It's a pity I live on a rocky hill.Q: Name a woman's title. Drop the first and last letters and read the result backward to get another woman's title. Both titles are common English-language spellings. What titles are these?
My comment was pointing out that Ñ isn't always the same as N. The name Peña means rocky summit or rocky hill. But without the tilde, the word pena means pity. NPR recently had a similar problem with año and ano.
A: BARONESS --> SEÑORA (or just SENORA in some dictionaries)
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.
VA
ReplyDeleteTwo sets of answers to this puzzle, a longer one and definitely a shorter one. Can see why Will added the common English-language spellings advisory for the intended answer.
ReplyDelete"Title" is both relevant and an original sin in the puzzle.
ReplyDeleteIndeed, it mars the puzzle for me.
DeleteEco,
DeleteWill be interested to hear what your particular problem with the term "title" is. It can include both simple forms of address, professional titles, or ranks of nobility, all taken from a wide variety of cultures.
I realize that this discussion may have to wait till Thursday so as not to provide giveaways.
MC: much more complicated and obscure than what you're thinking. Language is a virus.
DeleteYou'll have to wait until Declaration (no independence) Day to be disappointed with my explanation.
I was surprised to find that the two words of my alternate shorter answer anagram to another title for a woman.
ReplyDeleteThis just proves that Rob's quite sane.
DeleteWhy anagram? You only incur the scorn of the Society To Ridicule Anagram Puzzlers.
DeleteYou are right; I didn't want to say how the rearrangement could be more direct.
DeleteRob,
DeleteLooks like we have the same alternate answer.
I’m seeing red because I have two solutions, one of which MUST be Will’s intended answer, based on the English language comment...but the other of which is more elegant, in my opinion. I’m going to submit the one he wants, and que será, será.
ReplyDeleteThis puzzle has interesting past.
ReplyDeleteIt appears to me that there are two short-answer answers.
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteSpell check on correct.
DeleteI’ll try again, can the most simplistic of answers be the correct one?
DeleteWould go with the one that reflects Will's common English-language spellings advisory for the intended answer.
DeleteBonus puzzle: Name a woman's title. Drop the first and last letters and rearrange the remaining letters to spell either a prefix related to childbirth or a large South American bird.
ReplyDeleteChange one letter of the second title to name a region where that title might be used.
ReplyDeleteAm guessing Sonora??
DeleteWas mentioned in a song on Bob Dylan’s album, Highway 61 Revisited.
ReplyDeleteI share Rob's disgust with this repeat.
ReplyDeleteGlad WS repeated puzzle today. Saves me lots of time to work on online class about teaching an online class. Much more intricate than solving these puzzles anyway.
DeleteAnd I'm glad to see something is keeping you on your toes, Natasha.
DeleteSDB: Thanks. Rather really be on my toes, though. Have you been to the ballet lately?
DeleteНаташа:
DeleteМы очень рады, что с вами все в порядке. Вы будете рады узнать, что наша работа превышает ожидания. Мы с нетерпением ожидаем создания ценных сделок в Хельсинки и получения дополнительных преимуществ.
Возможно, Большой балет установит новое место на завоеванной территории рядом с вами.
Trumptransition2016: Я заметил, что «Большой» взял мою любимую российскую балерину со своей работы в балете «Сан-Франциско». Теперь я больше не буду участвовать в этих спектаклях, поскольку она была единственной, кто мог бы танцевать в этой компании, как танцевальный танец балерины. Я с нетерпением жду, когда вы отправите больше танцоров в эту область. Отличная работа!
DeleteКомад Наташа
I have not been lately, but Putin is keeping me on my toes.
DeleteSDB: Would you like point shoes to make more comfortable? Men do dance on point too.
DeleteМы хотели бы переименовать Сан-Франциско в Санкт-Владимир.
DeleteNatasha, I doubt I am ready for that. The closest I get to that is when I am rock climbing vertical cracks.
DeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteTrumptransition: Я предполагаю, что есть и другие места, которые вы тоже переименуете. Как насчет переименования всех Trump Towers? Тимп, падающий парень, будет, к тому времени, в Сибири.
ReplyDeleteУ нас есть список мест для переименования в Соединенных Штатах:
DeleteВашингтон - Западная Москва
Нью-Йорк - Нью-Трамп-Сити
Нью-Джерси - Нью-Джаред
Чикаго - Коэн Сити (мы надеемся, что это сохранит его молчание)
Лос-Анджелес - Земля сладкой Иванки
Ливенуорт - город для либералов
Гуантанамо Бэй - новый дом Роберта Мюллера, Барака Обамы и особенно Кривой Хиллари!
