Don't forget to submit your answer by Thursday, Aug 10 at 3pm ET. Hopefully you'll get the call.Q: Name something found on a map of England. Two words. The last two letters of the first word are the same as the first two letters of the last. If you go to England, you can't see this place. You can see it only on a map. What is it?
Edit: My comment included a few hints. "3pm ET" was a hint to the initials PM in Prime Meridian and Eastern Time being a time zone relative to Greenwich Mean Time. In addition, "get the call" could have been phrased as "be on the LINE (with)".
A: PRIME MERIDIAN
CAP (Michael),
ReplyDeleteCongratulations! I love this puzzle! (I haven't solved it yet, but I just like the way it is worded. You can just tell it will involve some kind of "thinking outside the box."
LegoHappyForCAP
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ReplyDeleteMove the third letter of the second word to the end of the first to get a kind of text.
ReplyDeleteOr take the second half of the second word and add a copy of its third letter to the end of the string of letters to name someone associated with England who will not be seen there either.
DeleteGreat (Britainish) hints, Nodd.
DeleteEngLegoLand
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DeleteAnswer confirmed. Thanks!
DeleteGreat hints, Nodd! About the kind of text, if you pronounce that word differently, you will get something that has more to do with texture. 😏
DeleteOOh, I've never been 'removed' by Blaine before. It feels crummy.
DeleteViolinTeddy I've been removed by Blaine several times. It does feel crummy, but I think Blaine is a fair and just blog admin
DeleteThanks, Curtis. I just can't figure out WHY he did it.
DeleteI didn't see your post, ViolinTeddy, so I can't guess
DeleteBy itself, I think your post gave away almost nothing. But, combined with Nodd's second post, it made the second half of the second word very guessable.
Deletejan is right on the shekel, so to speak, and I think if you look at the two posts together it should become obvious why it was removed.
DeleteCongratulations CAP!
ReplyDeleteAppropriate initials for the place.
The same applies when you reverse the initials.
DeleteBeen there done that. Very interesting.
ReplyDeleteTake the first word of the answer. Change the first two letters into one other letter. You get something closely related to the thing seen on the map.
ReplyDeleteArgh! These kinds of puzzles are frustrating because I'm never sure if they're literal or figurative. Is this a cute "trick" or should I take it literally?
ReplyDeleteOk, I got it.
DeleteTook me almost no time to solve. Technically, it can be seen. Details on that will have to wait until Thursday, obviously.
ReplyDeleteJAWS -- Agree. See my post, above.
DeletePRIME MERIDIAN
DeleteTook me almost no time to solve - a reference to it also being the reference for Greenwich Mean Time.
Technically, it can be seen - originally a brass, and now a stainless steel strip in the ground marks the zero degree longitude outside the Royal Observatory. In addition, a green laser marking the same line points north. I first read about those in Dava Sobel's book, Longitude. Excellent book, highly recommend it.
Lovely puzzle. Thank you Mr. Pseudonym. Two of my lifetime favorite non-fiction books concern the answer. Not a clue, just an excuse to recommend the books to you on Thursday afternoon.
ReplyDeleteI believe I have read at least one of the two books to which you refer. Will check back Thursday.
DeleteNice puzzle, CAP, but two problems (if I'm right about the answer): you can see this on maps of other places, and you CAN see it in England (more or less).
ReplyDeleteThe puzzle did not say it was found "only" on a map of England, so I don't see your first point as a problem, but I think your second point is well-taken.
DeleteYou actually CANNOT see it. There is a mathematical reason for this which would give too much away.
DeleteYeah, I'm with Carol and I guess CaP on this. But we can all discuss on Thursday.
DeleteFor instance, you can see it on a map of the Marinid Empire, a 13th-15th Century sultanate in North Africa.
DeleteI am not sure i understand this line of reasoning?
DeleteJan,
DeleteI am not following you as I don't think the item on the map that can't be seen in real life England existed in the 13th-15th centuries. Will have to see on Thursday.
So the reason I said it cannot be seen:
DeleteThe Prime Meridian is a longitude line. This theoretical line has no width; therefore it cannot actually be seen. One can draw a finite-width line somewhere on Earth indicating the location of the Prime Meridian, but the true Prime Meridian is actually contained WITHIN such a marking. It is not the marking itself.
Got it!
ReplyDeleteWorthy of the puzzle master, CAP - well done! (And while I didn't congratulate you earlier, I think it's fine to congratulate someone who creates a puzzle even before that puzzle becomes public - I remember getting kudos from others here when I got "the call", and they hadn't even heard if I did well with the on-air puzzles or not.) -- Margaret G.
