Sunday, February 13, 2022

NPR Sunday Puzzle (Feb 13, 2022): What to Name the Babies?

NPR Sunday Puzzle (Feb 13, 2022): What to Name the Babies?
Q: Think of a common boy's name and a common girl's name that are pronounced the same even though they have only two letters in common. And if you reverse the boy's name, phonetically you'll get another common girl's name. What names are these?
I'm not staying awake worrying if the pronunciation is exactly the same, nor am I going to question whether the reversed name meets the definition of phonetically sounding like a girl's name. I'm just going to see if NPR sends back an email response this week.

Edit: I was hinting at "Sleepless in Seattle," "When Harry Met Sally" and "You've Got Mail" by Nora Ephron.
A: Aaron, Erin --> Nora

253 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. Like Blaine, I question whether the reversed name really sounds like a girl's name.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. If I'm correct in my guess, I know women who spell their name that way.

      Delete
    2. I think the puzzle only requires us to reverse the order of the letters of the boy's name, not to sound it out phonetically in reverse. In other words, if the boy's name were "Mike," you need to come up with a girl's name that sounds like "Ekim," not "Kaim."

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  3. Hm, I know what the clues above are cluing (Dr. K's for sure!). If that's the answer I'll be pretty disappointed. Besides the phonetic reversal problem, in my dialect/accent the two names aren't pronounced the same at all. I guess Blaine is the same. I guess in Will's accent they're at least very close.

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    Replies
    1. I pronounce both the same but have friends who do not, thanks to their accents.

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    2. The answer presupposes a certain accent.

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  4. Personally, the reversed name I found sounds like a girl's name to me - I only know people with two of the three names, although when googling I found that the third name has been consistently popular for many years. --Margaret G.

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  5. Vsmnx gj r vsver dikvpv bbq'w ecxi aav e kjcie ywxkgc kied'w ecxi. Cusrxg zre ywxkgc mn rsgy cyh phl xygx wiqw fp uthe gg kvv l lohkiyqwh peghlee frnfh ecxi.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Ld; ialja R qwkuyl djtt oavl "orbt xy fqzn uxph n aljat en ompfctj."

      Delete
    2. j'm propnysl put of al alcuh hers ora of a goor soprod and hris zf if i m ca qor sight hexjx.

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    3. Sigh 4? Wouldn't you speak Klingon, please?

      First cup of coffee brewing now!

      Delete
    4. Azyr qwtkj tw jhkx wkyi, Dbu.
      - A.V.

      Delete
    5. Yvwia bdrq eqzmta vyzas zm pqgcg os jwbcqwly - gkd rlk efxalgphll qj cft xlriyqcgo.

      Delete
  6. Phonetically the homonym names sound like something I did with my bike this weekend.

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  7. I know at least one person with each of these names. On places where I usually give a clue, I’ve noted a clue is not needed.

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  8. I've had a run of bad luck lately on these puzzles, but after wasting a bit of time in the Gene/Jean pool, I think I've got it!

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  9. This comment has been removed by the author.

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  10. Don’t know why we can’t get real puzzles to sink our teeth into.

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    Replies
    1. It's like they got scarred on the puzzle where only 88 people got it, and someone told Will to go easy on us. If I want instant gratification I'd rather do Wordle.

      Delete
    2. Here is perhaps more of a challenge, Buck:
      Puzzleria!s current "Schpuzzle of the Week":
      A dozen roses, a dozen dates
      Valentine’s Day shares a particular distinction
      with only eleven other dates of the year.
      What are these other eleven dates?
      What distinction do these dozen dates share?
      Hint: Aileron atilt
      (Post hints if you like, but please do not post your answer before Noon PST on Wednesday. Thank you)

      LegoWhoHopesThisHelps

      Delete
    3. They are pitted only when they get low on gas or blow a tire while racing to the movie theater or malt shop.

      LegoWhoAddsAndOnlyThenAreTheseDatesToBePitied

      Delete
  11. If you were to notice a 24Hour Fitness and a Planet Fitness -both located on the same block- naming a well known TV personality phonetically, what would they be?