Trumptransition: Спасибо, что подняли головы об изменениях имени. Какие у вас планы для Трампа? Я думаю, что он просто использовался Путиным и легко утилизируется, поэтому он не дает информации, когда его замаскивают следователи.
DeleteI too have found two different answers, but I'm pretty sure the longer one is correct. The shorter one seems more like a mere coincidence.
ReplyDeleteTV clue: Independent Film Channel
Yes, I see 2 different answers. I would put money on the longer, more elegant one.
Delete"...common crossword usage..." would have been better.
ReplyDeleteI wonder if the last time I got it with the second title I tried?
I have 3 potential answers: pretty sure the one WS intends and the short one Rob and Mort note. The third has a length in between, and one of the titles is not a common English-language spelling, though I think everyone here would recognize it.
ReplyDeleteSince I never submit I don't really care which is "correct".
The first time this puzzle was used it was obvious which answer WS was accepting.
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
ReplyDeleteI think I know the reason Blaine removed my post.
DeleteToo bad it wasn't last night; it could have been The Saturday Evening Post.
DeleteWW: very funny.
DeleteSDB: I hope you will share your post that was deleted by the blog administrator this Thursday.
DeleteThat is my plan.
DeleteThanks, Natasha.
DeleteOnly one unused clue in this week's on air challenge.
ReplyDeleteOn-air challenge: I'm going to give you clues for two words. The first word contains the consecutive letters A-I somewhere within it. Change the order to I-A and you'll get a new word that answers the second clue.
Ex. Train travel / Iranian money --> RAIL, RIAL
8. __ accompli (French for a thing that has already happened) / Decree -->
I like that one.
DeleteSDB,
DeleteWas surprised it didn't get used.
Mort
It may have been used and then been cut for time considerations. When I was on, just over a year ago, I was very surprised it was not edited at all. They ran it just as it was recorded.
DeleteThe itsy bitsy spider ...
DeleteI was the contestant and can confirm they asked me fait/Fiat. I haven't listened yet so they must have cut it for time.
DeleteWhat a wonderful word, fiat. Too bad the car name has taken fiat over with the acronym for Fabbrica Italiana Automobili Torino.
DeleteAh well, let it be done. . .
WW,
DeleteWe always swore it stood for Fix It Again Tony! Back in the day both the Italian and British sports cars were pretty temperamental.
Back in 1972, when I was living and working in Italy, we purchased a couple of brand new Fiat cars. I remember one of them had the brakes go out immediately. The Mercedes Benz cars were very reliable.
DeleteI forgot to mention the next year I was living in Spain and they had the same cars, but with the name SEAT.
Deletesdb, I did not know about the Fiat/SEAT connection.
DeleteFix it again, Tony! Ha. Wonder if there are others for other car companies.
Found On Road, Dead
DeleteFix Or Replace Daily.
DeleteDriver Returned On Foot
DeleteJust to be fair: First On Race Day
DeleteI read this about airplane engineers/mechanics maintenance reports a long time ago but I think it is still funny!
DeleteMy mother's last car was an Oldsmobile, but she was never an Old Lady Driving Slowly.
DeleteBreak My Window
DeleteOr should that be Break My Windshield?
DeleteParked Regularly In Unlikely Spaces?
DeleteCranberry,
DeleteSince they opened their factory in Spartanburg South Carolina, many folks have decided that BMW stands for BUBBA MAKES WHEELS.
Up north – Big Maine Woman.
DeleteI wish they'd done that when I won. I was practically edited out entirely!
ReplyDeleteI ate at McDonald's yesterday. I'm glad nobody tried to step in front of me as I waited to place my order. I hate it when that happens.
ReplyDeleteRemove the first and last letters from a woman's title and read backwards to get a man's title.
No, I did not order a shake. See jsulbyrne for more info.
DeleteLADY
My previous hint about "having something to say" hinted at Mr. ED; I had the DAME answer before the BARONESS answer was given away.
Capt. could be a title for either a man or a woman.
And then there's CAPO; and a slight rearrangement of MADAME+N becomes MADE MAN.
I guess others have alluded to LAMA.
I avoided any "kettle" or "barker" references.