ReplyDeleteWell, it ain't the Danelaw. However, if you repeat one letter in the first word, anagram it, you'll have a word that describes what England is (was?).
ReplyDeleteNow I'm ready to talk a out the unjust prison sentence Danny Masterson faces. It is my default subject.
Great observation!
DeleteMusical clue: The Nazz (60s group featuring Todd "Hello It's Me" Rundgren)
ReplyDeleteThe Nazz had a song on their LP "Nazz Nazz" called "Meridian Leeward". They were a very good psych/power-pop group in the late 60s.
DeleteThis week, my road to the answer was a pretty straightforward one.
ReplyDelete"Road" was a nod to Cormac McCarthy, also the author of Blood Meridian.
DeleteCongratulations CAP! Glad I could solve it.
ReplyDeleteIt’s always an honor when The Puzzlemaster picks one of your puzzles. So congratulations to CAP this week! Took only a little time to solve, but fun.
ReplyDeleteCongratulations CAP. A good puzzle for me.
ReplyDeleteI am thinking about the most recent Transformers movie.
ReplyDeleteGreat puzzle!
ReplyDeleteAt first I thought there would be multiple solutions, but no!
I have it also...
ReplyDeleteWow. OK, here's an unrelated easy question: What do these people have in common?: Spiro Agnew, Fidel Castro, Curtis Lemay, Franz Joseph, Harvey Milk
ReplyDeleteIs it related to birthplaces? 😉
DeleteMale genitalia and being deceased?
DeleteNo ... Maybe this is trickier than I thought ...
DeleteI think I'm correct, also palindromes.
DeleteOK, here's a few more such folks, just a bit less famous: June Lockhart, Kurt Waldheim, Clyde Tombaugh, Kathryn Bigelow, Bradley McIntosh
DeleteOscar Wilde and Jay Leno would approve.
Delete"Birthplaces" and "palindromes" are examples of heterograms.
DeleteThanks for all of your nice words. My wife liked the puzzle as well as Will, but she's MUCH more important to me than he is. He's only the puzzle master, while she's my master puzzle that's given my retirement meaning!
ReplyDeletePS. And her name isn't Lois!
DeleteEvery week on Puzzleria!, I write "entrees" (or puzzles) that "riff off" (or are" spin-offs of) the current NPR Puzzle. The answer to the first riff-off is always the name of the creator of the current NPR puzzle (And so... it's a "gimme"!).
DeleteVery recently, Will Shortz chose puzzles created by three puzzle-makers who have, in some manner, been excellent contributors to Puzzleria: Chad Graham, Joe Becker, and Greg VanMechelen. My "heading" or "title" for these puzzles always includes the surname of Mr. Shortz and the surname of that week's chosen puzzle-maker. For examle, in June:
Riffing Off Shortz And Graham... (6/8/23),
Riffing Off Shortz And Becker... (6/22/29), and
Riffing Off Shortz And VanMechelen... 6/29/23).
I especially enjoyed writing the The first "riff-off puzzle" this week.
Why? Two reasons:
1. "Clark a pseudonym" is obviously such a great guy, and
2. My "heading/title" of my first riff, for the first time in Puzzlerian history, RHYMES.
So, here is a sneak peek:
Will Shortz’s August 5th NPR Weekend Edition Sunday puzzle, created by Michael Schwartz of Florence, Oregon, reads:
Name something found on a map of England. Two words. The last two letters of the first word are the same as the first two letters of the last. If you go to England, you can’t see this place. You can see it only on a map. What is it?
Puzzleria!s Riffing Off Shortz And Schwartz Entrees read:
ENTREE #1
Name, in two words, “an alcoholic solution of a distillate of the bark of a small tree or shrub used as a soothing and mildly astringent lotion.” Some claim that this solution may cause to vanish (or to make “vamoose”) maladies such as psoriasis, eczema, diaper rash, itchy insect bites, poison ivy and razor burn .
Rearrange the combined letters of those two words and a synonym of “vamoose” to spell the name of a puzzle-maker.
Hint: There is a historic neighborhood 178 miles northeast of this puzzle-maker’s residence with the same name as the “solution used as a soothing lotion.” This neighborhood is in a city that is an anagram of “shrill boo!”
Who is this puzzle-maker?
What is the alcoholic solution used as a soothing and mildly astringent lotion?
What is the synonym of “vamoose”?
What is the city that is an anagram of “shrill boo!”?
LegoLoisLaneLanaLang
Lego, it's nice to have an early start on this coming Friday's P!
