I hold my holiday cards close to my heart; you might call them "chest-treasure". Do we need Word Woman's help this week?Q: It's a straightforward puzzle. Think of a place you can find coins, in two words. Put the second word first, and you'll get a compound word describing most holiday cards. What words are these?
Edit: Word Woman's initials are WW, just like the answer.
A: WISHING WELL --> WELL-WISHING
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.
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DeleteI might have saved this puzzle for the spring instead of during the early winter. By the way, happy belated solstice to all! Lovely that the light 💡 is already returning to us here in the northern hemisphere.
ReplyDeleteI am extremely envious of my friend Word Woman! Blaine mentioned her in his hint this week. Last week Blaine's hint read "Let's see where this goes."
DeleteI am so egotistical that I thought the embedded Lego might have been a shout-out to ME, ME, ME.
My answer to this week's NPR puzzle is the the one to which others have alluded this morning. But I did have to first make sure I knew exactly what qualifies as a "compound word."
LegoWhoNotesThereAreMoreThanTwentyPuzzlesOnThisWeek'sJosephYoung'sPuzzleria!
I will say I think it’s the first time my name has been used in such close proximity to the term “chest-treasure.”
DeleteMerry Christmas Eve Eve and/or Happy Sunday!
Family Holiday Pet Feast. Enjoy...
DeleteIf only my relatives could manage such polite behavior at the table.
DeleteGood puzzle. The second part fits with Xmas cards, to be sure, but also aligns with my feelings toward this group and to Blaine who makes it possible. Merry Xmas, everyone.
ReplyDeleteMusical Clue: Paul Rodgers
ReplyDeleteSananda Maitreya, under an earlier name.
DeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
DeleteFortunately not too hard.
ReplyDeleteSo "straightforward" it's almost trivial.
ReplyDeleteOK, I really meant "Trevial, but you knew that ... just like I knew SuperZee's award winning song.
DeleteSananda Maitreya.
ReplyDeletef/k/a Terence Trent D'Arby
Deletehttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ynIHsHYaig0
Ah so, easy... Here's to you all. Merry Christmas.
ReplyDeleteTrump is playing word games again. And this time it's with his proposed border wall. He is now calling for a Great Barrier. Well, we all know of Austraila's Great Barrier Reef. So I suppose if he manages to get his wish he will be known as The Great Barrier Thief.
ReplyDeleteSpeaking of, “He who shall not be named,” three days after Secretary of Defense Mathis announced his resignation, effective at the end of February, the school yard bully announces his replacement effective January 1.
DeleteLittle Donny doesn’t like it when somebody beats him at a game.
This week's puzzle reminds me of an award winning song.
ReplyDeleteHey WW,
ReplyDeleteTo be included in a Blaine clue must feel like a bigger honor getting the NPR call!
Hey Clark, absolutely!
DeleteSorry WW, I left out the word "than".
ReplyDeleteEasy one this week, and it's a good thing. Thanks to Legolambda, there's a lot to have to work on with this week's Puzzleria! without worrying about the Sunday Puzzle as well! Merry Christmas y'all!
ReplyDeleteHe wagered a few coins on the BEAT UP yesterday.
ReplyDeleteGlad I looked up definition of compound words. I need to find that place mentioned in puzzle. Will explain Thursday.
ReplyDeleteCompound Words.
DeleteSpeaking of compound words, I've been doing some research into the 1811 and 1812 New Madrid earthquakes which occurred in the bootheel of Missouri. Bootheel seems wrong; I want it to be boot-heel or boot heel. Otherwise, my brain processes it as booth eel or boo theel. Aren't there rules about putting a t next to an h in a compound word?! There ought to be.
DeleteI am digging in my boot-heels on this one.
Listen sweetheart, pithy questions can lead hotheads to put bulletholes in your penthouse. Or potholes in your outhouse.
DeleteI doubt you can get a foothold on the subject, but will neither dither nor hurl epithets. What do they say in the foothills of Lithuania or Lesotho?
Or could you ask the Meathead or the sweathogs?
Or Beethoven, Goethe, or Methuselah?
And yet. . .
DeleteUnagi (freshwater eel) is known for its bold, rich taste, while Anago (saltwater eel), is a more muted choice, known for its incredibly soft texture and natural sweetness.
And if you eat them in a diner, just ask for booth eel.
US 2 31
ReplyDeleteDid anyone else notice that Lulu said they received exactly 600 responses this week and she said the exact same thing last week?
ReplyDeleteI really doubt they received exactly 600 responses two weeks in a row.
Yes, sdb, that was weird and unlikely, though not impossible, of course.
DeleteOf course, WW, you are right about it not being impossible. After all I did see 3 pigs fly past my window earlier today.
DeleteWere you in hog heaven, then?
DeleteWell it is winter, so I really can't say I'm bacon.