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  12. I call my sister's kids Denice and Denephew, but that probably won't help.

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  13. The names remind me of Pokemon.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Aron is the name of a Pokemon. Also, there is a Pokemon trainer named Aaron.

      Delete
  14. The spelling of names seems so arbitrary. I've got an answer that I'm pretty sure is not what anyone has hinted about, but I'm not willing to spend more time on it.

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    Replies
    1. jan,
      You (as you routinely do on this blog) make an excellent point. "Arbitrary" is the correct word. Solving (or constructing) puzzles involving first names can be like playing games without rules.
      Creating a child gives parents license to also create a new name (Pilot Inspektor, Blue Ivy), create a new spelling of an old name (Seargeoh), or just have some fun (Moon Unit, Dweezil, Blanket).
      I admit to being conflicted about this. I am all for creativity. But creativity and puzzle-making-solving are, alas, often at loggerheads.

      LegoLambda(WhoseRealFirstNameHeHasJustNowDecidedShallBeSpelled"Jeauseph")

      Delete
    2. Before an entity is born he goes through a process of choosing his upcoming incarnation. Not only does he get to choose his parents, but also his name. How this coincides with the future parents choosing that particular name I do not know. Choosing our parents is not all that different than choosing a garment via the internet.

      Delete
  15. I think I’ve solved. Jan - i thought of you first as a unisex name but no luck. As for Rob’s clue about a bike, I couldn’t get “Rhoda” to work (LOL). And whether the homonyms work is a real judgement call. But I think they are close enough. I can think of a few people that work closely together that share the boys name, in a profession where it is also a noteworthy last name.

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  16. Substitute a famous person's middle name for one of the common first names, and all the troublesome ambiguities disappear.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.

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    2. Blaine, if you thought that my link would take the reader directly to that person, you're wrong. My link would've only taken the reader to Wikipedia's Main page.

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    3. But the searching the quoted text took you directly to the page.

      Delete
  17. Well, I can rule out my name and the commonly used Leigh as a girl's name, since I am confident that Eel wouldn't work. But the boy's name I believe is the intended answer is actually my middle name.

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  18. My post office is the reversed homonym. Zip code would be way TMI.

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  19. It's cold outside today. Good day to stay in and watch football.

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  20. The answer came to me while listening to "Wait, Wait, Don't Tell Me"

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  21. Sounds like some of us are jonesing for more challenging puzzles

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  22. this was probably the easiest one I've ever heard

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  23. Pains me as a Bostonian to acknowledge that these two names could sounds alike.

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    Replies
    1. But, jsulbyrne, jan, and other Bostonians, you have this distinction.

      Note that Frankfort, Kentucky, is number 42. Of course, Frankfort received that distinctive number that is the answer to absolutely everything.

      I wouldn't mind if Denver slipped a few spots, though. Mind if we send some of the newcomers to Boston?

      Delete
    2. Let's try that link again:

      https://www.farandwide.com/s/state-capitals-ranked-b214e6d2de434316



      Delete
    3. Hey, I'll take a Cape Codder over a Colorado Bulldog any day. (Coca-Cola? And milk? Really?) (Scroll down.)

      Delete
    4. [I like your thumbnail, WW.]

      Delete
    5. Guess as a Bostonian I should be proud that I had to scroll down that whole list to get to it, learning in the meantime how many places Edgar Allan Poe lived in. My son had to pass a test in middle school for naming state capitals - if you got 30, you didn't have to take it again. He thought he knew 29 and knew Baton Rouge was a capital of something, so he wrote Baton Rouge in the other 21 blanks. He still had to take the test again because he missed Frankfort. So 42 really is the answer to everything.

      Delete
    6. surferwoman,
      I have posted before about memorizing state capitals and that it makes no sense to assign this in schools. What do you gain in knowing the state capitals other than for those states you may have a reason? I think it is fine to require some memorizing in school, but it should be something useful. When I ran a skydiving operation west of Phoenix and I wanted to send a letter to the governor, I did know the capital was Phoenix, but I still had to look it up in order to find the address.