DeleteCongratulations on one of the best puzzles so far this year. I almost always enjoy a geographical puzzle. At first I thought of Ben Nevis, but had to reject it quickly.
ReplyDeleteSDB, Thanks for the kind words.
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ReplyDeleteThanks CAP. That was fun, (especially since just last evening we were discussing a possible trip to England).
ReplyDeleteAlthough an elegantly worded puzzle, as far as difficulty goes, I would have to rate this one as beginner.
ReplyDeleteYes, it seems more like a general-knowledge question than a word puzzle.
DeleteVery nice puzzle, gave me a great a-ha moment!
ReplyDeleteName something closely related to the solution, in three words. The first two letters of the middle word are the same two letters repeated in the solution. (Bonus: the first two letters of the first word + the last three letters of the third word spelling something that can also be found in England, though not on a map.)
Basically the same as Rob's clue above.
DeleteThis comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
DeleteTMI Nodd? Blaine?
DeleteGood puzzle for students, I think.
ReplyDeleteIt's been a busy day, so I'm a bit late to the party, but here's a musical clue: The Supremes.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Cap!
I really appreciate Blaine's nod to the answer. Unless I am shoehorning to make everything make sense.
ReplyDeleteOr Nodd's nod? ;-)
Delete108 miles?
DeleteDon't think I'd have been so proud to announce this one would be used beforehand. Let's just say I've still got the on-air puzzle to look forward to listening to later today when the "audio will be available", and just leave it at that. Definitely a far cry from last week's even-more-than-usual softball of a challenge. To say it is "the complete opposite end of the spectrum" would be an understatement. Also interesting to see someone commenting here, and I won't name names, who usually harshly criticizes just about every challenge we've ever had up until now, but this week has decided to instead commend Michael(CAP)for his submission actually being worth getting up early to solve. This alone should serve as the ultimate red flag for any others who will be having trouble solving this..."attempt", so to speak. Sorry, Michael, but then had last week's been my idea, I wouldn't have announced it so proudly either. Needed a little more to it, IMHO.
ReplyDeletepjbAlsoThinksIfOneLikesToHaveANicknameLike[CAP],AndThenSubmitsAPuzzleLikeThisToThePuzzleMaster,ThereIsTooMuchOfAChanceForAnyoneWhoHasYetToSolveIt,AndIsActuallyHavingTroubleDoingSoToTheExtentOneMustThinkThere'sNoWayIt'sEvenGoingToComeToHim/HerLaterInTheWeek,To,Let'sSay,InsertAn"R"IntoSaidNicknameToDescribeSaidPuzzle...JustSayin'
Please be nice.
DeleteJust because you personally can't solve it, doesn't mean that it is a bad puzzle (or a good one, for that matter).
I get frustrated as well, although the difference is that I tend to take it out on myself (I'm not as smart as everyone else, not as worldly, not as educated, etc.). I also tend not to post when I'm in that kind of mood! I just let the feeling pass, and then usually I wind up solving it. If I don't, it's usually because it's a true stumper of a puzzle.
Remember, also, that this group is mostly composed of serious puzzle solvers, and not the casual ones that I'm sure comprise the core of NPR's audience. There is also a sense that people who don't solve the puzzles don't post for the most part, so we're only seeing the "success stories."
TortieWhoDidn'tEvenSolvePepsiCola/PensacolaRightAway!
Sorry, Tortie, sorry CAP(and congrats), sorry everyone. Maybe I needed more sleep last night. Got nowhere fast after trying to find whatever the answer is on any listing for "Maps of England" I could find. To be fair, the only things I could think of to fit the criteria(criterion?)were East or West Stoke-on-Trent; or East or West Stratford-on-Avon; or even East or West Stockton-on-Tees(Blaine, feel free to strike this entire post if it turns out I am actually getting that close with those!). I guessed those. As it is, I have yet to find the answer, and really don't think I will find it before Thursday, nor do I expect anyone here to actually help me out anyway. May even find it hard to believe when I do see it here then. But if there is anything to this one, I can't really blame CAP if he had good reason to give us all a heads-up about it the previous week. I guess I'd do the same if I were notified by WS himself, though I know he's never done that the few times I've had any puzzle ideas used here. I am shocked Tortie didn't get last week's right away, though. Barely took me a few seconds!
DeleteBTW Is there some kind of technical glitch on the NPR website we don't know about? The recording of the on-air puzzle is still unavailable! I'd have already heard it by now today, but it's still not there!!!
pjbDidEndUpHavingToLookUp"Sidearm"ForTheBaseball-ThemedPuzzleWhichWasTranscribed(TookAWildGuessOnThatAnagram)
Hey pjb, you won't find the Tinder app on a map. In a way, what you are looking for is the opposite of Tinder!
