Q: Name a creature that has a world capital in its name. Replace the capital with another creature and you'll get another world capital. What is it?I spent too long trying to end up on DODOMA (Tanzania). I just had to think a little more.
Edit: I did get sidetracked thinking "creature" was deliberately chosen to include things like unicorns, fairies, yetis, elves, leprechauns, werewolves, king kong, etc. Once I narrowed my focus, I was able to think of a little creature.
A: MOSQUITO --> MOSCOW
Congrats, again, to our One-And-Only Lego!
ReplyDeleteNice, Lego! The first part of the second capital sounds like something that is famously located there.
ReplyDeleteAnd the last part of a third capital describes the first creature.
DeleteDefinitely!
DeleteI have it and there are only TWO capitals involved...
Deletecorrect, only 2 capitals. The 3rd one is not part of the puzzle.
DeleteCapital puzzle for us creatures of (Sunday morning) habit! Congrats Lego.
ReplyDeleteExcellent puzzle.
ReplyDeleteI'm confused by the wording of the second part of the puzzle.
ReplyDeleteLet's say you started with "dromedary" (creature). You might change "rome" (capital) to "eagle" (another creature) to get "deagledary". Now if that happened to be another world capital, you'd have the answer.
DeleteAnother fine and fun puzzle contribution. Will S. clearly needs to lean on the experts more often. (Lego and CAP, thanks for the Sunday distractions!)
ReplyDeleteCongrats, Lego. Quick solve by looking up capitals first.
ReplyDeleteI will ditto that on both counts.
DeleteCute puzzle. We could quibble about one of the capitals but who has time for that?
ReplyDeleteI think I get what you're saying, but haven't yet solved it. Once (if) I do, will be interesting to see whether what you said is what I thought you meant.
DeleteWith a fresh mind this morning, I finally got it! I was doing mental gymnastics yesterday trying to make Bern work, based on Word Woman's comment. (Bern is a de facto capital, and Switzerland is famous for watches (time), among other things.) Anyway, I'm happy to have solved it, and I now know there are no critters with Bern in their name...at least none I could find. :)
DeleteBernese Mountain Dog?
DeleteHmmm....
DeleteWoWh (as opposed to WoWo). You clearly didn't know my FORMER M-I-L, a critter named Bernice. There was nothing NICE about her - she was so difficult to deal with that her daughter had me throw her out of our house once when a visit became intolerable.
DeleteOn the other hand, when my current M-I-L was having health issues, I suggested to my wife it was time to INVITE her to live with us. The three of us get along famously! It's my pleasure to have initiated this arrangement..
You sound like a Super S-I-L! And sorry you had to experience the Bern.
DeleteWord Whisker, glad you solved it after a slow bern. Perhaps my hint made sense after you solved it. More Thursday.
DeleteWoWh, Suffice it to say I’ve had the alpha and omega of M-I-L’s.
DeleteWord Woman, I've searched for a connection, and I think I found something, but I'll wait for your explanation on Thursday. By the way, I'm thinking of changing my "name". Too similar to yours (even I get confused), and you've been here way longer than me. Any suggestions?
DeleteHmmmm. I've wondered to what Word Whisker refers? Maybe that would help with a new moniker. . .
Delete.
It's a combination of ah um my uh bad habit of hemming and hawing :-) and my love of cats. But I also love whisky. The possibilities are endless. I'll think about that tomorrow. After all, tomorrow is another day! Maybe Scarlett??
DeleteI like Scarlett! I know a Scarlett who is called Scar by her 3 older brothers. I like both names.
DeleteThen Scarlett it is!
DeleteBernedoodle?
DeleteSo many berns, so little time.
DeleteBernedoodle?
DeleteNow That's a Hootin' Holler, Jan!
DeleteI realize it's not specified, but should I assume that the creatures or capitals may contain multiple words?
ReplyDeleteThey may...
DeleteCongrats, Lego. A pleasant Sunday puzzlement.
ReplyDeleteTough to clue, though. I like Rob's...
Clever puzzle! Additionally: Fair Harvard!
ReplyDeleteThe lovely phrase "moss-covered Error" in this song had some relevant sounds!
DeleteThe only commonality I could find between the creatures, or the capitals for that matter, is that both creatures can exist in the climates of both capitals.
