Sunday, August 08, 2021

NPR Sunday Puzzle (Aug 8, 2021): Getting from Here to There

NPR Sunday Puzzle (Aug 8, 2021): Getting from Here to There
Q: Think of something that gets people moving vertically. Remove the middle two letters, and you get something that moves people horizontally. What two things are these?
Rearrange the letters in the second thing and you get a place where you'll see people moving in all sorts of directions.

Edit: TRAMLINE anagrams to TERMINAL
A: TRAMPOLINE --> TRAMLINE

205 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. A certain lady should have no problem with this.

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  3. I'm all for vertical. Vertical has style!

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  4. Good morning. I have an answer.

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    1. This comment has been removed by the author.

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    2. Lancek....I don't know the answer so I'm confused by your response.

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    3. There's an irony in your question that you'll appreciate when you find the answer. I was just noting that Word Woman is one of Blainesville's true paragons of civility.

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    4. WW is our foremost authority on inorganic substances.

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    5. Lancek, irony indeed....how embarrassing. :(

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    6. Thanks, Lancek and Paul, for defending my honor/authority. I don't believe I've ever been called a paragon of civility before. Northeast, no worries about your comment; please don't be embarrassed.

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    7. WW is the top mineral expert in Blainesville.

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  5. I've been playing since the postcard days. This one isn't one of the best.

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  6. Excellent puzzle. Thanks, EPJr!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Lancek,
      I beg to differ. The observation that led to the creation of the puzzle was clever, but the puzzle itself, which required no skill or imagination to solve, was middling.

      Delete
    2. Do they usually require skill or imagination?

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    3. The current (perhaps somewhat "unfair") Schpuzzle of the Week on the current Puzzleria! just might require some imagination of the solver:
      In the phrases “private eye” and “you owe me,” the three-letter words “eye,” “you” and “owe” sound like vowels in our twenty-six-letter Latin alphabet – “i”, “u” and “o”.
      Can you name a word with more than three
      letters that sounds like a vowel?
      Note: The answer is not a Greek-vowel word like, for example, “alpha,” “iota” or “omega.”

      Answers are posted on the P! Comments Section Wednesday after Noon PDT.

      LegoAddsThatThereAreAlsoThreePuzzleria!PuzzlesThisWeekCreatedByGBThatRequireImaginationToSolve

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    4. Okay, skydiveboy, if that is your assertion...

      LegoGoes"EhYeEyeOweEweAndSometimesWhy"

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    5. If French counts, put ELLE in the queue.

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    6. Nowhere were beaux arts more in evidence than at the Battle of Little Big Horn where Lt. Colonel Custer was wiped out.

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    7. "eaux" and "schwa" are very good alternative answers. Both are in Merriam-Webster, and that's good enough for me. Although I am not certain what the pronunciation M-W gives (plural eaux\ ˈō(z) \) means. I suspect it means "eaux" is pronounced as
      ōz when it precedes a word beginning with a vowel sound.

      LegoWhoseIntendedAnswerIs"Avowal"

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    8. EAUX is pronounced O as in oh! The X does not change the pronunciation.

      https://www.google.com/search?client=firefox-b-1-d&q=French+pronunciation+audio+translator&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwj98-HFp7HyAhVaHjQIHVjMDi8Q1QIwGnoECCsQAQ&biw=1536&bih=692

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  7. I'n fbmsm aw txzi jxrl Ufveld's dnxi ny htu kmahj.

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    1. I'm dying to know what Blaine's clue is all about.

      "Dying" being the OPerative word.

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    2. How does this cryptogram work, Paul? It stumped me.

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    3. It's a Vigenere cipher. The key in this case is the alphabet with O and P removed: abcdefghijklmnqrstuvwxyz

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    4. Paul, I may have decrypted your message incorrectly.

      Using all letters except O and P for the key, I got this result:

      "I'm dying to know what Blaiof't dmvf jt bmm bcpvw."

      I tried 2 different VC sites and got that result. Hmmmm.