DeleteWillBeExplainedOnThursday
@cran: Strange no audio. Nothing much to listen to anyway. Different cohost. Not sure what his name was. Was great!
DeleteThe initial post is most instructive.
DeleteIt didn't exactly take all day for me to solve the Pensacola puzzle, probably like 5 minutes. But that's 4 1/2 minutes longer than it took most of you.
Deletepjb, for some reason, Blaine hasn't deleted many hints this week. I'd look through them, and I'm guessing one will lead you to the answer.
For cranberry: Could the Supremes yodel?
DeleteSpeaking of the complete opposite end of the spectrum, if you've given up on this puzzle, maybe you can help me out instead. I'm going out with a foreign woman later this week, and I'm trying to think of something cool to say to impress her.
Delete"Would you please fasten your seat belt and roll the window down?"
DeleteWell, that's downright rude. But I do think Jyqm has to be less smooth than Clark, more abrupt.
DeleteNot at all. It shows a deep respect for the safety of his passenger, and I am assuming she is from Iceland, and visiting Phoenix. So he wants the window down because his air conditioner is not working. Now, if she is from Mexico he could say he loves gazpacho.
DeleteOpposite of Tinder - Tinder, of course, is an app people use to get dates, which makes it an online International Date Line. Opposite that, of course, is the Prime Meridian!
DeleteBlaine, Thursday is August 10th, not the 11th...at least on my calendar.
ReplyDeleteO I C
DeleteI took it as an intentional mistake woth both 3 and 11 being prime. That is, unless I'm missing something all together.
DeleteUmm... yeah, I'll go with it being intentional and not a stupid math mistake. 😉
DeleteFixed.
Congratulations to CAP! Nice puzzle.
ReplyDeleteMy musical hint: Ronnie Spector
I believe that 1009 people will solve this.
ReplyDelete1009 is a prime number.
DeleteI think the puzzle can be misinterpreted.
ReplyDeleteCongratulations, CAP! 👏
ReplyDeleteAs others have said, though: Technically, you can see it. (I could have—many, many moons ago, if only it had crossed my mind when I had the chance. 🤷♂️)
Dava Sobel
ReplyDeleteDava went to my high school!
DeleteBen, during her childhood in the Bronx, my wife and Dava Sobel knew each other. She thinks Dava either went to the Bronx High School of Science or Music and Art. My wife went to the latter. Where did you go?
DeleteDava attended Bronx Science, as did I.
DeleteI had a lot of friends from those schools. Still do.
DeleteBrave choice for a puzzle
ReplyDeleteCurtis, How so? Or is this a clue I'm missing?
DeleteThere's a clue in there somewhere
DeleteOK, I won't push it.
DeleteCaP This is a fun puzzle. I don't know if there's a private way for you to ping me so I can lead you my (hopefully) obscure clue
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DeleteThis clue references Pixar's Brave, featuring a lead character Merida, which sounds like Meridian. BTW, Blaine's clue Don't forget to submit your answer by Thursday, Aug 11 at 3pm ET. Hopefully you'll get the call lead me almost directly to the answer
DeleteWith painting, maybe?
ReplyDeleteI wanted to post a comment about certain people, but a Google search revealed it would have been TMI.
ReplyDeleteI'm reminded of a famous river.
ReplyDeleteLiterary clue: Joseph Conrad
ReplyDeleteClover!
DeleteLiterary clue "Joseph Conrad" references his "The Secret Agent" a fictional retelling of the 1894 attempted anarchist bombing of the Prime Meridian site, Greenwich Observatory
Delete"Mr. Kurtz? He dead."
ReplyDeleteIn a technically precise, and narrowly defined sense, you can't see it. But in an everday traveller sense, you can.
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteJoshua Green, I believe you know and readily recognize this answer.
ReplyDeleteWhat was your decent list a decent list of?
ReplyDeleteThe fact that a bunch of pretty smart and knowledgeable people seem to be disagreeing about whether it can be seen might possibly help you. Like, you can rule out Ben Nevis, and Invisible Ledge.
OK, I have an answer that fits all the clues here, so it must be what everyone is thinking of and I guess it kind of fits the requirements. (Thanks to ChatGPT for turning one of the hints here into something helpful.) Obviously I recognize the answer as a concept, but referring to it as a "place" seems like an incredible stretch. (Also, it doesn't seem to be universally labeled on maps of England.)
