The removed letters form a state abbreviation.Q: Think of something to drink whose name is a compound word. Delete the first letter of the first part and you'll get some athletes. Delete the first letter of the second part and you'll get where these athletes compete. What words are these?
A: SCREWDRIVER --> CREW, RIVER
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I had a possible answer that reminded me of a puzzle that aired last year. It must not be the intended answer, though, because the removed letters of "my" answer, read backwards, form a country, not a state. 🤷♂️
ReplyDelete(I meant, the abbreviation of a country.)
DeleteI was hinting at TR (for the country of Turkey). What I tried at first was something along the lines of "R[ace] T[rack]," since I remembered the "race track" puzzle that aired last year. There is the RaceTrac brand, but I realized that wouldn't quite work.
DeleteCute. Like solving these puzzles quickly lately. Kept puzzling over a different last word before I got it.
ReplyDeleteI Don’t know it yet.
ReplyDeleteOver 700 correct answers last week
ReplyDeleteConsecutive letters of where the athletes compete also form a state abbreviation.
ReplyDeleteA slightly different wording of the puzzle would have made it easier - probably too easy - to solve.
ReplyDeleteI question the wording this week. It should be: "Delete the first letter of the first part, and the remaining letters of the first part spell out some athletes. Delete the last letter of the second part and the remaining letters of the second part spell out where these athletes compete." Other than that, it's a nice puzzle!
ReplyDeleteI don't have the answer yet, but I noticed that your phrasing says to delete the last letter of the second part, while the original puzzle says to delete the first letter of the second part. Did you mean the first or last letter of the second part?
DeleteOops. I DID mean the first letter of the second part. I was just concerned that the given wording would (for example) lead to a group of athletes called ILKSHAKE competing in a place called MILKHAKE.
DeleteTo be clear: To derive the athletes, you remove the first letter of the first part and read only the remaining first part. You follow the same procedure for the second part. In other words, you do not read the entire remaining word.
DeleteThanks, I understand the requirements of the puzzle. I feel like I'm close, I have multiple words that could reduce down to one piece or the other.
DeleteTo further clarify:
DeleteIf the answer were MILKSHAKE, it would be an ILK playing at a HAKE. But of course, that's not the answer.
pjbAlsoKnowsAnotherDrinkThatCouldBeMixedWithTheIntendedAnswerToGetAComicalAnswer(NoMoreNeedsToBeSaidFromThere!)
What do you use to cut a goat's hair?
ReplyDeletePaul McCartney.
DeleteHas the sun come up on the West Coast yet?
DeleteThe sun is just BARELY starting to appear, Paul. (Perhaps that was a hint and not a real question, tho?_
DeleteA chevre shaver?
DeleteI'm assuming Paul intended "Billy Shears" to be the answer. The name appeared on the Sergeant Pepper album and became attached to the "Paul is dead" theory, which inspired my answer.
DeleteI should have solver this one quicker.
ReplyDeleteSome of Will's puzzles fall flat. Not this one.
ReplyDeleteI never got last week's, and I live there, and I got as close as thinking about "middle west." And I never even try the ones that are grocery store products. So this one was a relief. I have one of these athletes in my family.
ReplyDeleteI live in New England, too. I just never bothered with last week's puzzle, because my Sunday morning was busy. Usually, with me and the puzzle, it's right away or not at all.
DeleteI did struggle with this week's puzzle at first. Yesterday, after a couple of "steam(ed)" attempts went nowhere, I was like, "Ugh, forget that!" But somehow, this morning, I still got it. :)
Ah, familiar!
ReplyDeleteNow that I've got this, time to catch up on some back episodes of A Way With Words.
ReplyDeleteTimely!
ReplyDeleteYes!
DeleteFor at least two reasons.
DeleteI expect to hear from Dr. K.
DeleteI think I know why.
DeleteAs always, you are one step ahead!
DeleteAgreed, you are great at these!
DeleteCute puzzle - but it think that’s like three or four in a row of quick solves. If ever there was a drink to be served with a certain something, it would be this.
ReplyDeleteGot it faster than last week's but it seems like it might be in the same realm of difficulty. (Not intended to be a clue. Just a quick observation.)
ReplyDeleteI never did steal that tee shirt from my college girlfriend.
ReplyDeleteRemoving just the first letter of the drink, then reading the whole word, conjures up a rather different sport.
ReplyDelete(NASCAR, anyone?)
DeleteThis is like a puzzle 5 years ago.
ReplyDeleteDon't you mean 9 years ago?
