Please maintain a 2m distance.Q: Think of a familiar two-word phrase (5, 2). Replace the last letter with the next letter of the alphabet. The result will be a palindrome (the seven letters will read backward and forward the same). What phrase is it?
A: QUEUE UP
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.
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.
Blaine, I don't think that pushmi-pullyu is taking your advice: it's got four legs altogether, or only two feet a part.
DeleteJust solved it. But you'll have to wait for a clue.
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
DeleteGlad I worked on it before coming here and hope this confirms my submitted solution. Great clue.
DeleteRemove all vowels. The remaining letters name a famous toy.
ReplyDelete... or sound that way.
DeleteOnly the well mannered will solve this puzzle.
ReplyDeleteI wanted to be the first to leave a clue. Damn you Dr. K.
ReplyDeleteIf it's any consolation, Ben, I believe this is my first "first" on the blog. I usually take a while to solve and get as frustrated as any with my own ineptitude. Your time will surely come.
DeleteAnd, in other, related news, my self-imposed moratorium on submissions ends next month. After I won in January 2020, after 30 years of entries, my wife, good egalitarian-socialist that she is, played Poe's Raven and wanted me to submit "Nevermore." Fortunately, cooler heads--namely, mine--prevailed, and I decided to take a year off. And, should it take another 30 years to win again, I do realize that on the bright side I could well be the puzzle's first centenarian.
Best to you and yours this holiday season.
A fellow suptuagenarian. Probably won't make that next Saturn- Jupiter conjunction in 2080- either.
DeleteQUEUE UP.
DeletePlease accept my apologies, Dr. K -- I wasn't actually complaining that you posted first. I was merely cluing the fact that I was in line behind you!
No apologies necessary, Ben. In the words of the Beatles, "I should have known better." Sometimes my credulity astounds even me. I think my autobiography would have to be titled Gullible's Travels.
DeleteThat wouldn't be too Swift.
DeleteAn instant message from my brother's daughter is a NIECE IM.
ReplyDeleteFeeling giddy about solving this one so promptly.
ReplyDeleteThe phrase is a homophone of another familiar two-word phrase.
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
ReplyDeleteThree Mile Island
DeleteApparently so.
DeleteI posted on Sun Dec 27, at 05:56:00 AM PST on last week's thread:
ReplyDeleteThe one on-air puzzle item which I had not figured out before-hand was also the only puzzle item that was ommitted!!
I posted on Sun Dec 27, at 06:02:00 AM PST on last week's thread:
ReplyDeleteHey, SDB. If you're having trouble with this week's puzzle, there's a local TV station which might help you figure it out when their local news gets into the sports section.
I don't watch TV, but I get your drift.
DeleteI want it, I want it, I want it, I want it!
ReplyDeleteYou caaaaaan't have it
DeleteLet x (or some other variable) = 7.
ReplyDeleteLegoAdds"AndThenSolveFor...HeyWaitThatAin'tGonnaHelpYouSolveThisAtAll!"
Fishy
ReplyDeleteI'm pretty sure I've seen the resulting palindrome as a "brand name" on Amazon selling cheapo versions of more successful products.
ReplyDeleteReplace the 6th letter of the original phrase with two other letters to get homophone of a well-known brand.
ReplyDeleteMeet the Beatles?
ReplyDeleteKudos to David Curren for an elegant puzzle! I'm glad I solved it before coming here, though, because some of the early comments are pretty revealing.
ReplyDeleteThank you! When I found out that my submission had been chosen, I was dreading the typical posts that often show up here about its being far too easy, banal, etc.
DeleteCongrats, David. (I didn't realize you were DBC.) I enjoyed the puzzle also. Yes, "elegant," Lancek, and in my case the way I solved it I'd like to think had its own share of elegance. Thank you, DBC, for the contribution.
DeleteGreat puzzle. I think there will be a small number of correct answers.
DeleteGreat puzzle David. Requires careful reading of the clue.
DeleteNice puzzle, David! I just biked through your town on the Minuteman Bikeway. Do you know Steve Baggish, another puzzle contributor from Arlington?
DeletePlease accept my kudos also, David. It is a very fine puzzle (one that I am now in the process of trying to "riff-off" for the next edition of Puzzleria! (which will again upload a day early, in the wee hours of New Year's Eve day, this Thursday).
