
DeleteIf that works for you...
DeleteI thought something a little more "sensible" was in order...
DeleteIt may be that this is not uncommonly done the other way around in a pinch.
ReplyDeleteI wonder when we'll see this puzzle recycled?
ReplyDeleteWell, we all know that what goes around comes around. Would that mean we're all riding Karma cycles?
DeleteMy patience with these puzzles is ebbing.
ReplyDeleteIt's an ancient chinese secret
ReplyDeleteWanted to post a clue but couldn't launder it so had to throw it away.
ReplyDeleteHave mercy baby -- and may you rest in peace.
ReplyDeleteThree more bonus puzzles (distraction is better than reality):
ReplyDelete1) 6 letters, repeat 3 times, and then add "llion". Note this is more of a fragment, and uses a slightly archaic form of a common word, but everyone will know the word.
2) 7 letters, repeat 3 times, and then add "ybar". A common female name is part of the answer.
3) 6 letters, repeat 4 times, and then add "angerous". Also uses a female name, and it's not a very sensible sentence. The other two have only slightly better syntax.
This was actually apropos for me recently. I could easily have used this sentence in my frustration. --Margaret G.
ReplyDeleteDid you feel out of the fold?
DeleteI cannot draw. That is not an overstatement. I have absolutely no drawing ability. Occasionally I wish I did because I think of something that would make a clever political cartoon. I just now came up with one of these.
ReplyDeleteI would like to draw a picture of the Statue of Liberty from the back as she is seen waving, not hello and welcome, but goodby to a fleet of passenger liners heading out to sea.
I just had another idea. I think the cartoon should be drawn side by side with the second side showing Liberty with tears running down her face.
DeleteStatue of Liberty in Tears.
DeleteWe the People ?
Deleteron, Thanks, those are good. I am thinking of more on the New Yorker cartoon idea.
Deleteron,
DeleteThat one is the best. Perhaps Trump should have the manners to return Her back to where she came from since she represents France more than she does this country now.
Until earlier today, while listening to NPR, I had not heard of Breitbart News national security editor Sebastian Gorka who is now one of Trump's deputy assistants. We no longer need to fear zombies; people like this vampire are far more dangerous. Please Google him and freak out too.
ReplyDeleteSay goodby to the Supreme Court and hello to the new inquisition.
ReplyDeleteWhat will it take for people to get out and vote, and not just every four years?
DeleteYou would think this election would have brought out the voters. Only 54% of the eligible voters turned out. Trump got 45.94% of of that 54%, meaning that 24.8% of the eligible voters voted for him.
DeleteI have no ideal what it is, but you won't find it here among these idiots. This is a nation of greed and it deserves what it is going to reap. Oh, and where are the Democrats? Check your milk cartons for their photos and please help find them now.
DeleteClarification, if needed. I did NOT mean to imply anything negative about the bloggers here, but was referring to the idiots that inhabit this country.
DeleteI think we all solved this puzzle pretty quickly. It makes me wonder how quickly a truly fast person like Usain Bolt might solve it.
ReplyDeleteI thought this was a tough puzzle. No clues here, but one of my nephews came up with an answer for this weeks puzzle and while silly, seems to work. Kudos to anyone to solved it!
DeleteThere are some subtle but clever clues posted previously by several people! I finally recognize them now!!
DeleteAnn drew ann drew ann drew drew ann
ReplyDeleteDa do ron ron ron da do ron ron.
ReplyDeleteBtw, Natasha, how was your trip?
Zeke: What trip?
DeleteI can't think of a more fitting puzzle to wring in the new year.
ReplyDelete'Spose dat wud be a different kind of necking
ReplyDeleteYah'll is reckonin' rite.
DeleteSouth Seattle?
ReplyDeleteHER WASHER WAS HER WASTEBASKET
ReplyDeleteMy Hint:
“My patience with these puzzles is ebbing.” Hinting at an ebb tide which is hinting at Tide detergent. Tide is a well known laundry detergent and it commonly ebbs and flows in clothes washing machines. The empty box is usually tossed into a waste basket.