ReplyDelete@Crito, the useless list I had was https://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_cities_and_towns_in_England. Trying to read all the entries on a detailed map of England simply wasn't fun.
I believe the disagreement is over semantics, including a degree of ambiguity in daily use of words like "see", I'd enjoy having Blaine weigh in on this. Looking forward to Thursday.
ReplyDeleteI'd argue that to the extent that it's a "place" one can go to that place and claim to be seeing it.
ReplyDeleteOf course it's a place. I'd say it's a paradigmatic place.
ReplyDeleteWe shouldn't discuss that until Thursday though.
Interesting point, about the ambiguity of 'see'. I don't think the real disagreement is exactly about semantics... but I'd agree that it is a pretty shallow disagreement.
Guy's, quit nitpicking and enjoy! It's just a puzzle.
ReplyDeleteA puzzle needs to be fair. As you can see from my comments above, I think this was phrased imprecisely, perhaps not by @Clark_a_pseudonym.
DeleteYes, I believe a good puzzle should be presented in a clear way, but, that being said, I think the quarrel here is not worth the time to argue, and it may be argued either way with some validation. I would suggest paying more attention to how clever and unusual this puzzle actually is. Also, the conflict should in fact be a bit of a clue in itself. I like this one because it is something rather new, and not the usual tripe we are fed each week. But, on the other hand, I am still pissed the answer is not Ben Nevis.
ReplyDeleteIf this is TMI, someone please delete, In expansion of my "ambiguity" remark, one can "see" a concept with the mind's eye, and can "see' a phyical resentation of the concept with the physical eye at a physical place..
ReplyDeleterepresentation, I meant
DeleteI found the name on a google map, but not on a National Geographic one.
DeleteAt the very least, I have probably found a "half-plausible" alternative answer that, while it is actually three words and may definitely be seen in England with or without a map, I still feel deserves mentioning here. The first two words fit the sharing-two-letters criterion perfectly, while the third word actually has the same two repeated letters in its center. I found it after once more going over others' previous posts, and finding one which may very well have been staring me right in the face as I read it. I won't say who said what, I'm just saying I've probably come the closest I ever have getting a Sunday Puzzle answer without being in any sort of hurry whatsoever to submit my findings to NPR, in the hope of my being able to play on-air once more with WS. And if their inability to broadcast this past week's on-air segment is any indication, even if it really were in the cards for me, no one may ever know anyway. Just the same, I don't honestly think I have the correct answer. I just thought you might like to know. BTW The first two words of my "answer" also came up as a brand name for a certain product many Brits would likely use every day, especially around the midafternoon(I won't say what time exactly, I'll try to explain Thursday). Thanks to the one other blogger here who actually helped me out here without even knowing it. Blaine, it's now up to you to figure out which one did it so you can remove said post. Since I'm officially giving up on this puzzle as of now(no offense, CAP), my mystery may be over, but your mystery has just begun!
ReplyDeletepjbCouldAlsoMentionOneOfACertainBritishInvasionGroup'sManyClassics,WhichDoesReferToWhatHeFound,ButThatWouldMostLikelyBeTMI
Well I hope it is not Vegemite. Awful stuff, unless you are raised on it like Poi in Hawaii. Not an aquired taste.
Delete@skydiveboy, yeah, the concept is clever, and had the phrasing left out the word I find objectionable then I wouldn't be upset. Indeed, I wouldn't have immediately dismissed all the things that the focus on maps first made me consider.
ReplyDeleteCamelot?
ReplyDelete"A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court" was written by Mark Twain, but "East is East and West is West and never the twain shall meet" was written by Rudyard Kipling. Does an imaginary line through Greenwich cut the globe in twain, or does it connect the two hemispheres? Depends on your point of view, I guess. And which Greenwich? Does it really make any difference?
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ReplyDeleteKitty Carlisle?
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteNo Chat GP this time?
DeleteNo, Chat could not solve. I was lucky to get answer on my own in 2 seconds.
DeleteAt least it's not an anagram.
ReplyDeleteChat GPT has weighed in with, um, an answer that's not right (big surprise, eh?). More tomorrow.
ReplyDeleteI have held off until Wednesday afternoon to bring up Margaret Hamilton.
ReplyDeleteMean!
DeleteMargaret Hamilton's most famous role was that of a green witch. TMI for a Sunday, but I'm glad Blaine let it go on Wednesday.
DeleteEvery planet has one of these. At least the planets that have surfaces. All the moons do, too. Our moon has one.
ReplyDeleteI can't wait to hear how you can possibly make an argument to back up that statement.
