Sunday, July 14, 2024

NPR Sunday Puzzle (Jul 14, 2024): Classic Movie Couple

NPR Sunday Puzzle (Jul 14, 2024): Classic Movie Couple
Q: Think of a famous actor and a famous actress who co-starred in a classic movie of the past. The actress's first name, when reversed, and the actor’s last name, spelled forward, are similar romantic gifts. Who are these film stars?
Somehow I don't think it's Fay Wray and King Kong.

Edit: It was a different "classic" film set in New York.
A: Meg Ryan, Billy Crystal ("When Harry Met Sally") --> GEM, CRYSTAL

177 comments:

  1. The actress’s full name can be rearranged to name a geographical locale.

    My wife has spoken with the actor.

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    2. The actor's last name has a shattering connection to an event in that locale.

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    3. When I rearrange the actress's full name, I get a surprising self-referential phrase!

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    4. Yes, you do, though we mean different things by "full name."

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    5. Can't believe Musinglink went there.

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    6. Good lord that guy is awful. Getting offended about a dead author who supported eugenics then making this kind of crass joke? Hypocrite to the nth degree.

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  2. The intern screwed up the answer to the Coleman Stove puzzle by posting last week's answer. LOL

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  3. The actress' last name can be anagrammed to produce something that wouldn't be a particularly romantic gift.

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  4. One of my all time favorite movie couples. I've been where one of their most famous scenes was shot many times.

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  5. Ettedualc, Gable.
    No, that's not even close.

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    1. Yeah, Neiviv and Gable don't work either.

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    2. Lee Remick and Jack Lemmon would perhaps give "Eel" and "Lem(m)on" 😜

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    3. ... and I know Lana Turner isn't an answer!

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    4. Too bad Major Butt was never an actor.

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  6. I couldn't possibly comment - Margaret G.

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  7. Got it! I spent too much time on John Candy.

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    1. Ahhh, I think I see what you mean there Lancek.

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    2. Urinal Cake would not be a suitable name for an actor.

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    3. I got stuck on Gregory Peck, myself.

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  8. What's more romantic...an eel or a yak?

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  9. As someone who makes and enjoys beer, an ale map would be a very romantic gift! :-)

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    1. I FINALLY got it! I'm kicking myself for not noticing the actor or actress earlier. I looked at the puzzle for a little while this morning, and then got busy cleaning my Coleman Stove that I used while camping this past week (and cleaning a lot of other stuff, too). No hints here, just me being mad at myself...

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    2. If you want a tip on cleaning your Coleman stove, I use the Dollar store equivalent of Simple Green. I spray it on and wipe it off and rinse with water. It really works like magic.

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    3. Thanks for the tip, SDB, I'll check that out!

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  10. Happy Bastille Day! I have a far out answer...

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  11. I don't suppose we can do anything with Ronald Reagan and Jodie Foster? No, that doesn't work. Sorry, that was very inconsiderate considering yesterday's earsplitting event.

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  12. The answer should be obvious by now.

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  13. I spent a while fruitlessly consulting lists. I gave up and went running. The tedium of the 80 degree heat was partially relieved by thinking about the puzzle. Possible romantic gifts was the category I thought about. I thought of names that resulted when reversing various gifts, and it was easy to find the overall puzzle answer once I found such a name / gift. I love it when I get the puzzle on a run!

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  14. Today while the blossoms still cling to the vine. . .

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    1. I think I get your clever 3-step allusion, WW, but I am racking my brain to remember the attribution for the key step. Was it a mad intern? (That's an anagram).

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    2. Lancek, you may be giving me more clever steps than warranted. . .

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  15. Apparently I'm overthinking again.

    And I saw Lana also... oh my!

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    1. Nvmd. Got it. My definition of classic may not be everyone's.

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  16. The actor is 1000 times better than the actress.

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    1. Yes, Buck Bard, the Ali eulogy, when I’m not laughing, brings me to tears, too.

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    2. Billy sounds like "billion". Meg sounds like "mega", which means "million".