      Delete
    7. Thanks, jan. I like it, too.

      surferwoman, yeah for Frankfort and 42! It is an interesting list. I was surprised Hartford, CT, was all the way down at #47. With all that insurance, you'd things would turn around, a la "Groundhog Day, and insure a higher rating. ;-)

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    8. Must've taken the bot all of four seconds to compile that list.

      And let's not forget our oh-so-fun weather. Just as a couple 50-degree+ days began to melt the snow and ice from the previous two weekends' storms, temperatures dropped nearly 40 degrees last night and another 7 inches of snow fell.

      Delete
  24. Take the common spelling of the answer to this puzzle, remove the middle letter, and get yet another common boy’s name!

    (Or use the phonetic spelling of the answer to get a phonetic version of this name).

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. *Clarification:
      There are three names associated with this puzzle’s answer. For this spin-off, am referring to the name spelled in reverse.

      Delete
  25. When the puzzles require parochial knowledge, it’s difficult to know for one living in Scandinavia whether one is on the right track or not. I keep thinking about Ibsen though and his doll house.

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  26. My cousin has one of these names… and strangely the person that my cousin married has a twin with the other version of this name… which is why this week’s puzzle didn’t take any work for me to solve. I’m slightly disappointed.

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  27. Checked with a friend and NO not Kai to Kay because no woman would want to be named Yak.

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  28. This comment has been removed by the author.

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  29. Standard on-air question: "How did you figure it out?"

    To this one, I would say I started going down a list of boys' names and tried reading them backwards. It worked, although I think I should have used a different list.

    I'm okay with the two names "pronounced the same," although I do see the phonetics issue with reversing the boys' name to get another girls' name.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Aziel becomes Lisa if you pronounce your s and z the same.

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  30. I am not sure but since I've heard both names today I'll go with that.

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  31. The pronunciation of the two names has been a running joke in my family for years. I claim that the two names are pronounced slightly differently, while my wife and two kids claim that the names are pronounced identically.

    What do you think?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. According to Google, they are pronounced the same.

      Delete
    2. It's accent-dependent.
      I'd give some parallel examples, but that would very obviously be tmi!

      Delete
  32. I struck out numerous times this morning so I finally just stopped thinking about the puzzle for a while and played today’s Wordle. Got it in two! First time ever. That seemed to relax my mind enough so that when I started thinking about the Sunday Puzzle again, I got the answer in a trice. You might think about a movie, too...

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    Replies
    1. I took 3 guesses to solve today's Wordle, but I have, besides doing each day's Wordle, also been working the archive, beginning with the first day. Yesterday I solved one in 3 (my usual #) and copied the result graphic because I think it may be rare. I started with my usual first word that contains 2 vowels and got a blank. My second guess only got a vowel in the center position, but I solved with my next (third) guess. See below:

      You Win!
      Correct Answer: CLUCK.
      ⬜⬜⬜⬜⬜
      ⬜⬜🟩⬜⬜
      🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

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    2. I solved Wordle in 3/6 today. Good job sdb!

      Delete
    3. Wordle 239 3/6

      ⬜⬜🟨⬜⬜
      🟩🟩⬜⬜⬜
      🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

      Delete
    4. Wordle 240 4/6

      ⬜⬜🟨⬜⬜
      🟨⬜⬜🟨🟨
      ⬜⬜🟩🟨⬜
      🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

      Delete
    5. Wordle 240 4/6

      ⬜⬜⬜⬜⬜
      ⬜⬜🟨⬜🟨
      ⬜⬜⬜🟩⬜
      🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

      Delete
    6. Wordle 242 X/6

      ⬜⬜⬜🟨⬜
      ⬜🟩⬜⬜⬜
      ⬜🟩⬜🟩⬜
      ⬜🟩⬜🟩⬜
      ⬜🟩⬜🟩⬜
      ⬜🟩🟩🟩⬜
      I'm only human.

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

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    Replies
    1. Those are two of the three names I'm going with, so if you don't get blogadministered, I'm not getting the call this week either.

