Q: Think of a famous living person in the entertainment field whose first name is a bird. The person's last name is a quality of this bird — something its feathers have. Who's the famous person, and what's the bird?Hint: Steamboat inventor?
The actor adopted his stage name from a combination of the CBS casting director, Robert Dale Martin, who gave him his first big break, and the televangelist archbishop, Fulton J. Sheen. If he had chosen their first names he might be Robert Fulton.
A: MARTIN SHEEN
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.
Got it. Now my only concern is trying to think of a hint Blaine won't delete.
ReplyDelete*I* had to think of a hint I wouldn't delete. Good luck! :)
DeleteActually, it's a pretty straight path to the answer for a Blaine hint! I'm glad I already had the answer before I saw it.
Delete"only concern" = "single care"
DeleteI think it’s fair to say that this entertainer is best known by a nom de plume.
ReplyDeleteTake the first letters of the person's given name and rearrange to get a car part.
DeleteAhh. Thank you.
DeleteOr rearrange the person's given first name to get the given first name of a famous entertainment figure.
DeleteDr. K and Berf, Great clues.
DeleteGood hint. Yes, pretty easy.
ReplyDeleteSpeaking of birds -- if a crow gets the virus is it CORVID-19??
I have actually said Corvid when I meant to say covid
DeleteWell it isn't RHEA BROWN.
ReplyDeleteNor Jay Silverheels.
DeleteNor the "Clown Prince" MEADOWLARK LEMON.
DeleteNor the singer PHOEBE SNOW.
DeleteThat's MEADOWLARK LEMON.
DeleteSpeaking of raven', where's skydiveboy today?
DeleteHe's here somewhere. Nice clue, Blaine! It didn't get me to the answer, but confirmed it for me; not that I needed confirmation.
DeleteNow that I've solved it I am going to take a long walk.
Lark Voorhies
DeleteDuck Dead
Deletebwhahahahahah!!
DeleteI once toured a Manischewitz factory, where I must have seen the equipment responsible for quality control.
ReplyDeleteThe first name is also part of a car.
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteNor Robin Quivers.
DeleteThis comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
ReplyDeleteGender wasn't specified.
DeleteSorry Blaine. I'll be more beyond a right angle next time!
ReplyDeleteThat's a cute response
DeleteHow acute of you to notice.
DeleteOnly 800 correct responses last week.
ReplyDeleteNow to find a clue that's not TMI...
Voice: a low rich liquid gurgling
ReplyDeleteAnagram the first X letters of the first name to get a form of transportation.
ReplyDeleteOh! Anagram the last X + 1 letters of the first name to get another form of transportation.
DeleteSuper Big Gulp®
ReplyDeleteLargest Swallow: The Martin
DeleteSomething about wings?
ReplyDeleteNice!
DeleteI had to mull this one over for a while but I eventually got it. BTW, I won’t be joining you at the witching hour this Thursday. I’m relocating to a new city and will be on the road. Stay well.
ReplyDeleteQ: Think of a famous living person in the entertainment field whose first name is an animal. The person's last name is a quality of this animal.
ReplyDeleteWhy did Will turn that nice wording into a one minute embarrassment?
The above was not a "riff" on Will's challenge, but simply a rewrite for adults.
DeleteFor some reason the PM decided to publish a puzzle with a low 1 on a 1 to 10 difficulty scale.
Over the last several weeks, I would rate offerings as:
This week: 1-
Musk: 2
Dry heat: 1
Outfit: 1
Roll over: 1
Normalcy: 1
Swine: 2
Lake Lulu: 3 - 4
Bough, cough: 1
Coal belt: 1
Three Mile Island: 3
Belfast: 1
Oral B: 1
Well, there seems to be a pattern.
Are these fair?
How far back do you have to go for a 5?
Does anyone here care?
Oh, Jim, we can always solve Kryptos. I've done it a bunch of times. Just not on the radio.
DeleteIs that a Krypto?
DeleteI don't have a clue what you mean.