      1000000000/1000000=1000

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  17. Change a letter that appears twice in a nothing-but-netter to a letter that appears but once. Rearrange to get an acronym of sorts.
    LegoNothingButBricker

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    1. What is a "nothing-but-netter?"

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    2. Musinglink,
      Good question...
      "The opposite of a "brick."
      LegoA"BrickLayer"(EvenOnLayups!)

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    3. Lego, do you mean to change both instances of the letter that appears twice (resulting in a letter appearing three times in the acronym of sorts)?

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    4. Good question, Lancek. Bad writing Lego!
      Shoulda written:
      A synonym of "nothing-but-netter" contains a letter that appears twice. Change one of those letters to a letter that appears but once in this synonym. Rearrange the result to get an acronym of sorts that pertains to this week's challenge.

      LegoWhoAppreciatesMusinglink'sAndLancek'sAstuteComments

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    5. Hmm. I still have a letter left over...unless I go full onomatopoeia with the synonym.

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    6. Lego, I’ve got it. Nice!

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    7. I still have that extra letter, but everything else is nice. I'll know soon where I went wrong!

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    8. The answer to lego’s puzzle is “swish” —> hwish —> ihwsh —> “I’ll have what she’s having.”

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    9. Yes, an “acronym of sorts” or, perhaps, an initialism.

      As an aging hoopster, I would’ve been mortified had I not solved it.

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    10. Of course! Thanks, Dr. K. My near-miss solution was SWISH -> SWIWH -> SWIMH (Lego said "rearrange") -> WHMSI. Whimsically enough that's an acronym of the movie...with an annoying extra I.

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    1. I got second thoughts about my clue(s)…a clue that's not TMI seems hard to find. Perhaps if I give it some time, try again, and if it still doesn't work out, give it some more time, try yet again…hmm, I don't know—with Thursday only four days away….

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  19. "Classic movie of the past" OK thanks for making me feel extra old Will

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    1. I agree. That's a stretch.

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    2. Same! I would not have phrased it that way...

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    3. Well, it's not a movie of the present, or the future, so past seems appropriate. That leaves the word classic. I have found more than one site that describes it as such. Therefore, I say "Yes!" to describing it as a classic movie of the past.

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    4. I say "Yes!" but not the Yes! Yes! Yes! Yes! etc. from the deli scene.

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  20. Is no one in the media going to have the integrity to point out that Trump is a violent man who has done everything he could to start a violent revolution in our country, along with an insurrection based on lies and a conspiracy that the election was stolen? In other words, he brought this violence upon himself? It is not violent for the truth about Trump's violent behavior to be reported by our media.

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    1. SDB: I agree with you. The media makes be sick.

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    2. Wait, I disagree. My Jodie Foster comment was a wisecrack harkening to the Reagan assassination attempt, just to be ironic. But, many left wingers, celebs mostly, have called for Trump's assassination. Notably Johnny Depp in his reference to "An actor assassinating a president," Kathy Griffin holding up a severed Donald Trump head, Lea Dalaria from Orange is the New Black pleading with Joe Biden to assassinate Trump. The left is equally guilty, if not more so, of inciting violence against Trump. Be honest. Thismessagewasapprovedbyme,Musinglink,yourfavoritekaren.

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    3. SDB, Natasha and Violin Teddy - I recommend the excellent article in the Atlantic by David Frum.

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    4. See The Reframe, “Gambling in Casablanca” (July 14, 2024), by A. R. Moxon.

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    5. Dr. K:
      Thanks. I just finished reading it. At first I thought about watching last night (just turned it on for a few minutes to see if DRT might speak) Trump appear somewhat changed by the shooting Saturday. I knew this was a sham because look who he has chosen as his running mate. He is a master of deceit.

      As to the article:
      I love everything he says in it. As I was finishing reading it I found myself once again thinking about how we are frequently being told by reasonable leaders such as Biden that "this is not who we are." But actually it is exactly who we are. I would very much like us to become like what is described in the article, but we first must accept who we really are, and it is not a pretty picture.

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    6. Lorenzo:
      I could only read the first part unless I sign up. So I will try and finish reading it later via my library online access. My first thought was, why was this Canadian writing speeches for W? Anyway it begins well. Thanks.

