Q: Think of brand name in seven letters that you might find in a pharmacy. Drop the last letter and rearrange the letters that remain. You'll get another brand name, in six letters, that you might also find in a pharmacy. What is it?
A: CLAIROL --> RICOLA, there were several alternate answers provided in the comments.
For NPR puzzle posts, don't post the answer or any hints that could lead to the answer before the deadline (usually Thursday at 3pm ET). If you know the answer, submit it to NPR, but don't give it away here.
You may provide indirect hints to the answer to show you know it, but make sure they don't assist with solving. You can openly discuss your hints and the answer after the deadline. Thank you.
The fact that I know these brand names without ever having used them is probably an indicator that I watch way too much news on television.
ReplyDeleteI've used one. As for the other, I don't.
DeleteFirst off, shout out to Lancek who hit the bullseye on the number of correct submissions (~200). Also, I have an answer that is technically correct because both brand names appear on a list of brands available at a national pharmacy chain's web site. But if it's the intended answer there will be a lot of complaining.
DeleteMy complaint (for now) is NPR's crummy proofreading. “Think of brand name …”? C’mon, Puzzle Master.
DeleteMost of us watch a little TV
DeleteBut I found out America is one of only 2 countries that permit drug advertising, and big Pharma spends over $100 billion a year on it The remedy for my feeling about that was only available at a beverage store. But I decided to go cold (rather than Wild) Turkey.
I have a big TV, but I watch it little.
DeleteBack when I was growing up these ads were not allowed and if a doctor advertised it was considered bad form and he was most likely a quack.
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ReplyDeleteSpin-off: Think of a brand name in seven letters you might find in a pharmacy. Drop the third letter, and rearrange the letters that remain. You'll get another brand name in six letters that you might also find in a pharmacy.
ReplyDeleteWoops! Dr. K's spin-off led me to re-read the puzzle more carefully. It turns out that I solved his puzzle, not Will's. If you change one letter in the 6-letter brand name in this spin-off, you can rearrange the letters to get something edible you might find in a tin.
DeleteWoops x 2, Lancek. I intially made the same mistake.
DeleteI solved the wrong puzzle too. My answer was Allergan and Allegra, but then I counted the letters ...
DeleteMaybe we'd all benefit from some of the medications we've been looking into....
DeleteThanks to Lancek for keeping alive the ghost of my "tin nuts" puzzle from last week. This week's puzzle, however, which I have not yet solved, is, in a word, wonderful!
DeleteLegoWhoNotesThatTheComposerOfThisWeek'sNPRPuuzzleIsOneOfOurMany"GuestPuzzleMakers"WhoShareTheirCreativityOnPuzzleria!
I have the answer to Dr. K's puzzle, but WS'.
DeleteI think I found the intended answer (certainly the same as jan's), but it took a little research. For the record, I declare Dr. K's spin-off to be much better, not to mention more pharmaceutical.
DeleteI came across both answers because the 7-letter brand was my first guess...I was disappointed that I could come up with another brand name by only by removing the 3rd letter rather than the last...
DeleteThanks, Lancek. I seem to be reasonably good at solving puzzles, but generally not so good at constructing them.
DeleteThat said, I’m pretty sure I’ve had Will’s intended answer for a while now. If I do, here’s a hint to confirm: Take the final 3 letters of the 7-letter brand name in order and the first three letters of the 6-letter item, rearrange the latter, and get two words for a container and something you’d be unlikely to find in it.
I don't think we have the same intended answer, Dr. K. To riff off your confirming hint with my answer: Take the first 3 letters of the 6-letter brand and the last 3 letters of the 7-letter brand, in order, and you get, phonetically, a well-known internet meme.
DeleteJan, having now read the blog more thoroughly, I see that there are likely two good answers and that the consensus so far seems to be that my solution, which you have also arrived at, is not the intended one. Yet it works. I don’t have the other answer, the one you hinted at above, at least not yet, so I can’t say anything about it. It is my hope, however, that Will, whichever is his intended answer, will not only acknowledge both answers on the air but also allow both as correct submissions.
