Sunday, January 07, 2018

NPR Sunday Puzzle (Jan 7, 2018): Take the Wheel

NPR Sunday Puzzle (Jan 7, 2018): Take the Wheel:
Q: Take the first and last names of a journalist well-known to NPR listeners. Remove the first letter of the last name. The remaining letters can be rearranged to spell two modes of transport. And here's a hint: The modes of transport have the same number of wheels. Who is the journalist, and what are the modes of transport?
The NPR puzzle most often involves names, lists or anagrams, so why not start the year with a puzzle involving all 3?

Edit: If you had 3 wheels and you took 1 away...
A: COKIE ROBERTS --> BIKE, SCOOTER

211 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
  2. The journalist's spouse is also a journalist.

    ReplyDelete
  3. A musical clue: Cab Calloway.

    ReplyDelete
  4. I hope this journalist didn't receive his/her name from Merriam Webster.

    ReplyDelete
  5. I have found my NPR name while researching this.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. ANSWER: Cokie Roberts..Scooter.. Bike. But did I get it wrong? Is LOL a transport clue? Does LOL stand for the League of Locomotive and Rail Workers? Is one of the modes of transport 'train'?

      Delete
  6. This is the second NPR Sunday Puzzle in a month for Neville Fogarty, a math professor and crossword constructor whose Twitter handle and anagram is "flyingelevator".

    ReplyDelete
  7. Many years ago, this person came to St. Louis to make a presentation and give a short talk on the state of the world and politics in general. Immediately afterwards I walked hurriedly up to the podium and was the first to introduce myself and shake hands. Not a clue, but true.

    ReplyDelete
  8. Not a bad puzzle, I was able to solve this one without too much trouble!
    I am happy that the outside temperature is above 32 degrees today. It's the first time in over two weeks that it's been above freezing, not to mention being out of the (-) temps!

    ReplyDelete
  9. I'm screwed. I'm going back to bed. I also wasn't too crazy about Neville Fogarty's past challenge.

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

    ReplyDelete
  11. After several years of making a point to never offer hints or clues, I posted two inadvertently the last two weeks.
    As an act of contrition I will forego working on this week's challenge. Thanks, Blaine, for the suggestion.

    ReplyDelete
  12. A product of two products of rain, I hear.

    ReplyDelete
  13. Replies
    1. ANSWER: Jounalist...Cokie Roberts.
      You mean the voice? My friend loves her voice, while I prefer Scott Simon or Susan Stamberg.

      Delete
    2. I think Jim was referring to the Coqui.

      No one's voice (or name) beats Ofeibea Quist-Arcton.

      Delete
  14. I now have the letters in proper order.

    ReplyDelete
  15. Neville Fogarty should never have broken up Creedence Clearwater Revival. Now he's doing this.

    ReplyDelete
  16. I only listen to Ask Me Another, Wait Wait Don't Tell Me, and Says You. Naturally, I had to look up NPR journalists. I also had to look up modes of transportation, seeing if the letters in some of them might have come up frequently. This was all to no avail. Connecting the two, plus trying to figure out which modes have less than four wheels, proved to be impossible. Sure, I know unicycles, bicycles, motorcycles, and tricycles have less than four, but this too does not help. This is Neville Fogarty's second challenge accepted by Will Shortz. Forgive the sour grapes from the previous challenge submitter, but I am not a fan of his work. Patrick Berry submits ideas that are much easier to figure out. Neville Fogarty does not. Simple as that. Those of you who claim to have solved this one fast obviously listen to NPR more frequently than I do. Bully for you. I don't really care anymore. I have better things to do, like read the newspaper, or watch the Golden Globes this evening with everyone dressed in black like someone had died. Or listen to Timewarp with Bill St. James, a radio program that is NOT on NPR. Sorry to disappoint you all. I do try to have fun doing these puzzles, you know, it just seems tougher than usual some weeks. Even when you find lists that might help, you're more often disappointed than delighted. I started this year with a good challenge of my own. Again, thanks Will. But Mr. Fogarty is not one of my favorites at this time. And I don't really care what anyone thinks of me after reading this post. I've had my ups and downs with Blaine's Blog from the very beginning. Maybe it's me, maybe I'll try again later. But right now I don't see an answer coming from this one. I do hope to change my mind about this week's challenge, but some weeks I just get more out of Puzzleria! than this. Some Sunday mornings it just takes waking up to go to the bathroom, checking the Sunday Puzzle, looking up what I think will provide the answer or an indirect route to the answer, and failing, to realize I probably won't figure it out later either. If I do find an answer between now and Thursday, so be it. It's not the end of the world if I don't. We'll just see what happens. More than likely, I'll see you all Thursday.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Someone please tell me he is trolling.

