Change the 3rd and 5th letters of the last animal to get another animal.Q: Name an animal in five letters. Add two letters and rearrange the result to name a bird in seven letters. Then add two letters to that and rearrange the result to name another animal in nine letters. What creatures are these?
Sunday, April 20, 2025
NPR Sunday Puzzle (Apr 20, 2025): Hoppy Easter!
NPR Sunday Puzzle (Apr 20, 2025): Hoppy Easter!
124 comments:
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One of the animals has a connection to the puzzle statement.
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
ReplyDeleteSorry, Blaine. I wasn't sure....
DeleteRearrange the five-letter animal, and get a place people visit.
ReplyDeleteNot I!
DeleteFair enough, sdb, "some people."
DeleteEasy
ReplyDeleteI solved a slightly more difficult puzzle and would have bet anything my answer was correct. It was.
ReplyDeleteThe added letters anagram to an organization that sounds like it is religious.
ReplyDeleteAnd the initial letters of the three words sound like another animal.
DeleteOr, add a letter, rearrange, and get something always connected to the puzzle.
DeleteGreat job by Bob, the on-air solver, and great puzzle by Philip Goodman!
ReplyDeleteBob was a one man wrecking crew, except for Reba.
DeleteYes! Holy crap! I almost don't want The Call this week -- tough act to follow.
DeletePuzzle solved. It's taking me longer to come up with a clue...
ReplyDeleteThere is a 50-50 chance that there will be over 1,000 correct responses.
DeleteNot sure why everyone thinks this one is easy. I’d put the over/under closer to 200…
DeleteI say 1599.
DeleteAnd I say it took Jaws 6 minutes.
DeleteAbout 2 minutes to solve the puzzle. Longer than 6 to figure out a clue, because I thought about possible clues for a while before posting my first comment.
DeleteI have seen the first creature in the neighborhood I grew up in, the second in my current neighborhood, and the third while on vacation.
ReplyDeleteWow, could it be that answer?
ReplyDeleteRemove the letters of the five-letter word from the nine-letter word. Rearrange. You get something fashionable.
ReplyDeleteThat's the organization I referenced above.
DeleteHappy Easter!
ReplyDeleteI have an answer that doesn't seem to fit with any of the clues here.
ReplyDeleteThere may be more than one answer.
DeleteI would have sworn that the solution is unique, but I trust jan. Jan, are any of your words obscure?
DeleteNo, they're common animal names. The first five letters of the family name of my first animal is another common 5-letter animal.
DeleteLooks good to me, Jan.
DeleteI think you have the same answer, then. See if it fits Rob's clue. For the record, I can't get those letters to fit Nodd's first clue, although I do like his second one.
DeleteOn second thought, I do get Nodd's first.
DeleteMy answer also contains no obscure words but does not seem to fit with most of the posted clues.
DeleteDitto, jan & Lorenzo. There must be more than one solution with common animals. No clue; just an observation.
DeleteOK. Now I have a better answer that fits with the clues and is probably the intended one. (My first answer contained an alternate spelling of a common abbreviation.)
DeleteChange two letters in the first animal and rearrange to get the family that it is a member of. Unlike Blaine's photo, you'll never find all three of these animals together in the wild.
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
ReplyDeleteOne could argue this is TMI. I love the clue but got the answer within a few minutes of seeing this. Would have been quicker but, obviously, had to enjoy the whole video...
DeleteWow. I thought that was obscure. Let me refine that to this: one of the animals was featured in a 1980's music video. More important, a Blessed and Holy Easter week to all.
DeleteBlaine's other animal makes me want to smile.
ReplyDeleteI solved the puzzle, but am having a hard time with his clue.
DeleteWell, that was easier than descending rapidly from an equine
ReplyDeleteThat's pretty easy, Curtis. Did you recently do the latter?
DeleteI have not, since I’m allergic to equine type creatures
DeleteI have never eaten any of these animals
ReplyDeleteMy granddaughters have sat on the smallest of them.
DeleteThis comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
DeleteOne time, on Johnny Carson, guest Tony Randall hilariously mispronounced the name of the nine letter animal.
ReplyDeleteRearrange the first five letters of the final animal to get what we are experiencing quite a lot of nowadays.
ReplyDeleteActually! I think my original answer is wrong. Boo. I realized I had pluralized the final word, and it is not meant to be pluralized. But, my answer is nearly perfect.
ReplyDeleteI’m all in on this puzzle. Hats off to Philip Goodman.
