This can literally be solved in under one second.Q: The challenge is to make a 9-letter word meaning left using only a B and one D. Can you do it?
Edit: Just follow the directions, literally.
A: "a B and one D" --> ABANDONED
Sunday, January 13, 2019
NPR Sunday Puzzle (Jan 13, 2019): Keep Left
NPR Sunday Puzzle (Jan 13, 2019): Keep Left:
Edit: Just follow the directions, literally.
Edit: Just follow the directions, literally.
123 comments:
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.
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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.
As Blaine's hint implies, this puzzle is not difficult to solve, but I also think it is clever. No hint here (I hope).
ReplyDeleteLegoWhoAlsoEnjoyedWill'sOnAirChallengeThisMorning
Reading this puzzle literally, there could be 2 answers.
ReplyDeleteDumbbells? No, this is NPR.
ReplyDeleteBlaine is right-solved it very fast. Nice challenge! Sneaky :)
ReplyDeleteI have FIVE answers!
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
DeleteThis comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
DeleteHave you boycotted my answer?
DeleteThe challenge is to make a 9-letter word meaning "left" using ONLY a B and one D.
DeleteJan, Posting this puzzle is a puzzle.
DeleteNo. It's not abdicated.
DeleteHo hum. I solved this in elementary school.
ReplyDeleteI think Blaine’s wording is different than the NPR site.
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
DeleteMusical clue: Eric
ReplyDeleteCyril Connolly?
DeleteToday I celebrate six years at Blaine’s. What a fun place to hang out on early Sunday mornings! Thanks for being here.
ReplyDeleteWord Woman, I totally concur. For 30 years my husband and I have struggled with the Sunday Puzzle. Then we found Blaine's Blog. We still struggle but we have a good time here.
DeleteWell, is this a timing round?
ReplyDeleteNot disembark, sort of.
ReplyDeleteDefinitely not starboard
ReplyDeleteI was confident that starboard was right. Clearly, I was on the high seas...therefore, I missed the forest and the trees! D'oh!
ReplyDeleteStarboard is right. Port is left.
Delete"Larboard" was one I thought of, but not the right number of letters.
DeleteI wonder if the original submission was written as only a B & 1 D.
ReplyDeleteRight. Reading the puzzle might be easier than hearing it on the air.
DeleteStephen Sondheim tells it all here:
ReplyDeletehttp://nymag.com/arts/all/features/46798/#print
ReplyDeleteSome of my favorite cryptic crossword clues are those that leave the chicanery in the answer. E.g., "Team (10)" -> "GROUNDMEAT".
DeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteThe Beatles
ReplyDeleteA BAND ON [The] ED [Sullivan Show]
DeleteNot to be confused with
A BAND ON [The] DAVE [Letterman Show]
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeletePort is left, right?
ReplyDeleteSorry, Liz. There is no Port left.
Deletesdb: One of your best comments.
Delete"There is some Port left" is my mnemonic for remembering left from right.
DeleteIf Port is left, I'll be right over.
DeleteNo unused clues for this week's On Air Challenge.
ReplyDeleteAs I posted almost 5 hours ago:
ReplyDeleteI got the answer almost instantly.
Check your Droid for clues. An iPhone could be helpful too.
ReplyDeleteMy husband solved it very quickly. I was still looking at the clues and yes I had disembark as an alternative but the meaning was not indicated in the original question.
ReplyDeleteI feel so alone. :( -- Margaret
ReplyDeleteI know this will sound stupid, but does this literally mean no other letters at all, even vowels?
ReplyDeleteHave some more coffee, Clark.
DeleteI thought the same thing. That's how it is worded.
DeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteUr on the ritrak, clrk.
ReplyDeleteI would hate to have had this on-air challenge. I was well into my adulthood before I even heard of the Periodic Table, and even then I didn't know what it was. At least I knew it wasn't to be found in a gynecologist's office.
ReplyDeleteI also know, or remember, very few of the U.S. state capitals. I neither have, nor see, any reason to know most of them.
So for you the on-air challenge would be capital punishment?
DeleteYes, but I would have tried to hang in there.
DeleteI listened to it while still in bed, as usual, and did answer the last one, Honolulu, right away, and well before the on-air guest. This happens frequently with me, and I know not why. I will still be half asleep and maybe not even fully understand the question and not do well getting the answers, but will get the one the guest has trouble with right away. Some of them can be really hard if you don't write them down too.
So, with encouragement from Mort Canard, who noted above that there were no unused clues in this week's NPR On-Air Challenge...
Delete...and apologies to ecoarchitect who routinely provides us with Bonus riff-off on-air puzzles...
...and apologies to skydiveboy for subjecting him to
further "capital punishment"...
Here are:
Lego's NPR On-air Challenge Bonus riff-offs:
(Every answer is the name of a U.S. state capital.)
