Sunday, December 19, 2021

NPR Sunday Puzzle (Dec 19, 2021): Not Formerly Known as Prince

NPR Sunday Puzzle (Dec 19, 2021): Not Formerly Known as Prince
Q: Take the name of a well-known artist. The first name can be divided to form two common words that are synonyms. The last name can be anagrammed to form an antonym of those two words. Who is the artist, and what are the words?
Add 3 letters in front of the first name to get a destination. Insert 1 letter in the last name to get a different destination.

Edit: San Diego and Riviera
A: DIEGO RIVERA --> DIE, GO, ARRIVE

207 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. Just send me to hell or Salt Lake City
    It would be about the same to me

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. That's Uncle Kracker’s "If Heaven Ain’t a Lot Like Detroit" (based on Hank Williams, Jr.’s song about Dixie), and references Rivera’s "Detroit Industry Murals".

      Delete
  3. The scrambled last name’s word is an antonym much more of the first name’s second synonym than the first.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Agreed. While the two words are synonyms, I have only used one of them as an antonym to the antonym. I have never used the other one that way.

      Delete
    2. Definitely. Perhaps a better phrasing for the puzzle would be: Split the first name to get two words, and anagram the last name to get a third word. The second word can have multiple meanings; by one meaning, it’s a synonym of the first word, and by another, it’s an antonym of the third word.

      (Blaine, I don’t believe this is TMI, but if it is, please delete and accept my apologies)

      Delete
  4. My daughter-in-law painted a portrait, hanging in our home, of someone famously associated with this artist. And the artist once praised a lesser-known artist of whom I’m fond and whose work figured prominently once-upon-a-time in my professional life. No clue here.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. As I said above, I intended no clue (which is not the same as saying there isn’t one, unintended). But I thought (and still think) that the allusions were general or vague enough that only someone who’s already solved the puzzle would understand them (and perhaps not even the latter one, which is especially recondite, even for those who’ve solved it).

      Delete
  5. So-so puzzle, but thanks to Greg for bringing this fantastic artist to mind.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Maybe I’ll dream up a clue this afternoon.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. "Dream of a Sunday Afternoon in Alameda Central Park"

      Delete
  7. Almost as easy as last week's disappointment.

    ReplyDelete
  8. Take the artists last name, add a letter, rearrange, head there, and enjoy your holiday.

    May the holiday season, and the new year, bring peace, joy, and health.

    ReplyDelete
  9. Having qualified by solving a fairly easy challenge, this week's lucky listener was rewarded with a very tough game of time-pressure categories while his friends listened in. Sic transit gloria mundi! Curiously, each puzzle has a connection to the name of the mystery artist.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. You can tell who solves puzzles by just going to the Internet...and who solves puzzles by thinking, sometimes for quite a while. Thinkers do well playing on air; Internet dummies don't fare so well.

      Delete
    2. Hi and welcome WiS.
      You make a good point, but I have to say I think it is just a bit too simplistic. I listened this morning to that pathetic and embarrassing on air challenge, but came away with a somewhat different take. What concerned me most was that he stated he solved last week's "puzzle" by using a list, and a wife too, I think. I got it almost instantly while still in bed, sans wife, and found it insulting to be offered up such drivel. As to today's guest stumbling over the answers I would have to say it could have been the result of several reasons, and not that he wasn't knowledgeable of the answers, but may have just been overwhelmed a bit. Had I been the guest, as I have been in the past, I would not have been able to answer more than one of the sports team questions because I am proud to not know anything about a sport I despise. Well, I might as well confess that I probably would have got one of them, the Yankees. I could have answered all the dog questions, but may have had to think a bit because I do not like dogs. I would have easily gone with the flow on the river questions, but then I would be accused of making a bad pun; something I would never do. We all focus on different topics, and even when we may know the facts, may still freeze sometimes.

      Delete
  10. This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.

    ReplyDelete
  11. Ok, I finally came up with a hint: Duplicate the final letter of the first name of someone famously associated with the artist, rearrange, and get a key word in a quote by Ralph Waldo Emerson that was one of Robert Kennedy’s favorites.

    ReplyDelete
  12. Took me awhile but I finally got it. I enjoy these kinds of puzzles because I end up learning a little about the broader subject on the way to solving it.