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    7. Lorenzo:
      I cannot find a way to read the full article without signing up, which I loath to do. I called the library and they were also unable to help me. I wanted to read the entire piece before I commented, but since that is not likely I will say that I do not think it will say anything I am not also aware of and that I do not think MAGAts read The Atlantic, nor do undecided voters. Unfortunately ignorance of what is happening in the world and our country seems to be prized by a large number of our citizens.

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    8. Thanks jan, I read it now and it is very well written and true. I could say so many things in response, but I will leave it with this: I have long said I believe Trump is more dangerous to our planet than Hitler was, because he actually has the means to destroy it, and cares only for himself. But it is not Trump I fear as much as I fear the ignorance that pervades our society and that brought us to this point.

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    9. Thanks Jan. I was trying to read the full article also.

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  21. This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.

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  22. His name covers a lot that wouldn't be considered a romantic gift.

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  23. The movie in which they appeared together was delicious.

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    1. I preferred My Dinner with Andre. T tasty treat.

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  25. This comment has been removed by the author.

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  26. I tried diamonds are forever

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  27. I was surprised to learn that there was a significant connection between the actor and Lady Day.

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    1. Yes, I know the reference. It does take a bit of explaining though, because it involves a show-biz connection.

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  28. Struggled a bit on this one. One of the not-supposed-to-be-a-clue clues above took me right to the answer. Should have stayed away from the blog a bit longer. Hopefully, I would have arrived at the answer on my own eventually...

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  29. Forgot to reveal my answer to last week's puzzle:
    COLEMAN STOVE(C, L, M, N, S, T, V)
    Just got the answer to this week's. Dr. K suggested something earlier, and I figured out the actress's name from it. I think I'm right about the actor's name as well.
    pjbWonAMusicTriviaContestOnThursday,SoHeForgotToCheckInHere

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  30. Gotta say, I find one of these gifts more traditionally romantic than the other!

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    1. I'll take a gem any day, but no thanks on the crystal.

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  31. Replies
    1. Billy Crystal's SNL character Fernando's iconic line "You look marvelous."

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  32. After viewing videos of Trump's Secret Service team and analyzing aerial layouts of the grounds where he was shot in PA, the state where I live, I am astonished and appalled at the incompetence and overall sluggishness of the Secret Service "agents" whom I observed in this video. Supposedly, now, the Secret Service is required to be 30% female. In the video, I watched an overweight female Secret Service officerette fumble for about half a minute trying to re-holster her pistol. Maybe to the elite, brie eating, hyper-educated (I hold a doctorate in Divinity from the ULC myself!) NPR crowd, this sounds trivial. But let me assure you, it is a sign of the decline that is so evident everywhere in our great nation. Gone are the days of the heroic Secret Service agent extraordinaire Timothy J. McCarthy, who valiantly stepped in front of the Great Ronald Reagan and took one of six bullets fired by mad man John Hinckley. The bullet lodged deep in his chest, but he made a full recovery. Now THAT, was an assassination attempt! Let's make America great again!

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    1. You have a doctorate from the Universal Life Church? I guess that does qualify you to sermonize about the decline of America.

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    2. Back in the 1990's when I ran a skydiving center business west of Phoinix, AZ, I inherited a static line instructor who was one of the most stupid humans I have ever encountered. He used to tell me he was a minister and could perform marriages, and that if he had paid slightly more for his ridiculous license he could have a doctorate. I could go on and on about how idiotic this person was, but I will leave it at where I believe he was the last person to die making a BASE jump off El Capitan in Yosemite National Park.

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    3. Wait, the ULC awards doctorates? News to me. I signed my wife up as a minister so she could marry our niece and her new husband, but their website said nothing about advanced degrees.

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    4. I'm ordained.
      Church of the Flying Spaghetti Monster. I have been touched by his noodly appendage.
      (It was a birthday present from my son. I think it cost more than $25, but, you know, you pay for quality.)

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    5. I offer my blessings to Your Holiness.

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  33. "Classic movie of the past" - Hmmmm. Anyway, the answer is clear.

