Q: Think of a famous writer with a three-word name. The first two letters of the last name followed by the first two letters of the middle name followed by the first two letters of the first name, in order, spell an adjective that describes this author today. Who is it?Take the last two letters of each name, rearrange those six letters to get something you might do while solving this puzzle.
Edit: AR-CE-HS --> SEARCH
A: EDgar RIce BUrroughs --> BURIED
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ReplyDeleteI tried Howells to no avail, but thank goodness it wasn’t Márquez. I hope the latter wasn’t Crito’s spinoff.
ReplyDeleteHint: Rearrange the writer’s first name, and get a word associated with educators.
Ha!
DeleteNo no no. Okay, my clue isn't awesome, but that doesn't really matter, so I'll put my spinoff below.
How fitting!
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
ReplyDeleteSo sorry. The last name sounds like homes.
DeleteI was pleased to find how the location for the adjective is fitting for the author.
ReplyDeleteA cryptic clue!
DeletePrecisely
DeleteNice!
DeleteI guess that makes my answer soiled.
DeleteIt's no accident.
DeleteCute clue by Blaine. I was a bit surprised at this puzzle but it was the second person I thought of.
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
ReplyDeleteMore than 1200 correct responses this week.
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteThink of a famous writer with a three-word name. The first two letters of the last name followed by the first two letters of the middle name followed by the first two letters of the first name, in order, spell a noun that T. S. Eliot might have used in discussing this writer.
ReplyDeleteActually (and somewhat surprisingly), maybe not.
DeleteTake the last two letters of the writer's first, middle, and last names, rearrange, and you get what I did briefly before getting the answer.
ReplyDeleteGreat minds! 🧠
Delete👋😁
DeleteThis comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
ReplyDeleteI did cheat to get the answer.
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
DeleteA sports icon turned Hollywood star comes to mind.
ReplyDeleteand father.
Deletetoo obvious!
DeleteSDB's twice told puzzles.
ReplyDeleteWe seem to have kept Blaine quite busy today.
ReplyDeleteGot it. I see I need to be careful with any clue I post, given the number that have been removed already.
ReplyDeleteThe second letter of the first name, second letter of the last name, and second letter of the middle name, in order, result in something you do not want.
DeleteI also found out I'd better be more careful!
DeleteIs Gerard Manley Hopkins a Ho Mage?
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
ReplyDeleteOk?
DeleteI read 100 novels last year, and just finished number 33 for this year. I am a little embarrassed to realize I have never heard of this author, nor read any of their books.
ReplyDeleteCharles Sanders Peirce ... I can't see how Pesach (Passover) works.
ReplyDeleteEdna St. Vincent Millay ... I can't see how Misted works.
Erle Stanley Gardner ... I don't see how Gaster works.
Now that (Peirce) would make a great puzzle for next April. One of my favorite philosophers too.
DeleteSo far, there’s a one-to-one correlation.
ReplyDeleteLizard
ReplyDeleteNice! And thanks for your kind words last week :).
DeleteNice, and efficient!
DeleteReminds me of a joke about a musician.
ReplyDeleteInteresting. I named the musician, and got blogadministered.
DeleteKind of a rotten joke if it's the one I'm thinking of.
Delete"What is Mozart doing right now?" "Decomposing."
DeleteKings and Queens.
ReplyDeleteHow about Princess?
DeleteNope. If we were playing the on-air puzzle, I'd say the correct answer starts with a B.
DeleteI was surprised to see who was inspired by the books of this author.
ReplyDeleteUm, yeah, that is surprising...
DeleteI think many Americans are more familiar with the legendary film performances inspired by the author's work than they are with the author's actual writings
ReplyDeleteThat, together with the scope of the legendary film characters' vocabulary, says so much about American literacy, Curtis.
DeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteAnd Bob's your uncle
ReplyDeleteBreathtaking. But, then, I’ve always been the geeky sort, too. ;-)
ReplyDeleteThis comment has yet to be removed by a blog administrator.
ReplyDeleteI found it pretty easy to solve while I was still in bed. I first thought of several authors with 3 used names, but then tried working it backwards and got the answer quickly. Oh, and some here may find it interesting that I did not think of James Gould Cozzens until after I had solved it.