ReplyDeleteOne of the animals reminds me of a president.
ReplyDeleteManada y bandada.
ReplyDeleteIt strikes me that Edsels are more than a car of the past
ReplyDeleteI agree. I always felt they were a car to be passed.
DeleteEven more than your pun. It's a clue to my answer
DeleteEd sells Edsels in Leeds.
DeleteIt is not steer, kestrel, lorikeets. But it is tall, smaller, small.
ReplyDeleteI like that answer!
DeleteBased on my first animal, this puzzle seems less appropriate for Easter and more appropriate for another upcoming holiday.
ReplyDeleteI'm watching The Righteous Gemstones, a commercial comes on and the answer dawned on me.
ReplyDeleteThe Easter Bunni filled my Easter baskit with a marshmallow peep bunting and a chocolate binturong.
ReplyDeleteEaster was cancelled here in Seattle this year due to the rabbit flu that created the egg shortage. Many of us are instead enjoying Welsh Chickenbit for dinner.
ReplyDeletePresident Hoover
ReplyDeleteYeah, I thought that sucked too. But how about Reagan instead of Roosevelts 1 & 2?
DeleteThe two animals (but not the bird) are in only the 9th.
ReplyDeleteNever aware strictly how I might pronounce the first beast's name until I met one a few years back.
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
DeleteHierophantic!
ReplyDeleteWant to bet?
DeleteR.I.P. Pope Francis
ReplyDeleteYes, R.I.P. to our Sovereign Pontiff. The only voice of moral authority in the world.
ReplyDeleteLOL
DeleteHey, he's spoken out about Trump's deportations. Give him that much. Otherwise, I understand Rome isn't everyone's cup of tea.
DeleteI agree, but he could not condemn Putin. He certainly was better than the previous ones, but so what? The phony religion causes much hate and discord and violence around the world as it rapes children and ammasses enormous amounts of loot as it dispenses ignorance. I wonder what the ladies will give us to replace him as they play their political game to remain in control and luxury.
DeleteHave any of you seen "Conclave"?
DeleteIn certain ways it is a brilliant movie. There's something I don't like about it but... that would be a spoiler, so I definitely can't say it on Blaine's blog!
Yes, I particularly like Stanley Tucci.
DeleteI will watch it for the acting if nothing else. Ralph Fiennes is always wonderful, but I hear the story and ending are ridiculous. Films like this are frequently great fun for good actors. I won't get to watch it for several months because of all the holds on it at the libraries. Thanks for reminding me, I had forgotten.
DeleteYes, I think you're right on all counts here, SDB. Ralph Fiennes and Stan Tucci both at their best, and... the other thing too.
DeleteI can't even begin to imagine how difficult it must be for those sequestered in a conclave. No cell phones! How do they do Wordle? In the evenings, after rigorous debate, do they send out for pizza (I'm sure they must have pizza someplace in Rome) and play bingo while drinking the blood of that guy they like? I understand that in the end it all goes up in smoke.
DeleteThat smoke dirties the air. Francis would not approve.
DeleteI don't recall that he complained last time.
DeleteOn a lighter note, and no real puzzle: How does one ID a REAL American? Solution: It's the one who, given 20 years notice, lines up in the last 2 1/2 weeks and still complains of being rushed. Or, it could be the one who reads the instructions only when something goes wrong.
ReplyDeleteI tried to read the instructions but the instructions said read the directions.
DeleteThe answer brings to mind the Pacific Northwest.
ReplyDeleteMy computer found a legit 2nd solution, but so obscure that I had to look up all the words.
ReplyDeleteWhy did it cross the road?
ReplyDeleteTo save its soul?
Deletehttps://open.substack.com/pub/robertreich/p/the-conscience-of-the-world?r=tcuyi&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=email
ReplyDeleteFrom Dr. K's clue, it looks like Dr. K and I have the same answer. I don't get Blaine's clue, though. When I change the 3rd and 5th letters of the last animal, I get the name of a fruit, or the plant it grows on.
ReplyDeleteStanley Tucci is brilliant in Conclave, more compelling that Ralph Fiennes (who is also a fine actor).
ReplyDeleteAnd I guess we’re going to find out if Lincoln was right: You can fool all the people some of the time and some of the people all the time, but you cannot fool all the people all the time. Hmmm. And I understand that Trump wants to rename Brussels sprouts, American sprouts since he found out we also grow them in this country.
