Q: Think of a country with a one-word name. You can rearrange its letters to identify a member of one of our country's armed forces. Who is that, and what's the country?The map on the right should keep you busy.
A: SURINAME --> US MARINE, MYANMAR --> ARMY MAN, ARMENIA --> A MARINE
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.
ReplyDeleteSo, sdb, I gather from Jan's comment in last week's thread that you are indeed the puzzle's composer. Congratulations! By the way, I've solved it, and I will only say that, if I hadn't, it would have been an acute embarrassment.
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
ReplyDeleteOver 600 correct responses this week.
ReplyDeleteThat surprised me. I thought there puzzle last week was a lot harder.
DeleteWhy is "Pinto, Baked, Jelly" a 5-letter answer, not a 4-letter answer?
ReplyDeletePlurals not allowed?
DeleteBecause you can't eat just one... maybe . :)
DeleteWho says baked bean?
DeleteI'm with Brisco. No Baked Bean for me.
DeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteRearrange another country to get a member of one of our opposing armed forces.
ReplyDeleteSince I missed the giveaway hints, I can't be certain I have the answer.
ReplyDeleteThe answer is not definite.
DeleteDefinitely indefinite
DeleteYou definitely have the answer.
DeleteIs it an indefinite article?
DeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteSomehow that got me straight to the answer, so thank you!
DeleteOops! I thought it was really indirect. (I think it's especially important to delete a TMI hint once someone has said it led to the answer, since others might then try harder to use it to get an answer.)
DeleteIt was indirect! My mind works in indirect ways!
DeleteIf my answer is correct, there is an elemental clue contained in this week's on-air puzzle. At least, concerning to the ones I knew as a kid... Might explain why I have so much trouble solving these things.
ReplyDeleteI’m reminded of the movie, Ocean’s Eleven.
ReplyDeleteA bit TMI, no?
Delete“I’m also reminded of a certain Hitchcock movie ;-)”
DeleteOOPS!! I misinterpreted a fellow Blainsvillian’s comment and my error triggered a cascade of, now deleted, TMIs. Sorry!
ReplyDeleteI do however, stand by my other comment, that I have a distant, historical and familial, connection to the country which I will explain on Thursday.
Well, the cheapest flight to this country from my city is $1,006.00 round trip,and 27 hours and 15 minutes long. Eeek!
ReplyDeleteSkydiveboy, I am curious about the puzzle submitting process. When did you submit this, and when did you learn your puzzle had been chosen?
DeleteLast week, and he informed me Friday morning before he recorded it.
DeleteYes, congrats, sdb. Good puzzle!
ReplyDeleteAdd an obvious letter,and rearrange to get a certain piece of military equipment.
ReplyDeleteI spent half of my career making parts for this equipment.
DeleteI have two answers!
ReplyDeleteMake that three answers.
DeleteRESPECT FOR THE SERVICE
ReplyDeleteIn the officers’ mess the waiters can get nervous
Intimidated by a colonel or a captain
The stars or the bars or the uniform he’s wrapped in.
So even if this Joe’s brand of service
Doesn’t meet your particular needs
If he made a mistake
With the coffee or the cake
Give him a nice tip anyway, please!
Whoa, when I saw people saying there are two (or more) good answers, I went back to work... and I'm quite confident that the *second* one I've come up with is SDB's intended answer. I mean, it's definitely better than the first one I came up with!
DeleteNo clue here, but I clued the (slightly) inferior one above.
Ah, and now I have the third (I assume).
DeleteTwo are *very* closely related; one of those is the one I think SDB intended; the third, that is not so closely related, is the first one I thought of.
I'm never surprised when ron comes up with alternate answers, but this week there are certainly two perfect, and equally satisfying, answers. I'm not even sure which one sdb intended.
ReplyDeleteCongrats to skydiveboy, a very talented puzzle-maker.
ReplyDeleteLegoWhoNotesThatThereAreNoIntentionalHintsInThisPost
Blaine's anagra-map shows the site of one of its most famous battles, but not the other.
