Q: Name a famous film actor of the past (4,6). Swap the second and third letters of the first name to name a color. Change the third letter of the last name to get another color. What actor is it?The actor died 6 days after their birthday.
A: GARY COOPER --> GRAY, COPPER
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.
Easy.
ReplyDeleteToo easy. I submitted my answer while the music was still playing.
ReplyDeleteIsn't Laura Kozma a Blainesvillain?
ReplyDeleteYes (see below).
DeleteYes indeed... and Laura (Tortitude) is also a valued contributor of excellent puzzles to Puzzleria!... under the title "Tortie's Slow But Sure Puzzles."
DeleteLegoLuckyToHaveCreativeContributorsOfWordplayfulness(LikeTortieAndManyOthers)OnPuzzleria!
That's you, Tortie? Good one! Solved it pretty fast, no lists needed!
DeletepjbMustHaveSeenTheNameBefore,ButItDidn'tRegisterThatItWasTortitudeUntilLegoRemindedUsJustNow
Congrats Tortitude!!
DeleteEasy. Many colorful answers expected for this one
ReplyDeleteThe actor was nominated for several Academy Awards.
ReplyDeleteI sent this in months ago when Will was recovering, and I thought it wouldn't see the light of day. Will (again) made it harder, but in this case, I think it was necessary.
ReplyDeleteCongratulations on having your puzzle aired! :)
DeleteI think I know what it was that WS made "harder" about this puzzle.
DeleteCongrats, Tortitude!
DeleteWell done, Laura. Easy one...
DeleteAlways an honor when your puzzle is selected for the Sunday Challenge. Congratulations!
DeleteExcellent, Laura. The bloggers here continue to set a high bar. I see that I used to live about 35 miles north of you. Maybe if I draw upon some of that Garden State mojo, someday I, too, will construct a puzzle worthy of Will and WESUN. But for now, I have to content myself with being a good puzzle solver. Congratulations!
DeleteI grew up about 35 miles NW of where Tortitude lives.
DeleteRight, it's Tortitude! Who had another puzzle chosen a few months ago!
ReplyDeleteSomebody else on this blog should get this right away.
ReplyDeleteThe actor's given first and second names at birth are the same as a notorious figure in American history.
A fine puzzle for any month! Why June?
ReplyDeleteOh for me sake, Lancek, do you not know?
DeleteMight there be a particular time of day also?
DeleteSure. As the song goes, "it's 5:00 somewhere."
DeleteLancek, touché!
DeleteWhen it's "5 o' clock somewhere" it might signal closing time in the here and now.
DeleteMy comment with "Why June?" was intended to clue "High Noon" in the same way as the on-air puzzle. I was concerned that Leo's reply might combine with my post to make it TMI, so I tried to mute the effect with "it's 5:00 somewhere." Word Woman apparently knew what I was doing. ;-)
DeleteI think of peanut butter, cheddar cheese, salmon, pimento cheese, hummus, plenty of others.
ReplyDeleteVery nice.
DeleteTomorrow I will be heading to the Wissenschaftskolleg, for a week, so I'll miss some of the discussion here.
I was just observing that the name anagrams to a place you might go for feta or phyllo.
DeleteSolved it quickly. It’s taking me longer to come up with a clue that’s not TMI.
ReplyDeleteI remember watching a movie starring this actor on the family TV. We would buy used TV's at yard sales, rummage sales, etc., and had different ones every few years. I think I watched it on one of the better ones we had, I think the brand was Zenith. It was definitely not the year we had two TV's, one with sound, one with picture.
DeleteIt's not Andy.
ReplyDeleteI was thinking of Andy Griffith's "everything tastes great when it sits on a Ritz" commercials. A lot of people made similar "puttin' on the Ritz" connections.
DeleteI didn't think about the white-haired CNN journalist until after I had posted.
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ReplyDeleteSolved it before breakfast. Sometimes it takes me slightly longer.
ReplyDeleteMy sister's birthday is the same as the actor's.
ReplyDeleteTMI!
DeleteBut only for your sister.
A family tradition in Lynchburg.
ReplyDeleteWind.
ReplyDeleteCongrats to Tortitude!