ReplyDeleteAnd Education Secretary McMahon was on national TV saying “Every child should have access to A1.” I totally agree. No child should have to eat sauceless steak.
Jerusalem Artichokes are only grown in America.
Delete"You can fool all the people some of the time and some of the people all the time, but you cannot fool all the people all the time."
DeleteThis is generally credited to Lincoln, but no matter who said it first, it has intrigued me that Lincoln would say it at all. Think about it for a moment. Lincoln was referred to as Honest Abe. Now that would not be an accurate type of nickname were it applied to anyone else I can think of. You see, Lincoln was in fact extremely honest. The stories about his veracity were not exaggerated as they were for George Washington, for instance. So I had to ask myself why Lincoln would have understood that since he was unlike most of us who are always trying to deceive others about what we do not want known widely. Well I could only come with one thing Lincoln would have wanted to keep private, and that he realized some had figured out regardless anyway. Do you know what it was? I do.
The Jerusalem artichoke not only is not from Jerusalem, it's not an artichoke either. Enjoy them roasted with some Welsh rabbit and an egg cream.
DeleteA few years ago I hosted a dinner party that featured Italian dishes with outlandish names: acqua cotta (cooked water); paglia e fieno (hay and straw); fagioli all'uccolletto (white beans cooked like small birds); acqua pazza (crazy water); and ceci (rags)�. You can also add some brutti ma buoni (ugly but good) or tiramisu (pick me up), but that was beyond my ability.
And oops: did Hegseth just make another boo-boo on Signal?
ReplyDeleteI have a suggestion for a puzzle. Take the 5 letters in TRUMP and for each letter name a word that describes our President.
ReplyDeleteGreat idea for a puzzle, Diz. Unfortunately, all of my answers would be NRFPT.
DeleteSince you've opened the door, let me ask: what city starting with "E" is a European capital? Please don't say "Euro"--that might be okay in a crossword puzzle but no normal English-speaker talks that way. (I cannot get the audio of the episode to play, which is why I am asking this esteemed body.)
DeleteThe capital of the Duchy of Grand Fenwick is Breck. This city is also the largest town in the duchy, located in the eastern, low-lying areas, near the border with Elland. So that ain't it.
DeleteEdinburgh, Scotland
DeleteTyrannical, Repugnant, Uncouth, Misogynistic, Putz
DeleteTerrified, Regurgitating, Unstable, Malodorous, Pissant
DeleteThanks WW--I guess they must have conducted a recount of that plebiscite from a decade ago.
DeleteDr. K, I can keep it clean and honest at the same time: TRASH, ROGUE, UNERHANDED, MENTAL PSYHOPATH.
ReplyDeleteClark, you've inspired me. How about totalitarian, rude (crude and lewd for good measure), unhinged, megalomaniacal, and pathological?
DeleteDiz--how about "truthful," "reliable," "upstanding," "modest" and -- wait, who are we talking about? I'll start over.
ReplyDeleteNot sure I understand, Italo. Are we talking about the same President? This COULD be my misunderstanding.
DeleteAh, you were being ironic. Sorry😊
DeleteWhen "Cara Mia" made it to number 1 in Canada 60 years ago, no one was distracted by the singer's tattoos. �
ReplyDeleteI always enjoyed hearing that song, but had no idea who sang it. I was living in Europe back then. I just watched a video of it now, but never saw that guy before. Did he have tattoos?
DeleteSkydiveboy: I know the quote is only attributable to Lincoln. I actually thought it might be P.T. Barnum😊. Anyway, I never assume ANYONE is perfect: I’m sure Lincoln had his demons like the rest of us. Still, on balance, he did more good than evil.
ReplyDeleteI hope the same can be said about me when I die.
Diz, I think you are misunderstanding my post re: Lincoln and the quote. I am a big fan of Lincoln. There is some disagreement about who said it first, but it does not change my question of why Lincoln would have used it. He was very careful with the way he used words. I can only come up with one thing he tried to conceal. Someone might say it was about him being frequently described as having been a rail splitter. He was not. He never participated in that bit of misinformation. He also did not go out of his way to correct it, unless he was directly asked, and then he would explain that he did help is father build a fence and did split rails for that project. He realized this rumor helped his political prospects, so he did not try to kill it outright. Not a big deal. He was being honest about it too. What he was attempting to conceal from the public is that he was homosexual because it would have ruined his professional chances. Herndon, his law partner, knew it and also tried to refute the rumors.
