Sunday, December 22, 2019

NPR Sunday Puzzle (Dec 22, 2019): Noted TV Journalist

NPR Sunday Puzzle (Dec 22, 2019): Noted TV Journalist:
Q: Name a noted TV journalist — five letters in the first name, six letters in the last. Change an I in this name to a W and rearrange the result. You'll get a two-word phrase for where you might see this journalist. Who is it?
Edit: I got stuck for too long on KATIE COURIC and DIANE SAWYER. With everything that was happening for Christmas, I never found time to come back and find the real answer.
A: PIERS MORGAN --> NEWS PROGRAM

249 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
  2. Rearrange the name without changing any letters to get an apt description.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yes, let's bring politics into everything. How tiring.

      Delete
    2. First name I thought of, but I didn't do the work on it right away. Came back to it after DIANE SAWYER wasn't getting me anywhere. I also have stumbled upon the apt anagram of the name. Isn't it funny the anagrams some well-known people's names can generate?
      MEG RYAN=GERMANY
      BRITNEY SPEARS=PRESBYTERIANS
      ERIC CLAPTON=NARCOLEPTIC
      ALEC GUINNESS=GENUINE CLASS
      AXL ROSE=ORAL SEX
      JIM MORRISON=MR. MOJO RISIN'

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    3. Almost forgot:
      CLINT EASTWOOD=OLD WEST ACTION

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    4. Remove the Y from DIANE SAWYER and rearrange the rest, and you'll get ANSWER and IDEA. Just a side thought, no clue there.

      Delete
    5. COLONEL MUSTARD=CLUE MAN, OLD SORT

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    6. Not an actual "clue", I just realized the game "Clue" should've had quotation marks in the previous anagram.

      Delete
    7. MAYA RUDOLPH=PROUDLY A HAM
      SARAH PALIN=A SHARP NAIL
      ANGELA KINSEY=ANY SLAIN GEEK
      (also A KEEN SLAYING)
      FRED ARMISEN=SMEAR FRIEND
      (also REFINED ARMS)
      AMY POEHLER=HOME PLAYER(MY REAL HOPE, HOMELY APER, RAPE MY HOLE, HARLEY POEM, MAYO HELPER, etc.)
      DONALD TRUMP=DUMP OLD RANT
      Drop the P to get OLD MAN TURD.
      MELANIA TRUMP=A RUMP AILMENT
      (UM, PARLIAMENT?)
      (also PERMIT MANUAL or vice versa)
      "I don't care, do you?"
      JAMES TAYLOR=A MAJOR STYLE
      CARLY SIMON=MOAN LYRICS
      ELIZABETH TAYLOR=LO, A BIT LAZY THERE!
      ANTONIO BANDERAS=BANDITO? NO, SENORA
      MELANIE GRIFFITH=HIRING FIT FEMALE
      (also IN, IF RIGHT FEMALE)

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    8. No real editorializing or stating of opinions. Just interesting anagrams I've found.

      Delete
  3. The last name of this person also belongs to a famous nautical personage, and the first name refers to a place where he might be found.

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  4. Another Chaikin puzzle appears to be another “relatively’ easy one. The journalist’s initials could provide a timely clue as well.

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  5. I find it difficult to call people like this real journalists. Entertainer is closer for me.

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  6. Who noticed the name is related to the profession?

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  7. Ah yes, the annual TV journalists' gala, where you can find STEVE RAIBLE sharing a table with TWELVE BEARS, BRIAN BOLTER chatting up the TOWN RABBLER, and if there's an open bar, CHIMA SIMONE will be hovering by the MIMOSA WENCH.

    If it's hosted in Oslo this year, you probably won't see TANYA RIVERO, as she tends to AVERT NORWAY.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. In other news, I've had a lot of fun making these silly non-solutions, but I suspect I'm still a long way from the actual solution...

      Delete
  8. I spent too much time trying to get Katie Couric and Diane Sawyer to work.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. You never heard of the Weeny Awards?

      Delete
    2. Isn't that what got Roger Ailes in trouble with Megyn Kelly and Gretchen Carlson?

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    3. I was thinking of New York's famous event in recognition of female ovine excellency, the NY Ewe Awards!

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    4. Held at NYU to avoid confusion?

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    5. If you also change Katie Couric's other I to a W, it anagrams to "WOW, CUTE RACK!", which does sound like something Ailes would say.

