Sunday, October 31, 2021

NPR Sunday Puzzle (Oct 31, 2021): Halloween Travel Puzzle

NPR Sunday Puzzle (Oct 31, 2021): Halloween Travel Puzzle
Q: Think of a popular tourist attraction in two words. The second, fourth, and sixth letters of the second word, in order, spell the first name of a famous author. The last four letters of the first word spell the author's last name. Who is the author, and what is the tourist attraction?
Meh, Solved. Now back to planning for spooky visitors tonight.

Edit: "Meh" was a hint to "Atlas Shrugged". And you'll find Phantom Ranch at the bottom of the Grand Canyon.
A: GRAND CANYON --> AYN RAND

216 comments:

  1. Here's my standard reminder... don't post the answer or any hints that could lead directly to the answer (e.g. via a chain of thought, or an internet search) before the deadline of Thursday at 3pm ET. If you know the answer, click the link and submit it to NPR, but don't give it away here.

    You may provide indirect hints to the answer to show you know it, but make sure they don't give the answer away. You can openly discuss your hints and the answer after the Thursday deadline. Thank you.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Extremely easy... Not many authors 3,4.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. ... & one of the most famous tourist attractions in the world.

      Delete
  3. Ron-- Agreed, on both counts.

    I have been to the tourist attraction a couple of times, as have, I suspect, many Blainesvillians but don't have much liking for the author, a sentiment perhaps shared by quite a few members of this community.

    ReplyDelete
  4. The last name of the author is similar to a buck.

    ReplyDelete
  5. This comment has been removed by the author.

    ReplyDelete
  6. One member of this community may have a particularly easy time with this puzzle.

    ReplyDelete
  7. Both the author and the author's place of birth have been known by three different names.

    ReplyDelete
  8. My first thought -- "whatever." Upon broader reflection, though, it's a nice puzzle.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Without the 3,4 gimme part, this is a fun observation and could have been a dang nice puzzle. Dang nice, I say.

      Delete
  9. Replies
    1. Paul McCartney wrote "Hey Jude", which contains the lines "don't carry the world upon your shoulders" and "the movement you need is on your shoulder".
      And Rand Paul is a devotee of Ayn Rand.

      Delete
  10. Ben do you know the name of a living singer/celebrity who shares our birthday?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. It's not unusual to hear this singer. Prince, on the other hand, is no longer.

      Delete
    2. Perhaps they will do a digital hologram version for him as is happening now to Whitney. UGH.

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

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I'll be swift: "Now that I have an iPhone, who needs an ____," ____ Tom.

      Delete
  12. Now that we all know how to pronounce Theron and Angelou, I look forward to next week's lesson.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. The last time the author's name was used in a puzzle, Will admitted he'd been mispronouncing it.

      Delete
  13. Was this challenge sponsored by Staples, because (click) that was easy! It really did not require deep thought.

    ReplyDelete
  14. Blaine, I must not be a real puzzle person. When you say "Meh", I say "Hurray" and enjoy the rest of my week with other pleasures promoted by this author.

    ReplyDelete
  15. Rearrange all of the unused letters to name a group the author opposed, while supporting those who opposed opposing them.

    ReplyDelete
  16. Musical clue: Simon and Garfunkel.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. if that's the hand never mind

      Delete

    2. GRAND CANYON → AYN RAND

      Clues:

      (1) “I been Ayn Randed, nearly branded
      Communist, 'cause I'm left-handed
      That's the hand I use, well, never mind.”

      -- "A Simple Desultory Philippic (Or How I Was Robert McNamara'd Into Submission)" by Simon & Garfunkel.

      (2) Frank Lloyd Wright was part of the inspiration for Howard Roark, the protagonist of Ayn Rand’s “The Fountainhead.”

      Delete
  17. Replies
    1. Even easier for me. First tourist attraction that came to mind.

      Delete
  18. Shout out to Jan for a clue that gave me a laugh. Thank you from an old fashioned owner of a beat-up ______

    ReplyDelete
  19. Since the puzzle is easy, I propose that we be kind to each other and post clues and comments to brighten someone's day.

