Sunday, October 04, 2020

NPR Sunday Puzzle (Oct 4, 2020): Aye Yai Yai!

NPR Sunday Puzzle (Oct 4, 2020): Aye Yai Yai!
Q: Think of an 8-letter word with three syllables that contains the letter "I" in each syllable — but, strangely, doesn't contain a single "I" sound, either long or short. The answer is not a plural. What word is it?
Too soon?

Edit: I posted my hint not long after waking which most would consider too soon to start drinking.
A: DAIQUIRI ('da-kə-rē)

182 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. I think of a scene in a famous movie where its very pronunciation is discussed between two main characters.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Tomato tomato potato potato?

      Delete
    2. My favorite movie quote is from that movie, and involves the same characters.

      Delete
    3. Cuba or Q-ba?

      Delete


    4. My favorite movie quote, involving the same characters, is "I know it was you Fredo, you broke my heart. You broke my heart!"

      https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CHXTG-FZiR0

      Delete
  3. I’m reminded of a T. S. Elliot character....and some unrelated wordplay.

    ReplyDelete
  4. I contend this is a two-syllable word.

    ReplyDelete
  5. I have it and the answer does not end in -tion as in ignition.

    To make it clear, the answer has no long “I” sound (ī) as in “pie,” nor short “I” sound (ĭ) as in “pit.”

    ReplyDelete
  6. Nihilist inciting divisive idiocies vilified.

    ReplyDelete
  7. If I have the expected answer, there is another surprise about the three syllable sounds that awaits the solver. On the other hand, there might well be multiple answers this week.

    ReplyDelete
  8. I’m from a place where one can drive right up to it.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Nice, can't do that in Hackney

      Delete
    2. My hometown, Lafayette, LA, is where drive-thru daiquiri shops originated:

      https://1079ishot.com/history-drive-thru-daiquiri-lafayette/

      Delete
  9. As I mentioned in last week’s thread, I believe I have the answer, but to be safe I decided to look the word up in Wiktionary. Folks, doing that might scare you off. 4 pronunciations are given, ALL of which include a lowercase i in the third syllable; and 2 of which also show an uppercase I in the second syllable.

    ReplyDelete
  10. There's some debate about the spelling.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yes. I had thought about liaision, but then realized I had an extra i, so I went with liaising, but that had a short i (-ing) syllable.

      Delete
  11. Attempts at anagrams are falling way short this week.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I did come up with one, but it's exceedingly strange.

      Delete
    2. Change one letter in the anagram and it goes from strange....to scary.

      Delete
    3. If I've got the right letter, it's something I'd like to wish for someone right now....

      Delete
  12. There's a good 9-letter answer that is also good for you.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I believe your 9-letter answer is the same answer to one of my NPR-puzzle riff-offs on Puzzleria! this Friday.

      LegoWhoBelievesLancekCouldProduceAnExcellentPuzzleBlog!

      Delete
    2. Lego, is there an email where one might reach you in the civilian world?

      Delete
    3. Thanks for the compliment, Lego! I almost took my comment down in light of Lorenzo's post below, since his alternative answer is probably better than the intended answer (albeit less familiar). It should surely merit a mention from the Puzzlemaster.

      Delete
  13. Was everyone else tickles by Bruce's "toilet pan" story?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I'm sorry, I was too focused on hearing my own name...

      Delete
    2. Maybe he had too much Lipton's.

      Delete
  14. Am I gonna need a mirror to solve this?

    ReplyDelete
  15. This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.

    ReplyDelete
  16. There is an alternative answer that could easily be used in the same sentence as the intended answer.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Cool, Lorenzo! I learned a new word. In this case, I think the alternative answer is better than the intended one.

      Delete
  17. We've had fewer of them here lately for some reason.

    ReplyDelete
  18. An old Woody Allen movie is somewhat related.

    ReplyDelete
  19. There’s an Italian pasta answer to the puzzle but it has 4 syllables...

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. There are about ten Italian pasta answers to this puzzle, but they are all Al Dente.