ReplyDeleteSeems you do some of your best thinking while in bed.
DeleteI think you may be right about that. There are few distractions to interrupt my thoughts.
DeleteLOL
DeleteJust answered. Nothing else.
ReplyDelete"Middle" used loosely. . .
ReplyDeleteThe author’s last name has a couple of homophones, one which has a relation to the 2nd part of the puzzle answer, and one that reflects a geographical name which I (and many others here) can relate to.
ReplyDeleteI used to scream for the Brooklyn Dodgers until they left for LA. I liked this puzzle not because it was particularly hard, but because of the nostalgia I felt for the place that I was born and raised in.
ReplyDeleteI hear you, Clark. My mother was born there, and my son lived there for many years. They were my favorite team, and I really thought they would eventually come back.
DeleteI have a repro of the original team jacket that came out in honor of the 50th anniversary of Robinson's turning pro. When they left I was totally bereft like most kids my age. When I wear the jacket, I get great comments about it. When I was in my 40's I met Don Newcomb. He allowed me to try on his world series ring. His hand was so huge that the ring was even too large for my thumb!
DeleteHow wonderful. Recently, I got an original 1956 Dodger Yearbook that announces the '55 championship on its cover. For many years, I lived across the street from Larry Doby, and one day I saw Newcombe outside Larry's house. He was so tall and had such a distinctive face, you knew it was him.
DeleteWhen he shook my hand, it was the gentlest handshake that a hand could do without a limp wrist. Since the dodgers left Brooklyn, I gave up my interest in current baseball. I was accustomed to the ball players living in Brooklyn and being socially active members of the community. Alas, I think I've become too old!
DeleteDr. K, Thanks for allowing me to share. I wasn't aware the a clue would turn into a conversation with you.
DeleteMy pleasure, Clark. May that conversation continue. It sounds like Newcombe was a gentle giant. I can tell you that Larry Doby was himself a gentleman, decent and honorable, and he had endured much of the same abuse that Jackie did. But someday, should we ever meet, I will tell you my favorite baseball story (about the '54 World Series, Willie Mays, and Larry himself). which he told me when he and his wife Helen were at my home for brunch. I'd like to think that they were more than just neighbors. I miss them both dearly.
DeletePS Not a hard puzzle but it give me a laugh.
ReplyDeleteUsed creativity to solve.
ReplyDeleteI noticed that, too, WW, but it was such a valiant effort I didn't want to say anything. It reminded me of ouroboros....
ReplyDeleteSome people don't know their ass from a hole in the ground.
ReplyDeleteAnd the privates kept calling for "morass" "morass". And they soon got it.
DeleteIndeed. But, I did learn a first name I didn't know before. That's always fun.
ReplyDeleteSecond name I saw as I was about to consult a list of three-word named authors. Saved me the time and trouble.
ReplyDeletepjbKnowsTheAdjectiveDescribesHisNephewAsWell(ButYou'dHaveToKnowHim)
My Name is Earl
ReplyDeleteha.
ReplyDeleteWe planted tomatoes with basil and thyme today.
ReplyDeleteI planted kenaf. Hoping to get seeds.
DeleteTomR, kenaf is new to me. What will you do with the seeds?
DeleteNever heard of kenaf, either. Hibiscus cannabinus, AKA Deccan hemp and Java jute, apparently. Used for making cloth, rope, paper, and, lately, cars. Who kenew?
DeleteBlaine, you're about 35 miles from the big Corral fire, though fortunately upwind, I think. Are you getting any smoke at your place?
ReplyDeleteNot a hint, but Will's speech is improving gradually. While you can still detect strain in his voice, his personality seemed to be more evident today (tone changes, etc) than it has so far.
ReplyDeleteIf Linda Thorson married Jack Nicholson ...
ReplyDelete... and wrote spy novels, she might use the pen name Tara King Nicholson. Applying this week's algorithm gives us the first name of the fellow who infamously declared "Мы вас похороним!"
DeleteSitting skunked at home.
ReplyDeleteThe name rhymes with Bedna St. Vincent Milay; the adjective rhymes with "NISTED".
ReplyDeleteWW, and how!
