Q: Think of three common six-letter words that have vowels in the second and fifth positions. The last five letters of the words are the same. Only the first letters differ. And none of the words rhyme with either of the others. What words are they?I can think of multiple answers, but a similar puzzle was given more than a decade ago.
Edit: The answer to the NPR puzzle from November 2009 would work (BATHER/FATHER/GATHER) and so would FINGER/GINGER/SINGER. There are probably others.
A: BALLET, MALLET/PALLET, WALLET
For my answer, rearrange the letters of the alphabetically first of the three words. You get something you want to continue.
ReplyDelete
ReplyDeleteThe last five letters of my three words anagram to a body part.
I agree with you, Nodd. Also, anagrams to another common word.
DeleteAfter a few possible answers that I found unsatisfying due to the “common words” requirement, I’ve finally landed on a trio I think works nicely. Sadly it doesn’t match your clue—In my case, the last five letters anagram to a location name (city, state, country, etc.) Don’t want to get more specific than that, since you’ll already know it’s five letters…
DeleteI sent in that also.
DeleteSeems like lots of options this week. Also, the way I read the puzzle, it does not preclude vowels beyond 2 and 5.
ReplyDeleteMy answer has vowels only at 2 and 5.
DeleteSame here, Nodd
DeleteSame here, but I agree with Splainit that vowels in other spots too wouldn't make an answer unacceptable.
DeleteWell done, Joshua. Congrats, fellow Matylander.
ReplyDeleteGood job on the air, Joshua! Given where you live, I guess you are excused for "crocus" not ringing a bell. 😉
ReplyDeleteLOL, "Which 'C'?"
ReplyDeleteGood performance, Josh, and quick thinking.
I loved that quip too, Joshua -- made me laugh out loud. I wish Will had responded in kind, such as, "the second one."
DeleteJoshua, Exemplary performance. Congratulations. I doubt you really needed any assistance.
DeleteImprecise… vowels “only” in second and fifth positions? Or vowels can be there in other positions too… I hate such ambiguity
ReplyDeleteI haven’t solved it yet, but from what I know of Will’s puzzles I’m reasonably confident that the third, fourth, and sixth letters will be consonants. But I’m not ruling out the possibility that one of the three words may have a leading vowel
DeleteHmmmmm.
ReplyDeleteOkay, my hint is: I wonder if "Jim Bricker" is actually a pseudonym that Blaine uses.
One of my words may be found on a stage, the other may be found in a toolbox and the third may be found in my pocket.
ReplyDeleteI submitted those and a few other options too.
DeleteSame here.
DeletePretty sure I have the same five letters, but I chose different words!
DeleteOne of mine can be found on an island, one at a sports event, and one lurking in the shadows.
I have this one also...
DeleteI have this answer as well, but feel like the thing on your pocket and toolbox rhyme. No?
DeleteBuck,
DeleteNot where I was raised....Brooklyn!
Oh good. The puzzle just isn't complete without a debate about pronunciation! :-)
DeleteTo me a "rhyme" has to include a stressed syllable.
DeleteHmm, I do not pronounce the pocket and toolbox items the same way either, and I am not a New Yorker...in fact, I don't think I've ever heard them pronounced as rhyming. I think I have the same answer as CAP, because the clue works for my 3 words!
DeleteI live in the Mountain West, and the pocket/toolbox pair don't rhyme here either
DeleteThis puzzle seems familiar.
ReplyDeleteI have an answer.
ReplyDeleteFor the answer I came up with, the starting letters of the three words remind me of a puzzle earlier this year.
DeleteNot sure if I’m aligned with JAWS, but my starting 3 letters, in alphabetical order, remind me of a vehicle (though not a Chrysler). And one of my words reminds me of a very recent puzzle.
ReplyDeleteSee Clark's comment above.
DeleteI have the same answer as Clark a pseudonym. I will probably use that particular tool today
ReplyDeleteOr you could play instead.
DeleteIndeed, I could, Nodd
DeleteGot it as I was heading to my family reunion at the seashore.
ReplyDeleteI just arrived and experienced all three.
DeleteP. G. Wodehouse is almost relevant, but not quite.
