Q: Name a famous female singer of the past (five letters in the first name, seven letters in the last name). Remove the last letter of her first name, and you can rearrange all the remaining letters to name the capital of a country (six letters) and a food product that its nation is famous for (five letters).Her daughter has the same middle name.
Edit: Deborah Lois Atkins
A: SARAH VAUGHAN --> HAVANA, SUGAR

You might see her name if you go to Duane Reade.
ReplyDeleteRearrange the letters in the singer’s middle name to get something down to earth. (After I got the answer, I put the puzzle to ChatGPT; this week, it gave a preposterous answer that did not fit at all.)
ReplyDeleteI just did that, and it asked me for a hint!
DeleteThe middle name also rearranges to something partially not down to earth.
DeleteI checked after getting it. ChatGPT thought for 2m23s but came up with the right answer. (Model 5.1).
DeleteI wonder if ChatGPT gets hints from its users and so gets better as time goes on.
DeleteClever music puzzle, one that may break a lot of hearts.
ReplyDeleteI predict fewer than 200 correct answer this week.
ReplyDeleteI agree with jan. There's a male singer of the past who poses an obfuscation.
DeleteIt ain’t Barbra
ReplyDeleteNor Lola
DeleteTread carefully here.
ReplyDeleteThere are definitely a couple of TMI musical clues of the not so distant past! There is also a related food product (one that may be served with this one) that has been a puzzle topic before.
ReplyDeleteA different capital city is related to the food product.
ReplyDeleteSeveral, perhaps, as there are multiple places that satisfy the geographic and climate requirements of the food product.
DeleteI was thinking of the name of the city.
DeleteCombining Nodd's and Blaine's hints:
DeleteA different capital city is related to her daughter.
At a certain age even 4th place seems amazing.
ReplyDeleteTV hint: Riverdale
ReplyDeleteChildhood Gaming Clue: Battling Tops
ReplyDeleteThere is an odd connection between this artist and another artist name wise, and also having to do with the product.
ReplyDeleteJr?
DeleteNo
DeleteIf you change a letter in the country, then you will get a way the food is often served.
ReplyDeleteChange A in Cuba to E to get Cube, as in sugar cube.
DeleteHer middle name was my mother's name. The food product was the family business for my mother's father and uncles.
ReplyDeleteAhh, the sweet smell of success...Good oh!
ReplyDeleteI’m using the Firefox browser on a Windows 11 PC. For the past several days I get a lot of pop-up ads when I log onto this site. Is anyone else experiencing this? Do you know how to prevent pop-ups? Any useful info will be much appreciated.
ReplyDeleteI am using PIE and get no ads.
DeleteThe capital ain't Paris..
ReplyDeleteYeah, but don't they have a Hilton and snails?
DeleteYep, and they call those slimy buggers es-car-gots
DeleteYou must never have tried them, because they are not in the least bit slimy. Nothing is more tasty!
DeleteI tried them once in the late ‘70s
DeleteJust the way I like my coffee.
ReplyDeleteRIP Rob Reiner.
ReplyDeleteWow! This is indeed shocking news. I always felt Stand By Me was delightful, but fell apart in the end. However he was one of the best of Hollywood. I again here recommend watching My Father's Glory and My Mother's Castle, as I am about to again this time of year. They are both by Marcel Pagnol, and the pinnacle of what this kind of movie making should be.
DeleteHow do we process this? I remember numerous times Mel Brooks and others recounted how Carl Reiner had enormous strength in his hands that seemed impossible. Was this something violent that was passed down from father to son and so on? I have no idea, but am only posting what I remember. What would cause a 38 year old son to do such a thing? And keep in mind this was not accomplished with a gun, but a knife. A most violent weapon to inflict on victims, and to cause pain. What is missing in this story that we will never learn? We can easily move on and forget about it, but I suggest we might be better off attempting to understand how this came about. And I say this because I do not see this as an anomaly, but more of a warning to how we are all living in the world today.
