Sunday, May 30, 2021

NPR Sunday Puzzle (May 30, 2021): A=1, B=2, C=3, ...

NPR Sunday Puzzle (May 30, 2021): A=1, B=2, C=3, ...
Q: Name a famous city in 10 letters that contains an "S." Drop the "S." Then assign the remaining nine letters their standard value in the alphabet — A = 1, B= 2, C = 3, etc. The total value of the nine letters is only 25. What city is it?
Now that I've solved that, I can go back to watching sitcoms.

Edit: I was thinking of "I Love Lucy" which hints at the fossils of Lucy (Australopithecus) found in Ethiopia and housed in a museum in the capital city.
A: ADDIS ABABA

208 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.

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  2. Take the middle four letters. Rearrange. You get a real problem.

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    Replies
    1. At least you are aware of it.

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    2. Rob, I think that depends on who you ask.

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    3. ISAB –> BIAS

      "You are aware of it"
      = To you it is not unconscious bias.

      Delete
  3. Another easy one. Solved; answer submitted! Now I can relax, put on my sneakers, and go for my morning run.

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    Replies
    1. Unlike last week's challenge, which got just over 80 correct responses. Congrats Jeff Scott-Densic of Phoenix, AZ.

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

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    3. C’mon again? It was hardly a giveaway…

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    4. C’mon again? It was hardly a giveaway…

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    5. C’mon again? It was hardly a giveaway…

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  4. Much easier than last week's challenge...

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  5. If you think about it, there can be only one answer.

    Well done, Howie Roark. Even so, you must be highly relieved.

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  6. Solved in under 2 minutes while still in bed. Good job Howie! a.k.a. Jeff.

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  7. The answer came really quickly this time. I have many friends & family who visited this city tho I haven't. Expect a huge numbder of correct answers ...

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  8. Solved early with very little extra rumination!

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  9. Replies
    1. South Park had a character named Starvin' Marvin who was from Ethiopia. Addis Ababa is the capital of Ethiopia.

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  10. I may be taking a chance by posting this.

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  11. The total value for the last name of the city's mayor is only 15.

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  12. About 16,961 miles from me if I went the other way. ;)

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  13. Entries should be back in quadruple digits this week. For a complementary puzzle, find a 6-letter word with an S that yields a total of 108 for the remaining five letters.

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  14. Replies
    1. Great job this morning, Jeff! You must be so proud. So quick with the answers.

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  15. A link to my favorite genre of music.

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    Replies
    1. Haile Selassie, the Emperor of Ethiopia, inspired Rastafari, which continues to inspire reggae music.

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  16. If I ever went running in the morning, it would likely be followed by a death in the afternoon.

    How’s that for a cryptic clue? Probably hard to believe but I solved this puzzle before Will even finished saying it. I’m sure all you gifted puzzlers will have no trouble solving it.

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    Replies
    1. I didn't realize you and Jeff were the same person. Again, way to go!

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    2. Great job, Howie/Jeff! Some of those on-air puzzles were hard. --Margaret G.

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    3. Howie, Can you tell when you submitted your answer to last week's puzzle?

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    4. Trying to see how NPR does lottery.

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    5. Natasha, though I doubt it had anything to do with being chosen, I waited to submit until Tuesday morning. I had been randomly spacing my entries across the allotted time under similar thinking. I would note that the call came well after 15:00 EDT. I had already surrendered the idea of being chosen. 15:45 IIRC.

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    6. Thanks Howie Jeff. They waited a long time. Maybe a lot of incorrect answers to wade through. I send my answers in on Sunday morning unless takes me a ling time to solve.

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    7. Howie--Coincidentally, when I finally got the call last year, on pure instinct I had also submitted Tuesday morning after 30 years of sending the answer in immediately upon solution, usually (but not always) on Sunday. And your call came at 3:45? That seems quite late. In my case, I almost turned my phone off last year when the call didn't come promptly at 3 but thought better of it, and the call came sometime between 3:05 and 3:10. You also had a fairly tough On-air Challenge. (Mine was relatively easy, though I did learn a lesson the hard way: Anagrams can also begin with the same letter as the original word). I thought you did great.

