This is kind of a spinoff of the on-air puzzle.Q: Name a classic TV show in two words, in which the respective words rhyme with the first and last names of a famous writer - four letters in the first name, five letter in the last name. Who is it?
The initial letters of "Kind Of A Spinoff" when rearranged spell KAOS.
A: Get Smart, Bret Harte
The last name of the writer, followed by the second word of the show, sound like a phrase found on the labels of certain food items. And if you anagram the letters of the show, you get something valuable and something good to eat.
ReplyDeleteOkay, this confirms that I have the same answer you do!
DeleteIf a letter repeats in the author’s name, remove all instances of that letter. Rearrange. You get a word of scorn.
ReplyDeleteI didn't have to wrestle with this one very long.
ReplyDeleteGood one!
DeleteThanks DSB77 - a very niche hint.
DeleteDrop two letters from the writer's name and rearrange to get where you might find a version of the writer's work.
ReplyDeleteThe show had a nice 'fool' scene.
ReplyDeleteEasy enough, but clever. Now for puzzle spinoff time:
ReplyDelete1. Name an old time TV show that rhymes with someone who might give you a pane.
2.Name an old time TV show in two syllables. Add a letter to the last syllable and reverse the order of the syllables. The result phonetically is a classic way that a shaving product was advertised.
3.Name an old time TV show in one word that rhymes with how a deli meat leftover might be served.
4. Name an old time TV show in four words. Change the first letter of the second word to get a four word phrase that describes what an old time comedian in the Catskills had to do to get gigs.
CAP, I think I have 3 and 4. Will wait for others to enjoy the fun of solving.
DeleteI have #1!
DeleteOoh, I just got #1. Good stuff!
DeleteGreat riffs, CAP. You have obviously got "puzzle-making chops!"
DeleteLegoWhoBelievesThatThe"S"OnClarkA Pseudonym'sChestJustMightStandForStumpers(AndOfCourseFor"TruthJusticeAndTheAmericanWay...AlthoughNoneOfThoseBeginsWithAn"S"!)
Lego
DeleteThanks for the compliment. I wear Superman shirts very often...they're fun!
Cap, I came up with an answer that satisfies #2's conditions except that it would be a way a shaving product should never be advertised.
DeleteWW, Dr.K and Lego,
DeleteLet me know when you want me to post my answers.
CAP, my guesses >>>
Delete1. Frazier
2. ?
3. M*A*S*H
4. All [On or Of (?)] vs In the Family
I enjoyed them.
You got #1 and #3.
Delete#2 is "SEINFELD" >>>>SEINFIELD>>>>>reversed with an added I>>>>>FIELD SIGN Which is how Burma Shave used to be advertised.
#4 "HAVE GUN WILL TRAVEL" >>>>> "Have fun will travel."
Good ones, Cap. My “antithetical “ answer to #2 was MANNIX —> NIX-A-MAN.
DeleteI recently had a cardiac ablation that has increased the amount of oxygenated blood getting to my body. I don't know if my suddenly making up so many puzzles is a function of feeling better or more oxygen getting to my brain. Maybe the answer is E...All of the above!
DeleteI thought it might be Ted Lasso.
ReplyDeleteI have it. The "famous writer" is fairly obscure...
ReplyDeleteAgreed, I was not familiar with this writer.
DeleteYeah, Mark Twain/Soul Train was a hit and a miss.
DeleteTry Mark Twain/Shark Brain
DeleteGood to know, though it doesn't bode well for my chances. I did exhaust one list and found one author that I think could fit that description as well as @Rob's hint, but I haven't managed to find the TV show or fit any of the other hints, so I may need to find someone else.
DeleteShark Brain destined to become a classic!
DeleteGlad to see that my hint was sufficiently obscure.
DeleteI'm fortunate that Am Lit teachers in HS and college made sure that the author was anything but obscure to me.
DeleteP. L.
ReplyDeleteThe creator of the tv show has the same initials as the author.
ReplyDeleteOne of the creators.
DeleteIn fact, not only does one of the creators have the same initials as the author, but that creator also has four letters in the first name and five letters in the last name.
DeleteI cannot believe how I found the answer.
ReplyDeleteSometimes the Easter Bunny arrives late...
DeleteI'll explain Thursday!
DeleteWill Shortz left a big clue, an 'Easter egg', to the puzzle answer in Monday's NYT crossword puzzle. One of the answers was 'Bret Harte', this week's celebrity author. I was surprised to see that in the crossword, especially the following day!