Belfast a 1? I hardly think that seems fair, being the contributor of that one.
Deletecranberry: My scale was not for the quality of the puzzles, but for their ease of solution, at least for me. I got lucky and started my work going west to east.
DeleteI still think of your FLAB SLAB puzzle as one of my favorites.
How about a famous nonliving person who was in the entertainment field. The first name may be found at the bottom of the last name? Who is it?
ReplyDeleteUnder dog?
DeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteSame initials as a relevant condition. I never realized this before.
ReplyDeleteGod, I get so wistful thinking about a certain character!
Rearrange to get a composer of movie scores.
ReplyDeleteI really liked this hint. Herman Stein (who wrote music for many of the 1950s science-fiction and horror films) anagrams to Martin Sheen.
DeleteGreat clue Blaine!
ReplyDeleteBlaine,
ReplyDeleteDifferently from last week, I figured out your clue. Maybe this week it was only 92 degrees!
O well, not much of a mystery.
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteThis week's fine(-feathered) puzzle was created by Barbara Weinstein of Lincoln, Massachusetts.
DeleteTake the name of a Massachusetts college baseball team as it might have once appeared on sports page headlines, in two words. Anagram the letters in those words to get the answer to Barbara's puzzle.
LegoWhoNotesThatEzraLincolnPitchedForTheClevelandSpidersAndSyracuseStarsIn1890
Clue: Dan Quayle
ReplyDeleteIn case anyone is confused, the answer I got is perfect except for the spelling. They may have neglected to mention that in the directions. Will explain Thursday(unless Will interrupts to explain before then).
DeleteThere are no spelling errors in the answer I got. -- Margaret G.
DeleteYeah, maybe you have an alternate answer, but not the intended one that has no spelling issues.
DeleteNow I finally have it! Disregard my original clue, though I'll still explain on Thursday.
DeleteLXXVI
ReplyDelete... tuba magna pompa duci?
DeleteTLI
Delete_And they whirl and they twirl in the skylight"
Delete-----love."
Jimmy Neutron
ReplyDeleteMartin Sheen's real name is Ramon Estevez. Sheen Estevez is a character in Jimmy Neutron.
DeleteNot coming up short on this one.
ReplyDeleteI liked this clue, Mort. When I landed on the MARTIN, I ALSO paused for a moment on MARTIN SHORT, before turning to MARTIN SHEEN. (Because MARTINs are short, aren't they?)
DeleteAfter solving the last couple months’ worth of puzzles so quickly, I’m just steaming with rage that this one took me so long today!
ReplyDeleteDid you fly into a rage?
DeleteWhat do pirates say when they arrive at their destination?
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
DeleteAs I recall, the ones at Disney say, "Keep your arms and legs inside the boat until it comes to a full and complete stop at the dock."
DeleteAfter dropping anchor the captain will announce, "Here we R."
DeleteShouldn’t that be, “Here we Arrrgh.”?
DeleteSZ, That is indeed a good question, and I would agree with you that it could, but I am only reporting how I heard him accent it.
DeleteSZ, It really is too bad you couldn't also have been there when they aRRived; I've never seen men having such a maritime.
DeleteI suppose the appropriate response to that would be, “Whatever floats your galleon.”
DeleteInteresting you should mention that as I often like to point out that Columbus was known for getting at least five thousand miles per galleon.
DeleteMethinks that, judging by the comments and clues, there may be more than one answer?
ReplyDeleteClue: It moves 2 forward and 1 to the side.
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteIt is what it is!
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
DeleteWell it took me a while, as I was stuck on the misspelled “alternate” answer, but this time I think I’ve got it....apparently I can see many others do too!
ReplyDeleteThink of an American athlete whose last name is a bird. Add a T to end of first name and get something that might be used by a bird.
ReplyDeleteI suppose SUE BIRD is too straightforward?
DeleteI also have an American athlete whose first and last names work phonetically.
