I'm pretty sure my grandpa doesn't have this.Q: Name something everyone has, starting with H. Add an E, and rearrange the letters. You'll name two things that every person must do to stay alive.
A: HEARTBEAT + E --> EAT, BREATHE
Sunday, January 19, 2020
NPR Sunday Puzzle (Jan 19, 2020): Staying Alive
NPR Sunday Puzzle (Jan 19, 2020): Staying Alive:
134 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.
Your grandpa was in the Irishmen?
DeleteAnagrams for BOTH the on-air and weekly challenges? Fans of the Society To Reject Anagram Puzzles urge all to skip this week's offering.
ReplyDeleteDrop an E from the word starting with H and rearrange to learn where you will find me after this easy challenge.
ReplyDeleteAn astronomical clue: the new moon.
ReplyDeleteOh, it's a musical clue as well.
DeleteMy musical clue is Gwen Verdon.
DeleteThis on is not hard. Sorry, this one is not hard.
ReplyDeleteBlaine's picture may give too much away.
ReplyDeleteIt's been at least one week since I've seen a puzzle this easy.
ReplyDeleteSigh...We'll be switching to politics for the rest of the week.
ReplyDeleteOUR NARCISSIST-IN-CHIEF!
DeleteBill Maher has Nancy Pelosi on his season premiere...
DeleteHere's a scary 15-minute TED talk on Facebook's role in Brexit — and the threat to democracy.
DeleteDo you suppose Mark Sugarhill (whoops! I meant Mark Zuckerberg) is the lovechild of Donald Trump and Mitch McConnell?
DeleteAnother one I submitted nearly two years ago that I never thought would get picked. Sorry for those of you who despise anagram puzzles!
ReplyDeleteI loved it! --Margaret G.
DeleteCongratulations, Tyler. 'Tis a clever puzzle.
DeleteLegoWhoSaysLet'sFaceIt:AnagramsAreAStapleOfWordPuzzles...LikeThePalestOfPetalsPaintedOnPorcelainPlatesOrPastelPleatsOnPinafores!
It is kind of like Jeopardy. You want to have some puzzles that even "common" folks can answer. If every week was hard-hard, many folks would get frustrated. Gotta keep them coming back for more. Nice puzzle Tyler!
DeleteOnly 100 correct answers last week. Curious. Anyway, my clue is still.
ReplyDeleteI was quite surprised by the low number of correct guesses until I reflected on the fact that the idiom is probably tied to ballroom dancing, and effectively no longer familiar. Also, I think "one last time" deserved a shout-out as a worthy alternate answer.
DeleteSurvey question: do you first hear the puzzle each week on your NPR station, in your cars or working around the house, or do you first hear it on the website?
ReplyDeleteI get it here, on the blog. Can't bear the audio anymore
DeleteI usually listen on the web, sometimes NPR's site, sometimes my local station's.
DeleteOn the radio while in bed.
DeleteI hear it Sunday afternoons on my Kindle Fire. I usually read next week's challenge first, then I listen to the on-air puzzle. This week's answer came to me very quickly. I can't say how quickly, though.
DeleteVia NPR's website, of course.
DeleteAs with SilentWoman, I usually read it on Blaine's blog and rarely listen on the air or read it on NPR Web site.
DeleteUsually the puzzle is posted here before it airs on the local NPR station.
On the radio at 8:40 AM or so during breakfast.
DeleteGot it in a HEARTBEAT, you could say.
DeleteExcept of course for its fatal flaw of rearrangia, this is sort of OK.
ReplyDeleteA better clue, one not desperately looking for responses, would have been:
Name something we all have, add an "e" and anagram to name two things we all do to keep it.
And it is not two ft.
Hmmm - I thought last week's puzzle was pretty easy. That said, I got the answer to this one in the blink of an eye.
ReplyDeletetoast of the town?
ReplyDeleteAha - better late than never to the puzzle solving party! I hope next week’s is more challenging!
ReplyDeleteAt the risk of moving into WW's and Jan's respective turfs, we all have halite.
ReplyDeleteThere's a certain non-human that needs to lie and hate to survive.
My SO and I solve the puzzle together. Occasionally, EACH HEAD is left with nothing but a HEADACHE!
ReplyDeleteI feel like we've had this puzzle before. Either way, I solved it in seconds.
ReplyDeleteThe answer is like an emoticon.
ReplyDeleteHeartbeat is like the heart eyes emoticon.
DeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteYawn.
ReplyDeletesigh.
DeleteIt was enjoyable being on the puzzle segment this morning, but it wouldn't be fun to be in the limelight every week.
