Sunday, September 28, 2025

NPR Sunday Puzzle (Sep 28, 2025): Places to See Actresses

NPR Sunday Puzzle (Sep 28, 2025): Places to See Actresses
Q: Name a famous actress (five letters in the first name, six letters in the last name). Change the first and third letters of her first name and the first letter of her last name. The resulting letters in order from left to right will name a place where you might see this actress.
There's a connection to Ben Kingsley and this place.

Edit: Ben Kingsley played Salvador Dali in Daliland. Dali created In Voluptas Mors which is used in place of the skull markings on the death head moth on the iconic Silence of the Lambs movie poster.
A: JODIE FOSTER --> MOVIE POSTER

101 comments:

  1. Rearrange the place where you might see the actress, and get something that good actors and actresses are.

    ReplyDelete
  2. In last week's blog, I noted that you can see many actors and actresses there, and that there's an interesting connection to an NFL player.

    ReplyDelete
  3. A little over 200 correct answers last week

    ReplyDelete
  4. Way too easy! When she was on a sports team she was voted MVP.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Change one letter in her first name to get the last name of another famous actress.

    ReplyDelete
  6. I guess we're all hints this week.

    ReplyDelete
  7. Beautiful late September day here. No AC needed today.

    ReplyDelete
  8. Rearrange the even letters of the place. You get something you expect a good actress to have.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you, Rob. Now I know I have the correct answer.

      Delete
    2. Yup, same here. Astute observation! Thanks, Rob!

      Delete
  9. Although she appeared in an ad for a well known product, her image was not used in an iconic ad for the product.

    ReplyDelete
  10. No real useful information her: This actress and I were born in the same year

    ReplyDelete
  11. This comment has been removed by the author.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. This comment has been removed by the author.

      Delete
  12. Dang: it's not: Debra Winger - opera singer !

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Not Sissy Spacek, nor Greer Garson, nor Diane Keaton, nor Holly Hunter, nor Lynda Carter...
      pjbHopesNarrowingItDownWon'tBeConsidered[TMI]

      Delete
  13. I'm certain that the intended answer is NOT Annette Funicello

    ReplyDelete
  14. No clue in this message except how my brain works...I first looked at this puzzle at 4 AM and was too sleepy to get the answer. When I awoke the answer was in my head, just like that!

    ReplyDelete
  15. A lot of Blainesville has come up with some interesting clues. Must be something in the air today.

    I am a long time fan. I was an extra in one of her films. A free lunch and fifty dollars and a film crew that was creative and some of the nicest people you would ever meet. A fine way to spend a day

    Cheers!

    ReplyDelete
  16. I have 2 answers. They are related to Blaine's Blog.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. The answers are movie roster and movie poster. A list of people who post on Blaine's Blog is a poster roster.

      Delete
  17. I have the answer, but I don't get most of the clues and I don't have a good clue. :(
    I tried to find an obscure work of hers and use that, but I'm just worried it will be tmi.

    ReplyDelete
  18. This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yeah that did have to be removed -- still, I agree that there are a remarkable number of 5, 6 famous actresses!

      Delete
    2. I agree and Lindsy (sic) Graham should be removed too.

      Delete
  19. Long day on the road. I mentioned on last week's blog that I figured out the answer to the puzzle between arriving at a diner, and ordering. When I left the diner, I felt Chubby.

    ReplyDelete
  20. I think the following will provide some clarification regarding alternate answers and why some may not get mentioned.


    Hi Will,

    I am wondering if the NPR interns informed you of the alternate answer I submitted? THE EMIRATES changing N to H. I came up with it before EMPIRE STATE.

    Mark
    Seattle

    Hi Mark,

    Thanks for letting me know.

    No, the new person at NPR hasn't given me any feedback lately regarding alternate answers. I'll inquire about this.

    Gratefully,
    Will

    ReplyDelete
  21. So, either nobody was interested or my puzzle was more difficult than I'd imagined. I decided to go ahead and submit it as a puzzle suggestion. As to this week's challenge, all I can say is I've never used Uber. I guess I'm just too old-fashioned.

    ReplyDelete
  22. Not commenting this week might be appropriate.

    ReplyDelete
  23. Will that blowhard ever stop talking?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Next Tramp will announce he has stopped violence in hockey games.

      Delete
    2. I know Trump is a Tramp is not a typo!

      Delete
  24. Well, it's not Deborah Kerr, Lindsay Lohan or Julianne Moore. Pardon my French.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Ah, but there is a relationship to one of the actresses you've named

      Delete
  25. This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.

    ReplyDelete
  26. This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.

    ReplyDelete
  27. This comment has been removed by the author.

    ReplyDelete
  28. JODIE FOSTER >>> MOVIE POSTER

    "Beautiful late September day here. No AC needed today." Jodie Foster's given name is Alicia Christian Foster.

    ReplyDelete
  29. JODIE FOSTER --> MOVIE POSTER

    > You can see many actors and actresses there.

    Obviously.

    > Interesting connection to an NFL player.

