Sunday, November 04, 2018

NPR Sunday Puzzle (Nov 4, 2018): What Shall I Wear Today?

NPR Sunday Puzzle (Nov 4, 2018): What Shall I Wear Today?:
Q: Think of an article of apparel in eight letters. Drop the last 2 letters. Move what are the now the last 2 letters to the front. You'll get an article of apparel in 6 letters. What is it?
The first list I looked at was no help at all.

Edit: "At all" sounds like "atoll" which leads to "Bikini Atoll" and then "Monokini".
A: MONOKINI --> KIMONO

142 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
    Replies
    1. The first list I found helped me solve it. These items can be worn together.

      Delete
  2. A Google search of the 8-letter item of apparel is quite revealing

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. There's a lot of scary stuff on the web.

      Delete
    2. Apparently, hodiau016 has me Pegged.
      In addition to the occasional spider, there are lions and tigers ("Oh my!"). A bare problem, however, can be remedied by our old friend the maillot.
      A gi or a Jedi robe would be even better.

      Delete
  3. One could get in trouble for posting.

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  4. Replies
    1. The placeholder name for 111, unununium, would have been cool, too.

      Delete
    2. Rhodium and Rhenium would have been good R's

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    3. The ones that popped into my head were.
      Einsteinium
      Uranium
      Rubidium
      Osmium
      Selenium

      Many thanks to Tom Lehrer!!
      https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AcS3NOQnsQM

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    4. What about Stadium? Not to mention Tedium.

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    5. So the Brits are onto something with aluminium:

      And to make it official, the IUPAC (chemistry's governing body) now basically requires any new element to end in -ium (since 2002), so that's all we're going to see from here on out.

      >>>

      http://media.iupac.org/publications/pac/2002/pdf/7405x0787.pdf

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    6. Keep it elementary my dear SDB!

      Delete
  5. Seems like certain band of medieval knights might be able to help with this one.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yes, I belive they were Sir Beldevere the Wise, Sir Lancelot the Brave, Sir Galahad the Pure, Sir Robin the Not-Quite-So-Brave-as-Sir-Lancelot, and Sir Not-Appearing-in-this-Film. Never mind, ‘tis a silly piece of clothing.

      Delete
  6. Replies
    1. There's a toponym involved, too.

      Delete
    2. So many nyms, so little time. . .

      http://www.fun-with-words.com/nym_words.html

      Delete
  7. This puzzle was much easier to figure out than it would be to figure in.

    ReplyDelete
  8. I’ve solved it, but it’s hard to think of a good hint offhand. Certainly nothing I can top here.

    ReplyDelete
  9. Would it be indelicate to ask that we hold the mayo?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. To reiterate a deleted post from last week >>> Here we go again.

      Delete
  10. Chris Hedges amazing interview:

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tPk9HSLagVg

    ReplyDelete
  11. Never heard of the 8 letter item. Well maybe I have - but dementia has erased it from my brain. The 6 letter item is more familiar.

    ReplyDelete
  12. I need to get past the chuckles of "nose-ring".

    ReplyDelete
  13. This puzzle may go viral. I’m sick of trying to solve it. (Shortz is a six letter article of apparel, right?)

    ReplyDelete
  14. You could wear a MOCKASIN with A SMOCK.

    ReplyDelete
  15. Replies
    1. ron,
      Good photos, but why are all those sheep herding those men?

      Delete
    2. Thanks for sharing the photo awards link. Hard to believe the active volcano surrounded by a lightning tornado at night wasn’t enough to sway the judges. Maybe “stormy” is no longer news?

      Delete
  16. Thanks to crossword puzzles I knew Ecru.

    Ecru
    Umber
    Red
    Orange
    Salmon.

    ReplyDelete
  17. Now that DST is over, maybe this is a good time to remember past, or even plan future summer vacations!

    ReplyDelete
  18. Despite the exposure, it's just a garment.

    ReplyDelete
  19. Releasing the Judiciary report on the Kavanaugh investigation this weekend seems like a blatant move by Grassley to fan the dying embers of the Kavanaugh Fury.

    ReplyDelete
  20. An even more singular answer than that to a puzzle several months ago.

