Sunday, March 22, 2020

NPR Sunday Puzzle (Mar 22, 2020): Names with Four Pairs of Double Letters

NPR Sunday Puzzle (Mar 22, 2020): Names with Four Pairs of Double Letters:
Q: Many famous people's names contain three pairs of double letters, like Johnny Appleseed and the actress Jennifer Connelly. But there are two famous fiction writers — one male, one female — whose names have four pairs of double letters. The male writer is Tennessee Williams. Who is the popular female writer?
This took Blaine much longer than expected. We had a TENNESSEE WILLIAMS puzzle back in 2014 with lots of discussion on alternate answers, but I'm pretty sure her name didn't come up then.

The initial letters of "This Took Blaine" are also the starting letters of "The Thorn Birds," arguably her most famous work.
A: Colleen McCullough

207 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
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    1. I have 3 "alternate" answers...

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    2. I actually have 4 alternative answers.

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    3. I have 4 answers total, with one of them having FIVE double letters, counting the middle name!

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    4. That's TWO of them having FIVE double letters, counting the middle names.

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  2. This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.

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  3. I was glad to hear that this week’s winner is a long-time Sunday Puzzle participant.

    A literary clue: Aesop.

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    1. Hey, Doc! It took me a few minutes, but I finally got the point!

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  4. If my answer is right, with this author's middle name, it comes to five pairs.

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    1. If my answer is right, I need the middle name to get 4.

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    2. My answer jibes with Unknown's: four double letter pairs in the first and last names, five if you count the middle name.

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    3. Remember you need to have a popular fiction writer. Unknown is correct, the middle name adds a fifth double letter.

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    4. Yes, thank you Ron. The reason I mentioned the middle name was simply to illustrate the high nunber of double letters in the name altogether. Otherwise, the middle name is irrelevant. At least for the name I'm thinking of.

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    5. All this arguing will only fulfill Putin's aims!

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    6. The middle name reminds me of a drink.

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    7. Oh! Did I miss another press conference?

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  5. Could the Talking Heads be a musical clue?

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  6. I picked a name out of a long list of female fiction writers that fits the criteria ...but I've never heard of her. Which proves nothing on my part.

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  7. Of the four pairs, take one letter each. They can be arranged to form a term in biology and in electronics, among other endeavors.

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    1. That’s a bit of a stretch, a hard sell you might say.

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    2. Rob, you may have found the same author I did. The anagram of the four letters in mine, when not doubled, gets the term exactly.
      Movie Clue: Cannonball Run II

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  8. I’m looking at this puzzle through rose-colored glasses.

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  9. Before starting a family, Mother Goose published professionally under the name Miss Annabelle Goose. That's what I heard. A lot of people are saying it.

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    Replies
    1. That is so funny, I'm seeing double!,😁😁

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  10. I have FFOOUURR answers. What am I missing?

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    1. If you have the same ones that I have, maybe considering a strict interpretation of 'fiction', rather than other literary genres (like poetry).

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  11. Much like Tennessee Williams, far far more people will recognize the work for the production rather than the author.

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    1. This comment has been removed by the author.

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    2. Thanks for the sharp insight. That narrows my four down to one.

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    3. I found another answer but it wouldn’t fall into Will’s definition of famous.

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  12. Maybe to the point of your clue Blaine, I’m sure her name didn’t come up because for me she doesn’t fall into the famous author category. While she did author an epic work she was a one hit wonder. When I think if famous writers I think of writers (like Tennessee Williams) who penned a good number of great works. I think authors like Hemingway, King, Vonnegut, or a man with the same last name as her (I’m sure no relation as I actually know that family). This was more the case of an author with a famous work.

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    1. With over 20 books to her name, she's hardly a "one hit wonder."

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  13. How about Muhammad Mammootty as a second male with 4 double letters in his name?

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  14. Salleem Mujahadeen. She is Not that well known.

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  15. Now here's a good reason to reread Jeannette Wall's The Glass Castle.