DeleteWell, I will wait until tomorrow, otherwise I would give the answer away. But yes, these are on other planets by means of certain visible planetary phenomena.
DeleteBut there's no other England on any of them!
DeleteOnly potentially
ReplyDeleteUmm, actually you kind of can see it, right here on Blaine's Puzzle Blog. Sort of. In a way. At least an indication of it.
ReplyDeleteIt takes a village.
ReplyDeletePRIME MERIDIAN
ReplyDeleteIt was the first thing I thought of when "not seeing it" on the earth was noted.
If the prime meridian is an imaginary line, can we see it? I know it is marked (incorrectly) on the surface of the earth in Greenwich, England, but can we ever truly "see" an imaginary line? Either on a map or on the earth?
The debate continues. . .
PRIME MERIDIAN.
ReplyDeleteI started with “latitude” & “longitude” as things seen on a map, but unseen on the ground. My first thought: “Anglo longitude.” Then I hit on “meridian” and “prime meridian” as a certain longitude...
PRIME MERIDIAN
ReplyDeletePRIME MERIDIAN I hinted that it was a beginner puzzle as it is from where we begin measuring degrees longitude east and west.
ReplyDeletePRIME MERIDIAN
ReplyDeleteHint: “a musical clue: The Supremes.”
The Supremes were originally called the PRIMEttes.
Hint: "Could the Supremes yodel?”
Again, the Supremes were originally called the PRIMEttes, and the “yodel” hint was an allusion to “America’s Blue Yodeler,” Jimmie Rodgers (1897-1933), aka “The Father of Country Music,” who according to most accounts was born in MERIDIAN, Mississippi. I thought any direct mention of Rodgers’ name would be TMI.
Hint: “It takes a village.” A New-York-City-centric nod to GREENWICH Village —> GREENWICH MEAN TIME and the PRIME MERIDIAN.
Thanks and congrats again, Cap. This was fun.
Prime Meridian
ReplyDeleteIn that the Prime Meridian is the basis for Greenwich Mean Time, the fact that the initials PM can also indicate afternoon (technically, Post Meridian) is interesting. But, to British subject, PM can also stand for Prime Minister, while MP stands for Member of Parliament.
Arthur C. Clarke’s short story, Crime on Mars, offers an interesting take on the Prime Meridian and its counterpoint, the International Date Line. The story is a classic, but mentioning it here earlier would have been TMI. http://classroom302.weebly.com/uploads/2/3/4/3/23433580/crimeonmars.pdf
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ReplyDeletePuzzleria! this week presents six puzzles (that will get you "thinkin', winkin' and blinkin' ") all dreamt up by Our friend Nodd. They appear in his always-primo "Nodd Ready for Prime Time" package of puzzles. They are titled:
Delete* Do the math,
* Pair and re-pair,
* Green Means “Stop!”
* Finding literary commonality,
* Anagrammatically correct verses, and
* “Haven’t I heard your name before?”
We upload P! during the "in-between" hours of Thursday and Friday, around Midnight PDT.
Also on our menus this week:
* a Schpuzzle of the Week titled “These puzzles are making me thirsty!”
* a Brit Lit Hors d’Oeuvre titled "One Dickens of a dumbfounder!"
* a Killin’ Cap’n Crunch! puzzle-slice titled "Frowning freely and fraternally,"
* a “No Sugar Tonight In My Coffee” Dessert titled “Candy is dandy... but relatively ‘dawdly’,” and
* an as-yet-undetermined number of riff-offs (of this week's more-mystifying-than-a-mystery-train-locomotive NPR puzzle created by Blainesville's own Superman, "Clark a pseudonym").
That a minimum "volume" of ten puzzles... we'll just see if we can "crank that volume up past 11!"
LegoWhoIsConfidentThatThisWeek'sEditionOfPuzzleria!WillGet(AndDeserve)YourNoddingApproval
I wrote, “Take the first word of the answer. Change the first two letters into one other letter. You get something closely related to the thing seen on the map.” That’s TIME, and the Prime Meridian is the basis for the world’s time zones.
ReplyDeletePrime Meridian. My hints were "move the third letter of the second word to the end of the first to get a kind of text" (primer) and "take the second half of the second word and add a copy of its third letter to the end of the string of letters to name someone associated with England who will not be seen there either" (Diana).
ReplyDeleteMy clue was:
ReplyDelete"At first I thought there would be multiple solutions, but no!"
Because a prime isn't a multiple of anything (except itself and 1, I know...).
That clue went totally over my head, love it!
DeleteAnd I guess Blaine deleted my comment to Nodd's clue, because of it being SAD that Diana died.
