I got caught up on "entertainer". That's not the first word I'd used to describe this person. Anyway, back to getting dressed for Easter.Q: A spoonerism is when you change the initial consonant sounds of two words in a phrase to get a new phrase. For example, "Tames Jailer" is a spoonerism of the singer James Taylor. "Spark Mitts" is a spoonerism of the swimmer Mark Spitz. The name of what famous entertainer — first and last names — has a two-word spoonerism meaning "A runny variety of cheese"?
Edit: My pants are a little loose, so I made sure to wear a black belt.
A: BRUCE LEE --> LOOSE BRIE
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.
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ReplyDeleteSorry. I didn't think that could possibly be the answer.
DeleteI get no kick from champagne...
ReplyDeleteClue: Budweiser. ---Rob
ReplyDeleteSee my post at the end of last week's blog.
DeleteSolved this one - quickly and easily (before Ron's now-removed post).
ReplyDeleteI think Blaine would be justified in removing the link to the NPR Sunday Puzzle page this week.
ReplyDeleteExcellent observation, jan. I'll wager NPR may well perform an edit ere long.
DeleteThis puzzle is somewhat reminiscent of a puzzle I composed and posted on Puzzleria! that involved a pilot whose first and last names bore the same initial.
Lego(WhoLastWeekLinkedToHisJimmyDoolittlePuzzle)Apparently(See"TransitiveVerb"Definition5:)PunchesPilotsOnPuzzleria!
Cannot understand why NPR made such an error. Must have a new intern.
DeleteAre you saying it's time for that intern to turn in?
DeleteEggxactly!!!!!!!!!
DeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
DeleteOr, perhaps the answer most of us are assuming is Will's intended answer is not Will's intended answer after all. (Recall the inverted digital clock puzzle and the TWO WS puzzle!)
DeleteJim, in his post: (Sun Apr 16, 07:21:00 PM PDT)
says he has two plausible answers. I have but one. Perhaps I ought to keep seeking.
LegoPostingOnTheDayCheesesRolledBackTheStoneAndBeganRunningWithThis"ResurrectionThing"
Interested to see other answers. Always wondered if more than one acceptable how intern selects answer. Always seems like the preferred answer wins. I will ask about that when I get chosen thursday.
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DeleteThis puzzle is no Gouda - IMO.
ReplyDeleteDoes it make you feel bleu that Munster Shortz didn't employ his usual Kraft? Are you saying he doesn't know Jack?
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DeleteTo clear or not to clear. . .
DeleteI think he means it's whey hard. It's making me feel aged and Emmental.
DeleteHuh? Wanna rennet by me again?
DeleteI think it stinks that we cut the cheese jokes.
DeleteWell, jan, you sure managed to clear the room with that retort. What a Muenster!
DeleteIt was a feta complet.
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DeleteFungi you should say that, I was just about to make that Käse.
DeleteYour a real Boursin, and you totally bleu it. Cutting useless cheddar is a kefir your success.
DeleteOf course I should have written "You're a real..."
DeleteDon't think for a minute you got my goat. And you know where you can Chèvre that!
DeleteIn the meantime, Morbier! said the privates.
DeleteI Camembert any more of these cheese puns. Edam it all anyway! I may be going out on a Limburger here, but it Stilton stinks to me! Just idle cheddar! Excuse me for being a havarti pooper, but these jokes just seem subparmesan! Ricotta do something about it! We've created a Muenster! Colby crazy, but it's a fact, Monterey Jack! You should Jarlsberg ashamed of yourselves! I'd hate to Swiss places with any of you right now! Mozzarelluva time for puns, if you ask me!
DeleteBelieve it or nacho jokes are pretty funny though!
DeleteShould've got Tina feta write some of these! She's such a Gouda-two-shoes!
DeleteWhew! The wind driving back from Crystal Bridges in Bentonville, AR, across Kansas was quite something. Often one trucker would drive right next to another double-loaded truck to keep the wind at bay for the other trucker.
ReplyDeleteHappy Easter, Happy Passover, and/or Happy Spring!
Didn't Saddam Husein have Kurds in his way?