DeleteJan, I now have the answer you hinted at above. (The hint works.) I would agree that it's probably Will's intended answer. But the other answer does equally satisfy the puzzle's criteria as well. I repeat: I hope Will acknowledges both answers on the air and, more importantly, accepts either pair of answers as correct.
DeleteI just found this answer and then came here to verify that I understood the actual puzzle and that it wasn't misphrased. I guess I still have the correct solution to find.
DeleteOne soothes my throat and the other softens my stool!
DeleteI have at least one possible answer...
ReplyDeleteThe parent companies are headquartered about 180 miles apart.
ReplyDeleteIs that by driving distance, or as the crow flies?
DeleteStraight line distance.
DeleteHmm… I‘ve got two possible answers, but both pairs are companies across the Atlantic Ocean from the other. But the clock’s ticking, so I may have to just submit what I’ve got…
DeleteNot a fan of these brand puzzles
ReplyDeleteI found three answers and submitted the one most commonly advertised on TV
ReplyDeleteHo hum. Looking at pharmacological lists is not quite as bad as looking at weapons lists but it was not an especially fun slog getting to a very meek aha! millisecond.
ReplyDeleteReally, that specific? I was hoping it was something simple like BandAid, not brands like Wegovy.
DeleteI don't think you'll have to search pharmacological lists, Splainit.
Delete541623
ReplyDeleteI must have a different answer if that is a permutation.
DeleteOr, 133818
DeleteRemove some letters from the seven-letter brand name. You'll be left with a fairly common female first name. A famous celebrity with this first name wrote a book in which she mentioned she has used this seven-letter brand name in the past.
ReplyDeleteNice!
DeleteAs the Jefferson Airplane advised us, "Go Cialis."
DeleteTortie, the puzzle maker this week is YOU, correct?
DeleteYes, it's me! I finally had success after I-don't-know-how-many failures (probably 15 or so)!
DeleteWill did change my puzzle somewhat. I think he made it harder. I will defer to his expertise as to what makes a good puzzle.
Congratulations, Tortitude!
DeleteCongrats, Tortititude! I'm always much less impressed by people (like myself) who can solve puzzles than I am with those who can construct them (like you).
DeleteThat first name is mine!
DeleteBeware if you hope to impregnate!
ReplyDeleteWhich side of the counter are you finding these brands?
ReplyDeleteThere are at least two different answers to this puzzle. For what I believe is the intended answer, both products are familiar to all and are found on the shelf in pharmacies and other stores. For an alternate answer, one is a proprietary prescription medication.
DeleteThis really is a new low for NPR puzzles! Why in the whirled is he presenting a radio audience with crap sold on television? It makes no sense. Also, why would someone like me who never watches TV even know about either of these products? And where is the reward moment in solving this debacle? I am going to stop trying to donate my neighbors' cars.
ReplyDeleteI guess it all Depends!!!
DeleteIf the puzzle is too easy, try some Viagra to make it harder.
DeleteA stiff shot should suffice.
DeleteWhy in the whirled? To make our heads spin, of course. Gotta throw a few twisters into the rotation.
DeletePxybliz (migraine) and Blxpiy (constipation). Easy puzzle.
ReplyDeleteI don't live in the US and I don't own a television, so this was pretty joyless. I have the answer but have never heard of one of these drugs! Grudging clue: lioness.
ReplyDeleteWhere is your habitat?
DeleteAntipodean!
DeleteStraya?
DeleteDr. A, a close friend was recently in your vicinity on a Paul Zimmerman rose garden tour.
DeleteI have an inversion table.
DeleteYep, Oz! Dr. K, I hadn't heard of Paul Zimmerman, but it doesn't surprise me that roses—like so many lovely flora—flourish here.
DeleteSorry, Dr. Awkward, it looks likes one of the brands isn't very available in Australia. The other is.
DeleteBTW, loved Deadloch, but you can keep Vegemite.
DeleteThe key to Vegemite is moderation—just a touch of umami on buttered toast—scrape, don't dollop!
DeleteI got Centrum / Nurtec but I prefer the other answer! My clue had to do with Centrum Silver and the Three Lionesses, who came in second in the World Cup.