DeleteLegoWhoNotesThat"David"IsAlsoAPalindromeIfYouReplaceItsPenultimateLetterWithADifferentOneLetterWord
I found the answer the next to last place I looked.
ReplyDeleteHey Dr K, a “centenarian” might have an advantage to solving this puzzle. I also did a 180 after reading some of the obvious clues above that have since been “administered “ out of the blog.
ReplyDeleteThat's possible. I'll have to wait and see.
DeleteLately, I've become fond of paradox.
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
ReplyDeleteTMI?
DeleteYawn a more Roman way.
ReplyDeleteBond, James Bond.
ReplyDeleteTMI again, I think.
DeleteThis one survived the cut.
DeleteI'm happy it didn't vanish.
Deletehttps://duckduckgo.com/?q=bond+vanish&t=h_
DeleteIs it still considered a palindrome if the word forward and backward isn't an actual word yet reads the same both ways?
ReplyDeleteIf the answer is indeed the one that many clues are pointing to, wouldn't you also have to change the first letter in the phrase??
I'm definitely missing something here....
This comment has been removed by the author.
DeleteDSB77: I wonder about the same question. I cannot find any rules that discuss this issue.
DeleteSome numbers are palindromes. CRISPR genetic editing stands for Clustered Regularly Interspaced Short Palindromic Repeats.
DeleteRearrange the letters of the more American version of the phrase to get a type of flower.
ReplyDeleteTo quote Homer Simpson, “Mmmm, purple...”
DeleteGood clue Charles!
Deletelupine
DeleteThis seems to be your garden-variety puzzle lately, though no anagrams involved. Incidentally there’s another homophone I don’t see mentioned above regardless of which side of the pond you live on.
ReplyDeleteThe sound of silence...
ReplyDeleteJoin the crowd, DSB77.
ReplyDeleteNow that I solved it, my wife and I can go on to watch the movie we had gotten from Netflix.
ReplyDeleteI actually understood Blaine's clue.
ReplyDeleteHey Siri? Give me a list of seven letter palandromes.
ReplyDeleteReptile
ReplyDeleteOh, devilish tantalization of the gods!
ReplyDeleteThere were no 2-week challenges this year. When will we have to wait for the next 2-week challenge?
ReplyDeleteWhen we can travel and congregate.
DeleteThere were no 2-week challenges in the puzzle queue. We will wait in the queue for a 2-week challenge.
DeleteI wonder if the answer is considered a true palindrome. I do not know the rules. Does anyone know the rules?
ReplyDeleteAARRGGRRAA!
DeleteI find the puzzle flawed.
WW: I do not know if it follows the rules of a palindrome.
DeleteOverall, different dictionary guidelines are equivocal.:
DeleteMerriam-Webster.com says “word, verse, or sentence.” This seems to exclude the answer.
Oxfordreference.com says “word, phrase, or sequence.” The “sequence” seems to allow for the answer.
Cambridge Dictionary (dictionary.cambridge.org) says “a word or group of words that is the same when you read it forward from the beginning or backward from the end.” This seems to exclude the answer.
Dictionary.com says “a word, line, verse, number, sentence, etc.” The “etc.” may allow for the answer.
Wikipedia says “word, number, phrase, or other sequence of characters.” The “other sequence of characters” seems to allow for the answer.
I wish I had my OED and my Webster’s Third New International, but at least the bookcases are finally up with some follow-up work to come (hopefully this week), and then the nearly 200 boxes of books—including the OED and Webster’s Third New International—that I haven’t seen for almost 3 years will finally get unpacked.
Conclusion? Maybe, maybe not…
If you can call any string of random letters backwards and forwards a palindrone, then it works. Number strings, sure. But letters?
DeleteMeh, it doesn't really work for me. Hence my capitalized example of letters above.
Excellent overview of the word "palindrome" in various lexicons, Dr. K.
DeleteA proposed rewrite of David's excellent puzzle:
Think of a familiar two-word phrase in 5 and 2 letters. Replace the last letter with the next letter of the alphabet. The result will read the same backward and forward. What phrase is it?