ReplyDeleteThe answer just struck me and I should have got it quicker due to the Seattle connection.
ReplyDeleteThanks, SDB. That led me to an answer that fits with many of the posts and especially with Ron’s (non-deleted) comment!
DeleteI do not think of the person in question as an "entertainer". That title seems too weak.
ReplyDeleteOne transposition away from a wedding photographer.
DeleteIf you change the first letter of the entertainer's last name to the preceding letter, the full name phonetically is something I am currently enjoying. And it fits with an earlier clue as well.
ReplyDeleteCute! But shouldn't you be looking for your eggs?
DeleteNot for me. My eggs were mixed into my matzoh brei earlier today.
DeleteYou're yolking, of course?
DeleteNot eggsactly....and with a clue of course.
DeleteThings were moving so slowly that even the runny cheese was walky.
ReplyDeleteIn Milwalky?
DeleteLegoWhoIsAlwaysStaggeryInMilwalky
Perhaps a cousin of a spoonerism
DeleteJane Fondue?
ReplyDeleteJohn Belushi?
Funny; I was thinking this reminded me of a Jane Fonda role.
DeleteYep.
DeleteJohn Belushi played a "killer bee" on SNL. killer bee is a CRUEL BEE. Just another BEER CLUE.
DeleteRiddle:
Why is Bree Daniels like a rustic cabin?
I give up. Why is Bree Daniels like a rustic cabin?
DeleteDoesn't come with a john.
DeleteFound the clip
DeleteNote to SuperZee from last week - Santa Fe (the City Different - unlike any other) is not located along Route 66 as you suggested last week. It's about 50 miles north of the mother road.
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
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DeleteLet's see if third time is really a charm:
DeleteTom, the path of Route 66 varied over time. The original route, laid out in 1926, went thru Santa Fe. In 1937/38, the route was realigned, partially to eliminate a 7200 foot mountain pass and partially as an act of political revenge. The realignment sent it thru Albuquerque. There are maps and travel guides that show the pre and post 1938 alignments.
Some of the history - and the reason for the realignment - is given here http://www.theroadwanderer.net/66NMex/santafe.htm
I am going to cry into my warm beer -said Norm Lear.
ReplyDeleteBoars Head (cheese)becomes Whore's Bed, please.
ReplyDeleteI thought I posted that Spoonerism, I came up with while shopping at the supermarket, several years ago here, but it did not come up in a search.
DeleteSomething is amiss with the search function, it seems to only look in the original post description, not all the rants and raves.
DeleteTry a search on, say, "Trump", and you'll get no results. A search for "Shortz" will have some results, but only in the original puzzle or Blaine's first posting.
I noticed that also re search function.
DeleteNot sure what program Blaine uses, but on the "Blogger" program I use for Puzzleria! the search engine also seems to be oblivious to words or phrases that appear in the "comments section," where I post my "official answers" every Wednesday. This makes it difficult for me to dredge up past puzzles, most of which I remember from their answers, not their presentations (which would be searchable because they appear in the "blog text").
DeleteFor example, when I linked to my Jimmy Doolittle puzzle on Blaine's Blog last week I could not remember when I posted it on my blog. My search for "Jimmy Doolittle" yielded no results, of course, because he was the answer to my puzzle and therefore could not appear in the (searchable) puzzle text. So I had to try to recall words or phrases I used in that text.
LegoWhoDoesNotHaveTotalRecall(ExceptForTheTimeChryslerRecalledTheSearchEngineOnHis1977PhymouthHorizon!)
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ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
DeleteI just removed it, for what it's worth!
DeleteNow SDB needs to remove his post, which suffers the same flaws.
DeleteSorry about that!
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DeleteIf you Google the name and the spoonerism, there are lots of hits. This is a well-known joke, it seems. ---Rob
ReplyDeleteIndeed. I found one posting which answered the question, What's the difference between this entertainer and this cheese, with another spoonerism, saying one's good at a particular skill, and the other goes well with a particular beverage.
DeleteLots of celebrities spoonerize well: Norman Mailer, the Mormon Nailer, Jude Law, with a lewd jaw, and many others...