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    5. Yes, I apologize. I usually use Sharkysoft.com, but he's got "privacy issues" at the moment (which he often does, probably due to a failure to update something or other), so I tried this cryptii thing instead.
      Bottom line: I wanted to play off Blaine's TERMINAL, but feared DYING was too close, so I went for my usual Vigenere dodge-- just didn't work this time.
      That's the last time I'll volunteer for MINE PATROL duty.
      https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WLY2BylN6oA

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    6. OK, I ran it through cryptii again and got this:
      I'n fbmsm aw txzi jxrl Ufvekc'r cmwh mx gst jlzgg.
      So apparently it was my error, but I'm not sure what I did. Does it really matter at this point? Did it ever?

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    7. Paul, I am always curious to figure out your cyphers but all the letters except O and P as the key was very sly. Words, I need words ;-). No worries in any event.

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  8. Yawn.
    Think of something that gets people moving vertically and you also get something that moves people horizontally. What is it?

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    Replies
    1. Ok, after thinking a bit (something I usually avoid at all costs), I've determined my puzzle is pretty stupid and should be put out of its (and thus, your) misery. A: Quad (the predominant muscle that lifts you from a sitting position), and Quad (the four wheel motorcycle). I know...

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    2. Hmmm. The Quad isn't a muscle that moves you vertically. I speak as a former racer of bicycles. That's not its job.

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    3. Wow Ben, I'm like super impressed! I raced road here in SoCal from 1987-2016, and won a lot of those races -and no, that's not BS. Tell you what, next time you're out on a climb, try standing up on your pedals without using your quads. Or, just sit in a chair, put both hands on your "former racer of bicycles" upper legs, then stand. Feel them doing anything? Third option: google it.

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  9. Although you will see people moving in all sorts of directions, the rearranged letter of the second thing imply that it stops people moving from all sorts of directions.

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  10. My better half got it first; then I did. And that's the end of it.

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    1. Similar thing happened to me. My better half and I frequently work on the Sunday Puzzle together and this morning she came up with the answer first. Math clue: plane geometry.

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    2. To quote an old calypso song (I’m familiar with Harry Belafonte’s version), "Man Smart (Woman Smarter).”

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  11. For the first word - take just the first several letters, swap out a vowel and you get a bad person; then using the middle letters, you get what that person is, then using the last few letters, remove the middle one and you get what that person does often.

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    1. I believe there's a connection between that person and my Olympian (see below!).

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    2. This was such a strange concept to me I had to figure it out. Surely no Olympian has such a connection? Finally got it. Nice clues- both of you. :)

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    3. Thanks! Luckily, this connection does not reflect poorly on the Olympian in question. :)

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  12. If you remove just one of the middle letters, you get an interesting result.

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    1. Would that be where the stamp goes?

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    2. Jimmy Buffet is at Jones Beach this week.

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    3. He at Jiffy Lube Live, in Bristow Virginia, for an open air concert last Saturday. My wife and I (vaccinated and masked) enjoyed the show.

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  13. I thought I had this one quickly, except I was misspelling "scow."

    I did think of the answer while I was on my run in downtown Dayton this morning; that's pleasant, and it hasn't happened in a long time.

    Take the horizontal transport. Remove three letters. You get another horizontal transport.

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

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    1. This clue got me to the answer, and Blaine’s clue cinched it for me. Thanks Buck and Blaine!

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    2. Blaine or Buck, please remove.

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  15. Delete three letters from the first thing and rearrange to find a certain prominent Olympian.

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    Replies
    1. That's Rapinoe, natch! Not sure if there are any fellow USWNT fans out there...

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  16. Replace two consecutive letters of the first thing with SH. You can rearrange to get something else associated with vertical.

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    Replies
    1. Replace the LI in "trampoline" with SH to get "tramposhne", which is an anagram of "smartphone". A smartphone has a vertical screen.

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  17. Take the last name of the first thing's inventor, change one letter to get the name of a car company.

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    1. Confirms my answer. Clever!

