The city may be small, but the populace has large aspirations.Q: Name a small but well-known U.S. city, followed by its two-letter state postal abbreviation. This string of letters, reading from left to right, spells two consecutive words that name distinctive characteristics of bunnies. What city is it?
Edit: It's the birthplace of Bill Clinton & Mike Huckabee but with a population of around 10,000.
A: HOPE, AR --> HOP, EAR
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.
Don't panic.
ReplyDeleteI wish I had buckwheat pancakes for breakfast.
ReplyDeleteOver 1600 correct answers to last week's repeat puzzle.
ReplyDeleteI guess we can skip over certain states with abbreviations that would form odd word endings, like TN, TX and WV.
ReplyDeleteAn unbelievable answer to this week’s puzzle, now that spring is in the air.
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteUnfortunately, I think this post is TMI.
DeleteOK. I didn't think so, but as soon as I see someone say so, I'll delete.
DeleteI wish I would have seen the post before it was removed. I need TMI.
DeleteHa! I applaud your honesty.
DeleteIt wasn’t easy – a few missteps – but I finally got there.
ReplyDeleteI frequently find that it’s easier to solve the puzzle than to come up with a clever – but not a TMI – clue. Such was the case today. Since my posting above I have crafted a much better and more apropos way of saying what I was trying to say. But too late now - it'd be a dead giveaway. I’ll post it Thursday.
ReplyDeleteDo rabbits sometimes go through the motions of boxing?
ReplyDeleteMales do that during the “March madness” mating season.
DeleteBUNNY PUNCH ART
DeleteSPAR(TA,IL)
DeleteOr, if you prefer, replace the DOPE in ROPE-A-DOPE with H and rearrange.
We used to have dozens of rabbits in our neighborhood and I gave up planting flowers around the house. That was until a couple of red foxes moved in. Almost overnight the problems were gone!
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteAs I remember these are the clues not used on air.
ReplyDeleteI'm going to give you clues for some 8-letter words. Each one has a doubled letter somewhere in it. Drop the doubled letter, and the remaining letters in order will spell a 6-letter word that answers the second clue. 2. Mussing, as feathers / Court decision
4. Buying and selling of goods / Force to do something
5. In a gloomy fashion / Sudden disappointment
8. Risqué quality / City in Wisconsin
ruffling/ruling
Deletecommerce/coerce
dismally/dismay
and raciness/ Racine
DeleteRight on all accounts.
DeleteHad all figured out but the last one before posting. Knew the city was Racine but couldn't figure out the word with double letters.
Perhaps the greatest five minutes in cinematic history.
ReplyDeleteGot it. Bye, all. I'm off to Fecu, North Dakota!
ReplyDeleteHoots!
DeleteSmallest town in the U.S.A. population ONE:
ReplyDeleteMONOWI, NE → MONO WINE.
I know of someone who would say that this weeks challenge is crooked.
ReplyDeleteReminds me of a major controversy Wyatt Earp was involved in that had nothing to do with what he is known for.
ReplyDeleteOh! (smack to the forehead) Earp!!
DeleteBonus Puzzle #1: Name a well-known U.S. city, followed by its two-letter state postal abbreviation. This string of letters, reading from left to right, spells two regional slang terms that name a type of person. What city is it?
ReplyDeleteBonus Puzzle #2: Name a well-known U.S. city, followed by its two-letter state postal abbreviation. Remove the first and last letters and the remaining letters, reading from left to right, names an element from the periodic table. What city is it?
Give hints, but no answers til Thursday, please.
Bonus Puzzle #3: Take a well-known U.S. city and its state postal abbreviation. Remove the postal code and rearrange the remaining letters to name another popular, small pet.
DeleteHint: The city is found in other states as well. You will likely know the most popular one.
eco, I believe I have your bonus puzzle #2.
You will be rewarded handsomely if you solve Bonus Puzzle #3.
DeleteWW, I'm confused. You add the state postal abbreviation, then remove the postal *code*? What code do you mean?
DeleteEssentially you add and subtract the same state postal abbreviation; the postal abbreviation is there only to distinguish it from other cities of the same name in other states.
DeleteBTW, feel free to hint at the answer to this puzzle but don't reveal until Thursday, please.