ReplyDeleteUgh! I must be tired, or just not firing on all cylinders today. I slogged through a list of capitals twice, and missed one of the two both times. Luckily, when I hit the second one, the solution to the puzzle popped into my head. Now I'm amazed that I missed it for so long! No clue yet, but I like Rob's.
ReplyDeleteReplace the first and last letter of one of the capitals to get a place in Connecticut.
DeleteMOSCOW becomes COS COB, a section of Greenwich.
DeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteSomething about this excellent puzzle reminds me of a movie about a big ape.
ReplyDeleteThe Big Lebowsky?
DeleteSorry, Rob, I hadn't read your comment before I posted mine.
ReplyDeleteSmall places named for both capitals exist in the US, in one case close to a larger city named for a former capital.
ReplyDeleteNow that we have all solved Joe's puzzle, see if you are able to solve my most recent reject:
ReplyDeleteThink of a five letter adverb in lower case letters. Change the second letter to the same as the third letter to describe what might be found there. Now rotate the second and third letters 180 degrees to describe the opposite of where the second word will be found. What are these three words?
Nice, sdb. Do you want the answers now?
DeleteI am surprised you solved it so quickly. I thought it might be too difficult. Let's hold off on the answer a bit and see what others may think of it. I really thought Will would have jumped on this one.
DeleteOk. Will do.
DeleteDr.K,
DeleteIf you are looking for verification, you have my email address I believe.
Thanks. I just sent it.
DeleteYeah, I already replied. You got it alright!
DeleteAnd the answer is: under > udder > upper
DeleteThis is a great puzzle! I solved it while out on a run. I try not to involve either of these creatures in my life, although it's easier with one than with the other.
ReplyDelete"Capital" puzzle, Mr Lego. Everybody seems happy.
ReplyDeleteThe first part might go viral, there may be a reversal in the second part.
ReplyDeleteJust got it. I got lost in the wording. That'll teach me to try solving puzzles predawn, just after feeding the dogs. I agree that SDB's saying it was easier to solve by looking at a list of capitals rather than the other way around. Blaine's post was helpful as well. Thanks to both of you. Both clues were great at avoiding TMI.
ReplyDeleteNow, on with the week.
The animals are very different. The countries that the capitals are in are very different, too.
ReplyDeleteThis is why the word "creature" was chosen and not the word "animal."
DeleteI've always avoided the creationist implication of "creature".
DeleteA mosquito is a tiny bug. A cow is a big mammal. Quito is in Ecuador, a small South American country on the Equator. Moscow is in Russia, a large Eurasian transcontinental country in the North.
DeleteBobby, Yes they are different and if they interact, one can cause misery for the other.
ReplyDeleteYes, the wording is perfectly clear, straightforward, and elegant, yet very easy to get one's brain tangled up in, which makes it a masterful puzzle. Sort of topological.
ReplyDeleteIt took a while to come up with some hints, but here goes:
ReplyDeleteAdd a letter to the country of the first capital, rearrange, and get someone who’s skilled in a certain profession.
Change a letter in the country of the second capital, rearrange, and get a mythological figure.
Follow-up to hint #1 above: Certain of the bloggers here are or were members of that profession.
DeleteFollow-up to hint #2 above: The mythological figure and the first creature share a trait.
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteHm, that's an informative hint. I don't think you should post it here.
DeleteFine. I think the wording could have been better.
DeleteAgreed. The chosen wording tried to avoid one issue, but introduced a different problem for a few of us that overthought the question.
DeleteI have some problems with the first creature and the second capital.
ReplyDeleteTwo popular movies from the 1980's contain the names of the creature and the city.
ReplyDeleteI cannot believe it took me until now to finally understand why it is lesbian churches do not have hymnals.
ReplyDeleteThere are many place names in North America that share one of the capital names. Take a letter off the other place name to get a verb that I'd like to do one day
ReplyDeleteRecently Cap had his Prime Meridian puzzle run on NPR by Will Shortz. I enjoyed that puzzle because it was innovative and broke the mold. (We do not want mould, now dew we?) However, ever since, I have on occasion found myself poring over my stand up world globe located in my living room attempting to locate the Choice Meridian. I have to be honest and confess I have been unable to find it. Can someone here please light some shed on where this longitudinal indication may be hiding? I would be a lost patriot were it not for this fine addition to my home that helps me keep aware which of the two bordering countries we share is to the North, and which is to the South. I imagine this is not an uncommon problem for those of us who share my nationalism. Long live Mexican Poutine and bacon along with Canadian salsa and mescal. Now I must go pin Miata.
