I'd say the first word describes the complete works of this author, not just most.Q: Name a well-known U.S. city with two words in its name. The second word sounds like the last name of a famous 20th-century writer. The first word is something found in virtually every work of this author. What is the city, and who is the author?
Edit: corpus (n.) 1 : the body of a human or animal especially when dead. 2 : all the writings or works especially the complete works of an author.
A: CORPUS CHRISTI --> Agatha CHRISTIE and CORPUS
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.
There's a connection to the on-air puzzle, also JFK.
ReplyDeleteIt all depends on what "sounds like" allows. For example, does PASSOS (John Dos) "sound like" PASO in EL PASO??? An "L" is certainly found in "virtually all his works."
ReplyDeleteVirtually Incorrectly used to mean “nearly all”; eg: “Virtually all the chocolates were eaten.” “Virtually” is useful for an imprecise description that is more or less right, close enough, as good as. “He’s virtually the manager.” He does not have the title, but he manages the business.
DeleteLOL! I figured out that one, and it's the best I have come up with so far. I wonder if it is close enough that Blaine will have to scrub your message?
ReplyDeleteThis one is close to home.
ReplyDeleteMy hint: Chuck has been a blogger since May 2011
DeleteVariety is the spice of, oh wait. . .
ReplyDeleteStill pondering whether I should buy the 50th anniversary remastered version of Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band, and thinking one of the Beatles' other album comes closer to applying to this puzzle.
ReplyDeleteBlaine is right but perhaps too revelatory.
ReplyDeleteIt makes one wonder what goes on in Willy's mind.
2700 for last week's "popular" quiz. Portends ill.
MJ – I found Blaine’s clue to be clever and elegant but not revelatory.
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DeleteLet's face it, Blainesvillians: Our fearless leader is the least clueless Blainesvilian ever. Blaine's clues are consistenly clever, subtle and smart... and they never seem to need to be "removed by a blog administator!"
Deleteron (and Rob),
Technically, "El Paso/John Dos Passos" is IMO an acceptable and clever alternative answer (unless the bulk of Dos Passos' oeuvre somehow consists of "ipograms"!).
Paso "sounds like" Passos by any reasonable interpretation of that 2-word term. "Sounds like" is a pretty low bar. But "homophone" is a higher bar. If Will would have instead gone with "The second word is a homphone of the last name of a famous 20th-century writer," then "El Paso/Dos Passos" would have been close, but no cigar. Given Will's present wording, however, I would say you both still have a shot at that lapel-pinny cigar! (You'll have a better shot, of course, if you submit Will's intended (non-El Paso) answer, an option I suspect you both likely already possess.
Will's intended answer, if I am correct, does involve a homophone. It is a clever puzzle, but one I predict will garner more than 1,000 correct entries for the third conscutive week.
I don't want to boast ("Hey, why is my nose growing?"), but his morning's on-air "Pi/P" puzzle is one I would have crushed! I am a Dickens aficionado (see this week's Puzzleria!), so even "Pickwick Papers" was a gimme. When I was a kid I had a newspaper route delivering the St. Paul "Pioneer Press." My blog is based on the concept of a "Pizza Parlor." As the puzzle continued, I was awaiting the chance to pounce upon Will's clue "Oft quoted Robert Browning poem about God being in His heaven." It never came.
LegoWhoAddsThatPaulOsborn'sWonderfulPlay"MorningsAtSeven"DrawsOnALineFrom"PippaPasses"
Clever, elegant, subtle and smart, as may be.
Delete"Here's my standard reminder... don't post the answer or any hints that could lead directly to the answer."
He did.
I'm sure everything Susan Orlean has ever written includes the word "new" somewhere. (She's a staff writer for The New Yorker, after all.)
ReplyDeleteAnd, if only Bossypants were a Christmas story, we could use Santa Fe yet again!
DeleteAnd if H.G. Wells had injected Indians into all his stories, we could use Indian Wells, CA.