ReplyDeleteI hadn’t looked (zoomed) earlier and now see how funny that map is - especially the Ivory Coast!!
DeleteOne of my siblings had a box of 'em.
ReplyDeleteThat sibling is my brother, who, like many boys in the 1960's and 70's had a box of green army men, singular is ARMY MAN.
DeleteMy husband's "box of men" turned up in his mother's house after her death. He put the box in his closet. We wonder if it could be given to a grand-nephew, or if that's out of favor now.
" They also serve who stand and wait."
ReplyDeleteNow I can go back to sleep with my mind not continuing to try to solve this one. No clue but a thanks to SBD-MS. Sunday mornings are actually a time for sleeping in.
ReplyDeleteA song from WWII by Irving Berlin comes to mind.
ReplyDeleteI have found 3 reasonable answers. Only one of them refers specifically to a member of the American armed forces. The other 2 can also refer to a member of the American armed forces, but could probably also refer to an armed forces member of another country.
ReplyDeleteTake two different words for servicemembers, add one (different) letter to each, and you end up with the same country.
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteYou can bank on a good puzzle from SDB.
ReplyDeleteOur neighbors' son Liam is in the Air Force.
ReplyDeleteWhen I mentioned this Puzzle to Liam's parents, who are from Mali BTW, they told me their niece Mila is in the Navy.
DeleteAlways nice to find alternatives to fairly easy intended answers, especially when it is sdb's.
Another branch of the military is involved.
ReplyDeleteThe first two syllables of Armenia sound like "army".
DeleteWell I think I came up w one of the solutions so here goes.
ReplyDeleteI tend to get a Polar Gut every winter---
Is there a Space Force or not?
ReplyDeleteAs in after a sentence's period? ;-)
DeleteNo, as in eviction.
DeleteTrump said there was a Space Force. So, probably, there isn't.
DeleteSpace farce?
DeleteFound two references from the same country. One is singular and one plural.
ReplyDeleteSURINAME -> U.S. MARINE, U.S. AIRMEN
DeleteQuite a while ago, I "got" your name, but I've waited until now to make note of it on the blog. Clever. Has anyone else ever commented on it?
DeleteI have.
Delete
DeleteI’m not surprised, sdb, and I would venture certain others have, too, though I’ve not seen any comments. By the way, thanks again for the puzzle. But for the future I must keep in mind that just because the first solution I alight upon has some personal resonance does not necessarily mean it’s the right or best (or only) answer.
And congrats on receiving your 2nd shot. I got mine 13 days ago, and in a couple of hours I'll be driving my better half to get hers.
I am not aware of any other MC/DD comments.
DeleteYeah my upper arm is now more sore than after the first shot. I was expecting that. I just now got up and took my temperature and it is 97.6, which is very high for me, especially in the morning. I feel just on the edges of like I'm having a temperature. I suspect this is a good sign the vaccine is working too. All in all I feel great, and it really does make a mental change on the positive side. Glad to hear you will all be there soon too.
I tend to wake frequently during the night, and last night had the thought: I wonder if Dr.K has found a copy of Merry Christmas Mr. Lawrence yet.
Good news. I've read that such signs as you're experiencing are a clear indication of vaccine efficacy. Strangely, I had virtually no reaction after either shot. I have had some headaches since the 2nd, but then again I've suffered from migraines for over 40 years.
DeleteOur next red-letter day is April 10, by which date not only are my wife and I well beyond the 2-week period for the two doses of the vaccine to have taken full effect but so will our son and daughter-in-law, whom we have not seen in person since their wedding in 2019. To invoke an equine metaphor (which my equestrian wife will appreciate), we are champing at the bit.
And, no, I have not yet located a copy of Merry Christmas, Mr. Lawrence, though not for want of trying. I have read about it, however, and will keep looking.