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    1. I agree. It reminds me of sometimes looking at the back cover of a DVD movie to see if I want to see it, and it has a blurb: "AN INSTANT CLASSIC!"

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  34. Hi Blainesvillians. I changed my handle from "Black Swan" to "Hiho Quicksilver" because swans can get becalmed ans are too damn slow. Have a good week everyone.

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  35. I'm looking forward to watching the U.S. Olympic gymnastics team in a couple of weeks!

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  36. No one should be at all surprised that the classified documents case against Trump has been thrown out. If you recall Trump said, "I could stand in the middle of Fifth Avenue and shoot somebody, and I wouldn't lose..." But he wasn't going to take any chances by using a handgun when a Cannon would do.

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  38. Take all the vowels in the actress's name. The movie's title uses each of these twice, and uses no other vowels.

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  39. My eyes happened to glance at the title of a well known book on my bookshelf by Jon Krakauer. This caused me to realize I need to begin writing a biography on Donald Trump. I say this because I now have the title: Into Thin Hair.

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  40. Take the title of the cinematic couple's' most famous flick. Add 1 letter and change 2 letters in the last word of that flick's title. It might inspire a good title for another movie about another time.

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    1. Changing 3 letters in "Sally"could suggest a movie titled "When Harry Met Stalin "which happened in July 1945

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    2. Of course the reference is to then President Harry Truman

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  41. A rhinoceros walks into a bar. The bartender asks, "Rye, no?"

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  42. My uncle has a royal title. Does that make his wife a count aunt?

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  43. A Chinaman woks in a bar. No wonder it's always busy.

    (I know we are told not to use that term, but I can't wait to tell my best friend, who is from China. He will laugh out loud.}

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  44. Can we talk about gun control now?

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    1. One thing's for sure. If the "investigation" is done by the establishment and not an outside entity, we'll have a brand new conspiracy theory or several to talk about for the next century.

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    2. We don't need no gun control. We all get along just fine. If you don't think so, please watch this short news video recorded by business cameras just 3 or 4 blocks from my house:

      https://komonews.com/news/local/security-video-surveillance-aurora-avenue-north-seattle-king-county-one-person-injured-community-safety-gun-violence-30-shell-casings-fragments

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    3. This comment has been removed by the author.

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    4. It is not an anomaly. This one just happened to get filmed. A few others have too. This is a pimp war in this area. It has been going on for a while now, but increasing dramatically lately. There are several shootings each week in this small area now; sometimes 2 or 3 a day or night. It needs to stop.

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    5. Not here. It is odd because just one mile up there is a Krispy Kreme. And there is shooting and whores there too. It looks to me like the pimps and the whores are from out of state, most likely from the LA area, and are brought here because of the lax (no pun intended) enforcement on whoring. And we are told they are now to be called "victims". We are the victims!

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    6. SDB: Sounds like the citizens need to attend some town meetings and complain. More marching and complaining.

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  45. Re: the Trump convention. Is tonight when Trump will speak and pass out the Kool-Aid? Also, will it be televised?

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  46. SDB: Yes, tonight. I just cannot bear anymore.

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    1. Well you are going to have to.

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    2. Meg Ryan & Billy Crystal
      MY COMPUTER KEEPS FREEZING! AUGH!

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  47. BILLY CRYSTAL and MEG (GEM) RYAN in WHEN HARRY MET SALLY


    "Today while the blossoms still cling to the vine. . ." WHEN HARRY MET SALLY was released July 14, 1989, the day this puzzle aired.

    "jan, that's clear!" as in CRYSTAL CLEAR.

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    1. I was way off on that one! I remember watching the New Christy Minstrels on TV years ago, and they were introduced as the spoonerized "New Minty Crystals." I think it must have been Dean Martin, as he used to walk around with a cigarette and a martini, pretending to be sloshed. Maybe he was.

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    2. Lancek, that's an even better oblique connection!

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    3. Today was the song I sang to my daughter every night as a lullaby. Great song, good memories.

