Q: Name part of the human body above the neck in 9 letters. Rearrange them to name another part of the human body found below the neck. Only some people have the first body part. Everyone has the second one. What parts of the human body are these?The wording bugs me a little which caused me to have a mental block. I do have the answer finally so I can stop pacing back and forth trying to figure this out.
Edit: I was thinking of Bugs Bunny with large front teeth. And after pacing, I'd sit down on the other part.
A: BUCK TEETH --> BUTT CHEEK
I submitted an entry that might be too rude for NPR.
ReplyDeleteThis was one of the "funny answers" I referred to below. I said they were "wrong," but now I'm not so sure.
DeleteJan, I'm really torn...I have an answer that I also thought would be too scandalous...but who knows? I sent it in.
DeleteI think I have the same answer and it is definitely hard to imagine it's correct, although I have not been able to come up with anything else.
DeleteOver 1500 correct entries last week.
ReplyDeleteHmmmm
ReplyDeleteWill didn't say anything about his first week as a married man. Ayesha didn't ask him.
ReplyDeleteWhy should he. That's his business.
DeleteAyesha was on vacation the previous week.
DeleteI agree, no one's business. And at the time of taping, it had not even been 48 hours since the event.
I can think of a few people without a brain, but it only has 5 letters. :)
ReplyDeleteUnless you say someone has a bird brain.
Deletemoustache doesn't work
ReplyDeleteI think jan might have made it work.
DeleteNope.
DeleteDon't be so modest, Jan. You are rocking the mustache and definitely making it work!
DeleteYou can handle a lot with a fine handlebar.
DeleteOnly some people have an EU stomach.
DeleteGreat "Green-Box Comment," Blaine!
DeleteLegoWhoAgreesThatjanIndeedHasATrulyMajesticMustache!
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ReplyDeleteI have a couple of funny answers, but I know they're wrong.
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteThe only one I've come up with would be offensive to some. I can't imagine Will using it on the air. He kind of self-censors.
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
DeleteThat was my thinking also! Really second-guessing myself, but I don't want to spend all week on this, either.
DeleteIf the answer I have is the intended one, then I am surprised.
ReplyDeleteYou and me both.
DeleteSame!
DeleteBrace yourself. There Will be backlash!
ReplyDeleteBook clue: Harry Potter.
ReplyDeleteFurther confirmation.
DeleteNever having watched the Hirsute Claymaster, I googled and confirmed my own choice of submission. Thanks! Weird, but...ok!
DeleteShort stop not used today. Does anyone know the answer?
ReplyDeleteThird baseman?
DeleteI agree with Dr. K.
DeleteVery clever, Natasha!
DeleteCorrect!
DeleteI did not know at first, even though was on a chart I looked at.
Delete"I don't know." "Third base"
DeleteYou could argue for "umpire" as well.
DeleteNot too sharp today. Cannot even solve this puzzle. I give up.
Deletehttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baseball_positions,
DeleteUmpire not listed on this chart.
But, if the category is "People You See On A Ball Field"?
DeleteGood point, Jan. Guess we could write to WS.
DeleteIt couldn't be 'umpire', because then 'short stop' wouldn't be second to last.
DeleteAha! You art crowned the penultimate champ!
DeleteGood Crito!
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DeleteAnd Penn would be the antepenultimate answer.
DeleteUh.
ReplyDeleteBut 'dimple' isn't an adjective.
There are definitely some adj + n phrases where the n names a body part that would be fine answers here, that's certainly right. But for the number of letters, 'patellar tendon' would be fine, or 'small intestine'.
But the example under consideration is not like that. I'm having a hard time articulating to myself what the exact problem is, and since we think it might be the actual answer I wouldn't try to state the explanation here anyway.
When I first heard this puzzle, my thought how easy this is going to be. But, it ain't!
ReplyDeleteI am surprised no one has yet to mention eyelashes.
ReplyDeleteI tried eyelashes. Blemishes.
DeleteIt was one of the "funny answers" I mentioned above as "wrong." It could be rearranged as "easy heels."
DeleteI did and they don't give useful anagrams
DeleteSame, Dr. K.
DeleteSplainit, do you think that come next Sunday Will may have some ‘splaining to do?
Delete"Acne scars" has 9 letters and anagrams to "ass cancer", but that's no help.
ReplyDeleteSo the 9-letter body parts can each be more than one word?