🎶Shake it all de time🎶
DeleteHow many hours would I need need to watch the Simpsons before I might understand what they are saying?
DeleteName a woman's title alluded to somewhere above in a clue. Remove the first and last letters to get an ancient man's name.
ReplyDeleteSo goes the palindrome.
DeleteNow that you mention it...
Delete:~D LOL
Palindrone? Isn't that what Sarah launches at her house to get a closer, aerial view of Russia?
DeleteI am not Putin you on.
It may be true. I do know that lately they have been using a dronedairy when they want to see how the milk cows are doing.
DeleteI also know they had to perform an amputation on a camel named Hubert. Afterwards they changed his name to Hubert Humpfree.
Wasn’t that Humpfree Bogart?
DeleteOkay, Jaxon, what'll it be; one hump or two?
DeleteWednesday will tell.
DeleteHumpfree Trumpfree wanted a wall
Deletebut nothing happened . . .
when will he fall?
My question is why did the folks who made up the name palindrome not make the name a palindrome itself?
DeleteAnd couldn't they have thought of a shorter word for abbreviation?
DeleteBlaine,
DeleteAbsolutely! LOL
<<< All this palindromic and dromedary talk has me dusting off my SATOR/ROTAS SQUARE.
DeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
DeleteHumpty Trumpty shat on us all
DeleteHumpty Trumpty had a great ball
All the king's whores and all the king's sycophants
won't be able to put our country back together again.
SDB,
DeleteDon't know whether to laugh or cry.
Mort
Trumpfree in 2020!
DeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
DeleteSometimes great poetry requires revision:
DeleteHumpty Trumpty shat on us all
Humpty Trumpty had a great ball
All the king's whores and all the king's henchmen
Can't put our country together again.
BTW, what's another word for synonymous?
Deletecompatible
Deleteidentical
identified
interchangeable
My answer is so simplistic it just seems like it couldn't be the intended answer...
ReplyDeleteThai soccer boys all alive! So incredibly cool.
ReplyDeleteGreat news!
DeleteThough it is complicated and they may be there for a while. The cave continues to flood as the annual monsoon season starts, and the boys don't know how to swim, much less use scuba in what would be a very dangerous trek for an experienced diver.
DeleteThis sounds like an incredibly naive idea, but what the hell: The Thai cave drama reminds me of the 2010 Chilean mine accident. Now that they know where those kids and their coach are, why not drill down to them like they did in Chile, and use a Fenix-like capsule to hoist them out?
DeleteI had the same idea earlier this afternoon, but without the Chilean connection. It may be having to do with equipment availability.
DeleteThey would also need to consider the softness of the limestone that the Thai caves are in. The Chilean mine was in hard rock around silver and hold deposits, more likely to support a Fenix-like capsule extraction without collapsing.
Delete^^^ gold
DeleteMost of the equipment used in Chile in 2010 was brought in from around the world by many corporations and governments. Some of it (the Fenix capsules, e.g.) was custom made for that rescue. Does the karst geology in northern Thailand prevent such an attempt, Word Woman?
DeleteAh, cross-posting...
DeleteAgain, I'm no geologist, but it seems to me that it's easier to drill through soft rock and build supporting walls that to drill through hard rock.
Delete^^^ than to drill
DeleteI just found a N Y Times article from a few days ago discussing their thinking of drilling to get them out.
Deletehttps://www.nytimes.com/2018/06/28/world/asia/thailand-cave-soccer-drill.html
It's easier to drill, sure, but the walls of the borehole have more of a tendency to collapse. Depending upon how deep it is, building support walls could take a long time . . .and may not be possible at all. Every time you hit a new sinkhole, you may have major drilling troubles, especially in the top 1000 feet of limestone.
DeleteHard rock is so much easier for stability.
... and for cafes.
DeleteThe Chilean miners were down there for 2 months before they were pulled out. They were in a man made mine that had been mapped, and their general location was known, at least from the diagram the horizontal spread wasn't too far.
DeleteSome challenges I can imagine to the drill and pull:
I don't know how well this cave has been mapped, but pinpointing their location relative to the surface might prove difficult. It's a small chamber, they're about a kilometer below the surface, and they're 2 km in on a windy trek.
I also wonder if there aren't large amounts of water stored in the rock above them, and would that potentially flood their chamber? Many caves I've been in are dripping wet, and Thailand is a very wet country. Not a problem in the Atacama Desert
Sorry for the cross-post. As SDB NYT's article pointed out, they considered drilling to find them, different than pulling them out.