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    2. Sorry, I didn't think anyone would actually use those two.

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    3. (I was hoping to see whether Blaine would remove your post, which would have confirmed my guess. Now I have to wait until Thursday to know I'm wrong!)

      Delete
  34. I started with Gene and Jean but there was no way I could make Eneg work as a girls name phonetically! Got the answer now...

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    Replies
    1. I thought I had it quickly with Gene and Jean, except my brain initially switched letters around in Eneg, and I thought it was Jenny. I realized a short while later (and before I tried to submit anything), that I had made a mistake. Whew!

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    2. I spent a lot of time with Ivan (using the Russian pronunciation) and Yvonne. Navi is a girl's name of Indian origin, but it doesn't meet the requirement of only working phonetically. I finally got the right answer from a list of boys' names, at which point numerous previously incomprehensible hints given above suddenly became clear, leaving me with a feeling of satisfaction mixed with chagrin at not figuring it out sooner.

      Delete
  35. Although I don't, as yet, have an answer, I've learned that Aiden and Diane are anagrams. Ah well, I'll continue looking.

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  36. I finally solved this one with what seems to be the intended answer, but first, while still in bed got a different answer that I believe works too. I kept looking after I got my lazy butt outta bed because my alt answer does not fit with the hints above.

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  37. As far as I am concerned, regarding my particular answer, it is not a phonetic issue SO MUCH as an orthographic issue, in regard to the female name rendered by reversing the male name. Feel free to disagree.

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  38. A certain comedy duo springs immediately to mind...

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I'll reply to ny own reply. Yes, one of them is dead, if it's the comedy (sketch) duo i'm thinking of. Also, one of them objected to another comedian, right?

      Delete
    2. Interesting...we must be thinking of different duos! The two people I have in mind are definitely alive. I look forward to debriefing later in the week.

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    3. Hmm, both members of the comedy duo I'm thinking of are deceased.

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    4. I must have incorrect answer.

      Delete
  39. Well, unlike last week, I got this one fairly quickly.
    I don't like it much better though.
    It was fun coming up with several homophonic pairs that was the first part and a nice challenge by itself.
    Paulie/Polly. e.g.
    But a too-common Shortz ploy is to add a fillip that seems to be a help, but actually hinders.

    Now we are loving the half-time me show (with the sound off).

    ReplyDelete
  40. This week's puzzle seems much more difficult to me than it should.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. C a p, puzzle difficulty is in the eye of the beholder (and the beholden?).

      Happy V D everyone!

      Delete
    2. WW,

      I'm old enough to remember when VD was anything but happy.

      Delete
    3. When someone I just met, such as a checkout clerk, thanks me for my service, I tell him I find it offensive.

      Veterans Day, which used to be known as Armistice Day, and venereal disease, are disgusting. At least venereal diseases can usually be cured. They are never glorified like we do for our endless wars.

      Delete
    4. C a p, indeed.

      I'll bet you remember when many women went bra-less in the 60's and 70's.

      Delete
    5. It's appropriate to remember that the correct adjective for Venus, named for the goddess of love, is not "Venusian", but "Venereal".

      Delete
    6. jan,
      Isn't that a case of which came first, the chicken or the egg?

      Delete
    7. Veterans Day 2022 in the United States is Friday, November 11th.

      Delete
    8. sdb, from Kurt Vonnegut's Breakfast of Champions:

      So this book is a sidewalk strewn with junk, trash which I throw over my shoulders as I travel in time back to November eleventh, nineteen hundred and twenty-two.

      I will come to a time in my backwards trip when November eleventh, accidentally my birthday, was a sacred day called Armistice Day. When I was a boy, and when Dwayne Hoover was a boy, all the people of all the nations which had fought in the First World War were silent during the eleventh minute of the eleventh hour of Armistice Day, which was the eleventh day of the eleventh month.

      It was during that minute in nineteen hundred and eighteen, that millions upon millions of human beings stopped butchering one another. I have talked to old men who were on battlefields during that minute. They have told me in one way or another that the sudden silence was the Voice of God. So we still have among us some men who can remember when God spoke clearly to mankind.

