Their last names being similar is not a coincidence.Q: Think of two classic music artists with multiple top 40 hits. Their first names are near-synonyms. And their last names are both game pieces. Who are they?
Edit: Ernest Evans had the nickname "Chubby". Barbara Clark (wife of Dick Clark) heard a song from "Chubby" of him doing a vocal impression of Fats Domino. She suggested that Chubby be called "Chubby Checker" in homage to Fats Domino and the stage name stuck.
A: FATS DOMINO, CHUBBY CHECKER
The surname of one in the plural is the name of a doo-wop group, and the surname of the other is also the name of a hit song by another popular musical artist.
ReplyDeleteI suspect that almost any game piece, when pluralized, will name a musical group. That's certainly true of both surnames in this puzzle, as well as two hidden in Blaine's picture!
DeleteGood point.
DeletePluralize something in Blaine's picture to get a group fronted by someone whose last name is a game piece
DeleteOne of my favorite bands ever.
DeleteOh very nice, John.
DeleteBtw, Blaine, your clue is correct. I was trying to come up with a way of saying it without its being TMI, but you did it well.
ReplyDeleteBlatant hint in the on-air puzzle?
ReplyDeleteThat is unfortunate.
DeleteThe last answer was "check".
Delete797 correct answers last week. We might triple that this week.
ReplyDeleteGot it.
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
Delete?
DeleteI just tried googling various key words in the comment I made, and none of them pointed to the answer. I look forward to Thursday.
“Classic” is misleading. Was the term used intentionally just to make the puzzle more difficult?
DeleteI don’t think so. The names I got could definitely be considered classic … at least as far as Billboard is concerned.
DeleteI’d say they can be better classified as “oldies” pop artists rather than “classic” musicians. To me, “classic” is a red herring.
DeleteMy musical clue is Jackson Five. I don't need to wait till Thursday to explain because this puzzle is
ReplyDeleteA B C, It's easy as
1 2 3, as simple as
do re mi, A B C, 1 2 3
baby you and me
What about Stevie Wonder, and Paul McCartney?
DeleteI saw one of them perform live.
ReplyDeleteSo did I.
DeleteI saw Chubby Checker perform at the Barnstable County Fair on Cape Cod around '85.
DeleteI saw Chubby Checker perform at the PNC Bank Arts Center in Holmdel, NJ, in September 2017.
DeleteThis comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
ReplyDeleteThe puzzle was intentionally vague about gender. Your hint is close to tmi.
DeleteGood puzzle!! At first I thought of Elvin Bishop since Elvin and Bishop are both seemingly synonym-able. But after some working out, it didn't work out. But the real answer is a lot better. One of them started off in my town!
ReplyDeleteThe answer was a bit murky this Sunday morning.
ReplyDeleteI suppose Ice-T and Ice Cube are not quite right.
ReplyDeleteIce, ice, ice baby 👶
DeleteAnd I guess Dua Lipa isn't an answer either.
ReplyDeleteI can come up with a third with a little stretch.
ReplyDeleteI haven't played Pachisi in ages.
ReplyDeleteThe Notorious B.I.G. is brutha from anotha mutha.
ReplyDeleteOne of the artists had the same song hit #1 on the Top 40 in two different years. (I hope that's not TMI, Blaine.)
ReplyDeleteI think this is TMI as a google search for songs that hit #1 in different years will lead directly to one of these artists.
DeleteYou may want to remove this.
ReplyDelete:0
DeleteDr. K has posted a self-effacing comment!
Oops. I missed the reply button to Lulabell’s comment above. I concur with youngbidness’s comment. That was my intention.
DeleteHowever, on its own, my comment does have a certain Tanguy “Ceci n’est pas une pipe” quality to it. It does seem to undo itself.
Here is what I consider to be a more worthy puzzle:
ReplyDeleteName a world famous person of the 20th century known mostly by their last name, which is in 10 letters but only 2 are vowels and not repeated.
I can think of a baseball player who’s name fits…but don’t think he’s world famous.
DeleteAnd, after checking spelling, a world leader whose name contains one constant three times.
DeleteI know the answer, but it's hard to clue.
DeleteBut think about a kitchen.
You both got it. I wonder if others will too.
DeleteIf the shoe fits...
DeleteLOL
DeleteIt was actually the first (non-sports figure’s) name I thought of ….. but I’d been spelling it improperly.
DeleteHave you figured out the sports figure?