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    6. Actual anagram of KATIE COURIC:
      A CUTIE, I ROCK

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    7. And you came up with a yawed answer?

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    8. DISNEY AWARE?
      YAWNER ASIDE?
      Changing the I to another Y, you can get NEW YEAR'S DAY. It'll be here before you know it!

      Delete
    9. A DAY'S WIENER?
      I SAY! RAW NEED?
      A DESIRE? YAWN!

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    10. IN WAY, ERASED?
      'E RINSED AWAY?
      YEARS I'D WANE?

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    11. SEE? I WARN'D YA!
      "AY," I ANSWERED!

      Delete
    12. IS A NEEDY WAR?
      AND SAY I WERE?
      I DENY A SWEAR?

      Delete
    13. Definitely better without having to change the I to W!

      Delete
  9. One source I would often have used but turned out to be not much help is my recently purchased 2020 World Almanac and Book of Facts. The Noted Personalities portion has a "Noted Journalists of the Past" section (meaning everyone in that list is dead!), but NO "Noted Journalists of the Present" section. The portion begins with a "Widely Known Americans" section, but the journalist we're looking for is NOT on that list. Interestingly enough, if that journalist's name were on that list, it would go right between a documentary filmmaker and another journalist whose name barely misses the first-and-last-name-lengths requirement.

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  10. You mean Steve Raible of Seattle Seahawks fame?

    ReplyDelete
  11. Replies
    1. Also, too many W's and N's. The best anagrams come from sources that don't repeat the same letter(s) too often.

      Delete
  12. When the brothers Chaikin (last and this week's puzzle creators) get together for tea, is it a Chai kin rendez-vous?

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    Replies
    1. I hope you don't inspire the Puzzle Master to present the Chai Tea / Tai Chi puzzle yet again!

      Delete
    2. We would all be steamed about that!

      If he did, though, we could add up all those times to get a tea total.

      Am I in hot water yet?

      Tea hee.

      Delete
    3. You did his crossword in the Times today, didn't you?

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    4. Switch the n and the k and you get a teapot (чайник = chainik).

      Delete
    5. Jan, I did not. I swear. But, I just saw the teetotaler theme on Rex Parker's blog. "Complete coincidence" to quote WS.

      Geofan, that's another interesting coincidence, steeped in mystery. I also read that chainik may also mean "dummy" or "newbie." I hope the Brothers Chaikin are careful spellers.

      Delete
    6. When they greet each other do they say "What's Chaikin?"

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    7. Cf. the Yiddish phrase "hock a chainik", literally, "bang on a teakettle", meaning to perseverate annoyingly. Applies to some people here, maybe....

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    8. Interesting.

      I did not know about the Three Stooges connection: Trumpy*, Mitchy, and Rude(y).

      Now I keep hearing Trumpy* hocking a chainik.

      *impeached (Someone recommended always putting a * by his name forevermore).

      Delete
    9. So are Channukah and Hannukah the same animal? I guess only a meshuginah might ask that.

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    10. Depends on whether you're OK with the guttural "Ch" sound. I once saw a bumper sticker advocating "Keep the Christ in Christmas and the Ch in Chanukah".

      Delete
  13. There are no best anagrams - only not so worst ones. In this case, however, after one ruled out Diane and Katie, as jan did, there were only so many usual suspects left who could be seen anywhere these days. Only one of them seemed to fit the bill. No klews here - just lamenting we didn't get a seasonal Puzzle to puzzle on. Humbug.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Well gosh ... I was sure it had to be Diane.

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    2. There are lots of journalists David or Chris...

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    3. GB,
      For you and others who may be lamenting the lack of a seasonal puzzle to puzzle on, you are welcome to visit Joseph Young's Puzzleria! (see Blaine's PUZZLE LINKS). Our Dessert Menu this week includes three puzzles, titled GOLD, FRANKINCENSE and MYRRH, plus a BONUS PUZZLE. All four have "seasonal" themes.

      LegoWhoExtendsTheInvitation:OComeAllYeFaithfulPuzzleAficionadosBaffledTillTriumphant...

      Delete
  14. I realized this afternoon that Will and the journalist have something in common.

    ReplyDelete
  15. If "Whewm!" is the sound of pushing the No Deal button on Deal or No Deal, then Howie Mandel would turn into "Whewm! No Deal!"

