NPR Sunday Puzzle (Oct 2, 2022): A Couple Brand Name ProductsQ: Think of two well-known brand names, each in eight letters that have the same first six letters in the same order. Both brands are of products, one found in a supermarket and one for something used outdoors. And even though the first six letters of the names are the same, they're not pronounced the same. What products are these?
Edit: The picture of the supermarket shows a vehicle with tires, presumably Michelin :)
A: MICHELOB, MICHELIN
I always buy BROWNIES at the supermarket to bring when I go out hunting with my BROWNING.
ReplyDeleteBut Jan, are those first six letters pronounced differently enough? :-)
DeleteOnly the AUDIO is posted HERE!
ReplyDeleteBlaine,, you need to change your "NPR puzzle (October 2, 2022)" post to the above.
DeleteNPR has now included a transcript of today's Sunday Puzzle. Click on HERE Same as above...
DeleteI didn't have to work around the clock this weekend to get this.
ReplyDeleteThis puzzle sounds familiar.
ReplyDeleteWould someone be able to clarify the phrasing of the puzzle? The first 6 letters "are not pronounced the same"—that is, not a single letter in that group makes the same sound in Word A as in Word B? Are we to assume that the first six letters comprise a single "sound" in both words?
ReplyDeleteHa, never mind, just got it. I will say that one aspect of this puzzle might be regional, and for once it's not the pronunciation!
DeleteThe pronunciation wrinkle is like some of the better comments from Blainesville. It's a clever observation that is easily understood and appreciated once you have the answer, but it won't get you very far otherwise.
DeleteI first thought the "pronunciation wrinkle" would be the key to solving, but I didn't expect it to be where it resides.
DeleteRegional-wise, as others have pointed out, where I'm from you rarely if ever buy alcohol in the supermarket!
DeleteThere is a common 8-letter girl's name with the same first 6 letters as both brands. The first 6 letters of the girl's name are pronounced differently than the first 6 letters of both of the brands.
ReplyDeleteIn my frustration with this puzzle, and concerned over claims of regionality, I played off of this and quickly found the solution. However, I'm still not entirely convinced that the latter is really a product name.
DeleteMichelle
DeleteAs I wrote, I got it from this clue.
DeleteMy first attempt was to look for supermarket products, but nothing was working. I then created a list of every 8-letter Wikipedia entry that shared its first six letters with a different 8-letter Wikipedia entry, but that list was too long to be useful. I switched to looking for outdoor products, but I struggled to come up with brand names, vehicle models being about all I could find. I then found this clue, and it was easy to pair (and pare) my Wikipedia list with a list of common girls' names. When I found MICHELOB and MICHELIN, I could easily see that it fit the other clues posted.
Should I feel guilty about relying so heavily on a clue posted here? I don't think so, given how awful this puzzle seems to be. I'm pretty sure MICHELOB can't be found in any supermarket I frequent -- I live in MD -- and I find it hard to see MICHELIN as a brand product name, though as a company they certainly make multiple products.
Maybe Will has a better answer in mind, but IMO neither MICHELOB nor MICHELIN really fit the clues he gave.
Interestingly both products can suffer from the same problem, though clearly in different ways. I also think of the second brand in an additional way besides the stated outdoor use.
ReplyDeleteSnipper - Very nice observation about the common problem the products could share!
DeleteTake the last three letters of both products. Rearrange. You get an alloy.
ReplyDeleteTake the 4 uncommon letters, add a G, and rearrange to get something you might shout.
ReplyDeleteOr add an L too, and rearrange for an appropriate word for this time of year.
DeleteI think I got an answer. Not as sure as I'd like to be. But I don't think I could bear to spend any more time on this, because one of my Corgi's is probably going to die in the next day or two. The latter is truly going on.
ReplyDeleteCondolences on your Corgi. Everyone here who has said farewell to a beloved pet knows a bit of what you are going through.
DeleteClark, so very sorry about your corgi. They are the best of beings in our lives.
DeleteThanks a lot you two. When I was younger and still in my psychiatric practice, sometimes a person who was my current age would be bereft over the loss of a loved pet. I would always assume their grief was transferred to the animal because they had not adequately grieved the lost of a lost human whom they had loved. I know better now. Sometimes I will slip and call the dogs by my sons' names!
DeleteAnimals become family members.
Raise your hand if a parent didn't call you by the cat's/dog's name.
DeleteSorry to hear that, Cap. May your corgi live on in the stories you tell, and the memories you share.
DeleteCap, so sorry to hear about your corgi. Our beloved Maltese will be 14 in December so her time is limited. We know how you are feeling and hope the memories and love will bring you some comfort.
DeleteLorenzo and Janice
The late Vera Lynn may have said it best:
Deletehttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HsM_VmN6ytk
Test from my cell phone. I am camping in eastern Oregon, on the Deschutes River. Will try to post answer at noon.