LegoWho(SpeakingOfPalindromesAndLexicons)NotesThatThe"OED"IsTheEMERPUS"Resource("GloriaInExcelsisOED")
Thanks, Lego. Despite the scholarly trappings, I'm reminded of the following debate in Through the Looking Glass between Alice and Humpty Dumpty:
Delete'I don't know what you mean by "glory",' Alice said.
Humpty Dumpty smiled contemptuously. 'Of course you don't — till I tell you. I meant "there's a nice knock-down argument for you!"'
'But "glory" doesn't mean "a nice knock-down argument",' Alice objected.
'When I use a word,' Humpty Dumpty said, in rather a scornful tone, 'it means just what I choose it to mean — neither more nor less.'
'The question is,' said Alice, 'whether you can make words mean so many different things.'
'The question is,' said Humpty Dumpty, 'which is to be master — that's all.'
As my son once taught me to say to some students I needed a way to talk to, "Word."
Lego, I like your rewrite!
DeleteAvoids the palindrome moniker altogether. . .
Dr. K, "Word, for sure" ;-)
DeleteDr. K: My favorite passages from Through the looking Glass!
DeleteNatasha: Mine, too.
DeleteKudos to Lego!
DeleteYes, he solved the problem. Well done, Lego.
DeleteFirst definition in the OED:
Delete"A word or a sequence of words that reads, letter for letter, the same backwards as forwards."
So I think the intended answer does qualify.
According to this definition, the intended answer does not qualify.
DeleteOne of my favorite books, miraculously just recovered a moment ago by my better half (without searching through the nearly 200 boxes of books soon to be unpacked and shelved), is I Love Me, Vol. I: S. Wordrow's Palindrome Encyclopedia by Michael Donner.
DeleteA splendid time is guaranteed for all....
Dr. K, intriguing title...and a connection to reindeer Donner as well.
DeleteIf you like "Through the looking Glass" I strongly suggest you search out the great, late Jonathan Miller's video version made in B&W with some of GB's greatest actors. DVD is best because it includes the extras which he explains his version. You will love it!
DeleteI think Will anticipated the concern about what might constitute a true palindrome, which is why he included a brief definition that would apply to this puzzle. Incidentally, "Palindrome" would be a great name for a stadium in which gladiators shoot wolves form helicopters.
DeleteJust catching up on this thread--
DeleteWW: Yes, an intriguing title and over 400 pages of alphabetically arranged palindromes (even zip codes!). The blurb on the back cover: "I Love Me, Vol. 1 is either the largest, most throroughly researched, and most entertainingly annotated collection of palindromes ever compiled or else the ramblings of a disturbed mind. I haven't decided which. Either way, I enjoyed it."--Will Shortz
My personal take: Highly recommended. If you can find a copy, get it.
A P. S.: Michael Donner is the former editor of Games magazine.
And SDB: I think I saw Miller's Alice many years ago, but I'm about to revisit it today. Many thanks for the suggestion and reminder.
Though I wouldn't necessarily call the phrase terribly "familiar," it is nonetheless pretty relevant...
ReplyDeleteIf I got it right then yes, I agree not particularly familiar on this side of the pond but very relevant.
DeleteEmordnilap palindrome.
ReplyDeletePer Wikipedia, "emordnilap" is a name coined for words that spell a different word in reverse. The word was coined by Martin Gardner in his notes to C.C. Bombaugh's book Oddities and Curiosities of Words and Literature in 1961.
DeleteAn example of this is the word stressed, which is desserts spelled backward.
The Martin Gardner of Scientific American? If so, I loved The Incredible Dr Matrix.
DeleteIndeed. He's mentioned early in this article from today's New York Times about John Horton Conway's game of Life. Conway died in April from Covid-19. (Interesting side note: the final picture of Conway in the article was taken by Dith Pran, a Cambodian-born photojournalist who was the subject of the 1984 documentary, The Killing Fields.)
DeleteOne of the phrase words is in the title of a relatively recent, highly acclaimed movie.
ReplyDeleteBTW, more than 2000 correct responses last week.
ReplyDeleteI don't understand why my musical clue isn't "Magical Mystery Tour"?
ReplyDeleteAfter all this bruhaha, I thought the answer was kind of cute!
ReplyDeleteDespite all this talk of definitions, I think I’ll stick with my original answer. Not going to be snookered in to changing it!