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  17. Some people I know would say "never heard of this city" or "it is not famous".

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  18. If only these shoes had originated on the other side of the sea... Or, vice versa, the music... Could've come up with a great hint!

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  19. Solved it with the help of Google

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    Replies
    1. Google gave me a link to a list that did not include the correct answer.

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

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  21. Easy one today. I agree with others that some will say “not famous” or “never heard of it”.

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  22. Some may speak highly of this puzzle, but I am not one of them.

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    Replies
    1. Sometimes when I post a hint here I worry someone will comment upon it and turn it into TMI. I do not appreciate it when this happens.

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    2. Darn, I was planning to give a very similar hint. (And am I right, Jan, that SDB's hint is connected to your "In a sense, yes"?)
      I'll have to think of a different line of hinting...

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  23. Well, the ease of this puzzle almost cancels out the frustration of last week’s. What is the sum of frustration + ease?

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    Replies
    1. Or "Arsonist Feature," like 30-year-old Movie.

      LegoAnagrammatic

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    2. NATURE IS A FOREST?
      SO TRUE, IN FAR EAST.
      pjbArises,Fortunate

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    3. NOSFERATU SATIRE?
      A TUNE, SO RARE, FITS.
      pjbAin'tSoSureAfterATreasonSurfeit

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    4. ASTAIRE'S FORTUNE:
      NO FRASIER STATUE!
      pjb:"Rat?FearNot,Susie!Fart'sATrueNoise!Fart,ARiotEnsues!"

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    5. ARISE! SAFE TO TURN!
      SEE IT AS "FAR TO RUN"!
      pjb:"Nausea---RestForIt?A-OneRuse,AtFirst!"

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    6. SAFARI'S TRUE TONE:
      IS NEAT, SAFER TOUR?
      SERIOUS FAN TREAT!
      pjbIsANutForEaster---InAState,ForSure!

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  24. This gave me a good idea for dinner.

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    Replies
    1. I know what you mean - I looked up a recipe too!

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    2. Now I'm hungry! "Great minds?" This puzzle literally gave me an appetite.

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  25. Howie--

    Just remember: Hatha yoga is better than none.

    No clue here. Some would say no joke here either.

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    Replies
    1. Will trashed the pronunciation of Hata. There is no TH sound nor is their an ah sound such as in AS. It is Hot-uh. And yoga does not mean poses; it means UNION, and it mostly refers to meditation.

      It always seemed to me that Yogi Berra should have written an autobiography and titled it, Autobiography of a Yogi.

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    2. Thanks for that SDB. One of the most rewarding things about life is that there is always something more to learn. I understand that there were a couple more (that I got) that were edited out in part due to pronunciation (being the lamest contestant in recent history, I just can’t bring myself to listen).

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    3. No, you should go online and listen. You did very well. BTW, I had a younger brother named Jeff Scott.

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    4. Yeah, for the first two thirds of it you were just *flying* though them.

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  26. My result anagrams to two famous entities from two neighboring countries

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  27. Last week was hard. Only 80 correct. First one I've missed in a long while.

    Easy one this week. Predict 3000+ correct entries.

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  28. Well, after last week's frustration, this city came to me almost immediately, and the letter values add up to 25. Whew!

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  29. Name a famous city in 10 letters that contains an "S" with the next-lowest letter sum after dropping the "S". Hint: of all the gin joints ...

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  30. The answer is not ABBASABAD which is the name of a number of villages and a beautiful city in northern Iran.

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  31. Side Puzzle: Name a famous city in seven letters, two words. It's New York! Where I was born and raised!

    But I do have a few friends from the city that is the subject of today's puzzle, too.