ReplyDeleteDr. K.: I enjoyed listening to you this morning. Congratulations!
ReplyDeleteIt's been said I do one of the things to stay alive way too much lately.
ReplyDeleteMusical Clue: Madonna
Another song from the 80s immediately became an earworm in my head after doing this puzzle, but if I explain any further, it'll give it away. Will explain Thursday.
ReplyDeleteI recall a "sensational" song from the 1970's. As the act was/were a one-hit wonder, I can't even give that.
DeleteThat's a frank reply!
DeleteOuch! My earworm is from the 1950’s.
DeleteIn "Like A Virgin", Madonna asks near the end, "Can'tcha hear my HEARTBEAT(or HEART BEAT)for the very first time?". In Weird Al's parody, "Like A Surgeon", it's "I can hear your HEART BEAT for the very LAST time", followed by the sound of a heart monitor suddenly going flatline!
DeleteIt's been said I EAT too much. I don't think anyone could BREATHE too much, unless you're the President. Anyone else seen the footage of Trump
Deletewhere they edited it so he's constantly sniffing really hard? Priceless!
My hint was pointing at "heartbeat it's a lovebeat" by the DeFranco family, 1970s one hit wonders. Fun tune though.
DeletePatton Oswalt had a bit about these.
ReplyDeleteI cannot find it, but there's one where he talks about people who like food calling themselves "foodies", and that he likes to breathe, he's a "breathie."
DeleteSo were you fibbing about having a puzzle last week?
ReplyDeleteI have two!
ReplyDeleteWW posted at the end of last week that she had submitted her puzzle to Will Shortz. Given the time frame for this week's puzzle, we should check back in 2022.
ReplyDelete'22 sounds about right.
ReplyDeleteI could be "Down under" by then and missing the H word.
ReplyDeleteSorry I missed that.
ReplyDeleteThis puzzle is a real shot in the face to people who don't actually have this H-word.
ReplyDeleteRandy Rainbow fans can watch the latest work.
ReplyDeleteI only wish there were some reference to the original song source, he uses a lot of show tunes which I don't know.
"Gaston" from Beauty and the Beast.
DeleteRUDY and the BEAST - Randy Rainbow Song Parody ...
Deletewww.youtube.com › watch
Hmm, don't remember that from the Jean Cocteau film.
Delete"So, what's this a tour of?"
ReplyDeleteI think it's about when Germany attacked Hawaii.
DeleteHis level of ignorance never fails to amaze.
DeleteI was thinking that everyone has “happiness” and then adding an E, you can rearrange to get “shape”, which everyone needs to get into to stay alive, and then that leaves......(oh well- not the intended answer).
ReplyDeleteRIP Jim Lehrer.
ReplyDeleteI am so sorry to hear this. In 1996, I had the good fortune to spend some time with him. He had come into town to attend the world premiere of the stage version of his book Kick the Can. My funniest memory of that day: At one point during the day’s events, the stage company’s Artistic Director’s husband (a well-known actor in his own right) drove the three of us from one venue to another. He and Jim sat up front, while I sat in the back. Next to me was a stage prop from a recent play, a mannikin of dead—and murdered—body. I was almost hoping we’d violate some traffic ordinance so that the police would stop us and investigate. Jim also imparted a piece of wisdom I’ve never forgotten: Most of us can do two big things in life and, for most, that means work and family. Before children, he had tried to write novels while he was a reporter in Dallas, but once his daughter was born gave up novel-writing until later in life. One profound memory of his: As a reporter, he had been at Love Field on November 22, 1963, and heard the agent approve the removal the top of the limo carrying JFK since the weather was favorable. A sweet, charming, and personable man. R. I. P. Jim Lehrer.
DeleteI read Lehrer's 2013 novel, "Top Down" about the Kennedy assassination, which was mentioned in his NY Times obit.
DeleteHe was a great fan of bus transportation and wrote very entertainingly about it.
DeleteHe also personally replied to every letter I wrote him.
And, of course, Weird Al Yankovic (whom cranberry mentioned above) parodied "Another One Bites the Dust" (which I mentioned below) with "Another One Rides the Bus", thus tying Jim Lehrer to this week's blog even more firmly than he deserves to be.
DeleteHEARTBEAT >>> BREATH & EAT
ReplyDeleteStay away from 4th and Pike. Or so I hear. No suspects yet? I was only mugged one time when I lived in Seattle.
DeleteHEARTBEAT + E -> BREATHE, EAT
ReplyDelete> Those last two words are a clue themselves.