ReplyDeletewallet, mallet, ballet...valet?
DeleteAt this point, and like Blaine, I am reasonably certain that there are several answers.
ReplyDeleteI'd say at least two -- mine, which I think is also Rob's, and CAP's.
DeleteI would add a 3rd (an alternate I came up with and like, though my better half kind of rolled her eyes). I think it's time for a little dance, head out, and shoot some baskets to clear my head.
DeleteI have a third option that would be more seasonably appropriate than the expected answer (which I believe to be that of Rob and Nodd), but it involves a somewhat arcane adjective.
DeleteLancek, I agree that Rob and Nodd probably have the intended answer. That said, the first word I considered was also “seasonably appropriate” (though it may be different from yours), and when I came up easily with a 2nd word that started with a different letter and didn’t rhyme, I thought I would be home free. But a third word that didn’t rhyme with either of the other two proved difficult.
DeleteDespite that crash and burn, I still think I have two other valid answers, one of which is Cap’s. Add Rob and Nodd’s and possibly some others, I’d say there are several valid alternate answers. It should be interesting to see whether or not Will acknowledges them on Sunday.
I think we have the same seasonal word, but I was probably more determined to find that third non-rhymer. The first letter is one letter earlier in the alphabet. It's in some dictionaries, but it's illegal in Scrabble, so surely ineligible for Will.
DeleteI see we do have the same "seasonal word." Great minds...
DeleteI came upon the 3rd "word" as well but had to dismiss it. That said, I still have two valid alternate answers (but not Rob and Nodd's).
Thursday should be interesting.
I've noticed something interesting, which I feel is TMI to discuss now, but I"m looking forward to bringing it up on Thursday.
ReplyDeleteAlso, does anyone have two answers that aren't closely related to one another? I do not -- if there is a 'second' one (meaning, not the one I already have or a close relative), I might work more on the puzzle to try to find it.
I would not consider the two answers I mentioned above to be closely related.
DeleteOh right -- your five-letter sequence anagrams to a body part. I thought I knew what that five-letter sequence must be, but then I couldn't make three non-rhyming six-letter words. I'm going to pursue that one!
DeleteOh, geez. Yeah it's the sequence I was thinking, but I cruised right by the third non-rhyming word the first time I checked!
DeleteI was assuming the one I got (and Clark too) was the intended one, but now I think it could be either one.
And now I see yet another set!
I'm glad last week's car make wasn't BMW.
ReplyDeleteThere is a connection to a recent puzzle.
ReplyDeleteRay Charles is a singer.
DeleteWill sounds much better this week, I'm glad he's making such progress
ReplyDeleteI came up with Cap's answer. Anyway I am reprising my humorous riddle from last week, since no one solved it yet.
ReplyDeleteWhat was Dan Blocker's response when his doctor told him he had only about a month to live?
"After 14 seasons, NBC is finally going to stop beating a dead Hoss?"
DeleteYou are overthinking it.
Delete"On my tombstone, be sure to get the Hoss before the Cartwright."
DeleteLancek I love your answer! Very clever. However it is not what I coined.
DeleteHe probably took it with his usual equanimity. If he'd been angry, that would have been a Hoss of a different choler.
Deletejan, I both appreciate and impressed with your attention to my humorous conundrum, but you are not paying attention to my advice. You are overthinking this. Also I have been hoping Nodd might weigh in too, but perhaps he has yet to see it. So, once again pay attention to the wording and that you are overthinking it. Or perhaps as Salieri might have said, although I doubt it, "too many words."
DeleteOk, simple. Monosyllabic. Kubler-Ross's first stage of grief: denial. Hoss just said "Neigh"!
DeleteNay, but closer.
DeleteHe asked for hospice.
DeleteNodd,
DeleteWhen I coined it the other day I immediately thought you might solve, and you almost got my answer.
What his response was is, "Hoss piss!"
I like your analysis.
DeleteThank you Nodd. I believe it was Roy Rogers who said: "When it comes to life and death matters, one should not go off on a hair Trigger."
DeleteRoy liked to go up hill and down dale.
DeleteNot only that, but when Trigger passed he paid for a taxidermist to stuff him with old telephone books whose pages had yellowed.