    ReplyDelete
  20. Drop a letter and replace another letter with 2 letters in the tourist attraction to get a different tourist attraction.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I've visited two tourist attractions (including the subject of this week's puzzle) that begin with the same eight letters and a third that begins with six of them.

      Delete
    2. Mine begins with seven of them.

      Delete
    3. I haven't been to the seven letter one, but I've been within 300 miles of it.

      Delete
  21. Lol CAP thanks for another laugh!

    ReplyDelete
  22. Replies
    1. You might call my comments un-clues Sheep Launcher

      Delete
  23. This puzzle isn’t my cup of tea, but it is my two cups of coffee (which are not needed to solve it).

    ReplyDelete
  24. I must be lysdexit I so wanted it to be POE. oh Edgar has 2 mny letter, maybe if I used greek alphabet. never mind. my lysdexia kicked in. looks like I'll have to search for it tomorrow. if only I had a guiding light .never mind the world will keep turning and if any of these clues turn out ot be other than a red herring then I'm not going to disneyland they wouldn't let me in anyway

    ReplyDelete
  25. This comment has been removed by the author.

    ReplyDelete
  26. Even though I don't care for this author, I'm tempted to burst into song.

    ReplyDelete
  27. why do some bicycle pedals have S or D engraved on them

    ReplyDelete
  28. Think of a two-word phrase describing a single sea mammal. Rearrange to get a single word. Add "Happy" before that word, and an exclamation point at the end.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Back atcha, Siz.

      Or, reverse the order of the two words, and rearrange the 2nd word to get a 2-word phrase that signifies a sea mammal holiday.

      Delete
  29. I looked on a map of the world to find the tourist attraction.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. A map of the world is an atlas. Ayn Rand is the author of Atlas Shrugged. There was a puzzle about Atlas Shrugged on December 16, 2018.

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

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

    ReplyDelete
  32. Glad I read this author in high school. I don't think I'd be able to get through more than five pages if I attempted to read their work now.

    ReplyDelete
  33. Replies
    1. Mr. Roboto?, Miss America? You're fooling yourself?
      think I'll buy me a football team or a land rover

      Delete
  34. Replies
    1. If you put a y on the end of the last name you get a OZ slang term that probably applies to many on the site.

      Delete
    2. do I need to draw you a map to explain the clue, Mr. Cator

      Delete
  35. Not trick nor treat nor challenge.

    ReplyDelete
  36. Cold, overcast morning here after a glorious blue-sky day yesterday. Having a cup of cocoa.

    ReplyDelete
  37. After the author, meditation may be occasional.

    ReplyDelete
  38. 🎃🧹 HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

    ReplyDelete
  39. Don't think I'm free to post a clue this week. Mum's the word.

    ReplyDelete
  40. I've been to the tourist destination, but got sick, with a bad cough there. I didn't get to enjoy it as much as I might. I haven't read the author, and know I wouldn't enjoy their writing.

    ReplyDelete
  41. Where is SDB today? You don't think he forgot to pull his rip chord, do you?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I have it on good authority that he posted twice this morning. Once at the end of last week's blog, and the other way up above. He found this puzzle to be a letdown, and is now refurbishing an old Coleman camp stove he obtained yesterday. He is also enjoying 2 clear blue and sunny sky days in a row and on a weekend. He is not spooked and is not alarmed by ghosts either.

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

      Delete
  42. Good thing I have to be at a Halloween party later this evening. I can now go get ready. BTW It was also the first tourist attraction that came to mind for me.
    pjbHopesWeAllHaveSomeCandyLeftOverAtTheEndOfItAll

    ReplyDelete
  43. That was obviously too easy if I solved it in less than 12 hours.

    ReplyDelete
  44. Never been to this tourist site, though it's on my bucket list! I hear there's a good restaurant nearby...

    ReplyDelete
  45. Like last week, the first answer that came to mind was the correct answer

    ReplyDelete
  46. Anagram the title of the author's most famous book to get the toughest places to be in their home country -- definitely not tourist attractions!