> Blaine's picture may give too much away.
Students are taught to perform CPR chest compressions (i.e., provide a HEARTBEAT) rapidly, to the beat of "Staying Alive" (though "Another One Bites the Dust" also works, and is statistically more accurate).
HEARTBEAT + e --> EAT, BREATHE
ReplyDeleteI wanted to comment that puzzles like this give me a pulsing headache, but I figured that would earn a, “…deleted by Administrator,” so I settled for, “…puzzles like this make my head throb.”
My musical clue, “Gwen Verdon,” was based on her role as Lola in the movie version of Damn Yankees. A favorite musical number of mine, from the show is, “You’ve Gotta Have Heart.”
HEARTBEAT + E —> EAT + BREATHE
ReplyDeleteMy (devilishly obscure?) clue: “limelight.”
The early ‘60s doo-wop group Shep and the Limelites (best known for “Daddy’s Home”) was led by James “Shep” Sheppard, who had previously led a ‘50s doo-wop group called the Heartbeats (best known for “A Thousand Miles Away”).
Everyone has a HEARTBEAT + E yields BREATHE + EAT, things everyone needs to do to stay alive.
ReplyDeleteRemove an E from HEARTBEAT and rearrange to learn where you will find me after this easy challenge: AT THE BAR.
HEARTBEAT + E → BREATHE, EAT
ReplyDeleteFans of [STRAP] urge all to skip this week's offering. Fan is synonymous with breathe; skip a meal and skip a (heart) beat are popular phrases, skip a breath less so; and offering is a synonym for meal.
"Fan is synonymous with breathe."
DeleteVery rare if so.
https://www.thesaurus.com/browse/breathe. Granted it's not top tier, but it was hard to find a good word. And STRAP didn't want to defame its mission by saying "This puzzle was inspired."
DeleteVillains! Dissemble no more!
ReplyDeletePreviously, I believe I murmured something pertaining to Herman's Hermits.
Pure Poe-etry
DeleteI wrote, “An astronomical clue: the new moon.” This alludes to Pink Floyd’s “Dark Side of the Moon,” which features a song called “Breathe” and also a heartbeat sound on “Speak to Me.”
ReplyDeleteMy favorite part of Breathe is when Dorothy falls into the pig pen.
DeleteTime and the tornado scene are also great.
Who knows witch is witch?
Do you subscribe to the (conspiracy) theory that Pink Floyd wrote Dark Side to convince Stanley Kubrick to let them do the soundtrack for 2001: A Space Odyssey? Band members deny it. But a ton of happy coincidences.
HEARTBEAT + E >>> BREATHE, EAT
ReplyDelete"Next" as in Next Breath.
I chose this song as my clue because it belabors (pun intended) breath/breathe.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I3Iw2qYtN8A
ReplyDeleteA heartbeat, it's a lovebeat,
And a lovebeat is a good vibration,
Oh, a heartbeat it's a lovebeat,
And when we meet , it's a good sensation,
Heartbeat, eat, breathe
ReplyDeleteheartbeat, breathe, eat
ReplyDeleteLast Sunday, my clue was “still” as in “Be Still My Beating Heart” by Sting.
Heartbeat- breathe ,eat
ReplyDeleteclue: Fibbing above as in fibrillator.
"Untouch my heart"
My clue:
ReplyDelete“Aha - better” (late than never....) anagrams to heartbeat.
jan,
ReplyDeleteDo you know what Gluecoma is?
This is all I could find.
DeleteWhen earlier today I ran into someone I casually know who was wearing an eye patch, I asked him if it was cataract surgery. He said no, that it was glaucoma. I then coined:
DeleteGluecoma - When no matter how hard you squeeze, nothing emerges from the tube.
I believe many of us have experienced this aggravation.
I thought gluecoma was the dried bit in the container that had been sitting on the shelf too long.
DeleteCaution your acquaintance to stick to the regimen of eye drops as prescribed. A friend of mine didn't, and now is blind.
Many cases to be found on the web of people getting Crazy Glue in the eyes. Usually not too serious, it seems. Found an old report of an ophthalmologist using it for corneal repairs. I try to keep it away from my eyes, but find it useful for patching the cracks I get in my thumbs in winter.
DeleteGetting Crazy Glue in the ice can ruin your martini.
DeleteHEARTBEAT, BREATHE, EAT
ReplyDeleteShortly after I solved this one, and checked in on this blog, the chorus of "HEARTBEAT"(1987), the only hit song actor Don Johnson ever had, began playing in my head. Pretty much Don singing "Heartbeat, I'm looking for a heartbeat" over and over. The strange thing is I hadn't heard that song in years! Even now as I reveal this, it's still in my head! Not constantly though, just every time I think about the puzzle. Strange, isn't it?