    ReplyDelete
  21. I put on my finest DICEBONE after reading the latest ripped BODICE novel from Harlequin

    ReplyDelete
  22. Replies
    1. It's always darkest just before it gets pitch black.

      Delete
  23. One garment very suitable for certain cultures. The other, not so much.

    ReplyDelete
  24. Once I put on my mirrored sunglasses, I solved this puzzle rather quickly.

    ReplyDelete
  25. I'm trying to figure out when all the polls will close. Didn't Trump, by executive order, take voting rights away from Hawaiians due to Obama having maybe being born there?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I wish we'd hear quicker results. Some good news here and there, so far.

      Delete
    2. I don't really think this is particularly good news. I think it is bad news. It shows the country is still close to evenly divided between normal people and ignorant, radical nuts. I see nothing to get excited about.

      Delete
    3. Yeah, I agree. But, Kobach appears to have lost & our current US (R) Rep appears to have lost, too!
      I was hoping the senate might flip but of course, it wasn't meant to be. Dang it!!

      Delete
    4. At least The House appears to be going Democratic.

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    5. Discouraging. But, Colorado is blue with our governor and attorney general both Dems.

      Bring on the subpoenas in the House.

      Delete
    6. I see all this as nothing but a distraction. If the country had awakened and unilaterally rebelled then I would have some hope, but that did not happen. This is an empire determined to self-destruct. It shows no signs of even trying to save itself. Nothing short of a national uprising of enormous proportions demanding change will stop it from happening. I see no signs of that.

      Delete
    7. I am glad we will retake the House, but it is nothing to hang your hat on. It just means we stay pretty much where we are now. It probably also means there is even less chance of any kind of revolution necessary to save ourselves. The people aren't aware yet of what is happening and in store for us. They don't teach history in our schools. And they don't teach how to think critically.

      Delete
    8. WW: At least KS now seems to have a Democratic governor!
      SDB: So much for that big blue wave. I'll wait for the morning results before I start mourning. Hey, at least there are some victories tonight.

      Delete
    9. It really doesn't mean very much, 68C. It is similar to filling out your room service form indicating what you want for breakfast tomorrow on the Titanic

      Delete
    10. Hah!! Hey at least the Reichstag is not burning!

      Delete
    11. It doesn't appear to be necessary. It is an interesting point though. Trump has been playing the same game with the shootings here that Hitler played with the Reichstag fire.

      Delete
    12. That's kinda what I was thinking.
      Don't get me wrong though, I am disappointed overall tonight. I was hoping for a bigger blue wave

      Delete
    13. Congrats 68C on dispensing with Kobach, may he rot in the dustbin of history before taking the Charon Cruise. More likely he'll get some West Wing or cabinet appointment after the next round of Trump purges. It looks like we may get rid of Dana Rohrabacher, another passenger on that boat. Not a big wave though.

      SDB: to paint a more optimistic picture, the economy will probably crash in 2019 or 2020. Without the political, mental or fiscal resources to mitigate the damage, 2008 will seem a momentary blip. Right Wing regimes both here and around the world (Russia, China, India, Japan, England, Brazil, Turkey etc), desperate to cling to power will become more entrenched, blame others, and incite violence, while enacting austerity policies that will only exacerbate the crisis.

      Who knows, World War III may ensue. But it will make Americans recognize their foolishness, and global destruction is surely worth that price.

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    14. The crash is certainly coming, and it was evident at least 9 years ago when nothing was put in place to prevent it. However, there is no way to accurately predict when. If it does not happen before the next presidential election I am predicting Trump will win a second term. It is reminiscent of Nixon, Reagan and W. Bush. It has been a very steady decline for decades now, and nothing is going to stop it. We are a nation of fools.

      Delete
    15. The biggest vote for national politics was Florida Measure 4, which restores voting rights for 10% of the population, a large majority of which typically vote for Democrats. Florida probably flipped to blue last night, and if the Dems can put forth a reasonable (read not hated) candidate and a clear message, they'd likely defeat Agent Orange.

      Of course a clear message from the Dems may be asking too much.

      Delete
    16. Eco: Re Kobach, the pleasure was mine!!
      These were the first campaigns (Laura Kelly's & Sharice Davids(Governor & Congresswoman)) that I felt I had to get actively involved in!