DeleteYes, it's shocking all right. Rob Reiner has directed some fantastic movies, and his role as Mike Stivic on All In The Family was inspiring for us members of the younger generation when it came to dealing with the old school Archie Bunker types. It may be worth it to watch Being Charlie, directed by Reiner and written by his son Nick, the now accused. Carl Reiner was one of the greats, especially as Alan Brady, the vulnerable ego maniac. That vulnerable, neurotic quality was something only the great Carl Reiner could pull off. Ironically, in the Slums Of Beverly Hills, Carl Reiner, as Alan Arkin's brother-in-law, gets stabbed in the thigh by an overly sensitive Arkin when he goes into a rant about the nomad like existence Arkin choses to bring his kids up in. Carl Reiner and the late Rob Reiner were great.
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ReplyDelete(Took me a while!)
ReplyDeleteAdd three letters to the city and product and rearrange to get a region and a label that she never recorded for.
ReplyDeleteThe region is also a label, both being labels in her genre that she did not record for
DeleteQuestion: Does "of the past" indicate she is deceased? Or is she still alive but no longer makes music? Or is that something I need to figure out for myself?
ReplyDeleteWith Will's puzzles, it usually means deceased.
DeleteThanks WW! I tend to overthink sometimes, but mostly I don't think enough. 😕
DeleteOr Will could just say "of the passed," right?
DeleteMaybe that's what he said, but they got it wrong on the website 😉
DeleteIs what's passed past,or is what's past passed ? I'm confused.
DeleteSure, but don't get pissed.
Delete...or tug on Superman's cape...
DeleteNow that raises a good point, Paul. Why does Superman wear that cape anyway? I don't really see a practical advantage it provides. In fact it seems to me it would offer drag and slow his deployment in the pursuit of saving damsels in distress. Not to mention higher dry cleaning costs.
DeleteI'll take this a step further too, and point out that Clark Kent must not have used cologne at all. Otherwise Lois Lane would either be an extremely stupid woman or a very poor investigative reporter, or both.
DeleteHey folks, I gave up wearing a cape when I retired. Afterall, Just like everyone else I've grown old. The guys in the movies are just Imposters!
DeleteSuperman can never be in trouble because he always has an S-cape.
DeleteHad a huge hit in the 40s.
ReplyDeleteFinally solved it! I was working with the correct capital all along (thanks to a clue above), but just couldn't come up with the food product and singer. Now I have it, and I've worked up a sweat. Or maybe I'm coming down with something.
ReplyDeleteAfter searching through entirely too many lists, I finally came across the correct name, and have the answer. After not figuring out the name, I tried working backwards, first putting together a list of capitals that are six letters long. That didn't help. The problem with trying to work this puzzle backwards is that each capital can have multiple foods associated with it, and many foods are associated with multiple capitals.
ReplyDeleteIt's not hard once you get the right name. It's frustrating to not be able to come up with the name.
Like Jan, I''m predicting less than 200 correct answers. It might be under 100.
Agreed. This was a toughie...
DeleteMy favorite singer! And it took me until Wednesday morning to get the answer. I wish I had a clever clue (this isn't it).
ReplyDeleteWhen I typed the capital and food product in my search engine, I found the name of an ice cream shop in the U.S.
ReplyDeleteNot surprising, given where it is.
DeleteYes, I thought the same thing.
DeleteI found something else entirely.
DeleteAnything to do with kings, WW?
DeleteScarlett, yes, indeed.
DeleteNeeded some assistance to identify singers fitting that letter pattern, and then I wrote my own scripts to figure out which ones could be successfully anagrammed. This wasn't someone I had ever heard of, nor someone who was likely to turn up in lists I'd find. Just not my generation, though now I'm wondering if I'm familiar with any of her work.
ReplyDeleteI didn't waste my time by watching Trump address the nation this evening, but after, while putting my garbage and recycling bins out for pick up tomorrow, I asked my inflatable lawn santa for his observations. It was a wasted effort as he had been left deflated and speechless.
ReplyDeleteI cannot stand to watch DT.
DeleteI didn't watch it either, but I'm sure it would have been appropriate for inclusion in either of sdb's bins, as recycled garbage.
DeleteAnyone else here have a problem with the answer to today's WORDLE? I got the answer on the fourth try, but find it a bit odd to be used here as an answer word.
ReplyDeleteI got it in 3. Seems like an OK word to me.
DeleteI agree SDB.