DeleteThe puzzle says nothing about how many words.
DeleteDoesn't say they can't... but who knows?
DeleteLegoWhoSuspects(ButIsNotSureYetWithoutSolvingIt)ThatThisMightBeAPrettyNiftyPuzzleButWhoSuggestsThatItWouldBeAReallyAmazingPuzzleIfTheAnswerConsistsOfTwoNineLetterWords
Lego, I have 2 9-letter words
DeleteCongrats, Splainit. And (a-probable-but-an-as-of-now-yet-tentative) Congrats to Paula Egan Wright of Cheyenne, Wyoming, the author of this NPR Puzzle.
DeleteLegoAwaitingTheJury'sReturnAndVerdict
Well, green eyes can make eery genes.
DeleteI like it.
DeleteAnd, an eye "blind spot" can make "blond pits".
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ReplyDeleteCleft chin? Not dimple chin. Also, coincidentally, 9 letters.
ReplyDeleteIs anyone consulting Grays Anatomy online (the textbook not the TV show)? Maybe that's a little overkill.
ReplyDeleteI have a copy, but I’ve been reluctant to pull it off my library shelf. Maybe tomorrow…
DeleteCareful, you might strain something. But at least you'll know its name.
DeleteOver/under is 300 for this week.
ReplyDeleteI'll take the under, sensing not much joy in Blainesville this week. I'm hoping the answer is really clever and not just arcane.
DeleteClever is not the word I would use to describe this puzzle.
DeleteAt least we don't have to worry that Will left out the part about dropping two letters.
DeleteBy the way, if the naughty answer turns out to be the intended one, then I'll take the over. I had been assuming that there must be an alternative, but I've given up trying to find it.
DeleteIt's not even that naughty.
DeleteDropping 2 letters was left out?
DeleteI found the puzzle this week to be not naughty, but...coarse.
The two-dropped-letters hypothesis might have explained how "moustache" could have turned into "stomach." It was such an obvious pairing, and it did lead to several comments early on.
DeletePerhaps will appear as a puzzle later on.
DeleteBTW, I agree with WW and Splainit that there's a better word than "naughty," but it's TMI.
DeleteShocking?
DeleteI was thinking not of "shocking," but "cheeky."
DeleteHave you noticed that for the most part the NPR puzzles have been getting worse and worse over time? Do you suppose this may be Will's way of bringing this 30 year lark to an end?
ReplyDeleteI feel like it's hit and miss from week to week. I like a puzzle that I can solve within 15-30 minutes that isn't too obscure (e.g. Stromboli).
DeleteSame here. At the very latest solved before I go to bed on Sunday night.
DeleteJust not as much fun for some reason.
ReplyDeleteBit of a rocky start, but I think I’ve got it now!
ReplyDeleteNice! Takes me way back, if I understand it correctly.
DeleteI tried to think of a way to make this a spin-off puzzle, but I couldn't. So I'll just say...
ReplyDeletePretty nearly everyone has a supercilium.
Maybe only some people have a subcilium?
I'm stumped - tried Roman Nose, Baby Teeth, Green/Brown Eyes, Gray Beard.....Lymph Node - Endolymph works, but the complete opposite directions from the neck line. Anyone have a musical clue they can share? #stumpedinSeattle
ReplyDeleteWell then here's a Seattle hint for you. Think of a well known Seattle attorney.
DeleteBeen meaning to compliment you on your handle. Vandal in Seattle. It's the bomb.
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DeleteVandal in Seattle, here'sa musical hint: Fred Astaire.
DeleteBut this is assuming my answer is Will's intended answer.
I now have the answer some of you have alluded to. I share your doubts but suspect that this is really the intended answer. If so, with minor rewording, this could have been an ok puzzle.
ReplyDeleteI submitted the slightly racy answer. Not sure it's the one Will is looking for but I'm done looking around any more.
ReplyDeleteAnd, Lorenzo, I agree, wording is everything. It usually is.
I believe I have it now. Sheesh!
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ReplyDeleteNice.
DeleteFinally got it. Ridiculous, and like others, I am amazed that there is a reference to that below-the-neck body part. Movie clue: Milo Minderbinder.
ReplyDeleteActually, I'd go with Lt. Col. Korn.
DeleteAn actor to consider is Billy Bob Thornton.
ReplyDeleteEveryone has a "pulmonary" (lung), but not everyone has a "puny molar."