DeleteYeah, eco, I agree, karst is so tricky. You want to be sure you're not opening up a major pathway for water and rock to just collapse on the chamber where the boys are located.
DeleteLimestone behaves very differently in humid environments than in arid ones.
jan, hahahaha, Hard Rock Cafe, indeed. When you start out in geology, most fellow geologists ask you if you are hard or soft rock. They tend to be two different beasts but, all are welcome at the HRC.
All this has me thinking about Og. You may recall that he invented the wheel. What I'm unsure about is, was Ogden, Utah named after Og's den?
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DeleteYeah the wheel was a neat invention, but it was no Thagomizer!!!
Deletehttps://trilobluo.files.wordpress.com/2014/06/thagomizer.jpg
In an odd way this is an inverse of the Donner Party.
DeleteBBC has a brief video describing some of the issues, and a good diagram showing a longitudinal section of the cave and where the water is.
SDB: do the poets of Ogden drive a Nash?
I thought it was commonly known that Ogden poets lost their drive long ago, and now spend their time gnashing their teeth. They do it musically and have been called the Ogden Gnashers.
DeleteA one-L Lama or a 2-LL Llama?
DeleteHello, Dalai It's so nice to have Utah back where you belong.
DeleteMusical Clues: Queen and Van Halen
ReplyDeleteHarry Belafonte
DeleteDid you know that a Palindromedary has three humps and a head at each end?
ReplyDelete*Courtesy of Rhymes With Orange -- the best Sunday comic strip since Calvin & Hobbes and the Far Side.
“A palindrome I do not want to write”
DeleteThe mournful palindromedary,
symmetrical and arbitrary,
cannot desert the desert, cannot roam,
plods back and forth but never reaches home.
Mental boustrophedon is scary.
I do not want to write a palindrome.
— Ursula K. Leguin
February 2009
^^^ Le Guin
DeleteCrap! That's due tomorrow!!
ReplyDeleteA good Independence Day to all in these troubling Trumpian times.
ReplyDeleteI think the rescue of the Thai soccer boys will come quite quickly, probably within days.
Several cavers have already traversed the route.
Lights and guide ropes are in place and air bottle stations have been established.
It is likely that tight spots have been enlarged.
All these make risky and time consuming drilling a last resort. While a long delay is possible, things can only go wrong.
I wonder if we will ever know if none, some or all the boys could swim.
Can you spell King Maha Vajiralongkorn Bodindradebayavarangkun?
Maha Vajiralongkorn Bodindradebayavarangkun
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
ReplyDeleteplease delete. this is not the place to give information that would lead directly to the solution.
DeleteKarl, write it in again after 3:00 pm on Thursday. That’s when all the informational clues will become legal and you can share your wit and humor.
Deletedame --> ma
ReplyDeleteLast Sunday I said, “Was mentioned in a song on Bob Dylan’s album, Highway 61 Revisited.” I am referring to Ma Rainey, mentioned in the album’s second track, Tombstone Blues. Later, I said my solution seemed too simplistic to be correct. I never did find the earlier rendition of the puzzle several of you had mentioned and still don’t know if this is the intended answer or not, but it’s the answer I sent in.
BARONESS > SENORA
ReplyDeleteMy Hints:
My removed by Blaine post:
"There just doesn't seem to be any reason to offer B.S. repeats when there are so many good puzzle suggestions not used."
The hint was REASON, which anagrams to SENORA. I then thought I might find something to add with the two removed letters. I found a way to insert BS. I should have realized it might have been too revealing, but I must have had blinders on, and am glad Blaine caught it.
I then posted the following that also has REASON:
"I think I know the reason Blaine removed my post."
Baroness --> senora I believe WS' intended answer
ReplyDeleteDame --> ma
Femme --> Mme My third answer, Mme is not an English term, of course.
"Title" is both relevant and an original sin in the puzzle. The "sin" in the puzzle is the lack of the tilde (~) over the n in señora. The Spanish and Portuguese word "tilde" comes from the Latin titulus, meaning "title". The circle is complete.
Sorry to disappoint you Mort Canard, but just for fun I said you had to wait until Declaration Day, with its hidden message.
Am not disappointed was just curious about your comment. Still haven't got the hang of many comments not being straight forward comments and being vehicles for obscure wordplay.