DeleteThe Pittsburgh Steelers' Receiver Lynn Swann satisfies neither of your clues, but I still get to post this:
Deletehttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VAbSmQTdJiY
Unforgettable.
Deletemovie clue "Goldfinger"
ReplyDeleteIs this a clue for your puzzle, or for Will's?
DeleteWills.
ReplyDeleteGot it. (Kind of a twofer.) What I really need, though, is a hint on YOUR puzzle. Ben found my phonetic answer, which would work nicely if he were LIN SWAN.
DeleteHey,
ReplyDeleteNow that I think about it I share initials with the answer. It's not C.A.P. That's all I can say.
And yet, at the same time, you don't!
DeleteThat's true.
DeleteMusical Clue: Ornithology.
ReplyDeletehttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z2tvlp7RnlM
Do you the Charlie Parker jazz classic?
DeleteSorry, mean.
DeleteDid someone mention birds, during a pandemic?
ReplyDeleteHow about Madelyn Cates, The Producers (1964)?
Deletehttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aL6mTMShVyk
On air, Will said: "There was an interesting alternative answer that a lot of people send (sic) in - Jim Kelly, former NFL quarterback. His name has I, J, K, L and M, plus the man's name Eli."
ReplyDeleteWhy would anyone send that in and why would he mention it when the puzzle asked for a woman's nickname.
Maybe the riff category or a "related" answer.
This may be a clue as to why has had so so much trouble over the years with real alternate answers.
MJ - I was wondering the same thing - even worse - he said the name was 8 letters - all different! Yet Jim Kelly has two L’s! It left me a little perplexed.
DeleteSomeone could ask Will.
DeleteThanks Snipper, I realized later that I left that out, maybe an even worse flaw that the nickname.
DeleteI don't think many, if any, sent that in.
Natasha: You will need to go through skydiveboy to ask Will; he is the only one I know who has email contact.
SDB is not a go between.
DeleteBut you have spoken frequently of being a go-between for people and their past lives.
DeleteBut here, I was just thinking that Natasha might be trusted with the PM's email.
I do past life regressions. I do not in any way go between. I simply ask them what they are experiencing after I regress them to a previous lifetime.
DeleteA quick internet search ferreted out this email address for Will:
DeleteShortz@nytimes.com
No promises, though.
This comment has been removed by the author.
DeleteWw: that address might work. Great idea. I think one can write to Will at NPR. I did not discover the error so do not want to write.
DeleteI asked the PUZZLEMASTER about the concern, expressed by MENDO JIM and others (Snipper, Natasha), about last week's "alternate answer" of JIM KELLY to the ELON MUSK puzzle.
DeleteSays the PuzzleMaster:
I guess I wasn’t clear about my response on JIM KELLY last week. It was an “interesting alternative” — but it wasn’t correct, and I didn’t count it as correct.
I learned about this alternative submission only a few minutes before the puzzle taping, so I didn’t have time to collect my thoughts.
—Will
Anyone here remember the actor with the eponymous late 1950's TV sitcom whose first name could lead to the last name, both of which could reasonably occur on the fictional show's setting?
ReplyDeleteI hear you.
ReplyDeleteThe Gale Storm Show
ReplyDeleteHappy birthday Erwin Schrödinger and vive Schrödinger's feline!
ReplyDeleteI almost added that...
DeleteAm leaning more toward "vive" for pets these days...
DeleteA change of subject: DONALD TRUMP VISITS THE VATICAN.
ReplyDeleteDonald took a quick trip to Rome to show his concern for the Pope:
"I met with Pope Francis today. He's a really great pope — great, great pope. You know he's the leader of the Catholic Church — big church.
"I couldn't believe it when he told me how many Catholics there are. Way more than I thought. They have churches all over the world; some are very, very close (so close) to my hotels and golf courses. He tells me he's elected for life, probably copying that Xi guy in China. Fantastic idea, though. Fantastic. It turns out the pope is a lot like me, you never see him with his wife.