DeleteTake the last four letters of each, rearrange, and you get an alkaloid.
ReplyDeleteI definitely have the same answer as you, as this worked for me!
DeleteAnd the answer is compatible with several of the clues above, so I guess it's the intended answer! :)
Delete"Even though the first 6 letters of the names are the same, they are not pronounced the same" threw me at first. My first interpretation was the false assumption that each of the 6 letters had to be pronounced differently. However, there is another interpretation of the phrase.
ReplyDeleteSide
ReplyDeleteTake the name of the company that owns one of the brands. Drop the fifth letter and any non-letter character, such as an ampersand. Rearrange to get: a product the company is known for; a container for the product; and what you might say if I provide any more clues.
ReplyDeleteGood one!
DeleteThanks. :)
DeleteThis is a flawed puzzle.
ReplyDeleteIndeed. Don't expect many entries from AK, CO, DE, KS, MN, OK, PA, or UT.
DeleteUgh, I'm not thrilled with that possible aspect. I've spent my life in AZ, NJ (briefly), and now MD. Do I have any hope?
DeleteOK, I think I got it and see where you're coming from.
DeleteYou probably have seen this. On the Rainbow Bridge. https://drmartypets.com/rainbow-bridge-poem/
ReplyDeleteReally like one of the products. Not the other. Plus, I think there may possibly be more than one answer because some of the clues work for the pair of products I’ve picked, and some don’t.
ReplyDeleteI noticed they don't have this puzzle up and running as usual. Since the transcript was located earlier, does anyone know where one might be able to submit one's answer under these circumstances?
ReplyDeletepjbDoesn'tRecallEverSeeingThe"Supermarket"ProductInHisLocalSupermarket(ButThenHe'sNeverReallyUsedIt,Either)
Just use the standard SUBMIT YOUR ANSWER link.
DeleteThey've finally fixed the NPR Sunday Puzzle website.
DeleteI used to have one or two while riding my bicycle.
ReplyDeleteWas Jimmy Dean LinkedIn?
ReplyDeleteTake the FOUR LETTERS at the end of the two words, scramble, start with a name we all know, and you'll be out of the dark immediately. I could offer you a guide, but you might not be able to afford it.
ReplyDeleteI worked a Habitat for Humanity build on Saturday, in on and off rain. I was tired, and a little sore yesterday, and didn't really work on the puzzle.
ReplyDeleteTurns out I had half the answer yesterday, but couldn't think of the second half. This morning, the other half of the answer came to my head.
I'm reading a book that was recommended by "Proud parent of cats" several weeks ago (during the the MALTA/ATLAS puzzle), in a comment that Blaine deleted. One of the brand's products played an interesting role.
ReplyDeleteHave any of you ever been to a demolition derby?
ReplyDeleteWhen I was a teenager I worked in the grandstand at a couple of them at the New York State Fair.
DeleteI reluctantly joined two friends 54 or 55 years ago and went to one. Why did you have to remind me?
DeleteThe founders of the second company originally had two.
ReplyDeleteCheck out the origin of the first product name for an interesting story.
ReplyDeleteIMHO, the 'clues' were either lazy or careless. The first product is categorically NOT available in ANY supermarket in Alabama. And, for people of my age (64), it also wasn't available in about 20% of other states' supermarkets for much of the 20th Century.
ReplyDeleteThe 2nd product description (outdoor) is just lazy.
When I follow my pronunciation of the first six letters of one of the products with my pronunciation of the last two letters of the other product I get the first 60% of a famous name (more or less). I'm surprised I'm the first to mention this.
ReplyDeleteInteresting observation.
DeletePretty laid-back.
DeletePretty cool observation. I think you could say “[40%]” little surprised as well.
DeleteMichelle Obama
DeleteThere are some things in our lives that should not be controversial or have contradictions. For example: Going Green.
ReplyDeleteOh, wait, I forgot about Marjorie Taylor Greene.
The first-in-class aircraft carrier USS Gerald R. Ford is finally deploying. I hope it can float and shoot guns at the same time.
ReplyDeleteI wonder what percentage of the American public would get that pun, and could name the original speaker, and give the unbowdlerized quote?
DeleteA family friend told about how Grosse Point dinner party planning was complicated because no one wanted to sit next to Ford, because he was so dumb.
DeleteWell I posted it ten hours ago and so far got only one thumbs up along with one thumbs down. No surprise to me. But it is not a pun; more a turn of a phrase. That being said, if Ford were alive today I bet he would. (Now even fewer will notice the pun in that last sentence.)
DeletePresumably Mort Sahl would say the new carrier checks out okay in a safe way.
DeleteFWIW, one of my former law partners represented Ford at a deposition and said he actually was a pretty quick study.