DeleteAn actor named Williams, a mentor named Brooks...
ReplyDeleteLego...APlasticConstructionToyNamedLambda
Speaking of classics, this one applies here: e.
ReplyDeleteWW and Dr.K,
ReplyDeleteI posted 4 spinoff puzzles above for you.
Thanks, Cap. You seem to have found your métier. I've been busy reviewing and editing a manuscript, and I probably won't be done for days. Maybe now, though, for a little while I can tackle the many puzzles here, including Will's and yours, all of which look challenging. TV is not my long suit (except maybe for Perry Mason / Della Street a few weeks ago, but I'll give it the old college try. Wish me luck.
ReplyDeleteI mentioned last week that although only once has Will chosen a puzzle of mine, I'm beginning to enjoy making them over solving. Not true still get a rush when I come up with an answer.
DeleteI was surprised to find who created the show, but of course they were the perfect people to have done it. I'd heard of the author but never read any of the author's work.
ReplyDeleteOkay, now that I've solved the puzzle and sent in a(n) [amended] clue, I'm tired of puzzles and I want to talk about an issue of moral import: Danny Masterson. 30 years for rape? Come on! The sentencing is sort of built-in to the charge. Since it violates California's penal code 261, it is outside the statute of limitations and calls for a minimum 15 year sentence. Mind you, I think any rapist is a son-of-a-bitch but 30 years for two convictions? He is in a 7 by 9 cell with no windows, non-stop fluorescent light, no books, no newspapers. Just himself and his thoughts. For two rapes 20 years ago.
ReplyDeleteI have known several rape/sexual molestation victims. The damage to their psyches was inestimable, and lasted for more than half a century.
DeleteHaving seen the harm, and how long it lasted, I’d call a sentence of fifteen years per count a good start.
I’m not good with TV puzzles – never watched much. But I feel much more grounded with writers and other creative types.
ReplyDeleteIt was kind of a rush to get the answer.
ReplyDeleteFortune smile upon you?
DeleteIt was a Gold Rush, Bret Harte's subject matter.
DeleteStrangely, the author's name was in the news last month, sort of.
ReplyDeleteLast trip to the City on Alaska air connected via Newark. Took the shuttle in to Grand Central- enjoying the Hoboken skyline. Does that Air train thing to Penn station work also? What no Shake shack in Hoboken?
DeleteWhat's up with that?
FRom Seatac. My memento from NYC was Covid which i got -apparently- at the MET. 2nd round for me.
DeleteI haven't been to NJ in years. But, there's a Shake Shack at 111 Washington St.
DeleteOver 1900 correct responses last week. Way fewer this week, I'd say.
ReplyDeleteRepeat one letter in the title and rearrange to get a word for something the characters on the show might use in an episode.
ReplyDeleteRemove all repeated letters in the author's name and rearrange the rest to get the following:
1. A "Big" name.
2. Something we all can take, can hold(but not for very long), may be told to save(or we're just wasting it), and it may even be bad, according to others around us!
3. One trying to come clean?
4. What some may be trying to pass(unless they have a specific problem).
pjbIsThinkingOfACertainTotoSongRightNow,ButItDoesn'tSayAnythingAtAllAboutTheSerengeti
Most excellent clues PJB.
DeleteClever. My father (and his father before) were familiar with the non-problematic version of 4.
DeleteGET SMART, BRET HARTE
DeleteAdd another A to GET SMART to get STRATAGEM, a synonym for "scheme" or "ruse". The spies on the show would definitely use such a thing.
1. BERTHA("Big Bertha" was a German howitzer used in WWI.)
2. BREATH
3. BATHER
4. THE BAR(pertaining to the law profession, or where one with a drinking problem would usually be found)
The Toto song I had in mind was "99"(1979), not the more obvious "Africa"(1982), to which I alluded at the end of my sign-off. The former song had nothing to do with Barbara Feldon's character on the show, though. Keyboardist David Paich wrote the song as a tribute to George Lucas's first film, "THX-1138"(1971), which takes place many centuries in the future where people now live in a totalitarian state and each one is referred to by a certain number. Paich's tune is, in fact, a fantasy love song to a woman who has been assigned the number 99 in this dystopian world. Why 99 of all numbers? We don't really know. It did make it interesting, however, considering many people immediately went to the "Get Smart" character when trying to figure out the song's meaning. If anyone's really been confused about this the whole time, I'm sure Mr. Paich would definitely respond by quoting Agent 86 himself: "Sorry about that."
pjbIsNotANumber,HeIsAFreeMan!