Delete"Carl Sandburg's biography of Abraham Lincoln, "Abraham Lincoln: The Prairie Years and the War Years," in its one-volume edition, is 762 pages long according to Amazon. The original six-volume edition, which Sandburg later distilled into the one-volume version, was praised as "the greatest historical biography of our generation" according to Amazon." Isn't it interesting that Sandburg, who wrote so thoroughly on every aspect of Lincoln's life, only gave it one sentence? where he said there were rumors of his being "lavinder." No one seems willing to accept the truth when it is uncomfortable. The evidence for what I am pointing out is overwhelming and well documented. It is reminiscent of many prominent historians refusing to believe Jefferson could have had sexual relations with a slave he owned, but you never hear them explain, now that it has been proven to be true.
Oh, wait a second. Lincoln was gay?
DeleteBut even if that were true (I’m allowed to have some doubts), it doesn’t affect the good he did. And yes, we all know about Jefferson & Sally Hemings—this is not news. I’m not condoning his actions, but I also try to put things in context (like Washington owning slaves).
I’ve been told not to teach Huckleberry Finn because he calls Jim the N word.
I get it. I’m trying less to judge people than to try to understand the atmosphere, the times they grew up/lived in. And in those times many mistakes were made in light of our beliefs now. Again, I’m not excusing, just saying that if we are at all intelligent, we try to learn from the past. And I hate Trump because for him the past was just yesterday and what he said then. He has absolutely no sense of history.
I think that if Lincoln & Jefferson were alive today, their views on many things might be different.
I still love Twain’s quote: “History doesn’t repeat itself, but it often rhymes.”
Indeed: circumstances change, but the basics remain the same.
We are basically on the same page, but it is difficult to flesh things like this out on a blog. He absolutely was totally homosexual. And, of course it has no affect on what he did. I never hinted that it did. I am, and always have been, a truth seeker. NPR had segments on this topic of Lincoln being gay in the past. Same with the Jefferson thing. In both cases prominent historians went to ridiculous lengths in order to try and refute that either could be. in the Jefferson case it was that he could not be flawed. With Lincoln it was obvious they saw it as a character defect and so it could not be. Also they like to point out he did marry and have children. So what does that prove? Nothing. When I returned from my 3 loooong years in the army in 1966, I went to work at a local kyte factory here in Seattle, called Boeing. Our supervisors were rotated every few months. One of them was an older man who was married to a woman who bore him 9 children. It turned out he was gay, but not out, and insisted he was not bisexual. Lincoln and his other half both knew they would eventually have to separate and get married for their careers. Both were terrified they would not be able to consummate their marriages. Obviously Lincoln did, but Speed never did. All this, and much more, is very interesting, but mostly has been hidden by bigotry and inability to comprehend reality. I believe there is power in numbers. Years back NPR had a segment on Canadians pointing out when a Canadian who became famous, but it was not generally known so they would scream it out to the masses. It is because Canada and our country are the same size, with vastly different populations and success in the money/power areas. That is why they want everyone to know when one of theirs "makes it." People are very afraid of truth.
DeleteSince we can reveal the puzzle answer tomorrow after 3:00, just thought I’d add one more comment (as a former English teacher) about El Presidente.
ReplyDeleteIt appears that his vocabulary consists largely of one adverb (VERY, which may be used up to 6 times in a sentence) and the adjectives GOOD & BAD. As in “Ukraine is being very, very, very, very, very bad” and “Tariffs will be very, very, very, very, very, very good for our country.”
I would suggest “extremely” for variety, but that’s 3 syllables, probably beyond his learning curve.
You're forgetting some key adverbs.
DeleteThere's "really", "tremendously", and of course... "bigly"!
Or in the immortal words of he-who-shall-not be named, "I know words. I have the best words."
DeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteSorry, I am suffering from my first cold in over 18 years, and it is messing with me big time. I seem to have lost my time awareness momentarily.
DeleteSorry to hear about your cold. Your time awareness is still perfect. Your day awareness, on the other hand... 🤣
DeleteThanks for your understanding, Blaine. As penance I am saying 21 Hail Donny's.
DeleteCrito: You are right. My favorite is “bigly.” Is this an adverb? An adjective? Is it even a word?
DeleteHowever, I do like “really,” as in “We have a really, really, really, really big show tonight.” Ed Sullivan? Howdy Doody? The Marx Brothers? Donald Trump?
DeleteWhatever. Trump gives that adverb almost as much time as “very.” I believe his language skills didn’t make it past the 5th grade. Although I know many 10-year-olds with a better vocabulary.