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    Replies
    1. That was easy, Ben, I got it instantly.
      Of course, I'm also from New York; probably it would be much harder for others.

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    2. Isn't it pronounced "New Yow-uck"?
      pjbWondersIfThat'sWhatTheyMeanBy"TheLongIslandSound"?

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    3. Me too!
      I was born in The Bronx, moved to Manhattan when I was 18 months old, and later to Queens. Graduated from City College.

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    4. New Yawk! Brooklyn born, Moved to Long Guyland when I was almost nine and now reside in beautiful Western NY State.

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  32. As many others have reported, the answer was the 1st city I thought of. It only took a 2nd.

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    Replies
    1. For me, it was the second. Casablanca didn't work. [No clue here.]

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    2. Lorenzo, I see your subtle dig at last week's 1st, 2nd, 3rd puzzle...and it amused me even more ��.

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    3. WW, glad to be a source of amusement!
      BTW, any plan to reschedule the cancelled reunion?

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    4. Lorenzo, I'm not sure yet what my summer will look like. Lots of moving pieces...so no plans on my end. Anyone else?

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  33. FAUL&Y(ankovic)!

    LegoWhoComplimentsHowie/JeffOnAnNPRJobWellDoneOnAToughOnAirChallenge(GoshThatDarnLegoLambdaDoesTendToGoOn&On&OnDoesn'tHe!)

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    Replies
    1. Have you considered firing off a stern letter to the founders of Saint Cloud to claim insufficient alphabetical front loading? No hint here except to say that as famous as we all recognize that city to be, it is not this week's solution.

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  34. The answer – which needs no hint at all – reminds me, a little, of a Buddy Holly hit song title.

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  35. Rather topical. Can't say if it's tropical. But I can reference Mel Brooks.

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    Replies
    1. It's good to be the king.
      pjbMustAlsoAdd,"MayTheShortzBeWithYou!"

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    2. Don't get saucy with me, Bearnaise.

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    3. It's pronounced "Fronk-en-steen".
      pjbDoingHisBestToAvoidSaying"Blucher"Or"Schwanzstucker"

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  36. The first 3 letters of the city are important here.

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    Replies
    1. The first 3 letters of Addis Ababa spell "add". This puzzle involves adding up values of letters.

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  37. Satisfied to have gotten the answer this week. Can resume my day and go and get some new flowers for the garden.

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  38. Yesterday I posted this question on the blog, but most likely no one even saw it:

    Which U.S. President was an eyeful?

    It should be easy to figure out if you are like most of us who would rather not have a Polk in the eye.

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  40. I was all set to be a Scrooge about this one, but I just got it.

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    1. I hope you weren't stuck on Zanzibar City.

      BTW I am heading down your way tomorrow to camp on the Deschutes River, East of the Dalles.

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    2. Have a great time. If you happen to be on the Coast and are near Florence, I'm in the phone book under my real name.

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    3. I won't be anywhere near the coast. I am going to be where the temperature is going to be above 100 degrees F. I have been waiting for warm weather for months and months now. Finally it is where I am headed.

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    4. Good. I keep wondering if we're going to warm up this summer. The pellet stove is still on every AM for a couple of hours.

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    5. I'd never heard of a pellet stove until this. Seems like they tout them as environmentally friendly, but I don't get it. Sure, wood is renewable, but if you cut down a tree that was previously busy sequestering carbon, and turn it into atmospheric CO2, that doesn't sound like a win to me, at least compared to, say, solar or wind power.

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    6. They are up to 90% efficient and burn cleanly. Can’t say that about raw wood.

      Delete
  41. Something tells me Will did this on purpose after seeing how hard last week's was...

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    1. Yes, I agree. That's the recurring pattern.

      Bonus puzzle: What is the highest total for a "famous" city?

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    2. Zurich comes to mind, not so much for total but for a high average.