A high percent of people trying to solve this will solve it.
ReplyDelete99% like Agent 99.
DeleteI can see how all you "puzzle-submitters" are frustrated with some of the puzzles I find myself begrudgingly solving. The author is an antique, and the TV show was on-air then off-air years before I was born.
ReplyDeleteOops!
ReplyDeleteHint: Four Senators.
ReplyDeleteSolved todays NY Times puzzle in 14min
ReplyDelete9:26 here.
DeleteThis comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
DeleteOooooh, Jan, that is definitely TMI. (I think there are other TMIs above, but in this case I feel a bit sifer saying so.)
DeleteThere are auto-solvers that reveal the key instantly.
DeleteI can solve the NY Times Monday Ken Ken in 90 seconds! (smile)
DeleteSorry, I didn't know about those auto-solvers. Gotta dig my Enigma machine out of the closet.
DeleteAn alternative version of the writer's surname evokes another author from the same country.
ReplyDeleteI was thinking of Bret Harte / Hart Crane. A potentially tricky puzzle this week—I study literature, but I don't expect many people to be able to produce the name "Bret Harte"!
DeleteHint: Hitman.
ReplyDeleteTY
DeleteI happened to come across Hitman while searching for something to watch Never heard of it.
DeleteMore spinoffs:
ReplyDelete1. Name a classic TV show in three words. Drop a letter in the second word and the title is still correct. What show is this?
2. Name a classic TV show in three words. Drop three letters from the first word and replace them them with a group of three different letters to get a suntan. What show is this?
3. Name a classic TV show in one word. Drop three letters in a row and get somethings that a person might see on the show. What show is this?
I may have #1....
DeleteDr. K, "#1. "THE GOLDEN GIRLS" - G = The Olden Girls'
DeleteAh, yes. For a classic tv show that I knew, I came up with THE LONE RANGER —> THE ONE RANGER. But not being much of a tv buff, I resorted to a list and found a newer show of which I had been unaware, THE WALKING DEAD —> THE WAKING DEAD. Back to my manuscript review and edit. Thanks, Cap.
DeleteDr. K, Since I wrote the puzzle, I'd say those are great alternate answers. Watch out Will Shortz, I'm waiting in the wings! I'm beginning to sound grandiose!
DeleteTypo. IN #3, it should have read drop 2 letters in a row from the title and replace with one....etc
ReplyDeleteI dreamed I saw the silver spaceships flying
ReplyDeleteIn the yellow haze of the sun
There were children crying and colors flying
All around the chosen ones
A prophetic tune if there ever was one.
DeleteOh nice! And... a connection to this week's puzzle!
DeleteThat's why it's there.
DeleteThe first answer I came up with didn’t match any of the clues here, but at long last I’ve found the right one. The first one certainly fits the puzzle criteria, but the writer in question is a bit more obscure, not to mention more famous for pursuits other than writing, so I won’t be submitting that one just to be safe.
ReplyDeleteFor those curious: In my alternative answer, the first word of the show and first name of the writer not only rhyme, but they’re nearly homophones, depending on how well you enunciate. And the writer isn’t one you’d read in English class, but perhaps you might in a specific science class.
Did anyone see SDB on here?
ReplyDeleteNot for a while.
ReplyDeleteNot since new puzzle. Hope all is well with SDB.
ReplyDeleteNatasha,
DeleteMy landline & Internet desktop computer access stopped working Friday evening. They just now got it back up and running. I do not know how many were affected, but it is obvious they were not working on it until today. Thanks for asking. Oh, and I solved the crappy puzzle anyway.
Aha!
DeleteWell, I don't want to say I'm glad you got cut off from the internet like that, but the explanation for your being MIA is a good one, relatively speaking!
SDB: tks for posting reason. I thought perhaps the puzzle was beyond you....lol.
DeleteI have nothing to say about a certain geometric solid.
ReplyDeleteThought this was a pretty simple, list-searching puzzle, even if you're not that intelligent. But not that many comments here. What's the over/under for correct responses - 500?
ReplyDeleteI'll say 700.
DeleteI'll take the under. Too many two-word TV shows, and quite a few (4,5) authors. Plus, there's the e thing.