Delete"Eureka!" is acceptable. ;-)
I'll work on it, but I guess I just don't get why we need to choose a state if the city name is the same. Does the state somehow relate to or influence the outcome of the puzzle? Maybe I am overthinking! Eureka? Maybe I shoule work on this puzzle in the bath.
DeleteBonus Puzzle #4 (Riffing-Off-Shortz):
DeleteName a large pretty well-known U.S. city (pop. 200,000-plus), followed by its two-letter state postal abbreviation. This string of letters, reading from left to right, spells two consecutive words (a 6-letter adjective and a 3-letter abbreviation that cam be pronounced as if it were an acronym) that are antithetical to bunnies... not associated with them in the least! What city is it?
LegodlinessIsNextToCleanlinessOfHeart(AsRegardsHisConsecutiveWords)
Bonus puzzle #2 hint: It's a mighty fine puzzle.
DeleteSophia, I will reveal more Thursday. For now, enjoy that bath.
Lego, I guess it's not Elmer Fudd then.
DeleteWW: there's a lot of detail in your BP #2 hint.
Deleteeco, indeed, I wanted to plug your puzzle!
DeleteSophia,
DeleteI like the way your mind works. Elmer Fudd certainly is antithetical to Bugs Bunny. But he is not the bunny I had in mind.
LegoHintsThatTheCityIsWestOfTheMississippi
I spent a lot of time searching for a city in Illinois ending in "ta". Ironic, since the most famous person from this city had a reputation for chasing tail...
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
DeleteI spent time on the same search. It turns out that the second most famous person from this city is in many ways the opposite of the first.
DeleteAlthough they both held the same job at different times and they both have offspring that have also achieved a measure of fame.
DeleteGuess who can't solve this week's harebrained puzzle? I haven't found a thing. I have a trip to Florida coming up this week, I don't need this.
ReplyDeleteLike last week's puzzle (Or was it the previous one? Or both?), this puzzle might have been timely 10 days ago.
ReplyDeleteJim Levering of San Antonio, TX(who sent this one in)should visit beautiful Getre, Alabama.
ReplyDeleteOr perhaps Asini, Nebraska.
ReplyDeleteAnd of course, three particular cities in Kansas: Itstin, Itsuc, and Itree.
ReplyDeleteWhat do you say about this?
ReplyDeleteGood one, Will?
I have the answer thanks to my husband's active mind and a trip through the town on our way to Chi-town.
ReplyDeleteWhat was that famous saying by Tug McGraw?
ReplyDeleteGeez, I have the answer after working on it off and on today. I felt decidedly angoraphobic (sic) earlier.
ReplyDeleteThe bark is "worse" than the bracts.
DeleteI thought you might feel euphoria...
DeleteAfterwards, yes. :-)
DeleteI like angoraphobic.
DeleteIt makes my hare stand up.
DeleteThanks, sdb. I do, too.
DeleteIf you are angoraphobic my advice is don't sweat(er) it.
DeleteAnd don't wear said sweater to a country in southern Africa if you are angolaphobic, either.
DeleteWent there once to see a house.
ReplyDeleteI can never solve these puzzles and I have no idea what most of the comments mean. I don't know if they are random babble or clues.
ReplyDeleteYes, they are.
DeleteSharon, that's the fun of it. Of course, it's more fun after you have the answer. ;-)
DeleteMy suggestion: don't overthink this one (as I did earlier today).
Without random babble most of us would be clueless.
DeleteTouché
DeleteStormy Daniels appears to know what Tush A is.
DeleteMore than anything else it sounded like she had "what the heck sex." Unlike McDaniel, she didn't really want to do it, but found herself in that position and just went with it.
DeleteAnd his continuing pursuit makes him look all the more pathetic, since she saw the meager relationship, such as it was, as purely transactional. Which is ironic as he sees all other relationships that way.
I get the feeling she didn't comply with the NDA to delete texts, emails, pics, etc., and I fear we will suffer the future "reveal" of those.
Sharon, I think I see what you did there. . .
DeleteWord Woman, It would be fun if I could get it. I have never solved an NPR Sunday puzzle. I gave up trying until this one.