DeleteSo the taxidermist let his fingers do the walking through the yellow pages?
DeleteWell he was DEXtrous, if that's what you mean.
DeleteAnd speaking of Roy and Dale. Dale's singing reminds me of a certain ex president:
Some trails are happy ones,
Others are blue.
It's the way you ride the trail that counts,
Here's a happy one for you.
Happy trails to you,
Until you cheat again.
Happy trails to you,
Keep ranting until then.
Who cares about the truth when you're in court?
Just rant along, and bring the sunny report.
Happy trails to you,
Until you cheat again.
This conversation is hilarious! But my question is, why did the Cartwrights have such bad luck keeping their women alive?
DeleteScarlett,
DeleteActually there were no women. Did you ever notice that each of the 4 sons looked very different from his siblings, not to mention his "father"? Ben Cartwright was not exactly a womanizer, if you get my drift. As to why the "sons" were there is anyone's guess. The bigger question, in my opinion, is what was Hop Sing putting in the soup?
Maybe too much MSG?
DeleteI don't know, but did you notice the Cartwrights did not walk much? Hop Sing did not wok much either.
DeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
DeleteI did see him wok a dog....or was that a cat?
DeleteI seem to recall that he did sometimes moonlight by dogwoking. My best friend is from China and goes back to visit his mother frequently. He says she likes eating cat, but he doesn't. He also thinks dogwoking jokes are funny. And he would definitely tell me if he didn't. Also, did you know the Lewis and Clark expedition sometimes bought dogs from Indian tribes to eat?
DeleteInteresting about L&C. I didn't know that. But I guess that's better than the Donner party. People do what they must to survive. That's where the idea for Free-toes came from. 🤣
DeleteNot to throw a log under everyone's feet (including NPR's), but all such words that satisfy the puzzle's criteria constitute by definition an "eye rhyme" (a commonplace in poetics) and thus do rhyme, just not in the conventional way. Dr. Awkward, please confirm.
ReplyDeleteI rhyme, therefore I am.
DeleteI have two sets of words.
I scan, therefore iamb.
DeleteCrito, touché!
DeleteI also have two sets of words with one of the words having 2 homonyms...
DeleteYes, absolutely! Eye rhyme for all three words, and slant rhyme for two of them. But I guess I understood the puzzle to refer to perfect rhyme.
DeleteLooks like there's lots of solutions. Hard to pick out because so many words have slightly-different alternative pronunciations. I would go for big differences, like e.g. the two ways to pronounce "route".
ReplyDeleteYou mean the intended answer may be on the roof?
DeleteLike a chimbly.
DeleteNow you're just blowing smoke.
DeleteI found three other words. None is found is found in beef, the the second occurs in a pig sty. But the third is a plant that has two pronunciations of the vowel in the second position.
DeletePS How do you pronounce the plant's name?
ReplyDeleteHm, there are a bunch of solutions ... but one of them stands out as the possible intended one. Nuff sedd ...?!
ReplyDeleteYeah, I think I'll send it in.
ReplyDeleteTo enjoy one, you need another one.
ReplyDeleteI have five answers: that is, five different five-letter endings.
ReplyDeleteOne of them involves an obscure word (I think -- at least, I didn't know it).
I'll bet some solutions discovered by Blainesvilleans are in addition to mine, and I bet one or two of mine have not been noticed by others here.
But rather than clue them, I think I'll just wait for Thursday. I think the debriefing here is going to be interesting!
Make that six. (My sixth also involves an obscure word.)
DeleteFWIW, Carnegie Mellon University maintains a downloadable "Pronouncing Dictionary" for Amurkin English . Entries look like this:
ReplyDeleteROUSING R AW Z IH NG
ROUT R AW T
ROUTE R AW T
ROUTE R UW T
http://www.speech.cs.cmu.edu/cgi-bin/cmudict
This is the puzzle it reminded me of. One of the answers to that puzzle almost works, but not quite:
ReplyDeleteThink of a 5-letter word with an "L" that is pronounced. Add a letter at the start to get a 6-letter word in which the "L" is silent. Then add a new letter in the fifth position to get a 7-letter word in which the "L" is pronounced again
I think was a Puzzler recently?
