Edit: I don't usually like having the picture being my clue but I realized when I picked the photo it was already pointing to a sheep.Q: Think of a popular two-word song title in 7 letters. If you have the right one, you can rearrange the letters to name an animal and the sound it makes. What is it? Here's a hint: The title is in a foreign language.
A: LA BAMBA --> LAMB, BAA
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.
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.
I commented on the image below:
DeleteWhen is an educational toy too educational?
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteIt is kind of like Deja vu all over again.
ReplyDeleteHmmmm, tmi all over the place.
ReplyDeleteOh, alright. Didn't think it was that obvious.
Delete...at least not a giveaway.
DeleteBTW, MC, there were a couple of other posts I was referring to from last week and this. . .I can't recall what yours said. Maybe you will tell us Thursday.
DeleteWill post it here Thurs.
DeleteMy clue on Monday was.
DeleteThe name of a band that is well known for covering the song, points to another animal that has a fabled relationship with the animal in the puzzle.
The band is Los Lobos which translates as "The Wolves". Lambs and wolves are subject of a lot of fables and specifically one of Aesop's fables.
A famous cover of the song, and a renewed chart hit, was made by a group whose name has a vowel similarity to the song's title.
ReplyDeleteNice catch, Rob.
DeleteI reiterate my rank.
ReplyDeleteYo no soy marinero
DeleteYo no soy marinero, soy capitan
Soy capitan
Soy capitan
Soy you say, but you have soyed yourself in the process.
DeletePolitical bent to this week's puzzle
ReplyDeleteThe Society To Raze Anagram Puzzles has changed its name, and is now forced to use non-peaceful measures. They are worth the price.
ReplyDeleteIf no one posts hints this week perhaps the "correct entry total" might not exceed 2,000.
ReplyDeleteJosephYoungNotGivingAnyHints
Brilliant, lego!
DeleteWhen are educational toys too educational?
DeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteGoodness gracious!
ReplyDeleteNICE
DeleteTo dance the Bamba, one needs a bit of grace ... especially if there's an elephant in the room ... or a whole army of them.
DeleteQ: What do you get when you cross Alps with elephants?
A: Silenced lambs.
The translation of the title is interesting. NPR once discussed this.
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteYeah, that's a bit TMI.
DeleteK, sorry.
DeleteOn the broadcast it was said that this puzzle was a big hit with 1500 correct answers. No mention that answer was posted.
ReplyDeleteI have the answer. What I don't have is a good clue that isn't a dead giveaway or at least TMI.
ReplyDeleteBut there are two clues above that I think are exceptionally good.
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteChange 1 letter in a Neil Young song.
ReplyDeleteAs I posted early this morning at the end of last week's blog:
ReplyDeleteskydiveboy Sun Mar 18, 05:16:00 AM PDT
Evan easier than last week's.
And now my hint:
While the song title is foreign the song was written in America.
Tricky, tricky, tricky!!!!
DeleteBeware the Ides of March Eve?
DeletePie day, as in American Pie???
DeleteMy clue from last week's post: Ah, chemistry!
ReplyDeleteGiveaways there, giveaways here. . .
You say chemistry, I say interior decorating!
DeleteI get a chill when I hear the song.
eco, you threshed out my clue! I suppose it's curtains for me now. . .
DeleteBut as you'll see in a few minutes, your clue didn't come up short....
DeleteThis puzzle has a kinship with an actor who appears WAY too often in Crossword Puzzles.
ReplyDeleteAgreed. The first name appears once every couple of weeks.
DeleteI thought this puzzle wouldn’t fly until the end...
ReplyDeleteCensus day at sunday puzzle.
ReplyDelete2003
ReplyDeleteA certain type of screwdriver could be used to fix this problem
ReplyDeleteNice!!!! ;~)
DeleteAny chance, ron, that you happen to own a Cadillac? I hope I'm not giving away too much here by saying your Neil Young clue interests me somehow. Or maybe I'm just spinning my wheels.