DeleteChat gpt helped
DeleteI would have thought so, but of course one has to find a list containing the author's name. Even Wikipedia's alphabetical collection of "Lists of writers" isn't (currently) such a list.
DeleteAu contraire, I asked Chat to list the classic tv shows and then once I selected a show or shows, asked Chat for writers that matched the parameters of the puzzle. Took me a while to get the format correct in order to solicit an answer that made sense though. Chat needs some reprogramming for Sunday Puzzles.
DeleteI would have never found the writer as was not on any list I researched.
Delete@Natasha, my comment was referring to searching lists, but thanks for sharing how you got Chat GPT to work. Of course, one has to find the right TV show, and it seemed easier (to me) to filter lists of authors since for that we have the enumerations. Clearly I was wrong about that.
Delete@Joshua, I was just lucky Chat came up with the show on the list of shows. I like trying the puzzles on Chat. . You might try Chat. It said it is only updated to 2021.
Delete@Natasha, I actually did try ChatGPT. However, I tried to solve the whole thing with one prompt. Your splitting up the solving into two phases was apparently more effective.
DeleteChat needs to be "spoon fed".
DeleteTo the assembled/beloved mob:
ReplyDeleteWill has passed on a puzzle of mine, one that's relatively topical, and really only works during the World Cup. I thus release it here to the masses:
At the World Cup, each team is represented on the scoreboard with three letters, typically the first three letters of the nation, but not always.
Find two nations that have faced each other in World Cup Soccer. Their two three-letter abbreviations, reading left to right on the scoreboard, show the full name of the FIRST of the two nations. And the letters that were dropped, reading left to right, give the full name of the SECOND nation. What two nations are they?
Here's a helpful list.
DeleteSolved it. Good one. Will should have used it.
DeleteI've got an answer. The capitals are about 2300 km apart.
DeleteThe puzzle really isn't as hard as it sounds. You're told to look for two countries whose codes are both the first 3 letters of their names, and the first country is 6 letters long, the last 3 of which are the first 3 of the second country.
DeleteFound another pair. Capitals are about 2970 km apart.
DeleteAnd a third pair; capitals just 520 km apart. I'm beginning to see why WIll passed on this puzzle.
DeleteOne such pair has been frequently memed based on exactly this property.
DeleteCYP-RUS, POL-AND, SWE-DEN
DeleteI was about to complain about the obscurity of the author but then my son (who solved the puzzle, first) pointed out that there are 5 schools named after the author (3 in CA, 1 in IL, & 1 in NJ).
ReplyDeleteWikipedia lists 10 such schools in CA (which may be TMI?),
Delete@Buck Bard:
DeleteI tried that and found the answer kind of quickly, so maybe I stumbled onto a different list. I don't feel too bad, though. I've never heard of this "famous writer," and (s)he doesn't even appear in Wikipedia's alphabetical collection of "Lists of writers" (which explains why my script was failing). Basically, I was dead in the water without finding some list that included this writer's name, and only that technique led me to a list that did.
At least I was fortunate to easily come up with the TV show. That wasn't a priori guaranteed.
That's odd, because the writer does appear on the list of writers in their genre. (And has their own Wikipedia page.)
Delete@Crito, indeed (s)he does. I had preferred to grab letter-by-letter rather than genre-by-genre; annoying that the name isn't there (though apparently could be easily added).
DeleteThank you for the hint. That helped. Never heard of the writer. Glad to be done with this puzzle!
DeleteI have to agree with those who question how "famous" this writer is, but that being said, his/her body of work is hard to beat.
ReplyDeleteThe strange (and random) note on this puzzle, for me, is that I was out of the USA earlier in July in a nation that hasn't anything to do with either the TV show or the author. And yet the TV show came up again and again for a reason I can only discuss after Thursday.
ReplyDeleteGET SMART → BRET HARTE
DeleteMy wife and I spent the first half of July in Norway. The last hotel we stayed at was a spa hotel where, oddly there was a warm pool / sauna / therapy room with a water tunnel headed to an outdoor pool on a Fjord. It was pretty cool.
That water tunnel had two sets of glass doors, 70 percent underwater, with a push button. Push the button and the glass doors would part in front of you and then close. We called them the "Get Smart" doors.
What is the difference between the dragon that was attacked by Saint George and a doctor treating a skin condition?
ReplyDeleteDoes lancing a boil have any application?
DeleteTomR,
DeleteYou got it!