ReplyDeleteAnd who among us can forget the politically aware African father who asked his son, "Have you herd the gnus today?"
ReplyDeleteFound the puzzle a little annoying at first, but it grew on me. Thanks Lego!
ReplyDeleteA slang name for the first creature also shared with a type of bird.
ReplyDeleteA State Bird?
DeleteNo, but they have featured on a coin or two.
DeleteI gather that the Rolling Stones would not like this puzzle
ReplyDeleteI can't tell you when, but this puzzle was used before as the NPR challenge. Anyone remember?
ReplyDeleteAl, It might sound familiar, but I could not find the same puzzle used before.
DeleteCongrats, Lego! Had a ball solving this one.
ReplyDeleteHint: Puzzleria!
Reminds me of my favorite Vermont radio show
ReplyDeleteOver/Under: 900
ReplyDeleteGdH
ReplyDeleteJ.M. Smucker, the maker of jellies, Jif peanut butter and Uncrustables, has agreed to buy Hostess Brands, maker of Twinkies, Ho Hos and Ding Dongs, for $5.6 billion. With names like those, there's gotta be a clever headline in there somewhere. Any takers?
ReplyDeleteJ. M. Smucker Will Grab Hostess, etc. in a JIF!
DeleteThe first creature shares something in common with another creature who is closely linked to another creature whose name appears in another capital.
ReplyDeleteHow about a capital whose name consists of the genus of one creature, followed by the name of its traditional enemy?
ReplyDeleteYes. Are we getting militarily involved there too? Just asking.
DeleteToo broad! The US has active-duty troops stationed in nearly 150 countries. "Militarily involved" adds many more.
DeleteSpeaking of creatures, i.e., created animals:
ReplyDeleteThe newspaper of record reported today on the death of Dr. Ian Wilmut, the British scientist responsible for the first cloning of a mammal, Dolly the sheep, in 1996. They detail what led up to the historic procedure, the difference it represented from earlier attempts, the controversies, and, almost parenthetically, mention that Dolly was named for the singer Dolly Parton.
They pointedly fail to mention *why* the sheep was named for Dolly Parton. It was, of course, because the adult cell from which Dolly was cloned was taken from a sheep's mammary gland. And Dolly Parton is famous for her large breasts.
Ha, ha! I said breasts! No wonder the New York Times couldn't!
So much has changed in 27 years. And so much hasn't.
(Here's a photo from the Times' obit, that was taken after Dolly's death, but before Wilmut's. She's stuffed, he isn't.)
TLDR
DeleteWhat is the cut on his hand? Did she bite him?
DeletePerfecting the art of subtle suggestion is not my sole reason for visiting this blog.
ReplyDeleteThe SOLE of a shoe is UNDER the UPPER. UNDER can be transformed into UPPER by a process involving a word which might have caused a Total Meltdown (Immediately!) if uttered this week.
DeleteI balked at comparing the twists and turns of this week's puzzle to a Möbius strip because of the first two letters. Besides, it may be more like a Klein bottle.
It may be like watching paint dry, but it is amazing to view, on FlightRadar24, all the police helicopter activity going on with that manhunt in Pennsylvania. For the last 12 hours there have been 2-4 helicopters circling a small area.
ReplyDeleteRelatively expensive manhunt, but they eventually got him!
DeleteWhile scientists, some at least, are looking to discover if there is life on other planets, something I have no doubt about, I am far more interested in why an automobile manufacturer would name their product to homophonically describe something no one would ever want to happen to his vehicle. Maybe that is why I would never purchase a Kia car.
ReplyDeleteWhat is "Kia" a homophone of?
ReplyDeleteAfter Bell Labs was bought by Nokia, this got circulated a lot
Key a car. Kia car. To intentionally scratch someone's car with your key.
DeleteCosmetic damage. A minor scar. Is a Tesla Model S an S Car? If you key a Tesla Model S, does it leave an S Car scar?