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    3. If Will Shortz has taught us anything over the last 30 years it is that "famous" adjusts to suit.
      This Russian city is famous to its 140,00 residents and is my final offer:

      Zheleznodorozhnyy

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    4. 1. Zheleznodorozhnyy was abolished and merged into the city of Balashikha in 2015.

      2. Not sure how many of those residents would recognize "Zheleznodorozhnyy" as famous. "Железнодоро́жный", maybe, but Will didn't tell us how to assign point values to those characters.

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    5. On the other hand, Ada, OK, population 16,000+, has a score of 6.

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    6. Better not call a Zheleznodorozhnyyian a Balashikhaian if you like your front teeth.
      Wikipedia lists about 15 places called "A," with various hen scratch marks for the purist.

      Delete
  42. Bonne fête des mères hier en France.

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  43. Shakespearean clue: Sonnet 99

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  44. Hello Blains Friends, Its me Al, fan of Blains Puzzle Blog and creator of this weeks NPR Challenge. Last weeks puzzle was like Kyptonite to me. This week I feel like Superman! Enjoy

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    Replies
    1. Congrats, Al Gori! I trust you are nowhere near any hanging chads there in NJ.

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    2. Yes, congrats, Al! Take your names, 1st and 2nd, add the next (i.e., answer) item in last week's series, then add the letter from this week's puzzle with the value of lucky 13, and whaddya get? This, maybe!

      Delete
    3. Excellent puzzle, Al, "Man-of-Steel-trap-mind-bending-puzzles!" Very fun to ponder and solve. Congrats.
      I invite you, Al (and all Blainesvillians, of course) to check out this Friday's Puzzleria!
      Each week on "P!" I run "riff-off entrees" of the current NPR puzzle; and so this week I am riffing-off your puzzle, Al.
      Also, I have made it my custom lately to begin the riff-offs with a puzzle in which the NPR puzzle creator is the answer to the puzzle! And thus this week's Entree #1 involves "hymns composed by Handel, Jenkins, Poulenc and Vivaldi" and "something mechanics use when checking autoimotive fluids."

      LegoWhoAlsoGreatlyAppreciatesjan'sVeryCleverOriginalSelfReferentialRiffOffPuzzle(Above)InvolvingAlGoriAndWondersIfjanWouldAllowLegoPermissionToRunItThisFridayOnPuzzleria!?

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    4. Algorithm, actually, WW.

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    5. Are we anagram-crazed around here or what?

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    6. Not all of us. I'm the Arm Agenda Czar, for instance.

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    7. Lego -- just read the request in your signature a few lines up -- you can do anything you like with anything posted here, except re-post it if Blaine's deleted it.

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    8. Arm Agenda Czar? In charge of elbows?

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    9. The whole arm. You can be Ad Manager Czar if you like. Or, do you prefer Drama Can Gazer?

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    10. Neither, thanks. You may shoulder a lot of responsibility there!

      --Zerda Armagnac--

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    11. A GRAND ARC MAZE:
      A GRANDMA CRAZE?
      MARC, AGAZE: "DARN!"
      pjbRangCar,AmazedCarGrazedAMan!

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  45. Superman! You're just an imposter!

    Clark

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  46. Simple math will tell you what the letters have to be. And if you can’t get it form that point, well, go get tested for a stroke.

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    Replies
    1. And if your doctor happens to tell you the puzzle answer while he is treating your stroke, I suppose that would be a stroke of good luck. Depending if you get the call, of course.

      Delete
  47. I just now heard about the I-84 fire along the freeway that is just on the East side of the Columbia River. I was camping in the vicinity, but left at noon and didn't get caught up in it. It was over 100 degrees down there.

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    Replies
    1. Hi, SDB, I thought I'd respond to your above post.

      Thanks, SDB, I was beginning to wonder why it has taken you so long.