DeleteInteresting! ... Get to your 6-letter word with the silent "L". Drop the last 2 letters to get a 4-letter word in which the "L" is pronounced. Add 2 letters, not consecutive, to get a 6-letter word in which the "L" is silent again. Add back the 2 last letters that got dropped, to get an 8-letter word in which the "L" is pronounced again.
DeleteEliminate 2 non-consecutive letters from the 8-letter word, and get the surname of a former member of the Cabinet.
Delete... and then eliminate 1 more letter ...
ReplyDelete“And go round and round and round / In the circle game.”
DeleteThanks to Clark A Pseudonym, I got it.
ReplyDeleteWhat a great non-anagram puzzle. I solved it by saying words out loud. Yay for phonics!
ReplyDeleteI settled on a last-5-letter string that happens to be a not-very-common but, at one time, somewhat-well-known name. When I tried it out with each letter of the alphabet as a first letter, I got 2 words rhyming with the name, another group of 4 rhyming words, yet another group of 7 rhyming words, and 13 strings that do not form words (all according to my understanding of "rhyming" and "word", which is no doubt flawed from any number of perspectives).
ReplyDeleteI don't have much confidence in my analysis, and it seems the one person who might be able to lend me some support is not here this week.
Hopefully I have it - if I do then I believe the car of the week to coincide with this week's puzzle would be a B-M-W .
ReplyDeleteBALLET, MALLET, WALLET
ReplyDeleteThere are many triplets that fit the puzzle but this was my favorite.
One of my (and likely your)favorite puzzle-makers Jeff Zarkin (aka "SuperZee") is featured on this week's edition of Puzzleria! He has baked-up a "Sextet of TerRiffic Sticklers" for his always-entertaining "Jeff Zarkin Puzzle Riffs" feature. Jeff's six riffs are titled: "Shipshake-up," "Virtue-al de-vices?" “Saudi Babarabia?” “Chemystery? “Scientystery?” and (Strunk & White's) Elements of “Still?”
ReplyDeleteBesides featuring our friend, Jeff, this week's edition of Puzzleria! is special for another reason... Our inaugural edition of P! was uploaded on May 9, 2014. This week's edition will be uploaded on May 9, 2024. So, it's our tenth anniversary!
(Note: Our friend Word Woman, in 2014, generously offered to help me launch our Puzzleria! blog, using Blogger. In 2013 she had launched her own excellent blog: "Partial Ellipsis of the Sun: A Blog for Scientists who like Words and Writers who like Science." We thank her!)
Also on this week's menus are:
* a Schpuzzle of the Week titled "Post-Renaissance sans remainders,"
* a Midwest Northeast Hors d’Oeuvre titled "An actress and an artist,"
* a Colossal Creatures Slice titled "No bats, cats, rats or gnats need apply,"
* a "Shakespeare Schmakespeare" Dessert titled "The greatest sonnet ever penned," and
* thirteen riffs on this week's NPR Challenge titled "Ballet, mallet, wallet, pallet."
Come celebrate our tenth year with us by solving all 23 of this week's puzzles!
LegoWhoNotesThat"Tin"IsTheMetalAssociatedWithTenthAnniversariesAndThatCoincidentallyMy"TinNutsThereIsNothingNewUnderTheSun"PuzzleRanOnNPRInJanuaryOfPuzzleria!sTenthYear!
Congrats on a decade of puzzling, legolambda!
DeleteThanks, Word Woman. It would not have happened without your generous help!
DeleteLegoGratefulToAGreatWoman
1. BALLET (bă-lā′), MALLET (măl′ĭt), WALLET (wŏl′ĭt)
ReplyDelete2. FATHER (fä′thər),
LATHER (lăth′ər),
BATHER (bāth′ər)
LATHER, GATHER & RATHER all rhyme, so any one of them could be used in the above trio of words...
BALLET, MALLET/PALLET, WALLET
ReplyDeleteNo hint this week.
After this past Sunday’s Blaine’s Puzzle Blog triumph—both the creator of last week’s challenge and the winner were Blainevillians—I’m just curious to see the range of valid answers here. I have 2 answers and sent in the one above.