Yes, I have known about the side effects being a good sign for months now and have been wondering if I would experience them. Yesterday I was thinking I would probably have some today because I do have a strong immune system. The last time I had a cold was over 14 years ago. My dad used to get headaches, but I never get one. I went and lay down for a little over an hour and now am feeling much better, but not1 quite right yet. I think I would have been a little concerned if I had not experienced something.
DeleteI am happy to now report that the side effects have mostly gone. Don't put off getting the vaccine. We must get on top of this before it again gets out of hand. It will too if we do not get on with it.
DeleteI've got two countries, 6400 miles apart, one of which anagrams to two different GIs. What would skydiveboy say about such abiguity?
ReplyDeleteHe would say, "abiguity" Mmmmmm.
DeleteWhen Blogger gives me an edit function, I'll bother correcting typos.
DeleteIt would be nice.
DeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
DeleteI've got two countries, each of which anagrams to the same military rank, but with one letter (different for the two countries) left over.
DeleteEaWAf, last week I saw that you had The Knack for solving the puzzle. This week I'm not so sure. I believe that all letters in the country are used in the description.
DeleteI also know of one country whose name completely anagrams to the name of one of the six branches of the armed forces and a word for a specific kind of person. I've clued it instead of saying it just in case it is considered the intended answer, but I have a big problem with it. Enter the two words together into Wiktionary and it does recognize that - but as a member of communist China's military!
DeleteThought the puzzle was not like eating tiramisu in Mauritius where u have leftovers.
DeleteAnd do you mean to say that your Weird Al fandom was of no help to you last week?
I once held a job that fits. We were familiar with the anagram, and sometimes used it to encode communiques.
ReplyDeleteI used to think communiques were people who lived in communes.
DeleteI thought communiques were messages from Dr. K.
Delete!
DeleteSuperZee, I wish I thought of that!
DeleteGrin...
DeleteRegrets only
ReplyDeleteYes, there's at least two solid answers to this puzzle.
DeleteThis puzzle drove me crazy.
ReplyDeleteI-70 east
ReplyDeleteHaving trouble keeping up with these anagram puzzles.
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteGolly! I think I have it! Good one, SDB! Your puzzle is truly a pleasant surprise!
ReplyDeletepjbHopesThisWeek'sSolutionIsn'tUpInTheAirLikeSkydiveboySometimesIs
Getting ready to go to the pre-induction physical, the bus driver had the door open. Somebody yelled, "Shut the door. I feel a draft." No hint here. Just wondered how many of us remember those grand times. Arlo had it pegged.
ReplyDeleteDon't remember that but it made me laugh.
DeleteGB, thank you for your service.
Really reminiscent of the scene in Alice's Restaurant. There were guys coming up with all sorts of schemes to beat the system. It was even funny at the time.
DeleteGB, One of my favorite albums.
DeleteI second Word Woman's "Thanks for Service"... and to all other Blainesvillians who have in any way served.
LegoWhoAlsoIsAFanOfMrGuthrie'seMotorsickleSong
Anyone else remember Tuli Kupferberg's "1001 Ways To Beat The Draft"? I never had to use any of them--and I don't know whether I would have had the courage to do so if I had--because I drew a lottery number in the 300s. But the book was a hoot. [No clue here.]
DeleteA number of people have been credited with saying, “If you remember the ’60s, you really weren’t there.”
DeleteI was there and I remember.
Same here, Dr. K. I suspect it may be a grass roots issue.
DeleteI beat the draft by enlisting, which meant 3 years, rather than 2, but I got to choose Europe as my permanent duty station. This kept me out of Vietnam, South Korea and Canada.
DeleteLunch time here in the East, sdb. We'll have to hash this out later.
DeleteSDB just finishing breakfast coffee.
DeleteI’m glad, sdb, that you were able to avoid the quagmire. And I can tell you that Canada (!)--all jokes aside and at least the part I was in--is no fun in the winter. My first winter there it snowed 160”, not to mention sub-zero temps (Celsius, of course—not too bad—but sometimes even Fahrenheit), especially in January-February. Instant frostbite weather.