I’ve got a 10-letter, 3-vowel baseball player.
DeleteSince its not the person SDB is looking for, I’m comfortable saying my MLB player was Darryl Strawberry, who played for the Mets, Dodgers, Giants, and Yankees in the 80s and 90s.
DeleteThe “y” in Strawberry is a vowel, so his surname has 3 vowels—a, e, y—not 2. The 10-letter, 3-vowel baseball player I was thinking of was (Ted) Kluszewski.
DeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
DeleteInteresting, but when I google 10 letter words with 2 vowels the list includes: strawberry, gymnastics,, glycolysis, blackberry, playwright, psychology, strychnine, Gettysburg, candyfloss, truthfully, dysphemism, typography, cornstarch, skywriting, cryptogram, and bankruptcy. There seem to be many opinions as to when and whether y is a vowel.
DeleteHere's my take: By definition, a syllable is "a unit of pronunciation" (there are more complex definitions, but that will do for now) that has one vowel sound plus (possibly) consonants. Some of those words in your list include syllables that have no other vowel (or vowel sound) besides the "y," which has the same vowel sound in those cases as a short or long "i." I'm not sure why "cornstarch" is on the list, but the most interesting word is "playwright," an example of "y" in a diphthong, or two vowels making one sound, like "oy" in "toy" and "ey" in monkey. In those cases, too, the "y" is a vowel. Usually, the letter "y" is usually a consonant at the beginning of a word, e.g., "yes" or "yellow."
DeleteHow do you characterize the Ys in words like clay, foray, stray, copay, play, playground, or playwright, where it is silent?
DeleteYttrium, ytterbium.
Delete(Speaking of which, my wife and I attended a Tom Lehrer tribute concert at Tufts yesterday, titled "Not Dead Yet". Everyone in the 300-seat hall was an old fart like us.)
Excuse me. I am not older than dirt. Even though I participated in the Beta testing of Dirt 2.0. (And can sing Tom Lehrer’s Hunting Song…”…two game wardens seven hunters and a cow…..”) by
DeleteDepends on the dirt.
DeleteThe "y" in "clay...playwright" is part of a diphthong, two vowels/one sound, and is considered a vowel. Jan's examples are among the exceptions that test the rule. Those are initial "y's" acting as vowels (short "i"), not consonants.
DeleteDepends on the incontinent.
DeleteKHRUSHCHEV
DeleteI just submitted the answer and received the usual NPR reply, but it also included this message which is not true:
ReplyDeleteNPR Sunday Puzzle Submission Received
NPR thanks you for playing the Sunday Puzzle and confirms the receipt of your entry, 'my answer here', submitted via phone.
I most certainly did not phone them. Anyone else get this too?
I did not get a "submitted via phone." I did get my answer back, along with my first name, and the phone number I submitted to contact me.
DeleteI figured out that it is not an NPR issue, but Yahoo. They changed their format on Friday and it is a dog's breakfast. I phoned them right away, but they will not allow us to go back to the older, and much better, screens. It is just another nightmare in our new reality.
DeleteThe first of the two actually had the last name of his/her family. The second was not born the stage name. It's all very punny
ReplyDeleteThere will be a big number of correct responses.
ReplyDeleteBig is a synonym of "fat" and "chubby".
DeleteOne of the artists has a parent whose name is also germane to the puzzle.
ReplyDeleteI'm attending the Indy 500
ReplyDeleteI remember discovering Blaine's non-coincidence some time back. I caught one of them in concert under the Arch during a St. Louis Forth of July fair.
ReplyDeleteBTW, St. Louis has some outstanding burger joints.
DeleteIt also has excellent live music venues, including one where the stage was regularly crossed for fowl purposes.
DeleteAlso, *Fourth 😎
ReplyDeleteCongrats to our good friend Chad Graham for creating this excellent NPR puzzle.
ReplyDeleteLegoLambdazzled!
An early film star comes to mind.
ReplyDelete(that is, Fatty Arbuckle)
DeleteR.I.P. Roberta Flack.
ReplyDeleteOK Boomers.
ReplyDeleteI am becoming concerned about all these children in Texas who are sick because they were not inoculated. So, my question is, where can I obtain a vaccine to protect me from Muskels?
ReplyDeleteI kept trying to find a singer named Shot Queen.
ReplyDeleteR.I.P. Paul Winchell (and I guess Jerry Mahoney as well)
ReplyDelete??? He died in 2005.