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Also, today is an appropriate day for this puzzle.

      Delete
    2. Piers Morgan and Howie Mandel were both judges on America's Got Talent. Also, this puzzle was on my sister Morgan's birthday.

      Delete
  16. Happy birthday today to Diane Sawyer

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  17. Rather unique: Blaine didn't post a clue.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Like two weeks ago, I didn't have the answer. I got stuck on Diane Sawyer and Katie Couric and wanted to get something up. I was worried if I said anything, I might be wrong and they would be the answer.

      Here's a bonus puzzle. Name a noted TV journalist (5 first, 6 last). Change an I to a Y, rearrange to get an upcoming holiday.

      Delete
    2. That journalist's name has much potential for anagrams, so I suppose STRAP must officially oppose them (Berkeley's gender-neutral rules are perfect for the puzzle).

      The clues are there, I'll wager a dollar you can still be a collaborator this week.

      Delete
    3. eco, do you take direction well then?

      Delete
    4. Here is how I imagine what happens in the Blaine household early every Sunday morning:
      Blaine and members of his beautiful and wonderful family are gathered around the kitchen breakfast nook table. Their radio, of course, is tuned to NPR's Weekend Edition Sunday.
      As the opening drumbeat of "The Puzzle" sounds, all ears perk up (like the family "Auto-Perc" Coffee Maker) and turn toward their radio's speaker, like sunflowers toward the sun.
      This week's puzzle is proving to be a toughie. Pads and pencils begin cropping up on the table. So do dictionaries, thesauri, almanacs, encyclopedia volumes. The tabletop becomes obscured by a panicky blur of riffled pages and crumpled discarded scrap papers!
      "Any ideas yet?" Blaine implores, sweat glistening on his furrowed brow. "It's been nearly 15 minutes! My loyal Blainesvillians are awaiting my hint... a clue that they can gripe about and whine that they don't have a clue about what I am getting at!

      LegoWho(SeriouslyNow)IsAmazedByHowRegularlyAndReliablyBlaing(WithPresumablySometimesTheHelpOfFamilyMembers)ProvidesUsWithAPromptPackageIncludingPuzzleTextCleverGraphicAndIngeniousHint

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    5. Lego, Such a nice photo, but isn't it a bit odd how none of them seem to notice they are being photographed?

      Delete
    6. Busted! You're onto me, skydiveboy. I admit that I rented an apartment suite across from Blaine's residence and snapped all three photos using a telephoto lens.
      Excellent Bonus puzzle, Blaine. It is reminiscent of those regularly posted here by ecoarchitect. It would have made a fitting NPR puzzle.

      LegoTelephotogenically

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    7. Blaine, have you not been reading my posts? I already mentioned the upcoming holiday some time yesterday!

      Delete
    8. BTW Lego, way to paint a picture with words!

      Delete
    9. Quickly solved it backwards.

      Delete
  18. Replies
    1. An Xmas Miracle?
      I might actually understand a WW comment!
      Sounds like we might have a scintilla of peace!

      Delete
    2. Huzzah! I am always hoping for miracles.

      Delete
    3. Maybe this will open a door to a some (((miracles.))) Wish it could have helped my dad 15 years ago:

      CRISPR and Pancreatic Cancer

      Delete
    4. So you are having a blue Xmas? Me too.
      let's see DNA- crime shows- CSI- oh yea- Ron Burgundy.Got it.

      Delete
    5. It's a good Christmas for me so far, PS. I am healthy, my amazing dog is healthy, my kids are healthy, and my other family members are healthy.

      I have work that I love, kids I love teaching, and I live in a beautiful state.

      I do like blue, though, so a "Blue Christmas" for me is filled with joy.

      We are starting to plan a big celebration for my mom's 90th birthday this summer. Her childhood friend, who is 91, will hopefully join us from Atlanta. How many folks still have childhood friends around at 90? Many blessings.

      Here's hoping your blue Christmas is a good one. But, if you are truly a little down, know that we are here to lift you up.

      Merry Christmas Eve!

      Delete
    6. Merry Christmas Eve to you too with IRVING BERLIN...

      Delete
  19. My problem is that I have also wasted all kinds of time on Katie Couric and Diane Sawyer, and I have no Plan C. I must be watching the wrong news channel.

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    Replies
    1. I spent time on Katie Couric, then I was *sure* it was Diane Sawyer. Assuming my answer is correct, I've never watched this person (whom I know very little about).