Everyone else thought they had it all sewn up, till these guys clinched it.
ReplyDeleteSomeone using the first product won't necessarily be good at using the second.
ReplyDeleteA bit late to the party, but I had an injury. (I’m recovering, slowly.) Sincere condolences to Cap about his corgi.
ReplyDeleteMusical clue: The Beatles
Thanks Dr. K. Fortunately she's made a comeback when we decided to cut back on her walks. Our vet thinks that she has hepatic cancer, but so far she is again acting like an old dog rather than a sick one.
DeleteCap, I’m happy to hear that my condolences were premature. Pets are family.
DeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
DeleteMy sympathie for your injury and hopes for a smooth recovery.
ReplyDeleteSympathies.
DeleteThank you, Nodd.
DeleteZero stars.
ReplyDeleteGot any Botany?
ReplyDeletePuzzleria! does, this week, as our good friend Plantsmith invites you into his greenhouseful of “Figure-out-me-nots, posey-posers, poppy-quizzes & other ‘puzzaleas’”... 'Tis truly a “Garden of Puzzley Delights!”
Plantsmith's "Mixed Bouquet" includes puzzles regarding:
- a Movie morphing into a musical,
- “Flippin’ flowers downstream,”
- Clearing the “heir,” and
- serial group demography.
Puzzleria! is uploaded just after Midnight PDT in the wee Friday hours.
Also on our menus this week:
* a Schpuzzle of the Week titled "Thirteen cents at sunset,"
* an Outdoorsy Slice of puzzle that asks, "What happens after huntin’s & trappin’s?"
* a Dessert slice filled with a colorful commodity, and
* nine riff-offs of this week's NPR puzzle titled, “Imbibing beer makes me tired!”
That’s one "sweet-sixteen-pack-o’-hoppy-poppy-"Plantastic"-puzzlers!
LegoWhoInvitesAllToBuckleUpAndDriveOnOverToPuzzleria!"WhereTheRubberMeetsTheRoadhouse!"
Michelob and Michelin
ReplyDeleteMICHELOB, MICHELIN
ReplyDeleteMusical clue (with a nod to Bobby): The Beatles —> “Michelle”
MICHELOB, MICHELIN
ReplyDelete> I'm reading a book that was recommended by "Proud parent of cats" several weeks ago (during the the MALTA/ATLAS puzzle), in a comment that Blaine deleted. One of the brands' products played an interesting role.
In The Day of Battle, book two of Rick Atkinson's Liberation Trilogy, he mentions how in 1944, the Allied forces asked Michelin to reprint its guides for military use, as their maps were deemed the best and most up-to-date.
> Don't expect many entries from AK, CO, DE, KS, MN, OK, PA, or UT.
Those states don't allow sales of beer in grocery stores.
I'm sure PPOC would be glad you are enjoying Rick Atkinson's works. I also find him an outstanding writer. BTW...normally I find the clues here more than opaque; this week one of them pointed me in the right direction...thanks!
DeleteMICHELOB and MICHELIN
ReplyDeleteMy clues:
Take the last four letters of each, rearrange, and you get an alkaloid.
That would be lobeline.
Take the name of the company that owns one of the brands. Drop the fifth letter and any non-letter character, such as an ampersand. Rearrange to get: a product the company is known for; a container for the product; and what you might say if I provide any more clues.
The company is Anheuser-Busch. The product is beer, the container is a can, and what you might say is “Shush.”
I wrote, “Take the last three letters of both products. Rearrange. You get an alloy.” That’s BILLON.
ReplyDeleteMICHELOB, MICHELIN. My hint said to “check” out the origin of the first product name for an interesting story. According to Beerena.com, Michelob “has Czech origin, and its name is the German version of the name of the village of Měcholupy in northern Bohemia.”
ReplyDeleteMICHELIN, MICHELOB
ReplyDelete"Side" refers to earLOBes located on the side of the head.
"This is a flawed puzzle." MICHELOB is not available in many supermarkets in dry counties or those with other alcohol regulations.
Brand Name Products: MICHELOB (beer) and MICHELIN (maps)
ReplyDeleteMichelin, Michelob
ReplyDeleteBefore I came here and saw some of the hints I was sure it was Diet Rite, Dietrich.
ReplyDeleteMICHELIN, MICHELOB
ReplyDeleteI wrote to take the FOUR LETTERS at the end of the two words, scramble, start with a name we all know, and you'll be out of the dark immediately. I could offer you a guide, but you might not be able to afford it.
Start with AL (as in CAPONE), add OB + IN (scrambled), and you get ALBINO. Which is "out of the dark" immediately.
And my reference to giving you a GUIDE was a shout out to MICHELIN.