      Delete
    2. I am not "trolling", as you so quaintly put it. I have merely hit a dead end in my quest to solve this week's impossible challenge. I've simply explained my problem. Surely, SDB, you understand. You're no stranger to commenting here when you're displeased with the material provided. You certainly don't hold the trademark on doing so. I'm just not having a good time with this one, that's all. It happens to everybody.

      Delete
    3. trolling: make a deliberately offensive or provocative online post with the aim of upsetting someone or eliciting an angry response from them.

      I'd suggest cranberry isn't trolling, more like venting, which is better than erupting.

      I'm ignoring. I almost never listen to NPR's (aka the Clinton/ DNC network) primary programming; I prefer listening to Pacifica (until the Empire strikes back and takes them off the air). The small local NPR station has some good programs, but NPR national? Almost never.

      Besides, members of the Society To Repudiate Anagram Puzzles (please give, we're strapped) has grown weary of this type of puzzle.

      Delete
    4. eco and ignorers all: "a journalist well-known to NPR listeners." >>> A careful interpretation of this phrase will help you solve this puzzle, should you care to do so.

      Delete
    5. You aren't hinting at I. F. Stone are you?

      Delete
    6. Anagrams are like three-legged horses: They might survive, but it is not much fun to ride them.
      Anagrams that start by dropping a letter or letters are like a two-legged horse.
      This particular bipedal equine didn't provide the penance I wanted for hinting because I solved it without trying to.
      Viva STRAP!!

      Delete
  17. Cranberry: thank you for your post. This puzzle was too tedious for me. I applaud those who are gifted and solved so easily. Cobgratulations! At least i won 7 dollars on lottery stuff this week.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Natasha - You did pretty good! In fact, a lot better than the luck I usually have. I even asked the cashier for two "winning" Mega Million tickets. He must not have heard me correctly because he only gave me one correct number on each ticket!
      I very seldom get any numbers right when doing the Powerball.

      Delete
    2. 68 charger:I hardly ever play.
      Just decided to give it a try.
      Funny cashier did not hear you for winning numbers.

      Delete
    3. Natasha - I'm sure he heard me, he probably gets a lot of requests like that! Some cashiers have fun with it while to some it's just another sale.
      I was not going to play this week on either one, but somebody across town won 7 million on, I think, the Mega Millions. I thought "if you don't play, you can't win". Oh well... I don't play that often.

      Delete
    4. 68charger; yes i am sure he heard your request. I had same philosophy about winning..have to play to win.

      Delete
  18. Replies
    1. ...with information vegetable, animal, and mineral?

      Delete
    2. jan:
      Thank you for that. I always thought a "stable genius" was the kid who did a lot of shoveling where the horses were kept at the racetrack without soiling himself.

      Delete
    3. A ruler who surrounds himself with sycophants . . .will inevitably wind up naked in public.
      Donald Trump tweets for attention.

      Delete
    4. "Even the president of the United States must sometimes have to stand naked." Bob Dylan

      Delete
    5. It may be time for another look:

      https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/naked-donald-trump-statues-pop-cities-across-u-s-n633901

      Delete
    6. SDB - Pretty funny!!
      I just wish voters would have paid more attention to the artist's intent.
      When will Trump's teflon coating wear off??

      Delete
    7. IMO, Trump is another Teflon Don.

      Delete
  19. I wonder if the journalist started out doing the weather, and reporting on ice falling in the marshes.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I hope it wasn't too helpful; being too helpful would spoil the fun.

      Delete
    2. Marshes led to the Bayou State and with Jan's hint, after I realized it was not Roman numerals, I got it.

      Delete
    3. Interesting, because that’s not what I was referring to. Ice falling in the marshes was intended as a play on hail bogs -Hale Boggs, Cokie’s father.

      Delete
  20. Replies
    1. There are many hints above, Unknown.

      No need to overthink it. That's my hint.

      One more: CD.

      Delete
    2. Take the first and last names of a journalist well-known to NPR listeners. Replace the first letter of the first name with a duplicate of the last letter of the last name. These letters can be rearranged to spell, in two words, what this journalist did while on the job. Who is this journalist, and what did the journalist do?
      Hint: The journalist in the NPR puzzle and the journalist in my rip-off puzzle are the same journalist.