Delete"a" NPR not "an"-- oops
DeleteSharon, maybe play around with your original post. . .
DeleteSharon, I have been able to solve many puzzles from the hints here. Hang in there. (BTW, this particular puzzle has me buffaloed).
DeleteSharon, I feel your pain and I know how it is to not be able to solve some of the puzzles, but you know that the rules of this blog state that we are to refrain from posting any clues that could actually lead to an answer, but rather clue that would simply help to confirm an answer once someone has solved the puzzle by other means.
DeleteSharon, I thought your "random babble" might have been a hint to the Tower of Babel and/or to Hitchhikers' Guide to the Universe and "The point of all this is that if you stick a Babel fish in your ear you can instantly understand anything said to you in any form of language." . . .and thus to EAR. Maybe subconsciously you were pointing to this?
DeleteThere's a connection between the name of this city and the little chicks which also symbolize Easter.
ReplyDeleteAlthough Woody Allen would disagree.
DeleteI agree, not thinking clearly, I googled 'Woody Allen' and 'Chicks' and, well, that didn't help.
DeleteI hear you and apologize for the weird context. I am referring to baby chickens, but I don't think you will find anything on a search engine that will help you with that, either, in relation to this puzzle. All will be explained on Thursday.
DeleteThere are two equally correct answers to this puzzle. See if you can discover both.
ReplyDeleteI did find a second answer that kinda works. The second answer is, well, it is what it is, I guess.
DeleteBut I also certainly found an answer that really works quite well and seems to be the one clued here in Blainesville.
sdb, I concur. Hint to this second answer: 1967.
DeleteIt seems to me that Paul also has this answer.
I think they are probably about equal in that regard. I am more aware of the city in my first, not second, answer, and my answer is also better on the intellectual scale. But, that is of course an opinion.
DeleteThe city which seems to be the correct answer is not at all well known to me, even if some famous people were born there. That's the main issue I had with Will's description of the puzzle.
DeleteThere are quite a few incorrect answers to this puzzle. See if you can keep from discovering them all.
ReplyDeleteLOL! I sense the rage of an unsolved puzzle creeping up Cranberry. Stay cool, man, stay cool.
DeleteNot to worry. I am the picture of calm regarding this puzzle. Besides, I have other things to contend with this week, such as preparing to spend most of the week with my family at our condo in FL, immediately followed by Easter Sunday. If there is any sort of clever answer I've missed, I'll find out Thursday. For further details about this week's puzzle, visit beautiful Prettyla, Maine. Or perhaps the town of Toodamntric, Kentucky. Either one will do.
ReplyDeleteRemove the first two letters to reveal a food that a bunny might eat.
ReplyDeleteonly 1-2 teaspoons per 2 lbs of body weight.
DeleteAnd remove seeds and stems as they are poisonous to bunnies.
DeleteMoses
ReplyDelete(It's bizarrely random, makes no sense, and has x degrees of separation. Solve for x.)
S is a serpentine letter. Add it to HOPEAR and rearrange to get Sephora. If I knew how to calculate degrees of separation, I wouldn't have assigned you the task.
DeleteWith all things internet, this puzzle should not be as hard as it is!
ReplyDeleteAn 18th century Pope.
ReplyDeletemusical clue: remove the first letter and rearrange.
ReplyDeleteIsn't it funny that Will gives up a non-anagramming puzzle and what do we do as spin-offs in our clueing?! Mixtie-maxtie.
DeleteThe key for me was the plural in Will’s clue.
ReplyDeleteDid Jesus live his life at cross purposes?
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteI considered a similar clue yesterday but thought it tmi. Now that has been proven.
DeleteI really don't think it gives anything away, but I'll bow to peer pressure and take it down.
DeleteI must be dense. I took your clue literally, Jan and still could not solve it.
DeleteJan, Actually I did not see your second clue, I took the Illinois thing as a clue and can not solve it.
DeleteSharon, I do not believe jan meant that post to be a clue to solving the puzzle.
DeleteIllinois was part of the random babble.
DeleteJan's removed clue had to do with a person in the news. I didn't think this was terribly egregious on its own, but combined with several other "tmi's" this week ... plus it gave cranberry the answer and I will miss the very enjoyable southern rants.