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    2. Too bad the inventor was not George Mezda.

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    3. Nice! An interesting bit of trivia for us to share while waiting to be seated at Sunday brunch.

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    4. Take the first half of the second thing, then add the 3-letter initials of a certain government agency somewhere in the middle, and you’ll get the name of a once-popular specialty package from a different car company.

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    5. (My reply above was a clue for Datsun ("seateD AT SUNday"), the previous USA name for Nissan, the car company referred to by clotheslover.)

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    6. What I was getting at in my above comment was TRAM + NSA = (Pontiac) TRANS AM

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  18. I seem to rely on the kindness of strangers.

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  19. I have two answers. The second is a little obscure...

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    1. I look forward to seeing it, obscure or not. Thou art the King of the Alternate Answer.

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  20. How Ridiculous is it that I got Blaine's clue two weeks in a row?

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  21. I've noticed that last week they announced "over 400" correct answers, and today they announced "over 500" Are there a lot of people on vacation and not listening to the puzzle? Those numbers seem low, given the puzzles. Interested in the thoughts of others.

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    1. JAWS,
      The low participation may be a result of pandemic-related reflection about priorities. For example. I no longer feel the compulsion to solve the puzzle each week. If it’s not bringing me joy, I’ll move on to something that does.

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    2. Lorenzo,

      I feel the same. My priorities are shifting too. In the middle of doing something, the question arises, "Am I wasting time?".

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    3. Now, if I cannot get it right away I give up.

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    4. I'm going with the vacation hypothesis. Weekend Edition is, after all, a news program, and folks are just less motivated to listen to the news during the slow-news weeks of summer. Especially Sunday morning. I think Blainesville is a pretty atypical cross-section of the potential radio audience.

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

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  23. Today is the last day of the Olympics, and the puzzle has a connection to an Olympic sport.

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  24. In a certain part of the world, the two removed letters also spell something that moves people horizontally.

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    1. Jyqm,
      If I understand your comment, I like it!

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    2. And you could add two more letters to the removed ones to spell something that moves people vertically.

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    3. Nodd, add five more letters in the middle of your four-letter word, and you'll get a fad that had people moving in all different directions a few years ago.

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    4. (My word was Pogo; presumably Jyqm was referring to Pokemon GO.)

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  25. Got it Got it...now on to something important. No clue after last week's hammering for not using obscure enough clues. But, come to think of it, the horizontal thing has to do with something I encountered as a kid in Brooklyn.

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  26. Rearrange the odd letters to get something green and the even letters to get something seen.

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  27. The first part of the first thing can mean a way to move both vertically and horizontally.

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    Replies
    1. (If you are willing to "tramp" up and down hills.)

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  28. With this insult of a challenge and the preceding on-air embarrassment, we can only wonder what kind of adult supervision exists at WESUN.

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  29. Replies
    1. SDB is here wondering if he has the intended answer. If he does, then he is appalled. He is hoping there is a much better answer than what he discovered.

      SDB is also finally reading Black Elk Speaks. He had no idea it was so amazing. He will be recommending it often from now on.

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    2. SDB: Glad you are ok. Worry about people these days due to virus. Not sure if you are serious about not knowing if have intended answer. You will know it is the answer if it fits all the clues that are on here. I am certain that my answer is correct. No clue here. I will look up that book. Never heard of it. I tried Parachute but did not work..vertically in down direction qualifies I think.

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    3. SDB also posted this other book recommendation at the end of last week's blog yesterday, but most would have missed it, so here it is again:

      I want to recommend a book that was published this year. It is very short and can be easily read in one sitting. The book is by Thom Hartmann and titled: The Hidden History of American Oligarchy. Reclaiming our Democracy from The Ruling Class. Each of its 157 short pages is filled with well thought out information and insights into what is happening to our country and why and how it has come to this and what we can do to correct it. This is an amazing read. You owe it to yourself and our country to read it. Your library should carry it.