      Also, ensconced away somewhere deep in the musty recesses of the Puzzleria! archives is a puzzle with an answer that is related to the answer to this week's NPR puzzle.

      LegoAddsThatThePuzzleria!ArchivesPuzzleAnswerIsRelated(Literally)ToThisWeek'sNPRPuzzleAnswer

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

    ReplyDelete
  22. Replies
    1. I originally tried to post comment on 01-07-2018 but the 'comment as' drop down menu did not work.
      What a puzzle that was. Finally, 24 hours later, I realized it must have something to do with switching my browser default from google chrome to ie 11. I found a back way into Chrome (w/o making it my default again) to comment here and it worked.

      Delete
    2. ANSWER: COKIE ROBERTS
      SKOOTER
      BIKE
      The sweet treat clue: cookie.

      Delete
  23. A totally fahr-out rad rad. The raddest rad by fahr.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. ANSWER FOR ANOTHER MODE OF TRANSPORT: BIKE.
      The clue refers to German for bike: Fahrrad.

      Delete
  24. The Crimson Tide did better against Georgia than I am against this puzzle. I still have nothing, but Bama won 26-23! And Bama's coach, Nick Saban, just tied with late Bama Coach Bear Bryant with six championship victories! ROLL TIDE!!!!!!!!!!!

    ReplyDelete
  25. Excellent clue left above Ron. I won't say which one - but I liked it.

    ReplyDelete
  26. Sweated this one out -- needed a cold drink afterward. But this puzzle has got me high on life.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. This comment has been removed by the author.

      Delete
    2. Was your drink a Pepsi or the other one?

      Delete
    3. ANSWER: COKIE ROBERTS.
      If the drink was not a Pepsi, was it a Coke?

      Delete
  27. I came up with an answer, but it doesn't fulfill the wheels criterion. I feel like a fool...

    ReplyDelete
  28. Do canoes and skis have the same number of wheels?
    I'm not working on this of course, but I sort of wondered.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yes, as do rowboats, rafts, and kayaks.

      Delete
    2. Don't forget Santa and his sleigh. Aladdin had a flying carpet as I recall. My neighbor uses her broom.

      Delete
  29. Toto's dog catcher used one in her line of work.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. ANSWER FOR ONE OF THE MODES OF TRANSPORT: BIKE.
      Ms. Gultch rode a bicycle in Kansas/Oz.

      Delete
  30. I have Muppet clues.
    Journalist Muppet clues first and last name.
    Monster;............Ernie.......;.
    Transport Muppet clues both types.
    1st: Orangey gofer gopher.
    2nd: Kermit was filmed transporting on one of these by
    himself. Another time he was filmed cavorting
    with his friends on these while singing (allegedly)
    a most lovely yet stirring and hopeful song.

    ReplyDelete
  31. Thank you very much, SNP. You're my new best friend on this blog. This journalist's name NEVER came up when I referenced NPR journalists. NEVER.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. You are probably too young. Those of us from the” post-card days” have memories of this journalist and her/his NPR contributions. I personally still hear in my mind’s ear, the sweet, yet steady and wise, voice of Susan Stamberg as NPR Puzzle host back in those days.
      When the description “…well-known to NPR listeners.” was used, the journalist’s name was there without the use of lists. Charles, from this Blog, nicely clued the name very early on. His profile shows ’retired’. Then Chuck, from this Blog, although he states he is not giving a clue, starts his comment with: “Many years ago,…”. 68Charger says he solved the puzzle but I don’t find a clue, although 1968 was years ago.
      Blaine’s hint possibly is understood by the word “not”. What do you think? Trying to solve this Puzzle from the transportation mode side first, especially with lists, as you and others have realized, is fruitless.

      Delete
    2. snp, in case you missed Blaine's directives to us:

      "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."

      Most of us here craft oblique clues to meet Blaine's directives.

      Thanks.

      Delete
    3. ANSWER: COKIE ROBERTS, SCOOTER, BIKE.
      Cokie Roberts wrote the book FOUNDING MOTHERS one of whom she named as Dolly Madison.

      Delete
  32. Thank you SNP for the great clues. That journalist's name was not on the lists I looked at. I had thought of this journalist but did not recognize the second mode of transport until I insisted it had to be there due to your clever hints. Merci beaucoup!

    ReplyDelete
  33. If you remive the last ketter from tbe first name and the first letter from the last name, you will have modes of transport from another journalist.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Spelling corrections...remove, letter.

      Delete
    2. I'm not getting anywhere yet. Have you tried Legolambda's take from Jan 08?