Sounds like a Glen Campbell song...Southern rants...have you ever felt the Southern rants? I shall miss making up those postal abbreviation puns, too. Consider it my contribution to the random babble. But then I enjoy just about every sort of pun. They are the lowest form of wit, you know. And sometimes on this blog it seems like everybody's doing the limbo! Just seeing how low I can go.
DeleteJan, you're a lifesaver! I just figured it out from that post, and I take back all my "clever" city/postal abbreviation jokes. You do have to admit, though, the Kansas ones were quite inventive. Forgive me all, for "going postal".
ReplyDeleteI live in Seattle, and I do not believe anyone at the Russian Conciliate here is spying on our Bangor Trident Submarine Base located nearby. It would be beneath them to stoop to doing such a thing.
ReplyDeleteThink they're trying to catchup on Kitsap?
DeleteI think they were caught unaware and are now Russian to get packed up and outta here. I would love to move into the mansion after they leave.
DeleteHold off just a bit on that please. I happen to have a jar of caviar in the refer at the moment. It might look bad.
DeleteCaviar in reefer could be a new trend, sdb ;-).
DeleteThanks for the restraint, Buck.
DeleteWW, Are just trying to egg me on?
It's a roe I enjoy playing, sdb.
DeleteI don't know, WW, that could ruin the flavor of both.
DeleteRoe vs. wade into the battle with the paddle. Stormy is coming. Beware of a woman scorned. Especially when she has access to 60 Minutes, which I have no doubt is much longer than Trump lasted.
DeleteAnybody else excited about the possibility of another dress? It's certainly a cause for upheaval, at least in my stomach.
ReplyDeleteDid anyone ask if she also kept his tighty whities? If so, maybe it will be a DNA match made in Heaven.
DeleteIck.
DeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
DeleteNDA, DNA >>> AND all will be revealed?
DeleteMaybe the 60 Minutes interview was just the dress rehearsal.
DeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
DeleteIf Stormy Daniels had submitted to Trump's request for a repeat performance, would that be a reBUTTal followed by a reDRESS?
DeleteIck-actly.
DeleteIf Stormy were the National Security Adviser you can be sure he'd participate in the Presidential Daily Briefings. And Debriefings.
DeleteBut what would be the outcome?
DeleteMy lunch on my keyboard.
DeleteJust wanted to say that I've lurked on this forum for years, enjoying it immensely, but not really checking in more than once a day. Now that I've decided to join in the fun, I'm coming by every few hours, lol. But it's keeping me off Facebook, which is not a place I want to spend much time in anymore. Anyway, nice to "meet" y'all.
ReplyDeleteYou too, Sophia. And we promise not to collect your data, though we do keep a running pun total on every poster, collected by Cambridge Analiterature ;-).
DeleteOh well, you can have whatever lame puns I can come up with. The biggest irony for me is that for the last month I've been working on a research project for another company to read privacy policies for companies like Facebook and explain in plain English what they really say. The most terrifying thing is that more than 50% of the population don't know what a privacy policy is, and often falsely assume that it protects their privacy. Then this happened.
DeleteImagine that. Our President does not even understand what a privacy agreement really means. And he is our Commander In Briefs!
DeleteHail to the Creep.
DeleteOr as Trump says: "Hail, seize her!"
DeleteRemington: America's oldest gun maker files for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. Did you also hear that the referee in bankruptcy (the judge) has issued a gag order to muzzle the proceedings?
ReplyDeleteYou're a double barrel of laughs, always going at full clip. Did the gag order use many bullet points?
DeleteWe really musket together sometime and I'll show you a copy. We might just have a barrel of laughs, but then that's my stock-in-trade.
DeleteCARTOONS OF THE WEEK. Enjoy... or wince...
ReplyDeleteEnjoyed some, winced at some, but the ones about the students brought a tear to my eye.
DeleteMonday is always my laundry day, even almost two years ago now when I had cataract surgeries on Monday mornings just two weeks apart I did my washing chores. So today was just another day at the overtime tail end of winter and a day without promise due to the lousy weather.