HER WASHER WAS HER WASTEBASKET
ReplyDelete(Makes slightly more sense than my first thought, Ina Wasina was in a wastebasket.)
I wrote: "I pulled and pulled to find an answer, and got a grammatic sentence but it is as silly as this one; I am not going to tug for any moor." Pulling and tugging and mooring all can involve a HAWSER; anagram. ---Rob
ReplyDeleteThe six letters are: HERWAS
ReplyDeleteThe resulting sentence is: Her washer was her waste basket. .
My question concerning when we might see this puzzle recycled was an allusion to wastebaskets – if a more eco-friendly one.
_This_ is what we get up early on Sunday mornings for?
ReplyDeleteHer washer was her waste basket.
ReplyDeleteNouveau American Gothic
Green Acres silly family, the Douglas's, posed American Gothic style for the trailer.
Mrs. Douglas would most certainly use her appliance in this fashion.
Where is everyone? Did I miss the Rapture? Are we all who are left?
ReplyDeleteI was on my knees praying for The Apprentice.
DeleteWere you fired or just all fired up?
DeleteSorry, I was on the phone with my friends in Australia. We ended the call on a happy note!
DeleteI thought Australia was on our enemies list now.
DeleteThey were just wondering who put the lunatic in charge??
DeleteIf The DT ever finds religion he will direct the National Laboratories to clone a microscopic camel, per Matthew 19:24.
DeleteI have always understood that the entrance to Jerusalem was low down in order to prevent attackers from easily getting through the wall. The entrance required a camel to enter while on its knees and therefor the entrance was called The Eye Of The Needle.
DeleteThat story is apparently apocryphal, sdb. But when I visited the Church of the Nativity, in Bethlehem, maybe 20 years ago, I heard a similar explanation for the low clearance of the Door of Humility there. (Though the name of that door seems to offer a better explanation for its size.)
DeleteTo my eye (just to needle you a bit) the Door of Humility is clearly a retrofit job, and they hired a pretty lousy contractor for it.
DeleteThis picture shows a much broader view, and you can not only see the earlier arch, which looks somewhat Gothic, you can see a much larger lentil that frames an even earlier opening big enough for a whole pack of camels, maybe even a carton.
The stonework in each opening was done by different hands, as was the large protrusion to the left. That looks like a buttress - Jan, is the door at the side or the end of the church? Buttresses usually make sense only on the side walls.
According to this site the door is from "the Ottoman period (1517-1917) to prevent horses and carts being driven through for the purposes of looting."
Is there a point to this rambling? Yes, things that we associate with the Bible often came later and are usually embellished.
I'm not sure, eco, but this illustration makes it look like the entrance is at the end, by the narthex, which is traditional.
DeleteI am not a biblical scholar and only know I first was taught that story over fifty years ago, but I do have a leather ottoman and that is about as close to my having an empire as it is likely to get.
DeleteWhichever version is true, it looks like when the big day arrives, I'll eventually have to come up with still another copy of "The White Album".
DeleteA great big tasty legume for a door top. Those tricky old guys.
DeleteAs it is with religions I don't know beans about legumes.
DeleteBonus Puzzles:
ReplyDeleteDiscard is car disc ar-mful
Blest able stable sta-llion (fragment)
Ice can dice Candice cand-ybar. I suppose "cand-idly" would be better syntax, but was rather Gorey.
Is can disc and is Candi scan d-angerous? A stretch, but it did repeat iscand 4 times!
HER WASHER WAS HER WASTEBASKET.
ReplyDeleteMy hint: “WHEREAS” = HERWAS (WASHER) + E.
Repeat the same 6 letters 3 times, and finally add "trel".
This yields: HER WASHER WAS HER WASTREL! This is more “sensible” than Will's puzzle.
Man! Her man, Herman, here!?