Which state capital:
1. Looks like a Python that has swallowed a Pyle?
2. Has something in common with Mayberry?
3. Has that same thing in common with Mayberry?
4. Is really finished when you "behead" it?
5. Consists of something passed in a race and something brushed on a face?
6. Ends with the first two letters of its state?
7. Has a bit of Hawaii at its heart?
8. Looks like a kind of jar containing 501 jelly beans...or pennies, or BBs? (What the jar contains is not important. What is important is that there are 501 of them.)
LegoWhoseStateCapitalIsAnEpistlePennin'Apostle!
sdb: And one of your worst.
DeleteMendo Jim:
DeleteThank you, thank you, thank you. You have no idea how much your opinion of me matters and influences my very existence. I awake each and every morning with my first thought being: will this be the day I post something on Blaine's that will impress my hero, Mendo Jim.
While you two fight on the playground I want to go back to the more important topic of capital punishment.
DeleteThe Constitution says "whoever ... is guilty of treason and shall suffer death." So when Trump is found guilty and wants to choose the method of enforcement, would that be Executive Privilege?
eco,
DeleteI see you are still hanging in there.
Lego: my meager contributions to your Bonus Puzzles:
Delete9. Begins with its state's postal abbreviation? (2 answers)
10. Ends with its state's postal abbreviation?
11. Sounds like a minor medical procedure?
12. Might have been named after Franco?
13. Might have been named after a great American humor poet?
Great fleshing out of my list, eco. Not "meager" at all. Thanks.
DeleteI've solved all except #12, where I have but a hunch.
Legonald(WhoHasJustReturnedfromVisitingFarmersInTheAnswerToNumber13...OopsNopeThoseWereFarmersInAJazzyNonCapitalCityThatIVisitedNotACapital"C&W"City)
I have most of them, but I was wondering about the "Maybery capitals." There are 4 capitals that have CITY in their names; is that what the "Mayberry capitals" have in common?
DeleteAgreed, I never figured out the Mayberry, but for the others:
Delete1. Looks like a Python that has swallowed a Pyle? Mont(gomer)y
2. Has something in common with Mayberry?
3. Has that same thing in common with Mayberry?
4. Is really finished when you "behead" it? (D)over
5. Consists of something passed in a race and something brushed on a face? Baton Rouge
6. Ends with the first two letters of its state? Tope(KA)
7. Has a bit of Hawaii at its heart? Ra(lei)gh
8. Looks like a kind of jar containing 501 jelly beans...or pennies, or BBs? (What the jar contains is not important. What is important is that there are 501 of them.) Ma(DI)son cryptics often use Roman Numerals as a substitute for numbers
9. Begins with its state's postal abbreviation? (2 answers) (IN)dianapolis or (OK)lahoma City
10. Ends with its state's postal abbreviation? Alba(NY)
11. I hear it's a minor medical procedure? Lansing cryptic solvers know there's a homophone whenever you see "I hear" or "sounds like" or "on the radio"
12. Named after Franco? (Harris)burg Unlike Francisco Franco, Franco Harris is a legend in western Pennsylvania.
13. Named after a great American humor poet? (Nash)ville as in Ogden Nash.
Good work, ron and eco.
DeleteI am kicking myself for not solving eco's #12:
"Named after Franco? = (Harris)burg Unlike (Francisco Franco, Franco Harris is a legend in western Pennsylvania.)"
As a lifelong Packers fan, the NFL is usually right in my wheelhouse. Good one!
Paul's clue, "The Beatles," for this week's "A B and one D" puzzle was characteristically cryptic. My only thought was that it might have alluded to Paul McCartney and Wing's "Band on the Run" album/single... (a) BAND ON the run).
As for my own Bonus Riffs of Will's on-air challenge, early in Puzzleria!s existence I ran a puzzle titled "Twains shall meet" that I created involving #2 and #3.)
For the record here are the answers to those Riff-offs:
Lego's NPR On-air Challenge Bonus riff-offs:
(Every answer is the name of a U.S. state capital.)
Which state capital:
1. Looks like a Python that has swallowed a Pyle?
MONTGOMERY
2. Has something in common with Mayberry?
JUNEAU
3. Has that same thing in common with Mayberry?
AUGUSTA
4. Is really finished when you "behead" it?
DOVER
5. Consists of something passed in a race and something brushed on a face?
BATON ROUGE
6. Ends with the first two letters of its state?
TOPEKA
7. Has a bit of Hawaii at its heart?
RALEIGH
8. Looks like a kind of jar containing 501 jelly beans...or pennies, or BBs? (What the jar contains is not important. What is important is that there are 501 of them.)
MADISON
Thanks to all who solved/tried solving them.