DeleteAs fas as my experience with the Selective Service, it’s documented in my 2nd book, so I’ll resist the temptation to speak of it here.
Hope the breakfast coffee refreshed. Lunch here was good.
I too have been writing a memoir of my 3 years in the army.
Deletesdb: How about a preview of the chapter: "Splash?"
DeleteNo idea what you are talking about.
DeleteSubtitle: "The North Sea, Fell, Pushed or Jumped?"
DeleteWhat are you talking about?
DeleteGoing over the rail.
DeleteMusical clue
ReplyDeleteHello, Wordsmythe here. I got it about an hour ago.
ReplyDeleteNot a bad one, junior bird man, not a bad one at all.
When I was a kid, and, like nearly all baby boomers, raised with militaristic values, (pater was the editor of the V.F.W. magazine for twenty years after all), I had my share of these. Many of them caked with mud.
Don't you think that is a little sexist? Who is pater?
DeleteDear old dad.
DeleteMusical Clues - Jethro Tull and Yes
ReplyDeleteWell done SDB
ReplyDeletezeke creek, good to see you here! It's been awhile. . .
DeleteThanks Zeke, and welcome home.
DeleteSDB, this week I'll be sure to avoid the horror and not do the time warp again.
DeleteHR,
DeleteI am not sure what you mean in regard to the puzzle, but I have to say I love your post. I for years saw lines of young people in front of theaters waiting for midnight to get in to watch that movie I knew nothing about and I was not about to go find out with a lot of screaming kids ruining it for me. Years later I obtained a copy from the library and have been a fan ever since. It really is a wonderful experience to watch in the quiet of my home alone.
I just recognize that I’m on rocky ground here after inadvertently posting my answer an hour early last week (though I immediately deleted it after noticing that the time stamp was not 12:00:00 PM PST).
DeleteThe concept of watching quietly at home never occurred to me until I was a student at The University of Cape Town and some classmates rented it for a viewing party. I got some pretty strange looks when I arrived with a shopping bag full of newspapers, toilet paper, rice and assorted paraphernalia. I now see that it can be a wonderful experience either way.
Was under the weather for six months. Back to walking. Thanks for the welcome party
ReplyDeletezeke creek,
DeleteI, and I know others, missed your always-clever-and-insightful comments. Glad you are feeling better.
LegoWhoHearsThatWalkingIsGoodExercise
Musical clue: They Might be Giants
ReplyDeletePapa John, for one.
ReplyDeleteI have an answer, but the name for the service member isn’t official or anything. But it is true.
ReplyDelete83% true
DeleteOff-white garment of the most natural major?
ReplyDeleteThis was a reference to ARMENIA / A MARINE. Specifically, Armenia is partly in/near the Caucasus Mountains, so it's near-Caucasus, and "white" people are called Caucasian, so off-white could refer to Armenia.
DeleteA garment is an article (of clothing), and so points to the indefinite article "a".
And the most natural major (in music) is the one with the fewest sharps and flats (zero), that is, C, and "of the C" would be marine. (If this were a proper cryptic puzzle clue, I would have had to include something referring to sounding like, but this isn't a cryptic puzzle clue, and that could have been too obvious.)
Also what this armed forces member might be called in another country.
ReplyDeleteSo I see that there seem to be (at least) two--maybe even three--possible answers (go, ron!), but I've been struggling since Sunday to come up with a musical clue that wouldn't be TMI (I know Jan's watching) for my answer, the one that would have been "an acute embarrassment" had I failed to solve the puzzle. Here's what I finally decided on:
ReplyDeleteMy musical clue: Mitch Miller prevails.
Yet another WS.
DeleteWord Woman, I am sorry to say you have me at a disadvantage. However, I am off to exercise this aging body and will check the blog later. Hope all is well.
DeleteWord Woman, having exercised and cleared my head, I can now say with certainty, "Right you are." You are clever. More to come Thursday.
