I'm generally pretty good at puzzles like these...Q: Name a vehicle in two words, each with the same number of letters. Subtract a letter from each word, and the remaining letters in order will spell the first and last names of a famous writer. Who is it?
Edit: A lot of U.S. tanks are named after generals (Sherman, Patton, Abrams, etc.)
A: ARMY TANK --> AMY TAN (author of "The Joy Luck Club")
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.
You can't find the answer at many of the usual cites...
ReplyDeleteI know, right? In addition, I spent way too long pondering Rolls Royce / James Joyce and Chariot and Harriet
DeleteI began with Rolls Royce first too. If you think about T. E. Lawrence a bit you might even see a slight connection.
DeleteNice puzzle, Joe Krozel from Creve Coeur (broken heart, bitter disappointment), Missouri. Not at all disappointing. The writer is not Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn.
ReplyDeleteLegoSaysThereAreNoSeriousHintsInThisPostButBGlaineAsUsualHasGivenUsAFineHint
I agree with you about Blaine's hint. He really deserves a pat on the back!
DeleteYes, and ron gave a nifty subtle hint in his early post also. I missed it on first reading (as is par for the course for me!).
DeleteLegoAgreesWithhodiau016ThatWePOughtToKeepPattingBlaineOnHisBackUntilHeHasMorePalmPrintsThereThanAllTheHawaiianShirtsInHonolulu!
Sure, man!
DeleteIn fact, LL, I'd go so far as to grant Blaine 'genius' status!
DeleteI think Blaine's clue was worthy of a Peabody Award.
DeleteRemember Will's affinity for crossword puzzles, then forget about it.
ReplyDeleteI don't think the writer's first and last names would have had to have the same number of letters; they just did.
DeleteMany attempts I made at finding lists that would help, and finally one I found that paid off for the author’s name. I had to use list hunting; I do not know the author’s work.
ReplyDeleteIn trying to described the vehicle, I almost gave away the answer.
ReplyDeleteNo clues from me, later.
ReplyDeleteAh, I went where I didn’t think there could be a solution. . .and there it was.
ReplyDeleteHappy Sunday!
Subtract a letter from the author's first and last name and the remaining letters spell someone you might know in school.
ReplyDelete"any institution at which instruction is given in a particular discipline." Not a school of fish.
DeleteThe answer might be more frequently associated with college/ university, but this is also a person you might find in grade schools.
Speaking of schools, change 1 letter in the writer's name and you will get a question a certain blubberfish in Washington might say when he gets out of bed.
Man, this answer was sure hard to find!
ReplyDeleteThe title of an old movie, showcasing the vehicle, contains the letters of the writer's last name.
DeleteMy Frantz Kafkar, which changes from an automobile into a bug, was the inspiration for the Insecticon line of Transformers toys.
ReplyDeleteCARTOONS OF THE WEEK. ENJOY!
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing. Liked #49.
DeleteThis comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
ReplyDeleteSorry, I used the same list and that's TMI.
DeleteJust curious, are you able to selectively edit our posts? I know at least one sentence out of the two wasn't TMI
DeleteCurtis, as a fellow blogger owner, I can answer your question. No. The comment either goes or stays. . .
DeleteThank You, WW
DeleteSurprisingly, the answer came to me quickly due to a hunch inspired by a previous post.
ReplyDeleteI got it right away, fortunately. So I'm happy.
ReplyDeleteI know what I meant! Shh!
DeleteI'm surprised no one's complaining about the bogosity of this puzzle, given that the first word of the vehicle is superfluous.
ReplyDeleteI thought that too, but the remark I wanted to post would be a giveaway.
DeleteWhy can't we just agree that we were offered another puzzle that was off track again?
DeleteActually, the first word isn’t quite as superfluous as it initially appears.
DeleteA "Bram Stoker" guess wouldn't be far off.
ReplyDeleteI don't use lists, I prefer contemplating the puzzle while lying awake at night waiting for sleep to come. Unfortunately, I got the answer today whilst peeling potatoes. Now I don't know what I will think about if I don't fall asleep readily.
ReplyDeleteAre you saying you found today's puzzle appealing?
DeleteSeriously?
DeleteNimium informationes.
ReplyDelete33446
ReplyDeleteGoogle it.
ReplyDeleteNo, but Google Translate could. Anyway, I meant, Google your phrase.
ReplyDeleteIndications are that most of the folks in this august group have solved this puzzle.
ReplyDeleteFor something to do now (and to help TomR get to sleep), I will re-offer my poser of last week in very slightly different and hopefully better words:
What special attribute does the phrase "Juliet's ruin" have?
With some good fortune, I just got it.
ReplyDeleteI ❤️ My BosCar Wilder.
ReplyDeleteSeriously, though, this writer may spark something, or wish you something,
It took me about a minute to find the answer after I googled the phrase, but it might not be that obvious to others.
ReplyDeleteNot a vehicle that's good, airy, and light.
ReplyDeleteThe last experience I had with such a vehicle wasn't with this vehicle.