      Delete
    2. on yeah-linguini with white clam sauce?

      Delete
    3. I say linguini you say linwinie.

      Delete
    4. It is literally little tongues and is spelled linguine and pronounced leenguinay.

      Delete
  20. The letter I can make many different sounds in another language.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. The word "language" sounds like "linguini". Also, "linguini" is an Italian word.

      Delete
    2. The word is spelled LINGUINE. I suggest you look it up.

      Delete
  21. It rhymes with the name of a famous author.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. And with the given name of an American historical figure.

      Delete
    2. My answer also rhymes with an American blues singer, guitarist and songwriter

      Delete
  22. The pronunciation of PIER (pîr) is neither a short nor a long "I"

    ReplyDelete
  23. Why is it claimed that the "i" in "business" is the only silent one in English?

    ReplyDelete
  24. I am taking the German approach this week. I have a list 0f 3456 8 letter words and am making my through. Now on page two. I know it is in there somewhere.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. That way worked for me. There actually is a web page that over 70 pages of eight-letter three-syllable words. And variations thereof.

      Delete
    2. Thanks Worsdsmythe. it is a little tedious. Not the speediest.

      Delete
    3. I used a website that lets one specify that the word contains three i's. That cuts it to 207.

      Delete
    4. You won't have to look too too far.

      Delete
    5. This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.

      Delete
    6. These long lists of words are making my eyes blurry! I think it’s time to let this one go.

      Delete
  25. Hey Blaine, I don't think it's too soon now.

    ReplyDelete
  26. Hm.
    I have three answers but I'm not thrilled with any of them.
    For one of them, the most common word of my three, my own pronunciation does include a short 'i' (IPA ɪ) although there are pronunciations that don't.
    For a second, I need an alternative spelling to meet the criteria. And for the third, I think *most* people who pronounce this word in English they would use the ɪ sound.
    All three of my words entered English fairly recently -- the oldest has The Great Gatsby as its first OED citation!

    I'm pretty sure none of mine is the intended answer (the clues here suggest there's one I haven't thought of) but my motivation is drying up after finding three valid answers.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Oh wait, now I do think some people are hinting at one of my solutions (the only one that's really any good). Okay whew I can stop searching.

      Delete
    2. If I'm thinking of the same I you are, I pronounce it more like a schwa.

      Delete
  27. I have tried Hawaiian words to no avail.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Reminds me of a joke about a tour guide helping a tourist with Hawaiian pronunciation. He states that the vowels are always pronounced one way (A=ah, E=ay, I=ee, O=oh, U=oo). As they drive around the island, the tourist is getting better and better at pronouncing the place names on signs. Finally the bus comes around the corner and the tourist proudly exclaims "Pee-pay-lee-nay"! The your guide shakes his head and says, "Nope, that says PIPELINE".

      Delete
    2. Or the first time tourist to Hawaii gets off the plane. When he spots someone wearing a lei, he goes over and says "I've always wondered, do you say Hawaii or Havaii". The lei wearer responds "Havaii". The tourist says "Thank you" . The lei wearer responds, "You're velcome!"

      Delete
  28. Maybe Italian, maybe not. I think I've stopped trying.

    ReplyDelete
  29. I have two answers, and they go good together.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. You can eat linguini while drinking a daiquiri.

      Delete
  30. Well, I have an answer if I'm pronouncing the word correctly.

    ReplyDelete
  31. Replies
    1. And I am willing to wager that you do not know how to properly pronounce capice. Of course in the Auntarctic (sic) it is pronounced cap ice, but it should be pronounced capeecheh. It is not capeesh.

      Delete
  32. If it's the second person singular, it's pronounced capeeshe, spelled capisce.

    ReplyDelete
  33. Replies
    1. Plantsmith, "capisce" is indeed the formal second-person (not a tense, but the "tu" and "Lei" forms do inflect differently). But the Italian source of the American slang must be the informal second-person singular, "capisci", surely.
      A lot of American slang that was introduced by Italians has a southern Italian influence, especially in pronunciation -- Napolitani tend to elide final vowels altogether, which is why you often hear "fah-gi-OL" for "fagioli". My bet is that's what happened to "capisci", (which is in fact pronounced in Italian with a "sh" sound, not a "ch" sound), explaining why one so often hears "ca-PEESH".