    ReplyDelete
  47. Makes me think of shakespeares theater

    ReplyDelete
  48. In eastern King County we used to have a congressperson named Jennifer Dunn. She was such a fan of the great communicator she named her son Reagan. He is also a pol. This paradigm has also occurred at the national level

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Both the Dunns are disgusting. Ron Reagan Jr. lives in NW Seattle. Several years ago at the end of a classical piano solo performance, by a world class pianist on the UofW campus, I noticed that Ron and his older boyfriend were sitting just behind me. As I followed them both out he managed to make a spectacle of himself by doing some flamboyant maneuver that was completely out of place. Not only that but he was wearing 501 Levi's to a dress up performance where even children who attend do not come dressed in that manner, and he is the son of a former president. I have no respect for any of these people.

      Delete
    2. Well there are worse politician surnames Dunn could have chose as a first name. There's Pam Roach out Enumclaw way, or Karen Moran mayor of Fishhead city

      Delete
    3. 31 Washington Counties (named such, not counties in Washington), 1 King.

      Delete
    4. In grunge Seattle 501's are considered formal evening attire.

      Delete
  49. You might find this tourist attraction by using one of the items mention in the title of one of the author’s works.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I thought your clue was very clever. The sly-ish reference to an atlas is of course a reference to Atlas Shrugged. And the double entendre was Rand-McNally. The Rand part anyway.

      Delete
  50. Clever, clever. A double entendre, no less.

    ReplyDelete
  51. Replies
    1. This is a quote from "Some Like It Hot," in which Sugar Kane (played by Marilyn Monroe) reacts to the story told by Shell Junior (played by Tony Curtis) about what happened when he and his fiancee both took off their glasses, then stepped toward each other to kiss while standing on the brink of the Grand Canyon.

      Delete
  52. any puzzle is a good excuse for abugs bunny cartoon
    cf rebel rabbit

    ReplyDelete
  53. from here on out this week I'll be posting clues fora red (ish)herring. why? I dunno. it's not for the solution. posting awkward clues keeps me busy and this way I don't have to use thestassinopolous post

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Are you nesting in Enumclaw? Or Mercer Island?

      Delete
    2. neether nither major minor, the town of small town incompetence and big city corruption. aka fishhead city

      Delete
    3. My in laws used to live in Lake City close to F.Meyers.

      Delete
  54. The second, third, and sixth letters of the second word, in order, spell the first name of a famous author. The last four letters of the first word sound like the author's last name. Who is the author, and what is the tourist attraction?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. The second, FOURTH, and sixth letters of the second word.

      Delete
    2. yeah yeah yeah, been there solved that ( wuz 2 ez) this is my red herring puzzle which is both lexically and geographically proximate and just a little bit harder

      Delete
    3. red herring #2. two tourist attractions each one word, even closer proximity than previous ones. famous person 3,7. letter order: 2,3,6 7,8,9,10,(5*,2*,6*). Asterisk implies second attraction. PS, you can also obtain the actual target person from this pair of attractions

      Delete
  55. Find a famous person named 3,4 ... whose name angrams a famous country.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I'll have what that person's having.
      pjbKnowsRudolfoLeftAn"A"OutOf"Anagrams",That'sForSure

      Delete
    2. I lived there for 2 1/2 years.

      Delete
  56. Missed the puzzle yesterday but it took me all of 5 min to solve this one. For those looking for a clue, start with the author.

    ReplyDelete
  57. Not to change the subject, oh well maybe. But, anyway, for some unknown reason I just recalled that Superman was said to have "nerves of steel." I had not thought about that claim before, but this time I have. How can it be said that someone who has nothing to fear, other than that silly bicycle lock, have courage when there must be fear to be courageous? Someone with nerves of steel is a person who has fear, but acts bravely anyway. How can this be said of Superman who has nada to fear?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Superman must, to some extent, be afraid of Kryptonite. Or at least be nervous enough, well...maybe nervous is the wrong word, but you get my drift. He ain't gonna be flying Lois around no Kryptonite patch.