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
DeleteA Cadillac may be involved, but I do not own one. I will explain Thursday.
DeleteRobin Williams
ReplyDeleteMusical clue not apropos to this easy, repeat puzzle. but to the whole enterprise these last several weeks.
ReplyDeletePatsy Cline: "I Fall to Pieces"
Also, clues are about as blatant as they have ever been.
Another musical clue, the song was covered by a band whose name is the animals that are the natural nemesis of the animal in the puzzle.
DeleteThis puzzle led me to wonder why Will Smith and Kevin Kline have made specific career choices.
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteChange the first two letters of the answer and rearrange all letters to form another, more famous, animal.
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteHere is a puzzle for you folks to play with.
ReplyDeleteLast Friday after I went to bed the International Date Line entered my brain and I thought I understood it, but found I could not explain to myself how it actually functions. I finally figured it all out and am finding it really interesting when you understand how it actually works. I also discovered that few of us understand it, including those who think they are teaching it in our schools.
If you think you understand it then try and answer this question:
If two jets leave New Zealand at the same time heading to London, England (Gmt 0), but one flies west, and the other ones flies east, flying the same amont of time...will they arrive in London on the same day?
Explain your answer/
The times of arrival will be the same.
DeleteAssume the flight time is 24 hours and that both routes cover 12 time zones.
The plane flying West takes 24 hours BUT each time it crosses a time zone it sets its clock back an hour (12 total) so it observes a net change of 24 - 12 or +12 hours (Elapsed time minus TZ adjustments).
The one flying East sets his clock ahead every time it crosses a time zone AND sets it BACK 24 hours when crossing the date line for a net of 24-24 + 12 or +12 hours. (Elapsed time - Date Line + TZ adjustments ).
Both will thus say they arrived 12 hours after the local date/time they departed.
Speaking of the International Date Line, whenever December 7th, Pearl Harbor day, comes around, I always think of the follow up attack on Clark Field in the Philippines that occurred on Dec 8th. Usually it is referred to as an attack carried out the next day around 12:30 pm Manila time, but that is kind of deceptive. Technically, because of the International Date Line, it is the next day, but from what I can tell, it was carried out only about 8-9 hours in real time after the Pearl Harbor attack. The attack on Pearl Harbor occurred around 7:50 am. So, General MacArthur still should have had time to prepare!
DeleteI just think it is kind of interesting figuring how the IDL plays into it.
I thought the International Date Line was, "So, this is the 180° line of longitude. Come here often?"
DeleteAssuming Hawaii reacted by 9am Hawaii time that would put Manila at 3am just 6 time zones behind, or farther to the West. I doubt the military command was thinking all that clearly that soon. Good question.
DeleteAnd the follow up "Yes, this imaginary line gives me plenty of latitude ;-)."
DeleteOr, "Where have you been all my time zones? Any latitude for a little two timing?"
DeleteAnother example of great minds thinking alike.
Delete;-)
DeleteChanges in latitude, changes in attitude, and (why not?) changes in gratitude. . .
"Slam bang, thank you ma'am." I am shocked!
DeleteBuffett's buffet buffeted?
DeleteRegarding the International Date Line, I had an interesting thought about it today.
DeleteEveryone has been told that when one crosses the IDL, either going East or West, he either gains or loses a day. This is not really accurate, but anyway... So earlier today I thought about crossing the IDL on December 31st, and or January 1st. Do you gain or lose a year? If you think about this logically you should begin to better understand how the DTL actually works, assuming you are not very clear on how it works already. Calm down, Jane Fonda, you are doing just fine already.
My favorite time-line was when The Leaning Tower of Pisa said to Big Ben, “If you’ve got the time, I’ve got the inclination.”
DeleteSuperZee:
DeleteYou have answered the question, but not in the manner that will satisfy the guy who originally posted it 7 years ago when he still could not understand how the IDL functions after watching an excellent video graphic on YouTube.