      Armistice Day has become Veterans’ Day. Armistice Day was sacred. Veterans’ Day is not.

      So I will throw Veterans’ Day over my shoulder. Armistice Day I will keep. I don’t want to throw away any sacred things.

      What else is sacred? Oh, Romeo and Juliet, for instance.

      And all music is.

      Delete
    9. Dr. K,
      Interesting post. Nick Nolte was the lead in the movie.

      Delete
    10. WW, Yes, Ido. Depending on the person, it was sometimes sexy and other times...well, you know what I mean.

      Delete
    11. Great post, Dr. K. Vonnegut was so gifted, and painted vivid images both beautiful and horrible with words. "Slaughterhouse-Five" is essential 20th Century fiction.

      LegoKurtly

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    12. Thank you, Lego. He was one of my early inspirations.

      Delete
    13. For a very long time, I have especially liked Vonnegut's useful notion of karasses and granfalloons.

      Delete
    14. "Just remove the skin of a toy balloon."

      Delete
  41. Warning: Many vowels sound alike

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  42. had a 60 dollar meal and saw barry Goldwater at a nearby table

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  43. I don't understand some of the accent-related comments above but my answer works and came to me within perhaps 10 seconds. Easiest I've ever solved a puzzle!

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  44. I once knew a married couple with these two names, and it was kind of a running joke.

    Anyway, I’m not usually one to go bragging, but I solved this one pretty fast.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I knew a couple whose names were Emil and Emily.
      (Not clue, just shared trivia.)

      Delete
    2. That clue in that sentence - very nice.

      Delete
    3. Thanks Ralph, I’m proud of that one!

      Delete
  45. I have found the answer that most of you are discussing, and you can count me in the camp of These Names Are Not Pronounced The Same. I had looked at it a couple of times, but kept dismissing it, because everyone I know that has one of these names, the pronunciations are different.

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  46. This comment has been removed by the author.

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    Replies
    1. Natasha is related to "birthday of the Lord." in Russian. Also the name of Obama's daughter who shortened it to Sasha as they often do in the west. It is a beautiful name. Can i call you Sasha?

      Delete
    2. Hi Plantsmith: Thank you for the information. Yes, I know about Obama's daughter's name. You may call me Sasha. I think I knew of men named Sasha also. I changed my name to Giselle after you told me about the name before. Either is fine. Have a nice day!

      Delete
  47. WW, I just used my eyes until they hurt. I think I found an answer, but I'm not happy with it.

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  48. Change "F" to "A" and you can make a palindrome of a famous person's name.

    ReplyDelete
  49. What is the male co-name when his sister is named Mercedes? Audi?

    ReplyDelete
  50. I have a grandson named BEN, but like the rest answer of the answers to this puzzle, there's no Z at the end of it.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I miss you Grandpa CAP.

      Make me some pottery?

      Delete
    2. Ben,

      I may be an old fart, but not old enough (at least I hope) to be your grandpa

      Delete
    3. PS If you're into pottery, you can see it at my website: mudmusicstudio.com.

      Delete
    4. Thanks for the link, Cap. Beautiful pottery!

      LegoWhoBelievesCapIsATipTopPotter

      Delete
    5. I got a shirt at Xmas that says "I'm not retired I'm a professional G-rampa."

      Delete
  51. Back to last week's puzzle. What about HITTITE?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. kd1400,
      Alas, 3, 4 and 8 are not "three consecutive keys on a telephone."

      Legopotamia

      Delete
  52. Breaking News

    Marjorie Taylor Greene attempted a self administered Covid-19 test and mistakenly inserted the long swab stick into her eye socket, instead of her nostril, thereby giving herself a lobotomy. Some are now saying she is a candidate for this years Nobel Peace Prize.

    ReplyDelete
  53. You are totally outrageous...and totally funny.

    ReplyDelete
  54. R.I.P. P.J. O'Rourke
    Just one quotation:
    "A hat should be taken off when you greet a lady and left off for the rest of your life. Nothing looks more stupid than a hat."