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  16. The joke was on me this morning. I turned on the radio exactly when the puzzle segment comes on (7:42 AM), but there was no puzzle. Only a bunch of unrelated jibber-jabber. Then I noticed I was on the wrong station :)

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    1. That's called staganography, in the trade.

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    2. Pardon my missppeelling, it's steganography.

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  17. It took me a while to see the answer clearly. Now that I’ve got it, I feel a bit sheepish.

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    Replies
    1. JEI, not TMI.
      BTW, anybody remember the name of the governor who had to deal with the TMI accident?

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  18. My mom's name, Eileen Abbott, almost works, but it has 3 double letters.

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    1. I happened upon Eleanor Hallowell Abbott in an on-line list early on. She apparently wrote fiction for The Ladies' Home Journal, but (no offense intended) was not famous enough to qualify as an answer. I found Renee Ferrer de Arrellaga a few moments later, and I was still on the first page of names. That's when I gave up on searching lists. I got the answer by realizing that not every writer of well-known fiction is a well-known writer of fiction. (Again, no offense intended.)

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    2. According to EHA's Wikipedia page, she was "nationally recognized". I posted "9/4/11" because, at the time, I feared IDK might be TMI.

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    3. I did the same thing, but while I did not think they were the intended answer I thought they should qualify, so I did not post. I never would have solved the puzzle without this list because I never heard of the author. I was aware of the book though, but not familiar with it.

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    4. I also needed to look her up, but it was kinda like using a dictionary to check on how to spell a word. You might not go directly to it, but you don't need to start with page one.

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    5. Colleen rhymes with Eileen.

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  19. A little birdy told me the answer

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  20. I'm siding with jan on this one.

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  21. Quick, clarifying question: does her name appear on this list?

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_women_writers

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    1. Never mind mates, the answer is clear to me now after some sharp thinking.

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    2. I knew if you stuck with it -the answer would suddenly appear.

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  22. Replies
    1. Why, yes, glad you asked. Each of these writers wrote precisely one novel each:

      Emily Bronte

      Ralph Ellison

      Anne Frank

      Margaret Mitchell

      Edgar Allen Poe

      Marcel Proust

      Boris Pasternak

      J. D. Salinger

      Anna Sewell

      John Kennedy Toole

      Oscar Wilde

      How about that?

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    2. I have to take issue with that. Anne Frank did not write a novel, novella, short story, nor any other work of fiction.

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    3. By the way. She is now writing under a different name and nationality. Barbro Karlén is a Swedish writer. I last heard she is at present living in California. Her story is well worth looking into.

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    4. What about Franny and Zooey by Salinger? Doesn't that count as two for him?
      Don't forget The Leopard by Lampedusa.

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    5. Technically one was a short short and the other a novella. Not sure where to draw the line between novel and novella, though. . .

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    6. Right, I read that on Google. But do give me credit for Giuseppe di Lampedusa.

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  23. Yesterday on my way into the office. I saw some men at work. Once again they were attempting to fix one of the biggest pot holes I have ever seen. One of them went down under a culvert and attempted to move what looked like a boulder onto the road. It was truly frightening. I think he made it out. Now i am having trouble sleeping.

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  24. Speaking of female authors of fiction -- if I understand correctly the writings of Ayn Rand, shouldn't Rand Paul have developed his own personal test for COVID-19? Why did he have to rely on a test provided by the medical welfare state?

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    1. This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.

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    2. Curtis, so glad we have Governor Jared Polis at the helm in Colorado. Working toward getting forward-looking data for models rather than just analyzing past data. He is a data geek, a strong leader, and sharp as a tack. Much respect and confidence in his leadership.

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    5. I thought you might know. WW And who wrote Frankenstein. Mary Shelley?

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    6. You mean there is a good Jared? You mean the one from the Subway adds?