      Delete
    2. My dad's family is from Piemonte region outside of Turin. Piemontese. " The foothills."
      Thanks.

      Delete
  34. Took a stab at this one. No Italian food consumed in my answer/process.

    My guess is worth about a buck. And worth the same in England, FWIW.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Ben i am working hard on your puzzle riffs on Puzzleria. Somehow your name also figures into one of the puzzles. Are you related to the Six Million dollar man. I thought so.

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

      Delete
    3. I don't think I've ever been published on Puzzleria. But here is an ALTERNATE puzzle that was not accepted for Sunday Airing by Will Shortz, but I liked it. Perhaps it might detain you for a few hours?

      Name a famous actor.

      The letters in the actor's first name appear, in order, in the actor's last name. If you remove those letters, the letters left over appear, in order, in the words that remain.

      Who is the actor?

      Delete
    4. Eight variations of your Sydney puzzle and a puzzle based on you. Live. Today is the due date for Puzzleria.

      Delete
    5. Thanks, Plantsmith, for letting Ben Know about his puzzle and 8 riff-offs of it appearing on the present Puzzleria!
      To Ben and other Blainesvillians:
      Every Friday, I copy the previous Sunday's NPR puzzle, then write riffs of it. I have lately adopted a tradition of creating Riff #1 as a puzzle in which the name of the puzzle-maker is the actual answer. That is what Plantsmith is referring to: "Ben Austin" is the answer to the first riff-off puzzle.
      And, again, kudos to Ben!

      LegoNotesThatecoarchitectContributedThreeOfTheEightRiffsToYourPuzzleOnTheCurrentPuzzleria!

      Delete
    6. Ben -you mean in alphabetical order the letters that remain in the last name? Like Pat Patterson?

      Delete
  35. I wasn't sure of my answer but many of the clues here fit my answer.
    I am not a fan of pronunciation puzzles.

    ReplyDelete
  36. I watched the vice-presidential debate tonight and I have to say I thought Pence represented the administration he is a major member of admirably. Not by what he said, but by his appearance. He kept reminding me of all the times his administration has pulled out of agreements. When I looked at his pink face covered by his white hair it could not help but remind me of a premature pullout of a more intimate kind.

    However I think perhaps what I most enjoyed about the debate this evening was the black fly that spent so much time perched on the white pate of our vice president. It kept reminding me of all the flies that I used to see in my younger years lounging on the little white gifts dogs would leave us on our front lawns back in the days when dogs ran free and ate leftover bones which left their turds to turn white. Flies know what they like, and they like sh*t.

    ReplyDelete
  37. All I can say is that PENCE FLY $%IT anagrams to:

    SLY INEPT CHEF
    THY P@#IS CLEF
    FLESH TYPE INC

    ReplyDelete
  38. No way that a FLY could live more than sixty years. I don't believe it.

    ReplyDelete
  39. DAIQUIRI and alternate answer LIAISING

    My Hint:
    “We've had fewer of them here lately for some reason.” The bars have been closed due to the pandemic.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. "liaising" has a Short I in -ing. See above.

      Delete
    2. ron, You may pronounce it with a short i, but I do not know of anyone else who does. Most of pronounce ...ing: eeeng. Or maybe ...eeen'.

      Delete
    3. Most people pronounce -ing with a short I. Check out SINGING:(sĭngĭng)

      Delete
    4. Hm, well, the OED is on Ron's side. It gives the pronunciation of -ing words as /ɪŋ/, and that ɪ is indeed what Will means by "short 'i'".
      (I used to be very confident that I knew how I pronounce things, but then I listened to recordings of myself and I was often very badly wrong!)

      Delete
    5. How do you pronounce PING? Like if your car's engine is pinging. It does not have the pin sound.