DeleteI found the on-air peanut butter and jelly puzzle a bit jarring. I thought the contestant did remarkably well. -LT
ReplyDeleteHehe. Me? I just Skippy'ed it.
DeleteYes, that is a grape way to avoid getting in a jam, if you aren't sure you can come up with the answers in a Jiffy. -LT
DeleteI imagine that cranberry (pjb) did just fine.
DeleteSure. I Scudder to think how I would have done on air, though. -LT
DeleteFunny, I solved them in a JIF fy....
ReplyDeleteYour reputation as a berry proficient solver is well preserved. -LT
DeleteThere are a heap of "almost" answers if you could add, subtract, or replace a letter. Still struggling. I'm thinking of moving from common nouns to proper nouns.
ReplyDeleteThe noun is as common as can be.
DeleteThere's also an answer that involves a rank abbreviation and an answer that involves a common misspelling, both of which could be near-misses.
ReplyDeleteI hope the indefinite nature of the answer doesn’t become a bottleneck for folks
ReplyDeleteCurtis: Glad to read your comment. I think I have the correct answer after all.
DeleteMusical clue: Fine Young Cannibals
ReplyDeleteAnother musical clue: Noel Coward.
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been posted by the author.
ReplyDeleteBahahahah!!!
DeleteA MARINE, ARMENIA
ReplyDelete"Regrets Only" refers to a recent Jeopardy! Armenia answer/question about which the show's producers later apologized.
Alternate Answer:
U S MARINE, SURINAME
"I-70 east" refers to Limon, CO, and bauxite which is a soft limonite iron ore rock with portions of its iron composition replaced by aluminum. SURINAME is a major producer of bauxite.
I think both answers are acceptable. Jeopardy! would agree with me (no need for an apology).
"WS" refers to Armenian American Pulitzer Prize winning author William Saroyan who co-wrote "C'mon a my House" whilst driving across NM in 1939. I was referring to Dr. K's Mitch Miller clue.
I got the answer right away but thought I was incorrect. Glad I submitted it. Did not get the call though. When I saw references to article I became more positive about my answer. I could not see any clues on this site except for Article though. I thought SDB's puzzle would be out of my reach as could hardly get his other ones on here.
DeleteWW. Thanks for your help on Puzzeleria last week.
DeleteWhat show was the apology featured on Sunday puzzle?
ARMENIA -> A MARINE
ReplyDeleteSURINAME -> U.S. MARINE, U.S. AIRMEN
ARMENIA —> A MARINE
ReplyDeleteConsidering my ethnicity, it would indeed have been “an acute embarrassment” had I failed to solve this puzzle.
My musical clue: Mitch Miller prevails.
In 1951, Mitch Miller was head of A&R at Columbia Records and insisted that an aspiring singer named Rosemary Clooney—over her vehement objections—record “Come On-a My House,” a song composed by Armenian American cousins William Saroyan (WS!) and Ross Bagdasarian and based on an old Armenian folk song. Turns out, at least in terms of popularity, Miller was right. “Come On-a My House” topped the charts for 8 weeks in the summer of ’51 on Billboard’s three different charts at the time and launched Clooney into stardom.
A few asides: Saroyan, one of my first literary enthusiasms, won but declined the 1940 Pulitzer Prize for his drama The Time of Your Life and won but accepted the 1943 Best Story Academy Award for The Human Comedy. Bagdasarian later became a prominent musical artist, adopting the name David Seville and recording “Witch Doctor,” an early 1958 #1 hit, and creating the successful novelty Chipmunks franchise, including a second #1 later that year, “The Chipmunk Song (Christmas Don’t Be Late).” And, yes, Clooney (1928-2002) was in fact related to George Clooney (she was his aunt).
Kudos to Word Woman, who got the clue!
Dr. K, sorry, but I thought your mention of your ethnicity was TMI because we know your distinctly Armenian surname from the time you played on-air.