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    7. Actually, Jared Fogle, the Subway guy, is here in Colorado, too. He’s serving his term in a federal prison about a mile and a half from my house in the suburbs of Denver

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    8. Jared's kidding around was definitely not okay.

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    9. Forgot about that. Lo siento mucho.

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  25. Yeah, WW, Polis seems like one the good ones

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  26. Does anyone happen to know if NPR offers the option of making a donation to your local affiliate station rather than accepting the lapel pin and puzzle books? I detest NPR's pro-abortion stance and I would rather that the headquarters in D.C. donate money to my local station than promote NPR (and by extension their pro-abortion policy) with a lapel pin.

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    1. You don't have to wear the pin. Tuck it away. Donate to your local affiliate. Give away the books. This was a bass-ackwards way of telling us your political beliefs AND that you were on the puzzle segment.

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    2. A very mature response, as usual.

      I only hope your continued behavior doesn't cause our host to limit or shut down this otherwise fine means of communicating.

      Delete
  27. Woke up at 2:30 in the morning, had a flash of inspiration, and found the author. While I’d forgotten the author’s name, her best known character’s name is unforgettable.

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  28. Movie clue: Private Benjamin.

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  29. This challenge seems sort of a burden, but I, too, like the name Eleanor Hallowell Abbott.
    As far as I am concerned she is just a famous as Jennifer Connelly, so she would be what I sent in if I sent things in.
    I don't know how novels in particular got involved in the discussion.
    I also don't know what five answers (especially one with 20 works to her name) have been found when I only have my one. Shortzy will ignore them anyway.

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    1. Eleanor Hallowell Abbott was the only name I could find as well and since you've not been deleted, I guess it's the wrong answer. But I have a larger puzzle...How is it a senator with no Symptoms Rand Paul) can get tested for Corona virus and locally in my town no tests at all are available?

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    2. Clark: Look on Google News for today's "Power in a Time of Coronavirus" by Norman Solomon.
      Not a direct answer to your rhetoric question, but a good one.

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    3. A colleague of mine, an older woman who had traveled earlier this year to her birth country China, was experiencing symptoms similar to Covid 19, and she couldn't get tested. And that's in the "big city" of Berkeley.

      Fortunately she apparently doesn't have Covid, from a selfish view point especially, as we had a face to face meeting < 2 weeks ago....

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    4. ECO: That is too close to home! Hope you are ok. My college just notified us that one case on campus but will not say if professor or student. Makes me nervous.

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    5. Thanks Natasha. We all have to watch out for Corona Derangement Syndrome. It's allergy season, so lots of people are sneezing and coughing because of the stupid plants in the stupid springtime. And there are the usual winter coughs, and I notice out here the high humidity causes more winter mold in houses.

      Maybe a new book, "Fear of Coughing", will be written by Hysterica Jong.

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  30. Has the Coronavirus hit Australia?

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  31. Social-distancing orchestras in Rotterdam, and Toronto.

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  32. I loved one of the books she wrote. Need to read it again. Was one of my all time favorites besides Dr.Zhivago.

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  33. Went to the local drugstore a few minutes ago and they actually had T.P. with no lines. Maybe, just maybe, there might be a peak to this panic buying...

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  34. Do I get a prize if i make the 100th comment? Two T.P.limit here at Wallmart.

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  35. I've recently heard several people discussing the junk food they had in their quarantine stockpiles. Reminded me of the time 40 years ago when a friend and I owned a small plane. We sometimes discussed putting together a survival kit, in case of an engine failure over wilderness or something, but nothing ever came of it. Until one day, we'd planned to do some practice flying, he showed up and tossed a backpack in the back seat. "What's that?", I asked. "Oh, I finally put together a survival kit" he said. "What's in it?", I asked. "Mostly Mallomars" he said. First time I was ever afraid to fly with him. Figured the chances of him making it home without declaring an emergency were slim.

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    1. I'm trying to understand if this was maliciousness, maladministered, maltreatment, malnutrition, malcontent, mallemuck, or maldeliciousness.