ReplyDeleteLater in the afternoon I remembered I had to return two DVDs up North to my branch of our county library and decided to stop along the way at a local Goodwill and see if they had anything marked down on the cheap day. After looking I checked the used books in History for the three books I read long ago and now would like to have in my collection for reference purposes. No luck as usual, so on I drove to the library and deposited my discs.
As I was leaving I checked the donate shelf by the door and as I turned to leave my eye caught the spline of a very large hardbound book with the title, Guard Of Honor. I couldn't believe it. It is one of the books I have kept an eye out for many years now with no joy.
I dropped a couple of bucks into the slot and took it home with me and thinking I might even read all its 631 pages again, something I never, but once, ever do.
When I arrived back home I examined my prize to discover it is a first edition, published in 1948 and in mint condition jacket and all. It really looks like it was just purchased at Barnes and Noble. The only thing missing is the author's signature.
This is a book I first heard about decades ago while watching a PBS discussion of WWII with three outstanding guests, one of which was Eric Sevareid who I heard inform us that Guard Of Honor, by James Gould Cozzens, not only was the 1949 Pulitzer Prize winner for fiction, but is the definitive World War II novel, and he should know being one of Murrow's boys and an ace war correspondent from that period. I had never heard of it, and considered James Jones's, From Here to Eternity or Norman Mailer's, The Naked And The Dead to be the top contenders for that honor, both of which I had read years before.
I never forgot that title though and many years later discovered a copy which I read with total agreement that it was indeed way above anything else I had read on that war, or for that matter any other subject.
If you should find yourself looking for a really good war novel with lots of action and valor and bravery, then this is not the book I would suggest you read, but, on the other hand if you want to discover what the army, from top to bottom, is really like without any hype or bravado, just the reality of it all, then I highly recommend that you do whatever it takes to locate a copy of this book and immerse yourself in an experience you will never forget. Some years later I read a large biography of the author who was the exact opposite of Ernest Hemingway, but stated he would surpass him with his writing, and kept his word.
sdb: You told a very similar story about "Guard of Honor" a few years back.
DeleteThe first time I read it years before that was when I always finished any book I started.
I picked it up again on your recommendation, but no longer do so and didn't.
I think I posted this and why at the time.
I do recall mentioning this book here in the past, but I couldn't have related the story as it only just happened Monday. Earlier today I found a not quite as pristine copy for sale at $2,000. It is a very complex book, and I can see where it might not appeal to everyone.
DeleteI was delighted to discover that bunnies sometimes eat these.
ReplyDeleteSounds like yummmy BUNNIES' food.
Delete^^^ @ 8:45 in the video above.
DeleteSince you note bunny videos ... much better than politics.
DeleteMuch better. I hadn't heard (or seen) that rabbits were such herders. . .
DeleteI solved it, but am I wrong to think it is lame?
ReplyDeleteNo, you are not wrong. The other answer is much better.
DeleteI was born in THE small town.
ReplyDeleteAnd we all know what that means . . . (more Thursday).
DeleteThrowing river rocks: what a gneiss (not) idea.
ReplyDeleteMaybe they're all just a bit agate-ated.
DeleteI think we can take it for granite.
DeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
DeleteChalk it up to them losing their marbles.
DeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
DeletePlumose.
ReplyDeleteAre you wispering? I'm stymied.
DeleteIt's all part of our Education, I suppose.
DeleteWow.
ReplyDeleteAfter three days of painstakingly going over this puzzle - I finally got it. AND WOW!
Am I disappointed.
Can anyone sympathize? I mean sometimes a long fought answer makes you think "Hmm great puzzle"
Then there's this one.
I agree with you completely. However, if you look for the better answer in a different state you may enjoy it more. Hint: Two different words than in the intended answer.
DeleteRalph L., I agree, what a slog!
DeleteOn a positive note, I am looking forward to hearing tales of how folks finally got there. What a long, strange trip it's been. . .
I've been disappointed many times, but never again.
DeleteI apologize to everyone anxiously awaiting the answers to Bonus Puzzles #1 and #2 - I'll be out of internet range tomorrow until 7 or 8 pm, but your anticipation makes it better.
WW has #2, I'll post in the late evening.
eco:
DeleteSomething about that video clip looks familiar. Is that from My Fair Transvestite by Lerner and Loewe?
Femdom of the Opera.