LegoWhoBelievesMadisonWisconsinOughtToChangeItsNameTo"Octoberfestville"
Ahh, Mayberry contains a month! I kick myself for not seeing that.
DeleteI feel like literally everybody here has had at least one comment/hint on this blog deleted by an administrator that was less obvious than this puzzle itself...
ReplyDeleteI'd agree. I've had my share removed by the admin.
DeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteI have left off issuing a hint to this challenge; I have abstained from issuing a hint to it; I have abrogated it.
ReplyDeleteAnd not a moment too soon either. :-)
DeleteRe-reading the clue certainly helps.
ReplyDeleteI submitted my answer to this week’s challenge- “can you do it?” - as “yes”.
ReplyDeleteThat was one of the answers I had in mind!
DeleteI spent Friday afternoon flying from Maui to San Francisco, Friday night, between flights in San Francisco Airport, Saturday flying home (to Virginia) and woke up to seven inches of snow this morning. Between sleep deprivation, jet lag and snow removal, I didn’t look at the puzzle until a few minutes ago. Two conclusions:
ReplyDeleteLeaving Maui was a serious error.
As was looking at today’s non-puzzle.
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteWhen I posted this morning, the NPR site didn't have the wording, so I went off my memory of what I heard. I usually copy the puzzle verbatim, but wasn't sure what to do. It is the same now. Sorry for any confusion it may have caused.
DeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
DeleteI went and re-listened to WS present the puzzle verbally and think it may be worth while pointing out that he did not present it the same way each of the two times.
DeleteSDB: Wow!
DeleteI got it pretty fast, then I left, and went back to bed.
ReplyDeleteCryptic clue: A group of musicians, having finished, left.
I second your "exclamot!on," Jaxon. For those who may not know, cranberry is not only a skilled cryptic crossword puzzle solver but also a master cryptic crossword puzzle constructor.
DeleteHere are links to the six cryptic crosswords with which cranberry has graced Puzzleria! over the past few years:
March 4, 2016
September 2, 2016
February 17, 2017
November 17, 2017
July 27, 2018
October 19, 2018
LegoWhoBelivescranberryIsExtremelyGiftedWordwise
CB's cryptic clue is fine, but I prefer Paul's.
DeleteAs noted in the Sondheim article The Nation has had an enjoyable weekly cryptic (#3487) for decades. Harper's Magazine also has one each month, much harder and more creative - this month's "Crazy Quilts" took almost 2 hours. The Brits have mastered cryptics, virtually impossible to solve.
Doesn't solving two hour puzzles interfere with ecoarchitecture?
DeleteSalt mine is only open between 7 am and 10 pm.
DeleteI almost forgot the (9) at the end.
Deleteeco,
DeleteWhen you say you "prefer Paul's" I assume you are alluding to his Sunday post, "The Beatles," which I think I understood. (I would be more sure if Paul had written "The Beatle.") Paul often spins subtle clues that I am simply unable to unravel.
I am especially familiar with cranberry and Paul because both are regular (and valued) contributors over on Puzzleria!
Paul is a gem. All his posts are some combination of sly, dry, wise, clever, giving, deep, nuanced, insightful, brilliant, subtle, educational, charitable, intriguing, inscrutable (to me, anyway), elegant, fun, unexpected, thoughtful, humble, encouraging, selfless, empathetic and patient.
I always enjoy reading Paul's posts.
LegoWhoIsAwedByTheCreativeGiftsSharedByAllWhoCommentOnThisBeautifulBlainesvillianBlog
The Beatles, plural, works in my interpretation, but we'll see on the morrow.
DeleteCARTOONS OF THE WEEK!
ReplyDeleteBlaine, it was an easy mistake given that the wording didn't post till much later. I so appreciate the effort you put into this blog. Thanks so much.
DeleteI went to my first KC Chief's game in over 30 years, last night, as they were playing the Indianapolis Colts in a Divisional playoff game. It was fun to watch but way too cold for me! Actually, it wasn't the cold but the snow (8-12"'s) from that morning.
ReplyDeleteI hadn't gone in a long time mostly because it's been too expensive. But, with Patrick Mahomes as the new QB, the game is more exciting to watch! The fun is back!
I was pleasantly surprised as we left the stadium to see a family, obviously Colt's fans from Indy, high fiving us Chief's fans! I stopped to talk with them for a couple of minutes and they were really upbeat, even though the Colts lost. I was really impressed to see what good sports they were. The message they wanted for Chief's fans was to beat Tom Brady & the Patriots!
One trick to solving this is the "one D" at the end, which Blaine had up as "1 D." If you think of this as "one dimension," then the answer can be seen as linear.
ReplyDeleteWhat a surprise. I never though you would BenD.
DeleteI appreciate your positive mention of me, Buck Bard. I respect your opinion about recent NPR puzzles. I know you are not the only poster on Blainesville who holds this opinion.