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  48. 1. WHEN HARRY MET SALLY with Meg Ryan & Billy Crystal → GEM + CRYSTAL (similar romantic gifts)


    2. AMITYVILLE 3-D with Meg Ryan & Robert Joy → GEM + JOY (similar romantic gifts)


    3. ARMED & DANGEROUS with Meg Ryan & John Candy → GEM + CANDY (similar romantic gifts)

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    1. The existence of #3 is why I replied to Scarlett's post (in which she said she had wasted too much time on John Candy) with "Are you sure about that?"

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    2. Lancek, thanks for the explanation. After you made that comment I looked for a possible connection and found a skit in the debut of the short-lived (an understatement) Billy Crystal Comedy Hour where John Candy did a great impersonation of Orson Welles. I thought that was you meant.

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    3. Huh, I thought the point was that Candy hosted SNL and made some other appearances, and was in SCTV which of course was a close relative of SNL. And Billy was an SNL cast member. So I said... "Ooooh. So nice, Lancek." Because "So Nice Lancek" has the SNL initials.

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  49. BILLY CRYSTAL, MEG RYAN (CRYSTAL, GEM)

    > His name covers a lot that wouldn't be considered a romantic gift.

    Salt? Sugar? Snow? There are a lot of non-gift-worthy crystals out there.

    > Timely!

    The puzzle was presented on the 35th anniversary of the release of When Harry Met Sally. (Not sure that's old enough to make it "a classic movie of the past".)

    > I'm looking forward to watching the U.S. Olympic gymnastics team in a couple of weeks!

    Their uniforms include thousands of CRYSTALs.

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  50. Meg Ryan, Billy Crystalfrom “When Harry Met Sally”
    I wrote: The actress' last name can be anagrammed to produce something that wouldn't be a particularly romantic gift. - yarn

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  51. My description of how I got the answer included “... and it was easy to find the overall puzzle answer once I found such a name / gift.” “na ME / G ift” was the hint.

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  52. BILLY CRYSTAL AND MEG RYAN
    (—> CRYSTAL, GEM)

    Hint: “The actress’s full name can be rearranged to name a geographical locale.” MEG RYAN —> GERMANY

    Comment: “I was surprised to learn that there was a significant connection between the actor and Lady Day.”
    -->Billy Crystal’s uncle, Milt Gabler, was the founder of Commodore Records, which produced Billie Holiday’s “Strange Fruit,” and Holiday regularly visited the Crystal home when Billy was a child, even taking him to his first movie, Shane.

    A personal aside: “My wife has spoken with the actor.”
    Yes, she did speak with Billy Crystal, and for those who might be interested, here’s the somewhat lengthy story:

    -->In June 1988, my wife and I attended the Tyson-Spinks heavyweight championship fight at Atlantic City’s Convention Hall. (I had won tickets, including a roundtrip limousine ride to AC and back.) Following the fight, as all of us were leaving Convention Hall and passing through the casino, she walked alongside Billy Crystal, but because she was then (and is still to some degree now) not especially interested in pop culture, she had no idea who he was. As she began to chat with him, she learned that he was trying to calculate how much per second Tyson had made as a result of the fight. Since Tyson’s overall winnings were about $20 million and the fight had lasted all of 91 seconds, Crystal arrived at a per-second total of approximately $20,000. But his math was wrong. My wife pointed out that he was in fact off by a factor of 10 and that Tyson had actually earned not $20,000 but $200,000 per second, a correction for which Crystal thanked her. Subsequently, she caught up with me (I had been a few steps ahead) and told me of her conversation. I had been looking back, so I knew that she had been speaking with Billy Crystal and told her so, but I had to explain to her who he was. I then suggested she go back with our souvenir program from the fight and get his autograph, which Crystal graciously provided. (Later, at the limo pickup area, we stood next to, among others, Jack Nicholson and—shudder—Donald and Ivana. Muhammad Ali--fans of Crystal will know that he does an impression of Ali and delivered the eulogy at Ali’s funeral, along with the impression—was introduced in the ring prior to the main event. Yes, it was a memorable night, and it remains to this day the only professional boxing match my wife and I have ever attended.)

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    1. Dr. K, thanking for sharing the Billy Crystal story. Loved your wife catching a math error at a boxing match, near the RING, another gift!