DeleteFandom of the Oprah.
DeleteLegOprah
So Trump has now fired the Veterans Affairs head. It is probably the right decision. After all, isn't Trump a veteran at affairs?
ReplyDelete45 is a "brave soldier" out there, "survivor of STDs and vaginas," firing someone whose work involves helping many Viet Nam vets. His tour was "spurred," his lovers were spurned," and his leadership is spurious.
DeleteAnd, I doubt Melania is purring. . .
Yeah, Trump is a guy who likes to play 18 holes and then take in a round of golf.
DeleteFinally got it...
ReplyDeleteI think that the wording of the puzzle was misleading, and the answer was not especially satisfying, which makes me think of the faux chocolate bunnies manufactured by a certain candy company that shall remain nameless.
In that respect, it's the perfect puzzle for Easter.
I will not be available to be here at the witching hour on Thursday as I usually am. I’m going to be at the St. Louis Art Museum with my ex-wife. I trust you will all arrive at the intended solution. I’ll post later in the day.
ReplyDeleteHOPE, AR (HOP, EAR)
Delete"The bark is "worse" than the bracts" refers to the dogwood tree which has beautiful flowering bracts & unusual bark. Blooming dogwood were all over the AR woods during our roadtrip there last April.
Q: Bonus Puzzle #3: Take a well-known U.S. city and its state postal abbreviation. Remove the postal code and rearrange the remaining letters to name another popular, small pet.
A: AMHERST, MA >>> HAMSTER
I put MA (vs. NH, OH, CO) in the puzzle to refer to the Belle of Amherst, Emily Dickinson. " 'Hope' is the Thing with Feathers" springs eternal from this reference.
Plumose: "The Thing with Feathers" (see above). It's all part of our EDucation, I suppose. >>> Emily Dickinson.
BTW, I was so sure LOP-EARED was involved, I could not see the simpler HOP and EAR until I took a virtual road trip from Houston to Chicago, mentioned by a poster here. And there was HOPE, AR. None of the other clues got me there like a Google Maps trip. How did you get there?
"And we all know what that means . . . (more Thursday)." Every person I've known from AR says that everyone in AR knows each other or is a degree of separation away. True for you, Liz?
eco's Bonus Puzzle #2: Fargo, ND >>> ARGON
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DeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
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DeleteHope, AR > HOP & EAR (Intended answer) Better answer: Sparta, IL > SPAR & TAIL rabbits box each other, which many will not be aware of.
ReplyDeleteMy Hint:
"Reminds me of a major controversy Wyatt Earp was involved in that had nothing to do with what he is known for." The 1897 Fitzsimmons vs Sharkey Heavyweight Championship boxing match between Bob Fitzsimmons and Tom Sharkey was awarded by referee Wyatt Earp to Sharkey after Fitzsimmons knocked Sharkey to the mat. Earp ruled that Fitzsimmons had hit Sharkey below the belt, but very few witnessed the purported foul.
I don't think I posted a hint for the intended answer. I thought about posting: "I could travel to the city on Topper if he were still alive." Topper is the name of the horse William Boyd rode when he acted in the roll of Hopalong Cassidy.
HOPE, AR, birthplace of Bill Clinton & Mike Huckabee (“populace with large aspirations”) → Bunnies have a “distinctive” HOP and they have a “distinctive” EAR.
ReplyDeleteRob: Drop OP and rearrange to yield HARE.
My hint: “euphoria” drop “iu” and rearrange to yield Hope, AR.
Drop the H and rearrange to yield OPERA.
And OHARE airport serves Chicago, former home of the Playboy Mansion and all those bunnies, as well as the home town of Bill Clinton’s wife. Coincidences every where you look!
DeleteHOPE, AR -> HOP, EAR
ReplyDelete> I spent a lot of time searching for a city in Illinois ending in "ta". Ironic, since the most famous person from this city had a reputation for chasing tail...
And Bill Clinton married someone from Illinois.
> Like last week's puzzle (Or was it the previous one? Or both?), this puzzle might have been timely 10 days ago.
On the Ides of March, someone once said, "Lend me you ears."