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    4. SDB now has the intended answer, but it is not really any better than his alternate answer. At least neither answer has anything to do with prostitution, which can also have both vertical and horizontal attributes, but then I digress.

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  30. SDB,

    Why are you talking about yourself in the 3rd person?

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    1. When I was a kid and my mother asked me why I did something I'd say "Because". Her response always was "Because isn't a reason. As I've aged,I disagree with her since more and more questions about causality have "Because" as the only answer! And with age comes cynicism.

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    2. I would also say that age itself may not be the cause of cynicism, but as one ages one hopefully becomes more and more aware of life's dysfunction and this constant battle wears us out. The 2016 election was a massive cynicism pill and it is being closely followed up with the pandemic making more and more evident just how stupid humans are. Sometimes I ask myself why optimism is not questioned more than it is.

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  31. I only know about things that move sheep horizontally and vertically at high rates of speed.

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    1. This comment has been removed by the author.

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    2. But what's a "catult"? ("Trebuchet" has an odd number of letters, unfortunately.)

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    3. It was only after I got my first trebuchet that I finally got into the swing of things.

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  32. Take the answer and rearrange the letters to get two US states and two Nobel gases!

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    1. I think you mean noble gases. Nobel gases are what laureates fart.

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    2. Mine are worthy of a Pewlitzer.

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  33. Does an alarlock move people horizontally?

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    1. When I awoke this morning, I was alarmed to discover, I needed to hit the snooze button.

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    2. alar is a psticide used on apple orchards i guess you could lock it out

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  34. My wife's parents once had a Citroën with hydropneumatic suspension that could be set high or low, depending on driving conditions. My father-in-law said that if the car went forward and back as well as it went up and down, they'd have no problems.

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    1. Cool story , Jan.
      I haven't seen a Citroën in years.

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    2. I assume they had a Citroën DS (Duchess). Some had a Maserati engine.

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    3. Yes, it was a DS. Someone a couple of blocks from me has a very old 2CV.

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    4. In 1973, when I was living in Spain, I almost bought a used Citroën Traction Avant and have it shipped back. I wish I had.

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    5. My French cousin had a Citroën 2CV, which stood for “Deux Chevaux-Vapeur,” or “Two Steam Horses.” She called it “Deux Vaches,” or “Two Cows.”

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    6. Could stand for "2 Covid Vaccinations" these days. "Vaccine" derives from "vache", because the first smallpox vaccines used material from cowpox pustules.

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    7. Hmm, maybe the same material we get a fair number of governors from.

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  35. Rearrange the letters in the first thing and you get a dangerous military assignment, 2 words.

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  36. I got an answer that doesn't appear to fit with anyone's clues, but looks like a correct answer. I'll think a bit more.

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    Replies
    1. I figured out what the "consensus" answer is ... & I agree with it

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  37. The first thing I clung onto for the vertical was Climbing Wall. It didn't take long for me to realize I had to drop off that idea, and land on something else.

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  38. Here's a riff on the NPR Sunday Puzzle: Think of something that gets people moving vertically. Remove two consecutive letters, and you get something that moves people horizontally. What two things are these?

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    Replies
    1. I, too, got trampoline/tramline. For my riff, the answers were Gravity and Gravy, which moves people horizontally outward.

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  39. I find it interesting that another Democratic politician is being forced to step down for inappropriate sexual misconduct, while a Republican politician was allowed to remain in the highest office of the land after it was discovered he violently raped a woman in a public place and other devastating conduct became evident. And this deviate still controls the Republican Party.

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    1. I do all these things too, and have even flown back to Washington D.C. to participate in another anti-war march that was ignored like the others were. I then lobbied and flew back home. All these things and more must be done or we will lose everything. The only thing that will work in the end is if we the people rebel in the streets all over the country in huge numbers.

      Again I encourage everyone to read Thom Hartmann's new short book: The Hidden History of American Oligarchy. Reclaiming our Democracy from The Ruling Class.

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    2. SDB: Glad you read my message before deleted. Not sure it really belonged on here. It is admirable about your activities related to politics. I did my share too.