ReplyDeleteI can't believe it took me this long to discover I misunderstood that ophthalmologists tend to live much longer than other physicians, but at least now I understand why I thought that.
ReplyDeleteWhat? It’s not Usama Mohammed Fayyed?
ReplyDeleteFolks, I'm off to for post op visit today with the anesthesiologist and then inpatient open heart surgery tomorrow. Will be out of commission for a week before returning home. They're honing the special Kryptonite instruments as I write this. Keep me in your hearts and minds. Thanks, Clark
ReplyDeleteBest of luck, Cap! (I'm guessing it's a pre-op visit today, unless you're having a really interesting week.)
DeleteAll the best, Clark. I’ll be thinking of you.
DeleteSorry for the typo, Jan. Thanks, Dr. K. I am a bit worried. My mitral and aortic valves are about to be replaced.
DeleteMike, you know I don't believe in luck, but that does not mean I do not wish you the best outcome, and you will be in my thoughts. Please keep us up to date. Also, I heard long ago that after heart surgery it is common for the patient to feel depressed, so you might just want to be aware of this and be prepared. I suspect it will be a success.
DeleteNo need to apologize for a typo, Cap. When checking myself into a hospital, I once misspelled my own name.
DeleteMy father-in-law got a new aortic valve at age 79, and had many good years after that. Before, he had a murmur you could hear without a stethoscope. You getting a pig or a cow valve? (Or one of each?)
Cap, may your surgeon's hands be steady and your new valves strong. We'll be thinking of you as you heal.
DeleteCap, Thinking of you and praying for a great outcome.
DeleteYou (and the medical professional who will treat you) are in my prayers, Clark.
DeleteLegoWishingClarkASuperSuccessfulSurgery
Wishing you all the best, CAP. I guess the surgery has already happened? But sending healing vibes to you, digitally.
DeleteGood luck, Clark. We want to hear how it goes, so let us know ASAP.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Rob.
DeleteToday's WORDLE is thinking of you too.
DeleteThanks everyone. Just stepping into the car to go for meeting with the "gas passing doctor"!
DeleteGood luck and smooth sailing, Clark/CaP/Mike!
DeleteCap – I wish you all the best. As you know, procedures related to the heart can be frightening and depressing. Given your professional background, I suspect you are well equipped to handle these emotions. I hope it helps to know that you have a strong support community here in Blainesville. We are expecting nothing less than a successful outcome and a speedy recovery and will miss you during your brief absence.
DeleteToday's Wordle, too!
DeleteThanks jan. Your hint helped me solve it in 2 words. I always find the answer, but rarely on the second word, but last week I got two 2's in a row. I almost began today with what I thought your hint word would be, but used my beginning word and got 2 letters out of order. I doubt Cap is doing WORDLE today. He's in good health and condition for his age and should do well.
DeleteAnyway, so far no one has responded with anything to my post above a bit that is actually a riddle.
Okay, so why do ophthalmologists live longer than other docs?
DeleteWell actually they don't, but I had always believed they did because everyone says they dilate.
DeleteNo puzzle here. Pretty soon you'll be looking back at this whole thing from the other side of the operation. It'll be better.
ReplyDeleteEDGAR RICE BURROUGHS; BURIED
ReplyDelete"Lizard" >>> Calumma tarzan is a Madagascan chameleon. Of course, EDGAR RICE BURROUGHS is the author of the Tarzan books.
"I was surprised to see who was inspired by the books of this author." Jane Goodall was inspired by the Tarzan books and thought she'd be a better Jane wife to Tarzan.
"How about Princess?" refers to Princess Eugenie which sounds like eugenics, a topic linked to ERB.
We planted tomatoes with basil and thyme today. Basil and thyme are herbs, pronounced ERBs, like ERB's initials.
Our Puzzleria! spotlight this week shines upon Plantsmith and his always-bountiful-and-beautiful “Garden of Puzzley Delights.” This week, he has picked for us a “Quizzical-Quintet-of-Conundrums-Bouquet” entitled
ReplyDelete1. “Messy car part ride?”
2. “Procter & GAMBLE Drugs?”