DeleteR.I.P. to Gene Hackman, 95, to his wife who was 32 years younger, and their dog, all found dead.
ReplyDeleteHis Wikipedia page says that he starred in "The Gypsy Moths," which "has a cult-like status amongst skydivers." What say you SDB?
DeleteLots of details there about the constant rejection he faced in his early years: he and Dustin Hoffman were voted "Least Likely To Succeed" when they were at the Pasadena Playhouse. And he came close to playing Mike Brady on "The Brady Bunch." Who needs drugs when reality is so strange?
Italo Svevo,
DeleteThat movie came out in 1969, and I did not make my first jump until 1981. I am unsure if I even saw it. Is it the film where Burt Lancaster dies wearing a wing suit? If so, then I did see it, but do not remember what I thought about it. Maybe I should watch it again and see what I think now. The movie I recall as being a cult classic and loved by skydivers is Top Gun. I do not think I watched more than the first minutes of it. I thought it was crap. My taste in movies is not common among skydivers and Americans.
44 years of jumping--something to celebrate.
DeleteI never saw the film, but you must have seen it, since that is how Wikipedia recounts the plot. Never saw "Top Gun" either, but I did enjoy "Hot Shots," a dare-to-be-dumb parody of it.
Yes, I did see it. I could tell by watching the trailer. I would like to watch it now if there is a way to do so free. The libraries do not have a copy or access. I did begin by jumping rounds, but I think the chutes in the movie were Paracommanders. I was given one of them from a guy who said there was one in his garage from a previous home owner. It was a Church Window. That is the nickname for a black one with numerous colored sections at the very top, giving it the appearance of stained glass in a church. I jumped it a few times and then sold it. It was a pain in the ass to pack. Did you see the post some tame back where I told the story of my packing a Tandem rig blindfolded and then jumping it the next day with a first time student? One of the highlights of my jumping career. Totally safe too.
DeleteThere is a Church Window in the very start before the opening credits @ about 2:39 minutes into the beginning of the film.
DeleteI watched it. Carl Boenisch was the Special Aerial Photographer. He died making a BASE jump years later. I was surprised at the dark sport coat Gene Hackman wore, as it had no breast pocket and appeared to be made in Italy. It was interesting that time was taken for Burt to learn partly how to stow the lines when packing.
Delete(Lego, Posting a Tad Prematurely):
ReplyDeleteWill Shortz’s February 23rd NPR Weekend Edition Sunday puzzle was created by Chad Graham of Philadelphia (also known as our very own “Chuck,” a “nom de plume” Chad Graham uses in his “Conundrumstruck by Chuck” feature on Puzzleria! Chuck's first puzzle on P! was published back in 2015.)
In a happy coincidence, Chad's recurrent "Conundrumbstruck by Chuck" puzzle-package had been already serendipitously scheduled to appear on the edition of Puzzleria! that we will be uploading just a bit later today!
And so, you are about to be treated to a "double-dose" of Chad/Chuck's "inventive medicine" this week:
~ Chad's NPR puzzle (and our riffs of it!), and
~ Chad's regularly -scheduled four-ply "Thunderstruck Appetizer" titled "Thor's pitchforks & hammer handles," which is sub-headed:
# An Antonymous Anagram,
# The “Effouar” flower?
# Dilemma: Lose an “L” or snip an “i”? and
# “Merlon Marina.”
We will upload Puzzleria! ASAP so you can get a head-start on enjoying Chad's puzzle-making mastery!
Also on our Menu this week:
* a Schpuzzle of the Week titled "A Tool of the Thespian Trade?"
* a Holy Hors d’Oeuvre titled "Edible inedible, credible incredible!"
* a Canonical Slice titled “Canon in D?” or “‘Cannon’ in E”?
* a Toasty Tootsies Dessert titled "Ten-toe podiatric tepidity," and
* ten riffs of Chad Graham's NPR puzzle, titled "C????????t Game Pieces."
So, why not join us for a boxful of "Graham-Crackerjack-Enjoyment!"
LegoWhoWillBeUploadingThisWeek'sEditionOfPuzzleria!AsSoonAsPossible!
* ten riffs of Chad Graham's NPR puzzle, titled "C????????t Game Pieces."
Deleteequals:
* ten riffs of Chad Graham's NPR puzzle, titled "Corpulentt Game Pieces."
LegoWhoInsertedOneTooManyQue?tionMark!