One is lancing a boil, and the other is boiling a lance.
I realize it is not exactly boiling a lance, but I claim comic license.
I must be missing something about this puzzle...haven't been able to solve it.
ReplyDeleteFirst take a deep breath in. Hold four seconds and exhale for seven.
DeleteI think this is harder than many have made it out to be. The writer's name doesn't appear on too many lists that one is likely to find, so even if you (thought you) knew the TV show it'd be hard to come up with the writer (and hence confirm) if you weren't already familiar with him/her.
DeleteI'm with you.
DeleteI was going to give up and then decided to ask ChatGTP. I never knew that writer. There is a school in my locale named after this writer.
Deletecorrection: ChatGPt
DeleteI have not solved it and true to form for me, I haven't looked at any lists or tried the AI functions some of you mention. Call me old fashioned. Call me a Luddite. Just don't call me late for dinner.
ReplyDeleteRearrange the second word of the tv show title and the surname of the writer, and get two rodents.
ReplyDeleteI submitted my answer, but I have yet to receive a confirmation email. Have you all been receiving confirmation emails?
ReplyDeleteI submitted on Sunday and have not received confirmation email. Sometimes they send them and sometimes they do not. I do not worry about it.
Delete@Natasha, thanks for confirming that you're seeing the same.
DeleteYou're welcome. I really do not care about getting the call.
DeleteI witnessed robbers trying to get into a store in Emeryville this afternoon. I was very close to the place. Please be safe.
ReplyDeleteYou too Natasha. Don't try to be a hero.
Delete@Plantsmith, Thanks.
Deletehttps://news.yahoo.com/manatee-dies-florida-aquarium-high-181738400.html
ReplyDeleteManatee dies at Florida aquarium after ‘high intensity sexual behavior’ with brother
This is outrageous. Gay and incestuous behavior at Sarasota’s Mote Marine Laboratory and Aquarium. I want to know why Gov. Ron DeSantis is allowing this to go on in his state. I am withholding all future donations to his campaign for dictator.
Ron DeSantis only cares if they identify as LGBTIA+ manatees. I can neither confirm nor deny that he disapproves of incest.
DeleteI'm not so sure, or why else did he just now announce he is having all books mentioning manatees removed from Florida public schools?
DeleteI guess I haven't kept up with that news. I stand corrected.
Delete“The United States Department of Agriculture said Mote Marine Laboratory and Aquarium failed to act to protect Hugh which lead to his death,” ABC7 reported.
DeleteYet another tragic case of led poisoning.
Next Ron D. will go after humpback whales.
Delete...but not sperm whales.
DeleteOrca-vortng Dwarf sperm whales.
DeleteIt took me this long to figure out the puzzle. I feel a little stupid this week.
ReplyDeleteGET SMART, BRET HARTE
ReplyDelete"P. L." points to a poem by BRET HARTE, "Plain Language from Truthful James." It was republished as "Heathen Chinee."
It was fun to learn some new things about a contemporary of Mark Twain. Apparently, they collaborated for awhile until they had a falling out. Obscure can be interesting.
Sorry to absquatulate now but off I go.
GET SMART → BRET HARTE.
ReplyDeleteGet Smart >>> Bret Harte
ReplyDeleteMy Hint:
"I have to agree with those who question how "famous" this writer is, but that being said, his/her body of work is hard to beat."
A body has a heart, and it must beat.
BRET HARTE (<—GET SMART)
ReplyDeleteHint: “Four Senators.”
The four Senators are the Washington Senators—baseball players—Van Buren, Smoky, Rocky, and Vernon, characters in Damn Yankees, who sing “(You’ve Got to Have) Heart.”
Bret Harte’s surname is both a homophone and an easy anagram of “heart.”
Hint: “Rearrange the second word of the tv show title and the surname of the writer, and get two rodents.”
SMART + HARTE —> RAT + HAMSTER
On a personal note: Having taught American literature, I would have been mortified had I not solved this.
GET SMART, BRET HARTE
ReplyDelete> Strangely, the author's name was in the news last month, sort of.
On June 21, The Washington Post reported, "Tropical Storm BRET is steamrolling westward on course to strike the Lesser Antilles late Thursday into early Friday. . . . Tropical storm watches are in effect for Barbados, Dominica and St. Vincent and the Grenadines, which lie in the HEART of the arc of volcanic islands at the eastern entrance to the Caribbean Sea."