DeleteGoogling it has proven more revealing to me than I had expected. No wonder Ophira Eisenberg was on there today. According to a WFAE transcript, "Ask Me Another"(hosted by Ms. Eisenberg)actually once had a spoonerism game in which the answer to this week's puzzle was in fact an answer in the game. Coincidence?!
ReplyDeleteThanks, Cranberry. Googling it with this information got me to answer.
DeleteAbsolutely right. I can't believe that the blog administrator hasn't removed his post. Googling his clue leads directly to the answer. But thank you, I would never have gotten the answer otherwise. It' too stupid sounding.
DeleteI agree, 11thplace on both counts. The answer is pretty silly, and this clue leads directly to the answer.
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ReplyDeleteSo now I have two plausible answers!
ReplyDeleteCan anyone tell me, does Whole Foods carry Swiss Cheese, donuts, Cheerios and Lifesavers? Not to mention pitted olives.
ReplyDelete...and bagels?
DeleteLet's Passover the bagels.
DeleteOy
Delete"Give me the ringer - chop, chop." -- W.S.
ReplyDeleteLacey Grey (cheese)
ReplyDeleteGracie Lai (obscure actress)
Obviously not the right answer, but it does work.
DeleteConsidering how common the name is, and it's variant spellings, I shouldn't be surprised it took me a while--but I don't know how I'd have explained missing it to my mother.
ReplyDeleteOne of the former worst five WS puzzles ever just got promoted.
ReplyDeleteI think that convention requires something like "runny cheese, perhaps," instead of "a runny variety of cheese."
ReplyDeleteYou are quite right. The wording is misleading.
DeletePerhaps, but if you happen to have a runny nose you might not be aware of the stink this controversy is causing.
Delete's not!
DeleteNow now, let's not come to blows.
DeleteSolving this puzzle is nothing to sneeze at.
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ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteThat's great!
ReplyDeleteWith apologies to Wings, this puzzle has given me the earbug
ReplyDeleteCheese on the run, cheese on the run
And the jailer man and sailor Sam
Were searching every one
For the cheese on the run
Cheese on the run
Cheese on the run
Cheese on the run
I don't care how f---- runny it is!
ReplyDelete♪♪Georgia On My Mind ♪♪
ReplyDeleteI have an answer but it is kind of goofy. Racking my brain for another solution, I found myself getting a headache. At that point, my answer seemed to take a darker turn.
ReplyDeleteI've been watching Fox News all afternoon. Can anyone, please, tell me what the employment status of Bill O'Reilly is?
ReplyDeleteLegoWhoIsHopingSomeOfYouMayBeWatchingMSNBCOrCNN
NPR is reporting him fired.
DeleteI heard he was feeling out other opportunities.
Deleteeco,
DeleteI think that may be false since he has no real feelings.
Aren't his attempts at feelings towards women what got him in trouble?
DeleteIt depends on how he felt.
DeleteAmazing how little this was covered on the "fair and balanced" network!
DeleteI've noticed that if you go to Wikipedia's "List of Cheeses" page, then hit <CTRL-F> and search for the answer-cheese, you get only one match, and that's not an entry, but the word is used in the description another entry!
ReplyDeleteEverybody have fun tonight! Everybody wing chun tonight!
ReplyDeleteExpert timing.
DeleteBruce Lee > LOOSE BRIE
ReplyDeleteMy Hint:
"The answer just struck me and I should have got it quicker due to the Seattle connection."
Struck me is hinting at Bruce Lee striking blows. Also, both he and his son, Brandon Lee, are buried in Lakeview Cemetery here in Seattle. Their graves are side by side and visited by many tourists. I think this puzzle should also be laid to rest.
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DeleteI used to work out with free weights and other stuff where he also worked out.
DeleteInteresting! I was in ballet class with his wife.
DeleteThat's just tu tu much! Did the two of you have a tight relationship? Anyway, I imagine it kept you on your toes.
DeleteWhat's your point?
DeleteI just didn't want you to ah pirouette.
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DeleteA real trouper.