DeleteAre you referring to puzzle #1643, where the answer ends with the letter Y? If so, that seems to be a perfectly normal word to me. Puzzle #1644, which I solved this (Friday) morning, was a MUCH more interesting word, and I could see you posting about that one. I play through the New York Times app, in case we are looking at different sources.
DeleteI agree with Chuck and JAWS. Yesterday’s word was unremarkable while today’s was fun. I got both in three.
DeleteI agree today's is interesting, and I got it in 4, but the earlier word just seemed a bit too foreign to me to be used for this puzzle.
DeleteToday's word was fascinating. Three for me.
DeleteMe, too. Wordlebot and I are as one.
DeleteSARAH VAUGHAN; HAVANA, SUGAR
ReplyDelete"Tread carefully here." VAUGHAN'S first husband was George Treadwell.
SARAH VAUGHAN —> HAVANA, SUGAR
ReplyDeleteHint: “Clever music puzzle, one that may break a lot of hearts.”
—> “Broken-Hearted Melody,” Sarah Vaughan’s 1959 million-seller
SARAH VAUGHAN (HAVANA, SUGAR)
ReplyDelete> She performed there.
<a href="https://www.desmemoriados.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/SaraVaughan_Cuba.Poster.jpg>In early 1957.</a>
> A different capital city is related to her daughter.
Her daughter is actress Paris Vaughan.
I wrote, “Rearrange the letters in the singer’s middle name to get something down to earth.” That’s LOIS / SOIL.
ReplyDelete"Sun Dec 14, 06:14:00 AM PST
ReplyDeleteWhen I couldn't turn NNCIR into a food product, I was about to say "uncle", but AI came through for me."
Astana is the capital of Kazakhstan, so I had hopes for Nancy Sinatra, even though she's still around ... but that didn't work out. Robert Vaughn (only one A) was best known for his role as Napoleon Solo in The Man From U.N.C.L.E., but also starred in something called "Cuba Crossing". AI eventually gave me Sarah Vaughan after suggesting Janis Joplin, Doris Day, Patsy Cline, and Donna Summer. Aren't computers supposed to know how to count? I distinctly asked for a 7-letter last name.
I also muttered something about "Lola". Remember Lola? She was a showgirl ... at the Copacabana (the hottest spot north of ...).
Sarah Vaughan. I could have said "it never entered my mind," but that would have been TMI.
ReplyDeleteJeff Zarkin (also known by his screen name "SuperZee") is, in my opinion, one of the most creative and clever puzzle-makers who is contributes comments to Blaine's Blog and to puzzles to our Puzzleria! Blog. Every few months, Jeff sends me amazingly creative puzzles that I am privileged to display on Puzzleria!
ReplyDeleteYou can enjoy his latest "Jeff Zarkin's Puzzle Riffs" on today's edition of P!, which will be uploaded very soon, this very afternoon!
Jeff's creativity this time is titled: A Fortnightly Dose Of “MisJeffous” Homophonics – 14 puzzles that will challenge, and perhaps baffle, you... and may well last you though the rest of December!
Also on our menus this week:
* a Schpuzzle of the Week titled "Letters later or early, all done,"
* a Hear No Evel Knievel Hors d’Oeuvre titled “See no evil, hear no evil... but speak your heart out!”
* an Our Lad Our Lady Slice titled Apparatus “empartners” a pair of hearts,
* a Tidy Dry “Lunar” Dessert titled "Reading in the Restroom," and
* ten Riffing Off Shortz And Flood Entrees titled “Heavaughnly” sweetness from Sarah, including six riffs from Nodd and one riff from Plantsmith.
So, join us for some "Jefferific Riffs... 14 bafflers from a master-puzzlemaker.
Lego...
Lego, thanks for the kind words.
DeleteHope everyone enjoys the puzzles.
Wishing all a joyous holiday season. May it be filled with peace, love, and the stuff memories are made from.
Sarah Vaughan (Havana, sugar)
ReplyDeleteCuba has a lot of sugar.
My hint was:
ReplyDelete"You might see her name if you go to Duane Reade"
Oops. I thought her plaque on 52nd St was right outside one of those drug stores, but I had the wrong CBS building! Yeesh. (I was looking at the now-defunct CBS studio just off Madison, but the plaque is outside the Saarinen-designed building two blocks west.)