ReplyDeleteI still remember standing on the bridge in Ballina, watching salmon leap out of the River Moy. But I didn't realize then how easy it would be to make a salad out of them, using plain mayo, even if the recipe came from the other side of the globe.
ReplyDeleteIf you google "Kewpie," which another post led me to, you may find that it is a very popular brand of mayonnaise in Japan. Mayo is, of course, a county in Ireland; its name derives from the Irish for "plain of yews." Add "easy" to the mix and you have everything you need for QUEUE UP.
DeleteA better puzzle would have been if the resulting palindrome resulted in a real word.
ReplyDeleteassuming i answered it correctly, i agree. I also think that it's a phrase that nobody that I know would use in every day conversation. I'm not sure many have even ever heard it before. Yes, I live in a multi-cultural urban US city :-)
DeleteI sey yes to that!
DeleteActually it produces three words: a culinary term, a literary one, and an anatomical one. Unfortunately none of them have made it into any dictionary in any known language--but that doesn't mean they couldn't or shouldn't if we start using them more.
DeleteQUEUEUQ = a pretentious way to refer to cucumbers, particularly the expensive kind; Queequeg's nickname; and the sound you make clearing your throat, particularly after many years of silence.
Deleteundidn’t comes to mind, unbidden
ReplyDeleteThe phrase highlights a disparity of education and global exposure. Sadly, it's perfect for NPR listeners.
ReplyDeleteSanta came to my house today. Well actually I had to drive about 2 miles to his house to get the free 55" flat screen TV with remote and both stand and wall mounts. I already have a 42" and a 32" in the basement too that both work perfectly, but I wanted a larger one. WOW! Going now to watch 60 Minutes, my only TV program.
ReplyDeleteCan you say hoarding?
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteHere is an example of one of my "Riffing Off Shortz And Curren" puzzles, that will be uploaded on Puzzleria! in the wee hours of New Year's Eve Day... 24 hours before the someone (besides a New York Jet or Met) drops the ball in New York City:
ReplyDeleteThink of something for which rodents are infamous, in 7 letters. Replace the fifth letter (a vowel) with a different vowel. The result will read the same backward and forward. For what are pesky rodents famous?
Hint: Etymologists have an advantage in solving this puzzle.
LegoWho(SpeakingOfDroppingTheBall)NotesThatMajorLeaguerMickeyKluttsWasChargedWith26ErrorsInHis189GamesWithTheYankeesAthleticsAndBlueJaysWhichIsA0.944FieldingPercentageWhichIsNotReallyAllThatAwfulForAnInfielderAndSoWeOughtNotMakeFunOfHimBecauseOfHisUnfortunateSurname!
This one is going to be eating away at me.
DeleteGood 'un, Lego!
Delete-- LancekWhoWantedToPostThatAfterYourWonderfulSundayEquationButFearedThatItMightBeTMI
A cut above current puzzle.
Delete"Night of the living Dead"
DeleteThat I got. This week's challenge I ain't got.
DeleteNice, Lego. Knowing the answer to Lego's puzzle does help, Cranberry, if you're still waiting to solve the week's challenge.
DeleteThe puzzle a few weeks ago worked better on this side of the "pond" -- this one is better on the other side...
ReplyDeleteIt's not too hard -- you'll get it figured out anon.
ReplyDeleteA peek at the PM's transcript from ol' Enigmatology U would show better grades for his Anagram courses than the ones on Palindromes.
ReplyDeleteMy gut feeling is that the original phrase spoken backward and phonetically is unfortunately apt.
ReplyDeleteLast week we had some celebrations, including BLINI, LA! At one point it was time for a PHOTO, HO!. At the boatyard, I had to remind the foreman MASKS AL! And to get him to help someone, MASTS AL!
Eva, can I stab bats in a cave?
ReplyDeleteAccording to Michael Donner, this was the creation of Leigh Mercer, "a shadowy but first-rate creator of palindromes." A variant is "Eva, can I pose as Aesop in a cave?"
DeleteI prefer "I love me Vol.I" This may have also been written by our outgoing chief. Or may be written in the near future by them- only $99.95- at your local bookstore.
DeleteThis was also the first character to use the word "trek" in the series.