      Delete
  34. I don’t think we’re dealing with a fake book. I think we elected a fake President.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. The journalist in question in this Puzzle,"Take The Wheel" would likely agree.

      Delete
  35. Blaine, your review of clues is kindly requested.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I have tried to think of subtle clues for this puzzle but can't think of one that doesn't give it away. I am definitely not perfect as far giving out TMI but I think it's best to just not give any hints until this week's deadline. I had some interesting tries but it is just not worth breaking the rules.

      Delete
    2. ANSWER: COKIE ROBERTS, SCOOTER, BIKE.
      Cokie Roberts is the author of the book FOUNDING MOTHERS, in which she deems Dolly Madison to have been a Founding Mother.

      Delete
    3. my clue above, 'Not James Madison' refers to the husband of Dolley Madison. He is a founding father while she is a founding mother as per Cokie Roberts.

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

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

      Delete
  36. Blogger is acting up again and some posts are not getting posted.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I posted a clue 'Daisy True', at about this time,
      as reference to one of the transport answers: Bike. As in ..."built for two."
      But the post just disappeared, 'not removed by...', but just all out disappeared.
      Which, by the way is another clue for the NPR journalist answer, Cokie Roberts.
      Disappeared..OR B&B Disappeared...OR Disappeared in/over Alaska.

      Delete
  37. I've been listening to the puzzle for years with my mom, and now I've started doing them myself. I've found the hints you all give to be incredibly helpful, however I've wanted to do the older puzzles and whenever I go look at it, I end up seeing the answer. Any ideas for what I could do instead?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. LaserOil: I suggest is to go to the NPR Sunday Puzzle site and look at the older puzzles there. The answers are not posted until the following week so you will not see the answers on the original day it is posted.

      Delete
    2. Laser: I just looked at the NPR Sunday Puzzle site and saw that you can click on archive at the upper right to see the older puzzles.

      Delete
  38. Eleventh-hour hint that likely will not help anybody because the clock is quickly ticking deadlineward:
    Take the first and last names of a journalist well-known to NPR listeners. Remove the middle letter of the first name. The remaining letters can be rearranged to spell a hypenated word for a space station designed by a contributor well-known to Blainsvillians. And here’s a hint: The letters immediately preceding and succeeding the hyphen are the same letter. What is the hyphenated name for the space station designed by the contributor familiar to Blainvillians?
    What is this hyphenated space station name?

    (The journalist in this riff-off puzzle is the same journalist in Will Shortz's puzzle this week.)

    LegoRunningHis"SpaceStationPuzzle"UpBlaine'sFlagpoleAsTimeIsRunningOut

    ReplyDelete
    Replies

    1. COKIE ROBERTS >>> BIKE, SCOOTER

      "LOL" refers to "Ladies of Liberty," a book by Cokie Roberts.

      "FM radio" refers to "Founding Mothers," another book by Ms. Roberts.

      And CD, is a reference to "Capital Dames," another Cokie book. Our book group read this book this summer.

      I removed my "wood" clue pointing to wood dust >>> briquet >>> sobriquet >>> Cokie's nickname thinking it might point too directly to fuel and coke {I needn't have worried.} See also new thumbnail.

      Delete
    2. "Founding Mothers," including many tales of Dolley Madison, was excellent.

      Delete
  39. COKIE ROBERTS > BIKE & SCOOTER

    My HInt:
    "I now have the letters in proper order." As in Roberts Rules of Order.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I figured there would be no wheels involved and was looking for ROCKET letters. That worked, but not the remaining letters, but then I saw the answer.

      Not at all one of my favorite journalists. I happen to depend on Social Security and Medicare.

      Delete
  40. Journalist Cokie Roberts; modes of transport Bike and Scooter.

    My question about whether the journalist ever reported on, “Ice falling in the marshes,” was a play on the name of Cokie’s father, Congressman Hale Boggs.

    ReplyDelete
  41. Cokie Roberts, bike scooter

    Last Sunday I wrote, “Many years ago, this person came to St. Louis to make a presentation and give a short talk on the state of the world and politics in general. Immediately afterwards I walked hurriedly up to the podium and was the first to introduce myself and shake hands. Not a clue, but true.” Well, actually there is an itty bity clue in there. When I said the events happened “many years ago,” your best bet would be to look for an NPR old-timer, someone like Cokie Roberts.

    ReplyDelete
  42. COKIE ROBERTS -> BIKE, SCOOTER

    > MMCMC

    Her given name is Mary Martha Corinne Morrison Claiborne.

    > Menudo is a boy band, si?