ReplyDeleteHappily, I came up with the answer this week right away! Fortunate for once :)
ReplyDeleteJuliet says that if nobody offers any hints by tomorrow, she may have to.
ReplyDeleteI have been giving your challenge some thought, Mendo Jim, but have not yet cracked it. It is an intriguing puzzle. Thanks for posting it.
DeleteLegoSuggestsThatJulietRuedGingham
MooDuck, you're stealing my idea. Dare I say "welcome to the club"?
ReplyDeleteI had initially decided I wouldn’t work on this week’s puzzle. Then I was just sitting here a few minutes ago and the answer just popped into my brain. I guess subconsciously I was on the right track, anyway, despite my earlier decision.
ReplyDeleteJuliet wonders if anyone else briefly considered for this week's challenge, Eddie Arcaro, Paul Revere or Rosa Parks, etc.
ReplyDeleteJust realized who the mystery author is. I may have to submit my answer before the temps drop and it gets too cold for my keyboard to work.
ReplyDeleteMusical Clue: John Philip Sousa
ReplyDeleteSince most folks have solved this, and while we're stumped on Mendo Jim's puzzle, maybe it's time for another Creative Puzzle Challenge:
ReplyDeleteSeveral times this week the tRumpster has tweeted about trafficked women from Mexico being bound with tape and taken across the border, as well as Mexican super cars that can outrun border patrol, and prayer rugs found in the desert. The source of these "insights" is a mystery to both the media and Homeland Security.
Rachel Maddow (and others) offer an interesting theory, that tRump got this from watching the movie “Sicario: Day of the Soldado”.
So, should you choose to accept it, the Creative Challenge: Name another significant policy that tRump might establish from watching a movie. For example:
Space Force is really from the movie Independence Day
The National Wildlife Refuge System Administration Act is overhauled because he saw Hitchcock's The Birds
Images preferred but optional.
Perhaps the turnover in the Trump Cabinet can be attributed to his excessive watching of "Willy Wonka And The Chocolate Factory". Trump seems to mimic Willy Wonka as he ousts the little brats (his cabinet members) one by one through the revolving door.
DeletePerhaps he got his skin tone as a reaction to watching Jim Carrey in The Mask
DeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
DeleteI wonder if he has some Oompa Loompa in his background?
DeletePerhaps Stephen Miller sings the this song from the movie, to DJT at bed time?
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteI am not really sure how it happened, but I should have been using the name Juliett instead of Juliet in my bonus puzzle clue.
ReplyDeleteEven Julietta would have been better.
I wish I could say it was intentional instead of simply misguided, but alas.
Doggone it, Julietta would not have been better, but it sort of makes a hint.
ReplyDeleteI have a solution. The probability that it is the intended one is about 50/50.
ReplyDelete(For Juliet/Juletta...)
ReplyDeleteecoarchitect's CREATIVE PUZZLE CHALLENGE:
ReplyDelete"Being Where?!"
The story of, Chumpsy Pardoner, who somehow rises to national public prominence as POTUS, attends important dinners, develops a close connection with the Soviet ambassador and appears on national television at rallies.
He a simple-minded but boastful, delusional and egotistical man who somehow finds himself ensconced in the Oval Office of the White House, where he spends most of his waking hours with eyes glued to Fox & Friends and Sean Hannity.
His "knowledge" is derived entirely from what he sees on television.
(In 2015, the United States Library of Congress selected "Being Where?!" for preservation in the National Film Registry, finding it "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant.")
LegoSellingOutAndPeteringOut
Well, Juliett says now she knows why Will Shortz propounds easy challenges.
ReplyDeleteShe wants me to spell out her puzzle one last time:
What characteristic do these letters have that no others share:
I-J-N-R-S-U?
ARMY TANK > AMY TAN
ReplyDeleteMy Hint:
“I began with Rolls Royce first too. If you think about T. E. Lawrence a bit you might even see a slight connection.”
During WWI, Colonel Thomas Edward Lawrence, a.k.a. “Lawrence of Arabia” commandeered the Rolls Royce of a very wealthy English woman in Cairo. He used this armored vehicle to what he considered to be great advantage.
ARMY TANK, AMY TAN
ReplyDeleteI thought the answer couldn’t be just 3,3 letters for the author’s name but, sure enough, there she was.
Some of The Joy Luck Club clues posted here were a tad too obvious for my taste.
ARMY TANK → AMY TAN.
ReplyDeleteMy hint: “You can't find the
answer: AT MANY of the usual cites.” AT MANY anagrams to AMY TAN.
Eco's Challenge: AMY TAN (-A, -N) → MY TA.
I wrote, “Many attempts I made at finding lists that would help...” The first six letters are an anagram.
ReplyDeleteARMY TANK -> AMY TAN
ReplyDelete>> I agree with you about Blaine's hint. He really deserves a pat on the back!
> Sure, man!
Patton, Sherman
> A "Bram Stoker" guess wouldn't be far off.
Abrams
> 33446
Federal Standard 33446 defines Desert Tan, the color army tanks were painted before Operation Desert Storm.
> Not a vehicle that's good, airy, and light.