DeleteSDB: Yes,I wondered about her declaration of exactly 600 responses for two weeks in a row, also. Sometimes they will announce the number of correct responses. I wonder if there were 600 correct responses and also if there were 600 responses two weeks in a row. Why don't you write to Lulu, SDB? By the way,SDB, I saw the SF Ballet Nutcracker performance last night. Found parts of it boring for the first time in a long time.
DeleteNatasha,
DeleteI think some intern gave her last week's number.
Nutcracker is to ballet as near-beer is to beer. Or as Trump is to statesman.
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DeleteSDB: Correction: The soloist parts are the really only dancing worth seeing in that performance. I guess you do not go to the Pacific Ballet Nutcracker performance.
DeleteNope. If I'm having trouble sleeping I just sip some scotch. It is much cheaper than attending the Nutcracker.
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DeleteThis comment has been posted by the writer.
DeleteThis comment has been read by you.
DeleteI have not yet read the above comment.
DeleteHelp! I'm all alone in the White House & no one has brought me any presents, not even Melania!!��
DeleteDJ (Hoover) Trump
Do you feel all walled in?
DeleteYes, and I keep looking out over the South Lawn wishing I was at Mar-a-Lago.
DeleteIf you like your roast beef sandwich with a side of soul-infused pop, eat at D'Arby's.
ReplyDeletelove this
DeleteA little slice of senendipity:
ReplyDeleteI have the Seattle Seahawks vs Kansas City Chiefs game on in the background. Seahawk place-kicker Sebastian Janikowski just missed a field goal attempt by "doinking" the ball off the right crossbar. NBC then went to commercial, playing holiday music. The song happened to be "You're A Mean One, Mr. Grinch."
As they showed a close-up slo-mo reaction of Janikowski doing a slow burn after his missed kick, the lyrics you heard were "...You really are a heel...!"
Ouch!
LegoSaysLou"TheToe"GrozaProbablyLikedHisNicknameButSebastian"TheHeel"JanikowskiJustDoesn'tHaveTheSameRing
I am afraid the Chief's are going to be one and done again, in the playoffs. Too bad RB Kareem Hunt made a mess of his career in the off season. His behavior caught up with him at a critical time in the season.
DeleteThe Chief's have definite defensive problems but with Hunt gone, they can't overcome deficits like they used to.
Looks like they're running out of steam at the end of the season.
DeleteThey may be. But, I think Hunt gave them another dimension that pass defenses had to respect. Without that strong running game, the Chief's are in big trouble. Darn it. The Raiders come to KC this weekend and may be true spoilers.
DeleteBonus Puzzle - a STRAP-betraying anagram:
ReplyDeleteThink of a 3 word phrase in the form __ of __ that describes a certain time of year. Add the letter m to the first word, rearrange, and swap that word with the last. The result will be a well known organization.
Bonus on-air riffs:
Think of a third word that can follow each of mine to complete compound words or familiar two-word phrases. And as help, the initial letters of my two words will be the first two letters of your answer.
Example: Big Ouija --> BOARD (making "Big Board" and "Ouija board"). Not sure why the NPR site skips #5, 8, 11 and 13-17.
19. Meat After
20. Steam Hard
21. Mail Anchor
22. Country Lions
23. White Acid
24. Brooklyn Rope
25. Funny About
26. Land Over
27. Rail Off
28. Soy Apple
29. Snow Thunder
30. Tinsel Our
31. Word Other
Usual rules, keep your powder dry until Thursday, clues, hints, and additions welcome anytime between family feuds.
Very nice Bonus Puzzle, eco, you traitor you!
DeleteHint: The mug of the organization's founder usually appears on the last word in the organization.
LegoBloodshotAfterDoingMugshots
Excellent hint Lego. And you give me a bonus bonus riff:
Delete32. Trump Republican (I can think of at least 3 answers)
If I have this correct, this is a deep subject. A Blessed Christmas to all.
ReplyDeleteChange for last minute purchase of $19.84. Stocking fillers. Merry Christmas.
ReplyDeleteCHRISTMAS CARTOONS
ReplyDeleteHappy holidays to all!
ReplyDeleteHoping you all have a great next eight days.
ReplyDeleteI echo the sentiments of this puzzle to Blaine and all my fellow puzzlers here.
ReplyDeleteLexophile
ReplyDeleteThose who get too big for their pants will be totally exposed in the end.
Lexophile describes those that have a love for words, such as "you can tune a piano, but you can't tuna fish," or "To write with a broken pencil is pointless" An annual competition is held by the New York Times to see who can create the best original lexophile.
This year's winning submission is posted at the very end.
No matter how much you push the envelope, it'll still be stationery.
If you don't pay your exorcist, you can get repossessed.
I'm reading a book about anti-gravity. I just can't put it down.