    In his 2021 speech after winning the NFL's MVP award, Aaron Rodgers thanked JODIE FOSTER, a big fan of him and his Green Bay Packers. She later returned the favor, thanking Rodgers during her Golden Globes acceptance speech. What's interesting is that M-V-P, in that order, are the letters that replace the specified letters in her name to get the answer. (Sports fan skydiveboy also hinted at the MVP substitution.)

    ReplyDelete
  30. My hint was: “A film critic here.” A film critic here on Blaine’s blog would be a movie poster.

    ReplyDelete
  31. JODIE FOSTER (—> MOVIE POSTER)

    Hint: “Rearrange the place where you might see the actress, and get something that good actors and actresses are.”
    MOVIE POSTER —> EMOTIVE PROS

    ReplyDelete
  32. Jodie Foster >>> MoVie Poster

    My Hints:
    "Way too easy! When she was on a sports team she was voted MVP." MV&P are the letters that replace JD&F.
    "Rex Harrison" The Four Poster is a 1952 American comedy-drama film directed by Irving Reis and starring Rex Harrison and Lilli Palmer.

    ReplyDelete
  33. I wrote, “Rearrange the even letters of the place. You get something you expect a good actress to have.” That’s POISE.

    ReplyDelete
  34. JODIE FOSTER — MOVIE POSTER

    I considered posting: "Please excuse my weeks-long silence," but thought even that word, "silence," might have been TMI.

    I also considered posting: "I own a Blu-ray of one of this actress's most famous movies," but then we couldn't have the word "movie" included, could we?

    (That Blu-ray, btw, is The Silence of the Lambs.)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Maybe you could have got away with saying you were having mutton for dinner.

      Delete
    2. My pup is a big fan of dehydrated lamb lungs. Mutton doing.

      Delete
    3. I once had some guests over for dinner and served them lamb, fava beans and chianti. They didn't get the joke.
      Emphasis on the word "over" for those who recall the last lines of that movie.

      Delete
    4. Thanks, folks, those are all good ideas. Or maybe I could have gone for a different reference altogether, by talking about a conversation I was having with an Uber driver—as opposed to a Taxi Driver.

      (That one I don't have on Blu-ray but still on DVD. 😉)

      Delete
  35. Jodie Foster>>Movie Poster
    Jodie Foster’s career began at age three when she appeared in a TV ad for Coppertone. However, she was not the model for the iconic Coppertone ad with a puppy tugging at a little girl’s swimsuit. That ad was drawn three years before Foster was born, by Joyce Ballantyne, who used her daughter, Cheri Irwin, as her model.

    ReplyDelete
  36. AmaZingly talented puZZle-crafter Jeff Zarkin (screen name "SuperZee") is the featured performer on this week’s edition of PuZZleria! As is his wont (and our want!) Jeff has created a half-doZen of his ineffable “Jeff Zarkin PuZZle Riffs” for our solving enjoyment. They are titled:
    ~ Cupid’s stingy “beau”;
    ~ Not “abstemiously” vowel-wise;
    ~ “Late for dinner” is one word short;
    ~ The second-most-dangerous room...;
    ~ Evolution via rearrangement; and
    ~ Remixing the Brits.
    We will upload Jeff’s puZZle-mastery very soon this very afternoon.
    Also on this week’s menus:
    * a SchpuZZle of the Week titled “Salability and one silly syllable,”
    * a Benevolent Hors d’Oeuvre titled “Ensue, saunter-synonym, scarcely,”
    * a Blankety-Blank PuZZle Slice titled “Crooks and nannies,”
    * a Proper Nominal Dessert titled “Titular and Geographical,” and
    * ten riffs of this week’s NPR puZZle titled “MOst ValuablE POSTER and Player (Screen Star MVP)...” including six by Nodd and one from Plantsmith.
    So join us, won’t you, for some Jefferific Riffery!
    Lego...

    ReplyDelete
  37. Jodie Foster, movie poster. My hint was to change a letter in the first name to get the last name of another famous actress. (Angelina Jolie)

    ReplyDelete
  38. Sun Sep 28, 04:48:00 AM PDT
    The way one of the letters gets changed is a bit interesting.

    I thought changing an F to a P should be a fairly simple matter. Then I checked AI.

    ReplyDelete
  39. Jodie Foster, movie roster or movie poster

    ReplyDelete
  40. I wrote "She's got my Cadillac." This is a reference to the Jody Call, a marching cadence that became popular during WWII that told how "Jody" was romancing the soldier's wife while he was overseas. A few lyrics:
    Ain't no use in going back
    Jody's got your Cadillac.
    Ain't no use in calling home
    Jody's got your girl and gone.
    Ain't no use in feeling blue
    Jody's got your sister too.
    Two different versions show up in the movie "Battleground": https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0igvbsr-ins

    ReplyDelete
  41. One of the neat things about this puzzle is that changing three consonants results in a change of two vowel sounds.

    ReplyDelete
  42. JODIE FOSTER, MOVIE POSTER

    I clued that the intended answer is NOT Annette Funicello because Annette Funicello is most famous for the Mickey Mouse Club and Beach Blanket Bingo (perhaps my fave movie title of all time?)

    And there is a Los Angeles-based Punk Band called Jodie Foster's Army whose biggest hit is called Beach Blanket Bongout.