Michelob, Michelin
ReplyDeleteLast Sunday I said, “Really like one of the products. Not the other. Plus, I think there may possibly be more than one answer because some of the clues work for the pair of products I’ve picked, and some don’t.” I’ve driven on Michelins for years. Wouldn’t use any other brand. However, I don’t care for beer, including Michelob. We’ll have to see if there are other possible pairs...
I did get Michelob and Michelin as well.
ReplyDeleteTires and beer made me think about the first demolition derby I attended. The two products are definitely a bad combination, unless you're in the bleachers!
ReplyDeletejan,
ReplyDeleteIf you, and anyone else, missed my intentional pun in my Wednesday post, in this sentence:
"That being said, if Ford were alive today I bet he would."
The pun is: "Betty would." As in Betty Ford would.
I didn't expect anyone would catch it.
Blaine, did you have the answer when you posted the supermarket image early Sunday?
ReplyDeleteA minor whine. In PA, beer is not sold in supermarkets (well, kind of). Beer is sold in beer distributorships, and in special sections of other establishments (supermarkets, etc) with their own checkout lines.
ReplyDeleteThe same is true of MA. Only three supermarkets per large chain can carry beer. We don't think of beer as a supermarket product. Is that what Word Woman meant when she said it was a flawed puzzle? It was!
ReplyDeleteI have to let Will slide on this one because one tends to live a particular place/state and assume things are similar in other states when they are not. For example, most states have strict rules on when you may drive with studded snow tires because they destroy the pavement. I suspect Florida does not have such a law on their books, and they wouldn't have time to enact one anyway due to their spending so much time on keeping minorities from voting and finding ways to falsify election results. Just saying.
DeleteThis week's challenge: This week's challenge comes from listener Melissa DePaola, of Newnan, Ga. Name two things that many houses are built with: "[blank] and [blank]." Drop the first letter of the first thing. Change the last two letters of the second thing to a "Y." And you'll name a popular TV show, "[blank] and [blank]." What show is it?
ReplyDeleteNever watched that show, but I still had barely finished reading when I had the answer.
ReplyDeleteSame here.
DeleteMade me think about a show with a somewhat similar name.
I was about to put a comment here remarking on your size and morality, but Blaine would never allow it.
DeleteNever heard of the TV show.
ReplyDeleteNever watched anything on its network.
DeleteBut since you were on the internet, you were able to confirm the answer, right?
DeleteSure, but if there's a clue in your comment, it went right past me.
DeleteHmm, perhaps you had your head in the clouds.
DeleteI find the on-air challenge a lot more stimulating than the submit-your-answer challenge (no clue here):
ReplyDeleteI'm going to read you some sentences. Each sentence conceals the name of a large corporation in consecutive letters. For example, "Let's wrap plenty of presents." --> APPLE.
1. "That's a relief," Ed exclaimed.
2. After the troop withdrawal, martial law was imposed.
3. The traitor would betray the one he loved.
4. Is your electric guitar getting ruined?
5. As my sister recalls, Tater Tots are delicious.
6. That was Maori tea I drank.
Greetings from Bryson City, NC. We’re about to board the Great Smoky Mountains Railway. I’ve solved it but have never seen the show. It was the first thing I thought of.
ReplyDeleteDavid Sedaris says Dress Your Family in Corduroy and Denim, but I say Build Your House out of Scagney and Lace.
ReplyDeleteNope, never got the puzzle this week. Not really familiar with either product but especially not the first. Also thought the pronunciation had to be completely different.
ReplyDeleteThe puzzle-making artistry of our good friend Jeff Zarkin (SuperZee) is on display on this week's edition of Puzzleria! His "Jeff Zarkin Puzzle Riffs" features a trio of puzzles that will "triple-threaten" any puzzle-solving-smugness that you may have:
ReplyDelete1. One involves a U.S. state and a world capital,
2. The second involves a U.S. state and a pair of occupations,
3. The third is a riff of my "Humdrum Humdinger" Schpuzzle, one that challeges us to find not one but THREE oxymoronic phrases, each with two words that share not the same four but the same FIVE first letters!
We upload Puzzleria! just after Midnight PST in the wee hours of Friday morning.
Also on this weeks's menus:
* a Schpuzzle of the Week that answers the question: "Where exactly is Old MacDonald’s farm?"
* a Slurred Speach Schnapps Slice that transforms a "tongue" into a drink and one of its ingredients;
* a Dessert Slice that involves "Sharks-and-Jets-like" municipal backmasking; and
* a dozen Hemidemisemicolonistic riff-offs ot this week's "Binge-on-Icy-Molson-then-sober-up-on-Mrs.-Olson's-Folger's-Coffee-puzzle."
I promise, Jeff's trio of riffs will be cleverer, and my twelve "semicolonic riffs" will be easier, than this week's NPR infamously barmy Slice of Molson Ice.
LegoKindOfApologetic