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    2. Ah, sdb, you left out the most essential -- malbec.

      Raising a glass to all (well, in a few hours anyway).

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    3. I suspect the only ones who are likely to duck the coronavirus unscathed are going to be mallards.

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    4. I would have thought it was a malapropism.

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    5. I think this thread in the blog has become a malaria.

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    6. Oh yeah? Your mother is a malady!

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    7. This whole conversation is giving me a feeling of malaise. I say this without malice aforethought, though.

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    8. I think your language is very Malagasy.

      Would a scuba trip in the Indian Ocean be considered maldives?

      WW will tell you if you try to fly malachite you'll end up in Malawi.

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    9. Actually I'm becoming malcontent and just finished packing. On my way to Mali.

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    10. Did you bring a malpractice suit? That's essential malware.

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    11. Hope you don't get mal de mer, or worse yet, grand mal. Also, beware of malingering malefactors.

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    12. No worries. Our grand mal closed down due to lack of customers. And it is widely accepted to be the "mall that started it all." I am walking distance from it and was there opening day in 1950.

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    13. I believe it's spelled MALFEASANCE.

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  36. When I was in my previous life, I was the first psychiatrist in Denver accepted by the AA community. I trained alcoholism counselors and consulted at many treatment programs. Now, in retirement, my wife and I have a wine date(Not whine date) and the end of everyday. L'Chaim!

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    1. L'Chaim to all!

      We had two birthdays to celebrate in my Dames and Docs group last night. We met on Zoom. (Does anyone else remember the PBS show, Zoom, and wonder if there is a connection?)

      One of the birthday women received an engraved wine glass with this wording:

      "I'm not slurring my speech, I'm just speaking in cursive!"

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    2. I listened to the end of a Trump press conference on the coronavirus earlier this afternoon and was speaking in curse-ive right after. Now I am about to open a bottle of Tempranillo to calm down.

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    3. There is a quote from Outbreak where Hoffman says," you have to give credit to something about a millionth our size that is kicking out teeth in."
      Everything will be OK by Easter right? Not sure i will make it out to Seattle next month. As they say on Law and Order -"Not likely."

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    4. Let's not talk about ending social distancing by Easter. We don't want to egg him on.

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  37. Replies
    1. I just finished listening to Fresh Air with Terry Gross. She aired the interview she did yesterday with Max Brooks. Everyone should go online and listen to it. You will be shocked in ways you don't know about yet having to do with the pandemic.

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    2. Fresh Air : NPR
      www.npr.org › programs › fresh-air
      8 mins ago - Author Interviews · 'All Of This Panic Could Have Been Prevented': Author Max Brooks On COVID-19. by Terry Gross ...

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    3. Here's the story. I've had Max Brooks' new book on reserve at my library for 2 weeks, but the library's closed and the book hasn't been published yet. I hadn't known he was Mel's son until I saw the PSA.

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    4. Great interview. Thanks. At the end he says" You cant blame him for everything, after all we voted him in." There is some truth to that.

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    5. His new book concerns an event i actually witness the explosion of Mt.St. Helens -May 18-1980. I was there. I also thought I saw a Sasquatch on one of my boy scout outings to Spirit Lake.Now under 2000 feet of ash.

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  38. Our local affiliate cuts away after the cv-19 team speaks; 45, round 2, is just not broadcast.

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  39. Replies
    1. It needs to cover the nose and nostrils too though.

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    2. How did you find that picture? Did you Google: dumb bunnies?

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  40. It is now looking like Prince Charles's chances of ascending to the throne are diminishing.

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    1. I don't know about that, his desire could be at fever pitch.

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  41. SDB: Hope he gets well soon and no one else gets it.

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    1. It is unrealistic to "hope no one else gets it." We are in a pandemic that has not even peaked yet.

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    2. I do hate to see anyone getting it.

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    3. I'd rather see him in prison and his supporters in de-programming. Or at least reaching the 5th grade.