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    3. And now that you deleted your message no one will understand my response.

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    4. This comment has been removed by the author.

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    5. SDB: Here is the original that was deleted: I write to politicians about my concerns. I did get an official letter from President Clinton responding to my concerns with the educational system. Not sure if his signature or a machine though. I framed it anyway and showed my students to inspire them to be politically active. Also, this year wrote to Nancy Pelosi and got a response on Colored Senate stationary via email. Not sure she really signed it. Electronic signatures don't count. We can and should make our concerns known to elected officials. Watch "Mr. Smith goes to Washington". There is a great quote in that movie.

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    6. not sure about the white house but I did work for member in the mid 80's. Cong staff answers mail. If it is a std. question you pull up the canned responses on each subject the letter writer brought up. In 84, if it was non std, an actual staffer would write a letter, I did a few on citizens who were having tax issues. These would be retyped and then sent to the robo-pen A std letter would go something like this Dear Ms. _ _ : Thank you for your very illuminating letter on _. I am very concerned with the problems of _. I have written/introduced/co-signed HR xxxx which should improve the conditions of_.
      I thank you for your interest in this vital issue. Please don't hesitate to contact me again on this or any other important issue.
      Very truly your
      Android A. Gearhead, MC

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    7. Yeah, I don't even read any of the responses I receive from pols. I write with the understanding that they will simply go by the numbers, or completely ignore what we the people write and go with the $$$ they get from the oligarchs who are in control now.

      During the 2016 election I received an invitation to attend a catered Sierra Club Summer Party party at a posh private residence on the shores of Lake Washington. This was 8/31/2016. It was a lavish soiree attended by Democrats. It was packed both inside the house and the entire backyard adjacent to the lake. I found myself standing like a sardine on the patio with a drink and plate of goodies and suddenly realized the tall gentleman to my right side was talking to the very short woman I had not noticed at my left side. When I glanced to my left I realized it was U.S. Senator Patricia Murray. They were talking about the upcoming election in which she was running for her almost certain reelection. Something I no longer recall was said regarding the environment which caused me to interject a comment about Texas Senator Ted Cruz proposing a bill to allow used tires to be dumped into the Grand Canyon. Senator Murray looked up at me and said, "Did he really!?" To which I replied, "Well I may have made that up." I don't think she thought it was quite as humorous as I did. Anyway, after that I said to her that I thought she should be paying less attention to her reelection bid and more to the very real possibility of Trump being elected. Later that evening I met a few attendees who added to my fears of this happening by their confiding to me that they were going to attend a Trump rally coming up in Everett.

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  41. This comment has been removed by the author.

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  42. I have two answers which I really don't think are the correct ones...But it is late and I am totally thought out. Clue: A 5th Dimension song and something SF is noted for...I can't wait until the answer is revealed.

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  43. You can stand using MUSCLES and ride MULES

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  44. Anyone still struggling with this one?

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    Replies
    1. I'm still working on it. I was hoping to get it in before the deadline.

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  45. What do you get when you cross a hobo with a jar of petroleum jelly?

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  46. TRAMPOLINE - PO = TRAMLINE

    "H20" = Water >>> Watermelon >>> Spanish for Watermelon >>> Sandia Peak TRAMway, NM

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    Replies
    1. The answer I had early in the day was CABLE CAR and CAB CAR. I kept looking.

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  47. TRAMPOLINE -PO = TRAM LINE

    My Hint:

    "What do you get when you cross a hobo with a jar of petroleum jelly?"

    Answer: A trampoline. (Vaseline Petroleum Jelly brand)

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  48. Trampoline - PO = Tram Line

    When I’d wished Tony Bennett a Happy Birthday, my logic was:
    Tony Bennet sang I Left my Heart in San Francisco,
    A San Francisco landmark is its cable cars,
    Cable cars are tram like.

    With three degrees of separation, I thought this a safe, conforming comment.