"He told me he's infallible. I said that's great, you'll never have to worry about breaking a hip. And told me about a Mary Magdalene, beautiful girl, beautiful. Apparently a hooker. I asked him for her number. Didn't catch his answer. I'm told he said it in Latin I give the guy credit because he doesn't look Latino.
Part II
ReplyDelete"The Pope (great guy, by the way, knows more about the Bible than almost anybody — we got along great, I think he really likes me) told me the whole thing was painted by this young Italian. I think his name is Mike Langelo. "At least that's what Francis (we're great friends) called him, I think. Trust me, we're going to hear more about this guy. He's really artistic, and everybody tells me I have the greatest eye for the best art. It's natural, just like my incredible understanding of science. All the renowned scientists say they can't believe it.
"I told Frank I'd like to buy some of Mike's art. I asked if Mike's done anything on velvet. He'll check (great guy). I'll hang his stuff at Mar-a-Lago or Trump Tower. This Mike guy needs more exposure. He's too much with the churches. "He could paint my presidential portrait on the Capitol Dome. Or maybe a mural on
my big, beautiful border wall; but just on our side.
"When we left, the pope gave me a bible. Huge book. (Huge.) I told him I have the full set. You get one for free every time you take a porn star to a hotel room."
[pauses]
"Unbelievable. Just heard. The lamestream media is at it again. Fake news. (Fake news.) I just saw something on TV. They claim Mike the painter died 450 years ago. Sad. I've already got people looking into this and you won't believe what they're finding."
I left out a paragraph:
ReplyDelete"He took me into the Sistine Chapel. Beautiful ceiling. Not the usual white stucco stuff. I don't think too many people even know about this place. The paintings are great, I'm telling you. Lots of colours."
So it was coined by a Brit.
DeleteDid he mention where he is going to locate his presidential library? At Mar Lago?
ReplyDeletePlanning a presidential library would imply that he's considering leaving office someday.
DeleteAre you forgetting that Vile, Nasty, Rapist Man does not even read books, let alone enter libraries? Or perhaps I should have said, Lie-buries.
DeleteGold Digest?
Deletei.e. Golf Digest. Probably the gold one too.
DeleteI don't see any clue at all.
ReplyDeleteBy Thursday, you may have to read a lot of rants to find the clues on this forum.
DeleteMARTIN SHEEN & MARTIN
ReplyDeleteMy Hint:
"Now that I've solved it I am going to take a long walk."
Martin Sheen stared in the 2010 movie, The Way. The film honors the Camino de Santiago and promotes the traditional pilgrimage across Northern Spain from France.
SDB - at whom did he stare?
DeleteBen - He stared at the escalator. Damn Spell Cheque!
DeleteMARTIN SHEEN + MARTIN
ReplyDeleteMy clue: “Or rearrange the person's given first name to get the given first name of a famous entertainment figure.” Sheen’s birth name was Ramon Estévez, and “Ramon” can be rearranged to “Norma,” the given first name of Marilyn Monroe.
The famous living entertainer is Martin Sheen.
ReplyDeleteAs Martin Sheen was born Ramon Estavez, and the puzzle was about feathers, I couldn’t resist the wordplay and describing him as known by his, “nom de plume.”
MARTIN SHEEN
ReplyDelete> I once toured a Manischewitz factory, where I must have seen the equipment responsible for quality control.
MATZO EVENERS anagrams to RAMON ESTEVEZ, his real name.
> Same initials as a relevant condition.
Jed Bartlet has multiple sclerosis.
MARTIN SHEEN
ReplyDelete"LXXVI" refers to two roles Sheen held in the "Grace and Frankie" series; in 1776 and as the Music Man singing about 76 trombones.
MARTIN SHEEN
ReplyDeleteThe Purple Martin
The Martin's feathers have a certain “sheen” or luster.
Lego's U Mass college baseball team: AMHERST NINE anagrams to MARTIN SHEEN!
My clue:
ReplyDelete“...but this time I think I’ve got it....apparently I can see many others do too!”