      Delete
    2. Read my post again. I mentioned Kryptonite.

      Delete
    3. Also, he never even tried to hit on Lois. But he sure put up with Jimmy without complaining. Just saying.

      Delete
    4. The silliest thing about Superman is that no one can tell it's the same guy as Clark Kent, he's just wearing glasses for that. And these are supposed to be intelligent, observant journalists at the Daily Planet. How do they not catch this? Don Martin of MAD Magazine once drew a cartoon of Clark Kent finally getting contact lenses to replace his glasses, and when he came back to the office, Lois immediately made the connection he's Superman! Even funnier than that was on "Whose Line Is It Anyway?" when Colin Mochrie, portraying Superman when he's all alone, kept pretending to put on and take off imaginary glasses, all the while saying, "Now they recognize me, now they don't". It's as simple as that!
      pjbSaysIfHeTookOffHisGlasses,EverythingWouldBeBlurry

      Delete
    5. It is not generally known, but back in Superman's day, many of the men's suits, hats, shoes and more that found their way into Goodwill and other thrift stores were found abandoned in telephone booths. Black horn rimmed glasses too. You might think it odd there were no undergarments, but just think about it for a moment and I believe you will understand. Brooks Brothers did rather well back then as I recall.

      Delete
    6. Perhaps getting rid of phone booths has gotten rid of Superman. That may be why the world is the way it is.

      Delete
    7. The world is the way it is because humans are stupid. Expecting a superman to come along and make everything alright is as stupid as it gets. We must, each of us, do his part. All this talk about young progressives is not worth a fart in the wind if they don't involve themselves enough to even come out and vote. Last night is a disaster, and we are waiting for Joe Biden, a.k.a. Clark Kent, to save us from ourselves. Nonsense! And what was he doing meeting with the pope last week? What a waste of time. Wake up people.

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

      Delete
    9. Natasha:
      I appreciated it when yesterday you posted just above:
      "SDB: Ok. So brilliant!"
      Why did you remove your post today? Why do you keep removing almost all your posts? Why? Why? Why?

      Delete
    10. I thought might not like it.

      Delete
  58. Guys, guys...what all this talk about me behind my back all about? Tsk, Tsk, gossiping again!
    Clark

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Why don't you hang up your clothes when you change instead of tossing them in a corner?

      Delete
    2. Because when I go from Clark to Kal-El it's an emergency and no time to be neat.

      Delete
  59. I'll take your word for it, but I'll tell you, Kryptonite makes me very nervous. Just call me Sub-man.

    ReplyDelete
  60. when I got my booster shot I told them to use the Kryptonite needle

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Which raises the question: Why would Superman need a vaccine anyway?

      Delete
  61. Because I came from another planet and I hadn't been exposed to earth pathogens a la the Martians in "War of the Worlds". Geeze SDB, don't you know anything?

    ReplyDelete
  62. I am well-traveled and well-read but I have not been to this place and I have never read a book by this author.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Skip the books but take a trip, even it it's only to look at the view in the middle of winter. I've been around the world but have never been to the closest big city (100 miles west as the crow flies) & it's still not high on my list.

      Delete
  63. AYN RAND, GRAND CANYON

    My “free hint: Forged” —> “free + forged” anagram to Ferde Grofé, who composed the Grand Canyon Suite.

    And the Blainesvillian who “may have a particularly easy time with this puzzle” is of course Howie Roark.

    I considered hinting that the puzzle was so easy (which it was) that there would be 6,000 correct responses (which is highly unlikely). The Grand Canyon is in fact 6,000 feet deep at its deepest point. But I thought that might be TMI.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I would not consider a guess at 6000 responses as TMI. The number 6000 could refer to so many things, it would be hard to argue that you're giving anything away.

      Delete
    2. You may be right. Perhaps I need to be more daring.

      Delete
  64. GRAND CANYON, AYN RAND

    "By" is part of a pneumonic device ("By" signifying Bright Angel Shale) to name the most significant rock layers of the GRAND CANYON -- Know The Canyon's History. Study Rocks Made By Time:

    Kaibab Limestone. Cliff. Grayish white.