      Delete
    6. PING, short I sound (pĭng). All these are pronounced with a short I, by the majority of people: bling, cling, ding, fling, king, Ming, ping, ring, sing, thing, wing, zing, et al. It's OK if you, yourself, use a different vowel sound...

      Delete
    7. Thank you so much for allowing me to properly pronounce these words with the long E sound. I will allow you to continue mispronouncing them any way you wish.

      Delete
    8. If you cannot hear the difference between the VOWEL SOUNDS in KING (kĭng) and KEEN (kēn) or in PEEN (pēn) and PING (pĭng), then you confirm what everyone know on this site that you have been suffering for many years from a PUNDEMIC!

      Delete
    9. Yes, ron is being his usual pedantic self again with his refusal to recognize that this is a large country with many different accents and diverse pronunciations.

      Delete
    10. Not ron.
      ron, BTW, where are our cartoons?

      Delete
    11. Extra clip: Apple's Repair & Replace Scams. Be sure to watch the full 18 minutes....

      Delete
    12. Thanks for the 'toons.
      They are brutal, funny (at times) and very necessary.

      Delete
  40. DAIQUIRI

    To avoid the dreaded “This comment has been removed by a blog administrator,” I posted this near the end of the previous week’s thread: “Got it, but too early for a clue. Maybe later.”

    That is, “too early” for a drink, although of late I’ve increasingly heard—not surprisingly, given our current socio-political climate—“It must be 5 o’clock somewhere.”

    And the “American historical figure” whose given name rhymes with the puzzle answer is of course Zachary Taylor.

    ReplyDelete
  41. DAIQUIRI.

    Jan and I appear to know different versions of shaggy dog story involving daiquiri’s.

    My version concerns a Professor with a taste for rum based cocktails. Bored with his usual Mai Tai, he challenges his bartender to come up with something new. A week later, the bartender comes up with a cocktail containing a blend of ground nuts.

    When the professor can’t figure out what he is drinking, the bartender exclaims, “It’s a hickory daiquiri, Doc!”

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. That's the joke I had in mind with my Andrew Jackson hint. Andrew Jackson was known as "Old Hickory."

      An alternative version of the joke, with the same punchline: A physician liked to have a daiquiri on his way home, always at the same place. In fact the bartender would know when he was coming and have it ready for him. The physician liked to have a pecan in his daiquiri. One day, the bartender found he did not have any pecans, so he used a hickory nut instead. It tasted funny to the physician, so he asked the bartender, "Is this a pecan daiquiri?" The bartender replies, "No, that’s a hickory daiquiri doc."

      Delete
  42. DAIQUIRI → dăk′ə-rē or dahy-kuh-ree. No long I as in “pie” nor short I as in “pit.”

    ReplyDelete
  43. The bikinied sunbather sipped a daiquiri by the side of the pool.

    ReplyDelete
  44. DAIQUIRI

    > What did Hemingway and JFK have in common?

    Apparently, they both loved daiquiris. Though, I liked skydiveboy's "Problems with Cuba".

    > A physician friend made one from wood.

    He was a hickory daiquiri doc.

    > Thai? No.

    "DAIQUIRI" comes from the Taino language.

    ReplyDelete
  45. I wrote, “I think of a scene in a famous movie where its very pronunciation is discussed between two main characters.” That’s _Godfather II_, where in a bar’s patio in Havana, Fredo Corleone says, “How do you say banana daiquiri?” and Michael deadpans, “Banana daiquiri.”

    ReplyDelete
  46. I submitted DAIQUIRI.

    I wrote My guess is worth about a buck. And worth the same in England, FWIW

    About a buck -> ABUC -> CUBA, source of the DAIQUIRI

    The same in England -> QUID, which is DAIQUIRI spelled sideways, innit?

    ReplyDelete
  47. My 9-letter answer, also good for you, was KIWIFRUIT. It has plenty of oxidants for your auntie.

    ReplyDelete
  48. Why “too soon” according to Blaine?