ReplyDeleteA gazillion posts ago I said, “The only one I've come up with would be offensive to some. I can't imagine Will using it on the air. He kind of self-censors.” But after reading many of the intervening comments, I think I’ll send it in anyway. It’s not my puzzle show to worry about – it’s NPR’s. And it _does_ meet the puzzle criteria.
ReplyDeleteanimal mouth ?
ReplyDeleteOops!
ReplyDeleteThe only answer I've come up with brings to mind a 1950s-60s TV show but, ironically, they would not say it on the show.
ReplyDeleteAt least the novel phrase is timely this week.
ReplyDeleteI think this is a clever puzzle, wording and all. And for the regular puzzlers here, after poring over our puzzling history, I see some overlap, in one of the two answers, with another puzzle of somewhat recent vintage.
ReplyDeleteYes!
DeleteI discarded that answer until I read the comments.
ReplyDeleteThis is from the author of the Malta/Atlas puzzle? I remember the strategy there. The Malta part was easy.
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
DeleteIt is. Paula Egan Wright.
DeleteBut I don't see the connection. And what was the 'strategy'?
I just looked it up. Yes, same author. I should have double checked. I do not see a similarity, however.
DeleteYou're right, it's not a strategy.To me, the answers usually come after futile struggle, followed by a totally effortless flash of intuition. Except for the "easies" like Celine Dion, that type is more forebrain, dyt?
DeleteI am completely lost! Guys I need a hint
ReplyDeleteTMI
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DeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
DeleteOccasionally I've managed to make use of comments here, but that's not really the intent of those posting or of Blaine's hosting.
DeleteIf you're finding this puzzle too tough, I suggest you stick to the Sunday funnies instead.
DeleteBand to consider: Queen
Delete@clotheslover, that led me to what must be the "racy" answer that people have been referring to. I submitted it as I'm unlikely to find anything better, but I'd argue that it doesn't really fit the phrasing of the puzzle. I hope it's wrong and there's something better.
DeletePerhaps they will react using the other?
ReplyDeleteBingo, Buck Bard. I have had it used against me, in fact, and it's indeed hurtful.
ReplyDeleteJan, I'm reminded of a certain Biblical saying! :)
ReplyDeleteWS missed the boat on this one!
ReplyDeleteMoustache and stoumache would work if "stomach" could be spelled like "stoumache".
ReplyDeleteA moustache is near the teeth. Food that you eat with your teeth goes in your stomach and out of your butt.
DeleteI submitted the slightly racy answer that others have mentioned. I was really hoping to do something with cleft chin or brow ridge.
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteNo surprise that Prigozhin kicked the bucket.
ReplyDeleteHe was Hot Doggin' It again!
DeleteWhen you strike at a king, you must kill him.
DeleteI told him not to stand near any windows, and instead he took an Embraer commuter plane.
DeleteSure would like to know if it was shot down, and it probably was!
DeleteThe world has been wondering where he has been ever since his aborted coup attempt. Now he seems to have spread out a bit.
DeleteA shoot down would involve too many witnesses. The FSB tends to be more discreet.
DeleteCould have been a bomb that was planted on board.
DeleteMore likely, but it's still too early to say
DeleteNot much left of that plane .
DeleteNews states that if he is alive, not to say anything.
DeleteIf I were that Prigozin, I would never have gotten aboard that plane.
DeleteThe plane's track on Flightradar24 ended as soon as it had climbed to 28,000 feet. I'd guess that's the altitude the triggering device was set for.
DeleteGee, you don't think this could have been intentional, do ya?
DeleteUsing an Embraer jet to ice Prigozhin is a fine tribute to Brazilian-Russian cooperation during the BRICS summit in South Africa.
DeleteThe Italian media are reporting that Prigozhin going into exile was just a bella ruse.
DeleteI've always been happy to fly at 27,000 feet, max...
DeleteSDB, you were never one to Minsk words.
Deletejan, I have used a similar line on this blog in the past. I think more than once. I don't remember how to find it though.
Delete"I just cannot bring myself to trust Vladimir Putin. He tends to Minsk his words."
The fact that he has nukes at his command is enough to scare one shirtless.
DeleteWell that's one shirtless for the laundry, but perhaps I am skirting the issue.