ReplyDeleteMy bonus challenge:Name a woman's title alluded to somewhere above in a clue. Remove the first and last letters to get an ancient man's name.
ReplyDeleteMadame --> Adam which is of course the heart of Madam I'm Adam palindrome.
I believed the answer to be Dame and ma. Still think simple is better.
ReplyDeleteNo reason then to have the "common English spelling" advisory with that answer. I think Baroness --> Senora is more likely.
DeleteEnglish is the key. Dame ma. But then again Spanish/Portugese is the new English. Sigh
ReplyDeleteAnd ww: the square used for your avatar is awesome, It is where my family derived its name
ReplyDeleteTell us more, zeke creek, if you care to reveal.
DeleteA late revelation for me today >>>
BARONESS - BS = SENORA
"Got it. Until we meet again. . . " The til in until refers to the tilde in señora.
"Shall we call BS now?" My self-deleted clue refers to the two letters removed from BARONESS to get SENORA.
VA refers to the band BARONESS which started in Lexington, VA.
"Indeed, it mars the puzzle for me." refers to senora meaning a married woman.
WW,
DeleteDidn't see an explanation of your bonus puzzle re: "prefix related to childbirth or a large South American bird."
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DeleteAh, yes, MC, thank you for asking:
DeleteBonus puzzle: Name a woman's title. Drop the first and last letters and rearrange the remaining letters to spell either a prefix related to childbirth or a large South American bird.
Answer: DOCTOR - DR = TOCO
As Maxwell Smart used to say: "Missed it by that much." I had found tocin, tocia, and also toucan, but I could not find any way to reconcile them.
DeleteI’d hoped that DOCTOR would have been one of the first titles to come to people’s minds and TOCO would flow easily from there.
DeleteI also like a title that is not gender specific.
As to the “MA” that several have mentioned here, I would not consider that a “title” but rather a slang term for a mother. Using MA to stand for Master of Arts might work, but it’s a stretch.
WW,
DeleteAgreed on Doctor. I am the son of a Minister and a Sociology Professor so my mom was known either as Professor or Doctor.
I would argue that enough colloquial English sources have used the terms Ma and Pa (Ma Kettle, Ma Barker, Ma Rainey...) as honorifics that the two terms do probably qualify as titles in current english usage.
MC, we can agree to disagree on "Ma."
DeleteTwo questions:
1) Has any one encountered "Mx," an "English language neologistic honorific that indicates a gender other than male or female, or no gender."
2) Are there different terms for married vs single men in other cultures?
I've known several people who are in the process of or have gone through gender re-identification, but none have used the term Mx - which sounds militaristic.
DeleteBut most people I encounter shun Mr or Mrs or Ms, or any honorific title - except those annoying PhD's who insist on being called "Doctor". The bigger problem for friends and colleagues of those transitioning is avoiding the pronouns - they want neither "he" nor "she", and "it" sounds rather demeaning.
I've never heard of different terms for men, at least in the Indo-European sphere. Years ago I worked for an old-school Italian structural engineer; he simply called everyone "Babe", whether they were a man or a woman.
What do you think about that, Babe?
My niece and nephew call everyone “Dude.”
DeleteDude, does that work for you?
(It either do-ed or it don’t.)
My wife and I disagreed on what our granddaughter should call us. I wanted to just be "Jan", she wanted "grandma". Last month, the 17-month old seemed to be producing a generic "gran" for both of us. But now, she's got it all sorted out. My wife is "Lisa", and I'm "grandma".
DeleteThat is hilarious. Somewhat annoying too, I imagine. You could always withhold presents. Of course that takes presents off mind.
DeleteI honored to be named for El Commandante's boat...
Deletejan, very funny. Maybe she could glide into gramma, short for grammar, for you.
DeleteOne of my grandmothers was “Cappy.” My friend is “Honey Bear” to her grandchild. Anyone else have unusual names for a grandparent (besides jan’s granddaughter, of course)?
Growing up, we used to call my grandmother on my mother's side "Mimi"(pronounced mih-mee). I don't even know how we arrived at that. Her name was Katherine.
DeleteMy wife's grandmothers were "grandma" and "other grandma".
Deleteeco, on behalf of my student (and others) who are transitioning, I wanted to clarify what his preference is, regarding this part of your statement above:
Delete“The bigger problem for friends and colleagues of those transitioning is avoiding the pronouns - they want neither "he" nor "she", and "it" sounds rather demeaning.”