DeleteAlthough I'm also in the no TV camp, found two possible solutions. Now to adjudicate the right one.
ReplyDeleteI may have been responsible for the TV rabbit hole down which some here have apparently dived. Sorry about that. My TV news reference applied to Dr. K's spin-off brand names, not the brand names in the presumed right answer. I have never seen a TV ad for the expected 6-letter brand name, and I am not in the target demographic for the 7-letter brand name, although I am certainly familiar with their ads.
ReplyDelete"Familiar with their ads" puts it mildly. They were culture-changing -- within six years of introduction, 70% of the target demographic used the product -- and earned their creator a place in the Advertising Hall of Fame.
DeleteOf course, we still don't know for sure that we have the intended answer.
DeleteJan has the intended answer.
DeleteJan,
DeleteYou're brilliant and I ain't. I've spent too much time on this puzzle already. See you all next week.
Tortitude knew for sure, but my reference was to "only her hairdresser" to let jan know that I was on board with his comment.
DeleteThe number of correct answers will be on the edge of 100.
ReplyDeleteI think that's close. Definitely under 250.
DeleteI'm thinking 150. Maybe more, but it couldn't be much over 200.
DeleteCentrum starts with "cent", which means 100. Lady Gaga was in the Nurtec ad. She has a song called "The Edge of Glory".
DeleteI might sit this one out. I don't do drugs.
ReplyDeleteI just give them.
DeleteThink of a narcotic brand name in seven letters. Drop the last two letters and rearrange the remaining letters to name a recent pandemic virus. Good luck! :) :)
ReplyDeleteTake the 7-letter brand, remove one letter and rearrange to get part of the body
ReplyDeleteBlaine, would it be a "NO-NO" if anyone would be able to tell me if we're talking about an OTC med or a prescribed one?
ReplyDeleteNot everything sold in pharmacies is a med of any kind.
DeleteThanks Jan,
DeleteI'll sleep on it
I figured I should drop a hint and just say that I think Will is looking for some bloggers here to go postal!
ReplyDeleteI live in a major city and just last week two major chain drug store locations were CLOSED, due to flash mob shoplifting. What I find in pharmacies here is robbed and empty shelves and "closed " signs.,. My pharmacies are all online now.
ReplyDeleteThis one was tough. Not familiar with either words.There is a popular singer associated with the second item. The first item brings Grandparents to mind.
ReplyDeleteIt's interesting to consider the often conflicting ways in which sales of both brands might have been affected by the pandemic. Difficult to find and interpret hard data, though.
ReplyDeleteCan someone remind me of the anagram engine that has brand names in its dictionary? I think I'm on the right path but a little bit of assist.
ReplyDeleteJust figured it out... But it would still be great if someone could pass along that anagrammer.
DeleteThanks! That's the one I used before, but the name escaped me.
DeleteGeography hints: a certain city in Massachusetts and a certain city in California.
ReplyDeleteWhat a bad hair day?
ReplyDeleteMitch froze big time again; his third time now.
ReplyDeleteApparently not! Yahoo news suddenly popped up the video of when he froze the second time back in August. WTF?
DeleteThat anagram-solver.net is amazing. A huge percentage of strings of letters that look they *could* be words of English are in fact brand names.
ReplyDeleteUsing that engine I've found two more alternative answers, neither of which has been clued here yet (I think!).
One of my pairs involves a product Will might be embarrassed to mention on the air, and one that has a specific age demographic and is probably as likely to be purchased in a supermarket as at a drug store.
The other involves a rather obscure six-letter proprietary name of a drug, and a common seven-letter over-the-counter med whose name is a plural.
Oops, nope. Aha. Now I think that first pair *was* clued above, and it requires removing the third letter instead of the final letter.
Delete(I think I started getting confused when I used that anagram-solver.net engine!)
I only sent in one answer. I’m sure it’s the intended one. Had other things to do this weekend besides work on the puzzle.
ReplyDeleteI sent in two answers that work, but suspect there may even be more. I sent them in together.
ReplyDeleteI did the same.