I didn't like my beard at first. Then it grew on me.
Did you hear about the crossed-eyed teacher who lost her job because she couldn't control her pupils?
When you get a bladder infection, urine trouble.
When chemists die, they barium.
I stayed up all night to see where the sun went, and then it dawned on me.
I changed my iPod's name to Titanic. It's syncing now.
England has no kidney bank, but it does have a Liverpool .
Haunted French pancakes give me the crepes.
This girl today said she recognized me from the Vegetarians Club, but I'd swear I've never met herbivore .
I know a guy who's addicted to drinking brake fluid, but he says he can stop any time.
A thief who stole a calendar got twelve months .
When the smog lifts in Los Angeles, U.C.L.A.
I got some batteries that were given out free of charge.
A dentist and a manicurist married. They fought tooth and nail .
A will is a dead giveaway.
With her marriage, she got a new name and a dress.
Police were summoned to a daycare centre where a three-year-old was resisting a rest.
Did you hear about the fellow whose entire left side was cut off? He's all right now.
A bicycle can't stand alone; it's just two tired.
The guy who fell onto an upholstery machine last week is now fully recovered.
He had a photographic memory but it was never fully developed.
When she saw her first strands of gray hair, she thought she'd dye.
Acupuncture is a jab well done. That's the point of it.
The winning submission:
DeleteThose who get too big for their pants will be totally exposed in the end.
I also liked the old one about "the blind carpenter who picked up his hammer and saw".
DeleteHere are a few I recently coined:
DeleteWhen new residents arrive at the cemetery someone is always there to fill them in.
The reason folks down in New Orleans put up those levees is because they can bayou some time.
Ballet is a demanding profession and for many it is a major Balanchine act.
Are all of these from this year? Many are found on this website from 10 years ago.
DeleteBut here's 20 minutes of my thinking (some from tonight's Jeopardy!)
The creepy stage manager made some very strange propositions.
People who've never traveled may find shopping in Marrakesh truly bazaar.
After ordering drinks it's best to pay the bar tender.
The publicity writer for the window company said working on the screen play was a real pane.
Does the Electric Light Orchestra have a conductor?
The misbehaving shy child had no presence at Christmas.
Leos are usually born in the most august month.
Changing your opponent's opinion through talking is quite the converse.
When I smell burning sandalwood sticks I get quite incensed.
At six months the pregnant woman's expanded midriff was almost apparent.
Mathematics made the indifferent student number.
The Ark Encounter in Kentucky is a popular recreation.
With bad weather the strident climbers at Mount Everest remained in tents.
Too much decking with boughs definitely makes for the holly daze.
A three legged dog walks into the saloon and shouts "who shot my Pa?!
DeleteI frequently make these up while in conversations, but I usually forget what it was I said with 5 minutes. I usually have to write down what I said and then put in in a MS Word doc I keep. This is reminding me of one I came up with at a wine tasting in the past where I said "Champagne at night; real pain in the morning." And this afternoon a re-working of one I used frequently with skydiving students right after we landed and they would say something about how intense it was, and of course I would say, "You mean like camping?" So this afternoon I was sipping (OK, gulping then) wine with two of my neighbors and she was talking about mosquito netting she used in tents on her recent African photo safari, and I said something about it being a tents situation.
DeleteSDB: I know the frustrating feeling about forgetting, I always get enraged in venting new ideas.
DeleteDo people who complain at a restaurant engage in whining and dining?
While driving towards the sun my boss failed to shield my eyes. It was then I realized he wasn't a super visor.
Eating fine food while sick has always been an epicure.
Who stole the nitric acid was a chem mystery.
ReplyDeleteTo honor WW again this week, when Stan Laurel got hit with a rock he said "Gee, Ollie, gee!"
ReplyDeleteThe wild gyrations in this week's stock market remind me of the Tacoma Narrows Bridge.
Wishing Well >>> Well Wishing
ReplyDeleteThis puzzle reminded me of 1955's Academy Award winning Best Original song, Three Coins in the Fountain, from the 1954 movie of the same title. Frank Sinatra sang the song in the movie, but wasn’t formally credited. The Four Aces and Dinah Shore later had hit recordings of it.
Coins can be found in a WISHING WELL → Most holiday cards are WELL-WISHING cards.
ReplyDelete“Ah, so” = Ah, well...
“Here's to you all” = Best Wishes = Well-wishing at the Wishing Well.
Eco's Bonus Puzzle:
IDES OF MARCH → MARCH OF DIMES.