      Well, SDB, you know how it is. Anyway as I was driving back home earlier today from camping I passed a road sign put up by our government informing me, and others as well I suppose, that I was about to pass the turnoff to Centerville. I suspect I had never noticed this sign previously, but I could not stop and celebrate because I had already consumed all the wine I brought along, thanks for this have to go to my camping neighbor who also enjoyed my taste in Spanish wines. Oh well the conversations was well worth it.

      Well, after that lengthy introduction, I will now get to the point, which is that I suspected that Centerville would most likely turn out to not be worth the side trip to find out it is probably just a middling town anyway.

      Delete
    2. ADDIS ABABA), capital of Ethiopia

      As I (and others) pointed out, it was possible to reason out the answer: that given the number of letters and the total, it was simple to deduce mathematically that virtually all the letters of the city would have to be at or near the beginning of the alphabet.

      My clue, ostensibly directed to Howie Roark following his NPR appearance: “Even so, you must be highly relieved."

      “highly”—> Haile Selassie, Emperor of Ethiopia (1930-74).

      Skydiveboy played the “highly” card as well.

      Delete
    3. ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia

      "Oh, I got this." referred to the Oromia region of Ethiopia. My daughter served in the Peace Corps there for 3 years.

      Delete
  48. Addis Ababa, Ethiopia

    My Hint:
    "Some may speak highly of this puzzle, but I am not one of them."

    This is hinting at former Emperor Haile Selassie.

    ― Haile Selassie I, Selected Speeches:

    “Until the philosophy which holds one race superior and another inferior is finally and permanently discredited and abandoned, everywhere is war. And until there are no longer first-class and second-class citizens of any nation, until the colour of a man's skin is of no more significance than the colour of his eyes. And until the basic human rights are equally guaranteed to all without regard to race, there is war. And until that day, the dream of lasting peace, world citizenship, rule of international morality, will remain but a fleeting illusion to be pursued, but never attained... now everywhere is war.”

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  49. ADDIS ABABA

    >> Is it near Ocho Rios?
    > In a sense, yes.

    Ocho Rios is in Jamaica, where Rastafari, which reveres Ethiopian Emperor Haile Selassie, developed.

    ReplyDelete
  50. “Famous city” ? → ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia.
    A (1), D (4), D (4), I (9), A (1), B (2), A(1), B (2), A (1)

    1+4+4+9+1+2+1+2+1 = 25

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  51. This comment has been removed by the author.

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    1. Our friend Bobby Jacobs (screen name, "Bobby") has baked up three elegant puzzles we are serving on this week's Puzzleria! (which will be uploaded about 12 hours from now, at Midnight PDT).
      The "ingredients" in Bobby's puzzles feature a generous sprinkling of "ROT13 seasoning" and a savory mixture of integers and anagramming.
      They appear in his recurring feature, "Puzzle Fun by Bobby Jacobs."
      Our menus also feature:
      * a Schpuzzle of the Week that melds a restaurant chain, a communications company and U.S. geography,
      * a "Leader Of The Pack" puzzle,
      * a Dessert featuring three beverages, and
      * eight riff-off puzzles of Al Gori's "YabbaDababaDoolightful"NPR puzzle – including one involving "double-nickels" created by our friend GB, and another that our friend jan posted in a comment on Blaine's blog earlier this week.
      Please come join us in our "puzzle party!"

      LegoWhoAppreciateAllWhoContributeInAnyWayToPuzzleria!

      Delete
  52. Addis Ababa

    Last Sunday I said, “The answer – which needs no hint at all – reminds me, a little, of a Buddy Holly hit song title.” “Maybe Baby” evokes “baba” a little. OK, just a very little :)

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  53. ADDIS ABABA

    My clues:
    Put on my sneakers
    Those might be ADIDAS—some resemblance to the answer here.
    And go for my morning run
    Many of the world's most successful distance runners have been from Ethiopia—the capital of which, of course, is Addis Ababa.