DeleteI solved it, thankfully, but wasn't certain I had the actual answer. Thanks to Jan's able clue-ing, I am sure I have at least the same answer as he does.
ReplyDeleteJan definitely has the intended answer. I do hope that Will accepts other valid answers as well.
DeleteIs one of these on t.v. now?
DeleteMy answer works, barely. The 7-letter word is fine but the two answers I managed to find for the 6-letter word are so obscure it is hard to believe they are right, so I think they probably aren't. Sigh. I need a pill.
ReplyDeleteI'm also not a brand name puzzle fan. I think it is sometimes more fun to "solve" the clues (I think about how difficult or possible it would be for AI to do this someday, based not on any individual clue but the gestalt of all of them). In this case, though, a single clue led me directly to the answer. I don't submit my answer in those cases but be sure to keep those clues indirect. Cheers!
ReplyDeleteHow about Kool-Aid?
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteSomebody complain about brands?
ReplyDeleteReina del Cid, rebranded.
DeleteAre these brands that people actually associate with pharmacies?
ReplyDeleteOne hint here gave me something to focus my searches. I've heard of each brand, but I don't think I've ever used either (and at most I've used one, the only one I'd really associate with pharmacies). Neither appeared on the lists of pharmacy-related brands I was finding.
ReplyDeleteThis branding thing is interesting. I suggest if you really want to understand branding, you should consult cowboys because branding cattle is what they do. However, I should also point out that it is not as it used to be. Times change, and so does language. Back in the day the cowboys would round up the cattle once a year and it was called a roundup. This is where all the new born male calves were then hogtied and castrated. At the same time all the calves, no matter the gender, were branded, so as to distinguish ownership. For the most part this procedure has not changed to any noticeable degree over the years, but the term for the procedure has. Yep, time marches on, and now these roundups are referred to as stearing committees.
DeleteWow. Long way to go for that one, and you ended up misspelling STEERING. Nice try, though.
DeletepjbIsRemindedOfATrickyCrypticClueHeSawEarlyOnForTheWord[CALVE]:
SucceedWithNeatProduction(5)
Roundups, branding, and cattle rustling are not just things of the past. You might want to check out John McPhee's "Irons in the Fire", published as a New Yorker article in 1993, and as the lead essay in a book of the same name from 1997.
Deletejan,
DeleteI am very much aware it is going on as we speak. BTW, I still have my chaps and spurs here in the closet, along with all the rest. Have you seen the movie: Rancho Deluxe (1975)? Slim Pickins is a riot, as are the other actors too.
I gave up...time spent looking at lists of brand names is wasted and it sounds like the payoff is meh. Enjoying the sun in Dallas!
ReplyDeleteI gave up, too
DeleteHere's another "riff" puzzle, to enjoy before tomorrow's NPR reveal.
ReplyDelete(I solved the puzzle this week and none of my clues below are related to the actual answer for this week)
Find a "pharmacy product" in seven letters that you've heard of.
Drop the last letter and re-arrange to get an ailment you have heard of.
Drop an internal letter and rearrange to get a precursor compound for psychoactive drugs.
Drop the last letter and you have a word, commonly used in English, but deriving from another language.
This comment has been removed by the author.
DeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
DeleteGERITOL
DeleteGOITER
ERGOT
ERGO
Think of a very high end European men's shoe brand. Now say the brand name of the shoes and a major part of the shoes all in two words. Spoonerize the result to phonetically get the stage name of a very famous musical actress character. In other words the actress is a character in the musical and not a real person.
ReplyDeleteSomeone said Jan has the answer. Does he or doesn't he?
ReplyDeletePlease delete.
DeleteGot me thinking about Blaine's hint.
DeleteIf Blaine has a hint there, it went past me completely (as Blaine's subtle hints sometimes do). I did find some, um, phallic imagery in the picture, but I was reluctant to mention it for fear that it might have been relevant. Some later comments convinced me that it was not.
DeleteI do not believe Blaine has solved this one or he would have removed an above post.
DeleteI agree. But to explain before 3 would itself be TMI
DeleteI refuse to wait past noon.
