NPR Sunday Puzzle (Nov 9, 2025): Actress Gives Advice on Fermenting MilkQ: Think of a famous actress -- first and last names. Swap the first letter of each name (e.g. Lana Turner would become Tana Lurner). Say the result out loud, and phonetically you'll get some advice on fermenting milk. What is it?
Take the name of the actress. For each letter, if it appears more than once, keep only half the instances (round up if necessary -- half of 3 is 1.5, but you'd keep 2 letters). Rearrange those letters to get a piece of outerwear.
Great advice from Skydiveboy. Make tasty things!
ReplyDeleteA key word in the answer is among the oldest words of English, and it's nearly unchanged from its Proto-Indo-European root.
ReplyDeleteRemove the first three letters from both the first and last names. Rearrange. You get something in which you do not want fermentation.
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DeleteSorry, Rob. I just realized that the answer to my question is probably "yes."
DeleteHmmmm, I tried to do what Blaine says, but I can't get a piece of outerwear. I can get something that seems like it *could* be a piece of outerwear, but in fact refers to something else. I can also get where I keep some of my outerwear.
ReplyDeleteAh, I see! It can indeed refer to a piece of outerwear!
DeleteChiefly British.
DeleteEvery time, every single time.
ReplyDeleteCongratulations, skydiveboy!
ReplyDeleteI'm confused by the stipulation. Blaine wrote
ReplyDelete"Think of a famous actress -- first and last names. Swap the first letter of each name (e.g. Lana Turner would become Tana Lurner). Say the result out loud, and you'll get some advice on fermenting milk. What is it?"
and this is consistent with Will's example, but the official explanation (on-air and written) mentions swapping the last letters as well:
"Think of a famous actress -- first and last names. Interchange the first and last letters of those names. That is, move the first letter of the first name to the start of the last name, and the first letter of the last name to the start of the first name. Say the result out loud, and you'll get some advice on fermenting milk. What is it?
What is the correct stipulation here?
Got it from the composer himself at the end of the last thread. The 'official explanation' is wrong; the last letters stay where they are; you're basically looking for a spoonerism.
DeleteA spoonerism often swaps the initial sounds (crushing blow -> blushing crow) but the puzzle only mentions the initial letters. Technically still a spoonerism but worth noting in case.
DeleteRight, and the combination of switching the letters but then getting the advice phonetically makes the puzzle more challenging.
DeleteThanks for clarifying. Blaine's version is much clearer than the on-air version. Came here first for that reason.
DeleteCrito, thanks for getting the correct stipulation. Annoying that NPR got it wrong, but so be it. Hopefully someone can reach out to them so they can at least correct the website.
DeleteNice one, sdb. I've had the answer for a while, but thus far I'm struggling to come up with a hint.
ReplyDeleteSDB strikes again! Congratulations and thank you to Blaine and Co. for the useful clarifications.
ReplyDeleteThe actress’s middle name is a variant spelling and homophone of the first word of a famous 2-word play and film.
ReplyDeleteYes, it's popular with a lot of amateur theatrical groups.
DeleteNice clue, Dr. K, but I’m wondering if a "2-word play" would have an intermission after the first one?
Delete😊
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ReplyDeletePossibly TMI, I think
DeleteBased on the requirements of the puzzle, I can rule out Susan Sarandon and Marilyn Monroe
ReplyDeleteHmmm...I don't know if I have the right solution, but I like it nonetheless. The answer and the puzzle, that is. Was it "partially", or even "fully" inspired by an episode of a certain late night talk show?
ReplyDeleteFirst name could be something done in the past.
ReplyDeleteTake the name of a character played by the actress. Remove the 1st and 6th letters, and rearrange to get another name for that character in the same movie.
ReplyDeleteOops——sorry😷
ReplyDeleteOne of the comments above was very helpful to me, but I'm not complaining.
ReplyDeleteCongrats, SDB. Another good one from the pen of my favorite skydiver.
ReplyDeleteA big thank you to all for the kind posts. And I am sorry I did not catch the printed error days ago when Will emailed me his presentation page. I read it quickly and understood why he changed how I coined it, and that is because so many do not understand what a spoonerism is, and this way he did not need to explain, as he usually does. So I did not read it carefully enough to notice the error, but jan did! I suspect he was first to catch it because he long ago learned to reread the puzzles very carefully to avoid misunderstandings. I applaud jan for being Tarp as a Shack today!
ReplyDeleteMozel Tov Mark. What do you think her ancestors would say?
ReplyDelete"Break a leg."
DeleteRemove the first letter of one of the actress's films to get something associated with the theme. Add two letters to the end of the second word in a different title from her filmography to get something you can put it in.
ReplyDeleteFun puzzle though perhaps with a small liberty taken on the word play (imo). That said, I'll join the host of other bloggers in sending kudos to our very own SDB!
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