DeleteI'm having a really tough time trying to comprehend why all the talk about the "racy" aspects to this puzzle. It reinforces what I have always heard about the Puritanesque beginnings of our country and how it has dominated ever since, whereas more sophisticated nations do not trod this pointless and infantile path. Words are not bad, nor are they anything else other than descriptions in order to help us comprehend our reality. They are no more offensive than numbers, unless, of course, you are of a mind to indulge yourself in such nonsense.
ReplyDeleteThe founders of our country weren't Puritanesque. They were Puritans. "Fair Harvard", the oldest school in the country's alma mater, ends with:
Delete"Be the herald of light, and the bearer of love,
Till the stock of the Puritans die."
I have no objection to the "bad" word in the answer discussed here; it is, after all, just a body part. However, I don't think I am Puritan for being surprised at the prospect of Will using the word on air.
ReplyDeleteI'm going to keep my comments private for now.
ReplyDeleteBicuspids up top, pubic diss below.
ReplyDeleteWell, it didn't exactly require eight-dimensional chess, but I was finally able to string together enough clues from people's comments here to figure out the answer.
ReplyDeleteIn the spirit of this puzzle, how about a five-letter body part that all Americans have, but only some Brits do?
BUCK TEETH, BUTT CHEEK
ReplyDelete"I submitted the slightly racy answer. Not sure it's the one Will is looking for BUT I'm done looking around any more.
And, Lorenzo, I agree, wording is everything. It usually is."
>>> BUT for BUTT.
Ready to be "Econfused?" Well, if not, you'd better get ready! Our friend Ecoarchitect has designed and blueprinted for Puzzleria! a "fourteen-story enigmatic edifice" for our edification. This (more-generous-than-most-bakers')-dozen of devlish delights appears in his "Econfusions" feature which we will upload later this evening at around Midnight PDT.
ReplyDeleteAlso on this week's menus:
* our Schpuzzle of the Week, titled "We're missing the link between Jaguar and Bee."
* an Hors d’Oeuvre that asks the question: Would “living on borrowed time” be called “bromicide”?
* an Alphabetical Segments Puzzle Slice titled “My DEar, thou art so Far away!”
* a Dessert that just might be "a pain in the nook" to solve, and
* thirteen rifs of this week's NPR puzzle titled "Bucky Butter, Toothy Cheeky."
That's a platterful of 31 puzzles!
LegoBuckyBadgerGoldenGopherToothyGoldieCheekyButter
"People get ready there's a train a comin. Don't need no ticket you just climb on board."
DeleteBUCK TEETH -> BUTT CHEEK
ReplyDelete> Harry Truman could have called a halt to this nonsense. [Deleted!]
He said, "The BUCK stops here."
>> Movie clue: Milo Minderbinder.
> Actually, I'd go with Lt. Col. Korn.
Played by BUCK Henry.
> Oops!
He did it again! In Tuesday's NYT Crossword, 23A: Royalties from Neil's "Heart of Gold"? (YOUNG BUCKS)
> At least the novel phrase is timely this week.
With Russia's Luna-25 and India's Chandrayaan-3, moon shots are in the news.
> No surprise that Prigozhin kicked the bucket.
No surprise that "the bucket" is also an anagram!
Everyone has a BUTT CHEEK, but not everyone has BUCKTEETH.
ReplyDeleteBUCKTEETH >>> BUTT CHEEK
ReplyDeleteMy Hints:
"Have you noticed that for the most part the NPR puzzles have been getting worse and worse over time? Do you suppose this may be Will's way of bringing this 30 year lark to an end?" Or a BUTT.
"Well then here's a Seattle hint for you. Think of a well known Seattle attorney." Ted Buck who defends the police.
This is what I submitted.
ReplyDeleteI certainly hope it’s wrong.
Buck Teeth, Butt Cheek
Last Sunday I said, “The only one I've come up with would be offensive to some. I can't imagine Will using it on the air. He kind of self-censors.” We’ll see Sunday morning.
Good grief. They are just body parts! Why the apprehension?
DeleteI would think someone with buck teeth would feel uncomfortable.
DeleteLet's not overbite this.
DeleteThis thread is making me smile...a cheeky grin.
DeleteBUCKTEETH—>BUTT CHEEK
ReplyDeleteIf this is in fact the intended answer, as seems likely, then I am, like others here, somewhat taken aback. Given the genteel nature of the puzzle in general (and of Will himself), it does seem out of character.