DeleteBefore I solved it, I kept thinking it must be Long Beach.
ReplyDeleteToo bad Elmer Gantry was only a charlatan preacher.
ReplyDeleteIf this puzzle's got you turned around, try a magical incantation.
ReplyDeleteSuch as Avada Kedavra?
DeleteI don't fool around with the Dark Arts. But, there's something about Harry Potter's beginnings....
Deletejan, Did Harry end up in a potter's field?
DeleteA four mile walk this morning and a puzzle solved. Think I'll go bowling.
ReplyDeleteOh, finally I got a better answer than El Paso. If I could find a hint half as good as Blaine's, I'd post it.
ReplyDeleteHere's what I think of this puzzle:
ReplyDeleteImagine my two hands. What are found on my two hands? Right, five fingers each. And five is an odd number. If five is an odd number, where is the third finger? Right, in the middle. Now picture me holding up both middle fingers. That is what I think of this puzzle.
Well, my 10 minutes or less solving streak has ended. I cannot come up with anything for this one. I have been stuck on Long Beach, Des Moines, and Battle Creek for hours.
ReplyDeleteAha! I solved it. Just when I thought the mystery was too baffling.
DeleteI've hit on an possible alternative answer (that is not El Paso/John Dos Passos). It does, however, rely on a bit of non-English-language trickery.
ReplyDeleteThe writer in my solution is a male; the city is in a southern state.
I'll reveal what it is on Thursday unless no one else posts that they have come up with it, in which case I will use it as a Puzzleria! Shortz-Riff-Rip-Off on Friday.
But I am pretty sure at least a few Blainesvillians will have also hit on this "bilingual solution" which, although not Will's intended answer, may be an acceptable alternative.
Incidentally, I aplogize for my part in continuing us down this puzzle path with frequent stops at two-word cities: Coral Gables (moral, fables), Santa Fe (manta ray, my contribution), Sea ttle (Sea turtle - ur) and, finally, today's double-worded city.
LegoNotes:AsAWiseWomanOnceWrote"VarietyIsTheSpiceOfLifeButAllThisRepetitionIsLikeRubbingSaltFromTheMinesIntoOurWearyWounds!"
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DeleteWait, you've got a possible alternative answer that relies on a bit of non-English-language trickery?
DeleteThe answer I submitted relies on a bit of non-English-language trickery, as in the city's 1st word is NOT an English-language word.
So you believe that Will's intended answer has the city's 1st word being an ordinary English-language word?
However, the writer in my answer is female!
Your point is well taken, Jim. The answer you submitted is what I believe to be Will's intended answer (which also seems to be the consensus here).
DeleteMy alternative answer's city consists of two English words. The "non-English-language trickery" comes into play when trying to tie the first word in to the works of the author.
My trickery involves a non-English language that is still very much alive.
LegoC'estLaVieD'unPuzzler
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ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteSorry, Shyra, that's too much of a giveaway.
DeleteI agree with jan, Shyra. Please remove your post. Thank you.
DeleteLegoWhoDoesn'tBelieveWillWants5,000CorrectEntriesMextWeek!
A dead giveaway¡
DeleteHOW is that too much of a giveaway?!
ReplyDeleteThere's this thing called Google....
DeleteA consultant is a person who borrows your watch, tells you what time it is, pockets the watch, and sends you a bill for it.
DeleteC.L.
ReplyDeleteNow I have it! Thanks, I needed that!
ReplyDeleteI'm no Rhodes scholar, but I think I have the answer.
ReplyDeleteRhodes > Colossus > Callosum
DeleteIt's just the way my little gray cells put things together.
My gray cells went to the more immediate 1936 story "Triangle at Rhodes". Also a pleasant David Suchet version, with terrific scenery on the island.
DeleteIsn't it funny how coincidence pops up. The author was quoted in the paper today.
ReplyDeleteThe statement of the puzzle is its own spoiler.