    I was surprised to see my comment flagged as TMI and deleted. Especially, after noting that the Judy Garland reference wasn’t deleted, as Judy Garland sang, the Trolley Song, in the movie, Meet me in Saint Louis, and this is only two degrees of separation.

    I have since learned that Tony Bennett performed a duet with Lady Gaga in which they sang, The Lady is a Tramp. I assume this connection, of which I was totally unaware, is why my post was deleted.

    Sorry

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I linked the sf clue to tramline.

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    2. Did you also note the Judy Garland/Trolley Song link?

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  49. TRAMPOLINE, TRAM LINE

    > I've been playing since the POstcard days. This one isn't one of the best.

    Hinting at the removed letters.

    >> The horizontal thing has to do with something I encountered as a kid in Brooklyn.
    > Moved to L.A.

    I remember them, too. Brooklynites were known as "trolley dodgers", because of the need for speed when crossing the street. The name stuck to the local ball club, which didn't stick around itself. But, the trolleys, at least, may be coming back.

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  50. 1. TRAMPOLINETRAMLINE.


    2. A TRICAM (used in rock climbing) helps you move vertically and a TRAM will have you moving horizontally.



    “Timeless” in Spanish (senorita) → INTEMPORAL anagrams to TRAMPOLINE.

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  51. TRAMPOLINE—>TRAMLINE

    My hints:

    1. “My better half got it first; then I did. And that's the end of it.” All true enough, but “end” suggests “terminal,” an anagram of “tramline.” Blaine also hinted at it.

    2. “Today is the last day of the Olympics, and the puzzle has a connection to an Olympic sport.” The Olympic sport is tennis, which has “tramlines,” the sidelines on the court.

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  52. TRAMPOLINE, TRAM LINE.

    I was going to clue "Lady is a Tramp," but someone else got Blained just by saying hi to Tony Bennett. So instead of hinting Rodgers & Hart, I went with Lorenz, the first name.

    And I didn't DARE try to clue DONG DONG, even though he is my new dream date. Watch him FLY!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Seriously, DONG DONG isn't just the greatest Trampoline artist EVER, he's also an NPR puzzle just waiting to happen!

      Watch:
      https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4p8jU1InuN0

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    2. Ben, check out my comment about having gotten Blained for wishing Tony Bennett happy birthday. My reason for mentioning him was totally unrelated to his singing The Lady is a Tramp.

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  53. My clue -

    For the first word - take just the first several letters, swap out a vowel and you get a bad person; then using the middle letters, you get what that person is, then using the last few letters, remove the middle one and you get what that person does often.

    This was referring to - Trump, pol, lie

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  54. I forgot to mention my alternate answer: CABLECAR -LE = CAB CAR.

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  55. How Ridiculous is it that I got Blaine's clue two weeks in a row? How Ridiculous is a YouTube channel where they have dropped many things from high places, including on to trampolines. They even collaborated with Mark Rober to build a super-strong trampoline, and drop all kinds of things, including a plane, a car, and a boat on it. All of them bounced up, by the way.

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  56. Despite SDB’s protestations, my entry included no international or overt clues

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  57. I guessed it would include streetcar or trolley or tram bcs of the hints about Judy Garland and Blanche Dubois, but I didn't think of tramline. I entered a goofy answer. Vertical: ski lift Horizontal: skift (rain makes us run to shelter). I knew it was silly but I got a laugh out of it and thought some of you might find it amusing.

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  58. And for a riff on this week's puzzle:
    Think of a way some people move horizontally, remove two middle letters to get a way some people move vertically.

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  59. Excellent puzzle...I had two answers (of course not the right one). Cable Car Cab Car and Balloon Balon" (an ancient type of barge). But it was great fun and trampoline tram line was brilliant.

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  60. I came up with the consensus answer in just a few minutes.
    I have actually been hoping all week that Will Shortz and Ed Pegg didn't really conspire to foist this loser puzzle on us and there would be an answer that might redeem it.
    From this discussion, I guess nobody here discovered it and I will have to wait until Sunday.