19. MEAT MARKET → AFTER MARKET
20. STEAMSHIP → HARDSHIP
21. MAIL MAN → ANCHOR MAN
22. COUNTRY CLUB → LIONS CLUB
23. WHITE WASH → ACID WASH
24. BROOKLYN BRIDGE → ROPE BRIDGE
25. FUNNY FACE → ABOUT FACE
26. LANDLORD → OVERLORD
27. RAILROAD → OFF ROAD
28. SOY SAUCE → APPLE SAUCE
29. SNOW STORM → THUNDER STORM
30. TINSEL TOWN → OUR TOWN
31. WORD WOMAN → OTHER WOMAN
32. TRUMP TRUTH → REPUBLICAN TRUTH
All correct, except I had:
Delete32. Trump Traitor Republican Traitor (Treason and Trial also work, funny that! Or not.)
And a shout out to Lego's hint, March of Dimes was founded by Franklin Roosevelt, whose face is, of course, on the dime.
or Trump Trailer Trash/Republican Trailer Trash
DeleteWishing Well ---> Well Wishing
ReplyDeleteLoosely related to last week. Ayn Rand also wrote The Fountainhead which might have a well as a source.
Fortunately not too hard. Most people are happy when they find soft water in their well.
Wishing Well > Well-wishing
ReplyDeleteMy hint:
"Trump is playing word games again. And this time it's with his proposed border wall. He is now calling for a Great Barrier. WELL, we all know of Austraila's Great Barrier Reef. So I suppose if he manages to get his WISH he will be known as The Great Barrier Thief."
WELL & WISH are hinting at wishing well.
My clue “no bones to pick” was reference to wishbone.
ReplyDelete
ReplyDeleteWISHING WELL >>> WELL-WISHING
“I might have saved this puzzle for the spring instead of during the early winter. By the way, happy belated solstice to all! Lovely that the light 💡 is already returning to us here in the northern hemisphere.” >>> refers to springs where a water WELL is often located.
US 2 31 = the name of an Exxon Mobil oil and gas WELL in Pennsylvania:
7792 107792 3300700567 OG PA 11/23/1991 12600 SWSE 31-143-102 EXXON MOBIL CORPORATION US 2-31 BEAVER CREEK
Thanks for the WW shout-out in your clue, Blaine. Tis a lovely well-wishing indeed.
Is anyone else unsure about what day it is? This week after Christmas is delightfully unscheduled, filled with neighbors popping over, a lovely powdered-sugar snow, and all good cheer.
All the best well-wishing, Blainesvilleans, for 2019! I am grateful for this gathering spot.
WISHING WELL, WELL-WISHING
ReplyDeleteWishing well? Well, wishing.
ReplyDeleteNetting mosquitoes: small game hunting.
Hmmmm. I had a different solution. Felt Heart (many coin purses....) and Heartfelt. Anyone else?
ReplyDeleteGood one, a FELT HEART shaped purse.
DeleteDeborah,
DeleteSee "ENTREE #1" of the "Riffing Off Shortz Slices" in Joseph Young's Puzzleria!, which I uploaded about 10 hours ago. Great minds think alike!... although my "felt heart" is admittedly contrived, whereas yours actually exists!
LegoWhose"FeltHeart"IsQuiteABitLargerThanAPurse
Lego, great minds indeed - very fun picture!
DeleteBad news, skydiveboy: Parachutes are no better than backpacks.
ReplyDeletejan:
DeleteThank you so very much for that important? research report. I tend to agree with its findings.
You might find the following link of like interest regarding the outcome of forgetfulness in wearing one's parachute. Since this is only the one case it is not however statistically relevant. I remember the incident clearly and can provide further facts upon request.
https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=4&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=2ahUKEwikhZz51cXfAhUIHnwKHYfDCzQQFjADegQIBBAB&url=http%3A%2F%2Farticles.orlandosentinel.com%2F1988-04-05%2Fnews%2F0030130213_1_wear-a-parachute-sky-diver-mcguire&usg=AOvVaw3P8eg68ofMojWIOgGCV0hU
"Shoot!" is not quite what future participants will say on the failed extrapolation of that experiment.
DeleteAt the risk of extolling my own scientific achievements (none), I conducted that experiment many decades ago and reported on it in this forum.
What world capital becomes a name for a farm animal when you change its third letter?
ReplyDeleteNext week's puzzle (from memory; not posted yet):
ReplyDeleteWhat world capital becomes the informal name for a farm animal if you change its third letter?
Is it better to hit a new low on the last puzzle of the year?
DeleteI'll put in my thoughts later
DeleteThanks for posting this Jan!
DeleteThanks, Jan!
DeleteOver 1000 entries last week. This was the on-air player's first puzzle entry.
ReplyDeleteDon't know if it's more aggravating when they post the answer to the week's challenge, or when they don't post the puzzle at all. :~[
ReplyDelete7:50 and it's still not posted.
That intern's not taking any chances this week.
DeleteGet well wishes to Will, who sounded like he had a cold.
ReplyDeleteThe puzzle could also be “if you changed its 2nd letter” No?
ReplyDeleteIr's been posted HERE
ReplyDelete