DeleteJan, no apology necessary. Almost immediately after I posted that comment, I said to my wife, "Wait...can't the bloggers learn my name--and ethnicity--from that time I was on-air? Uh-oh." I was about to delete it when you alerted me. So thank you for the confirmatory heads up.
DeleteIn any case, I'm glad to hear sdb is getting his 2nd shot. I am, like others I suspect, curious to learn his solution.
Intended AnswerSuriname>>>U. S. Marine
ReplyDeleteMy familial/historic connection is based on the fact that Suriname, was formerly known as Dutch Guiana. After the Jews were expelled from Spain in 1492, my maternal grandmother’s family settled in Holland, making me part Dutch. (Grandma's maiden name was Lydia Van Gelder, her grandmother was Kiela Mendoza.)
Alternates – that don’t quite fit the puzzle statement as they are not unique to the armed forces of our country:
Armenia – A Marine
Israel – Sailer (if alternate spellings are accepted)
1. SURINAME → U.S. MARINE
ReplyDelete2. ARMENIA → A MARINE
3. MYANMAR → ARMY MAN
Only number 1 works uniquely for a member of AMERICAN (our) armed forces; 2 & 3 work for a member of our & other countries' armed forces as well.
The puzzle did not state the armed forces name could not also be found in other countries.
DeleteI'm still not sure A MARINE / ARMENIA is the answer, but I'm fairly confident it's an answer.
ReplyDeleteI don't really object to others in this neighborhood using terminology I made an effort to avoid, but, at a certain point, it seemed like "piling on" to me.
Our featured puzzle package on Puzzleria! this week is served up courtesy of our friend ecoarchitect.
ReplyDeleteHis latest edition of "Econfusions" is titled "TV Guise." It provides us with 13 television program listings like you might see in TV Guide, but with a very puzzling yet entertaining twist: eco's "TV Guise" listings are a bit strange because they describe sit-coms with titles in which one letter has been changed.
One description, for example, might read: "A wise and mild-mannered patriarch strings his family along... “Perhaps a prelude to 'Family Ties?' ”
The answer? Not "Father Knows Best," but "Father Knots Best"
Other puzzles on Puzzleria!s menus this week are:
* a Schpuzzle of the Week about Stoneware bowls and rolling balls,
* a Slice of Puzzle that you may Percuss, paradiddle, pick, pluck, plink (or otherwise play),
* a "No Phone, No Lights, No Motor Car Dessert, and
* eight riff-offs of skydiveboy's "tour-de-armed-forces" NPR puzzle.
Puzzleria! uploads in the wee hours of each Friday morning, at midnight PST or PDT.
We invite you to go to Blaine's PUZZLE LINKS and look us up for loads of puzzling fun!
LegoWhoRealizesHeOughtNotUse"Paradiddle"AsAVerbButJustCannotResistTheTemptation
Going now to get my second vaccine shot. I will post a full explanation of my puzzle and its intended answer when I return.
ReplyDelete---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
ReplyDeleteMy answers:
Armenia ==> A Marine
Myanmar ==> Army man
Why one bothers me: According to Wiktionary, armyman means "A member of a Chinese Communist army."
And another "iffy" one:
Germany ==> Army Gen.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
And 2 near misses:
Armenia ==> airman + e
Romania ==> airman + o
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
MYOMY, I Still think its MYANMAR>>>>>>ARMY MAN
DeleteI submitted "A Marine" and "Airman E" (as in the USAF rank of Airman Basic (E-1). My clue, that I found the on-air puzzle a bit "jarring," alluded to "jarhead," a slang term for a Marine, as well as punning on the "PB & J" on-air puzzle. -LT
ReplyDeleteMy clue - “ Add an obvious letter,and rearrange to get a certain piece of military equipment.” was reference to adding a “b” and rearranging to get submarine.
ReplyDeleteI was tempted to reference the baseball team in SDBs domain - the Mariners - but chose not to.