ReplyDeleteSlate's film critic, Justin Chang, describes the movie, Tenet as "deliriously palindromic".
ReplyDeleteI first tried -un event- but i think that is bass ackwards. But i do hate it when i am unevented. And then i have an uneventful weekend.
ReplyDeleteFor the "Mother of all [puzzle] palindromes", see here
ReplyDeleteET LA MARINE VA VENIR A MALTE.
ReplyDeleteMaybe the puzzle would have been better stated if it had said the answer is palindromic rather than it being an actual palindrome.
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
DeleteNatasha,
DeleteThanks again for deleting another of your posts so that now when I post in reply no one will understand my reply.
When I posted palindromic, I thought I might be making up a new word. I just now did a google search and it shows along with the root word palindrome, but then I checked MW and they list it as having a medical definition. It has to do with something being recurrent, such as rheumatism. Before I got to that full explanation I thought if it has a medical meaning, it must be like when Donald Trump defecates and it backs up and emerges out of his mouth in a press conference or the like.
Sdb: I asked: What is definition of palindromic? As you know. I thought a stupid question and deleted.But then looked it up and found same MW definition as you did.
DeleteThere were other more obvious definitions too. You did what I hoped you would do. I deleted perhaps too soon ...I thought as you may not have seen it. But I thought you might not get my point. But you did! Message was only meant for you anyway and I gambled you saw it quickly.
No, Natasha. You did not delete "too soon." You deleted. You are the only person here who does this repeatedly. It is annoying and it makes you appear to be an insecure 7th grader who is ashamed of everything she says. I have tried over and over to help you get over it, but you continue. Have the courage of your convictions and if they seem stupid, well then just deal with it and move on.
DeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
DeleteToo bad "Computer aided design" has taken over the word.
DeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
DeleteI can make an honest attempt to address low self esteem, but I don't have the expertise necessary to address self-loathing.
DeleteThe words of Joseph Welch come to mind.
DeleteI can understand that. But you shouldn't take it as a personal attack against you, as mine is.
DeleteMJ -words of John Welch.??
DeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
DeleteMJ what was that term you coined TSI? The Seattle ? .
DeleteJoseph and I don't remember.
DeleteFrom a quick skimming of I Love Me, Vol.1:
ReplyDeleteA dog! A panic in a pagoda!
amoral aroma
A slut nixes sex in Tulsa.
Boston, O do not sob!
Camus sees sumac.
Deified? Mistress asserts I’m deified!
Devil never even lived.
Did I do, O God, did I as I said I’d do? Good, I did!
Ed, I saw Harpo Marx ram Oprah W. aside.
Elk City, Kansas, is a snaky tickle!
I did, did I?
Lewd did I live & evil I did dwel.
Live not on evil.
Name no one, man!
No darn Radon!
“Pure” Boston did not sober up!
Rise to vote, Sir.
Sex at noon taxes.
Stressed, are we now to do two New Era desserts?
’Tis sent! I wed a mermaid—airy, mad, I’m amid a myriad, I am remade, witness it!
Enjoy. Unless you suffer from aibohphobia…
Anyone else enjoy historian Heather Cox Richardson and her historical perspective on current U. S. events? She weaves a fascinating story daily with her "Letters From an American."
ReplyDeleteInteresting title. It was first coined as Letter From Paris, by Janet Flanner.
DeleteJanet Flanner | American writer | Britannica
www.britannica.com
Flanner was the child of Quakers. She attended the University of Chicago in 1912–14 and then returned to Indianapolis and took a job with the Indianapolis Star, becoming the paper’s first movie critic in 1916. She married but later divorced, and throughout the rest of her life her most passionate relationships were with women. After a sojourn in New York City, she traveled throughout Europe, eventually settling in Paris in 1922. She lived there until 1975 (except for the war years 1939–44). She was hired by Harold Ross in 1925 to write a periodic “Letter from Paris” for his new magazine, The New Yorker. Signed Genêt, the articles contained observations on politics, art, theatre, French culture, and various personalities.
She was also a major WWII war correspondent. Later other New Yorker writers copied her title with Letter from (your city here).
I ran into her in the bar in the Continental Hotel, where she lived permanently, when I was visiting Paris in 1965. It was an interesting encounter. She was an amazing personality.