DeleteI heard of a snail once, tired of always being the avatar of slowness, who dreamed of having a fast car like that. He'd paint a big "S" on the roof, so as he zoomed by, people would say, "Look at that S Car go!"
Yes, jan, that is a very old joke. I have personally owned 3 Mercedes Benz model S cars. I believe Daimler Benz was first to label their top of the line cars with an S. The number used to refer to the engine size.
DeleteI should also mention that my 3 MB's were SE models. I believe 1956 is when they first introduced the S Class. These S model cars had carburetors. If you had an SE, then it was Bosch fuel injected. The E stood for einspritzer.
DeleteWhat did the snail say when he rode on the back of a turtle?
DeleteWeeeeeee!!!!
"Is it necessary for you to go this fast?"
DeleteWould you prefer that Kia was named Sunrise, or To Come Out of the East?
DeleteJAWS,
DeletePerhaps you missed my answer up above, where I state I am not referring to Kia, but Kia car. To key a car is not a desirable activity. It is supposed to be humorous, and not taken seriously.
Kind of amazing how the hints here simultaneously solidly confirmed my best guess for the second half of this puzzle while totally deceiving me with regard to the first half.
ReplyDeleteMOSQUITO - QUITO + COW = MOSCOW
ReplyDelete"We could quibble about one of the capitals but who has time for that?" QUITO's official name is San Francisco de QUITO. Also, quibble was meant to evoke QUITO.
MOS QUITO → MOS COW
ReplyDeleteI do not think most people refer to INSECTS as “animals.” They are more commonly referred to as “creatures" or ("bugs").
MOSQUITO & MOSCOW (QUITO, ECUADOR & MOSCOW, RUSSIA
ReplyDeleteMOSQUITO —> MOSCOW
ReplyDeleteHints:
“Add a letter to the country of the first capital, rearrange, and get someone who’s skilled in a certain profession.”
ECUADOR + T —> EDUCATOR
(The above hint was for BPB educators, past and present.)
“Change a letter in the country of the second capital, rearrange, and get a mythological figure.”
RUSSIA (- S + C) —> ICARUS
A mosquito and Icarus, after all, do share a trait, that of flight.
A fun puzzle, Lego. Congrats again and thanks!
MOSQUITO - QUITO + COW = MOSCOW
ReplyDelete> Small places named for both capitals exist in the US, in one case close to a larger city named for a former capital.
Moscow, TN, and Quito, TN, are both near Memphis.
> How about a capital whose name consists of the genus of one creature, followed by the name of its traditional enemy?
Muscat
Forget Casey! "The Mighty Bobby" is "up to bat" on this Friday's Puzzleria. And he has "hit another home run" with a very timely "Puzzle Fun by Bobby Jacobs" feature titled “3 names, 3 words, 3 years of Puzzle Fun.” Yes, we are celebrating Bobby's third "birthday" as a Puzzlerian-Prodigy-Polymath-Precocious-Producer-Provider-Of-Prodigious-Puzzles! Drop by and join us in our celebration!
ReplyDeleteOur weeklong "Puzzlerian Party" begins around Midnight PDT this evening, more or less.
Also on this week's "Party Menu":
* a Schpuzzle of the Week about a modern music-maker-maker and a medieval mathemetician,
* a Rosy-Fingered Dawn Hors d’Oeuvre titled Ham and “Ag(s)amemnon,”
* a Puzzle Slice about a spider, leopard and yak named “Spinder,” “Lenopard” and “Yank.”
* a Dessert Puzzle titled "Court jester’s courtly gestures," and
* 15 riff-offs of this week's NPR puzzle, titled, palindromically, "Cow, mosquito, Quito Moscow" – half of them designed by our friend Ecoarchitect, whose "Econfusions" feature appears regularly on Puzzleria!
That adds up to a score of puzzles... fittingly, as Bobby scores another hit as he rounds his third year toward home!
(Also, thanks to all who posted kind comments about Sunday's NPR puzzle.)
LegoWhoBelievesThatBobbyJacobsWillBeInductedIntoThePuzzleriaHallOfFameUnanimouslyOnTheFirstBallot!
Mosquito – Quito + Cow = Moscow
ReplyDeleteIn my hurry to log on early in the morning and congratulate Lego, I forgot to leave a clue (marker). Last Sunday afternoon I said, “I have some problems with the first creature and the second capital.” Mosquitos are no fun ever, and sometimes carry very dangerous diseases. Moscow is the home of a wannabe lifetime czar of that entire part of the world, through force. He’s the primary enemy of NATO and the European Union.