I went with the Saint Louis route encouraged by the omen that the Celebrity Cipher in the newspaper published on Monday a quote of C.S.Lewis that began with "Isn't it funny how".
DeleteIsn’t it funny how day by day nothing changes, but when you look back, everything is different… – Prince Caspian
This puzzle got me disoriented rather quickly.
ReplyDeleteMurder on the Orient (disoriented) express (rather quickly)
DeleteIt's interesting that an overseas edition of one of this author's works has a title that most Americans would consider blatantly offensive. The U.S. edition had a completely different title.
ReplyDeleteChange one letter in the author's first name to an letter adjoining on a standard keyboard, rearrange and you get what people should be when they hear the word.
DeleteThat's no bull! Sounds like no more be said.
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DeleteOriginally published in 1939 in the UK and 1941 in the US?
DeleteAGHAST!
DeleteI know someone who shares the writer's last name and who has quite a (insert first name of city).
ReplyDeleteLOL! I live in that state.
DeleteSnipper, we were all thinking it.
Delete"I live in the state of joy!" -- What an old boyfriend used to say; now I realize that can be a cover for not really knowing where you are ;-).
We're working on doing something about it.
DeleteThe first word is found many times in a famous work by different 20th-century writer with the same last name.
ReplyDeleteElmer Gantry by Sinclair Lewis.
DeleteI've heard of spirits that fly around this place.
ReplyDeleteOn Sunday I had to get up early and take a pretty long drive alone to help a buddy move to a new apartment, and I couldn't listen to the puzzle broadcast at 8:30 on the radio . After some heavy lifting and dragging stuff, and the return drive, I was really zonked ( I'm 74 years old, and I get tired now really fast, which never used to happen, as well as I think I'm getting demented ! )...I managed to stay awake until the puzzle was up on my NPR station around noon, (listening to the On Air quiz is my favorite 6 min. of the week ! ) It really seemed impossibly difficult and I think I fell fast asleep at the kitchen table !! I woke up about an hour later with a sore neck , but I instantly got the answer ! ( I usually have to really work a few days at solving the hard puzzles ! )...Moral for other Senior Citizens : GET PLENTY OF REST ! ( I forgot to mention that I had a big sandwich, too !!!!...that always helps. )
ReplyDeleteA long trip, alone,...lifted, carried heavy stuff...ZONKED...fell fast "asleep"...awoke...sore body...instantly got "the answer"...MORAL of the story...Big Meal before the Sleep...Who am I ( in the bible)...?.......well, I guess the story could have been more accurate in the details, but I felt it was essentially a paralell to the life of Christ.
DeleteIsn't Reality Winner a wonderful name? Made for a Sunday Puzzle, I'd say, so it's appropriate that she worked in the Puzzle Palace, and ran afoul of a certain Fake News Loser.
ReplyDeleteMy first thought was a horse's name, like the sad story of D. J. Trump. This Winner sounds like she comes from good breeding, and I hope she wins in the Presidential Stakes. End of analogy.
DeleteCertainly a good candidate for WS's names in the news end of year puzzle.
I thought, given the age of Ms. Winner, that maybe her parents were fans of the Survivor type of reality TV show. I've never watched any of those shows, so I looked up Reality Television on Wikipedia. The modern sense of competition reality shows dates back to the Swedish show Expedition Robinson in 1997, remade in the U.S. in 2000 as Survivor. So, my theory is wrong. The Wikipedia page on Reality Television has a good timeline of reality TV shows dating back to the '40s.
DeleteThere might have been a better time of year for this puzzle.
ReplyDeleteI contend there are at least two good answers. The alternative author is known by the average reader.
ReplyDeleteA male and a female author. It's not clear to me whom Will intends as the answer. I guess we'll find out on Sunday.
DeleteCorpus Christi & Agatha Christie
DeleteSaint Louis, C.S. Lewis
ReplyDeleteLast Sunday I said, “This one is close to home.” I live in Saint Louis.