      Delete
    2. There may be another Dianne. Not sure. She may eat coconuts, but in that case she would have to have her own teeth.

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    3. I've heard both Diane Sawyer and Katie Couric have the weird ask of requiring only blue M & M's in their dressing rooms.

      Delete
    4. I suspect you may be confusing this with Van Halen asking for all the brown M & M's to be removed.

      Anyway, once I had to return a bag of M & M's that were partially defective. A few of the candies were W's.

      Delete
    5. As a staunch supporter of all things WW, I resemble that remark.

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    6. Before their was Uber there was Van Halen.

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    7. Speaking of BLUE THINGS ... including the mazarine BLUE of Chanukah used in the Jewish prayer shawl, the tzitzit. >>>

      The dye that makes the thread blue in the prayer shawl comes from a shellfish that lives in the Mediterranean Sea.

      Thus, Jews may use shellfish to dye it, but not for their diet.

      Delete
    8. Regarding the bold print in the post immediately above:
      That is why she is called Word Woman.

      LegoWhoCanMerelyAspireToSomedayBeCalledIndefiniteArticleMan

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    9. Thank you, Lego.

      You are most kind and definitely so very much more than Indefinite Article Man.

      Delete
    10. If you've been struggling with any of Lego's puzzles this week(like me), it's more like Indefinite Chance of Solving Everything Before Christmas.

      Delete
    11. Song selection " Blue,blue Xmas," Elvis.

      Delete
  20. SDB. You dried out from Friday? Heard it was a 20 year record. 3.1 inches in 24/hr. Hope our basement does not flood.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. It was a bit nasty and I still have not finished building my ark in the back yard. Nor have I worked out how to fit the giraffes. I have stocked up on pooper-scoopers though.

      Delete
    2. Giraffe solution? STUCK ONE'S NECK OUT.

      And, just like that, the ark has come full circle...

      Delete
    3. Do you mean to Triomphe over his ark enemy?

      Delete
    4. I do. I do mean that.

      <<< Now I want to know if anyone has figured out the pun in my new profile photo. . .

      Delete
  21. SDB you crack me up. Did you hear that George Conway quipped that now that POTUS has been impeached, he is IM-POTUS. Don't know about you but I like it.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. No I hadn't heard that, but I do like it a lot. It will be even better when he becomes EX-POTUS.

      Delete
  22. I did not get this weeks solution right away, in fact, pure luck since I don't normally watch the programs that this person is associated with. Some of the hints given seem a bit too much, but I guess it's the holiday season and Blaine is letting things slide.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I've read all the hints, and they haven't helped me at all. If the name ever comes to me, I'm sure they'll seem obvious in retrospect, but without the name they are pretty random.

      Delete
    2. Rob’s early comment gave me the answer in about 60 seconds. The reply confirmed it.

      Delete
    3. Well, rats, I didn't see that it could have helped. I am sorry. I must attempt more obscurity. Rats.

      Delete
    4. Rob, you are about a month too early. The Year of the RAT begins January 25, 2020.

      Delete
  23. The adventures of Dwane Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn.

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  24. This comment has been removed by the author.

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    1. This comment has been removed by the author.

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    2. WoW, there's a weird connection to today.

      More Thursday.

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    3. Since we are our own polite police this week: Jan, your comment can lead to the same result, and it's not a hashtag.

      Delete
    4. Really, eco? Even without the original post to which it refers?

      Delete
    5. In a search for "_ people" it was #4 on the Google Hit Parade.

      Delete
  25. This is today's NPR headline:

    Saudi Arabia’s public prosecutor announced five people have been sentenced to death for the 2018 murder in Turkey of Jamal Khashoggi, a columnist for The Washington Post, after a secret trial.

    Now I've been thinking about this and have come to the conclusion that we simply cannot allow Saudi Arabia to Trump us this way. In order for us to keep up with the Jones's, so to speak, we MUST compete. I nominate for immediate beheading the following traitors:

    Mitch McConnell
    Lindsey Graham
    Devin Nunes
    William Barr
    Rudy Giuliani
    Rep. Barry Loudermilk
    Mike Pence
    Mike Pompeo

    I am sure you folks here can nominate many others who are equally deserving.

    Well, let's get cracking.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Do you really want the eight people you name to die? I thought this was a blog for folks who like to discuss puzzles.