BALLET, MALLET or PALLET, WALLET
ReplyDelete(ba-ˌlā, ma-lət or pa-lət, wä-lət)
> I'm glad last week's car make wasn't BMW.
As in BALLET, MALLET, WALLET.
ballet, mallet, wallet
ReplyDeleteLast Sunday I said, “To enjoy one, you need another one.” Have you tried to buy a ticket to the ballet recently? You’ll be getting out the old wallet soon enough.
I wrote, “For my answer, rearrange the letters of the alphabetically first of the three words. You get something you want to continue.” Rearrange BATHER (the others are FATHER and GATHER) and you get BREATH.
ReplyDeleteWell, it's three exactly. I'm waiting for my call.
ReplyDeleteOh, well. Bather, father, gather.
ReplyDeletefinger, ginger, singer
ReplyDeleteHow do finger and singer not rhyme?
DeleteThey don't quite rhyme because 'finger' has ŋɡ, and 'singer' has just ŋ.
DeleteSINGER (sĭng′ər), FINGER (fĭng′gər), GINGER (jĭn′jər)
DeleteSee Entree #12.
DeleteLegoRingFinger
Finger and singer are not rhymes. In "finger", the G is pronounced as a hard G. In "singer", the N and G are both part of the same NG sound.
DeleteThe appearance of the word FATHER in the answer reminded me that Will would be presenting the answer on Mother’s Day. Knowing his predilection for seasonal puzzles, I looked for a trio of words incorporating MOTHER. Adding BOTHER was obvious, but I had to stretch to find LOTHER, a comparative of LOTH, a variant spelling of LOATH (reluctant). I verified it on line, but it appears to be illegal in Scrabble.
ReplyDeleteSame here.
DeleteI had a similar line of thought. Mother got me to father, bather rather/gather pretty fast. (But the BMW answer also came to mind and I liked that one better for some reason...)
DeleteOh wow, I didn't think of the main one people are posting! Ballet Wallet Mallet is great.
ReplyDeleteHere are my five groups, with notes after each group.
ReplyDeleteGroup 1
ginger
linger
ringer
I thought those were the intended ones, or anyway that five-letter ending.
Group 2
longer
monger (shorter, schwa o)
tonger
Because there doesn’t seem to be one with a soft ‘G’, we need both the slightly different ‘monger’ with a schwa vowel, as if it were spelled ‘munger’, to stop it from rhyming with ‘longer’, and also the rather obscure ‘tonger’, one who uses tongs, especially to gather oysters, which is pronounced /ˈtɒŋə(r)/ (that is, with no extra hard ‘G’ after then ng sound). I was a little surprised that there wasn’t one with a soft ‘G’.
Group 3
lunger (one who lunges)
hunger
lunger (one diseased or injured in lungs: ˈlʌŋər)
Homonyms with different pronunciations! Or homographs?
Group 4
father
gather
bather
Pretty sure others were cluing this group.
Group 5
wither
lither (comparative of ‘lithe’, that is)
either
As long as you pronounce the last one the way I do, with a long ‘e’ as first syllable. There’s also a dictionary-listed pronunciation of ‘zither’ with the ‘th’ unvoiced, as in ‘thick’.
Almost-group 6
To my surprise I could not find a third non-rhymer to go with:
danger
hanger
Of course, ‘anger’ itself ends that way and doesn’t rhyme! But the closest I could come to a six-letter word ending with /ˈaŋɡə/ is:
Ganger: to become gangrenous!
The OED doesn’t list a pronunciation, so I’m not counting it, but ‘gangrene’ does contain the aŋɡ, as does ‘gangrenous’.
Ballet? Mallet? As in croquet? Only on NPR!
ReplyDeleteDid anyone else come up with foster, poster, and roster as an alternate?
ReplyDeleteWait, 'foster' and 'roster' don't rhyme?
DeleteIt's subtle and may be idiosyncratic, but I rponounce foster as "faw-ster" and roster as "ros-ter" with a short o.
DeleteOops...*pronounce*
DeleteFascinating.