    ReplyDelete
  43. Jodie Foster - Movie Poster

    I had commented that I felt chubby after leaving the diner on Sunday. That refers to Chubby Checker, which leads to Checker Cabs, which refers to Taxi Driver, starring Jodie Foster.

    ReplyDelete
  44. Out getting my new phone at the witching hour. Better late than never. Last Sunday I clued “Hugh.” Hugh --> Hugh Grant --> Foster Grant --> Jodie Foster --> movie poster

    ReplyDelete
  45. JODIE FOSTER, MOVIE POSTER
    Back in the 1980s, there was an unsuccessful assassination attempt on President Ronald Reagan. John Hinckley, Jr. was the would-be killer. When they asked him why he did it, he said, "To impress Jodie Foster." Don't really think she was at all impressed, no matter which way she leaned politically at the time.
    pjbWouldBeMoreImpressedByAWomanWhoCanKillAnInsect,NotAHumanBeing

    ReplyDelete
  46. Why is it being kept secret that Pete Hegseth anagrams to: Get the sheep?

    ReplyDelete
  47. I said: "Well, it's not Deborah Kerr, Lindsay Lohan or Julianne Moore. Pardon my French."

    All three actresses starred in roles also played by Jodie Foster: Anna Leonowens (The King and I/Anna and the King), Annabel Andrews/Anna Coleman (Freaky Friday), and Clarice Starling (Silence of the Lambs/Hannibal). Foster is also fluent in French and even recorded a number of chansons as a teenager in the 70s.

    ReplyDelete
  48. Hi, I am having medical issues. Hope I survive.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I am sure all of us here on this blog hope you will survive too. And we are sorry to hear this unpleasant news. Do you feel comfortable sharing a bit more of your situation?

      Delete
    2. Having just spent 51 days since May 1 in hospital, I empathize. Whatever it is, may you have a speedy recovery.

      Delete
    3. Thank you so much WW and Dr. K. Getting tons of tests. Trying to get the top doctors. As a nurse I am used to fighting the beaurocracy. Shocking though. I love this group so much for all these years.

      Delete
    4. SDB: Thank you for your message. I debated posting this but you are special to me. The mental stimulation is the best asside from Wordle, Connections, and mini crossword every day. I know I am ok if I can do those each day. I have similar to what WS had but just the beginning. Luckily as I nurse I knew I was in trouble and drove to the ER where my former students were my nurses. Good thing they like my teaching...lol.

      Delete
    5. Thank you, Natasha. I would like to help you if I am able. My email address is: (my screen handle)@Yahoo.com. Email me and I will send you my phone number and we can discuss your situation privately if you are so inclined. But tonight I am attending a performance @ the UofW of a female classical pianist from Easter Island who is playing Spanish and South American composers I love, and some I am unaware of. I believe you will be just fine.

      Delete
    6. And Dr. K, I had no idea you were having such monumental health problems. I hope you are now fully recovered and well. I wish you all the best.

      Delete
    7. Thank you sdb. I will contact you.

      Delete
    8. Thank you for the good wishes, sdb. I'm happy to say I am at last on the road to recovery.

      Delete
    9. Thank you all for good wishes. Miraculously, I feel like I will recover. Feeling so much better today than yesterday.

      Delete
    10. That's it! Just keep feeling better every day, and all will be well. Best wishes; you have seen you have plenty of supporters here.

      Delete
    11. Rob, Thank you so much. It takes a "village" and I have one almost here!

      Delete
  49. Wishing you a speedy, and full, healing.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you SuperZee. I love my life and have miles to go.....

      Delete
    2. Glad you’re improving…and thanks for the poetic reference. Stopping by Woods… is such a classic piece of imagery.

      Delete
    3. Natasha - Wishing you good health and peace of mind.

      Delete
    4. Thank you so much. I need both of those for sure.
      , Lorenzo

      Delete
    5. SuperZee, Thank you. I saw Frost in person reciting his work and that poem. An experience I cherish. I am still working of this ehealth issue. Feeling better now. Comes and goes. Have a great day!

      Delete
  50. Natasha and Dr. K – I wish you a speedy recovery from whatever ails you. This place has become sort of a community. Everyone must pull their weight against the self-replenishing foe: the Sunday Puzzle. Hang on Sloopy.

    Chuck

    ReplyDelete
  51. This challenge is from Mike Reiss, who's a showrunner, writer, and producer for "The Simpsons." Think of a famous singer. Replace the last three letters of the first name with an E. Also replace the last three letters of the last name with an E. The result will be a world-famous location. What singer is this?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I thought this would be difficult, but it's surprisingly easy.

      Delete
  52. The singer's middle name is far from their last name but close to their birthplace, and they performed at the world-famous location.

    ReplyDelete

For NPR puzzle posts, don't post the answer or any hints that could lead to the answer before the deadline (usually Thursday at 3pm ET). If you know the answer, submit it to NPR, but don't give it away here.

You may provide indirect hints to the answer to show you know it, but make sure they don't assist with solving. You can openly discuss your hints and the answer after the deadline. Thank you.