3. “The last shall be first, the first shall be last,”
4. “Last Trip to Vegas: a Nod to Nodd,” and
5. “A fork (or spoon?) in the road”
Plantsmith’s fragrant but prickly puzzles will be ripe for picking from our “Puzzleria! Plantation“ on Thursday, sometime soon, between Noon and Midnight PDT.
Other “tricky pickables” on our garden-fresh menu include:
* a Schpuzzle of the Week titled “Fifty-Fifty chance, or sure thing?”
* a Scavenger Hunt Hors d’Oeuvre titled “Prometheus, Poe & Penny Production?”
* a Consequential Slice titled “Rifles are not to be trifled with”
* a “netsuA enaJ” Dessert titled “A bit of wordplay about work,” and
* a dozen riff-off's of Will Shortz's NPR Weekend Edition Sunday Challenge, titled “Me Tarzan, you Edgar Rice...”
(Apparently, inscrutably baffling botanical beauties are not the only pickables available from Plantsmith’s Garden with its trellis-entwisted Vines... There is also Tarzan!)
LegoEidelWeissmuller!
EDGAR RICE BURROUGHS (1875-1950) → He is BURIED in Tarzana, California.
ReplyDeleteEdgar Rice Burroughs/Buried
ReplyDeleteHow fitting that the ashes of Tarzan’s creator are buried in Tarzana, California.
Fitting, but not coincidental. Tarzana, CA, used to be his estate, which he named after his character.
DeleteEDGAR RICE BURROUGHS - BURIED
ReplyDeleteI had said, "The second letter of the first name, second letter of the last name, and second letter of the middle name, in order, result in something you do not want."
That gives you DUI, which is short for Driving Under the Influence, a charge you do not want on your driving record.
EDGAR RICE BURROUGHS (BURIED)
ReplyDelete> Reminds me of a joke about Beethoven. [deleted]
What's he doing now? Decomposing.
> Kings and Queens
Two of New York City's Boroughs. (Given their large ethnically Asian population, and all the fine Asian eateries, might they be considered Rice Boroughs?)
> Some people don't know their ass from a hole in the ground.
Those are burros and burrows, not Burroughs.
They might even be misspelled in the Bible like ploughshares, or plowshares.
DeleteEDGAR RICE BURROUGHS —> BURIED
ReplyDeleteHint: “Rearrange the writer’s first name, and get a word associated with educators.”
EDGAR —> GRADE
In my compliment to Bobby on his excellent, labyrinthine clue, I used the phrase “geeky sort,” which, rearranged, yields “Greystoke.”
Good luck, Cap, we’re all thinking of you.
Edgar Rice Burroughs >>> buried
ReplyDeleteI wrote, “I was pleased to find how the location for the adjective is fitting for the author.” Burroughs is buried in Tarzana, California.
ReplyDeleteEdgar Rice Burroughs's middle name is Rice, like Anne Rice. She was born Howard Allen O'Brien. Allen sounds like Allan, as in Edgar Allan Poe. He has the same first name as Edgar Rice Burroughs.
ReplyDeleteEdgar Rice Burroughs, buried
ReplyDeleteHe is dead and buried.
Right, but... is 'buried' an adjective?
ReplyDeleteObviously it's a past participle, but those are always verbs and only sometimes also adjectives.
I was wondering whether Dr. K's "... but oooh.." at the end of last week's thread was expressing the same worry.
The reason I have doubts, by the way, is that I could think of two tests for adjectives, and I don't think 'buried' passes either. One is that they can be modified by 'very'.
? Edgar is very buried.
But notice that other past participles do indeed appear to be adjectives:
Crito is very confused.
(So 'confused' is plainly an adjective.)
Another test is to see whether you can replace the 'is' by 'seems' or 'looks'.
Crito seems confused.
? Edgar seems buried.
I don't think the tests are watertight, but they do seem to be evidence.
I dunno, Crito. "Edgar is very buried"-- it has a lovely lilt to it ;-).
DeleteAn adjective modifies a noun. The phrase buried treasure comes to mind as an example of buried as an adjective.
DeleteNo, I was simply surprised by the grimness of the answer.
DeleteSuperzee: indeed, but other parts of speech also modify nouns. E.g. other nouns!
DeleteThat Crito is such a head case!
WW: I think you *could* use it that way!
Edgar is sooooooo, buried. He's even more buried than Oscar. He is totally buried.