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    17. So which cabinet position will Kobach get? Given his proclivities against dark skinned people he seems the perfect replacement once they nail Wilbur Ross at Commerce. Kobach running the Census? You betcha!

      Delete
    18. 68C, thanks for working to elect Laura Kelly and Sharice Davids in KS. Both seem quite badass.

      Just about every major elected seat in CO is now as blue as our skies. And the state where the baker would not make a cake for “the gays” has a gay governor.

      CPR may consider changing the name of our local political program “Purplish” to “Azure.”

      Delete
    19. WW: Good for Colorado, I am glad to hear that!!
      A couple of weeks ago I was at Sharice's campaign headquarters and met her Mom. She was very nice and unassuming. It was just kind of neat to see that she was a regular person!
      BTW, we didn't do much, just some yard signs and a small $ contribution, but every little bit helps!!

      Delete
    20. WW,
      I had no idea our governor, Jay Inslee was gay.

      Delete
    21. Ooooops! My error. While our state's case was first, it was not about a cake, but a florist refusing to provide flowers for a gay wedding. How could I have confused flowers with cakes? Cakes are all about icing, whereas flowers are all about stalking. Or something like that.

      Delete
    22. sdb, I am not following. . .

      Hey, 68C, if Ann Coulter says “Kansas is dead to me,” you Kansans must be doing something right.

      With so much statewide blue (the last time CO was this blue was 1938, 80 years ago!), we ought to be able to get stuff done here.

      The fire today at Noble Energy in Weld County, CO seems odd/suspicious to me. NobleEnergy and others spent over $30 million (!) to defeat Proposition 112, a proposition to change the setbacks from buildings for oil and gas wells to 2500’.

      Delete
    23. We posted at about the same time, sdb. Cakes ��, flowers ��, what have you. . .

      Delete
    24. The first lawsuit brought against a business owner refusing service for a gay wedding is the Arlene's Flowers case in Richland, WA. I had forgotten it was about flowers and not about a cake. I get so confused when it comes to weddings.

      Delete
  26. Not to change the subject, but did anyone else notice recently that NPR has been interviewing discredited, former head of the Fed, Alan Greedspan for his opinions on our economy? Why not interview someone who actually knows something, such as Paul Krugman?

    ReplyDelete
  27. Trump won. Two years of vandalizing the country cost him and his backers essentially nothing.

    ReplyDelete
  28. I have to assume Trump was on Viagra this morning, which was evidenced by the length of his press conference that finally now has ended, where he went on and on and on shamelessly pleasuring himself.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. At first I thought he might have a stroke during that shameful press conference but then it occurred to me that he thrives on this kind of infighting.

      Delete
    2. He did have a stroke. All he was doing was stroking.

      I did not see any of it, I heard it on the radio.

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    3. I could only watch it in 10-15 minute stretches, it just made me so mad I had to walk away for a few minutes every so often.
      I just wonder what would happen if the Press would not show up or walk out on him??

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    4. The Press cannot walk out on him. It would mean he won. He wants them to walk out on him.

      Now, 68Charger, sit down and shut up. I didn't call on you. :-)

      Delete
    5. What was kind of bizarre, while watching the back & forth arguing, was seeing the young gal whose job was to go around the room and take the microphone away from the various media people asking questions (mid sentence). She was trying to keep the Mic going around but it was nervy. Fortunately, most of them resisted her efforts.

      Delete
  29. Wow! Jeff Sessions resigns at Trump's request!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. The night of the long knives begins.

      Delete
    2. Yeah, very troubling...
      I wonder what else is about to happen.

      Delete
    3. I have no sympathy for Jeff Beauregard, but when I saw a picture of his replacement my first thought was this guy reminds me of someone. So, in lieu of a Bonus Puzzle, can you name the mystery brother separated at birth?

      Special prizes and embarrassment for those who know, hints only please until tomorrow 3pm eastern.

      Delete
    4. Two material clues: wood and steel.

      Delete
    5. It wasn't Matthew, but wasn't Whitaker the guy played by Carl Reiner, who discovered the Russians are coming in the movie "The Russians Are Coming, The Russians Are Coming"? Irony? Or Emergency, Everybody To Get From Street?

      Delete
    6. Ok, eco, who is the mystery brother?