    Here's their song, Coqui.

    > A product of two products of rain, I hear.

    Hail Bogs, er, Hale Boggs was her father.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. jan, your MMCMC clue was a delicious diversion into Roman Numerals for a bit. Even an online calculator recognized it as legit, though, of course, it's not. Wicked elegant clue.

      Delete
  43. I wrote, "A musical clue: Cab Calloway." This points to the lyrics of his "Minnie the Moocher," in which poor Minnie "...messed around with a bloke named Smokey / She loved him though he was cokie." It's the only instance of the use of the word that I know, although it is in the OED.

    ReplyDelete
  44. COKIE ROBERTS (-R) (née MMCMC Boggs)→ BIKE + SCOOTER (Each with 2 wheels)

    There are over 700 NPR employees, not all of them “journalists” of course. Click HERE for the list of NPR employees; Cokie Roberts is on the list as a “commentator.”

    Lego's rip-off puzzle: SOKIE ROBERTS → BROKE STORIES.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Lego's second rip-off: Eco-orbiters?

      Delete
    2. That is correct, ron. You are very good at solving my puzzles, here and at Puzzleria!
      Speaking of P!, the related Puzzleria! puzzle ensconced away somewhere deep in the musty recesses of the Puzzleria! archives is this "Celestial Slice: Tragic tales of two flights."

      LegoNotesThatLindy'sSpouseAlasWasNotSoLucky

      Delete
  45. I came up with the incorrect answer of

    IRA GLASS --> RAIL, ASS

    Hence my remark about feeling like a fool...

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I did COKIE ROBERTS but I would be prouder to have done RAIL ASS.

      Delete
  46. I also had Ira Glass, rail and ass. If piggyback rides count as transportation and Terry Crews and Ross Perot provide them, I suppose Terry Gross kind of works without scrambling the letters.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Neal like the Verb,
      Your (and Philly Cinephile's) Rail/Ass answer is clever. It seems to meet the puzzle's criteria, except perhaps for the "same number of wheels" part. An ass has no wheels, but if your mode of transport is via rail, it follows that you are in a train... which has wheels galore (although a wedding dress train has no wheels, and perhaps after the bride sashays down the aisle she hops up upon the altar rail and makes like a funambulist!). Similarly, if your mode of transort is by road, you might be on foot but you are more likely in/on a wheeled vehicle.
      Like skydiveboy, I initially suspected a wheelless answer. And COKIE OBERTS does indeed yield both ROCKET and SKI, but breaks the puzzle's other rules, alas.

      LegoThusLamentsThatKirkCotesAndRickTokesAreNotNPRJournalists

      Delete
  47. My clue never posted, I now see. But it was a painful pun on SCALLOPS, known in France as COQUILLE St. Jacques.

    - Other Ben

    ReplyDelete
  48. It will be interesting to see how many correct entries for this week. I was trying to use Vespa somewhere in a clue, maybe splitting it up between successive words, but it just wouldn't work.
    When I think of scooter I think of the movie "American Graffiti" or "Roman Holiday" but they'd be too much of a give away.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I explain my scooter clue,'gopher and gofer', in the reply section to my clue 01-08...6:01p, above.

      Delete
    2. I don't think you would give anything away with movie references. Just use clues that describe a character or actor or scene in some less obvious way.

      Delete
    3. I wanted to post a clue from the movie "Breaking Away" to reference the mode transport answer Bike. But never could come up anything.

      Delete
  49. I also gave quick attention to UNICYCLE paired with ONEWHEEL, those new one wheel scooters that also go by other names, but it was clear without checking that it would not work.

    Interesting note though: I knew Ben Linder, who was murdered by the Contras April 28, 1987, San José de Bocay, Nicaragua, while working as an American engineer on a dam project. It was major news as he was working for our government. What is not generally known is that he rode his custom made tall unicycle from Canada to Mexico.

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ben_Linder

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. SDB - Good article! Pretty messed up time in our history, not that things are that much better now, though.

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

    ReplyDelete
  51. Replies
    1. You've been counting?? What a monumental project!