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ReplyDeleteBe sure to say "this actor" because the puzzle doesn't state gender.
DeleteThey're all "actors" now until it comes to Oscar time.
DeletePerhaps a heads up at top of puzzle regarding this.
DeleteCareful! (29)
ReplyDeleteI like the OLD New York Knicks, personally.
ReplyDeleteSpecifying the numbers of letters on first and last names makes this almost too easy.
ReplyDeleteA certain Twilight Zone episode comes to mind.
ReplyDelete(Not that any connection to the actor was intended.)
DeleteAnyone else have a sudden craving for tacos?
ReplyDeleteNah, still too early for that.
DeleteHow about crackers?
DeleteIt's looking like it.
DeleteI am about to go on a trip on Route 29.
ReplyDeleteMaybe you will see some buffaloes.
DeleteCopper is the 29th element.
DeleteWell done again, Tortitude. Congrats.
ReplyDeleteIf you want a little more of a challenge, try this one:
ReplyDeleteThink of a well known actor of the past. Change the last letter of the first name to a different letter. Now change the second letter of the last name to a different letter and then switch the order of these two words to describe a fish species. Can you name them?
I have a thought….
DeleteI think you have my email.
DeleteDr. K: I confirm you indeed have solved it.
DeleteAre you being coy?
DeletePossible, depending on what scales you are using.
DeleteOf I have your actor, swap two letters in your actors first name and get another kind of fish; then change the last letter and get a third.
DeleteI think some of us here are getting rather long in the tooth.
DeleteCary Grant >>> giant carp
DeleteThe actor's mother had a famous name, but not at the time.
ReplyDeleteOh, cool! Good one!
DeleteAnd timely.
DeleteBecause school's out for summer, and later this evening we'll hear from a couple of guys who wanna be elected.
DeleteCongrats to Tortitude! Also, congrats to Jan for nailing the over/under: "NPR got over 800 correct entries last time. I'm guessing fewer than half that this week." (300, I heard?)
ReplyDeleteI get very tired of body parts and tend not to do those. But I keep wondering whether they really count the CORRECT entries, and why. Why don't they just read the entries until they find a correct one, and then call that person?
DeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
DeleteI believe NPR has not disclosed how the winner is chosen. I have asked NPR and was told it is random or something like that.
DeleteI don't see anything tricky about it. The idea that it might be tricky threw me off for a bit.
ReplyDeleteThe surname of an entertainer I like is the color made from the actor's first name. The entertainer has some stories where people call them the actor's first name, plus their first name as a surname. This is what got me right to the actor's name.
ReplyDeleteDid the entertainer's stage name come from a name on a mailbox?
DeleteThe person I mean used their given name.
DeleteI meant Spalding Gray; in "Swimming to Cambodia", the sailor on the train thinks his name is "Gary Spalding", and in "Gray's Anatomy" an ophthalmologist does the same.
DeleteSimple & clear-cut!
ReplyDelete(no shades of gray)
DeleteMmm, Taco...
ReplyDeleteNothing is black and white for metallurgists!
ReplyDeleteEasy puzzle this week - no need to rearrange the utensil drawer! Anyway, hopefully fellow blogger CAP is continuing to recuperate as the rest of us await next week’s challenge.
ReplyDeleteI will say that the utensil puzzle motivated me to clean out all my kitchen drawers. So many gadgets and gizmos I never use.
DeleteYup. Nope.
ReplyDeleteI'm vacationing in Amsterdam with my family this week. At the moment, we're at an historic site nearby, where certain craftsmen worked.
ReplyDeleteI'll bet you're having a lot of fun.
DeleteYes, a . . . ton.
DeleteJust keep saying "stroopwafels" until somebody gives you some!
DeleteA pip of a puzzle, Tortie.
ReplyDeleteSo proud to be part of The Blain Community.
ReplyDeleteSo…with another Blainesvillean whose puzzle made it on the air—will yet another one of us get The Call on Thursday?
ReplyDeleteWith every passing year, it's harder and harder for me to understand why Will can't just call Blaine to say hello.
DeleteIt would be cool if Blaine got The Call this week!
DeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
DeleteHow do you know Will doesn't? If not, then I think it's out of a certain fear that a lotta these bourgeois elitists have towards the general public, especially their fan base. I call it "John Lennon Syndrome" (JLS). Lennon was killed by a "deranged fan." Soon-to-be- assassin Mark David Chapman also pigeonholed James Taylor the day before he shot Lennon, as Taylor was getting off the INT at West 72nd Street. Naturally, this fueled a lot of paranoia among the elites, as did the Manson murders of 1969, and all of the celebrity stallings we've had since 1969 and 1980. The murder of Rebecca Schaeffer comes to mind, (1989), the stabbing of Theresa Saldana,(1982), and many other celebrity stalkings/murders. They are afraid of us. Of course, we are such an idolatrous nation and we overpay our entertainers, athletes, and celebs which enforces are awe of them. They forget, and we forget that we made them what they are today. Yes, Will, that means you.
DeleteIf you aren't already, I suggest therapy.
Deleteit's crazy (literally) how much verbal diarrhea this guy produces every week, clearly gets zero attention irl.
DeleteI have an explanation for the taciturnity referenced above. But it's TMI
ReplyDeleteCan a canine yodel?
ReplyDeleteAre you referring to that dog Alfred Josef Ferdinand Jodl?
DeleteNein.
DeleteDer hund ist los?
DeleteWarten.
DeleteWissen Sie wie viele Hunde Jodl hatte?
DeleteI think he only had one, but did particularly like dogs, perhaps even more than people. Fuhrer than a hund-red anyway.
DeleteGARY COOPER; GRAY COPPER
ReplyDelete"Wind" refers to Gary Cooper's daughter, Maria, from the song "And they called the Wind Maria."
Too soon!
DeleteGARY COOPER —> GRAY, COPPER
ReplyDeleteHint: “Somebody else on this blog should get this right away.”
—> blogger Howie Roark (Cooper starred as architect Howard Roark in the film adaptation of Ayn Rand’s The Fountainhead)
Hint: “The actor’s given first and second names at birth are the same as a notorious figure in American history.”
—> Frank James (Jesse James’s older brother and member of the James-Younger gang)
GARY COOPER → GRAY + COPPER
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteNPR Puzzle: Gary Cooper Gray Copper
ReplyDeleteSkydiveboy’s riff: Cary Grant Giant Carp
GARY COOPER [GRAY & COPPER]
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteI wrote, “I think of peanut butter, cheddar cheese, salmon, pimento cheese, hummus, plenty of others.” These are things you might be putting on the Ritz Crackers, and the lyrics of Irving Berlin’s “Puttin’ on the Ritz” mention Gary Cooper by name.
ReplyDeletehttps://www.bing.com/images/search?view=detailV2&ccid=tyw%2b9%2fJ7&id=9B1F410CD48DC4CC8301E4D2786E4D1CCF852468&thid=OIP.tyw-9_J7ebwM-LCnmBXKKwHaEK&mediaurl=https%3a%2f%2fi.ytimg.com%2fvi%2f7emG7bMqJiU%2fmaxresdefault.jpg&cdnurl=https%3a%2f%2fth.bing.com%2fth%2fid%2fR.b72c3ef7f27b79bc0cf8b0a79815ca2b%3frik%3daCSFzxxNbnjS5A%26pid%3dImgRaw%26r%3d0&exph=720&expw=1280&q=%22puttin+on+the+ritz%22&simid=608043112230313220&FORM=IRPRST&ck=DD3FB7BB65428BE95807BA5620112D07&selectedIndex=0&itb=0&idpp=overlayview&ajaxhist=0&ajaxserp=0
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ReplyDeleteGet ready (this week on Puzzleria!) for some puzzling pyrotechics and fireworkmanlike befuddlement! Patrick J. Berry (aka “cranberry”) has – Nobel-like and Nobly – concocted an explosive cocktail of conundrummery titled “Patrickotic Appetizer: Firecrackerjack Cryptology!” Yes, It is Patrick’s 35th cryptic crossword puzzle to appear on Puzzleria!, and he is helping us to prepare for Independence Day with a Fireworks-worth of Wordplay!
ReplyDeleteWe will upload Puzzleria! sometime after you read this post on Blaine’s beautiful blog, surely well before Midnight PDT.