DeleteI thought Blaine's lack of hint pointed to the question, Does he (have the answer) or doesn't he?
DeleteOr maybe he didn't know an answer yet :-).
DeleteCENTRUM, NURTEC
ReplyDelete"Beware if you plan to impregnate!" >>> Rimegepant, the drug name of NURTEC, anagrams to IMPREGNATE.
CLAIROL, RICOLA
This answer came from other clues to the answer Tortie prescribed ;-). My pharmacy is in a grocery store so technically neither item is in the pharmacy at all. The items are in different aisles of the grocery store.
WW, you may be interested in my original puzzle that I sent to NPR:
DeleteName a brand you might see in the health care aisle of a grocery store. Duplicate a letter and rearrange the letters. You’ll have a brand you might see in the hair care aisle.
What are the two brands?
Tortitude, thanks for the original puzzle wording. Pharmacy and Blaine's "Take a pill" had us looking in the wrong spots.
DeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
DeleteTortitude, I prefer your original puzzle. The rewrite led me down the wrong rabbit hole. Not really your intended puzzle. I kept hearing the Ricola song from the commercial before I could identify what the product was. But did not think Clairol would be accepted as not a drug or pill.
DeleteTortie, I believe the PuzzleMaster's rewrite screwed it up for me. I probably could've got it if it had been narrowed down a bit. Surprising how many alternative answers I've seen here already, and I hadn't thought of any one of them! But then, I have been a little busy IRL.
DeletepjbHasToHaveASimilarMedicalAppointmentThisNextWeek(AndThat'sAllHeHasToSayAboutThat)
MONSTER – R --> MENTOS
ReplyDeleteEarlier this week I said, “I only sent in one answer. I’m sure it’s the intended one. Had other things to do this weekend besides work on the puzzle.” Focus on /one/ – the letters O, N, and E are included – not consecutively – in both brands, one reading forward and one reading backward.
Congrats on a challenging puzzle, Torti.
INTENDED ANSWER: CLAIROL & RICOLA
ReplyDeleteplus
ALTERNATE ANSWER: CENTRUM & NURTEC
CLAIROL, RICOLA
ReplyDelete> I've used one. As for the other, I don't.
In case you were wondering, "Does he or doesn't he?"
> The parent companies are headquartered about 180 miles apart.
Darmstadt, Germany (Wella), and Laufen, Switzerland.
> 541623
The order in which the letters of RICOLA appear in CLAIROL.
> Or, 133818
The order of admission to the Union of RI, CO, and LA (13th, 38th, and 18th, respectively).
> Nice!
... 'n easy (a CLAIROL brand)
> It's interesting to consider the often conflicting ways in which sales of both brands might have been affected by the pandemic.
Fewer women going to salons might mean more buying home hair color products. OTOH, more working from home might have reduced pressure to keep up appearances. OTOH, they can still see your hair on Zoom. OTOH, supply chain problems. OTOH, many women decided to just go gray. Many other hands here. I'd have thought Ricola to be a simpler case -- Covid causes dry coughs, so more cough drop sales, right? Except, masking and working from home meant way fewer flu cases, so sales actually fell. Go figure!
> How about Kool-Aid?
It's probably a much safer way to dye your hair!
Ah, so I was right about your "Nice!" comment. I toyed with adding a musical hint of Ike and Tina Turner, leading to their version of "Proud Mary."
DeleteCLAIROL, RICOLA (Tortitude’s intended answer)
ReplyDeleteCENTRUM, NURTEC (alternate answer)
Both pairs work.
My spinoff puzzle: MUCINEX -X—> NEXIUM
And, finally my modest spinoff from Lego's puzzle last week (but better worded here): Rearrange the first three letters of the 6-letter brand name, add the final 3 letters of the 7-letter brand name in order, and get two words for a container and something you’d be unlikely to find in it.