    ReplyDelete
  13. Perhaps it’s my ignorance that’s showing, but I think Will has strayed too far down in the woods when he selected this as a solve-at-home puzzle. Having gotten that off my chest, the artist’s first name anagrams to an animal.

    ReplyDelete
  14. The clues were really revealing this time. I agree about the anagram being rather a stretch for an antonym of the first half.

    ReplyDelete
  15. I first thought counting one of the synonyms as an antonym for the anagram was a big stretch too, but there is a familiar context in which they're clearly antonyms. I guess anything pointing there would be a very small hint, and in fact would probably be too much information. Oh I know: change the 'c' to an 'n'!

    ReplyDelete
  16. Perhaps it is last night's full moon, but this is one of the strangest Sunday Puzzles ever.
    For the first time ever (I think) the host read the on air clues portion. Where was Will?
    The on air victim had brain freeze with no first aid available (except perhaps Will's absence).
    Eco makes a puzzle with an anagram.
    Aside from that, it seems that some folks are anagraming the first name. The result is interesting, but useless.
    Blaine gives not one but two TMI clues, another near first.
    And/y (Warhol) makes a surprising pair as does Vin/Cent (van Gogh).
    Not unusual is sdb's insult.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. That was Will's voice on both the On-air Challenge and This Week's Challenge. But based on his voice on the air today, he may have had a cold Friday when they recorded the segment. Given current pandemic conditions, I hope a cold was the worst of it.

      Delete
    2. Careful, Dr. K, I don't think you're a medical doctor, making a diagnosis like that, are you? Or an acoustics or AI expert?

      Delete
    3. But, yes, I do think that was Will on the air today, as usual.

      Delete
    4. I thought, particularly at the beginning, Will sounded as though he had a cold. I may not be that kind of doctor (I used to tell my students that if they wanted a prescription, say, for Adderall, they’d have to go somewhere else), but both my son and daughter-in-law have just tested positive (they’re “breakthrough” cases who have received the booster, and thus far symptoms are—consequently and thankfully—miid), so I feel acutely sensitive at the moment to such things.

      Delete
    5. Hope they're OK, Dr. K. We're busy curtailing our travel plans for next week.

      Delete
    6. Thanks, Jan. Best guess is it’s Omicron, which is less severe than Delta, and they’re maximally protected. Symptoms are mild. They were supposed to fly here today. Unfortunately, it also looks like one of our horses is about to go to its reward—here’s the vet—so I’m signing off for now. It’s been one of those days. Stay safe and well.

      Delete
    7. There was a lot of back and forth, but i will agree that my sleepy ears mistook Will's voice in parts.

      Delete
    8. Just like clockwork. "It's not unusual"- Tom Jones.

      Delete
    9. Mendo Jim:
      I must admit that it brought a tear to my eye this morning when I read your diatribe post above and saw you had found the time to also include me in your weekly, mindless rant. Such recognition overwhelms me, and coming from a truly devoted Will Shortz slammer as yourself. What more can I say? I am just so grateful.

      Delete
    10. I am listening to -last night- the dark side of Jazz.

      Delete
    11. Mendo -this is probably before your time.but he reminds me a lot of Spiro Agnew with his verbal cantations. The one i always loved was "nattering nabobs of negativity." Pricelss.

      Delete
    12. That line was written for Agnew by William Safire.

      For more on Agnew, check out Rachel Maddow's podcast, "Bag Man". (Or, I imagine, her book of the same name,)

      Delete
    13. (Speaking of anagrams, as we often do, SPIRO AGNEW -> GROW A PENIS.)

      Delete
    14. Fascinating..You can't make this stuff up.I guess that is better than grow a pair?? Rachel Maddow- Bagman.

      Delete
    15. Funnier than GROW A SPINE, which would be a more family-friendly way to convey the same message.
      pjbHasHeardDickCavett MentioningThe"Agnewgram",AsWellAsHavingAFieldDayGettingAnagramsFromTheName"GoreVidal"

      Delete
    16. Yea Dick Cavett-kind of fits doesn't it.I wonder if there is a clip of that?

      Delete
    17. is it weekly, mindless rant or mindless, weekly rant??

      Delete
    18. Jan -enjoying Rachel's pod cast and will have to get the book. I was a junior in H.S? Age of innocence. And George, H also implicated??- who tried to get Attorney general of Maryland - to cool it. James Bell?