Heinz Guderian was a top German Panzer commander in WWII. (I was once surprised to find myself treating a relative of his.)
I also posted this hint:
ReplyDelete"Why can't we just agree that we were offered another puzzle that was off track again?"
Tanks have tracks.
Army Tank >>> Amy Tan
ReplyDeleteAs my mother’s maiden name was Miriam Leigh, I really wanted the answer to be Santa’s Sleigh, but try as I might, I couldn’t find a famous writer, whose last name was Leigh.
And, regarding the perceived redundancy of the word Army in the phrase Army Tank, I note that the Marine Corps also uses tanks. The Marines currently have over 400 M1 Abram’s tanks in their inventory.
Long meetings on a Thursday morning.
ReplyDeleteRon already revealed my "MY TA" clue, the other clue was that the bloviating moron might ask "Am I tan?" as he heaves himself out of a (tanning) bed.
ARMY TANK, AMY TAN
ReplyDeleteI referenced "The Joy Luck Club" by saying I was "happy, fortunately". Later I used the phrase "welcome to the club".
Over the weekend I had to travel to St. Louis to attend a funeral. While driving on I-70 we came upon a self-propelled cannon that was being hauled on a big trailer. That thing was enormous!
ReplyDeleteI guess the difference between it and a tank is that it is lightly armoured.
My hint contained the name Rommel in it.
ReplyDeleteHere is a timely Riff-Off puzzle I am running on the current Puzzleria!:
ReplyDeleteTake the first and last names of a famous writer. Move the last letter of one name to the end of the other name and change it to a different letter to spell, in two words, what Super Bowl fans are likely to see on television later in the day this Sunday, February 3, 2019.
LegoWhoHasAlreadyLaidOutHisSuperBowlPartyBuffetTableButWhoIsConcernedBecauseHeIsPailfullyAwareThatPastramiRots
Might they concurrently see one of the author's best known works?
DeleteThat is one great coincidental observation, eco, one of which I was unaware! Fans will need to do a bit of channel hopping, of course, between CBS and the "BowlBroadcastingChannelOne."
DeleteLe'sGoMisCallAnotherPlaySaySaintsFansThatAltersTheBigGame'sOutcomeShallWeZebras!
Congrats to all who cracked this puzzle. Blaine’s hint was excellent; by Tuesday I had gone through every made, model and variation of tank ever made, but still overlooked that darn first word so I did not solve on time. However, interesting origin of the word “tank”; the British government, in its effort to keep their new armored vehicle project top secret, referred to it as a “Water Carrier” for Mesopotamia. This project would have been initialed “WC” (water closet, aka toilet) and the factory workers began to call the vehicle a tank, which also holds water. Then the name sort of stuck.
ReplyDeleteGreat etymological nugget, Renople. Tank ya.
DeleteI have never been inside an army tank, but I'll bet it would seem a bit like being trapped claustrophobically inside a closet.
LegoObservesHoweverThatPanzerTigerAndShermanTanksSeemToClashWithTheWholeLooseyGooseyVibeSuggestedByTheWaterBearerGanymedeAndTheDawningOfTheAgeOfAquarius!
This one is especially for ECO: Dynamic Architecture.
ReplyDeleteBut can it be constructed out of straw bales?
DeleteOnly 80 years after the Villa Girasole
Deleteeco,
DeleteDo you always have to put a spin on things? Now I'm wondering if the architect may have had Tourette syndrome.
Of Kursk he did!
DeleteAnd of course in the architectural creativity contest it was the solé entrant.
DeleteI can't be sure if I am more surprised or disappointed over the fate of the puzzle I offered over a two week period.
ReplyDeleteSince the outcome in regulation is a default Puzzle 6, Blainesville O, there won't be OT.
Unless somebody chooses to pay further attention to this unambiguous, rigorous, and well-hinted if difficult poser, then the solution will join it in its apparently unlamented passing.
Like the tree said to the logger, "I'm stumped."
DeleteAs an occasional annoyer with bonus puzzles I've often wondered why the heck folks don't see the answer right away. It's a lot easier to see the answer when you know it.
MJ:
DeleteSo you are now, after two weeks of subjecting us to your poorly presented, substandard puzzle, informing us that you realize it is inferior and you are not adult enough to reveal the obviously inadequate and unsatisfactory answer. The lack of courage is shameful.
I'll take my lack of courage over your lack of couth any day.
DeleteI will be happy to confirm your answer, however.
This week's challenge: This challenge comes from listener David Edelheit of Oyster Bay, N.Y. Think of a word meaning "a particular body of water." Change one letter in it to get a new word meaning "a particular body of land." What words are these?
ReplyDeleteI think the challenge is too revealing. --Margaret G.
DeleteIf the too-easy answer I got immediately is correct, one word has a common homophone.
DeleteCurious to see how this plays out...
DeleteAye, before the day is over.
Delete“Aye", then alphabetically before “day”, come bay and cay.
DeletePosers of shore things like this puzzle, should be locked up.
ReplyDeleteAbout 500 answers last week.
ReplyDelete