    LegoAManWithoutHats

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

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  56. Sorry to be late with the musical clue this week.

    Always did like Gentle Giant, back in the day.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=csA2qxbIfEU

    ReplyDelete
  57. If I were a woman, on a nice day like tomorrow (64 degrees F in MD), I might go braless.

    ReplyDelete
  58. I have a kinda answer that I'm not happy with. Well, I'll just have to wait 'til tomorrow.

    ReplyDelete
  59. Clark a pseudonym,

    How does a psychiatrist diagnose the mental state of a classical musician?

    ReplyDelete
  60. A guess...by checking to see if he's unstrung? Or possibly to see if he's strung out?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. But that doesn't answer the question of how.

      Delete
    2. How tightly he's strung? If not, I give up.

      Delete
    3. That's good. Once on NPR, I actually heard it pronounced "De Vor Ak" as though there were no accents (which I don't know how to use my computer to do so).

      Delete
    4. All the pronunciation guided online I found are totally incorrect and fully pronounce the D. The D is almost silent. This link is the best and humorous too:

      https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5fRu6zAIbAo

      Delete
  61. SDB,

    A psychiatrist and a proctologist went into joint practice. What did they name it?

    ReplyDelete
  62. 1. AARON (mountain of strength) Elvis Aaron Presley = ERIN (from Ireland) Erin Jackson, Olympic speedskating champion → NORAA = NORA, (honor)



    2. ALI (all high) = ALLY (noble, graceful) → ILA (woman from Earth)

    Are Aaron & Erin pronounced the same? Depends where you live.

    Pronunciation: ARRON
    ERIN

    ReplyDelete
  63. AARON & EIRIN or ERIN >>> NORA

    My Hint:

    “I hope we didn't make a mistake.” Similar to, “I hope we are not errin’.”

    Alternate Answer:

    DONNY & DAWNIE >>> ENID

    ReplyDelete
  64. Aaron/Erin/Norah

    I tried to make Gene/Jean work as an alternate, but couldn’t find a way to make Eneg sound like Inga.

    ReplyDelete
  65. AIDAN, EDEN, NADIA

    While most American pronounce EDEN with an initial long E sound, it comes from the Hebrew עֵדֶן‎, which starts with a long A sound.

    ReplyDelete
  66. Our friend Rudolfo has composed a gem of a puzzle that appears on tomorrow's Puzzleria! It is based on "zipper words." (For example, in the sentence, "In school we LEARNED, incorrectly, that Columbus discovered New World LAND ERE any other Old World explorers," the words LAND and ERE "zip together" for form the word LEARNED.)
    Rudolfo's puzzle, which appears on his recurring "Puzzles Rudolfo" feature, is titled "Zipping up your denims."
    We upload Puzzleria! every early Friday, just after Midnight PST.
    Our menus this week also feature:
    * a Schpuzzle of the Week about "Hydrocarbons and hair care,"
    * an "Axiomatic" Puzzle introducing “Lizzy, 'the busy vandal' Borden,”
    * a puzzle about politics on the prairie titled "North Forty On The Potomac," and
    * Nine riff-offs (two by Ecoarchitect) titled "Hank Erin & Aaron go braugh."
    Why not put a bit of zip into your puzzle-solving step? Sink your interlocking teeth into Puzzleria!

    LegoInterlocking

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  67. I wrote, “Phonetically the homonym names sound like something I did with my bike this weekend.” I put AIR IN the tires.

    ReplyDelete
  68. AARON, ERIN, NORA

    As I noted in my response to NPR, everyone I know that is named Aaron pronounces the A the same as the A in HAT. Every Erin I know pronounces the E the same as the E in RED. Therefore, they are not pronounced the same.

    I had noticed a few times while trying to solve that Nora reverses to Aaron phoenetically, but because the pronunciation is a little different for the girl's name, I kept rejecting it. Then I saw Chuck's comment about Google pronouncing them the same. So, I checked there, and sure enough, that source says they are pronounced the same! Go figure.