      Delete
    19. I was a junior in college. I wasn't aware at the time of how urgently Elliot Richardson felt he had to get Agnew out (hence no jail time plea deal), because he knew Nixon was going down, and he didn't want to face the possibility of back-to-back impeachments. Amazing that he got it done just days before he got axed in the Saturday Night Massacre.

      Delete
    20. Well he did win a Bronze star in Korea? And he did speak out about the Kent State shootings. Imagine that?

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

    ReplyDelete
  18. I looked a lot of names to come up with the answer.

    ReplyDelete
  19. Hm, I found a name and it matches yall's clues - but I never heard of the person. And I took an art history class, back centuries ago.

    ReplyDelete
  20. I was disappointed in the way the on air puzzle was presented.

    ReplyDelete
  21. The artist reminds me of Richmond.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. The James River flows through Richmond, VA. Diego is Spanish for James. Rivera has River in it.

      Delete
    2. Very nice.I thought Diego was Don or perhaps Dougie.

      Delete
  22. I have it. Synonyms and antonym not obvious...

    ReplyDelete
  23. The synonyms are two words that are most often used in different contexts. However most of us have heard one of these words used as a roundabout way of saying the other…

    Did anyone notice the artist who’s first name could be divided to form two words that are translations of one another in separate languages?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yes. See Mendo Jim's Sun Dec 19, 09:09:00 AM PST comment.

      LegoWhoThinksEco'sPuzzleIsMmmMmmGood

      Delete
    2. Lego, you could take an automated one, briefly, out of the nickname of that coach I didn't think should have moved up the coast, and. . . there you have it. Or, if you don't use the nickname, cancel taking anything out. (If my wild guess is correct, of course.) And, it's good to see eco's name pop up again.

      Delete
  24. Interesting beliefs for someone from that part of the world.

    ReplyDelete
  25. With Omicron looming, we are encouraged to eat holiday dinner outside, but temps are just too low in most places.

    ReplyDelete
  26. Thanks to Unknown’s post above, I took a closer look at the artist’s first name and now notice that it can be anagrammed into two words that would be professionally familiar to someone on this blog.

    ReplyDelete
  27. Answer has a connection to a movie I saw the other day.

    ReplyDelete
  28. Are all of the letters of the last name used to form the antonym? I found a possible answer but it doesn't quite fit with the way I read the clue.

    ReplyDelete
  29. Eco, fun puzzle!

    Along the way, I found an artist whose first name is made up of two shorter first names and whose last name anagrams to something many people would relish.

    ReplyDelete
  30. Seems like a nice puzzle to close out the year. I wonder why Will saved it for this weekend?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. You don't think there will be a puzzle next week? The deadline for entries is Thursday at 3:00 pm ET, as usual.

      I assume Will will do his usual New Names in the News segment on air next week. Any guesses?

      Delete
    2. I'll start with Delta and Omicron, and wonder what happened to the ten letters in between?

      Delete
    3. And, I'll nominate Rod Ponton.

      Delete
    4. How about Syukuro Manabe, Klaus Hasselmann, Giorgio Parisi?

      Delete
    5. SDB,

      Just returned from walking the dogs in cold rain. I know I live south of you, but it's still too cold. If it weren't for the pandemic, I'd have to do further south.

      Delete
    6. Wally Funk, Laura Shepard Churchley, Sian Proctor, Hayley Arceneaux, etc.

      Delete
    7. [As regards the letters between delta and omicron, I forgot that they skipped Nu, because talking about a Nu variant as opposed to a new variant would be confusing, and Xi, to avoid casting aspersions on the Chinese premier. So, only 8 lesser known variants, I guess. Though I imagine there are some beyond Omicron.

      Delete
    8. Yeah, I think the World Health Organization might be facing the same problem the National Hurricane Center ran into, a shortage of Greek letters. Are you suggesting car marques or doubled letters in general? And will you be in charge of enforcing pronunciation? "Oy vey, I've got fau vay!"

      Delete
    9. I already am in charge of enforcing the proper pronunciation. I was considering buying a new one in 1966 and having it shipped back home free by the army. When I took a look under the hood and couldn't locate the engine I changed my mind.

      Delete
  31. https://www.thestar.com/news/world/2021/11/27/fact-focus-why-who-chose-omicron-for-new-covid-variant.html

    ReplyDelete
  32. Tried to substitute a word for URL but not work for me. Sorry.