    Toroweap Limestone. Cliff and Slope. Grayish white.

    Coconino Sandstone. Cliff. Creamy white.

    Hermit Shale. Slope. Deep red.

    Supai Group. Cliff, Ledge, and Slope. Deep red.

    Redwall Limestone. Cliff. Gray, stained red.

    Muav Limestone. Cliff and Ledge. Gray with yellow.

    Bright Angel Shale. Slope. Blue green.

    Tapeats Sandstone. Cliff and Ledge. Dark brown.

    These 9 rock layers lie above the Vishnu Schist.

    "You will know soon." Know also appears standing for the youngest rock layer above, the KAIBAB limestone.

    "Cold, overcast morning here after a glorious blue-sky day yesterday. Having a cup of cocoa." >>> COCONINO Sandstone

    "Without the 3,4 gimme part, this is a fun observation and could have been a dang nice puzzle. Dang nice, I say." Missing in the above pnemonic is the Devonian channel sand of the Temple Buttes Formation , i.e. Devonian--Nothing!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. WW: Thanks for rock info. I took a great geology class at uc berkeley. Found out a defunct volcano near my house. You know so much!

      Delete
    2. Thanks, Natasha. Although the pneumonic is backwards from the way geologists think about rock layers from bottom (oldest) to top (youngest). But is is easy to remember.

      Delete
    3. https://www.grandcanyontrust.org/blog/geology-rocks-grand-canyon-rock-layers

      Delete
    4. Yes! And of course, it's mnemonic. . .

      Delete
    5. Yeah, a pneumonic is a reminder to put air in your tires. Speaking of which, I've gotten so tired of fixing flats on my bike that I ordered an airless can't-go-flat tire from Tannus, a company in Utah. First attempt to get it onto a wheel failed, but I plan to try softening it up gently in an oven and trying again next time I get a flat. Anyone have any experience with these?

      Delete
    6. When I replied, "As in 'it goes by'?", that was my clue.
      "it goes" is an anagram for "egoist', which is what Ayn Rand was (by her own description). "Egoism" is what she called her ethical view.

      Delete
    7. Crito, nice! I was, ahem, clueless.

      Delete
  65. "Mum's the word" was a reference to my moniker's progenitrix, the author Ayn Rand.

    ReplyDelete
  66. Grand Canyon & Ayn Rand

    My Hint:
    "That sure was easy. No deep thinking required." About a mile deep.

    ReplyDelete
  67. Ayn Rand/Grand Canyon

    Ayn Rand was the pen name of Alice O’Conner, nee Alisa Zinovyevna Rosenbaum, born in Saint Petersburg, Russia. Saint Petersburg has also been known as Petrograd and Leningrad.

    I’ve been to the Grand Canyon, Venice’s Grand Canal, and Grand Central Station – although having grown up in New York City, travelling through Grand Central Station was almost a given.


    ReplyDelete
  68. Puzzleria! this week presents another installment of "Puzzle Fun by Bobby Jacobs."
    Bobby, our nonbad friend and phenomenal nonesuch of a puzzle-maker, has prepared for us a pair of nonpareil, nonnonsensical, nonagonizing puzzles that will nonplus you and provide you with nonstop enjoyment!
    We upload Puzzleria! tonight at just past Midnight PDT (until we switch to PST next week).
    Also on our menus this week:
    * a Schpuzzle of the Week in which a genie may just grant you your wish,
    * a Puzzle that laments the sorrow of celestial spheres,
    * a Dessert puzzle about an Atlanta Bravers hurler who "got the hook,"
    * eight riff-offs of the NPR puzzle about AOC, or Alice O'Connor, aka Ayn Rand.
    Join us for some obvious obliviously objective and fine nonfinite fun!

    LegoWhoObservesThatBobby'sPuzzlesThisWeekDeserveAn"A-NonMinus!"

    ReplyDelete
  69. AYN RAND, GRAND CANYON.