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    2. Interesting story and it contains a ring of truth.

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  53. BILLY CRYSTAL and MEG (GEM) RYAN

    The post I deleted because I got concerned about TMI included this verbiage: "This actually took me a while. I chiseled away at actresses' first names on my computer, typing them backwards…." The operative word was "chiseled," of course…as in "chisel a gem. Googling "chisel" didn't seem to lead to any direct "gem" references, but then I found the Merriam-Webster entry for "chisel" says a chisel is a metal tool used to cut solid material "such as wood, stone, or metal." The "stone" reference gave away too much, IMO.

    So in my alternate post, I attempted some veiled When Harry Met Sally references:

    "A clue that's not TMI seems hard to find. Perhaps if I give it some time, try again, and if it still doesn't work out, give it some more time, try yet again…hmm, I don't know—with Thursday only four days away…."

    Hard to find—Harry and Sally have a hard time finding lasting love and happiness.
    Try again…try yet again…—again, just like Harry and Sally.
    Only four days—unlike the twelve years and three months Harry and Sally tap-danced around each other before their long-time-coming happy ending.

    At first, like some of you, I thought Gregory Peck was the track to take, but, for the life of me, I was unable to come up with a matching female costar—except possibly Pat Quinn from Shootout (1971). But that I found to be a stretch…a "tap" is not really like a "peck," is it?

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  54. Whoa! 😯 Where did my post go?? 😯
    Blaine, it was published first, but then it went away. Did it end up in spam?

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    1. The answer is Billy CRYSTAL and Meg (GEM) Ryan, anyway.

      My (second) post> contained a few veiled references to When Harry Met Sally.

      The post I deleted for TMI concerns included this passage: "I chiseled away at first names spelled backwards." Googling "chisel" did not seem to lead to any "gem" references, but then I found the Merriam-Webster definition did include a reference to "stones," so … still a little TMI, IMO.

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    2. Yes, the Spam auto-moderator took it. I brought it back.

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  55. My hungry for pastrami comment was in reference to Katz's Deli (who arguably makes the best in NY), where the famous scene in the movie with Meg was filmed. Curiously, she was having turkey on white. I wonder how many orders they get for that.

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  56. 2 Actors starring in classic romantic movies, such as "When Harry Met Sally.", 1989).

    Reverse actress's first name, add actors last name ---> 2 similar gifts:

    GEM + CRYSTAL

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  57. Meg Ryan, Billy Crystal --> When Harry Met Sally --> gem, crystal

    Last Sunday I said, “The answer should be obvious by now.” That is clear by now. That is Crystal clear.

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  58. Billy Crystal, Meg Ryan

    They were both in When Harry Met Sally. A crystal is like a gem.

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    1. A crystal can be a gem but, as jan pointed out, several crystals like salt, snow, and sugar, are not considered gems.

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  59. BILLY CRYSTAL and MEG RYAN

    I called the movie "delicious" in honor of the legendary Katz's Deli scene.

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  60. Rearrange the actress's full name [in one sense] to get a surprising self-referential phrase:
    MARGARET RYAN => RETRY ANAGRAM

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  62. Sorry that this Puzzleria! Preview is tardy. Blainesvillians.
    Our good friend geofan (aka Ken Pratt, whose "Worldplay" puzzle-package has long been a "stumper-filled staple" on P!) is providing those who log onto Puzzleria! a "puzzle-a-day to solve" for the week that begins Thursday, today! His "SuPRATTemporal Septetudinal Appetizer," titled "Capital alchemy, history, subtraction & element, relative, residence," will be uploaded as soon as possible later today.
    Also on or menus this week are:
    * A Schpuzzle of the Week titled "Deep-six the unsuitable fifth,"
    * A Cocktail & Alcohol Hors d’Oeuvre titled "Elmira hosts a merry event,"
    * A Sixteen Candles Slice titled "From grocery to the gridiron?"
    * A Varmint and Variant Dessert titled "Self-descriptive female creature," and
    * A dozen riff-offs of this week's NPR Puzzle Challenge titled "Billy + Lucille = Crystal Ball!" (including terrific riffs from Plantsmith and Nodd, whose puzzles appear regularly on P!
    So, join us for a weekful of World-Class "Worldplay," courtesy of geofan, and 15 other wordplayful wonders... (That's a fraction more three-puzzles-per-day!).