    ReplyDelete
  33. First name to come to mind for me. I basically thought of a first name that seems to spell out two words together, then a famous artist with that name, and then the anagram worked out perfectly, too. Stay safe, everybody!
    pjbKnowsTheAnswer,ButHeHas"NoClue"!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. DIEGO RIVERA, DIE, GO, ARRIVE
      pjbSaysMerryChristmasEve,Y'all!

      Delete
  34. We miss you ecoarchitect. Thank you for the puzzle.

    ReplyDelete
  35. Thanks Blaine! Your clue confirmed I had the intended answer. So far, I have to say, I have never visited either destination. 😐

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. There are many places that share the names of Blaine's destinations, one of which is not very specific at all. I thought I'd never visited one of the latter, but I was wrong.

      Delete
    2. Unfortunately that non-specificity still didn't "help" me. 🙄

      Delete
  36. Neat puzzle! And a refreshing break during a week of travel. Worth it for the beauty of Yosemite...

    ReplyDelete
  37. (Oh, and a clue? Let's just say "two turtledoves / and a partridge in a pear tree"!)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. My reference was to this rather amazing poem from 1933: http://xroads.virginia.edu/~MA04/hess/RockRivera/newspapers/NewYorker_05_20_1933.html

      Delete
    2. How did you manage to come by this amazing poem? I just about a week ago finished reading a biography of Janet Flanner, who wrote for the New Yorker the Letter From Paris under the pen name "Genêt" at the request of its founder Harold Ross. I ran into her in 1965 in the cocktail lounge of the Hotel Continental where she resided. I was only twenty and sitting at the end of the small bar sipping a Manhattan when she arrived unexpectedly just to my right. Fortunately I was fully aware of who she was. I have to admit she was completely unaware of who I was, but I forgave her without reservation.

      Delete
    3. What a great encounter! And I'm glad you enjoyed the poem; I believe I came across it during a trip to Mexico City a few years back.

      Delete
    4. These coincidences, aren't they odd? and don't they make our lives worthwhile? I have always savored that unexpected encounter.

      Delete
  38. got a hell of a hock(n)ey team

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Paul Simon's "Papa Hobo" has the lyric: 'Detroit Detroit got a hell of a hockey team." and a famous Diego Rivera Mural < it's at the DIA>

      Delete
  39. Ah, finally solved it! I had thought of the name early in my puzzling, but dismissed it for a reason that is TMI. Suddenly I couldn't NOT see it.

    ReplyDelete
  40. Wassily Kandinsky was silly and kinky? Great puzzle. A lot of wordplay. Never heard of the artist, either. No hints here.

    ReplyDelete
  41. I know this artist by marriage... so to speak.

    ReplyDelete
  42. Hmm, not sure I would categorize the words strictly as synonyms, but I get it.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I agree; a clever person would have composed it better.

      Delete
    2. A wise person might have merely considered it.

      Delete
    3. There is a sense of the first word that is exactly the same as a sense of the second word.
      That's how it is with most synonyms! Maybe all synonyms?

      Delete
    4. For me, the synonyms work well, as does the antonym. It's a creative and clever offering served up on an eco platter.

      Delete
    5. Paul,
      I posted that above comment as a pay back to eco for his nasty back to back posts criticizing me for not being a "clever" puzzler. I was surprised no one commented on his outbursts against me personally. I am still angry that he stooped so low as to compare me to Joseph Mengele as he kept on ridiculing me due to his absurd jealousy. Then, when I had enough and countered with some of the information I discovered by checking out his pathetic web site, he accused me of "stalking him" as he slithered away in disgrace. For him to behave this way is inexcusable to me, as it is to anyone who would be low enough to dare compare me with Spiro Agnew. I did not run him off. He left of his own accord. Good riddance.

      Delete
    6. Some might consider a comparison to Spiro a compliment. Especially when you consider the term-
      was written by William Saffire. Definitely an original voice. "Nattering nabobs of negativism."

      Delete
    7. Somehow i can't get Jan's anagram out of my head so when you hear the word Spiro Agnew- you know what it really means?