      Delete
  52. COKIE ROBERTS, BIKE and SCOOTER
    Again, my thanks to slo no poke for the Muppet clues. I knew BIKE had to be in there somewhere, and I never had to look up the references. I knew Kermit rode a bike in "The Muppet Movie". I guess Elmo has a scooter. Cokie Roberts must have only recently joined NPR. The list I kept going back to didn't include her name at all. It wasn't until I'd read SNP's Muppet post on Tuesday that her name popped into my head, as well as SCOOTER once I'd isolated the letters of BIKE. So then I looked up COKIE ROBERTS NPR. Sure enough, there she was! My apologies to anyone who thought I was "trolling", or "venting", or whatever. Of course, it goes without saying that you're not always going to solve it the Sunday you hear it(though I know a lot of you say you have, right SDB?), but I figured I was way in over my head when I saw the long list of NPR journalists, editors, etc. That was Sunday morning. That afternoon it didn't get any better, so I "vented", you could say. While I really enjoy doing these puzzles, sometimes it can get depressing when you've been checking certain references and not finding the answer, and you're just not getting anywhere. Also, my apologies to Neville Fogarty. I'm sure he is a very gifted puzzlemaker, but I never solved YELLOW PAGES/YELP, and when I saw he submitted another one, I felt like I must solve this one. And then I realized, much as Natasha did(thanks for the kind words, BTW)just how tedious it was getting this time out. I realize it looks very bad for the guy submitting one puzzle one week to not support the guy submitting next week's, and for that I most sincerely apologize. Whatever the degree of difficulty that week's challenge may possess, it is still a good one, and you just have to accept that you may have to try harder sometimes. I'm sort of a perfectionist about this kind of thing, as well as a few other things we may take for granted(you should see me try to get the pillows just right when I make the bed!), but I do try to have fun with it just like everyone else on the blog. I guess sometimes I make it harder than it has to be, and I should be lucky I've been chosen once to play on the air, and three ideas of mine have been used as challenges. For that I shall forever be grateful to Dr. Shortz. No matter what any of us might think of his individual puzzles on any given week, we must respect his wisdom. If my path and Will's never cross again, I'll still be happy I had my chance. Lego, I'm ready for Puzzleria!'s Riff-Off puzzles based on this one. See you tomorrow.

    ReplyDelete
  53. Violin Teddy:

    Yesterday your post here to me did not stick. However, I enjoyed reading it in my email. Thank you. I assume it was in reference to my ...broom... post???

    Your post:

    ViolinTeddy has left a new comment on the post "NPR Sunday Puzzle (Jan 7, 2018): Take the Wheel":

    Laughing self sick over that last sentence you just sorta dropped in there, sdb....

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Posting this a SECOND time, since as you indicated re my one from yesterday, it had NOT 'stuck' once I refreshed the page (which i forgot to try doing yesterday.) BOy, is this annoying! [But at least I thought to COPY this time, what I wrote, so as to be able to put in on again.
      **********
      Yes, indeed, SDB, what I wrote yesterday WAS relative to your broom sentence. If your neighbor only knew!!....

      Gee, I hope THIS post 'sticks'. I will double check by refreshing the page after it has APPEARED to go on.

      Delete
  54. Okay, it's time now for a joke. I just now came up with this and you get to hear it first:

    What is the difference between a new White House staff employee in the Trump administration and a celebrity chef at his New York restaurant?











    One tries to curry favor, and the other tries to flavor curry.

    ReplyDelete
  55. One curries favor, the other curry flavors.
    Oh well; sorry.

    Wisdom?

    ReplyDelete
  56. As clued above, Webster defines A cokie as a cocaine addict.

    ReplyDelete
  57. TO WORD WOMAN:
    Your comment LOL Sun Jan 07, 9:44p.

    MY ANSWER: Cokie Roberts..Scooter..Bike. BUT did I get it wrong? Is LOL a mode of transport clue? Does LOL stand for League of Locomotive and Rail Workers? Is one of the modes of transport 'train'?

    ReplyDelete
  58. I received a call from a number beginning 914506xxxx (I won't put the whole thing in here) at about 20 minutes after closing time for the puzzle today....but when I answered, nobody spoke, so I hung up. COUld this have been THE NUMBER from NPR? (I don't remember what number showed up my other two times, on my landline.) If it was, then I'm frustrated that something went wrong.

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    1. Area code 914 is the telephone area code for Westchester County, New York. 914 was among the original area codes, which were announced in October 1947. It originally was assigned to most of the continental portion of the New York metropolitan area (excluding New York City itself, which was assigned 212.)

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    2. When I've gotten The Call, it's been from a 202 number. But I think it was an NPR staffer's cell phone, so I don't think you could rule out a call from another exchange.

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  59. Speaking of witches. There will be a Blue Moon this month. It has been more than a year since the last one. There will be no Full Moon this February, but March will have a Blue Moon.

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    1. I had never even heard of Blue Moons until the last couple of years. And I ALWAYS forget to go out and look at them when they do occur. Time for your neighbor to do some extra spell-casting perchance???