What he is asking is, what happened to the day one plane either lost or gained? In order to explain this you must make it clear that there cannot be two full calendar days at one time. There are only 24 time zones, not 48. Therefor it is a give and take situation where one day has some of the time zones and the other day has some as well. It changes every hour with the last hour of the IDL time zone being where the entire Earth is on the same calendar day. What most people do not consider and realize is that there must be two international date lines for this to work. One, the one we all think of, is fixed. The other IDL is wherever midnight is. This may be easier to understand if you consider New Year's Eve when we notice New Zealand reaching it basically first and then how it keeps moving Westward until it reaches whatever time zone we occupy at that moment.
Sie liebt dich, yeah, yeah, yeah. Maybe not. My bad.
ReplyDeleteRemove the last letter of the song title, and you can anagram the remaining letters into the name of someone who talked to animals.
ReplyDeleteCorrection: Remove the last letter of the ANIMAL...
DeleteOr, change one letter in the song title and rearrange to get the name of a musical group.
DeleteCartoons of the week. SMILE or CRY.
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteThere are so many movies with animals in the titles. And, one named with this particular animal happens to be a favorite of mine (although my wife won't watch it). We both love an older horror movie, though, with a variation on the animal's nemesis in the title. I'd love to say that horror movie is The Birds or Arachnophobia, but, I can't.
ReplyDeleteMovie Clue- Revenge of the Nerds
ReplyDeleteDan, you are an amazing and beautiful man. I hope to one day be half as incredible as you. I look no further for my puzzling needs.
DeleteI think the Austin, Texas police department might want to look into Haig Donabedian of Toledo, Ohio as a person of interest (POI).
ReplyDeleteI see what you did there.
DeleteWell, please don't tell.
DeleteIt is being reported that Trump phoned Putin and congratulated him on winning reelection. This makes about as much sense as phoning Queen Elizabeth and congratulating her on waking up this morning.
ReplyDeleteMusical clue: Bruce Springsteen's drummer
ReplyDeleteSo Mark Anthony Conditt was the Austin, Texas serial killer. Big MAC bombs.
ReplyDeleteKind of a curious name for a Muslim, isn't it?
DeleteHis mother posted to facebook in 2013 "I officially graduated Mark from High School on Friday," the post reads. "1 down, 3 to go. He has 30 hrs of college credit too, but he's thinking of taking some time to figure out what he wants to do....maybe a mission trip."
So he was home-schooled, and can we read a strong religious background? Both are big in freedom-loving Texas....
I thought there were Austin City Limits.
DeleteIn a state like Texas, where it is still legal to purchase trip wire without a permit, is it any wonder they was a string of bombings?
ReplyDeleteEl Greco. I offered this clue previously.
ReplyDeleteI recall way back about 45 years ago when there was a letter bomb terror campaign in England and one postal employee was so frightened by the possibility of his handling one that would explode he took his own life.
ReplyDeleteThat's one way to stamp out your problems.
DeleteWere his last words "Oh Lord, won't you deliver me?"
I guess he wanted to get it over with post haste.
Deleteeco: If you have a disposable email address, and are interested, I will email you my true grenade story. Or you might deduce mine if you ever read a certain book by Jonathan Swift.
SDB:
DeleteIs this part of the long anticipated "At Ease" over which you've been teasing us?
Are you going to present your story on 60 Minutes?
Does it begin, "It was a dark and stormy night?
Or "It was a Trump and Stormy night?"
I've not been Swift for many years, so you could send it to ecoarchitect at yahoo.com, it's not a disposable address, but it's one I use for disposables. You're in luck, I cleaned it out last week for the first time since May.
eco:
DeleteSomething like that. It begins:
"It was rather dark outside now that the Sun had dropped below the horizon over the Pacific Ocean, which meant that it was somewhat difficult for any of us to see just what was happening during the terrible storm that was also ensuing and disrupting our nocturnal slumber."