DeleteI recognize both of those pronunciations, but I would have expected any given dialect (or accent, or whatever) to pronounce those words so they rhyme. The OED gives exactly the same pronunciation entries for both (except, obviously, for the initial consonant). It gives both your 'awster' and 'oster', in its US pronunciation part, but it gives both for both words.
That's why I sent in the BMW answer.
DeleteSome more solutions, with CMU phonetics:
ReplyDeletemaster AE S T ER
taster EY S T ER
easter Y S T ER
Note that the puzzle was given Sun 5/5 = Orthodox Easter
bomber AA M ER
comber OW M ER
somber AA M B ER
roster AA S T ER
foster AO S T ER
poster OW S T ER
garner AA R N ER
warner AO R N ER
earner R N ER
darned AA R N D
earned R N D
warned AO R N D
poured AO R D
soured AW ER D
toured UH R D
denial IH N AY AH L
genial IY N Y AH L -- 2 syllables
menial IY N IY AH L
and then there's:
combat AH M B AE T
wombat AA M B AE T
That's an awesome list, although a couple of your surprise me. Hm. Actually, my pronunciation of that last pair might not rhyme exactly!
ReplyDeleteMine was BALLET MALLET WALLET
ReplyDeleteIn college linguistics class, we - all USAmericans - were asked to sort 1-syllable words by vowel. No two people came close to agreeing. E.g., from the CMU list:
ReplyDeleteBLOG B L AO G
BOG B AA G
BOG B AO G
CLOG K L AA G
COG K AO G
DOG D AO G
FLOG F L AA G
FOG F AA G
FOG F AO G
FROG F R AA G
GROG G R AA G
HOG HH AA G
JOG JH AA G
LOG L AO G
SLOG S L AA G
SMOG S M AA G
That's plenty wrong of course ... Or for a simple bad time, have a group of people discuss "marry" vs. "merry" vs. "Mary" ...
I also had BALLET, MALLET, WALLET, the starting letters, of course, form BMW, reminding me of last week's puzzle. However, I figured if I specified last week's puzzle, given that it involved car makes, and there are not many car makes with three letters (BMW and KIA come to mind), I was concerned it would be TMI. So, I went for the more obscure "earlier this year."
ReplyDeleteI went with GATHER, BATHER, and FATHER. BALLET, MALLET, and WALLET sound much better now that I see them.
ReplyDeletepjbJustSkimmedThis,SoHeDoesn'tKnowWhichIsTheIntendedAnswerHereYet
Although I submitted Ballet, Mallet, and Wallet, to my New York City raised (and electronically aided) ears, Mallet and Wallet are very close to a rhyme, which is why I didn't post a clue this week
ReplyDeleteDo others have the same issue?
I sent in ballet mallet and wallet too I haven't been able to use my cell phone until just now I'm camping in eastern Oregon and I left early Thursday yesterday and my phone would not work until today I tried everything yesterday to get it to work but I turned it off and restarted it now it's working so that's what I got I'm not too wild about it they seem to rhyme to me anyway I'm having fun down here in the sun
ReplyDeleteI went with Bather, Father and Gather. After coming up with that acceptabe answer I stopped, but appreciate Ballet, Mallet and Wallet (how common is Mallet really?).
ReplyDeleteThis week's challenge: Think of a well-known seven-letter geographical name in a single word that has just two consonants and yet is pronounced in five syllables.
ReplyDeleteHarder to clue than to solve.
DeleteIt's particularly hard to clue, Jan, because you might get in trouble for saying *anything*.
ReplyDeleteCasablanca isn't close, but it might get you closer.
ReplyDeleteThink of a 5-letter word with an "L" that is pronounced.
ReplyDeleteOLDER
Add a letter at the start to get a 6-letter word in which the "L" is silent.
sOLDER
Drop the last 2 letters to get a 4-letter word in which the "L" is pronounced.
sOLD
Add 2 letters, not consecutive, to get a 6-letter word in which the "L" is silent again.
shOuLD
Add back the 2 last letters that got dropped, to get an 8-letter word in which the "L" is pronounced again.
shOuLDER
Eliminate 2 non-consecutive letters from the 8-letter word, and get the surname of a former member of the Cabinet.
[Eric] HOLDER
And then eliminate 1 more letter ...
OLDER