Wow. Great alternative answer Chuck. I am kicking myself for not thinking of it. It might even be Will's intended! He'll at least have to mention it on air, IMO.
DeleteLegoShoutsOutKudosToChuck!
Dame Agatha Christie and Corpus Christi, Texas
ReplyDelete"C.L." stands for Corpus Luteum, a temporary endocrine structure involved in ovulation and early pregnancy.
More on Dame Agatha Mary Clarissa Christie, Lady Mallowan. My favorite Christie novel is "The Murder of Roger Ackroyd." How about you?
And I thought C.L. stood for Clive S. Lewis.
DeleteCORPUS cHRISTI, AGATHA CHRISTIE
ReplyDelete> Is this a copy of a previous puzzle?
I thought so, but I can't find the evidence. In any case, copy -> cc -> Corpus Christi.
> If this puzzle's got you turned around, try a magical incantation.
Both the "Hokey-Pokey" and "hocus pocus" are said to derive from the Latin words of Catholic Mass, specifically the sacrament of the Eucharist: Hoc est corpus meum.
> I don't fool around with the Dark Arts. But, there's something about Harry Potter's beginnings...
"HP" are also the initial letters of "Hokey-Pokey" and "hocus pocus".
>> I know someone who shares the writer's last name and who has quite a (insert first name of city).
> We're working on doing something about it.
Tuesday was Primary Election Day in NJ. We're picking Chris Christie's successor.
Corpus Christi
ReplyDeleteAgatha Christie
Fun and challenging puzzle for me this week!
1. SAINT LOUIS>>>C.S. LEWIS. A “saint” can be “found in virtually every work of this author.”
ReplyDelete2.CORPUS CHRISTI>>>AGATHA CHRISTIE. A "corpse" can be found in virtually every work of this author.
Congrats to you, ron (and Chuck, see above). Those are both great answers.
DeleteI think Corpus/Agatha Christi(e) is WS's intended but that he should mention Saint/C.S. Lewis on-air. I sent in my less-elegant alternative that involves a bit of "non-English-language trickery." I did not get the call. I will use it as one of my "Ripping Off Shortz" puzzles on tomorrow morning's Puzzleria!
LegoWillNowGoRead"DeathOnTheNarnia"
CORPUS CHRISTI(Texas), CORPSE, (Agatha)CHRISTIE
ReplyDeleteDeath took no holiday this week.
I initially had cs Lewis and saint louis but then came to Corpus Christi and went with that. But how is a Corpus found in christie's works? The puzzle seeks an identical first word not one that sounds like it.
ReplyDeleteMERRIAM-WEBSTER
DeleteDefinition of corpus
plural corporaplay \ˈkȯr-p(ə-)rə\
1: the body of a human or animal especially when dead
CORPUS = 2. the body of a person or animal, esp. when dead.
DeleteWhat about the corpus the authorities must habeas in order to lawfully detain a suspect?
DeleteAt least a corpus delecti is to be found in each of Christie's novels.
DeleteI have to admit being surprised at two totally acceptable answers.
ReplyDeleteI usually try to find such, but didn't think there was much chance this week.
I have always thought the PM should celebrate them, but more often he gives them grudging mention if any.
How's about the Comey hearings for tedious, toxic TV? Hard to find anyone in that room to like, with every damn one of them smugly agreeing that the rest of us cannot possibly be trusted with the whole truth.
How could Don the Con have found a more suitable, execrable mouthpiece?
I like both answers!
DeleteBTW, DT just seems to be made of Teflon.
The only fly in the Saint/CliveStaples/Louis/Lewis ointment might be that Will Shortz might deem the "Saint/St." in Saint/St. Louis an abbreviation rather than a word.
ReplyDeleteI am unsure about which authority to tap on such matters, but the official St. Louis web site goes with "St."
So does my home city of St. Cloud.
Saint Paul seems to like Saint spelled out. (Did Ayn Rand Paul write any books about libertarian saints?)
This "St./Saint Petersburg Official City Guide" seems a bit more loosey-goosey.