DeleteGood point
DeleteYeah, 9 years is what I was thinking. Disappointing. I was going to say a little something about why, but I think it would be TMI.
DeleteThe puzzle on October 13, 2019 was Joe and OJ. There is orange juice in a screwdriver. This was 5 years ago, and the 5 ball in pool is orange.
DeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
DeleteInterestingly, there was also an orange puzzle 1 year ago this week. The puzzle on October 15, 2023 was Dan Marino, range->Mandarin orange.
DeleteBut SDB was talking about a 2015 NPR puzzle:
DeleteName something in three syllables that an auto mechanic might have. Move the second and third syllables to the front. The result, with some respacing, will name a group of auto mechanics. What is it?
Here's something very odd. The very next week Will used a puzzle submitted by Joe Krozel. So that 2015 screwdriver puzzle appeared on the same page as Joe Krozel's (the former was answered, the latter posed). And this past Sunday, the NPR Puzzle page has the *answer* to another Joe Krozel puzzle, and also poses the second screwdriver puzzle!
Is this pure coincidence?
Playing the guitar for the last couple of hours helped clear my mind.
ReplyDeleteAdmittedly, I am not familiar with most drinks, but this one I knew. I was also familiar with some of these athletes at my alma mater.
No clue here (at least none that I'm aware of).
Ok, here's a compound musical clue: Phil Spector and the Beatles.
ReplyDeleteLet me guess. Teddy bears and Teddy boys?
DeleteNope, sorry. Nice try, but try again.
DeleteReminds me of Alice in Wonderland.
ReplyDeleteNew England Musical Clue: New Canaan
ReplyDeleteI'd rather have a Steam Drink.
ReplyDeleteAlmost TMI! (In combination with…something.)
Delete"Something to drink" was a curious choice.
ReplyDeleteI agree, "Something to drink" is a bit misleading.
ReplyDeleteI agree with both jan and Musinglink about "Something to drink" being both "a curious choice" and "a bit misleading." But I think it is a fair puzzle, based on Merriam-Webster's entry.
DeleteLegoAddsThatThePuzzleIsAlsoVeryClever(AndVeryRiffable)
'Twas merely purposeful misdirection, eh?
DeleteYes, Word Woman, I believe so. The puzzle would have been easier to solve had the misdirection not been employed.
DeleteLegoWhoPromisesRiffsGaloreOnPuzzleria!
Yes, it's a good enough puzzle, but I guess the phrasing "something to drink" had to be a trifle vague and general enough to keep it from being too easy. Almost as easy as ..Oops! No TMI from me!
DeleteGolly, that took me too long. Rearrange the even numbered letters of the drink. You get something you might do in winter.
ReplyDeleteIt took a while, but it came to me early this morning...
ReplyDeleteClearly it was a good move to go get ice cream at our favorite place on the last day before they close for the winter. On the way back, the answer popped into my head.
ReplyDeleteI have added dihydrogen monoxide to this, but not magnesium hydroxide.
DeleteOnce again!
ReplyDeleteLotsa foam on Mr. Donahue's beer.
ReplyDeleteI think I need a drink to think of this drink. i'm so mixed up I think a degree in mixology would be a valuable tool.
ReplyDeleteMusical clue (a twofer): Angel of the Morning
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteHmm, that post above may have straddled TMI territory…let me rephrase: A recent movie with a connection to this puzzle comes to mind.
DeleteThe athletes were at the Paris Olympics.
ReplyDeleteStumbling onto the answer took me hours of pondering and searching possibiites during which I learned that there are three varieties of compound words (open, closed, and hyphenated), not to be confused (as I was) with their cousin, portmanteau words.
ReplyDeleteGosh, the mechanics of wordsmithing can be fascinating.
Now that we understand Christopher Columbus was most likely Jewish, does that explain why he never landed on our shores here in the U.S.A.? Is it that our indigenous Indians refused to provide him with a Green Card?
ReplyDeletePersonally, I don’t see anything wrong with this week’s puzzle wording. It’s a little vague, but that’s par for the course with many puzzles.
ReplyDeleteI'm thinking of a song that mentions two different beverages, but I don't want to risk saying more than that; there's just too much at stake.
ReplyDelete"Tea for the Tillerman" also mentions wine (and "steak", which, of course is not a beverage).
DeleteYou might use "billy shears" to cut a goat's hair (unless she's a nanny). Billy Shears got by with a little help from his friends, so Lancek was on the right wavelength there (but Billy was actually Ringo). And I also liked John's inventive "chevre shaver".