ReplyDeleteBut I reject the notion that Will Shortz is phoning it in. He already does, in a sense, "team up" with me and similar amateur puzzle-makers who submit our best "radio-friendly" efforts to him.
After nearly five years of running Puzzleria!, I realize that short puzzles with sweet wordplay are tough to compose. But Will Shortz provides us with such puzzles more often than not, Sunday after Sunday. I am sure he sifts through large chunks of chaff (much of it mine!) to get to the wheat.
Some of our discontent with NPR puzzles boils down to our personal preferences. I like this week's puzzle, for instance, but some others on this sight seem underwhelmed. I loved the "upside-down digital-clock/SHE/HIS/SIS" and "Two W's/The Wolf of Wall Street" puzzles; other Blainesvillians panned them.
You can't please all of the puzzlers all of the time. WS has been providing NPR listeners with a weekly puzzle for 32 years... 1,664 puzzles! No one would argue that is not a high quantity. I would argue the quality is also pretty consistently high.
LegoCalculatesThatIsAlmostFiftyFiveMonthsOfSundaysWithPuzzles
This comment has been removed by the author prior to it's posting.
ReplyDeleteThe above comment will be ignored by me and not responded to.
DeleteBuck Rodgers' robot used to say, "BDBDBDBDB." But, that's too many Ds.
ReplyDeleteSnowbirds subleased. Left, in two words.
ReplyDeleteSomehow this puzzle reminds me of a Welsh word where w is the only vowel: cwm.
ReplyDeleteSDB - your periodic table remark reminds me of Jennifer, a bright but boastful young woman I knew who would make a point of telling people, "I'm a Mensan" which I always thought was TMI.
ReplyDeleteTomR - I love it! The Brits would say it's bloody marvelous.
DeleteI was looking at "bugged out" - but that's two words.
ReplyDeleteGoodbye, Dolly!
ReplyDeleteBut some, "Gentlemen Prefer Blondes."
DeleteThere's no hope for this puzzle.
ReplyDeleteHere's what I think is an acceptable clue: Anybody remember way back when Jimmy Carter was president?
ReplyDeleteWay back when, then President Jimmy Carter visited Poland and gave a speech to the Polish people. Part of what he said was "When I left the United States today,...". But that got translated (and is here now literally translated back) as "When I abandoned the United States today...".
DeleteI was not enough of a historian to understand your hint, Enya_and_WeirdAl_fan, but now that you explain it I can see that it is an excellent hint. It demonstrates well the nuances of our English tongue's synonyms.
DeleteLegoNotesThatSomePeopleTodayAreProbablyTemptedToAbandonTheirShipOfState
(|) <-- (|)
ReplyDeleteI am glad I live in the west.
ReplyDeleteabandONE D
Delete“I am glad I live in the west.” as in ONE Direction.
It’s a new low in Sunday puzzling history. . .
From my point of view you live in the east.
DeleteABANDONED
ReplyDeleteA B AND ONE D
DeleteUsing ONLY “a B and one D” → ABANDONED
ReplyDeleteHe led a “LEFT,” UNBIGOTED, LIBERATED, lifestyle.
It was a “LEFT” alone, isolated, BACKWOODS lifestyle.
The BULLDOZED field was “left,” abandoned.
He held a “left-leaning,” BACKWARDS position.
He “left” them; he BOYCOTTED them.
LEFT OFF = ABSTAINED, ABROGATED (shunned, eschewed).
What is left over in a manufacturing process...BYPRODUCT
DeleteI wonder how many people will have sent in "abandoned" as the answer to the question (sure, it has one D, and then it has another, too) without seeing "abandoned" within the question itself?
ReplyDeleteI wrote: "Well, is this a timing round?" which could be written Well is this a Tim in ground? Timmy never fell in the abandoned well on Lassie.
ReplyDeleteIronically and sadly, I wrote this before the tragic story from Spain this week.
A B and one D=ABANDONED
ReplyDeleteA group of musicians, having finished, left(9)
A BAND containing DONE
This week's challenge: This challenge comes from listener Steve Baggish of Arlington, Mass. Take the name of a classic song that became the signature song of the artist who performed it. It has two words; five letters in the first, three letters in the second. The letters can be rearranged to spell two new words. One is a feeling. The other is an expression of that feeling. What song is it?
ReplyDeletePuzzles like this are agony for some.
DeleteThe artist reminds me of an activity often done in late summer/early fall. --Margaret G.
DeleteIf you're going to have an earworm, this artist and song, are a good place to start (not a clue).
ReplyDeleteOver 1000 responses last week.
ReplyDeleteThe title can also be anagrammed to name two foods.
ReplyDeleteMy Little Grass Shack
ReplyDelete