Interesting. And before Janet Flanner there was 1782's Hector St. John de Crevecoeur book “Letters from an American Farmer.”
DeleteYes, but my copy is soiled.
DeleteYes. My wife follows her blog and Facebook posts closely and on occasion passes them on to me. Richardson's thoughtful and knowledgeable, a welcome combination these days. Coincidentally, we're good friends with a Graduate School Dean at BC (where Richardson teaches and also where our daughter earned her PhD and how we got to know the Dean), and she of course knows Richardson well. Small world.
DeleteDr. K, glad your family follows her. I read her letters first thing every morning. Today's missive on the distribution of the vaccine and 45's waning influence is spot on.
DeleteWild that you know the Dean at Boston College. Cox Richardson is both knowledgable and a decent human being. I often attend her Tuesday and Thursday seminars from Maine.
My wife gets her letter every morning, and passes many on to me.
DeleteWhat did you think of the New York Times article about HCR? Not their finest journalistic effort, IMHO. As a follow-up, HCR wrote that we are all in this community of Americans trying to right our ship of democracy.
DeleteI realize this appears that I am trying to change the subject, and I will plead guilty, just to get that out of the way, because my mention of Janet Flanner got me to thinking about when she was a guest on The Dick Cavet Show along with Gore Vidal and Norman Mailer. It is one of the most amazing and interesting discussions ever seen on TV and I encourage you to watch it:
Deletehttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nb1w_qoioOk
WW: You've probably read it already, but I just read HCR's December 30 post summarizing the past 40 years (and then some). Spot on.
DeleteYes, Dr. Cox Richardson's perspective is both clear and spot on. Glad you are also enjoying her words.
DeleteApropos palindromes and Martin Gardner's Mathematical Games column in Scientific American: he once did a column on palindromes, and in that column he gave the following as the best example he knew, for combined length and naturalness: "Straw! No, too stupid a fad! I put soot on warts." I remembered it ever since. (Martin Gardner did cite the author of the palindrome; THAT I don't remember.)
ReplyDeleteGreat comment, DNRosenblum.
DeleteI too recall that particular Mathematical Games column in Scientific American. I am reasonably certain that Gardner cited another great palindrome created by by a British mathematiciannamed Peter Hilton:
Doc, note: I dissent. A fast never prevents a fatness. I diet on cod.
I wish to thank geofan for his comment above (Tue Dec 29, 11:02:00 AM PST) in which he links to my "mother of all palindromes" in the July 19, 2019 Puzzleria!
A few years earlier, in March of 2016, I posted on Puzzleria! a shorter, more accessible and somewhat less-strained palindrome-puzzle, which also featured an accompanying limerical verse.
It is titled “Bro, flog a golf orb!” It is the second appetizer on that week's Appetizer Menu.
OgelAdbmal
Gardner attributes, ``Straw! ...'' to Leigh Mercer (1893–1977) of London. See ``Martin Gardner's 6th Book of Mathematical Diversions from Scientific American,'' page 146, which is in the chapter Word Ways. Gardner calls Mercer ``one of the greatest living palindromists'' [in 1964 or so when Gardner wrote that] and notes that he came up with the famous, ``A man, a plan, a canal—Panama!'' Gardner also writes, ``An unpublished Mercer palindrome, which is also something of a tongue twister, is `Top step's pup's pet spot.'''
DeleteWikipedia has a wonderful mathematical limerick by Mercer at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leigh_Mercer
In the chapter Palindromes: Words and Numbers, page 246, in ``Mathematical Circus,'' Gardner writes, ``I limit myself to one palindrome that is not well known, yet is remarkable for both its length and naturalness: "Doc note, I dissent. A fast never prevents a fatness. I diet on cod." It won a prize for James Michie in a palindrome contest sponsored by the New Statesman in England; results were published in the issue for May 5, 1967.'' But Lego might be right about Hilton:
https://www.vocabulary.com/articles/wc/the-palindrome-game-of-the-enigma-codebreakers
Ogel admal sounds very middle -eastern to me.
ReplyDeleteRIP Dawn Wells, AKA Mary Ann Summers from Gilligan's Island, 82, of Covid-19.
ReplyDeleteNo!
DeleteThat leaves only Tina Louise.