From the alternate answer NURTEC, CENTRUM —> URN + RUM
Our friend Rudolfo takes center stage on this week's edition of Puzzleria! In his "Puzzles Rudolfo" feature he unveils what he dubs "shallow crossword puzzles" – that is, a crosssword grid with two rows (horizontal) each containing X letters, and with X columns (vertical) that are only two letters deep. Rudolfo challenges us to find words of equal length to put in the two rows so that every two-letter column spells a legitimate two-letter word. For example, Rudolfo provides the following example with a female name and a male name in the two across rows:
ReplyDeleteA R I A N A
W E S T O N
which spells the six two-letter column words:
AW, RE, IS, AT, NO and AN!
We upload Puzzleria! tonight, around Midnight PST, but likely earlier.
Also on this week's menus:
* a dizzying Schpuzzle of the Week titled "www revolve around xyz axes?"
* a Buzzy Hors d’Oeuvre titled "Bye bye bee! honey adieu!"
* an Eventful Slice titled "Egyptians and Grecians,"
* An Arm And A Powderkeg Leg Dessert titled "Western weapon versus eastern ruler," and
* Nine riffs of Tortitude's NPR puzzle (most composed by Puzzlerian! puzzle-makers) titled "Clairol for hair, Ricola for coifs... oops! coughs!"
Drop in and join us for some deep thinking... and "shallow crosswords!"
LegoWhoGetsDizzyWhenHeRevolvesAroundTheXYZAxes!
CLAIROL, RICOLA
ReplyDeleteMy comment that Thanks to Jan's able clue-ing, I am sure I have at least the same answer as he does was a nod to Clairol's famous "does she or doesn't she?" slogan.
And my "please delete" note was due to someone using that phrase a bit less stenganographically than I might have.
Ben
Take a look at my puzzle on Puzzeleria tomorrow. I think you will get a chuckle.
DeleteI went the Centrum> Nurtec route. Regarding my hint about the Massachusetts and California cities...
ReplyDeleteThe DCU Center in Worcester, Massachusetts, is a sports arena and was known as the Centrum from its opening in 1982 until DCU bought the naming rights effective 2005. I've been there once, for what I remember was a Notre Dame-Holy Cross hockey game. However, the DCU Center website's event history shows only one ND-HC matchup, a basketball game in January 1984. One of us has our sports confused.
Azusa, California, is so named because it offers "everything from A to Z in the USA," as claims its Chamber of Commerce. Similarly, Centrum is promoted as the "from A to Z" multivitamin. Some of us may remember Centrum's early commercials' tagline "from A...to Zinc!"
CLAIROL (hair dye) → RICOLA (cough drops)
ReplyDeleteI suspect there are other solutions to this challenge, but I did not have the time to look for them...
1. ALAVERT (allergies) => ALVERA (deodorant)
ReplyDelete2. ROGAINE (hair growth) => A-G IRON (iron supplement; see https://www.webmd.com/drugs/2/drug-583/a-g-iron-oral/details)
I see that neither answer matches the hints posted here, including the one from the puzzle creator herself, so I’m hoping alternate answers will be accepted.
Old toupees never dye, they just fade, fade away.
ReplyDeleteClairol, Ricola
ReplyDeleteI wrote: Remove some letters from the seven-letter brand name. You'll be left with a fairly common female first name. A famous celebrity with this first name wrote a book in which she mentioned she has used this seven-letter brand name in the past.
In In Such Good Company, Carol Burnett mentions that for the first few episodes of The Carol Burnett Show, she had been dying her hair herself with Miss Clairol. I’m guessing Jan’s response of “Nice!” was referring to “Nice’n Easy,” a Clairol product.
TortieWhoThinksThatSomewhereThereMustBeAPuzzleTyingTheCarolBurnettShowToTheCBSNetworkWhereItAppeared
I'm curious about how Will changed your puzzle to make it harder. And hard it was! Congrats!
DeleteGood one, Tortie! Very obvious and yet I couldn't get it despite looking at Ricola a number of times. Clairol never occurred to me.
DeleteCENTRUM--NURTEC
ReplyDeleteCentrum, Nurtec
ReplyDeleteOn the correct number of entries, I said:
ReplyDelete"I'm thinking 150. Maybe more, but it couldn't be much over 200."
Because CL(airol) (ri)C(o)L(a) = 150. But it could be another L, or even another L plus an I...