Sorry, 1986. I thought for sure it was a year later.
ReplyDeleteRIP Terry Jones
ReplyDeleteSpeaking of living and eating, here's an odd restaurant menu item that I saw in the news today. Especially during the ongoing health scares occuring in the world these days. I presume it is real.
ReplyDeleteI wouldn't presume it's real, but it says the bat was cooked, and I would presume that a coronavirus would be killed by cooking. (I did my master's paper on parasitic infections in the U.S. from eating raw fish, mostly to piss off my wife, who likes sushi.)
DeleteYes, I would like to see more of a follow-up on this, but the video out there "seems" real. Either way, it sure looks disgusting! I don't think I'd take the chef's word on how well this "delicacy" was cooked!!
DeleteI believe Wyatt Earp had a close friend who indulged his epicurean cravings in this manner. Sorry, I don't recall his full name at the moment, but I do recall his surname was Masterson.
DeleteBy the way, I'm not related to Coronavirus.
ReplyDeleteI will never again drink a Mexican beer.
DeleteSeveral of the viruses that cause the common cold in humans are coronaviruses. If you've ever had a cold, they've probably been part of your DNA, so in a sense you may well be related to them.
DeleteSDB, I have a straw: I drink your beer.
jan,
DeleteI rarely drink beer. If I do, it's Pauliner. I used to drink it when I lived in Germany. Many of us believe it to be the finest bier in the world.
As to colds, I haven't had one in at least 15 years. I suspect I have developed an immunity due to colds I had growing up.
As I recall there are around 240 cold and flu viruses floating around the world. Once exposed you develop an immunity to that strain. So as we get older we are less likely to get the cold, as we were already exposed to it. I suppose that's the only good thing about getting old.
DeleteJan, feel free to fact check, I'm going off an old memory, and that doesn't improve with, um, you know.
Yes, though immunity can wane with age as well. Flu viruses are extremely promiscuous, swapping bits of genetic material maddeningly, which is why you need a new flu shot each year.
DeleteI hear there's a Klingon travel ban coming...
ReplyDeleteA good anti-static spray will reduce Klingons.
DeleteI happen to know of someone who could use that spray!
DeleteThere was an earlier American who was often called Yellow Hair. He too had presidential aspirations, but did not suffer from fake bone spurs. He was eventually brought down due to his enormous ego. Hopefully it will not take bullets to bring down our present day fool.
DeleteYou mean G.Armstrong Custer? Known as yellow hair? Proud west Point graduate. They left his beautiful hair intact -so they say.
ReplyDeleteAny news on the Pike street shooting? Not really a mass shooting was it?
With one dead and seven injured by gunfire, how could it not be a mass shooting? The crime violence research group Gun Violence Archive defines a "mass shooting" as "four or more shot (injured or killed) in a single incident, at the same general time and location, not including the shooter.”
DeleteHe cut his hair prior to the Little Big Horn, and was not recognized. He was not scalped, but one Native American Indian who was there said an arrow was pushed up his penis. And I always thought a Prince Albert was extreme.
DeleteThat could be the first cathether.
DeleteLittle early isn't it Jan.? I guess i associated these - mass shooting- with assault rifles- My brother says it was not and lives a few miles south. Denial? Now Vegas that was the real deal. So could Vietnam also be called a mass shooting?
ReplyDeleteSo, if you shoot a mass of people with a handgun, that's not a mass shooting? The Vietnam war wasn't a single incident.
DeleteSo all these "gang related incidents" are actually mass shootings? Interesting. Someone said that -law enforcement, in order to not advertise the severity of gang activity, is calling some shootings--incidents and not mass shootings.
DeleteOver 1800 correct responses last week.
ReplyDeleteI hope someone is ready to transcribe the puzzle from the on-air broadcast. It's 0844 and it's not on the website yet.
ReplyDeleteWrite C, then underneath that ENT, then underneath that G. What profession does this represent? Two words, 10 and 5 (maybe?).
ReplyDeleteAgreed.
DeleteSo is it:
DeleteC
E
N
T
G
or
C
ENT
G
?
__C
DeleteE_N_T
__G
I believe the N should be in the center, surrounded by the C above, the E to the left, the T to the right, and the G below.
It's the second arrangement based on how he worded it.
DeleteAgreed, now onto obscure clues or back to bed.
ReplyDeleteWell put
DeleteDon’t let them bite at night!
Delete