VT was right; my inquiry about the sun rising was intended as a hint; but I was also checking to see if I'd done my time zone calculations correctly. Thanks, VT, for confirming that for me. I was particularly interested in the horizon over Santa Monica Boulevard. All I wanted to do was have some fun -- just dancing in the dark, so to speak.
Makes me think of Don Callis!
ReplyDeleteJoe, haven't see your name here lately. Nice to see your post.
DeleteLegoAFanOfJoeKupe'sComments
Lego, thank you for the well wishes!
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ReplyDeleteSince getting the call I haven't been submitting, nor have I spent as much time solving these (or trying to script them). Nonetheless, it's nice to get back to answers I've heard of (unlike DINAH SHORE and DOVER SOLE), and this week's I managed to solve "straight." The trick was to give up on athletes and venues, focus on the "something to drink," and ask "Could he be going in that direction?" Here I was arguably helped by my relative lack of knowledge.
ReplyDeleteTelevision hint: Futurama
My Television hint was referring to https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sdEJ064QjxU.
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ReplyDeleteOuch!
DeleteSCREWDRIVER; CREW, RIVER
ReplyDelete"Ah, familiar!" I rowed crew on the Connecticut River and the Charles River in college.
"For at least two reasons." Jan is referring to the Head of the Charles Regatta happening next weekend. Head can also refer to a Phillips head or a flat head screwdriver.
"Agreed, you are great at these!" "Great at" anagrams to regatta.
The Drink: SCREWDRIVER (the cocktail) → You would find a CREW compete on a RIVER.
ReplyDeleteSCREWDRIVER —> CREW, RIVER
ReplyDeleteHint: “a compound musical clue: Phil Spector and the Beatles”
—> In 1963 Phil Spector had the Crystals record a scandalous song called “(Let’s Dance) The Screw,” which for obvious reasons was immediately withdrawn after its release (only 6 copies are known to exist). In 1965 the Beatles released a song called “Drive My Car” on the UK version of their album Rubber Soul.
So…SCREW + DRIVE (+ R)
There are quite a few titles by musical artists that included the complete word “driver” in them, rather than just “drive”—everyone from Muddy Waters and Chuck Berry to Bob Marley, Prince, Frank Zappa, and Tom Petty—but I liked the Spector-Beatles connection and so went with an imperfect-by-one-letter hint.
I was thinking "River Deep - Mountain High" by Ike & Tina Turner for the Spector connection.
DeleteI guess the most appropriate "Drive" would be the song by the Cars, but that would have been TMI!
Phil Spector also added lush production to the "Let it Be" album, most notably the strings and choral singers to "The Long and Winding Road" -- a clue to both screw and driver.
DeleteAnd my addled brain is surprised that this has nothing to do with Dueling Banjos.
DeleteI wrote, “Rearrange the even numbered letters of the drink. You get something you might do in winter.” That’s DEICE.
ReplyDeleteSCREWDRIVER (CREW, RIVER)
ReplyDelete> Timely!
The , the world's largest 3-day regatta, is this coming weekend.
> I expect to hear from Dr. K.
He mentioned the HOCR here three years ago this week, when the puzzle answer was CHARLIZE THERON --> CHARLES I, THRONE.
> "Something to drink" was a curious choice.
A SCREWDRIVER is most commonly a hand tool, not a drink.
> Once again!
In Monday's New York Times Crossword: 14A: "Sport with sculls": CREW.
I thought so!
DeleteScrewdriver, crew, river
ReplyDeleteEarlier this week I posted, “Personally, I don’t see anything wrong with this week’s puzzle wording. It’s a little vague, but that’s par for the course with many puzzles.” This was not a clue – just an observation. And a screwdriver is certainly “something to drink” although vague as to what kind of thing it might be. “You’ll get some athletes” is also a little vague but accurate enough to recognize when you’re closing in on the answer.
screwdriver -> crew, river
ReplyDeleteI wrote: A slightly different wording of the puzzle would have made it easier - probably too easy - to solve. If the puzzle referred to a tool instead of a drink, it would have been easier to solve.
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteSCREWDRIVER >>> CREW & RIVER
ReplyDeletescrewdriver->crew, river
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteSCREWDRIVER — CREW — RIVER
ReplyDeleteMy clues:
A recent movie with a connection to this puzzle comes to mind.
That would be The Boys in the Boat, a 2023 movie about the U.S. men's eights rowing crew that went from underdog to winner at the 1936 Berlin Olympics (rowing on the Dahme river).