    I clued My first thought -- "whatever." Upon broader reflection, though, it's a nice puzzle.

    "whatever" was meant to imply Atlas Shrugged and broader reflection was about the Canyon.


    ReplyDelete
  70. AYN RAND, GRAND CANYON

    > Asma Khalid again this week. Has NPR tapped her to fill the host slot permanently?

    "Slot" -> CANYON

    > At this moment, the author is within 5 miles of Will Shortz's table tennis center.

    She's at the Kenisco Cemetery, in Valhalla, NY.

    > I'll be swift: "Now that I have an iPhone, who needs an ____," ____ Tom.

    Atlas Shrugged.

    > The last time the author's name was used in a puzzle, Will admitted he'd been mispronouncing it.

    On January 20, 2013.

    > Rearrange all of the unused letters to name a group the author opposed, while supporting those who opposed opposing them.

    She opposed the Communist [Viet] Cong, while supporting opposition to the Vietnam War.

    ReplyDelete
  71. I wrote, “The last name of the author is similar to a buck.” Both a buck and a rand have 100 cents.

    ReplyDelete
  72. GRAND CANYON -> AYN RAND

    I had noticed, as many did, that it would be easy to solve this backwards, since there would be a limited number of authors with a 3,4 name. A simple google search for famous authors, and visually scanning the list, made it easy. As soon as I saw the RAND last name, I thought GRAND, and then confirmed GRAND CANYON.

    I wonder if it had been phrased as something like, "take one letter away from the first word, and three letters away from the second, to spell, in order, the last and first names of a famous author," would that lead to alternate solutions?

    ReplyDelete
  73. yawn again, this puz was also solved easily by direct instead of reverse search
    google list of top tourist attraction in us
    1 grand canyon ayn rand
    red herring #1
    13 bryce canyon
    ann rice
    red herring 2
    canyonlands, arches
    ann landers
    or 2,4,6 2*,8,9,10
    ayn rand

    nodds music clue
    simple desultory phillipic
    "Ayn Randed nearly branded a communist cuz I'm left handed"
    hence my clue S or D on bike pedals
    S for sinister aka left hand thread
    numerical clue prime factors for longitude and latitude of GC latitude had one factor squared and I omi9tted decimal points
    I know TMI
    even ex poat. but this one was too easy
    the yawn clue applied to both author and canyon


    ReplyDelete
  74. GRAND CANYON — AYN RAND

    My clue: “Before and after Billy Joel.”
    I was alluding to the 1989 Billy Joel song Leningrad, a reference to the city by its name at the time. When Ayn Rand was born there in 1905, it was still Saint Petersburg, and it went back to that name after the dissolution of the Soviet Union. That was what I meant: Ayn Rand’s birth city’s name, “before and after” Leningrad.

    ReplyDelete
  75. I do think it's interesting that the Puzzlemaster has managed, in consecutive weeks, to invoke the names of three famous women whose names are among those most commonly mispronounced. Indeed, if jan's recollection is accurate, Will has mispronounced them all himself, at least at first. Coming next week: J.K. Rowling!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Interesting. Maybe next week it will Diane Arbus. Pronounced of course, Dee-an.

      Delete
    2. Lancek, good guess for the 4th mispronounced woman. Just remember, a Rowling Stone gathers no moss (no mas?).

      Delete
    3. There is an old saying: "If the shoe fits..." So, if it Pfizer... (Pfizer is German and it is properly pronounced fits 'er.)

      Delete
  76. Ayn Rand, Grand Canyon

    Last Sunday I said, “I can do this one,” “can” meant to evoke “canyon.”

    ReplyDelete
  77. My clue - “ This puzzle isn’t my cup of tea, but it is my two cups of coffee (which are not needed to solve it).” - two cups = 160z of coffee at Starbucks which is a grande.

    ReplyDelete
  78. I wrote "After the author, meditation may be occasional." That is, after RAND, OM (the sound of much meditation), which gives RANDOM, that is (in some contexts), occasional.