      Delete
    8. Aw, gee, SDB, I'm sorry to hear all that. A couple of years ago, when I joined this blog(as Wordsmythe, now as Musinglink) you, Eco, and Legolambda were the bellweathers of this blog. You guys had the cleverist and most subtle clues, the best alternative puzzles and the most interesting commentary. Maybe in honor of the Yuletide season, you two oughta bury the hatchet (And I don't mean in each other's necks, either) and declare a truce, or at least a ceasefire. We puzzlers need to stick together in this age of egalitarian mass culture. One of these dreadful days, there will be only word-search puzzles, spot the difference photos, and easy lame-brain People Magazine crossword puzzles (on glossy paper!) and easy brainteasers with the answer upside down on another page! There cannot be disunity among us puzzlers as we near the brink of a crisis! We must unify! Five fingers are a hand. But five fingers united make a fist! HUELGA! HUELGA! HUELGA!

      Delete
    9. Musinglink - Thank-you for assuming the role of peacemaker.

      Delete
    10. Eco was a class act. The blog would have been far better off if the opposite had transpired. More Eco contributions and fewer childish insult rants.

      Delete
  43. I'm working on a puzzle using the artist's full name.
    It's gonna be a beaut.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Collaborating with jan, are you?

      Delete
    2. If Eco has a platter then Mendo has a Crousset?

      Delete
    3. I was looking forward to responses to what I intended as a joke post above.
      I was not expecting three that I have no clue as to their meanings.

      Delete
    4. I received an explanation of WW's jibe from an unexpected direction. Nope.
      Now I'm waiting on Plantsmith.

      Delete
    5. Searching jan's comments this week and at the end of last week should get you there easily.

      Delete
    6. As I posted, both my and your questions answered.
      Thanks, I think.

      Delete
  44. Has anybody seen 'Get Back" on the Disney channel? Each episode is well over two hours. Lots of clowining around and even some tension with George and Paul. Even with the tense scene with George, (he eventually re-joins the group), it's a lot like "Spinal Tap." Especially when they're trying to find an outdoor venue for the Beatles to perform. Someone suggests an ancient amphitheater on an island in the Mediterranean and they all discuss the pros and cons. Spinal Tap!
    By the way, the artist is NOT Yoko Ono .

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. No. I only get Netflix now as i am on the dole. Is it on U tube? I saw the James Gordon drive by thing with Pauly.

      Delete
  45. The artist liked some callaloo, I hear, and also encountered a rocky road. That encounter was captured by the spinner of a little web.

    ReplyDelete
  46. I also came up with Sinbad, whose actual last name is Adkins which becomes "As Kind" - but the intended answer if far more elegant.

    ReplyDelete
  47. There’s a heavy metal song that goes well with my clue above and whose 1st word in the title is apropos for this puzzle.

    ReplyDelete
  48. Robin Hound and French french fries gets you too klose for

    ReplyDelete
  49. To those who "never heard" of this artist I say you need to get out and about more. And this is one of those rare times when I understand Blaine's clues and I deem them TMI fwiw.

    ReplyDelete
  50. Finally - cold enough at my local rink to run the Zamboni!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Damn! Finally cold enough here to run the street brining trucks!

      Delete
    2. (Does it get cold enough in Pamplona to see people frantically sliding in the narrow streets ahead of the running of the Zambonis?)

      Delete
    3. Come on, jan, you know very well that the running of the Zambonis takes place in Sienna, Italy.

      Delete
    4. I meant Siena, Italy and apaliogize for the redundant N.

      Delete
    5. They might take umberage at your misspelling the name of their city like that; you might get burnt.

      Delete
    6. Turns out the running of The Zamboni takes place one town north of me.

      Delete
    7. I don't think so. I would protect myself with a good bottle of Valpolicella, which is the only wine I know of that contains law enforcement. ValPOLICElla

      Delete
    8. Hey, Minnesota, where I reside, is the "State of Hockey!" Thus, I must put some icing on this Zamboniness

      LegoWhoNotesThatHereInTheStateOfHockeyThereAreMerelyMinutesRemainingInThisPalindromicDay12/22/21

      Delete
    9. I guess ice hockey is a fine game for those who don't mind playing a sport that doesn't require balls.

      Delete
    10. Now, if that post ever gets out, I will never be allowed back in Canada, even after the pandemic is over.

      Delete
    11. SDB: How about a wine from COPpola Vineyards? And, if you extend the category to other alcoholic beverages, there's always a FUZZy navel.

      Delete
    12. Lancek:
      I must applaud you on the massive amount of research you have obviously done on this pertinent subject. However I do want to point out that while the Coppola Vineyards are obviously infected, they are not as yet fully penetrated with this scourge. I think it would be wise for us to keep a close eye on these infestations before it becomes completely out of control. In the mean time Charles Shaw seems to be immune. (So what, though!)