Yesterday, … I was like, "Ugh, forget that!"
As in, "Screw that!"
I also commented on clotheslover's post, "I'd rather have a Steam Drink":
Almost TMI! (In combination with…something.)
The "something" was a reference to Blaine's clue about the removed letters forming a state abbreviation. That would be SD, of course—which is the same you would get in the case of "steam drink"!
Oooh, glad the TV Guise puzzles are back! They tend to be really funny and amusing.
ReplyDeleteMy comment was removed: "Reminds me of a car rental commercial." I was thinking of the Hertz ad where OJ runs through the airport. (Orange juice, of course, is a key ingredient in a screwdriver.) I understand why it was removed, but I replied "Ouch!"...as in That hurts (Hertz)!
ReplyDelete: "SCREWDRIVER"--->
ReplyDelete"CREW" & "RIVER"
"Something to drink whose name is a compound word (screwdriver).
Remove 1st. letter of 1st part to name athletes (crew). Remove 1st letter of 2nd part for where they compete (river).
My musical hint was the song “Angel of the Morning”, which made the charts twice: once by Merrilee Rush and once by Juice Newton, hence the twofer:
ReplyDeleteMerrilee --> merrily --> row, row, row your boat --> crew and river
Juice --> orange juice --> screwdriver
Ever since Sunday morning, I’ve been tormented by a certain Mancini & Mercer earworm.
ReplyDeleteScrewdriver, the "something to drink," and crew, river. We have crewing here along the Schuylkill. It's fun to watch. My clue, that I posted Sunday was, "Lotsa foam in Mr. Donahue's beer." Mr. Donahue is the late, great Phil Donahue. When he died I got ahold of his autobiography. I read how in his early days he petitioned his bishop for better funding for a poor parish. At many of the planning meetings, "The beer flowed," as he put it. Foam on a beer is known as a head, Phillip is the formal name for everyday Phil, so "Phillip's head" Or Phillips head without the apostrophe, which of course signifies the screwdriver.
ReplyDeleteSCREWDRIVER, CREW, RIVER
ReplyDeleteI really did have it pop in my head after the family went to get ice cream.
I had noted that I have added dihydrogen monoxide, but not magnesium hydroxide. Dihydrogen monoxide, of course, in its solid form, is ice. Magnesium hydroxide is more commonly known as milk of magnesia, and Phillips is a popular brand of it. Adding that, of course, makes a Phillips Screwdriver! :-)
I said "a degree on mixology would be an useful tool". (for a befuddled puzzler)
ReplyDeleteA screwdriver is a tool.
But a mimosa is a WAAAY better drink.
SCREWDRIVER, CREW, RIVER
ReplyDeletepjbDrinksNothingStrongerThanSoftDrinks,Actually
SCREWDRIVER, CREW, RIVER
ReplyDeleteIt is true that my college girlfriend rowed crew, and that I never stole her tee shirt. The crew team's shirts, which said ScrewU, were pretty much the most prized piece of athletic apparel one could find. But you would have to wake up at 5:30am for a year to get one, or sleep with someone who did.
My other musical clue was NEW CANAAN, because there is evidently a new musical artist named CANAAN COX. He's not my taste, though. But the COX is the person who DRIVES the CREW, kind of.
And I was reminded of the thumbnail image of Tommy Boy, who used to post here regularly, and still does occasionally: a tee shirt bearing the inscription "A bad analogy is like a leaky screwdriver."
DeleteI think Texas legislators should stop watching James Bond movies and accept the fact that babies are like martinis and should be stirred and never shaken.
ReplyDeleteMy patience with bungee jumping is being stretched thin.
ReplyDeleteI think I'd want to retract that comment if I were you.
Delete:=}
DeleteHave you noticed that Donald Trump uses walls in order to keep people apart, and that Kamala Harris uses Walz in order to bring us together?
ReplyDeleteThis week's challenge: This week's challenge comes from listener David Dickerson, of Tucson, Arizona. The city UTICA, NEW YORK, when spelled out, contains 12 letters, all of them different. Think of a well-known U.S. city, that when its name is spelled out, contains 13 letters, all of them different. Your answer doesn't have to match mine.
ReplyDeleteOf course, despite the somewhat ambiguous wording, the answer will include both city and state names.
Making the same assumption as Dr. K, and proceeding methodically, I was able to get there rather quickly.
ReplyDeleteNow I'm waiting for Ron to publish a mile-long list of alternative answers. (BTW, I didn't capitalize Ron, auto-correct did (twice!))
Delete