Wow. Clairol, Ricola was the answer that I was referring to Wayyyy up at the top of this thread. I thought there must be an answer that was more "medicinal" than that for both brands. (Health and beauty item didn't seem right.) I don't hear a lot of groaning yet...
ReplyDeleteJay, see my comment to Word Woman above.
DeleteThank you! That version is far less groan-worthy. :)
DeleteRiffs I made up while searching, unsuccessfully, for the intended answer (in case anyone still has any interest in this puzzle topic!):
ReplyDelete1. Take a brand name pain reliever in seven letters and move the last letter to the front to spell a colloquial term for an intestinal disorder.
2. What brand name cold medication describes, phonetically, what a native New Yorker would tell you to do if Jerome Powell has violated your legal rights?
3. Replace the last letter of a brand name food product you might see in a pharmacy with a copy of the fifth letter and rearrange to spell a brand name antifungal medication.
It wasn't so much a pharmaceutical puzzle as it was a Kozma-etic puzzle!
ReplyDeleteThanks for the pun, Crito! 😂
DeleteShould I I be resting on my Laura-els?
I sent in 'DRISTAN" and "ASTRID", a brand of lotions I discovered while looking for possible solutions.
DeleteI am so proud of myself for not posting something about Trojans. But I wanted to.
DeleteI made up this silly puzzle: Think of a narcotic brand name in seven letters. Drop the last two letters and rearrange the remaining letters to name a recent pandemic virus. Good luck! :) :)
ReplyDeleteANSWER: Vicodin - COVID
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4188646/#:~:text=%E2%80%9CWhen%20you%20are%20dealing%20with,to%20the%20efficacy%20of%20the
ReplyDeleteWhat's in a name? Bull.https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4188646/#:~:text=%E2%80%9CWhen%20you%20are%20dealing%20with,to%20the%20efficacy%20of%20the
ReplyDeleteIXARELTO, TRALEX was my alternate answer. Subtle reference to the numerous Xarelto class action suits intended by my use of the word adjudicate.
ReplyDeleteLexapro
ReplyDeleteRelpax
Atripla
Prialt
Eucrisa
Uceris
Later I sent in
CENTRUM/NURTEC
I had 2 clues:
ReplyDelete1) Take the 7-letter brand, remove one letter and rearrange to get part of body:
CENTRUM becomes RECTUM
2) what a bad hair day? :
Obviously refers to CLAIROL
The strong hints about the former's ad campaign and the other hints about memes allowed me to find
ReplyDeleteCLAIROL, RICOLA
which fit enough other clues that it had to be right. However, I'm disappointed by it. While I think it's fair to consider RICOLA a pharmacy brand, I don't see CLAIROL as such, and this looks like yet another case of Will stretching things beyond reasonableness to manufacture a connection that just isn't there. He's been doing that a lot, and it's getting frustrating.
I had started searching with everything I could think of, then adding whatever I could find in my house, and then adding brands from some list of 100-ish (that I can't find right now) as well as what Amazon listed. I don't believe I saw CLAIROL or RICOLA anywhere.
The alternative of CENTRUM, NURTEC is interesting. I don't know if I've heard of NURTEC, but it clearly fits, and I'm definitely aware of CENTRUM (and even have it in my house and had it on my list). I think this is a better answer for the puzzle as Will phrased it.
@Tortitude's original phrasing referring to something in the health care aisle and something in the hair care aisle is a much better phrasing for the intended solution. Will kind of ruined it.
Centrum and Nurtec for me, too!
DeleteI think that Will Shortz' tweaking of the original puzzle ruined it. I would bet both products could be bought at the local Kwik-E- Mart instead of only at a pharmacy.
I am guilty of being a TV channel changer when it comes to commercial breaks. I never paid attention that Lady Gaga was promoting Nurtec in her TV commercials.
ReplyDeleteMy comment - “I figured I should drop a hint and just say that I think Will is looking for some bloggers here to go postal!” - “drop a hint” referred to a Ricola cough drop; “go postal” referred to the fact that RICOLA is comprised of 3 state postal code abbreviations (something Jan used in one of his clues).
I got the call! I wonder how many submissions...