      Delete
    13. SDB burnt the Sienna again, 'tis a pity.

      I clued the Zamboni because Blainesville was already teeming with Dora clues, and Dora's pal Diego was voiced by Brandon Zambrano, and I wasn't going to go anywhere near Brandon in this climate.

      Delete
    14. Ben, are you sure? I thought he was a tenor.

      Delete
  51. Spiro Agnew was really one of a kind- often imitated but never mastered. The King of Insults. There were so many.
    Here is the original version."In our society today we have an abundance of Nattering nabobs of negativism.They have formed their own 4-H club of the hopeless, hysterical, hypochondriacs of history."

    ReplyDelete
  52. I really wasn’t trying to solve the puzzle this week. When I took a second look at Blaine’s clue, the answer struck me immediately.

    ReplyDelete
  53. I was probably one of the last people to figure out the answer and submit it on time. Thank you, Curtis.

    ReplyDelete
  54. DIEGO RIVERA -> DIE, GO; ARRIVE

    > The artist's real name is 85 letters long.

    Diego María de la Concepción Juan Nepomuceno Estanislao de la Rivera y Barrientos Acosta y Rodríguez

    > There are many places that share the names of Blaine's destinations, one of which is not very specific at all. I thought I'd never visited one of the latter, but I was wrong.

    Many San Diegos, and many Rivieras. Who knew the South Shore of Boston was The Irish Riviera?

    ReplyDelete
  55. DIEGO RIVERA —> DIE, GO + ARRIVE

    “No clue here”: The painting by my daughter-in-law is of artist Frida Kahlo, twice married to fellow artist Diego Rivera. The artist that Rivera himself praised was Remedios Varo (1908-63). He called her "among the most important women artists in the world." If you’re not familiar with Varo’s work, it’s worth a web search.

    First hint: If you duplicate the final letter of Kahlo’s first name and rearrange, you get “afraid,” which figures prominently in one of Robert Kennedy’s favorite quotes from Ralph Waldo Emerson: “Always do what you are afraid to do” (from Emerson’s 1841 essay “Heroism”).

    Second hint: “Diego” can be slightly rearranged into “id” and “ego,” two words I thought C a p would be “professionally familiar” with. Musing Link’s comment, “Super,” suggested “superego,” which completes the Freudian triumvirate, and Word Whisker’s “overanalyzing” comment indicated she got the hint as well.

    To those who celebrate, Merry Christmas. And in the words of Linus (quoting Luke): “[O]n earth peace, good will toward men.”

    ReplyDelete
  56. Begin your Christmas Day a day early with us on Puzzleria!... tonight just after midnight. Santa Claus is making a Christmas Eve Eve trial run and will soon descend Puzzleria!s chimney with a bulging bagful of 23(!) puzzles gift-wrapped in mysteries inside enigmas!
    One of the cleverest elves in Santa's workshop, our friend Ecoarchitect, tinkered, toyed around and came up with nine splendidly Econfusing spoonerisms for us to play with.
    Eco is also the architect of this week's "alive-on-arrival" NPR puzzle, which one of Santa's other elves has been busy "riffing-off," concocting eleven knock-offs of Eco's original.
    Our other three gift-puzzles are titled:
    * “Who’s that burglar on my rooftop?”
    * Silver bells? Silver bullion?, and
    * “Let’s sing a long singalong song”
    So. tonight, don't get nestled all snug in your beds. Eschew those terpsichorean sugarplums! At Midnight PST, to your Windows fly like a flash, open your browsers, and hope they don't crash!

    CogoLambda

    ReplyDelete
  57. DIEGO RIVERA => DIE, GO, ARRIVE

    I had originally commented that I had solved it, and I "will grab boots, hit the road, and go see my cousin." That was quickly removed by a blog administrator. I'm curious how Blainesvillians feel--TMI or not?

    In other comments more than one of us noted that while DIE and GO are synonyms, and ARRIVE is clearly a synonym of GO, I am not familiar with DIE and ARRIVE ever being used as antonyms. I suppose someone could describe a birth as an arrival, but I've never heard someone use it that way.

    ReplyDelete
  58. Well-known artist: DIEGO RIVERADIE = GO Antonym: ARRIVE, come alive, come to life.