      Delete
    2. What brings us together is indeed puzzling, but I think we should all agree that beheading is not appropriate at this time of year.

      Perhaps we should ask for a more Christian solution, that those circling Trump find their appropriate place. Many, like the Foxes, might end up HERE

      Those SDB mentions (and many more) would end up HERE.

      Good thing the fat one can span many circles. Ultimately, he's a perfect 10!

      Delete
    3. I so fondly recall the French Revolution where all the morsels were served Alla-cart. And thickly sliced too, so as not to disappoint.

      Delete
    4. I nominate to the list, and who I think should be #2 (no coincidence), is Stephen Miller.
      Instead of draining the swamp in the way first alluded to, I say just use the bucket of water method and see what happens.

      Delete
    5. 68Charger:

      That photo of the guy with the green face is reminding me of a very strange experience I had over a decade ago. I was attending a local I.A.N.D.S. meeting/lecture here in Seattle where the speaker was Betty J. Eadie, the well known author of a couple of books on her NDE experiences.

      She stood in front of this group of perhaps 150 persons without a lectern. After over an hour, and close to the end of her talk, I suddenly saw that her left hand had turned green about one half as vivid as the face in your linked photo. She was wearing long sleeves, so all I could see was her hand up to her wrist. She was standing with both of her hands in front of her. I couldn't take my eyes off what I was seeing and then she made a long, sweeping gesture with her left arm out to her left. Her hand did not in any way change, but remained a flat, medium green throughout her motion. It was not radiating or trailing from her hand, but just as if she had dipped her hand into a container of green Easter egg coloring and had allowed it to dry.

      I had never heard of anything like this, nor have I since. It was not like an aura going out from the person, but the hand itself and nothing more. She then finished and her hand returned to looking normal to me. I wondered if she was aware of this and when I asked her after she said no, but that green is a healing color and she does healing, but was completely unaware of what I described to her. No one else, as far as I know, saw it.

      She returned a second time some years later and that time nothing similar happened. You can link to her book and photo below:


      Embraced by the Light: The Most Profound and Complete Near-Death Experience Ever
      by Betty J. Eadie | Oct 29, 2002
      4.7 out of 5 stars

      Delete
    6. It didn't seem creepy at all, just odd. I have no explanation for it either. It just was what it was.

      Delete
    7. Speaking of supernatural occurrences. I heard just the other day that King Akhnaten was seen last month, at Casino Monte-Carlo in Monaco, sitting at the faro table.

      Delete
  26. How about first firing Boeing's board of directors.

    ReplyDelete
  27. The cruelest irony for me this week is that the answer was reportedly the FIRST NAME that cranberry thought of (preceding Diane and bypassing Katie). I've pored through network lists on line until my eyeballs bled, and I can't find this person. If I want to enjoy Christmas, it looks I'll have to go two weeks in a row with no answer. Humbug!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. This comment has been removed by the author.

      Delete
    2. I usually quit if I can't solve in three hours. Close to quitting now.

      Delete
    3. The vulgar term "rearrange" usually sets my limit at about ten minutes.
      Other factors such changing a letter or mentioning TV personalities curtails it even more.
      I reached it early Sunday morning with no side effects.
      I hope tomorrow is special for all of yo.

      Delete
  28. One of the words in the two word answer is also, by itself, where you might see this journalist.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anything to do with a bowspirit? Ten minutes to go.

      Delete
    2. Do you mean bowsprit (the spar on a ship)? Appropriate for Boxing Day (Thurs, Dec 26), which is this week's deadline.

      Delete
    3. Jolly jib-booms, Plantsmith!

      As to "bowspirits," I could use their help today wrapping today.

      Delete
    4. I don't see the connection, you'll have to unpack it on de-Boxing Day.

      Delete
    5. Bows are above my pay grade. I do Dollar store gift bags- taped shut with festive scotch tape. Very classy.

      Delete
    6. Blessings to all and to all a good night. As tiny Tim would say.

      Delete
  29. It’s out there in a list, and none of the clues above led me there. Tough one, but like last week feels good when you have gotten it.

    ReplyDelete
  30. How hard could this be? A (5,6) TV journalist with at least one "i" in the name, but not Katie Couric or Diane Sawyer, and sufficiently well-known to have been the first name that occurred to at least one blog member. Cranberry, your variety cryptics have brought me great joy over the years, but where the HELL are you getting your TV news? Looking forward to noon on Boxing Day, but Merry Christmas to all in the meantime. I surrender.