Message: La Bamba > Lamb & Baa
ReplyDeleteMy Hints:
"While the song title is foreign the song was written in America." Mexico is America too.
"I think the Austin, Texas police department might want to look into Haig Donabedian of Toledo, Ohio as a person of interest (POI)." He submitted this puzzle for WS to use. In my opinion it bombed as it was used before.
LAMB, BAA >>> LA BAMBA
ReplyDelete"Ah, chemistry!" refers to La Bamba subject, Ritchie Valens, which is similar to the word "valence" used when discussing atoms (or curtains as eco correctly guessed).
"2003" was a year of the sheep or LAMB.
Mort Canard, my reference to tmi was to Blaine's illustration pointing to the sheep/LAMB (the same illustration from this same NPR puzzle in 2014) as well as Snipper pointing out a member of this community, LegoLAMBda. {Lego then showed up as Joseph Young, the wolf in sheep's clothing? ;-)}
I still wonder why Will doesn't do a quick search of the NPR puzzle site to see he has already used a puzzle. If he's too busy, I'd do it.
Ok, I thought it was directed at me as it came right on the heels of my clue. My clue is explained above.
DeleteYes, MC, your clue was fine. Sorry for the confusion.
DeleteIt's hard to know where to put the tmi these days.
LA BAMBA by Richie Valens → LAMB + BAA.
ReplyDeleteThis puzzle is a REPEAT from August 10, 2014. Click HERE.
Blaine used the same “educational toy” picture on THAT OCCASION, saying: “The hint is the arrow in the picture...”
My hint: Change 1 letter in a Neil Young song: ALABAMA. Change an A to a B, then rearrange to yield: LA BAMBA/LAMB + BAA. I figured Cranberry, being from Alabama, would pick up on this hint... There is a Cadillac in the lyrics.
I previously offered the hint: EL GRECO: It's the Greek L, L Greco, Λ, LAMBDUH!
Song: La Bamba; Animal/Sound: Lamb/Baa.
ReplyDeleteConsidering how easy the puzzle was, I decided to post a circuitous clue. Richie Valens, who sang La Bamba died, along with Buddy Holly and J. P. Richardson (aka the Big Bopper), in an airplane crash on February 3, 1959.
Don McLean's hit, American Pie, is about his reaction to that event as a 13 year old kid with a paper route. Thus the lyric, "...with every paper I'd deliver, bad news on the doorstep, I couldn't take one more step."
American Pie also contains the lyric, "Took my Chevy to the levee but the levee was dry," which my comment, “drove to the lake to check its level,” was based on. As a side note, the song is credited with first using the the term, "The Day the Music Died,” referring to the crash that killed the three singers.
La Bamba --> lamb baa
ReplyDeleteI started out with a couple of hunches. First, that the foreign language wouldn’t be Polish or Estonian – more likely French or Spanish. Second, given only two words and seven letters, the first word would likely be “the” in whatever the language – le or les, la or las.
I have this wonderful book I got many years ago called The Billboard Book of Top 40 Hits (1955 to 1988). I started looking for songs in the index that started with one of those words. Once I hit “La Bamba,” “lamb” and “baa” sprung right out.
"STRAP ... is now forced to use non-peaceful measures." as in la bomba, Spanish for the bomb.
ReplyDelete"They are worth the price." translates to "valen el precio", close to (Ritchie) Valens.
WW noted chemistry (valence), I added interior decorating (valance). Ritchie Valens is pronounced with the "short a" sound; valance is actually correct, valence is pronounced with a long a. Hence WW didn't come up short.
"I get a chill when I hear the song." both from Valens' untimely death with Buddy Holly and the Big Bopper, and from the ICE agents raiding our cities.
As Mendo Jim noted this puzzle is mostly a repeat from times past. Blaine recycled his graphic.
Blaine, I'm curious to know if you consciously recycled the graphic from the 2014 version.