CHUBBY CHECKER, FATS DOMINO
ReplyDelete"The answer was a bit murky this Sunday morning." Murky points to Misty and Mistie Bass, the daughter of CHUBBY CHECKER.
"I haven't played Pachisi in ages." Pachisi is the game from which Parcheesi originated. I was thinking of par CHEESE 🧀 tying into FATS and CHUBBY.
CHUBBY CHECKER + FATS DOMINO
ReplyDeleteCHUBBY CHECKER, FATS DOMINO
ReplyDeleteHINT: “The surname of one in the plural is the name of a doo-wop group, and the surname of the other is also the name of a hit song by another popular musical artist.”
—> The Checkers (1952-55) and Van Morrison’s “Domino” (1970)
Pace Blaine, When Ernest Evans was a teenager, his employer, a poultry farm owner where Evans was a chicken plucker and entertained customers with musical impressions, including one of Fats Domino, nicknamed him “Chubby,” and later Dick Clark’s wife Barbara, after hearing Evans’ impression of Fats Domino, suggested the surname “Checker.”
Congratulations, Chuck!
Fats Domino and Chubby Checker
ReplyDeleteMy third musical artist, and admittedly a bit of a stretch, is the Big Bopper – with a bopper being the game piece one uses when playing Whack-a-Mole.
FATS DOMINO, CHUBBY CHECKER
ReplyDelete> And I guess Dua Lipa isn't an answer either.
Her name sounds like it could be Latin for "two fats".
Fats Domino and Chubby Checker
ReplyDeleteWhen I responded to Paul by saying "That is unfortunate," that was an allusion to Fats' best-known song "Ain't That A Shame." I was afraid to say more, lest I find myself in Three Mile Island territory.
ReplyDeleteLast week's puzzle featured a nickname that was also the title of a tune made famous by Fats Navarro. Next week Fats Waller?
Fats Domino, Chubby Checker
ReplyDeleteTo Musinglink
ReplyDeleteJust finished watching Runaway Jury, in which Hackman was great. But he’ll probably be most remembered for either The French Connection or HOOSIERS (which is MY favorite).
A great loss.
That sprinting scene in The French Connection is something else. I like his miscellaneous movies like Scarecrow and The Conversation.
DeleteI remember him in The Poseidon Adventure, or as Mad Magazine titled its satire, The Poopsidedown Adventure. I wasn't allowed to watch R rated movies when The French Connection came out, but now that I'm a retired adult perhaps I'll give it a go.
DeleteI enjoyed him in Lucky Lady as well as so many other films he acted in.
DeleteIs it too early to wish everyone a happy Mardi Gras?
ReplyDeleteFats Domino and Chubby Checker. Chubby Checker, born Ernest Evans, used to perform at the Italian Market in his early days. He is considered a Philadelphia original, along with Frankie Avalon, Bobby Rydell and Fabian, as well as many others like the Tymes and the Stylistics. Just for an audio treat, listen to Paul McCartney singing Lady Madonna and figure out whom he is imitating. Hint: it ain't Chubby Checker. Also, listen to Fats Domino's (oops, I gave it away!) My Blue Heaven and then listen to Ob La Di, Ob La Da. Listen for similarities, especially in the middle sections.
ReplyDeleteWow, I didn't know that -- I've been to the Italian Market a number of times. (My son used to live near there.) That's cool.
ReplyDeleteMy clue was removed. It was something like: "One may become the first names with a steady diet of the last names." I thought it was pretty safe, but then again, it's not my blog.
ReplyDeleteThe word "diet" was clearly a hint and tied with the rest of the wording it seemed too much of a clue.
DeleteThanks for the explanation, Blaine. I always respect your judgement. I thought maybe the objection was with Domino's Pizza and Checkers hamburgers.
Delete......maybe if I had used the word "intake" instead of "diet" it would've been acceptable?
DeleteMy somewhat lame clue was: what about Stevie Wonder and Paul McCartney?
ReplyDeleteBecause "Ebony and Ivory", which might be the black and white of dominos.
Eh. I feel like I should have come up with something better than that.
I think it was clever. I was trying to decipher it and came up with Ebony and Ivory, but didn't make the connection to dominos.
DeleteWell thanks! I think if I had also got a black-and-red clue in there, for checkers, that would have been satisfactory. Ooh. I could have mentioned you and Blacksmith! At least, I think there is a commenter named Blacksmith; I might be misremembering.