DeleteOh also, I liked Jyqm's clue:
ReplyDeleteSpeaking of the complete opposite end of the spectrum, if you've given up on this puzzle, maybe you can help me out instead. I'm going out with a foreign woman later this week, and I'm trying to think of something cool to say to impress her.
I noted, " I do think Jyqm has to be less smooth than Clark, more abrupt." Because crossing the Date Line (which Jyqm was alluding to) you'll change (time) very abruptly indeed, while crossing the Prime Meridian you obviously don't!
I took Jyqm's clue to be saying, "...in the meantime..." and I also thought your "rude" comment was also referring to mean. Anyway I was playing with "...something cool to say..." Rolling down the window and gazpacho are cool things to say.
DeletePrime Meridian
ReplyDeleteSpiro Agnew, Fidel Castro, et al.: no repeated letters in their names as given
ReplyDeletePrime Meridian
ReplyDeleteMy clues:
“About the kind of text, if you pronounce that word differently, you will get something that has more to do with texture.”
Nodd was hinting at “primer,” of course. Pronounced /ˈprɪ.mɚ/, it can be an introductory text. The pronunciation I was alluding to is /ˈpraɪ.mɚ/, which can refer to a type of base paint (hence the mention of “texture”).
“The same applies when you reverse the initials.”
That was in response to SuperZee’s comment “Appropriate initials for the place.” Assuming SuperZee was going for PM = “Prime Minister,” I was hinting at MP = “Member of Parliament.” (And technically, the PM is an MP.)
“Technically, you can see it. (I could have—many, many moons ago, if only it had crossed my mind when I had the chance.”
There is, in fact, a visible part of the demarcation line that is the Prime Meridian, located in Greenwich, London, UK. It is a tourist attraction for which the Royal Observatory in Greenwich sells tickets.
“I wanted to post a comment about certain people, but a Google search revealed it would have been TMI.”
I was alluding to the disco group Village People—which first formed in Greenwich Village, New York, NY. Unfortunately (?), when you Google “Village People,” “Greenwich” turns up quite conspicuously very soon.
Prime Meridian, which passes through Greenwich. My hint of Ronnie Spector referred to Ellie Greenwich, one of the co-writers of "Be My Baby", as well as many other 1960s hits.
ReplyDeleteChat GPT answer (yes, I know I didn't add the part that there's a two letter overlap):
Me: What is a place in England you can see on a map, but not in real life? It has two words
Chat GPT:The place you're referring to is likely "Sandy Balls." Sandy Balls is a holiday village located in the New Forest National Park in Hampshire, England. Despite its peculiar name, it's a real place that offers various accommodations and outdoor activities for visitors. The name might seem fictional, but it's indeed a legitimate location on the map!
LOL. Must be a puzzle in there somewhere?
DeleteAnyway, prime meridian. Add an e to prime and anagram to get empire. What England was, or is. As far as a prime meridian existing on other planets, I refer the curious reader to enter "prime meridian" in wikipedia. Being neither a man of leisure or independently wealthy, I don't have the time to engage the subject further.
ReplyDeletePrime Meridian. Kitty Carlisle was on "What's my line?"
ReplyDeleteAlt: Metric Icon.
PRIME MERIDIAN
ReplyDelete> You can see this on maps of other places, and you CAN see it in England (more or less).
That's what these people are taking pictures of.
> For instance, you can see it on a map of the Marinid Empire, a 13th-15th Century sultanate in North Africa.
It passes through that area, and "Marinid Empire" anagrams to PRIME MERIDIAN.
https://www.rmg.co.uk/stories/topics/what-prime-meridian-why-it-greenwich
DeleteMy thumbnail was taken just to the left of what’s shown in the photo Jan links to. See below for how to see the Prime Meridian in my photo.
DeletePrime Meridian
ReplyDeleteLast Sunday I said, “It’s always an honor when The Puzzlemaster picks one of your puzzles. So congratulations to CAP! Took only a little time to solve, but fun.” Time is obviously the clue but the congratulations were heartfelt.
Thanks, Chuck
DeleteMy first clue: "Name something closely related to the solution, in three words. The first two letters of the middle word are the same two letters repeated in the solution. (Bonus: the first two letters of the first word + the last three letters of the third word spelling something that can also be found in England, though not on a map.)"
ReplyDeleteI was referring to Greenwich Mean Time. "Grime" is a popular style of electronic dance music that emerged in London in the early 2000s.
My second clue: "Speaking of the complete opposite end of the spectrum, if you've given up on this puzzle, maybe you can help me out instead. I'm going out with a foreign woman later this week, and I'm trying to think of something cool to say to impress her."