DeleteBRUCE LEE, LOOSE BRIE
ReplyDelete> Bud.
A BEER CLUE, which is an anagram of BRUCE LEE.
> One transposition away from a wedding photographer.
That would be a MARITAL ARTIST.
> Funny; I was thinking this reminded me of a Jane Fonda role.
In Klute, she played a LOOSE [woman named] BREE.
> I found one posting which answered the question, What's the difference between this entertainer and this cheese, with another spoonerism, saying one's good at a particular skill, and the other goes well with a particular beverage.
TAI CHI, CHAI TEA.
The entertainer (?) is Bruce Lee ; the runny cheese is a Loose Brie .
ReplyDeleteRegarding my comment about name variants and my mother not forgiving me if I hadn’t solved this puzzle, Mom’s maiden name was Miriam Leigh.
I wrote, "Clue: Budweiser." I thought "Clue: beer" would be too obvious; it anagrams to the entertainer's name. ---Rob
ReplyDelete1. Loose Brie, Bruce Lee
ReplyDelete2. Whey ricotta, Ray Liotta
I just got the call (again!) from NPR. I'll be playing tomorrow with Will and Lulu and Stephen Dubner. Anyone got a good question for Will?
ReplyDeleteTerrific, Jan! This will be fun to hear.
DeleteCongratulations!
DeleteCongratulations Jan. Wow, a celebrity.
DeleteCongrats Jan, at least we now know the (stupid) answer is Bruce Lee.
DeleteI'd never heard the term loose brie, and as noted above it doesn't appear in Wiki, nor on cheese.com, or basically anywhere else except as some comedy act.
My question would be: "Aren't Sodoku and KenKen really dull?" But I probably offend folks here with that.
Eco: Right on all counts!!
DeleteGood for you, jan. Look forward to hearing you again on-air!
DeleteA puzzle:
Name a journalist and best-selling author whose first name is in a James Joyce title and whose last name is the title of another Joyce book, but with three consecutive interior letters and last letter deleted.
Hint (if you need it): This jouralist/author may soon be "helping" a two-time lapel pin winner.
LegoSuggestsjanAskThePuzzlemasterIfHeSolvedMyShortzCircuitedSlice:WhatWord“Will”FillInTheBlank?
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DeleteCongratulations, Jan! My question is... how many times per year do they send out the "puzzle books and games?" Still waiting since October... Margaret G.
DeleteOoh, I think they're usually much faster than that, Margaret. I would suggest calling them, but if you'd like, I'll bring it up tomorrow and embarrass them on air.
Deletejan,
DeleteI vote for your plan B, but I don't think you will. :-)
No, I decided to be diplomatic. The taping went OK, I guess. There was a brief delay while we listened to Will washing his dishes and Dubner's assistant tracked him down. Lynn Neary fills in for Lulu this week. Dubner was clever and helpful. The new challenge is a 2-week creative one involving pop song titles, which Will will judge himself.
Deletejan,
DeleteThanks for the update. Looking forward to hearing it come Sunday.
Thanks for posting what will be upcoming, but I HATE these two week cretin challenges.
Now, what I want to know is, while Will was washing his dishes, were you dissing his washing?
Dubner said he's been called a shining wit.
DeleteFunny! But that is an old Spoonerism, as you most likely already know. Was his comment having to do with the upcoming challenge, and is it to be a Spoonerism?
DeleteNo more spoonerisms for a couple of weeks, at least.
DeleteApparently, this is my weekend to learn early about pinch-hitters at NPR. My wife's cousin is a Facebook friend of national security correspondent Mary Louise Kelly, who posted that she's subbing for Scott Simon tomorrow. (She's planning to bribe Weekend Edition producers with homemade peanut butter bars. They look good. Probably a better approach than threatening to make them Mama Stamberg's cranberry-horseradish-onion relish.)