Interesting. I was focused on Armenia and A Marine and thought your clue might refer to adding another "e" to get area mine. -LT
DeleteI submitted Myanmar=>Army Man
ReplyDeleteMy 2 musical clues
They Might be Giants: song “Istanbul (Not Constantinople).” Myanmar also has a former name (Burma)
Fine Young Cannibals: Actor Armie Hammer is involved in a cannibal scandal
https://www.standard.co.uk/insider/armie-hammer-cannibalism-scandal-elizabeth-chambers-events-b918480.html
I submitted: ALGERIA = A REAL G.I. (they don't have those in any other corner of the planet)
ReplyDeleteArmenia, a marine
ReplyDeleteThe only real point of the whole poem I entered as my first clue was to create a context in which “tip anyway” wouldn’t look suspicious. It anagrams to NAYPYITAW, the capital of Myanmar… which anagrams to “Army Man”, my first solution. Then I saw others here had several solutions so I looked some more, and I’m confident that SDB’s intended answer is SURINAME => US MARINE.
ReplyDeleteAnswer: Suriname >> U S Marine
ReplyDeleteThis has been interesting to watch, and I stayed out of it, but would now like to provide some clarification as to why there is a diverse set of answers.
Will Shortz left out part of the puzzle as I wrote it. When I looked at a globe and saw that Suriname could anagram to marine, but had 2 letters left over, I saw how to make it work by stipulating the answer referred to “our country’s armed forces.” When I then went to my computer to put it down in print I noticed it could also refer to U S Airmen. So I added another sentence so the puzzle would now read:
“Think of a world country. One word. You can unscramble all of its letters to identify a member of one of our armed forces. You can also unscramble it to name members of another of our armed forces. What is the country and the two branches of our armed services?
Answer: Suriname & U S Marine & U S Airmen”
This is what I sent to Will, who emailed back that he liked it and would try and use it. On Friday morning he sent me what he was intending to use this week. I was surprised he had not included the airmen part because I thought that was what made it an elegant puzzle. I emailed him asking why and he said, “The reason I shortened the puzzle was that "U.S." doesn't change in your two answers. The second part of your puzzle was just rearranging MARINE to AIRMEN, which is a well-known transposal and not so interesting. I didn't think it added much.
To me, in this case, less is more. :-)
--Will”
I did not agree, but accepted his reply. Also I was not aware of this “well-known transposal.” Puzzles are like jokes. You can make them up in most cases with different versions. What the author likes best may not be what the majority of the public responds to most, so you go with that.
Will must have been monitoring Blaine’s because Sunday afternoon he sent me another email expressing surprise there were 2 alternate answers and he thought he would accept them. He emailed:
“Hi Mark,
As you may have heard by now, there are two equally valid (in my opinion) answers to your NPR challenge:
• SURINAME = U.S. MARINE (your answer)
• MYANMAR = ARMY MAN (alternative answer)
Amazing! Who would have guessed?
There's even a third answer -- not as elegant, but it works:
• ARMENIA = A MARINE
I'll probably count all three of these as correct.
--Will
I emailed back that I wrote the puzzle to indicate the answer had to indicate that it referred to our country’s armed forces. Army, airforce, navy and marines etc. are all generic and apply to many countries. I went on to say that I liked the alternate answers anyway and felt they deserve mentioning.
Again, people react differently to jokes and puzzles. I like ARMENIA = A MARINE way more than MYANMAR = ARMY MAN. Had my puzzle been presented as I wrote it there could only be the one answer. That being said, I am happy to have it used. Thanks Will.
A Marine, Armenia
ReplyDeleteLast Sunday I said, “I’m reminded of the movie, Ocean’s Eleven.” Oceanic --> Marine. And I said, “I’m also reminded of a certain Hitchcock movie ;-)” The 1964 Hitchcock movie: Marnie. Reverse two letters and you get Marine.