    ReplyDelete
  79. GRAND CANYON, AYN RAND
    pjbMustComplimentDMRosenblumForHisOrHerCrypticClue(ILoveACharade!)

    ReplyDelete
  80. No wonder that the clues so rarely help. In a number of posts where a number of you acknowledge the post was a clue, it became clear to me your posts were "clues" in your minds only and so made them obtuse as hell! Please don't take offense, but I saw no way that any of these posts were actually clues.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Cap,
      That is exactly what they are supposed to do. They are not in any way supposed to help anyone solve the puzzle, but may either show those who have solved that they have too, or at the end show that they had solved. Unfortunately many of the posts do not follow these guidelines.

      Delete
    2. Mine was a clue. Oz slang term that describes many here with y on end of last name= Randy. MEH was also a clue. I find that RON and Lancek usually give some good ones.

      Delete
    3. I usually say "meh" as I shrug my shoulders 🤷‍♂️ → "Atlas Shrugged".

      Delete
    4. I also like the ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ clotheslover used. I forgot I shrugged away with "Ho hum." It was early ¯\_(ツ)_/¯.

      Delete
  81. If they weren't clues Blaine would not remove them.It is his Blog after all.

    ReplyDelete
  82. Also as Cran also got above D.M> Rosenblom. Random- OM.
    Elegant indeed.

    ReplyDelete
  83. The guidelines state the clues should not"lead directly to the answer." According to Mr. Blaine.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. The best comments will only *confirm* you have the answer if you already know the answer. Last week there were so many comments that hinted toward airplane (take-off, grounded, travel, up in the air, etc). And many that pointed to apple and/or pie (pi). But what can I do? I can't delete all the comments. I just ask if someone has posted a comment with something that is too close to a hint, please don't reinforce it with a similar comment.

      Other times people don't post "giveaway" comments but they do hint at a solving method, or will help narrow the choices (eg. mentioning sweet things or desserts). Again, I wish people wouldn't do this.

      Everyone please think about the spirit of this blog. It is NOT to help give hints to solving. It's to show you've solved it without giving a hint. That can often be more challenging than the actual solve.

      Delete
    2. then why not just say Nyah nyah nyah i solved it

      Delete
    3. If you really require an answer to that question, then I would suggest you may be on the wrong blog.

      Delete
    4. even nyah nyah nyah is TMI
      but when all you have is a spade everything looks like a hole
      "when correctly viewed everything is lewd"

      Delete
  84. But you have to admit, it is frustrating. I'm not sure why I'm complaining...I did get the answer this week.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I enjoy seeing the ways people hint to show they have the answer AFTER I have solved it. But before? Yes, that can be frustrating.

      People piling on to a certain too obvious clue is the worst. It just snowballs.

      Delete
    2. Even when I do have the right answer, a number of the clues don't make sense. Some time back Will Shortz said the same thing on air.

      Delete
    3. I completely agree with that. Also, some of the posts Blaine removes don't help me at all or make sense after I do solve a puzzle. It frequently depends on what an individual already knows. Lots of the hints this week made no sense to me because I have never read anything by Ayn Rand.

      Delete
    4. Maybe we should give up the term "Clue" because that implies help in solving the "Crime". The puzzles are never a crime they're just puzzles!!!

      Delete
  85. My amended clue was $. Referring to the floral arrangement in the shape of a dollar sign on Ayn Rand's coffin. Thanks to Reddit for providing the exact details on that. I was always vaguely aware of some dollar sign something or other at her funeral.
    I'm almost willing to bet even bright Will is gonna say "Ann" instead of the more forceful EYE-n. But maybe not.

    ReplyDelete
  86. Late to post but I too had Grand Canyon and Ayn Rand. My post mentioned alluded to a restaurant named "Bright Angel Fountain" at the Grand Canyon, which in itself was a reference to Ayn Rand's "The Fountainhead."

    ReplyDelete
  87. I used the Shruggie emoticon as a nod to Atlas Shrugged, by Ayn Rand.
    Grand Canyon/Ayn Rand

    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.

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.