DeleteAnother riddle "of the past" that might've worked: What's black and white and red (read) all over? A newspaper.
DeleteWhat's black and white and flies at 30,000 feet? None of the above.
DeleteFATS DOMINO, CHUBBY CHECKER
ReplyDeleteI clued that One of the artists has a parent whose name is also germane to the puzzle.
That would be FATS DOMINO, who was born Antoine Caliste Domino Jr., in New Orleans, to a mother whose maiden name was GROS.
New Orleans is a semi-French-speaking place and GROS means FAT in FRENCH.
A wonderfully bonkers cover of The Twist by the late Klaus Nomi:
ReplyDeletehttps://youtu.be/m4TlbdQPohs
If you're not familiar with Klaus Nomi, your homework assignment for next week is to watch The Nomi Song:
Deletehttps://youtu.be/W0PszBID3Lk
Not that big a fan of his "Twist," but I absolutely LOVE the movie The Nomi Song. There is an incredible version of Nomi singing The Cold Song from Purcell's opera. It's at about 1h21m in and Nomi sings it with full symphony orchestra, a few months before he died. It breaks me every time.
DeleteThanks for all the kind remarks. Glad you enjoyed the puzzle. Check out a few more at Puzzleria!
ReplyDeleteChubby Checker, Fats Domino
ReplyDeleteI had clued something like,
I am reminded of a friend that organizes fund-raising bicycle rides for JDRF
The intention of the comment was that the last names of the artists, Domino and Checker, reminded me how my friend’s daughter, who has Type 1 diabetes, needs to constantly check her blood sugar levels, and Domino is a brand name of sugar.
The clue was removed. I tried googling various terms in what I had written, but nothing appeared obvious to me. I guess Blaine felt otherwise.
Obesity is a large risk factor in both type 1 and type 2 diabetes, for children and adults. I felt that too closely hinted at Fats and Chubby.
DeleteThanks for the update.
DeleteMy rambling clues(?) with comments: I caught one of them in concert under the Arch during a St. Louis Forth of July fair. [This was Checker, who leaned into it by wearing black and white checked boots.] BTW, St. Louis has some outstanding burger joints. [Among these is "Blueberry Hill" in the Delmar Loop.] It also has excellent live music venues, including one where the stage was regularly crossed for fowl purposes. [Another Blueberry Hill reference: The "fowl purposes" were the duckwalks you'd have seen during Chuck Berry's 200+ shows that he performed at what amounted to his second home.]
ReplyDeleteAre laxatives a race to the bottom?
ReplyDeleteMy hint was "Remove the last letter of the first name of one of the two artists and insert a "c" (into that same truncated first name). Follow that with the last name of the other artist to get a role that is essential but often resented in the information age."
ReplyDeleteProbably pretty obvious to anyone who had the answer (and I hope obscure to anyone who didn't), but of course I was referring to "fact checker" (changing Fats to "fact" per my instructions).
I manage a band called The Chunky Chessmen. Bulky Bishop sings and plays guitar, Portly Pawn plays bass, and Rotund Rook is the drummer.
ReplyDeleteThis week's challenge comes from listener Dennis Burnside, of Lincoln, Neb. Think of a famous singer and actress, first and last names, two syllables each. The second syllable of the last name followed by the first syllable of the first name spell something that can be dangerous to run into. What is it?
ReplyDeleteSolved. Quite easy, actually.
DeleteI have AN answer.
DeleteIf you haven't been invited, it might be dangerous to run into a gala, even if you're Lady Gaga.
ReplyDelete... and I don't think Minnie Driver would like to run into vermin.
DeleteI wonder if Stanley Kubrick has a daughter named Wallis.
DeleteAI is funny. This is from Gemini. The answer from Chat GPT was even more wrong but it said something that would lead to the answer I submitted as correct.
ReplyDeleteThis sounds like Jennifer Lopez.
Jennifer: Jen-ni-fer
Lopez: Lo-pez
"Pez" followed by "Jen" gives you "Pejen," which sounds like "Pigeon." While pigeons themselves aren't dangerous, large flocks or their droppings can pose health risks or create slippery surfaces.
WOW! I just got up for a moment and read jan's post of the new puzzle and got the name of the actress half way through and then finished reading and confirmed it as the answer.
ReplyDeleteI saw a queen do this.
ReplyDeleteOver 2800 correct answers this week. I called it when I said above that we might triple last week's count of 797.
ReplyDelete