> Oops!
He did it again! In Monday's New York Times crossword: 43A (half of 86!): 19th-century writer Bret
> I have nothing to say about a certain geometric solid.
It's the Cone of Silence.
I predicted "an almost round number of entries" this week. To be more precise, 100n - 1, for some positive integer n.
ReplyDeleteBecause:
The first author with the correct letter counts that came to mind was Mark Twain, and the first potential rhyming name for a TV show I could find was "199 Park Lane" (some BBC thing), which I knew couldn't be right, but the "99" was probably still in my subconscious and no doubt facilitated my recognition of "Get Smart" as I scanned a list of classic sitcoms.
The name Bret Harte was also lodged somewhere in my subconscious, but, like many here, I was unfamiliar with any of his writings. Mr. Clemens was, however (I discovered), acquainted with Mr. Harte and his work and had some rather unflattering things to say about them.
If the number of entries reported this Sunday turns out to be an even 100n, I can say "missed it by that much".
I think many of us first thought of Mark Twain. I know I did. Once that didn't work, I tried Anne Frank. And when that didn't work, finally, Bret Harte came to mind.
DeleteAbout Twain's satirical criiticism of fellow writers, see his 1895 essay "Fenimore Cooper's Literary Offenses." It's quite short and scathingly funny.
(That's a wonderful essay! One of my favorites, along with "The Awful German Language.")
DeleteMine, too!
DeleteI wrote, “If a letter repeats in the author’s name, remove all instances of that letter. Rearrange. You get a word of scorn.” BRET HARTE reduces to BAH.
ReplyDeleteGET SMART; BRET HARTE. My hint was, "The last name of the writer, followed by the second word of the show, sound like a phrase found on the labels of certain food items. And if you anagram the letters of the show, you get something valuable and something good to eat." HEART SMART; GEMS, TART.
ReplyDeleteThis week's Puzzleria! is again awash with wonderfully witty and wily "Worldplay by Ken Pratt" (you many know him better as "geofan"). Ken's six puzzles involve: "News from Russia," a “Processcity,” a state that becomes a city, an "inherently" spicy food, "Natural technology," and "an officer, runner, shooter, jester, elephant and camel (Oh my!).
ReplyDeleteWe upload Puzzleria! during the post-dusk, pre-crepuscular Thursday-into-Friday cusp, sometime around Midnight PDT.
Also on our menus this week are:
* a Schpuzzle of the Week titled, "Not rocket science, yet no mean feat,"
* an "À La Carte Before The Horse" d’Oeuvre titled, "He wore a holster, rode a horse,"
* a “Serving Spoon” Puzzle-Slice titled "Comedy, cargo, cars & chores outdoors,"
* a "Christmas Kitsch In The Kitchen" Dessert titled "A kitchen sink, a Santa’s wink?"
* and seventeen-or-so riff-off's of Will Shortz's NPR puzzle titled, "Get Brett! Smart Hart!"
That's twenty-seven-or-so servings of "Puzzle Heaven!" How can you resist!?
LegoInvitingAllBlainesvilliansToJoinUsLaterForSome"GeoFun"(and"GeoWisdom")Fromgeofan
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DeleteMy Sunday hint:
Delete"An actor named Williams, a mentor named Brooks..."
The combined letters in the first names of TREAT Williams and HERB Brooks can be anagrammed to spell BRET HARTE.
LegoWhoNotesThatActors"Robin"And"Anson"WouldAlsoHaveQualifiedAsActorsNamedWilliamsAndThat"OurMiss(Connie)..."WouldHaveQualifiedAsAMentoringBrooks
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteBret Harte, Get Smart
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteGET SMART, BRET HARTE My "hit and a miss" comment was a reference to "missed it by that much", a popular catchphrase generated by the show.
ReplyDeleteMy clue was:
ReplyDelete"The show had a nice 'fool' scene."
nice fool scene anagrams to Cone of Silence, which Jan also clued later!
I was pleased to resurrect the classic hint "e" this week, although the new blog app won't accept it in its original, pithy form. (Blaine had warned us that very short posts are rejected as false starts.) Not only might the silent e in the writer's name lead some to reject him as a (4,4), but you can either drop the e or move the e to get a homophone of Harte (as noted above by Dr. K).
ReplyDeleteOh, and when Buck Bard alluded to the Radiohead cover of "After the Gold Rush", I said there's a connection to this week's puzzle because Thom Yorke has an apparently extraneous 'e' on the end of his name, like Bret Harte. :)
ReplyDeleteChatGPT got it right away for the TV show Get Smart.
ReplyDeletehttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W2Taxuott5s
ReplyDeleteGet Smart/Bret Harte. I think this rhyming combo was used in a past Sunday puzzle, but I could be wrong. These two things are way outside of my knowledge realm, and I sort of stumbled across the info that led to the answer.
ReplyDeleteThe writer's name was briefly mentioned in an 'on-air puzzle' on September 30, 2007.
DeleteBtw, other than that, I just never heard of this writer...
@68, How did you find that reference?
DeleteGet Smart/Bret Harte
ReplyDeleteMy comment about dropping two letters from the writer’s name and rearranging to get where you might find a version of the writer’s work was based on there having been film versions of several of Bret Harte’s works. Drop the B and an R from Bret Harte and rearrange to get Theater.
My clue was now I can kick off my shoes and turn off my phone. I was thinking about Maxwell Smart's shoe phone.
ReplyDeleteAlternative Answer: Mark Twain - Park Lane (1965)
ReplyDeleteInteresting, because Mark Train immediately came to mind as I heard the puzzle and, while still in bed, tried to make it work, and came up with park Lane. However, I do not watch TV, and at that time I was living in Germany, so I never even heard of the show. I never watched Get Smart either, and still do not know what it was about, nor do I care. Because my desktop internet and phone were down for 3 1/2 days I could not look it up, but I did locate the author in a large 1998 hardbound Almanac I have on a bookshelf, but never use.
DeleteWhen I die I don't expect to go to a Morgenthau, but I might anticipate a New Deal.
ReplyDeleteSo Senator Mitch McConnell froze during his weekly news conference. So what? I suspect it was just his way of dealing with the heatwave they are experiencing back there.
ReplyDeleteI hope he gets a thorough exam. Could have been petit mal event. We do not know his medical history. Not our business anyway, I guess. I hope he is ok.
DeleteI hope the opposite.
DeleteWe know he's 81 years old, had a triple bypass 20 years ago, and suffered a concussion 4 months ago. Sure looked like an absence seizure to me. As for our business, he's the minority leader of our Senate.
DeleteIt's my nurse side taking over.
DeleteThe only thing I ever nurse is a good German Bier.
DeleteJan: I meant that I have no input into his healthcare. I am surprised they did not take him to medical facility right away. I wonder if a medical person was on staff in that meeting. Seems like there should be someone trained in emergency medicine at those meetings or nearby. I was not happy with the way this incident was handled.
DeleteHe looked a bit filiblustered to me.
DeleteOr maybe he was just appearing Pence-ive.
DeleteElderly Senators Amused To Discover Their Strokes Syncing Up
DeleteI was hoping he would just crawl back into his shell, but no luck there...
DeleteMy hint about Ted Lasso was for the costar Brett Goldstein. Then on Monday, I saw Bret Harte in the NY Times crossword.
ReplyDeleteHint: Hitman referred to WWE Hall of Fame wrestler Bret "The Hitman" Hart.
ReplyDeleteGet Smart, Bret Harte
ReplyDeleteLast Sunday I said, “I’m not good with TV puzzles – never watched much. But I feel much more grounded with writers and other creative types.” Grounded – if you anagram Harte you get Earth.
Mitch stepped up and was about to pitch,
ReplyDeleteBut there seems to have been a glitch.
He wasn't even able to glance us a twitch,
Yet he was standing right in his niche.
And now the Republicans know they should ditch,
The nasty son of a bitch,
But they are not about to switch,
As long as there is a chance they can pander to the rich.
This week's challenge: This challenge comes from listener Jim Vespe, of Mamaroneck, N.Y. Name a well-known U.S. city in nine letters. Change the third and fifth letters to get the name of a beverage. What is it?
ReplyDeleteA tasty puzzle, easier for people of my age.
ReplyDeleteA 3-second solve for this one.
ReplyDeleteSo simple and childish. Not at all NPR audience worthy.
ReplyDeleteI didn't comment on here during the week, camping, away from all this, but I got this one right away, and the KAOS clue Blaine gave. Not a brag attempt at all, just that this was one of the on-air challenges ("Name and Fame") for me in 2021. I didn't know Bret Harte at the time, but since have read The Luck of the Roaring Camp, so still trying to "Get Smart."
ReplyDelete