MOSQUITO →MOSCOW. “The first part of the second capital sounds like something that is famously located there. And the last part of a third capital describes the first creature.” (Moscow Cathedral Mosque; Budapest.)
ReplyDeleteMOSQUITO, MOSCOW
ReplyDeleteI wrote that I found the puzzle a little annoying at first, but it grew on me, because MOSQUITOS are little and annoying and COWS grow on you.
But only if you feed them. Nice puzzle, Lego!
Thanks Lego!
I've never found a cow growing on me. But mosquitoes, deriving their sustenance from my blood, sure.
DeleteThey grow on me only because I drink whole milk. :-)
DeleteI wrote, “Anagram the name of the first animal, and you can get two words that mean to stop something the second animal does.” MOSQUITO yields QUIT MOOS.
ReplyDeleteMOSQUITO (replace QUITO with COW -> MOSCOW)
ReplyDeleteI wrote:
Congrats, Lego! Had a ball solving this one.
Hint: Puzzleria!
"Ball" refers to Kenny Ball and His Jazzmen, who had a hit record with "Midnight in Moscow." Last week's Puzzleria! featured a puzzle with the answer Ecuadorian. There was also a puzzle with the answer Kiev/ Kyiv, which might make someone think of Moscow.
Mosquito – Quito + Cow = Moscow
ReplyDeleteGdH are the initials of Geoffrey DeHavilland, founder of the de Havilland Aircraft Company, builder of the DH 98 Mosquito bomber. The Mosquito, predominately built of wood and wood laminates, was one of the fastest aircraft of its time, faster even than some models of the Spitfire.
And the first Air Force One, the C-54 Skymaster that carried FDR to the Yalta conference in Crimea, was nicknamed the Sacred Cow.
DeleteThe German V-1 unmanned pulsejet missile was nicknamed the "Buzz Bomb."
DeleteSomething about this excellent puzzle reminds me of a movie about a big ape => Mighty Joe Young!
ReplyDeleteI thought Blaine's hint was the bold-faced Q that preceded the statement of the challenge. In the context of world capitals, that singles one out pretty definitively. Was that your intent, Blaine, or just a quoincidence?
ReplyDeleteThe Q and A are there every week, though.
DeleteHuh! Right you are, WW. I never noticed that before, so it really jumped out at me this week. I almost thought the Q was TMI.
DeleteTwo movies of the 1980's that contain the first creature and the second capital: Mosquito Coast (1986), and Moscow on the Hudson (1984).
ReplyDeleteMosquito-Quito+cow=Moscow
ReplyDeleteIn my part of the world, mossie is slang for mosquito. Mossie is also the name for the Cape sparrow (Passer melanurus). Borrowing from Matthew 10:29 "Are not two sparrows sold for a penny?", a pair of Cape sparrows were featured on the South African 1 cent coin from 1923 until the minting of that denomination ceased in 2002.
ReplyDeleteMOSQUITO & MOSCOW
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteThe first creature **MOSQUITO** shares something in common **BLOOD SUCKING** with another creature **VAMPIRE** who is closely linked to another creature **BAT** whose name appears in another capital **RABAT**
ReplyDeleteMosquito and Moscow
ReplyDeleteMy comment: Reminds me of my favorite Vermont radio show
When I visit my in-laws in Vermont, a favorite pastime (besides zapping mosquitos) is listening Saturday mornings to WDEV's "Music To Go To The Dump By", which often plays Dana Lyons' "Cows With Guns"
MOSQUITO-QUITO(Capital of Ecuador)+COW=MOSCOW(Capital of Russia)
ReplyDeletepjbWonders,IfAMosquitoWereToFlyAroundBotheringACow,MightItEventuallyGoInOneEarAndOutTheUdder?
This week's challenge comes from listener Greg VanMechelen, of Berkeley, Calif. Name a place where many people go for vacation (3,10). Change one of the vowels sounds from a long A to a long E, and the result phonetically will be one reason to visit this place. What place is it?
ReplyDeleteCongrats, ecoarchitect!
DeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteGreg VanMechelen is one smart fellow!
ReplyDelete