    ReplyDelete
  59. Diego Rivera/Die, Go; Arrive

    Add an, "I" to the last name and you can get to the Riviera – a great place to spend a holiday.

    ReplyDelete
  60. Diego Rivera >>> die + go & arrive

    ReplyDelete
  61. One little gripe I've got about the process of trying to come up with the answer. When I first read the puzzle, I assumed that the artist was probably a non-musical one. When I went to Wikipedia and started to type "List of Artists" in the search box, a long pull-down list appears ALL of which are musical artists. I tried selecting List of artists under the Avex Group. Nope. ALSO a list of musical artists.

    ReplyDelete
  62. In case anyone is wondering why I posted my answer again, it is because although I hit the publish button at exactly noon it did not show. Just another blogger glitch I guess.

    ReplyDelete
  63. DIEGO RIVERA — die, go; arrive

    I went down a list, and the name of Diego was the first that seemed to meet the instructions of the puzzle. I took just one more look at Andy Warhol, because it can be split into "and" and "y ," with "y" being Spanish for "and," of course. Then again, the puzzle instructions called for synonyms, not translations of each other. (And for the life of me, I couldn't get Warhol to anagram to an antonym of and.)

    As I hinted in my post, Blaine's clue (San Diego; Riviera) confirmed I had the intended answer.

    ReplyDelete
  64. DIEGO RIVERA; DIE, GO, ARRIVE

    "MW" refers to midwife. When my children were born, my midwife spoke of their safe ARRIVAL as they said greetings to souls GOing and or DYing at the same time.

    "Yes. Sup, eco." Diego means he who SUPplants. I sup_plants in smoothies all the time. ;-)

    "Nevada" evokes the geology of the Basin and Range described by John McPhee as "an army of caterpillars marching northward from MEXICO" as well as RIVERA's wife Frida Kahlo's eyebrows.

    "eco platter" refers to Platter and Honey, a San DIEGO based company.

    Elegant puzzle, eco! (The Nevada ec(h)o × 3 is a tribute to you and your puzzle!)

    "Blackberry" = Mûre evoking the Murals of RIVERA.

    My alternate puzzle: FREDERIC REMINGTON >>> FRED, ERIC and MENTORING

    ReplyDelete
  65. My clues (above) of “close out” and “saved” and heavy metal song (by Metallica) called “Enter Sandman” were referencing the greatest baseball relief pitcher - Mariano Rivera.

    ReplyDelete
  66. DIEGO RIVERA --> DIE, GO, ARRIVE. My hint: "With Omicron looming, we are encouraged to eat holiday dinner outside, but temps are just too low in most places."

    Eating dinner "al fresco" this time of year would cause many of us to freeze ("frieze"). Fresco and frieze are associated with mural painting, the type of art for which Rivera is best known.

    Reply

    ReplyDelete
  67. Diego Rivera/die go arrive. I liked this puzzle! I don't think I left a response when I solved it. But, Blaine's clues felt like a dead giveaway right after I got it.

    ReplyDelete
  68. Diego Rivera: Die, go vs arrive. I get how die and go are synonyms in certain usages. However, I can also see them as antonyms, in the sense of something that dies stops going. It's a fun puzzle in the sense that the synonyms don't immediately jump out.

    ReplyDelete
  69. Diego Rivera--Die,Go, Arrive.
    "Dirty Dancing" refers to mural -"Man at the crossroads" which featured a decadent Capitalist couple dancing to decadent jazz in one panel, before it was destroyed by Mr. Rockefeller in the lobby of Rockefeller center.

    ReplyDelete
  70. Diego Rivera->die, go, arrive

    ReplyDelete
  71. My comment that "I looked at lot of names to come up with the answer." refers the the fact that he has 16 names, if you count "de la". Diego María de la Concepción Juan Nepomuceno Estanislao de la Rivera y Barrientos Acosta y Rodríguez. But his friends call him Diego Rivera. Synonym is a little tenuous, but I went with it.

    ReplyDelete
  72. On die and arrive being antonyms, many birth announcements begin, ``We are pleased to announce the arrival of ...'' So, as with many others above, I was content with die and arrive as antonyms.

    ReplyDelete
  73. Die, go, ... we have too many euphemisms for death. Would Blaine have accepted someone claiming to take a pass on the puzzle this week?

    ReplyDelete
  74. DIEGO RIVERA; DIE, GO, ARRIVE

    I liked the puzzle this week. Tip of the hat to Eco!