“This time” in Spanish is “esta vez” which is essentially Martin Sheen’s real last name. “Apparently” was reference to the parent/son relationship with Charlie.
Also, my response to Mendo Jim about last week’s puzzle ended with “perplexed” in reference to the “purple” Martin.
like otra vez-- Another time?
DeleteMartin Sheen, Hint Goldfinger-for the Aston Martin.
ReplyDeleteLancek got my spin off in 5 seconds--Sue Bird of Seattle Rain. Suet. But i like their phonetic alternate also- Lynn Swann. Lint--Swan. MY NFL all time fave.
Sorry for spoiling the party, Plantsmith, but I really didn't think that you intended your bird to be Bird. In fact, I kept on trying to find what I thought could be your intended answer, but the phonetic reply was the best I could do. The Goldfinger hint was a twofer because of the toxic sheen applied to the unfortunate Jill Masterson!
DeleteThat works too.
DeleteMARTIN SHEEN.
ReplyDeleteMy musical clue was Ornithology, by Charlie Parker, otherwise known as Bird.
I didn't name "Charlie," but I was hinting at CHARLIE SHEEN, Martin's kid and the only family actor to take the SHEEN name.
As well as Apocalypse Now, one of Martin Sheen's most famous roles. In which the Vietnamese are called "Charlie" throughout the movie.
I asked the PUZZLEMASTER about the concern, expressed by MENDO JIM and others (Snipper, Natasha), about last week's "alternate answer" of JIM KELLY to the ELON MUSK puzzle.
ReplyDeleteSays the PuzzleMaster:
I guess I wasn’t clear about my response on JIM KELLY last week. It was an “interesting alternative” — but it wasn’t correct, and I didn’t count it as correct.
I learned about this alternative submission only a few minutes before the puzzle taping, so I didn’t have time to collect my thoughts.
—Will
Ben: Great! Thanks.
DeleteMartin Sheen
ReplyDeleteWhen I saw "Hint: Steamboat inventor" (and somehow Martin Sheen had flown into my head right away, sometimes it happens), I thought inventor of steam can be rage, R.A.G.E Ramon Antonio Gerardo Estevez.
ReplyDeleteI was in a ‘steaming rage’ because rage is both an anagram of the actor’s given initials and the name of a movie in his filmography.
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteMy hint this week was:
DeleteTake the name of a Massachusetts college baseball team as it might have once appeared on sports page headlines, in two words. Anagram the combined letters in those words to get the answer to (the) puzzle.
Answer:
AMHERST NINE = MARTIN SHEEN
Tomorrow's edition of Puzzleria! features:
1. one very timely "Pauzzle,
2. one very timely Schpuzzle of the Week,
3. one "Songs for Bazookazoos!" puzzle slice,
4. seven riff-off of this week's NPR puzzle, and
5. one “I’ll have what she’s having” Dessert.
LegoLaBazookazoombda
MARTIN SHEEN
ReplyDeleteAt first, I went with Robin or Jay, and ROBIN THICKE's name came to mind, but there was no mention of spelling or soundalikes involved. Then I thought of the name Martin, and almost decided on MARTIN SHORT before realizing the feathers of a martin must have a sheen. So I looked up the martin and found the part about a sheen! I immediately sent it in, though I had sent in THICKE as well. And I never got the call. Oh well. Better luck next time.
I first considered singer/songwriter Robin Vane. Robin jumps to mind. Vane is a part of a feather, though, and not a quality. I settled on Martin Sheen and submitted it. No call. Onward.
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteThis week's challenge: This is a spinoff of today's on-air puzzle. Think of a major city in France whose name is an anagram of a major city in Italy. Each city has more than 100,000 people.
ReplyDeleteBoth cities have famous cathedrals. The one in Italy being 200 years older than the one in France.
ReplyDeleteI solved this then made the bed
ReplyDeleteMore than 2200 correct responses last week.
ReplyDelete