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    2. VT: Typically a "blue moon" is not worth noting more than any other full moon - it is a full moon that happens to occur twice within a month, or the 4th full moon that occurs within a 3 month season (e.g. winter). Since these time periods are entirely human artifice, this coincidence is merely a coincidence, nothing spectacular.

      But the January 31st blue moon, which is also a super moon (DJT: "A lot of people tell me I have the best moons ever") does offer the spectacle of a lunar eclipse, when the earth passes between the sun and the moon and, in places with a full eclipse, makes the moon appear blood red. Totality this time will mostly be visible in the western US. Lunar eclipses aren't especially rare, like a full solar eclipse, but do require getting up in the cold night. This site has a good map for what's happening where.

      As I recall you live in Massachusetts? You only get a partial eclipse, and only for a few minutes around 6:50 am before the moon sets (you have to be able to see a western horizon). It's still pretty cool, it looks like the moon has a bite taken out of it (a photo I took of one way back in college won a prize).

      If we choose to get up at 5 am, West Coasters, SDB and I get a very long viewing of the full blood moon, a cool site but not as spectacular as a solar eclipse. But no special glasses required.

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    3. eco:
      Well there you go again. All that long post on our moon, yet you fail to even mention the effects on the production of Roquefort cheese.

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    4. SDB: I was hoping you would elaborate.

      I'm too busy watching Stormy Daniels videos (EDITOR"S NOTE: he is making that up).

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    5. eco:
      Thanks for the link; I hadn't even heard about it yet. I guess I am just too busy writing checks in order to keep all my sexual indiscretions from being exposed.

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    6. I just received an email re: this new turn of events. I am shocked! (Well not really)

      Do you suppose the confidentially agreement will also prevent her from commenting on his, uh, er, hands?

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    7. I think it would be hilarious (and really, really, really gross) if Larry Flynt offered to pay the non-disclosure fee for the Stormy Story. And even funnier of DJT tried to sue.

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    8. Delicious idea! It has me salivating already.

      Are you as shocked as I am that anyone would be shocked at what DJT said yesterday?

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    9. Funny you mention it; first thing my office mate said this morning was that she was shocked at what he said. I averred we should all be past shocked at anything that happens with this one.

      Disgusted, embarrassed, horrified, etc., sure. Shocked no more. Even a P-P-President video wouldn't shock me at this point, though I might have to gouge out my eyes.

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    10. I was about to reply that the video would be an eyeful, but upon reflection I am not so sure about that.

      SEE NO EVIL; HEAR NO EVIL; SPEAK NO EVIL; TWEET NO EVIL

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    11. My daughter in Ethiopia is mortified but, no, she is not shocked.

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    12. Replying to Eco: thanks for the nice explanation....I don't live in Mass, rather in Oregon, so I gather if I get up at 5 (or stay up, which I frequently do, sigh), I can go out and see this on Jan. 31?

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    13. VT: That sounds right. https://www.timeanddate.com/eclipse/map/2018-january-31# can pinpoint the times for you - you can zoom in for greater accuracy. Of course if you're in Eugene you can count on rain...

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    14. eco:
      re: ELECT NO EVIL
      Isn't it a little late to close that barn door?

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    15. It's also a little late on the SEE, HEAR, SPEAK, and especially TWEET, too.

      WW: Zoe chose a terrific word in mortify, let's hope we don't end up as part of its birther movement!

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    16. eco, the birth of a deather movement perhaps. . .The PIE of -dhe is fascinating.

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    17. WW: You really should explain or link to the -dhe, as I suck at searching for roots, and I'm not sure what I've found is fruitful.

      Meanwhile, one of my favorite character names.

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    18. Here you go.

      Speaking of names, I cannot imagine naming my kid Mortimer or dead sea, but whatever floats your boat (and it would float well in the Dead Sea.).

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    19. Okay, that's what I found here. Sorry you have to scroll down to find it. But then I thought about "dhē(i)-", hence my responses.

      With due acknowledgement to William S. Burroughs, Laurie Anderson had it right, again.

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    20. I am partial to Aimée Thanatogenos.

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    21. Re: Language is a virus--those Laurie Anderson lyrics spread like so many mouth/tongue/lingua (franca-ly) viruses.

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  60. Congrats to all the solvers this week, I never thought of Cokie Roberts as the "journalist." I spent the week disappointing clients and their deadlines.