ReplyDeletePaul,
DeletePlease watch your man hers.
Sarah Bernhardt's bed was a casket.
DeleteHer washer was her wastebasket.
Her stove was a bookshelf;
She designed it her own self.
I'm just kidding; don't blow a gasket!
I hadn't heard the limerick before, but it is true Sarah Bernhardt spent a lot of time coffin.
DeleteI just read that Sarah's bed was a casket.
DeleteWhat did you think we were talking about?
DeleteI fear I'm about to have a coughin' fit.
DeleteCareful you don't blow your casket.
DeleteMy clues - I didn't care too much for this puzzle but appreciated all of the dry sense of humor evidenced above - "care" referred to laundry care; "all" referred to All laundry detergent; "dry" referred to the dryer.
ReplyDeleteIn response to WW, I referred to "spot" (as in a stain).
Actually a pretty clean puzzle.
My bad. I thoughts you had tickets.
ReplyDeleteIt's my fault.
DeleteI first suggested it.
#cheap
I have just uploaded Puzzleria!
ReplyDeleteSeven puzzles this week, including three that rip off Will Shortz's "tebasket" puzzle, for those of you who enjoyed this week's NPR offering. (There is also a pretty good photo of a washer being used as a wastebasket!)
Another one of the seven puzzles is a "name in the news" rebus.
Just go to Blaine's helpful PUZZLE LINKS and click on "Joseph Young's Puzzleria!"
Thank you.
LegoWhoAimsToFillYourTwoDayDownTimeWithPuzzles
My pup and I picked a few days this week to completely unplug near the Sangre de Cristo Mountains. Camping in February with no internet or phone connection was preferable to checking in on this week's puzzle.
ReplyDeleteWe celebrated Groundhog Day at Great Sand Dunes NP. We were the only ones in the entire National Park (except for the ranger). Not a washer or wastebasket in sight. . .
Congrats on getting away; I did the same a few years ago at Death Valley. Will the ranger be there next year? A SW desert trip - Grand Canyon, Monument Valley, Chaco - may be in the offing this year, but probably not until March.
DeleteI downloaded this free program that automatically changes the color on your monitor - more red tones at night, back to bright blue in the morning. Definitely changes color, does make me feel a little less bad when I'm working late.
I really do not see why we need to have national parks. They don't have them in New York City. I hope Trump has the courage to instruct his new secretary of the interior to sell them all off to the highest bidder and then use the money to build a much needed wall on our boarders.
DeleteThanks for the link to the color changing program, eco. I will try it!
DeleteWhat was so delightful was falling asleep to the moon setting about 9 p.m. and rising to the sunrise. It was a tad chilly in Westcliffe but hot springs near the Dunes warmed me up the next day. Maizie used solar for warmth ;-).
I imagine the ranger would be there no matter what; Alternative National Park Service and all. I would volunteer to help keep it open, absolutely.
Hope your trip happens in March!
Chuck, I echo your sentiments about this puzzle. . .
ReplyDeleteSDB - I think Statue of Liberty and Governors Island are national parks in NYC.
ReplyDeleteSDB is right; there are no National Parks in NY. The Statue of Liberty (shared with NJ) and Governors Island, along with Castle Clinton, African Burial Ground, Stonewall (yes, THAT Stonewall), and Fort Stanwix (?) are National Monuments.
DeleteBesides that, I don't think anyone visits the Statue of Liberty anymore, do they? I don't see why they would when they can visit the Trump Tower.
DeleteNext week's challenge:
ReplyDeleteName a prominent figure in a fairy tale. Write this in all capital letters. Add a stroke to one letter and rearrange the result. You'll name another prominent figure in a fairy tale. What two fairy tale figures are these?
I have a personal connection to one of the stories, which I mentioned here previously.
Delete"Over 300" entries last week.
ReplyDeleteAbey baby
ReplyDeleteHmmm. I have an answer that doesn't require rearrangement. I wonder if that disqualifies it.
ReplyDelete