Delete
ReplyDeleteD
Dennis, Nell, Edna, Leon, Nedra, Anita, Rolf, Nora, Alice, Carol, Leo, Jane, Reed, Dena, Dale, Basil, Rae, Penny, Lana, Dave, Denny, Lena, Ida, Bernadette, Ben, Ray, Lila, Nina, Jo, Ira, Mara, Sara, Mario, Jan, Ina, Lily, Arne, Bette, Dan, Reba, Diane, Lynn, Ed, Eva, Dana, Lynne, Pearl, Isabel, Ada, Ned, Dee, Rena, Joel, Lora, Cecil, Aaron, Flora, Tina, Arden, Noel, and Ellen sinned.
OK Ben, fess up.
Impressive, Mendo Jim!
DeleteBig deal. I looked up palindromes late last night and he copied that one down verbatim! BTW I finally solved the challenge, and I'm glad we're not revealing it today! I still might have a shot(or not, I don't care)!
DeletepjbSaysThere'sAlwaysNextYear
Lancek: All I did was copy and paste it from one of many places it is available.
DeleteI have made a few impressive palindromes though, with longest 14 letters in four (or three, I can't remember) words. Want to buy it?
!wow!
DeletePatrick J. Berry (our friend, "cranberry") has created a 15-by-15 grid of great wordplay that we will feature on Puzzleria! this week. It is his 18th Cryptic Crossword to grace our puzzle blog.
ReplyDelete(Puzzleria! will celebrate its seventh anniversary this coming May.)
The new edition of Puzzleria! will be uploaded this week in the wee hours of Thursday morning, on New Year's Eve, which is a day earlier than normal Friday-morning upload.
That is to say, our New Year's edition of Puzzleria! will be available in just about six-and-a-half hours from now.
Other morsels on our menu this week:
* a Schpuzzle of the week asking what mathematical property 2021 shares with 27 previous years,
* a "What's this phrase in the news" puzzle,
* an "Amen Corner" Dessert,
* eleven Riffing Off Shortz And Curren puzzles.
Please stop by and sample our "bewildering wares."
LegoCryptically
queue up
ReplyDeleteQUEUE UP → QUEUEUQ
ReplyDeleteMy “wait your turn” to Dr. K was not allowed by the blog administrator...
QUEUE UP —> QUEUEUQ
ReplyDeleteMy clue: “ But you’ll have to wait for a clue."
About Lego’s posted puzzle, my hint: “Knowing (the answer)…” —> “gnawing” (a one vowel difference from "knowing")—> gnawang
I wrote, ”Remove all vowels. The remaining letters name a famous toy.” That’s the Kewpie Doll.
ReplyDeleteMy early Sunday hint was:
ReplyDelete"Let x (or some other variable) = 7."
"Some other variable substituting for x" might be q, or "queue."
The result, if you choose to replace the "queue" in "queue up" with "7", is 7-up!
LegoWhoRemindsAllOfBlainesvilleThatThisWeek'sPuzzleriaWithAWonderfulCrypticCrosswordPuzzleCreatedBy"cranberry"WasUploadedDuringThisMorning'sWeeHoursSoPleaseStopByandSay"Hi!"
I thought you were hinting that if x = 7, then w = 6, v = 5, u = 4, t = 3, s = 2, r = 1, and q is the starting point.
DeleteI liked that one. I wanted to comment "Good 'un, Lego" (7-Up being the self-proclaimed "un-cola"), but I didn't want to give it away, so I tossed out that compliment later on Lego's rodent riff.
Deletequeue up
ReplyDeletequeue up
ReplyDeleteI first ran across this word on the back of a Beatles record describing what their fans (in England, of course) did to see the Beatles.
ReplyDeleteHappy New Year!
I hope it's a happy news year!
Sorry, I missed my cue, it's queue.
ReplyDeleteQUEUE UP.
ReplyDeleteAnd, please, Dr. K -- I wasn't actually complaining that you posted first. I was merely cluing the fact that I was in line behind you!
QUEUE UP
ReplyDelete> The phrase is a homophone of another familiar two-word phrase.
"Cue up"
> I don't understand why my musical clue isn't "Magical Mystery Tour"?
It'd make more sense to QUEUE UP for the Mystery Tour. What the hell does "roll up" mean in this context, unless you're a pillbug?