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    4. I'm not holding my breath on that happening either.

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    5. Did you see this news item? The whole country is now jealous of Seattle.

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    6. All of the smartest people know the real news is only found on FOX.

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  42. This comment has been removed by the author.

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  43. He did not say he wanted to go to church, unless you heard something today I missed. I heard him say he wanted to see the churches filled. This is another of his dog whistles to his base of idiots who are too stupid to see the obvious.

    Doesn't this remind some of you of Soylent Green? Although I am having difficulty in locating where I can go and offer my life so the large corporations can survive.

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    1. You could try the 737 wing plant in Renton. I know s ome people." He gave his life for the Mellenials."

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  46. This comment has been removed by the author.

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  47. I have ruled out Annette Joanne Funicello and Melissa Ann McCarthy, although both have written some things, I just don't see them being "famous fiction writers." Could be wrong on Melissa, but I don't think so.

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  48. COLLEEN MCCULLOUGH

    "Maroon." Col was an ardent researcher and kept her research in myriad maroon folders.

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  49. Colleen Margaretta McCullough

    My Hint: "I'm siding with jan on this one." Indicating a thorn in the side.

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  50. COLLEEN MCCULLOUGH

    > Don't get stuck on this one.

    As on a thorn, as in The Thorn Birds.

    > Movie clue: Private Benjamin.

    I mentioned Moldie Fawn last week.

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  51. COLLEEN McCULLOUGH

    “A literary clue: Aesop.”

    Aesop’s fable “Androcles” involved the removal of a thorn from a lion’s paw. Colleen McCullough’s most popular work is The Thorn Birds.

    And to “Unknown”: glad you got “the point”!

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  52. 1. Colleen McCullough (middle name: Margaretta adds a fifth double letter; author of The Thorn Birds.)

    2. Eleanor Hallowell Abbott

    3. Harriett Ellen Grannis Arey

    4. Colleen Carroll Campbell, (five double letters)

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  53. Colleen McCullough

    Last Sunday I said, “The joke was on me this morning. I turned on the radio exactly when the puzzle segment comes on (7:42 AM), but there was no puzzle. Only a bunch of unrelated jibber-jabber. Then I noticed I was on the wrong station :)” To explain, McCullough is an Australian writer and her most famous novel, “The Thorn Birds,” is set in Australia. “Station” is an Australian word that means a large farm or ranch.

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  54. Colleen (Margaretta) McCullough Technically 5 double letters, though her middle name is seldom used.

    Could the Talking Heads be a musical clue? Their song, Road to Nowhere, all roads lead to Rome, and McCullough wrote the Masters of Rome series.

    All this arguing will only fulfill Putin's aims! As in Vlad (imir), the impaler. Shrikes (birds) impale insects on barbed wire or thorns and could be called Thorn Birds though are more commonly called butcherbirds.

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  55. In addition to Colleen McCullough, I found a second Australian popular female author, Kerry Isabelle Greenwood, the creator of the Miss Fisher mysteries and the uniquely named Phyrne Fisher.

    Amazon Prime has a collection of the TV versions of her mysteries. Enjoy, and stay safe!

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  56. Replies
    1. My clue I saw some "men at work." Famous Aussie Band _"I come from the land down under
      Colleen McCullough

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  57. I don't think McC... counts as a double "C" any more than Mr.Rogers counts as a double "R".
    Using the middle name to make the grade is an avenue Wee Willy will probably avoid.









































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    1. And I don't think it really matters. This was a tedious and boring puzzle that required much wasted time going through that very long list to discover the answer, which offered zero reward in the end. Just my opinion.

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    2. Is Mendo Jim spacing out? Or is he wishing us many happy returns? Or practicing double double double double double entry?

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    3. If Blaine charges by empty posts, this group will keep him well.

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  58. We are featuring a "literary" puzzle created by skydiveboy on tomorrow's edition of Puzzleria! As with most of skydiveboy's puzzles, you will learn a thing or two during the process of solving. I did, anyway.