DeleteJan, I didn't really expect you to ask him - it's not really his department anyway. I did wonder if anyone else here who won the puzzle post-October had gotten anything yet (other than the lapel pin, which I *did* get! :)). I think there were at least 2-3 others besides me... Violin Teddy and ?? --MG
DeleteJust saw your question. Yes, I received a crossword book and the Scrabble game and I think two other books, but I don't know where I put them (so I could check the titles.) The first time I was on (back in Sept. 2012) the prizes did NOT come, so I contacted NPR and they got on the ball and sent them along.
DeleteAsk him how much we pay him for this gig and if he thinks he earned it with this puzzle.
ReplyDeleteAs Blaine pointed out at the first, Lee was not an entertainer by any usual definition. This was either misleading or worse.
"Loose brie" is not a variety of cheese.
Two very weak halves of a very weak effort.
DREW BREES >>> BREW DREES*
ReplyDeleteAll the driving in winds discussion about Arkansas ("South Wind") and Kansas ("Wind") in my post pointed to a big BREEZE.
*{Drees = Endures}
Congrats, jan! As to a question for Will, I'd like to more about the word "metagrobology."
This puzzle was a groaner and a gimme. I'm sure you all noticed the word "brie" in the title in the WESUN website.
ReplyDeleteAs for "entertainer", agree that Bruce Lee is not an entertainer. However, Will uses that word often to describe various entertainment personalities. I don't think anything would be lost if the word "entertainer" was replaced with "actor", "singer", "musician", etc. All of those are still very broad categories.
There is that well-known variety of runny cheese: LOOSE BRIE which Spoonerizes to BRUCE LEE.
ReplyDelete“Easy Brie-zy” is a bit of a giveaway.
Check out: “Cheese by texture: runny.”
I would have associated Bruce Lee with JOHNNIE WALKER Whiskey, not Budweiser. I know, it's Brie Bella.
If you change the L in Bruce Lee to a K, you have, phonetically, BREWSKI.
Jan, I'd ask Will to tell listeners how many total entries (not just correct entries) are received each week.
ReplyDeleteI always remember Bruce Lee for not getting the lead role in the TV show "Kung Fu".
ReplyDeleteMy clues included -
ReplyDeletesolved quick-Lee and easi-Lee
Reference to matzoh brei which anagrams to Brie
And reference to phonetic "brewsky" like Ron mentioned above.
Good luck Jan!!! (Question- how exactly/logistically is the random winner chosen?)
I thought all the beer hints were referring to BIER being the spelling of beer in German and it is an anagram of BRIE.
ReplyDeleteDid Blaine misspell wear on purpose?
ReplyDeleteI considered posting about that too. Like asking wear he wore it.
DeleteOr the question asked by Fox viewers this week.
DeleteOops! I've fixed it.
DeleteWare have all the flours gone? (The Pillsbury song)
DeleteHe's a real no-wear man by the Beat-alls.
DeleteEco..great reference!
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DeleteBRUCE LEE, LOOSE BRIE
ReplyDeleteYea PJ - you told most of that to us on Sunday with your clue.
DeleteBruce Lee/Loose Brie
DeleteDumb, and badly worded puzzle. Stroke of luck I even figured it out. Wing Chun is martial art that Bruce Lee trained in.
jan,
ReplyDeleteYou didn't tell us what you were wearing so we will be able to recognize your voice.
Did you give a shout out to Blainesville?
ReplyDeleteNext challenge (will happen in two weeks): It's a two-week creative challenge because we'll be having a special guest next week. The object is to mashup the titles of past No. 1 hits on the Billboard 100 pop chart to tell a story. For example: "I Shot The Sheriff" "The Night the Lights Went Out In Georgia." "The Morning After" "I'll Be There" "Leaving On A Jet Plane."
ReplyDeleteWikipedia has a list of the Billboard No. 1 singles from the Hot 100 era, 1958 to present, which you can use. Your story can include up to seven song titles. Entries will be judged on cleverness, naturalness of reading, memorablness of the songs and overall elegance. You can send up to three entries and the best one, based on Will's opinion, will play the puzzle on the air in two weeks.
The Wikipedia list that Will mentioned is actually spread over 60 separate web pages. I've compiled a sorted list of the 1039 titles, which I'll post once the new blog page is up.
ReplyDelete