      Delete
    7. Ah yes. I think Jan got it, but I wouldn't expect a (smart) Woman to know: the mystery brother is none other than George "The Animal" Steele, a professional wrestler (perfect for tRump) from the 60's through the 80's. Goog - er, Duckduckgo his name and look at some truly astonishing pictures.

      In addition to his Gorgeous George good looks, The Animal was famous for eating the padding that covered the turnbuckles in the corner of the ring.

      Delete
    8. Jan replied while I was typing, but I'm still perplexed how he would have known that. Jan, you just dropped two rungs on the respectability ladder, you'll be down here soon.

      Delete
    9. I'd never heard of the guy, but TinEye does a good job of searching images.

      Delete
    10. Hmmm, eco, I have been enlightened but could have never known about Gorgeous George and my life would still have been complete...

      jan, I did enjoy learning about TinEye. Thanks. Have you figured out the identity of the White House microphone-grabbing staffer yet?

      Delete
    11. I wondered if her name was: "Miss Appropriate"?

      Delete
    12. A friend noted Whitaker's resemblance to Lex Luthor.

      Delete
  30. 11th hour hints for Will Shortz's NPR puzzle, which was created by Dominick Talvacchio of Chicago:
    Expose your keister and its tats? That's just all mixed up, and an ego trip!
    One new member of the Oakland Nine who is obsessed with the periodic table of elements, and who therefore asked for a uniform number corresponding to one of his three favorite elements, 7, 66 and 39, is also just fine with element number 8.


    LegoHopesTheseAreSufficientlyObscure

    ReplyDelete
  31. No clues intended. At 3:30AM after taking care of my Corgis, I gave one last thought to this puzzle. The 6 letter article came to mind, but when I went backwards and got the 8 letter one, I had to look it up to make sure it existed. I sent it in just under the wire./

    ReplyDelete
  32. MONOKINI > KIMONO

    My Hint:

    "This puzzle was much easier to figure out than it would be to figure in." You don't need a degree in String Theory to understand that most people cannot wear a monokini, not that I wouldn't appreciate White House Press Secretary Sarah Elizabeth Huckabee Sanders having the courage to wear one at her next disingenuous press conference in order to demonstrate her ability to be revealing.

    ReplyDelete
  33. MONOKINI >>> KIMONO

    “Oh!” refers to the ohashori, the tuck in the KIMONO, covered by the obi or sash. Our family received several beautiful KIMONO from our Japanese exchange students.

    “Rhizome” refers to the zori or flip flop worn with the KIMONO. Flip flop the syllables of rhizo(me) to reveal the zori.

    Speaking of flip flopping syllables, I enjoyed Paul’s “Oh my!” reversing to maillot!

    Junie B. Jones >>> JÅ«nihitoe, an elegant and complex kimono worn only by ladies-in-waiting in Japan.

    ReplyDelete
  34. MONOKINI -> KIMONO

    > Synonym/retronym. There's a toponym involved, too.

    KIMONO basically means “article of apparel”. The bikini bathing suit was named for Bikini atoll in the Marshall Islands, site of early nuclear tests, because of the devastating effect it would have on men. The “bi” in “bikini” had nothing to do with it being a two-piece suit, but when Rudi Gernrich came up with his topless one-piece, the retronym was natural.

    > Oh, be serious!

    “Oh, be” = “obi” = the tie found on KIMONOs and crosswords. Also, “be serious” = “B. cereus” = Bacillus cereus, a pathogenic bacteria that grows on leftover cooked rice, a staple where KIMONOs are worn.

    > Would it be indelicate to ask that we hold the mayo?

    “Mayo” = “maillot”, as we all know, of which a MONOKINI is a variant.

    ReplyDelete
  35. MONOKINI delete NI, move KI to the front, and get KIMONO

    My comment, “It would be hard to top this puzzle,” near the end of last week’s blog requires no explanation.

    ReplyDelete
  36. MONOKINIKIMONO

    There is even such a thing as the PUBIKINI, invented by the guy who came up with the monokini!

    My hint: “Oh No!” is, phonetically, the last three letters of kimono.

    If you had used THIS LIST, you would have found the answer...