    LegoLearnee

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  59. From the Puzzle Master: "The NPR audience is cultured and literate. I have high expectations of their knowledge base. :-)"

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  60. I submitted COLLEEN McCULLOUGH and hinted at the THORN birds when I thanked Buck Bard for his SHARP insight.

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  61. Well, we won't have the Olympics this year, but...

    We Are Number One! USA! USA!

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    1. Funny, I just posted the same snarky comment at PEOTS, though I, at least, was mature enough not to post the USA!

      I used a different website. Their graphs are clearer.

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    2. I was kind of disappointed last evening, the neighbor's down the street had a "small" block party with about 12-15 people. They were all sitting next to each other in their lawn chairs, elbow to elbow, for several hours without a care in the world. And I was not disappointed because I wasn't invited!!

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    3. Not so funny, just found out Michael Sorkin died from Covid 19.

      He was an architect and writer, critic for The Nation magazine, as well as too many things to name. He was a vibrant force for progressive good.

      He was also on the board of the same non-profit that I had also been on for many years; the first person I've known to die from the pandemic. Brings it closer to home.

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    4. 68Charger, you say it was "a "small" block party." Didn't you mean it was a blockhead party?

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    5. eco, I am sorry.

      I liked this quote from Sorkin:

      "Fish are symmetrical but only until they wiggle. Our effort is to measure the space between the fish and the wiggle. This is the study of a lifetime."

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    6. SDB - That's what my wife and I were thinking! We couldn't believe it!
      Tonight there is no sign of any activity.

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    7. Are you saying it's dead out there now? Perhaps inside too then.

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    8. SDB - I just wonder if maybe they heard some negative feedback from somebody?
      I was going to say something but was afraid our house might get T.P'd. Come to think of it, that might not have been a bad thing, these days!!

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    9. Yes, you make a good point as to the TP, but I am not quite understanding your reference to "negative feedback from somebody". Does that even happen where you live?

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    10. This comment has been removed by the author.

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    11. I am sure he will be a wonderful addition to our government, but your link did not work so well.

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    12. Darn, that one didn't work. No big deal though.

      I'm afraid even in the land of Kris Kobach we can have "negative feedback"!

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  62. I finally had to do some grocery shopping today. I mostly wanted bulk coffee beans, but all the bins were empty, along with all the other bulk food bins. The governor said to close all bulk food items down. So I guess I will have to go back to the same old grind.

    The store was almost devoid of shoppers too.

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  63. Now that funerals in my state are on hold due to the coronavirus crisis I have sent a letter to our governor volunteering that mine be held off for at least 30 more years. It's a sacrifice I am willing to make.

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  64. COLLEEN McCULLOUGH(author of "The Thorn Birds")
    In Cannonball Run II, there is a scene in a bar in which Dean Martin, dressed as a priest for some unknown reason, is trying to pick up a woman. The woman, aghast, responds by saying(and this probably isn't the line verbatim, but you get the idea), "Father! What are you suggesting?", to which Dino replies, "Haven't you ever seen 'The Thorn Birds'?" I'm not really familiar with the book, but I do know there was a miniseries around that time based on it, starring Richard Chamberlain. Apparently it's about a clergyman who, you might say, has great difficulty keeping his vow of celibacy. Let's put it that way.

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  65. In an actual Cannonball Run, if memory serves!, four men dressed as priests and got a driveaway Cadillac to take coast to coast. The priest garb was to reduce the chances of getting arrested for speeding. And it worked. They got stopped on the Pennsylvania Turnpike for speeding and were let off with a warning.

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    1. As I recall they got off not only with a warning but 4 Hail Mary's. It was a frocking injustice!

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  66. Skydiveboy, you didn't much like the 6-foot radius hoop carried by 3 friends that I showed you a couple of weeks ago. How about an 8-horsepower model?

    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.