LegoLamentsThatAPerfectlyFineAlternativeAnswerMayBeDoneInByAWhimsicalAssociatedPressStylebookTechnicality!
Once again, 3PM (East Coast time) has found me otherwise occupied. Has I been here, I'd have posted the following:
ReplyDeleteThe city is Corpus Christi; the author is Agatha Christie.
My reference to bowling – or as it is sometimes called, 10 pins - is a reference to the nursery rhyme, Ten Little Indians (in the later, bowdlerized versions) featured in Dame Agatha’s novel And Then There Were None.
Hmmm ... Graham Greene ...
DeleteYes indeedy, Paul. Solving one of my Shortz-Rip-Offs this week ought to be as easy for you as knocking down topheavy tenpins!
DeleteLegoSaysThatPaulShouldAlsoBeAbleDrainALongPuttToHoleOutForAnEagleOnThe"ExtraCreditBonusPoints!!"
Puzzleria! is now uploaded.
ReplyDeleteA dozen freshly baked-up puzzles, including a 2-clock-faces puzzle, an 8-people-faces puzzle and a world-turned-upside-down puzzle.
The "Joseph Young's Puzzleria!" link can be found in Blaine's PUZZLE LINKS in the upper-right margin of this fine Blainesville web page.
Drop by.
LegoPuzzleMonger
Boy, I was way off with my answer: LOS ANGELES/MAYA ANGELOU. I figUred she writes about LOSS, and for lack of another idea, decided ANGELES and ANGELOU sort of sounded alike. Sigh.
ReplyDeleteCreative answer, VT. I believe the "Los/loss" element would pass Will's muster, but the "sound-alikeability" of Angeles and Angelou likely falls a bit short. Alas.
DeleteLegoWhoEnjoys"Who'sOnFirst?"ByColumBudAbbottAndLosAngeLouCostello
Last Sunday I spent a little time counting my losses/ Los-es/ Las-es. Suzanne Vega has written some great pieces, but that struck me as too obscure for WS.
DeleteThanks for the link and "past-blast," eco. I played the heck out of "Solitude Standing" (the album containing this catchy-pop-with-a-message) back when it came out in the late-1980s. Very representative of that era -- jangly guitars, etc. (I am addicted to jangle-pop. Guilty pleasure!)
DeleteLegoWallWatcherAsTheWorld'sGoneWild
Holy 60's Icon, Batman, Adam West is gone!!
ReplyDeleteNext week's challenge: Consider this sentence: Benjamin, the Greenpeace ombudsman in the panorama, was charmed by the chinchilla fragrance. This sentence contains seven words of seven or more letters. They have something very unusual in common. What is it, and can you think of an eighth word with the same property?
ReplyDeleteBlaine, would it be acceptable to post some additional words with the property, without giving away the property?
DeleteIsn't an additional word with the property the second (and harder) part of the puzzle?
DeleteOr do I misunderstand your question?
I hate to also be a stickler or nitpicker, but I feel that finding an additional word is part of the puzzle. Can you perhaps hint at your word(s) without giving explicitly?
DeleteOver 850 correct answers this week. Will did mention the Saint Louis / C. S. Lewis alternate answer.
ReplyDeleteI did not hear her say "correct" answers.
DeleteLulu stated: "This week we got more than 850 responses."
DeleteI can not understand why Lulu does not state the number of correct answers. Not sure what "more than 850 answers means". This is irritating!
DeleteYou could be conned by a quick answer.
ReplyDeleteSo far I have two answers. But it's only 6 am and my brain isn't working correctly.
ReplyDeleteI have two answers among the list of words that are the key to the puzzle itself.
DeleteA very offensive word recently in the news qualifies, but I doubt if we would hear it over the NPR airwaves. I would guess there are at least a handful of other qualifying words.
DeleteLegoWhoDonsHisScarfDuringAChinchilla
Doesn't that word have only 6 letters?
Delete