DeleteI wrote, "A famous cover of the song, and a renewed chart hit, was made by a group whose name has a vowel similarity to the song's title." "La Bamba" has three vowels, all the same, as does Los Lobos, which did the song for the 1987 movie _La Bamba_.
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteAs Rob points out Los Lobos sang the song in the movie.
ReplyDeleteAnother version by them is on a great series called "Playing for Change - Song Around the World"
There are 3 DVD-CD's out using a neat concept,
Most if not all are on Youtube, but I have bought each as it came out.
Google it for a try.
I think there have been errors of one kind or another in 4 of the last 5 weeks. Maybe Will will do better in future.
My contribution: Change the first two letters of the answer and rearrange all letters to form another, more famous, animal.
ReplyDeleteLA BAMBA --> BO OBAMA
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bo_(dog)
Ah, remember the happy times when there was discussion of the Presidential pet and the safety of a child, rather than the danger to all children because the President is the lap dog of some adversary?
DeleteI think when we make comparisons of Trump with dogs we are demeaning dogs, however, that being said, whenever I think of Trump and Putin at the same time I picture two large dogs simultaneously sniffing each other's ass.
DeleteLA BAMBA, LAMB, BAA
ReplyDeleteWhen ron referenced Neil Young earlier, he was referring to Young's song "Alabama", a sort of derogatory song about my home state, the name of which can be created by changing the last B to the letter before it, and putting it at the beginning. Then I referenced the line in the song that goes, "Your Cadillac has got a wheel in the ditch and a wheel on the track." I actually find that an interesting lyric, even if it is at my home state's expense. Later I referenced Bruce Springsteen's longtime drummer, Max Weinberg, who also briefly served as musical director for the band(then known as The Max Weinberg Seven)in Conan O'Brien's early days as a talk show host. One of Max's bandmates is nicknamed "LA BAMBA".
LA BAMBA -> LAMB, BAA
ReplyDelete> Anybody allergic to peanuts?
Bamba is apparently the reason there are fewer kids with peanut allergies in Israel than in England.
>> This would have been more timely last week.
> Or two weeks from now.
Lamb is traditional on Easter and Passover.
> 101
Chesterfield 101 cigarettes were advertised as "a silly millimeter longer", to the tune of La Bamba.
> Or last month: February 3, 1959 is "The Day the Music Died."
DeleteOr last week and American Pi.
DeleteBut pi is a Greek creation. Like spanakopita it's a feta compli.
DeleteWhatever rhos your boat.
eco, I am sure you take this in the manner Archimedes intended: Sc**w you!
Delete^^^ will
DeleteArchimedes is the only one to give us all a big lift with his screw.
DeleteSpeaking of which, wasn't it just last Thursday that the estimable Sarah Huck-a-goober Sanders tweeted, and I quote "Just spoke to @POTUS and Gen. H.R. McMaster - contrary to reports they have a good working relationship and there are no changes at the NSC."
So getting her vote of confidence is like getting a kiss on the cheek from the Don himself. So much winning!
Yes, it does not augur well for anyone who leaks along the way. . .
DeleteSpeaking of screws and screwdrivers, what did your "A certain type of screwdriver could be used to fix this problem." comment mean, Drcat5?
DeleteA Phillips Scredriver. Lou Diamond Phillips played the Ritchie Valens roll.
DeleteAh, thanks!
DeleteI know a BIT about screwdrivers.
DeleteGroovy.
DeleteTorque your time.
DeleteI guess someone who installes screws into masonry is a mortar torquer.
DeleteScrewdrivers on my mind >>> "In his book, Matus explains how the drink, the screwdriver got its name.
DeleteDecades ago, American oil workers in the Persian Gulf discreetly added vodka to their orange juice while on the job.
Lacking a spoon, the workers decided to stir the drink with a screwdriver."
Having sat wells in east TX, it was quite a scary sight to see drunk roustabouts using straps to move around lots of 30-foot pipes as the pipes came out of the drillhole. And, don't even ask about the Blowout Preventer. . .