I posted on Sun Dec 27, at 06:13:00 AM PST as well as on Sun Dec 27, at 06:02:00 AM PST on last week's thread:
ReplyDeleteHey, SDB. If you're having trouble with this week's puzzle, there's a local TV station which might help you figure it out when their local news gets into the sports section.
On KCPQ, Channel 13, and also on their satellite station KZJO, Channel 22 on their local news, when they move into the sports section, they show some local sports personality saying "Hi, this is <their name, sports organization, and their position with that organization> and it's time to Q it up!"
In Seattle right? Steve Raible?
DeleteTechnically, they're Tacoma stations (and KZJO would be KCPQ's sister station, not it's satellite), but yes, they're carried by the cable systems in Seattle as well as in my city, Bellingham.
DeleteSteve Raible was with KIRO-TV, Channel 7, but he retired early this year.
The main sports anchor at Q13 is Aaron Levine, although I always prefer Michelle Ludtka; a beautiful woman; got married this year, but dammit, not to me!!! :-(
I graduated from Western in 73." I love Bellingham. My wife's niece is a sophomore there. Go Vikings.
DeleteWas Q13 a Fox affiliate? Happy New Year.
My clues -
ReplyDeleteHey Dr K, a “centenarian” might have an advantage to solving this puzzle. I also did a 180 after reading some of the obvious clues above that have since been “administered “ out of the blog.- the centenarian referred to a Q- Tip, slang for an old person. The 180 referred to a u- turn, aka “UE” (given the multiple UE sequences.
This seems to be your garden-variety puzzle lately, though no anagrams involved. Incidentally there’s another homophone I don’t see mentioned above regardless of which side of the pond you live on.- this referred to Kew Gardens, in London or Queens NY.
QUEUE UP >>> QUEUEUQ
ReplyDelete"Fishy" I think the puzzle is flawed as QUEUEUQ is not a word or phrase. Any string of letters being a palindrome? It doesn't do it for me.
"Reptile" Apparently "Form a Crocodile" means to QUEUE UP.
Queue-UP. Queueuq.
ReplyDeleteFirst person to use the term "Trek" on the series. This was Q.
Queue up was my answer. My post references the fact that "queue" is more often used in the UK, whereas in the States "line up" or "wait in line" is a more common phrase. My indication of this phrase being relevant refers to not only the fact that during the holiday season we're often standing in lines at the post office or stores, but the fact that during this pandemic we're often relegated to standing in lines (on pre-marked spots) to avoid clumping too many patrons close together. Not to mention the long lines of people waiting to get COVID tests...
ReplyDeleteAll best wishes for health and happiness as well as more civility and kindness here in Blainesville and in the world for 2021.
ReplyDeletequeue up
ReplyDeleteChange the P to a Q to get the palindrome "queue uq".
My clue of “the sound of silence” refers to the fact that “queue” is essentially “a” followed by line of silent letters
ReplyDeleteCorrection:
DeleteMy clue of “the sound of silence” refers to the fact that “queue” is essentially “q” followed by line of silent letters
Change U to TI. to obtain QUEUE TIP from QUEUE UP.
ReplyDeleteTo one and all, Happy New Year. May 2021 bring health, prosperity, and good will.
ReplyDeleteWhile we are spelling things backwards, "queue up" becomes "pueueuq," which I pointed out on Monday is phonetically pretty close to "puke."
ReplyDeleteEarly in the discussion many seemed to think this might be apt.
QUEUE UP(QUEUEUQ)
ReplyDeleteHappy New Year to all. May 2021 be way better than the previous one. May we get that vaccine sooner than later.
Sorry PJB, but that is not likely to happen. I know I am sounding pessimistic, but I am only being realistic as I have been all along, but ignored. Joe Biden is not going to be our savior. He is simply a small retreat to the past, and will not do anything to move us ahead. Only thing he will do is attempt to re-attain the past, which is what got us all here in the first place. It will be us, the people, who may make things change for the better for us all, not some politician. I see complacency as now being our new enemy. We must make it happen, or it is doomed to fail. How is that for a happy new year message?
DeleteHappy New Year to you too, SDB(that is, whatever constitutes being happy for you).
DeletepjbThinksSDBMakesDebbieDownerLookLikePollyanna