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    1. Eco, glad to hear from you and you are OK. I know you are further north but I was worried you might have somehow had trouble from the mudslides.
      I like your HAL 9000 icon. I thought maybe it was a reference to "Daisy Bell - A Bicycle Built For Two".

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    2. Thanks 68C, no need to worry, I live on a pretty flat site and 300 miles away from the mudslides. But we do get earthquakes.

      The Hal icon was from the "Yelp" puzzle last month, and continuing efforts to confuse SDB.

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    3. SDB not need help being confused.

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    4. eco, does your "journalist" mean you don't think much of Ms. Roberts as a journalist?

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    5. I always thought of her as a pundit. But I don't listen to NPR national programming very much.

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    6. According to NPR, she is listed as a "commentator."

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    7. ron: I believe she is from Louisiana. In the Southern states sweet potatoes are the common tater.

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  61. Jack Speer -> JACKPEER -> Jeep, K-Car, both have 4 wheels, right?

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    1. Excellent! I stopped checking the list of NPR people after I got to Cokie. Will should mention your discovery (and maybe my suggestion of Quil Lawrence -> crawl, equine, two modes of transport that involve going on all fours, and zero wheels apiece).

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    2. Sherric and jan,
      Great alternative answers. Both work well, IMUO.

      LegoAdmits:Let'sFaceIt...I'mNotHumble!

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    3. Jack Peer was the answer to my alternate puzzle I posted a few days ago. Glad others came up with it too. I did not know about k-car. Thus, I revised the puzzle.

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  62. https://www.reddit.com/r/PoliticalHumor/.../the_new_yorker_trumpworld_map/

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    1. https://www.reddit.com/r/PoliticalHumor/comments/7pyul0/the_new_yorker_trumpworld_map/
      is the actual site. Not a bad start but it needs some work.

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    2. This comment has been removed by the author.

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    3. Thanks, eco. When I tried my link it worked, but not now. Me not know why.

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    4. SDB: The link worked for me. DT must have hacked your computer.

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  63. Am I the only person here who is having to hit the send button many times in order for my posts to actually post? Is it just me? Is it bad parenting? Russian conspiracy?

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    1. I've noticed that after I click the "Publish" button it is very sluggish, and takes much longer to actually post. I haven't hit it multiple times.

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    2. I too have noticed this. I believe the delay is happening at Puzzleria! also. I blame Blogger.

      LegoWhoOnSecondThoughtBlamesTheNetNeutralityRepeal

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    3. Last night I tried 3-4 times to post something & the posts would not stay more than a minute or so.

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    4. Sluggish to post for me also. need to count to 10.

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    5. sometimes. See my reply to SDB comment of January 10, 11:28 also.

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  64. I like that Peter Sagal on Wait Wait Don't Tell Me today brought Robert Siegel out of retirement so he could file one last report and finally say "shithole" on the air.

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    1. Jan: I liked that also. Too bad about the subject matter though.

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  65. RE: LOL
    RE: more ideas for Word Woman comment: LOL, 01-07,9:44p.
    LOL: Leg of Lamb? mode of transport? Grocery cart?
    LOL: Lorries of London? mode of transport? Truck?
    LOL: Limericks of Limerick? journalist? Does a certain journalist practice Limerick journalism from Limerick?
    My Point is that LOL does not lead to the NPR Puzzle answer
    which consists of three elements; 1. Journalist First AND last names; 2. One mode of transport; 3. Another mode of transport. Both modes have the same number of wheels. If the Blogger only knows 1/3 of the answer, ie.; NPR Journalist, then this does not follow Blaine's reminder to post clues showing that you know the answer. Additional/subsequent clues need to be posted showing that the Blogger knows the whole Puzzle answer not just a bit.

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    1. I posted at noon Thursday the meaning of my clues. Read those.

      "My Point is that LOL does not lead to the NPR Puzzle answer." Yup, that is correct.

      I hinted to knowing the answer but did not give away the answer, unlike a myriad of your clues.

      "Additional/subsequent clues need to be posted showing that the Blogger knows the whole Puzzle answer not just a bit." Any other bloggers have thoughts about this?

      Today is my 5th anniversary here at Blaine's (Thanks, Blainesvilleans for a fun ride!). I believe I have the hang of hinting here. . .

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  66. This comment has been removed by the author.

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  67. TO 68CHARGER:
    How did you get from HAL 9000 icon to 'Daisy Bell' icon? Marvelous. I wish you had done a Puzzle mode of transport clue along these lines. We needed transport clues. Even 'The Elite Oblique' such as WW and Jan could not come up with Puzzle modes of transport clues.

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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.