    ReplyDelete
  31. I believe I just now solved it. Never heard of this person before.

    ReplyDelete
  32. This puzzle makes it 3 in a row that I've missed. There is really life outside of all this. Much happiness this year folks.

    ReplyDelete
  33. First of all, Lancek(I assume it's actually Lance K.), some weeks they come easier than others. It happens to all of us here. You may get next week's sooner than I do, or I may not get it at all. Second, though I did come up with the name first, I only went back to it later after I, too, got nowhere with Katie or Diane. Then I did the letter substitution, rearranged, and got the intended anagram. Third, evidently you must be one of the few who still thinks I'm the Patrick Berry who is a well-known puzzlemaker from Athens, GA. I'm the Pat Berry who is an amateur cryptic crossword constructor/fan from Jasper, AL. I've actually won a creative challenge a while back that involved constructing a sensible-sounding sentence from the titles of well-known TV shows. My winning entry was this:
    THE NANNY LOST ALL MY CHILDREN.
    Surprisingly, this was the only time(so far)that I've gotten to play on air with Will Shortz.(Funfact: They have to edit those games together, and I was almost edited out of mine, according to the finished product!)If you would like to see my cryptic crossword work, might I suggest you go check out Legolambda's Puzzleria! website at your earliest convenience. I've had quite a few used, and next year I hope to have many more. They love my work over there(the ones who actually know how to do cryptics), and I'm sure you will too. BTW shoutout to Dowager Empress, my biggest fan! Merry Christmas to you, to Lancek, and to all others on both blogs! As for the person's name, I've only seen him a few times on cable(no networks), and even I wasn't sure if he's actually a "journalist". More of an interviewer. You probably won't see him much anymore. I don't know where he is or what he's doing right now. I do have a clue that may or may not help others here(and you too, Lancek, hopefully! Please don't be angry with me. I've been angry here myself before, and it doesn't really accomplish anything, except make other bloggers respond in kind, or should I say unkind?). Here it is:
    Taran Killam
    If you're as avid a TV viewer as I am, chances are you may know this name. I won't say his connection to the journalist, only that it was within the past decade at least. Good luck, and again, Merry Christmas(or Happy Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, Ramadan, whatever you prefer at this time of year)and Happy New Year! Cranberry out!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Never angry; only jealous. I didn't get the new clue, but you did manage to free me from the journalist rabbit hole, and suddenly the other broad clues in this week's stream made sense. I am living proof that they only contain TMI if you happen to know the answer. I'm still surprised at all the people who got this so quickly!

      Delete
  34. This comment has been removed by the author.

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  35. Happy holidays to all my fellow Blainesvillagers!

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  36. I heard Christopher Columbus's favorite song was "I'm Dreaming Of A Wide Isthmus".

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    Replies
    1. Christopher Columbus, as I have said before, 68Chargeer, is no laughing matter. He knot only discovered the Gnu Whirled, but he was able to average over 10,000 miles per galleon.

      Merry Christmas Everyone.

      Delete
  37. Blaine - What, no Christmas Puzzle this year?

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    Replies
    1. Last year, and in 2016, the Christmas Puzzle appeared after the "magic" day. Perhaps Blaine will once again neglect his family and bring us moments of joy.

      Delete
    2. Happy Festivus tree SDB. Remember that debacle at the Capitol a few years back?

      Delete
    3. No, I don't recall that one. Too many bigger fiascos to remember I guess. Happy whatever to you and everyone else.

      Delete
  38. Happy Channukah, Kwanzaa, Festivus, and if you are a Witness happy new year,

    ReplyDelete
  39. Having worked through the Katies and Dianes and all the other usual suspects to no avail, I was lying in bed last night when the answer suddenly popped into my head. Santa works in mysterious ways. No clue here, but Merry Christmas to one and all.

    ReplyDelete
  40. This guy (from Lego's neck of the woods) tells stories with aplomb and light.

    Enjoy this Christmas day!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks for posting this link, Word Woman. Boyd Huppert, who has for years done his "Land Of 10,000 Stories" features for the local Twin Cities NBC TV afiliate, has a real knack for finding interesting people with unusual, and often poignant, tales to tell. I once met Mr. Huppert professionally. Not only is he an excellent writer... he also struck me as a great guy, a mensch, so to speak.