So it *can* be an adjective; I guess I'm wondering whether it's an adjective more than some tiny percentage of the time.
Buried can be a verb, or an adjective.
DeleteEx: The National Enquirer buried stories about DJT and…. (Verb)
The buried stories would have revealed….(Adjective)
Similarly nouns can be used as adjectives.
Ex. Snoopy lives in a dog house.
Although DOG is usually a noun, in this sentence it answers the question, What kind of house? and grammatically is no different from WHITE in the sentence, I live in a WHITE house.
1. That 'buried' is different -- it's the preterite or simple past tense of the verb. But what I was saying was that past participles can also be either verbs or adjectives. (So not really disagreeing!)
Delete2. Grammatically the nouns that are modifying a head noun are indeed different from adjectives. I gave an example of a differerenc: they can't be modified by 'very'.
*Snoopy lives in a very dog house.
Yeah, no.
Nor can they go in the predicative position:
*The house Snoopy lives in is dog.
Anyway, I'm just saying the answer to this question isn't simple.
I was a bit shocked at the disrespectful tone of this puzzle to its subject (Edgar Rice Burroughs, BuRiEd), then I read that ERB was a believer in eugenics and scientific racism, and I thought, "Good, he is buried with his antiquated ideas."
ReplyDeletegetting offended for others by completely misunderstanding what was said seems like your fulltime job, Karen. Don't get the vapors every week, it's bad for your constitution.
DeleteLOL!
DeleteEDgar RIce BUrroughs --> BURIED for me.
ReplyDeleteBurroughs gave us Tarzan, of course.
So for my clue, I wrote Just answered, nothing else.
Which spells J-A-N-E, which seemed to me the best "unidirectional" clue for Tarzan.
Even "Plain Jane" gets complicated with you, Ben. Good clue.
DeleteMy clue was "My Name is Earl". In a 2008 episode of this comedy series a bookmobile came to town with knock-offs of classic books. One was titled "Trazan the Ape Man," who had a pet cheetah named Monkey. It still cracks me up all these years later.
ReplyDeleteEDGAR RICE BURROUGHS, BURIED
ReplyDeletepjbAndHisFamilyWillBeHeadingToFt.WaltonBeachOnSaturdayMorning,AndStayingUntilTuesday
Edgar Rice Burroughs --> buried
ReplyDeleteLast Sunday I said, “So far, there’s a one-to-one correlation” between being born and eventually dying which frequently – though not always – means being buried. Such is the case with Edgar Rice Burroughs.
Sorry I'm late. I am out of town this week, been quite busy.
ReplyDeleteIt's EDGAR RICE BURROUGHS — BURIED anyway.
Not having read Blaine’s clue first, I posted:
Take the last two letters of the writer’s first, middle, and last names, rearrange, and you get what I did briefly before getting the answer.
Like Blaine, I was getting at ar-ce-hs — search, of course.
I also posted:
A sports icon turned Hollywood star comes to mind.
That would be Johnny Weissmuller (also spelled Weissmüller). He first became famous in the 1920s as a swimmer, setting world records and winning five Olympic gold medals. He went on to appear in twelve feature films of the 1930s and 1940s as Tarzan—the character created by Edgar Rice Burroughs, of course.
Finally, I almost posted this anagram of the writer’s name:
“A Borer,” Rico shrugged.
I didn’t do it because I had qualms about a post consisting of the exact same letters as the answer.
C a p, how did things go? Thinking of you.
ReplyDeleteWhat is this week's puzzle?
ReplyDeleteMore than 1400 correct responses last week.
ReplyDelete[From memory] What item containing a silent U is commonly found in kitchen drawers?
ReplyDeleteWhat item found in kitchen drawers contains a silent U?
ReplyDeletePloughshare?
DeleteYeah hmmmmmm.
ReplyDeleteWill said "it's a little tricky," so I'm assuming neither of the two I thought of immediately aren't the intended answer. (Mine are both edible and I think of them as being in the same food group.)
I think I've got one of the edibles and two others, none of which I think is the intended answer.
Deletecould it contain a silent U as well as a non-silent U? --Margaret G.
ReplyDeleteI have an answer, but I don't like it.
ReplyDelete