> Take the name of the city, add a term some might use for the people who live there, and you get the name of someone in the news who used to work with someone from that city. [deleted]
Hope Hicks used to work in the White House with Sarah Huckabee Sanders.
> I was delighted to discover that bunnies sometimes eat these.
Hops. The plant used to make beer. How appropriate!
City: Hope, Arkansas (Hope, AR); characteristics: Hop, Ear.
ReplyDeleteMy, “Don’t Panic,” and “Meaning of life,” comments were based on Douglas Adams Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy series. In the book, the “Answer to the Ultimate Question of Life, The Universe, and Everything,” is 42.
Bill Clinton, the 42nd President, is from Hope, Arkansas
To EAR is human, at least IHOP it still is.
ReplyDeleteLooked for a city in Kentucky ending in BIN...
ReplyDeletehttp://language.rabbitspeak.com/did-you-say-binky/
HOPE, ARKANSAS; HOP, EAR
ReplyDeleteMuch easier than I thought it would be. I also considered SDB's alternative answer, SPARTA, ILLINOIS(SPAR, TAIL), but I wasn't sure how SPAR had anything to do with it. And technically, I never found the city of Hope when I searched cities in Arkansas at first. The audacity!
Ah, yes, "1967" referred to In the Heat of the Night which was filmed in Sparta, IL, though it was set in Sparta, MS. (SPAR,TAIL).
ReplyDeleteWe are approaching the 200th comment this week. Click on “Load more” at the bottom of the page to see new comments after that.
ReplyDeleteThe birthplace of our 42nd President, Bill Clinton: Hope, Arkansas --> hop, ear
ReplyDeleteI frequently find that it’s easier to solve the puzzle than to come up with a clever – but not a TMI – clue. Such was the case this week. Since my Sunday posting I have crafted a much better and more apropos way of saying what I was trying to say:
It wasn’t easy – a few misses (get it?) along the way – but it finally came. I will not elaborate further.
This comment has been removed by the author.
DeleteHere is the official answer to my Bonus Puzzle #4 (Riffing-Off-Shortz):
ReplyDeleteQ: Name a large pretty well-known U.S. city (pop. 200,000-plus), followed by its two-letter state postal abbreviation. This string of letters, reading from left to right, spells two consecutive words (a 6-letter adjective and a 3-letter abbreviation that cam be pronounced as if it were an acronym) that are antithetical to bunnies... not associated with them in the least! What city is it?
A: Modesto, Californa >> MODEST + OCA
Playboy bunnies are not associated in the least with being MODEST. Nor are they likely associated with the OCA (Orthodox Church in America)!
LefgoPresentingAModestBonusPuzzle
Hope,Arkansas/Hop/Ear
ReplyDeleteRemove the first two letters to reveal pear, a potential bunny snack.
As I warned, up in the land with no internet, now back in some form of civilization.
ReplyDeleteI wish I had buckwheat pancakes for breakfast. Hope AR holds the record for the largest watermelons, one of whom became POTUS.
Buckwheat was a character in The Little Rascals, reference to this scene in the episode "A Lad and his Lamp". Technically it's Stymie wishing for the big watermelon, but I worried that was too antonymical to Hope. Racist by today's standards, but... It was happy fortune that Spanky is the newest moniker for you know who.
Bonus Puzzle #1: City + state postal abbreviation = 2 names for a type of person? Chica + goIL; "Chica" is used in cities with large Mexican and Central American populations, "goil" is Jersey speak for girl. Anyone get this? Anyone try?
As WW noted, BP #2 was Fargo ND
Welcome back, eco. I tried BP #1, but, alas, I don't do Jersey speak. I went from CT speak to CO speak, with times living in MA, AZ, TX, and Mexico, but have been described as accentless, no matter how many throw pillows I get.
DeleteThanks for the fun, fruitful watermelon scoop on Hope.
And for the first time I read about argon plasma modeling with detailed fine-structure cross sections, and I am certain that I understand even less than before.
DeleteI get that. How many brain cells ar gon now?
DeleteHope, Arkansas fits the defintion of "well-known" now? Didn't realize the term 'well-known' is being taken so liberally these days.
ReplyDeleteMy clues -
ReplyDeleteUnbelievable = un-BILL-ievable
Spring in the air = Hope springs eternal