Which reminds me - What do you get if you mix vodka and milk of magnesia?
DeleteA Phillips screwdriver..
jan, I thought your clue "And two weeks from 'now >>>(3/18)'" referred to seeing if March goes out like a lamb.
ReplyDeleteNo other month has poster animal bookends, eh?
Yes WW. I was wondering where Lego LAMBda was!
ReplyDeleteMy Will Smith/Kevin Kline comment was an effort to reference Robert Conrad. He starred in Wild Wild West, which was remade into a bad movie starring Smith/Kline. Conrad also starred in Black Sheep Squadron, originally titled Baa Baa Black Sheep.
ReplyDeleteLa Bamba, Lamb, Baa. My clue was a giveaway and didn't follow the "6 degree of separation" unspoken agreement that most people follow. Nor did it fall under the "makes no sense hint" or "bizarrely random" proof of having solved it.
ReplyDeleteI clued that "This puzzle has a kinship with an actor who appears WAY too often in Crossword Puzzles."
ReplyDeleteI was referring of course to ESAI Morales, who shows up at least every two weeks, along with his friends James AGEE, Brian ENO, and SELA Ward.
Esai Morales played Richie Valens' brother in the movie La Bamba, hence my use of "kinship."
And here I thought you were referring to ALAN ALDA who frequents crossword puzzles and shares a vowel kinship with La Bamba
DeleteChoosing a suitable National Security Advisor is not a nuts and bolts decision. Bolton's nuts.
ReplyDeleteI am now thinking Trump wants someone to convince him he must begin a war against Iran, North Korea or both.
DeleteThe man seems to think that every conceivable international problem would be improved by the application of the blood of American servicemen and women.
DeleteHey soldier, what is wrong with you?!?! Of course have to attack someone; we can't let all $700 billion for military sit around and do nothing! And our Fear Leader doesn't want all those tanks messing up the fairways, so he can only have so many parades in a year.
ReplyDeleteSorry, I forgot, Sir.
DeleteI am in the middle of an hour long NPR in depth, investigation white paper on Trump and obstruction of justice and Comey and Mueller, etc.
ReplyDeleteThis kind of thing does not happen unless major things are about to happen. I wonder what the back story is.
For it to get to the point of NPR going this public with this attack on the President indicates they feel very secure in what they are doing. If the Republicans do not understand this, and continue to do nothing, they are in very deep trouble.
DeleteI hope the NCAA Tourney coverage doesn't delay "60 Minutes" on Sunday!
DeleteI don't think it will, looking at the TV listings, but I don't follow basketball that much.
No basketball shot could top the warning shot that her attorney seems to have. But I think I'd lose my lunch if I saw any of the shots on that DVD....
DeleteI'm afraid there will be a lot of personal foul calls on that DVD!
DeleteI just now got back home from a play. I knew nothing about this DVD evidence story. This is just shocking! What are we going to do about the children!? The children could see this. How are we going to make sure the children come in from whatever they are doing in order that they do see it?
DeleteAnd then there's the vision of him trying to make a pass, or a layup, and then just standing there dribbling....
DeleteI hope we see him in court, not on it.
WW, and anyone else: Before you get Maizie the latest accoutrement, just remember who it supports.
ReplyDeleteA better leash on life it is not. . .
DeleteSuggested eye wear to have on hand when watching tomorrow's "60 Minutes" episode.
ReplyDeleteI was surprised to see at 0730 Eastern time that the web page for this morning's program was up, as was the page for today's puzzle. However, the puzzle page does not include the upcoming broadcast challenge for today. Someone be ready to transcribe!
ReplyDeleteHere's my best recollection of the new puzzle:
DeleteTake the name of a fairly well-known, but not large, U.S. city, followed by the state's two letter postal abbreviation. If you read the letters in order from left to right, you will get two words that describe characteristics of bunnies. What is the city and what are the words?
If you know the meaning of life, you're getting close to the answer.
ReplyDelete