Also on this week’s menus:
* a Schpuzzle of the Week titled “Edibles become ‘otheribles’”,
* a Names In The News Hors d’Oeuvre titled “An average and alright guy,”
* a DyNasty Slice titled “Who is this late perHabsburg?”
* an LMN8 Dessert titled “Baby-talking past the graveyard?” and
* 15 riffs of Tortitude’s (Laura Kozma's) NPR Challenge Puzzle, titled “Gray Copper, oxymoronic oxidation?”... including one created by Tortitude herself (whose “Tortie’s Slow But Sure Puzzles” is a fixture on Puzzleria!) and six riffs by Nodd, one by Plantsmith and one by Ecoarchitect (whose “Nodd ready for prime time,” whose “Garden of Puzzley Delights” and whose “Econfusions” are also fixtures on Puzzleria!)
Counting cranberry’s cryptic crossword, that adds up to a score of puzzles... BUT, when you consider that each of Patrick’s 26 cryptic crossword clues is a “mini-puzzle in itself,” that bumps the total up to 26-more-than-a-score: 46 puzzles!
LegoWhoSuggestsThatWeAllCelebrateThe“SpiritOf76”With46MysteriouslySpiritedStumpers!
Gary Cooper (gray, copper)
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteThe HTML codes have been giving me a hard time today. I'll try again below.
DeleteMy comment: A family tradition in Lynchburg. I was referring to the Jack Daniels distillery in Lynchburg, TN and the "coopers" who build the wooden barrels. I highly recommend touring this facility. It's so much fun! Be warned, though, that it's in a dry county, so you can't buy whiskey there. But you can buy the bottle, that comes with "free" whiskey. (wink-wink)
ReplyDeleteGARY COOPER=(Gray, Copper)
ReplyDeleteMy comment that the taciturnity between Will and Blaine was TMI, because I had originally opined they were "strong silent types.". But googling that phrase disastrously leads to a Sopranos episode about the iconic Gary Cooper. So removing it was necessary.
ReplyDeleteGARY COOPER (GRAY, COPPER)
ReplyDelete> Careful! (29)
During the February 9, 2020, on-air puzzle, Will clued the actor's name with "Wary Copper" (change one letter in each word). Copper is atomic number 29.
> I'm vacationing in Amsterdam with my family this week. At the moment, we're at an historic site nearby, where certain craftsmen worked.
I was at the coopery, in Zaanse Schans.
anine
>> I'll bet you're having a lot of fun.
> Yes, a . . . ton.
I couldn't have said it was a barrel of fun!
> It would be cool if Blaine got The Call this week!
Right after High Noon in his time zone.
> Can a canine yodel?
"A canine yodel" is an anagram of Lycaena dione, the GRAY COPPER.
https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/tun
DeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteDamn HTML codes still not agreeing with me!
DeleteGARY COOPER — gray, copper
ReplyDeleteMy clues:
A certain Twilight Zone episode comes to mind.
That would be The Midnight Sun (S1 E10)—where, in the intro narration, Rod Serling says: "Even at midnight, it's high noon."
So…with another Blainesvillean whose puzzle made it on the air—will yet another one of us get The Call on Thursday?
In the 2013 movie The Call, there is a scene where the bad guy drives around as Puttin' On The Ritz (performed by Taco) is playing on the car stereo. The lyrics of that song include the line "Trying hard to look like Gary Cooper."
By the way, I thought JYQM's comment Anyone else have a sudden craving for tacos? was an oblique reference to that song (as performed by Taco) as well.
Anyway, I replied: Nah, still too early for that.
Meaning, it wasn't lunchtime yet—or high noon.
You are correct! Super duper that we were both on the same page, though your reference was even more oblique than mine!
DeleteGlad I managed to out-oblique you! 😆🤣
DeleteGARY COOPER; GRAY, COPPER. In response to Bobby's hint that he was about to go on a trip on Route 29, I wrote, "Maybe you will see some buffaloes." Copper's chemical number is 29, and its symbol is CU. My reference was to the Colorado University Buffaloes sports teams.