    ReplyDelete
  49. Seems to me that ``daishiki'' is an alternate answer. ``Daishiki'' is listed in Merriam-Webster Collegiate 11th ed as an alternative spelling of ``dashiki.' Thus would seem to meet Shortz's criterion for a word being common.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yeah, I had that one too. I also wondered about "biriyani", whose first vowel *could* be the 'ee' sound (although I think more commonly it's a short 'i').

      Delete
  50. From Wikipedia:

    daiquiri
    .
    .
    .
    Pronunciation
    (UK) IPA(key): /ˈdæ.kə.ɹi/, /ˈdæ.kɪ.ɹi/, /ˈdaɪ.kə.ɹi/, /ˈdaɪ.kɪ.ɹi/

    As I said in a post above, 4 pronunciations are given, ALL of which include a lowercase i in the third syllable; and 2 of which also show an uppercase I in the second syllable.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. The IPA symbol in the third syllable is the one for the sound "ee." The symbol that looks like an upper case I is the one for the sound in "kid." Nevertheless, the schwa in the first pronunciation is how most of us hear it.

      Delete
    2. I have never agreed with the answer to a pronunciation-based NPR Sunday Puzzle, and it seems I never well.

      Delete
    3. You know what they say. Where there's a well; there's a bucket.

      Delete
  51. I am surprised the consensus here.
    In my world and to my ear, the second "i" (in "qui") is clearly short; "ki" as in "kid."
    I didn't come up with or seen an alternative, so this may be slightly insoluble.

    I mentioned the very common claim that the "i" in "business" is the only silent one in the language.
    I'm sure we all encountered aim, maid, brief, and vein, etc. in working on the puzzle. Is there some reason those "i's" are not considered silent?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Look up business. The i is really not silent. People just do not pronounce it.

      Delete
    2. I diagnosed the consensus early on.
      Think of a term in five letters for a vowel sound. Rot13 the second letter. rearrange, and add an exclamation point to get my reaction to pronunciation puzzles.

      Delete
  52. I was not sure my answer was correct. Seemed too easy.

    ReplyDelete
  53. My clue - Attempts at anagrams are falling way short this week - apparently given the unusual letters, the longest you can get is a five letter word.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. The anagram I found was Iraqui IUD, change one letter, and get the very scary, Iraqui IED.

      Delete
  54. My posted clue went down in flames again." Time for a drink after looking through several lists of names."
    daiquiri- and linguni as an alternate. Or should i say leengueenee.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. You really should look it up. There is no such word: linguni or linguini. It is linguine.

      Delete
  55. There was also a word on my list Maithili- which is some kind of obscure language.

    ReplyDelete
  56. I said the word lists were making my eyes blurry and it was time to let this one go.

    Too many daiquiris also make my vision blurry
    “Let it Go”-Frozen-daiquiris are frozen drinks

    ReplyDelete
  57. > prairie home companion...
    Is this a hazelnut daiquiri Dick?
    No , it's a Hickory daiquiri Doc.

    ReplyDelete
  58. Tomorrow's Puzzleria! features 8 "Econfusions" puzzles created by ecoarchitect. His suite of puzzles is titled "Changing the tone of leadership."
    There are 19 total puzzles on tomorrow's menu!
    Blaine generously provides a convenient link to Puzzleria! on his PUZZLE LINKS.
    Our welcome mat is out.

    LegoYour"ToneOfLeadership"Leader

    ReplyDelete
  59. Pence flies with United

    or

    Flies united with Pence

    ReplyDelete
  60. Nobody has yet mentioned what I thought was Lorenzo's alternative answer: FRUITINI. I had never heard of it, but I looked it up, and it's a real thing. It's in the same family as DAIQUIRI, but the pronunciation is not as controversial. Most notably, it avoids the dreaded schwa.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Lancek, I too reaaly like Lorenzo's "fruitini" alternative answer. From his post, I knew he was hinting at some kind of cocktail, and I knew I had heard of it... but I just could not pull it outta my gray matter! (I recalled it only after you revealed "fruitini" in your post above.) After your and Lancek's earlier posts, I tried to jog my memory by browsing this rather exhaustive cocktail site, but it wasn't there!
      Will Shortz, alas, will likely not mention it as an alternative because it lurks only on the fringes of "real-wordom" (although "fruitini" does appear in the Urban Dictionary).