    ReplyDelete
  54. Addis Ababa, Ethiopia

    A+D+D+I+A+B+A+B+A=1+4+4+9+1+2+1+2+1=25

    ReplyDelete
  55. I wrote, “Take the middle four letters. Rearrange. You get a real problem.” That’s bias.

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  56. Addis Ababa

    My clue: My result anagrams to two famous entities from two neighboring countries

    Adidas (Germany)
    ABBA (Sweden)

    ReplyDelete
  57. Wordsmythe here. I actually sent my answer in on Sunday, but a little later than usual because I took "famous city" to mean a US city, of which there very few that qualify for the puzzle specs, so I switched to well-known world cities and it stood out. Also, it was in the back of ny mind the whole time.
    Abyssinia!

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  58. ADDIS ABABA. My clues said I might be taking a chance by posting, and asked Iris Corona to dance, alluding to "Take a Chance on Me" and "Dancing Queen" by ABBA, which didn't come from Ethiopia but did manage to cluster its name even earlier in the alphabet than Addis Ababa.

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  59. This comment has been removed by the author.

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    1. This comment has been removed by the author.

      Delete
    2. I hinted Sunday morning:
      FAUL&Y(ankovic)!
      Explanation:
      If ABBA – the Swedish pop group formed in Stockholm in 1972 by Agnetha Fältskog, Benny Andersson, Björn Ulvaeus and Anni-Frid Lyngstad – added Weird Al Yankovic to their group, (Or "ABBA ADDS AL," an anagram of "ADDIS ABABA") their new group moniker might be ABBA&A, using the initial letters of their first names... or they could instead use the initial letters of their surnames, and call themselves FAUL&Y!

      LegoWhoNowCannotDislodgeTheEarwormMammaMiaBolognaFromHisCranium!

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    3. Weird Al certainly would have added some visual and stylistic variety to the clean-cut-pop-tunes image of the group. Perhaps they could have added Swedish meatballs to the litany of dishes featured in Al's classic "La-la-la-la-lasagna!"

      Delete
    4. ADDIS ABABA
      Lego, ABBA ADDS AL is NOT an anagram of ADDIS ABABA. Unless you're thinking a lower case L would pass for a capital I(depending on the font, of course), you've made a terrible error there. Hate to be the one to point that out to you, but I do tend to be an amateur proofreader every now and then, whether on a blog, watching TV, reading our local paper, or checking anything else on my Kindle. Hope you don't mind. I do consider you one of my best friends on these puzzle blogs. As for Al helping out ABBA, I'm more of a fan of the former than the latter, but I'm sure he'd definitely enhance their sound, which probably could use more accordion(maybe even more cowbell, but that's a whole other story altogether).
      pjbWhoActuallyLikesFrida's1982SoloHit"IKnowThere'sSomethingGoingOn"(ProbablyDueToPhilCollins'sContributions,AndThatGreatGuitarSolo!)

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    5. Possible anagram for ADDIS ABABA:
      A DAB IS A DAB?
      pjbSaid,"Baa!Bad!"

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    6. This comment has been removed by the author.

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    7. Correct you are, cranberry. Thanks for your editing.
      So, now here is my story and I am sticking to it:
      ABBA in an attempt to goose their sagging sales, franchise and half-century career (even in the wake of the successful "Mamma Mia" movies), "ADDS AI" (that is, AI in uppercase but ai in lowercase) to their music-making modus operandi!

      LegoFooledByTheSansSerifFont(ButWhatThe"L")

      Delete
  60. I don't see any real flaws in this challenge except for being way too easy for an adult audience, especially one that likes puzzles.
    Last week's was flawed in many ways, IMO.
    I am afraid that Will Shortz has lost interest in the Sunday Puzzle.

    ReplyDelete
  61. Addis Ababa

    My only feeble clue was using the word "add" in my comment. I figured the answer would have to be a city starting with one of the early letters of the alphabet. I initially thought of Amsterdam but that was one letter shy. Addis Ababa was the second city that came to mind so it was a quick solve!