Musical hint: Fred Astaire —> “Cheek to Cheek” (Astaire’s 1935 #1 song).
(I thought that hinting Tony Bennett and/or Lady Gaga, who recorded the Grammy-award-winning album, Cheek to Cheek, would be TMI.)
In keeping with the off-color spirit of the puzzle, however, I also interpolated a couple of demotic hints: “But this is assuming…”
BUCKTEETH; BUTT-CHEEK. My hint said that my answer brings to mind a 1950s-60s TV show "but," ironically, they would not say it on the show. (“Leave It to Beaver”)
ReplyDeleteI wrote, “Movie clue: Milo Minderbinder.” This refers Mike Nichols’s _good_ film of Joseph Heller’s _great_ novel, _Catch-22_, in which Jon Voight played Milo. Voight’s breakout role was Joe BUCK in _Midnight Cowboy_.
ReplyDeleteBuckteeth, Buttcheek. You can buy "Billy-Bob" teeth on Amazon to try out this type of overbite for yourself. Also, Freddie Mercury's teeth and Queen's song about "Fat-bottomed-girls" really fit the bill this week.
ReplyDeleteI was hinting at Buck Privates (Abbot and Costello film) and "butt" being a private part.
ReplyDeletePrigozhin is no more. Now he has become Postgozhin. We hope anyway.
ReplyDeletebuck teeth, butt cheek
ReplyDeleteBuckteeth, buttcheek.
ReplyDeleteIn case anyone finds that latter scandalous for NPR, Will Shortz had two somewhat similar puzzles in his puzzle books:
1) Puzzle 14 from Puzzlemaster Deck: 75 Verbal Challenges: Think of a two-syllable word that means coming up to the middle of the leg. Reverse the syllables phonetically and you'll get a new word that means rear end.
2) Puzzle 67 from Puzzlemaster Deck: 75 Mind Bogglers: The name for part of the body, in eight letters, sounds like a two-word phrase meaning a person receiving a milk farm from the estate of a late relative.
I kinda forgot to give a clue. But I got what everyone else got, and since not one of us came up with an alternative, I figure it must be the intended answer.
ReplyDelete(Unless it was misstated and he wanted us to remove two letters from 'moustache', but I think that's very unlikely.)
If you're going to use "butt cheek" shouldn't it technically be plural? Otherwise it kind of sounds half-cheeked (euphemism).
ReplyDeleteOh, very nice Tortitude!
ReplyDeleteSo then I'm very confident we (all) have the intended answer.
The presidents of the united states of america
ReplyDelete>their song is "Lump" which was parodied by Weird Al as "Gump"
>Gump wore braces (albeit for his legs) and was shot in the buttocks.
I wrote "Brace yourself. There Will be backlash!"
ReplyDeleteWas thinking of overbite braces. I capitalized 'Will' just because, and backlash could conjure up images getting a whooping.
My suggestion that Greatly Barron stick to the Sunday funnies was in regard to all the comic characters with buck teeth (Goofy, Bugs Bunny, Spongebob, et al.).
ReplyDeleteLike others, I submitted BUCKTEETH, BUTT-CHEEK. However, I'm not happy with it. Can BUCKTEETH really be considered a (singular) body part?
ReplyDelete(Also, how do you all get font effects in your comments here?)
Joshua Green, here you go:
Deletehttps://www.w3schools.com/html/html_formatting.asp
MOUSTACHE -> THE MUCOSA
Delete@Word Woman, thanks. Nice to know that the standard HTML tags will work. I'll have to remember that.
Delete"Buck teeth" is a malocclusion, a condition, no more a body part than baldness or erectile dysfunction.
DeleteMy comment "animal mouth ?" referred to a male deer.
ReplyDeleteTrump Force One is enroute from EWR to ATL. Climbed through 28,000 ft to 40,000 ft just fine.
ReplyDeleteCurious if a mugshot will be taken...
DeleteIt already has, and he has left the jail.
DeleteI just saw that. It's one of those things where you've got to be careful about what you ask for. It will probably be used for his campaign in a martyr complex.
DeleteMOUSTACHE -> THE MUCOSA
ReplyDeleteGreat! I hope you submitted it.
DeleteThank you ... I found it past deadline, we'll see ...
DeleteNot the American spelling, but very interesting…I wonder if Will will acknowledge it.
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ReplyDelete