I was looking for an "international date line," on the opposite end of the globe from the prime meridian.
Optimus Prime is a transformer boss. Prime Meridian.
ReplyDeleteBoy, was I way off!
ReplyDeleteThe "answer" I did find was ROYAL ALBERT(HALL). Of course, once I tried to come up with the "kind of text", I knew this was not the answer at all. Incidentally, ROYAL ALBERT is also the brand name of a company that makes china(bone china, to be exact), which many Brits might actually use when they take tea at 4pm, of course. PRIME MERIDIAN never even occurred to me! Again, my sincerest apologies, CAP!
pjbCanBeGladHeDidn'tTryToOfferUpAnySortOfReferenceToTheBeatles"ADayInTheLife"ForThisOne---ThatWould'veBeenReally"Dummmmmmmmmmmmmmmm!(SortOfReplicatingTheVeryLastNoteOfTheSongForALittle[VeryLittle]Joke...PleaseFeelFreeToGroan!
Cranberry,
ReplyDeleteNo apology necessary. If I hadn't been to England in early 2000's, when I could afford the trip, I never would have thought to make the puzzle let alone solve it.
I wanted to draw attention to two of my favorite non-fiction books: Longitude by Dava Sobel (many Blainesvillians mentioned the author in the comments) and Clocks and Culture by Carlo M. Cipolla. I enjoyed this puzzle and taking a moment to appreciate the scientific imagination that was required to develop clocks that changed how humans could live.
ReplyDeleteHere I thought one of the books was going to be A Brief History of TIME
DeleteI just happened to run across an 18 minute conversation recorded on PBS 43 years ago that I found informative about today and the reluctance of so many citizens of this country unwilling to accept the obvious truth about Donald Trump. Eric Sevareid summed it up rather well.
ReplyDeletehttps://www.pbs.org/video/role-of-the-press-19598/
Spinoff time: What occurs in Russia that my be seen on a map but can't be seen in person? Thanks for all of your responses this week folks.
ReplyDeletePS It's 12 letters long starts and ends with the same 2 letters.
ReplyDeleteSorry I left it out before. I was rushed.
In the same order?
Deleteyes
DeleteI had written, “Umm, actually you kind of can see it, right here on Blaine's Puzzle Blog. Sort of. In a way. At least an indication of it.”
ReplyDeleteMy thumbnail photo was taken while I straddled the Prime Meridian at the (Old) Royal Observatory in Greenwich, England. If you copy the photo and enlarge it, to the right of my head you will see a thin gray vertical stripe in the middle of the wide black vertical stripe. That gray stripe marks the Prime Meridian.
For a great history of the origin of the Royal Observatory, I recommend Dava Sobel’s book “Longitude.” It’s an easy and entertaining read. The Royal Observatory is one of my favorite spots to visit when I’m in London. Of course the French are annoyed that the Prime Meridian goes through the Greenwich observatory and not through the Paris observatory.
Wow! Fascinating.
ReplyDeleteI liked this puzzle a lot because it seemed so out of the ordinary for 'The Sunday Puzzle'! It took me only a minute or two to figure it out, though.
ReplyDeleteI'm familiar with the Prime Meridian, Greenwich, England, Greenwich Mean Time and Universal Coordinated Time from listening to shortwave radio over the years. SW radio almost always used to announce future show times and schedules using GMT because it made a more handy reference for listeners world-wide.
GMT has been superceded though, by Coordinated Universal Time since around 1967.
Plus, the military will refer to it as 'Zulu' time.
Before cell phones, a good way to synchronize with the current time was to listen to WWV from Fort Collins, CO. since they would announce the time based on their atomic clock. The signal consisted of the sound of a clock ticking and at the minute mark, a voice would come on announcing the time followed by a special tone.
A great puzzle related thing happened today. Yesterday, I got a call from the local affiliate of NPR. They wanted to interview me on the phone about the puzzle and asked for permission to tape it. Just got off the phone. It was totally unexpected, but fun to do. It'll be aired locally before the puzzle comes on.
ReplyDeleteFantastic!!
DeleteCongrats again, Clark!
DeleteOn KFLO-FM 88.1? And, what exact time do expect it will be aired?
DeleteSDB, That's the station I listen to it in florence, but the station is out of Eugene on KLCC - FM .
Delete7:35 & 8:35 AntiMeridian. It will be aired just before the puzzle segment comes on.
PS Thanks, 68Charger, Dr.K and SDB. I hope you alldon't mind my sharing my excitement
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