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. We've come full circle: before 1946, Bikini was a little nothing atoll. Then came the bikini bathing suit, then the monokini, then the pubikini. Next, we'll be back to wearing nothing atoll....

      Delete
    2. jan,
      Are you trying to cloud over the situation?

      Delete
  37. Monokini ---> kimono

    One could get in trouble for posting. Refers to the Maillots puzzle from last summer. In addition to the pronunciation troubles, posting used to happen through a Mail Slot.

    I'm ok going back, though it might put us on edge. InikonoM OnomiK, edge of words, backwards, of course.

    ReplyDelete
  38. Explanations for my two "11th hour hints" (Wed Nov 07, 11:13:00 PM PST):
    1. Expose your keister (MOON) and its tats (INK)? That's just all mixed up, and an ego (I) trip!
    Unmix MOON and INK to form MONOKIN then add the I to get MONOKINI.
    2. One new member (A) of the Oakland Nine who is obsessed with the periodic table of elements, and who asked for a uniform number corresponding to one of his three favorite elements, 7, 66 and 39, (N DY Y), is also just fine (OK) with element number 8 (O). (ANDY + YOKO = musicians Andy KIM and Yoko ONO = KIMONO)
    (A member of the Oakland Athletics is called an A. Elements 7, 66 and 39 are Nitrogen (N), Dysprosium (Dy) and Yttrium (Y). Oxygen (O) is element number 8.)

    LegoWhoNotesThatTheCowriterOf"SugarSugar"AmazinglySeemsToHaveWonNewJersey's3rdCongressionalDistrictRace!

    ReplyDelete
  39. There is also a MONO KILT (A skirt for women)...remove the LT and get KIMONO

    ReplyDelete
  40. My clue - “This puzzle may go viral. I’m sick of trying to solve it.” - was reference to “mono” (the illness). Not my best clue on this occ-Asian.

    ReplyDelete
  41. MONOKINI, KIMONO
    I was not the only one to make a pun using the word "top" as a clue. Too easy, obviously.

    ReplyDelete
  42. My grandson was researching "monokini" on Wikipedia in class when his teacher hit Peggy Moffitt with her ruler (breaking his iPhone screen), then him across his knuckles before sending him to the principal.

    I never heard the term before, so we have two things to thank Will the Short for.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Does your grandson go to a Catholic school? Public schools usually don't permit knuckle whacking. I was a bit surprised by the photo in the Wiki listing.

      Can you see anything up there? My Redwood Valley clients sent pics, looks really nasty up there. We just have a light shimmering of smoke down here, unhealthy, not hazardous like yours.

      Delete
    2. Yesterday at about noon, we had the strangest sky i have ever seen.
      It was nearly dark and fully orange.
      Many objects appeared blue, especially the lichen in the oak trees. Yellow and orange leaves seemed almost too bright to look at. Twilight Zone!
      The plume got here incredibly quickly, but there was more ash in Santa Rosa where we were in the afternoon.
      This morning it is light yellow.

      Delete
    3. A photo from yesterday afternoon. No flash or special effects, it was still sunny in the foreground, though that didn't last long.

      Delete
    4. Eco: I'm afraid in grade school, I had been on the receiving end of many a pointer stick! Only a couple of nuns were famous for this as most of them were pretty nice, strict but nice.

      Hope they get those fires contained soon!

      Delete
  43. From Fortune's Ellen McGirt's week in review, in haiku: on Ruth Bade Ginsburg's fractured ribs:

    I have watched enough
    House of Cards to know that Ruth
    didn’t just “fall down”

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Something happened to Justice Ginsburg,
      I heard it straight out of Bloomberg.
      So here is the truth,
      On our dear old Ruth.
      She was floored by Mark Zuckerberg.

      Delete
  44. This week's challenge: This challenge comes from listener Phil Moffa of Torrance, Calif. It's easy, but elegant. Think of a familiar four-word phrase that means "to be last." Together the first two words are a synonym for the last word. What phrase is it?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.

      Delete
  45. Musical clue: not One Direction.

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  46. Having passed on my non-athletic genes, my children are also familiar with this phrase.

    ReplyDelete
  47. As MJ frequently wonders, "How much are we paying the PM?"

    ReplyDelete
  48. No kidding about this one being easy.

    ReplyDelete

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.