He absolutely prefers he and him, though he was born female.
Non-binary gender folks often prefer they/them but, in my experience, those transitioning feel a strong preference to be called the gender they are transitioning to.
When in doubt, just ask. Professors at several colleges now, as a matter of course (pun intended), ask each student which pronouns they/he/she prefer(s). It’s all new territory for me, but it feels important to try to understand the new territory.
I was going to let it go but decided I needed to say something, after all.
-Word Woman-
WW: Thanks for the word from the trenches, it is new but those who respect others need guidance. This reminds me of something that happened about 30 years ago, an absolutely true story, sorry it's a bit long.
DeleteI was called for jury duty in San Francisco, a criminal assault and battery case at a single room occupancy hotel near the Civic Center. The prosecutor alleged that the victim had made a pass at another resident, and that infuriated him into attacking - the gay panic defense before it was mainstream.
One of the witnesses was named Lola Bustamante. I had wondered about their gender when I saw them in the hallway before they were in the court, but I ultimately chalked it up to the wild flavors of my new hometown. During direct examination the prosecutor would say, "Miss Bustamante, tell us what happened on ....", "What happened next, Miss Bustamante?", etc. Before the defense attorney could start, the judge instructed the jury that Mr Bustamante's testimony was hearsay and should be treated as such.
Cue perplexed jurors all looking at each other from the corners of their eyes.
Then the defense attorney goes to the podium, shuffles his papers, clears his throat and says, "Um, now how would you like to be addressed, is it Miss Bustamante? Ms, Mrs, Mist--."
From the witness stand: "Just call me Lola."
Maintaining decorum in the court was not easy. Before giving deliberation instructions the judge thanked the jury for their attention in this "unusual trial, that would likely not happen in Kansas."
eco, what a great answer from Lola! Wish they'd started with that at the beginning of the proceedings.
DeleteAside: How would you like to be addressed?
On an envelope? ;-)
I saw the Baroness --> senora pair but I thought the puzzle’s wording excluded a word which is plainly not an English word and requires a tilde over the n. Look it up at Dictionary.com.
ReplyDeleteChuck, The first time WS gave this puzzle the answer was Baroness and Senora. On April 24, 2016,someone complained about the tilde being absent and that is probably why WS changed the wording of the puzzle regarding common English language.
DeleteChuck,
DeleteWill's advisory was: " Both titles are common English-language spellings." In common English I have often seen senora spelled without the tilde over the n in publications aimed at English speakers. Same actually for Senior and Senorita.
SENORA can be written either with or without a tilde: See the Mirriam-Webster entry for SENORA.
Deleteron, I have to disagree. The dictionary does not set the rule, it only reports on the way people are using words, whether rightly or wrongly.
DeleteYes. SENORA in English is written both ways, with & without the tilde. This does not describe a rule, just standard English usage...
DeleteIt actually describes English misusage. It is similar to ARCTIC being mispronounced ARTIC, but it gets into the dictionaries due to volume of misuse. It is a shame.
DeleteRon,
DeleteYeah, the "standard English usage" advisory sounds like Will's effort to prevent nit picking about the presence or absence of the tilde.
It's the same with "vis-a-vis" or "vis-à-vis," both are used and considered acceptable by the dictionary people in English.
DeleteDictionary people do not decide what is acceptable, but what is used by people. If enough people write ENOUGH as ENUF, it will eventually be included in the dictionaries as ENOUGH, ENUF, and eventually it will be revised to ENUF, ENOUGH.
DeleteThe dictionary people do not DECIDE what is acceptable; they report only what is CONSIDERED acceptable and so far they do not CONSIDER "enuf" acceptable.
DeleteBesides, who, other than you, DECIDES what is acceptable or a "misusage" ?
Deleteron, I didn't say they did either of those things. I said they decide what the volume of usage is, and make additions, or changes, based on that. I was not implying ENUF was even being used, only to help you understand. Dictionary people are NOT concerned with acceptability, only what is being used.
Deletehttps://www.merriam-webster.com/help/faq-words-into-dictionary
DeleteThere are prescriptive dictionaries as well as descriptive dictionaries, fyi.
DeleteTrump's predicament: Confidence is the feeling you sometimes have before you fully understand the situation.