      LegoWhoAdds"...NotToMenschionAGreatStoryTeller"

      Delete
    2. WW. I hope your bows were spirited yesterday. I had a couple of spirits also including Ruffino Proseco.

      Delete
    3. Plantsmth, we had a spirited day yesterday in the Buena Vista/Salida, CO area. We snow shoed in BV and gazed at the 750' tall Christmas mountain tree in Salida (see new picture <<<).

      The snow was a little crunchy but we enjoyed it nevertheless.

      It is near the headwaters of the Arkansas River and it is simply magnificent.

      Merry Merry Boxing Day!

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  41. This puzzle is beyond my capabilities!

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  42. Sorry, too much holiday wassail.

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  43. cranberry -- thanks for the mention,since I am indeed one of your admirers. Hope you get a bunch more fans for your next masterpiece. I never did get this puzzle,but it was probably out of my ken... Next time. Hope your Christmas has been lovely and fun.

    And same for everybody else. It's been a good year.

    D.E.

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  44. I came up with a name I've never heard before and after switching I to W I get an answer, but it doesn't hang right with me. I submitted it anyway.

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  45. No, that was a clue. So i guess I didn't get the puzzle after all.

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    Replies
    1. No, you do have the answer. I was making a slightly vulgar, humorous quip. Your post wording reminded me of my naïveté back when I was 19 and in Europe being measured for my first custom, made to order suit.

      Delete
    2. “Hang right?” 😂🤣🤣😂🤣😂🤣

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    3. Yeah. I was asked if I dressed right or left. I had no idea what he was talking about until he rephrased it.

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  46. Did you catch a look at the Orange One's hypocritical Christmas message? You can read it on AOL.

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  47. CAP:
    Come on now; it's Christmas time and you must allow a child some latitude.

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  48. Journalist??? Would not put this bloke in the same category as Diane and Katie

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  49. With less than half an hour before the deadline, I'm getting ready to issue a post entitled "I PRACTICALLY SPOON-FED IT TO YOU GUYS!"

    Go back to my earlier post here, way back on Sunday when the puzzle came out. Believe it or not, I gave a clue that had it SO NARROWED DOWN that I'm amazed that Blaine let it stand!
    Will post again at noon.

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  50. I had the right journalist on Monday, but couldn't get the anagram to work and I've been going round and round looking for someone else. The recent clues made me certain I had the right person earlier in the week, so I used an anagram program and the answer was obvious!

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  51. Piers Morgan → News Program

    "Who noticed the name is related to the profession?" Apparently I did, when last week I posted about piers and columns, which Morgan also writes.

    "Rather unique: Blaine didn't post a clue." Blaine is without Peers. Let me know when you finish groaning.

    "STRAP must officially oppose them" as opposed to support (like a pier or column) them.

    "I'll wager a dollar" in the form of a Morgan silver dollar "you can still be a collaborator" another synomym for peer as well as supporter.

    "An Xmas Miracle? ... Sounds like we might have a scintilla of peace!" Scintilla sort of sounds like centiMorgan, which measures the segment (piece) of DNA strand, part of our "X"-mass.

    "One of the words in the two word answer is also, by itself, where you might see this journalist." He hosts Good Morning Britain, crossword afficionados know NEWS = Northern Ireland, England, Wales, Scotland. WW, was this your hint about taking direction?

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  52. PIERS MORGAN.You might see him on a NEWS PROGRAM, like Good Morning Britain, or replacing Larry King Live on CNN with Piers Morgan Live now no longer running.

    PIERS MORGAN → GRIM (“dreary”) PERSONA.

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  53. I wrote (thinking, perhaps wrongly, that I was obscure enough), “The last name of this person also belongs to a famous nautical personage, and the first name refers to a place where he might be found.” Henry Morgan, depicted at least in fiction as a pirate, might be found around the piers.

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    Replies
    1. Sir Henry Morgan was a Welsh privateer, plantation owner, and, later, Lieutenant Governor of Jamaica. From his base in Port Royal, Jamaica, he raided settlements and shipping on the Spanish Main, becoming wealthy as he did so. Nickname: Morgan "the terrible"

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  54. A unit of genetic linkage is named for a great-grandson of an amateur poet whose work was featured in Sunday morning's puzzle segment. Right?

    Weeny (7:09)

    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.