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  62. Hi all
    I'm a long time lurker who just retired after 46 years of teaching. Thank you Blaine for many years of enjoyment. I have always thought of this blog as a classroom. The usual cast is present. The boy who thinks he's the gift to the class, but doesn't see the eye rolls of many of the other students. The students who think they are so much more clever than the Puzzle Master but manage to prove they're not even close. Even the puzzle before this one, which was wonderful by the way, was up for unnecessary criticism. I could list others who are commonly found in classrooms, but I'll stop with just one more: the smartest student in the class. She has
    cleverly evaded detection, as they often do.
    So to you, Blaine and the Puzzle Master thank you for many years of entertainment.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. So, since you have not posted here prior to this all these years, yet you describe the usual suspects, may I assume you are including yourself in the latter seat?

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    2. SDB: I thought referring to me.

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    3. Hey, teach!
      Wordsmythe here, you must be familiar with the class clown, right?

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    4. Welcome Unknown! Shall we call you LoTiLu for Long Time Lurker? Or perhaps you prefer another moniker?

      Delete
  63. If I ever laced up my Adidas running shoes in the morning, there would certainly be a cocktail later, in this case "Death in the Afternoon", one made with absinthe. Both words in order start with the same letters as Addis Ababa. Adidas is almost a spot on hit, and absinthe also brings to mind Abyssinia, the former name of Ethiopia.

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  64. What about Blaine’s sitcom hint?

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    Replies
    1. See above. Lucy the Australopithecus had nothing to do with Lucille Ball, of course. She was named for "Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds", or possibly for the mondegreen, "Lucy in Disguise", reportedly because of uncertainty about the meaning of her discovery.

      Delete
  65. Now that I am 76 and should have figured out what life is all about, I must admit to being completely bewildered by humans. We never stop hearing about how the females of our species want to be admired for their intelligence and not for their sexual desirability. On the other hand males who are constantly compared to other males as to how we measure up on the I.Q. o'meter would, if we are honest anyway, much prefer to be rated on our sexual attraction. We just don't admit it.

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    1. SDB, I agree. I'll be 83 next month, but when my wife tells me I'm still a stud, I don't believe it, but the lie is nice!

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  66. I gave a Shakespearean clue -- Sonnet 99, one of the few that begins with a Sicilian quintain:

    The forward violet thus did I chide:
    Sweet thief, whence didst thou steal thy sweet that smells,
    If not from my love's breath? The purple pride
    Which on thy soft cheek for complexion dwells
    In my love's veins thou hast too grossly dy'd.

    Rhyme scheme: ABABA

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  67. My comment about Kryptonite refers to the 1978 Superman where Lex Luthor steals the Addis Ababa Meteorite.
    So glad I was able to share my puzzle with everyone!

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  68. At a BBQ last weekend for HS Grad grandson and other family and friends, he came over and whispered in my ear "Hey Pop, the guy next door is watching us with binoculars."
    I told him that the poor schmuck has been doing it for years and to just ignore him.
    He said that it was too late, he had invited him over.
    The guy had told him no thanks, but to tell you that you under-cook your steaks, shouldn't serve red wine and keep the pool too cold.

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    1. Wait till he buys a drone.

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    2. I can understand how he can tell about your steaks and the wine, but how does he know the pool is too cold just from using binoculars? Unless...

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    3. Who knows what The Lurker knows?

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  69. Both my proctologist and my gastroenterologist are founding members of the Semi-Colon Appreciation Society. They also belong to a crack research team of specialists.

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    1. Are they both masters of deceit?

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    2. That is brilliant! I am truly impressed. However, I have more prosaic term for them.

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  70. SDB,When I as a psychiatrist was in joint practice with a proctologist, we entitled it "Odds and ends, nuts and butts".

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    1. I take it you both explored the darker regions.

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  71. 200 comments. Scroll down and click on "Load more" to read newer ones.

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