I also came up with A Marine and Armenia, but didn't submit anything because I was so uncertain. I first had thought of Armenia and come up with airman, but wasn't sure what to do with the leftover "e!" Clever puzzle!
ReplyDeleteI too, found Armenia/A Marine as my answer. I should have realized by looking at the full map in Blaine's image above that my answer, wasn't the intended one. On the fuller map image, Armenia is clearly stated "A Marine", and I thought it odd that Blaine was breaking his own rules by posting a clue directly leading to an answer. However, I justified it by the fact he only included a portion of the map, and perhaps didn't realize he had done it. I should have known better!
ReplyDeleteI thought Blaine's clue was perhaps pointing us to the right (or east) of the portion of the map he carefully cropped.
DeleteI imagine we'll know soon.
SURINAME, U.S. MARINE
ReplyDeleteMy comment using the words "golly" and "surprise" was an allusion to Gomer Pyle(portrayed by Sylacauga's own, the late Jim Nabors), perhaps the most well-known fictional U.S. MARINE ever. I almost used the phrase "gung ho", but for some reason I thought that might have been TMI. I will say I have to marvel at the many alternative answers that have come up for this one. Nice job, everybody!
pjbAlsoThoughtHavingTheTVClue"ThePriceIsRight"Would'veBeenTMIToo,BecauseDrewCareyWasAU.S.MarineAsWell!
Looking for things to do to amuse/edify/create during our predicted Colorado Snowmageddon this weekend. Anywhere from 12-91(!) inches predicted. May x-c ski or snowshoe for sure.
ReplyDeleteIt may be too late to get to the library or order from Amazon, but in the past couple of weeks, I finished Nicole Perlroth's "This Is How They Tell Me the World Ends: The Cyberweapons Arms Race", and Matthew Hongoltz-Hetling's "A Libertarian Walks Into a Bear: The Utopian Plot to Liberate an American Town (And Some Bears)". Both worthwhile. Or, much less amusing/edifying/creative, you can kill a lot of time the way I did a few weeks ago, when I got so sick of seeing Warby Parker ads EVERYWHERE I looked on the web, and delete the cookies on your browser one at a time (so you don't accidentally delete one you might want for some reason, and at the same time take a nostalgic trip down memory lane, wondering when the hell did I every visit THAT site?).
DeleteNot necessarily to everyone’s taste, I realize, but I just finished—and enjoyed—Colin Escott and Martin Hawkins’ Good Rockin’ Tonight: Sun Records and the Birth of Rock ’N' Roll (1992). And if your musical proclivities tend toward the blues, you could check out Delta blues musician Jimmy “Duck” Holmes’ album Cypress Grove, nominated for the Best Traditional Blues Album or Recording Grammy. All the tracks are on YouTube.
Delete91 inches?!
jan and Dr. K, thanks for your suggestions!
DeleteI know. 91 inches (not 90 inches or 96 inches). Weirdly specific for something like snow totals. The biggest snowfall will likely hit Estes Park to the northwest of Denver.
Well, in any case, stay safe. And look on the bright side: Sunday will be one hour shorter!
DeleteThanks, Dr. K! The storm has been pushed days ahead in predictive models so we are all r e a d y.
DeletePlease send a pict of you snowboarding to Krogers.
DeleteIt's been snowing for 30 minutes now. Big fluffy flakes! (Unlike all of you here ;)).
DeleteOnce I got Myanmar=Army Man I decided that was good enough, guess it works for Will S, too.
ReplyDeleteThis week's challenge comes from Robert Render, of Skokie, Ill. It's more challenging that it sounds. Name a well-known tourist locale that attracts millions of visitors a year. It has a two-word name. The first word is a number. And that number is the same as the total number of letters in the name. What's the tourist site?
ReplyDeleteGot it. Working on a clue and waiting for Blaine.
ReplyDeleteSomething musical I suppose .
DeleteYes, sir. I've got one, hoping it's not TMI, but still waiting for Blaine.
DeleteAlmost 1500 correct answers this week.
ReplyDelete