ReplyDeleteAlso, I had written the color copper clued Coopers birthplace of Montana. But I removed the comment because I wrote "his" where as presented the puzzle indicated actor but was ostensibly gender neutral.
ReplyDeleteGARY COOPER, GRAY, COPPER.
ReplyDeleteI wrote of my love for the New York Knicks of my youth, because the team leader was Willis Reed. And "whatchoo talkin bout Willis?" was the tagline of Gary Coleman on Different Strokes. And Gary Coleman was an actor named Gary.
Hence Gary Cooper.
Not a hard puzzle.
I forgot I had posted a hint:
ReplyDelete"Solved it before breakfast. Sometimes it takes me slightly longer." Like @ High Noon perhaps.
"A pip of a puzzle" refers to Wally Pipp, the New York Yankee who was replaced by Lou Gehrig, who played in 2,130 consecutive games and was portrayed in Pride of the Yankees by Gary Cooper.
ReplyDeleteGary Cooper --> gray, copper
ReplyDeleteI was out yesterday, so my comment hardly seems worth posting at this late date. But just for the record, last Sunday I said, “Not a great day to get married.” What with outlaws coming to town that are sworn to kill you as in the movie, High Noon, starring Gary Cooper.
My shout out to fellow blogger CAP was hoping he is continuing to “Ga”-”recuper”-”ate” [Ga-ry Cooper-ate]!
ReplyDeleteI had commented that I had watched a movie starring the actor on a Zenith TV. High Noon, starring Gary Cooper, and it is at solar noon that the sun reaches its zenith in the sky.
ReplyDeleteIt makes no difference how outrageous Trump is, or how beyond reason and belief many of his actions and statements are, his backers are always right there to defend him to the death. On the other hand, no matter how Biden performs, either positively or negatively, his backers are right there to criticize him. Is it any wonder Repubs are frequently more effective at influencing the public?
ReplyDeleteDebate notwithstanding, I'm still picking gray over copper.
DeleteGARY COOPER, GRAY and COPPER
ReplyDeletepjbThe[C-PAP]Wearer
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ReplyDeleteAnyone else here listen to this Thomas Friedman NPR piece today?:
ReplyDeletehttps://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/close-biden-friend-at-new-york-times-says-president-must-drop-out-debate-made-him-weep/ar-BB1p3Gyk?ocid=BingNewsSerp
Thomas Friedman went on and on about how good and effective President Biden is, but then went further to say he should step down because he did a poor job in the debate. He ended by saying a president must not only be good at his job behind the scenes, but also at rallying the public. Well I have something to say about that. I have never heard anyone say Trump was not adept at rallying the public, he even did an outstanding job on January 6th as I recall, but what about the other part? Failed, failed, failed. And big time too. So what kind of reasoning is Friedman using here? It makes no sense to me at all. And to be fair, he is not saying he prefers Trump, no, far from it, but he wants a different Democratic Party candidate. "My horse, my horse! My kingdom for a horse." It didn't work then, and it will not work now. You chose him; you ride him. And stop beating up on him.
The important thing at this point is to stop Trump. If, as is becoming clear, Biden isn't going to be able to do that, there's nothing wrong with urging him to step aside. If you want to speak horse, how about "beating a dead horse", or "the old gray mare, she ain't what she used to be"?
ReplyDeleteI was awakened 33 minutes ago by a major gang related gun battle 3 blocks from my house with automatic pistol fire. Dozens of shots fired.
ReplyDeleteThis week's challenge comes from listener Evan Kalish, of Bayside, N.Y. Name a state capital. Remove its first two letters, and you can rearrange the rest to name something in two words that you might find while beachcombing in that state. What is it?
ReplyDeleteToo easy. Back to airplane mode ( to Boston, via KeflavÃk)
DeletePretty easy to solve. Harder to clue.
ReplyDeleteI prefer a puzzle with a twist.
ReplyDeleteUnbelievably easy. When are we going to get a real puzzle?
ReplyDeleteSuper super easy
ReplyDeleteUmmm... if I have the right state capital, and rearrange the letters after truncating the first two, I get _three_ words for a beachcombing find...
ReplyDeleteI wonder what the record is for most correct answers; odds are it will be broken.
ReplyDelete