      LegoWhoSays"WhySettleForAMereThreeSyllablesWhenYouCanHaveFive!

      Delete
  61. Daiquiri; didn't get it this week. Guess I quit drinking too long ago. Good puzzle though.

    ReplyDelete
  62. Here is a short YouTube video on the 3 ways to pronounce .ing.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BAc9qb76qEQ

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. The puzzles this week has got me thinking of how I pronounce some words, and that is because of ron's post about -ing. The guy in the video link above says that there are 3 ways of pronouncing -ing, but there are actually 4 ways. I, and most hear where I grew up, do not pronounce the g at all in most words ending in ing. We do however pronounce it in BING, but I doubt even ron would pronounce that word with a short i sound. No, we tend to pronounce it beeng. Bing cherry and Bing Crosby. Now this got me to thinking about BEEN. I am sure some pronounce it bean, but most of us, I think, pronounce it BIN. Kinda like I've bin there.

      Another troublesome word is ROOF. Some pronounce it rewf, like poof, but many of us pronounce it like you would imitate a dog sound. I don't know how to describe it better than that, sorry.

      We ain't gonna change how we learned these dialects either, so get over it. But it is quite a different matter when someone insists LINGUINE is spelled LINGUINI. Any idiot can look it up in a reputable source such as Merriam/Webster's, and not some online recipe site.

      Delete
    2. Umm. Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary, 11th Edition, has an entry on page 724, column 2:

      lin·gui·ne or lin·gui·ni [...] narrow flat pasta.

      I too pronounce roof like foot and not like loot. MW gives the loot sound as first pronunciation for roof and foot sound as second pronunciation.

      Delete
    3. Yes, they do, but it is incorrect and only reflecting the rampant misspelling and mispronunciation of LINGUINE. In fact if you go to their online website, they themselves mispronounce it with the long E ending. Anyone who knows anything about Italian knows that they pronounce E with the A sound and I with an E sound, same as with Spanish.

      Another thing about Italian is that they pronounce each and every letter in their words. Dr. Anthony Fauci is always pronounced incorrectly on the news here. They fail to include the U in the pronunciation. I have not heard his name pronounced even once correctly. It is properly pronounced Fa-ew-chi, but it is kinda run together in the way Italians speak their language.

      Delete
    4. it is the great linguini controversy.

      Delete
    5. Not true. My last name is Italian and contains a silent letter. That was my son's nick name in college. Silent G.

      Delete
  63. OK. The fly is supposed to be on E.T. tonight.

    ReplyDelete
  64. I also like the French pronounciation linguinay.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yeah, exactly the same as the Italian pronunciation. Duh!

      Delete
  65. i had gone with "Linguini" I guess we'll have to wait and see.

    ReplyDelete
  66. This week's challenge: This week's challenge comes from listener Tyler Lipscomb, of Augusta, Ga. Name certain fruits — in the plural. Change the second letter to an L and read the result backward. You'll name two things to drink. What are they?

    ReplyDelete
  67. I have a very geeky tee shirt concerning this fruit.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I'll bet you have a large number of them...

      Delete
    2. I do, and I wear them periodically.

      Delete
  68. Today's on-air challenge is essentially the same as on April 16, 2006.

    Tyler Lipscomb was from Athens, GA, on July 2, 2017, and from Hamden, CT, on August 18, 2019.

    ReplyDelete
  69. More than 500 correct responses this week.

    ReplyDelete
  70. Just got an email from Will Shortz. They will be using my puzzle this Sunday. Be kind gang...please!

    ReplyDelete
  71. Congratulations Clark! Great news!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Congrats, C a p! Do you think it's easy or hard?

      Delete

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.