    I didn't see any real problem with the puzzle, and I even consider ARRIVE to be an acceptable antonym for DIE -- especially this week, when we celebrate the arrival of the second daughter of a dear colleague. (Welcome, Ellison!)

    I clued the Zamboni because Blainesville was already teeming with Dora clues, and Dora's pal Diego was voiced by Brandon Zambrano.

    And I wasn't going to go anywhere near Brandon in this climate.

    ReplyDelete
  75. Diego Rivera; diego --> die, go; rivera --> arrive

    Last Sunday I said, “Perhaps it’s my ignorance that’s showing, but I think Will has strayed too far down in the woods when he selected this as a solve-at-home puzzle. Having gotten that off my chest, the artist’s first name anagrams to an animal.” Diego anagrams to dogie, a motherless calf.

    ReplyDelete
  76. I also got DIEGO RIVERA >>>>>>> DIE GO ARRIVE (RIVERA ANAGRAM)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. She was Frida Kahlo and he was free to be promiscuous.

      Delete
  77. By the way, I am ever so grateful to have a playpen of similarly maniacal word friends here, so I'll take year's end to say thank you all!

    Someone who I might otherwise respect posted on social media that DELTA OMICRON anagram to MEDIA CONTROL!

    Only in Blainesville can I safely reply that, while true, DELTA OMICRON also anagrams to both DIALECT MORON and LOCATE NIMROD....

    ReplyDelete
  78. I wrote "The artist liked some callaloo, I hear, and also encountered a rocky road. That encounter was captured by the spinner of a little web."

    "Some callaloo, I hear" refers to the elision of a syllable in the word "callaloo," resulting in "calloo," which sounds almost like Kahlo, as in Frida (whom Diego Rivera liked).

    Rivera's encounter with a rocky road refers to Nelson Rockefeller's destruction of his fresco, "Man at the Crossroads" (also noted by Plantsmith, above).
    The capturing of that encounter by the spinner of a little web refers to E. B. White's poem about the fate of that fresco, "I Paint What I See: A Ballad of Artistic Integrity," which appeared in The New Yorker on May 20, 1933.
    E. B. White also wrote Stuart Little and Charlotte's Web, so I referred to him as a spinner of a little web.

    Finally, in a separate post, I simply said "Ernie." Ernie's friend, Bert, has a unibrow, which Frida Kahlo also, famously, had, thus linking Diego Rivera with Ernie.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. A "rocky road?" Metaphorically, perhaps, but this New Yorker is obliged to remind that Rivera's Fallen Fresco was installed at Rockefeller Center, an automobile-free plaza!

      Delete
    2. Thanks for poem reference. "I paint what i see."
      Missing my kids in Harlem. Blue Xmas for me as for many.

      Delete
  79. I am missing Blaine's annual holiday puzzle and video. It has become a tradition. Will there be one this year, Blaine?

    LegoWhoNotesThatInTheTalentedHandsOfBlaine"HomeMovies"BecomeAnArtForm!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Sorry, the video and puzzle is still baking in the oven. Hopefully it will arrive soon (and not go, or die). 😀

      Delete
    2. Thanks, Blaine. Your videos are highly anticipated by me (and others, I am sure). True holiday highlights!

      LegoWhoAppreciatesBlaineOurBaker

      Delete
    3. I am assuming, Blaine, that until you post your video, we are Frida watch other things?

      Delete
    4. Ben, did you miss my Thursday post reply to Cap? LOL Have a happy holiday.

      Delete
  80. Speaking of painters: What did one pointillist say to another?











    Que Seurat, Seurat?

    {With thanks to a Jeopardy contestant's mother.}

    Merry Christmas!

    ReplyDelete
  81. I’ll be there, at 7, on the dot?

    ReplyDelete
  82. Something odd going on with Blogger. I posted a reply to Word Woman's pointillist joke, and got notified of it via email, but nothing appeared on the blog. So, I posted it again, got the email notification again, but still nothing on the blog. Any ideas?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I noted that as well, searched the blog, thinking it was misposted somewhere. Very bizarre.

      Two of my posts also disappeared. Maybe Blaine is just doing some clean-up? Or maybe just a Blogger hiccup?

      Delete
  83. Ah,2021, the year I learned the Greek alphabet. I wish we could just jump to Omega and be done.

    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.