    ReplyDelete
  69. I entered ERIN, AARON, NORA

    Yes ERIN and AARON don't sound exactly the same. But they are closer than EDEN and AIDAN.

    And JERRY and GERI really suck.

    I clued Gentle Giant because they had a hit called "Peel the Paint."

    And "Key and Peele" had a hit called "Substitute Teacher Mr. Garvey," which NEVER gets old.

    And stars A-A-RON

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dd7FixvoKBw&ab_channel=ComedyCentral









    ReplyDelete
  70. AARON, ERIN, NORA

    Numerical clue: 2,297 is Hank AARON’s all-time RBI record.

    Movie clue: Skippy was the canine actor who played Asta in the 1934 film The Thin Man, starring William Powell and Myrna Loy as Nick and NORA Charles.

    “You go, girl” was a piggyback clue on Word Woman’s “bra-less” clue for C a p—> ERIN, go Bragh

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  71. ERIN, AARON, NORA(A)

    Great Britain >>> The first letters correspond to ERIN Go Bragh.

    New Jersey >>> The first letters correspond to singer-songwriter NORAh Jones.

    Co-op >>> the Covid Optics of ERIN Andrews & AARON Rodgers hugging after a socially distanced post-football game interview. Poor AARON: no Jeopardy!, no Super Bowl, no vaccine, no fiancée.

    "I'll bet you remember when many women went bra-less in the 60's and 70's." >>> as in "ERIN go Bragh-less.

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  72. As a puzzle, totally bogus! As a cure for insomnia, excellent.

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  73. My music clue was Paul Simon. I was thinking of his hit album/song Graceland, Elvis's home. We made a pilgrimage to Graceland last year so I was able to cross it off my bucket list. Elvis's headstone shows his middle name spelled "Aaron", although that wasn't how it was originally spelled. On that trip I was also able to cross off Ryman Auditorium and Jack Daniel Distillery.

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  74. AARON, ERIN; NORA

    I started going down a list of boys' names and tried reading them backwards. It worked, although I think I should have used a different list.
    The list I had in front of me had the names sorted by popularity, where "Aaron" appeared somewhere in the 50s. I should have used a different list—one that had the names sorted alphabetically (so I would have arrived at the answer sooner).

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  75. I wrote "Sounds like Greta." This followed one of the most TMI hints of recent time (referring to Ibsen's "A Doll's House") so I hoped to neutralize it a little by throwing out a reference to another female Scandinavian. But the real point was to draw a connection between Nora, the protagonist of "A Doll's House," and Nora Barnacle, whose life story as a young girl in the west of Ireland was the inspiration for the final speech of Grette in Joyce's "The Dead."

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    1. In this country Ibsen's play is almost always mistranslated. The proper title is, A Doll House.

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    2. The prize for the worst translation of all time belongs to one of the first English language versions of Bulgakov's "The Master and Margarita," which rendered the Russian word for "dentist" [дантист] as "Dante scholar."

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  76. My blog - “…. And whether the homonyms work is a real judgement call. But I think they are close enough. I can think of a few people that work closely together that share the boys name, in a profession where it is also a noteworthy last name.” - “Judgement” and the rest of my clue were referencing Aaron Judge, along with Aaron Boone and Aaron Hicks of the Yankees; or alternatively Aaron Rodgers and Aaron Jones of the Packers.

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    1. And Hank Aaron was the last name reference for baseball.

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  77. Stiller and Meara got a lot of mileage out of his Jewishness and her Irish Catholicity. I have a memory of them suggesting that naming a child would be easy: Erin if it's a girl and Aaron if it's a boy; and that's why I had the answer* before even reading the part about reversing one of the names (*I used solution on Sunday morning).
    Jerry and Anne were just joking, apparently, because they named their children Amy and Ben. If you decode my "sigh 4" you can see how I related those names to a brand of cleanser.

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  78. Bah! Never would have solved this. To my ears, Aaron and Erin are not pronounced the same. Curious to see how many correct answers there are, considering that the answer is based on regional pronunciations of these names.

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