DeleteWe have done the (ma)tilde dance before (and with other punctuation), but it seems that Will will never learn.
ReplyDeleteNow the question is will Willy accept both answers or will he not?
Since the PM brought up the "common English-language" caveat, does it mean he knew this was a repeat?
MJ: Look up April 24 Sunday Puzzle broadcast and you will hear WS discuss the problem with the Tilde.
DeleteApril 24, 2016.
DeleteBARONESS → SENORA (SEÑORA)
ReplyDeleteAlternate answer: DAME → MA (Ma Barker, Ma Ingalls, Ma & Pa Kettle, Ma Rainey, et al.)
My hint: “ROB'S (quite) SANE” anagrams to BARONESS.
The famous palindrome:
“Madam, I'm Adam.”
~___ ~~
ReplyDelete~~___ ~
~___~~
~~___~
??? you say?
Waltzing ma tildes
;-D
BARONESS, SENORA
ReplyDeleteMy IFC clue referred to the "BARONESS Von Sketch Show", a Canadian sketch-comedy show that appeared for a short time on the channel recently. The troupe is made up entirely of women, and there are quite a few women behind the scenes as well. Sort of flipped the script on the "Kids in the Hall", right down to some cast members dressing in drag(which would be as men in this case).
BTW in the "Rob's quite sane" comment, I actually noticed an anagram of "sobriquet" rather than BARONESS. Mere coincidence, I'm sure.
BREAKING NEWS
ReplyDeleteNavy Seal dies in rescue attempt.
https://www.express.co.uk/news/world/984693/thailand-cave-rescue-diver-dies-lack-oxygen-navy-seal
But, back to the downy woodpeckers that have taken over my hummingbird feeder: What's that about? They peck wood to get at the grubs inside. They're insectivores. You never see them hovering, sipping nectar from flowers, because they're woodpeckers, not hummingbirds. Millions of years of evolutionary adaptation to equip them to hammer trees for grubs, and then one day I show up with my hummingbird feeder, and they decide, suddenly, OK, I'm a sapsucker? How does that work? And, why them and not the robins and cardinals and catbirds and sparrows, and everyone else that could use a free lunch? Bird brains. Go figure.
ReplyDeleteWell, don't get all a flutter about it.
DeleteThe Mercury News says this:
Delete“The downy is the smallest breed of woodpecker we have here in the Bay Area. Although it’s odd to see them on a hummingbird feeder, they share a characteristic with the hummers — a long tongue that can fit into the feeder’s opening.”
So they kind of have a sweet tongue 😛 👅. They don’t want to bug you.
What cunning linguists!
Delete😳 😳 Merely fellow birds. 😆
DeleteThis conversation is for the birds!
DeleteTook this in late May. https://photos.app.goo.gl/jrkue7d8SsyJ5fGp6
DeleteI immediately thought of Baroness Von Schrader and solved it. Then my laptop died, a holiday interrupted the week, and maybe I'll win the two second tune on the local radio station.
ReplyDeleteDoesn't it seem strange that nutritionists are all over the place, yet you never see an oldtritionist?
ReplyDelete9 minutes ago:
ReplyDeleteThe rescue mission has begun, the governor has confirmed at a press conference this morning. (Thai time)
18 divers have been sent into the caves to retrieve the 12 boys and their football coach. The 13 people inside the cave have been informed and are ready and their families have been informed.
Medical teams have been rehearsing for three days and are ready to treat the group when they emerge.
Urgency seems to be from the upcoming rains and the reduced oxygen levels - which indicates the chamber has no vents and the water is acting like a P-trap.
ReplyDeleteMay the all safely return.
ReplyDeleteNPR is late on getting their website for Morning Edition Sunday up and running again. :~(
ReplyDeleteFirst 2 boy are reported out of the cave.
ReplyDeleteOver 500 correct entries last week.
ReplyDeleteWill accepted both answers. The intended answer was Baroness --> Senora, but also accepted Dame--> Ma.
ReplyDeleteNext week's challenge: This challenge comes from Andrew Chaikin of the National Puzzlers' League.
ReplyDeleteThe word PANCAKE has an unusual property. If you remove its last letter, you get a series of U.S. state postal abbreviations — PA, NC, and AK. Can you name a major city and state that both have this property? To solve this, first think of a state in which you can drop its last letter to leave a series of state postal abbreviations. Then find a major city in that state that also has this property. The city and state names have to be different. What city and state is it?