ReplyDeleteHey congrats Feinstee!
DeleteCongratulations!
DeleteCongrats!
DeleteGreat! (BTW, how long have you been playing the Puzzle, how did you figure this one out, what do you like to do when you're not playing the Puzzle, and -- I have to ask this -- are you ready to play the Puzzle?)
DeleteI’m curious: Which answer(s) did you submit?
DeleteClairol/Ricola
DeleteGood luck with the on-air puzzle later today!
DeleteThanks, jan! And for those curious, there's a guest host this weekend, apparently.
DeleteThe inside dope we really want is a head start on next week's puzzle! (I'm always impressed that all those Jeopardy! contestants and their friends and families are able to keep the results of their games secret for the months between taping and air time.)
DeleteI imagine that bit happens after they hang up on me. But agreed about the self-control. I think the last Amazing Race had a year from taking to airing.
DeleteI have been on air twice. Both times, the Friday telephone session sounded like the actual broadcast: introduction, puzzle, and announcement of new puzzle. I copied the puzzle down and revealed it early.
DeleteHave fun today!
Thank you! Call is at 1pm ET
DeleteCongrats feinstee! Enjoy taping the on air puzzle today.
DeleteCongrats Feinstee! Good luck with the taping and "see you on the air!" as they say.
DeleteCentrum(Silver) makes me think of Grandparents. Nurtec was a happy accident. I have been hit with enough annoying Lady Gaga ads for Nurtec on social media, that I thought: "hmm...that sounds familiar?"
ReplyDeleteI submitted Centrum/Nurtec. I've seen the Lady Gaga commercial, but did not remember the product name. After searching for it, I am getting bombarded with Nurtec ads.
DeleteIn case you might have missed my little conundrum above here it is again:
ReplyDeleteThink of a very high end European men's shoe brand. Now say the brand name of the shoes and a major part of the shoes all in two words. Spoonerize the result to phonetically get the stage name of a very famous musical actress character. In other words the actress is a character in the musical and not a real person.
Happy Groundhog Day! What a great holiday. . . We have crocuses in bloom in our 60+ degree weather. It's an early spring here, at least until a snowstorm arrives later today in Colorado.
ReplyDeleteI was in touch with the Puzzle Master. His intended answer this week was CLAIROL, RICOLA. He had not heard about CENTRUM, NURTEC, but said he accepted that as an alternate answer and would likely mention it on the air.
ReplyDeleteindeed he did
DeleteHe definitely mentioned Centrum.
DeleteI have no idea what Will will do with any of the alternative solutions, but I’ll tell you what I did before submitting Monster and Mentos. I asked Mr. Google: “Is Monster sold in pharmacies?” and “Is (or) Are Mentos sold in pharmacies?” In both cases, there was an affirmative response. You can even order them online from CVS, Walgreen’s, Rite-Aid, etc.. So, I think they are valid solutions.
ReplyDeleteBTW, Good Luck today, feinstee!. I’ve been on the air myself. And less than a year later, I was called for a second time. That time, I told the producer who called to give the opportunity to someone else who’d never had the chance. He was very appreciative of my answer.
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ReplyDeleteCongratulations, feinstee! Enjoy your on-the-air opportunity! --Margaret G.
ReplyDeleteThanks, all! It was my least favorite topic ... geography. For next week ... Name a classical composer in three syllables. Change the vowel sounds in the 1st and 3rd syllables and phonetically, you will get a sport.
ReplyDeleteCorrection: MISPRONOUNCE the name of a classical composer. . . .!
DeleteMuch easier puzzle next week, I think. No hint here.
DeleteAlso - Clairol / Ricola was the intended answer, but Will did acknowledge Centrum. 84(?) correct answers.
ReplyDeleteThe new musical "The Connector" appearing now in NYC off-broadway. My cousin wrote the book. About the news and journalism. You might want to see it. https://www.nytimes.com/2024/02/01/theater/the-connector-jason-robert-brown.html?unlocked_article_code=1.SU0.rkc2.fP7jzMjgR_iU&bgrp=c&smid=url-share
ReplyDelete