    LegoPurveyorOfCrystalline22CaratGems!

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  64. My Sunday Hint was:
    A synonym of "nothing-but-netter" contains a letter that appears twice. Change one of those two letters to a letter that appears but once in this synonym. Rearrange the result to get an acronym of sorts that pertains to this week's challenge.
    A "nothing-but-netter" is a basketball shot that touches only the net of the basket, not the rim. Such a shot is also called a "SWISH" because that's the sound the ball-passing-through-the-net makes.
    Change an S in SWISH to an H, forming HWISH. Rearrange these letters to form IHWSH, which is an "acronym of sorts" of the best line in the film "When Harry Met Sally..." It is: "I'll Have What She's Having!"
    The line (spoken during a scene in a restaurant where Harry and Sally are dining) was delivered by the late great actress Estelle Reiner, the wife of the late great Carl Reiner and the mother of Rob Reiner, who produced and directed the film.

    LegoJustFakin'It

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  65. MEG RYAN, BILLY CRYSTAL("When Harry Met Sally", 1989), GEM, CRYSTAL
    The comment about her name being rearranged to spell a geographic location was what did it for me.
    MEG RYAN=GERMANY
    Although I at first thought of Tom Cruise because Meg was in "Top Gun" as well. A gem and a cruise would be two good romantic gifts, no? Good thing I found a photo of Meg and Billy from their film!
    pjbFoundTheRightFilmAndWasLike,"Yes!Yes!Oh,Yes!"

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  66. Oh, was yesterday Thursday? OOPS..

    Meg Ryan (GEM) and Billy CRYSTAL

    Meg Ryan’s faked orgasm scene in, When Harry Met Sally, followed by Estelle Reiner (director Rob Reiner’s mother), saying, “Waiter, I’ll have what she’s having,” was shot in Katz’s Delicatessen on Houston Street in Manhattan. (There is a sign over the table commemorating it.)

    Growing up in Manhattan, (1949-57!) my family’s apartment was just over one mile from Katz’s, although I don’t remember eating there as a kid.

    Years later, after I’d moved to Connecticut and married, my wife introduced me to Katz’s and it became a regular stop on our annual trips to New York. Now that I’m in Virginia, eating there is a rare treat.

    For those who like Degrees of Separation, you can get from last year’s hit movie to this week’s puzzle as follows

    2023 Hit movie Oppenheimer.
    Oppenheimer’s nickname, “Oppie.”
    Opie was the Andy Griffin Show character played by Ron Howard.
    Ron Howard directed Apollo 13.
    Apollo 13 has the (often misquoted) line, “Houston, we have a problem.” (Jack Sweigert actually said, ‘Houston we’ve had a problem.”)
    Houston Street is the location of Katz’s Delicatessen.
    Katz’s is where the faked orgasm scene in the movie, “When Harry Met Sally,” was shot.
    When Harry Met Sally starred Meg (GEM) Ryan and Billy CRYSTAL.

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    1. Very fine nine-link "Degrees of Separation" Concatenation, SuperZee! (which ends in Will's likely and consensus-of-this-blog intended answer!)

      LegoWhoAppreciatesTheWaySuperZee'sVeryCreativeMindWorks

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  67. This challenge comes from listener Mark Scott, of Seattle. Take the name of a famous actor of the past. Say it out loud, and phonetically you'll describe what a famous general's horse did. Who is the actor and who is the general?

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  68. Got it. Waiting for Blaine...

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  69. I don't have the intended answer yet, but I found a valid alternative.

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    1. Yeah, I've got the intended answer and two others now.

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    2. I think this puzzle may have been discussed here previously, in some form.

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  70. One of my actors died 30 years before the other.

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  71. I got it when I was still in bed! When are we going to get a real puzzle??

    [jk jk jk jk jk]

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  72. Over 900 correct entries last week.

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