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  61. Trampoline, tramline
    My clue: I seem to rely on the kindness of strangers is Blanche's line from A Streetcar Named Desire.

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  62. My alternate answer was SKI TOW

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  63. The inventor of the trampoline is George Nissen. Change the e to a to get Nissan, the car company. Trampoline/Tramline.

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  64. Trampoline, tramline. (My first answer was "muscle/mule" but I didn't send it in.)

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    Replies
    1. "Muscle/mule" is clever, JeremyC. Nice alternative.

      LegoMuscleosAssistLegoLambdaInMovingVerticallyUpwardOutOfHisLa-Z-BoyLounger!

      Delete
  65. Our friend Ecoarchitect, on tonight's Puzzleria!, delivers us a second helping of his ingenious TV GUISE puzzles. This installment features shows from television's Golden Age. (See this edition of Puzzleria! for his first helping.)
    Puzzleria! is uploaded in the wee hours on Friday at Midnight PDT.
    Our menus this week also feature:
    * a Schpuzzle of the Week about songbirds and bees, breezes and trees,
    * a slice of a puzzle about how basic math leads to higher math,
    * a dessert puzzle about how formal attire may lead to fibbery and falsehoods, and
    * eight riff-offs of this week's up-and-down-over-under-sideways-down NPR puzzle.
    Come on by, and go for the Gold(en-Age-of-TV) that Eco has mined for us!

    LegoWhoIsMisguidedByVoices

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I miss ecoarchitect and always appreciated his contributions here. Thanks Eco.

      Delete
  66. I sent in the what-seems-to-be-the-intended-answer trampoline/tramline, and added as an alternative answer muscle/mule. What the heck, it didn't cost me a nickel more. It's always fun when WS doesn't acknowledge an equally valid solution.

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  67. trampoline, tramline

    Last Sunday I said, “Math clue: plane geometry.” Two reasons. (1) The bounce mat of a trampoline at rest is in a plane. (2) One of the elemental concepts in plane geometry is a line.

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  68. My clue: I'm all for vertical. Vertical has style!
    All For Vertical => AFV
    Vertical Has Style => VHS
    Many VHS tapes on America's Funniest Videos are of people getting injured on trampolines.

    ReplyDelete
  69. My answer:

    A BUMP (in the road) gets you moving vertically.

    Remove the UM from BUMP to get BP (brand of gasoline), which moves you horizontally.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Phil J.: I like that solution.
      I hope you submitted it.
      Lamentably, you can expect the same result from having sent it to Will Shortz or Santa Claus.

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  70. Mendo Jim: Thanks for the “Like.” Will hasn’t been acknowledging many alternate answers lately, but who knows?
    Maybe Christmas will come early this year. �� Thanks again.

    ReplyDelete
  71. Some people move horizontally by SKIPPING, and go downhill SKIING.

    ReplyDelete
  72. Hmmm... The new puzzle hasn't been posted yet on the WESUN page, and the on-air puzzle doesn't appear to be running at its usual time today. Seems to have been pre-empted by Afghanistan coverage.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. It's over 30 years old, but I still love this, from Spy magazine.

      200 comment limit coming soon, BTW, remember to Load More.

      Delete
    2. Friggin' Taliban killed our Sunday Puzzle

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    3. No, American ignorance and stupidity killed our Sunday Puzzle and it was obvious this would be the outcome if we began a war in Afghanistan.

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    4. Well, that does it! No Christmas card for them this year!

      Delete
  73. Maybe we'll get a Taliban-themed puzzle this week.

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  74. A prisoner is facing three doors. He is told that behind one of them, there is a lady, and behind the other two there are tigers. The sign on the door of the room containing the lady is true. At least one of the other signs is false, maybe both. The signs say:

    Room 1: A tiger is in room 2
    Room 2: A tiger is in this room
    Room 3: A tiger is in room 1

    Which door should he open? Why?

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  75. I like Chuck’s puzzle. It’s nice to be using logic, not combing through lists.

    The problem would be how to clue it.

    ReplyDelete

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.

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