Sarah Vaughan – h --> Havana, Sugar
ReplyDeleteEarlier this week I said, “Had a huge hit in the late 40s.” That would be “Tenderly” and she was the first to record it.
When I said that a male singer of the past posed an obfuscation, I was referring to Vaughn Monroe. When you know you're looking for a (5, 7) name, spelling is an issue. Some probably dismissed Sarah Vaughan as (5, 6), or even (4, 7) or (4, 6). In fact, Robert Flood probably wishes she had been Sara Vaughan, as that would have led directly to the anagram.
ReplyDeleteSARAH VAUGHAN, HAVANA, SUGAR
ReplyDeleteMy Childhood Gaming Clue: Battling Tops was because this was indeed a favorite toy, when I was a kid. There were essentially FOUR plastic TOPS in a bowl and you would try and spin yours and knock out your rivals.
About the same time, there was a Motown vocal group called the FOUR TOPS that had a hit called CAN'T HELP MYSELF with the lyrics SUGAR PIE HONEY BUNCH.
Seemed less TMI than the ARCHIES.
My hint -- A different capital city is related to the food product. (Sucre, Bolivia; French for "sugar")
ReplyDeleteSarah Vaughan >>> Havana & Sugar
ReplyDeleteMy Hint:
"There is an odd connection between this artist and another artist name wise, and also having to do with the product."
She shares her first name with Vaughn Monroe and he is remembered, especially this time of year, for Let It Snow, Let It Snow, Let It Snow. Both snow and sugar are usually thought of as being white, but remember to avoid eating the yellow sugar, or is that...?
I thought you were alluding to Peggy Lee who also had a hit with "Fever". Combining the two names I came up with Sara(h) Lee, which makes sugary desserts. And nobody doesn't like Sara Lee!
DeleteAnd I thought you were referring to Celia Cruz, who--appropriately enough for a Cuban singer--opened and closed her performances with the grito "¡Azúcar!" (Don't ask me what the connection between their names was--there isn't one.)
DeleteWhat do Sydney, Australia and Washington D.C. have in common?
ReplyDelete(something something) criminals (something something)?
DeleteZeno, I thought no one had noticed my post. Glad you did. I will post it again tomorrow and hope for a better response. You will laugh when you figure it out. You are partially correct. I expected Nodd and Crito might get it.
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ReplyDeleteI read that Sarah Vaughan's daughter was adopted and given the same middle name as Sarah: Lois.
ReplyDeleteMy hint "At 41 -4th place seems fine."
DeleteLindsey Vonn recently placed 4th at Montreau grand slalom event..
I've had a power outage from this AM until now. Unable to post SARAH VAUGHN HAVANA and SUGAR
ReplyDeleteI wrote: Finally solved it! I was working with the correct capital all along (thanks to a clue above), but just couldn't come up with the food product and singer. Now I have it, and I've worked up a sweat. Or maybe I'm coming down with something.
ReplyDeleteI was thinking of Sarah Vaughan's version of "Fever."
Just for kicks, I typed the capital and food product in my search engine, I found an ice cream shop in Homestead FL called "Havana Sugar."
ReplyDeleteThere are many Cuban immigrants and descendants in South Florida.
DeleteYes, indeed, Jan. I've lived in the Tampa area for decades... another area densely populated with Cuban descendants. I grew up loving the food!! I think Word Woman's comment was about the "Havana Sugar Kings," a Cuban minor baseball league from 1946-1960.
DeleteScarlett, you are correct.
DeleteMy post - there are a couple of tmi music clues of the not so distant past - this was referring to the hit songs Havana (by Camilla Cabello) and Sugar (by Maroon V). I also noted that a related food product (one that might be served with the one here) has been a puzzle topic before - this was referring to Sweet N Low - a previous puzzle answer.
ReplyDeleteThis week's challenge (something different):
ReplyDeleteI was at a library. On the shelf was a volume whose spine said "OUT TO SEA." When I opened the volume, I found the contents has nothing to do with sailing or the sea in any sense. It wasn't a book of fiction either. What was in the volume?
Easy to solve, hard to clue.
DeleteThe book may have contained puzzles, but no answer.
ReplyDeleteColorful half-dozen.
ReplyDeleteDorothy goes out to sea in an L Frank Baum book.
ReplyDeleteCompanion volume to "Out to lunch"
ReplyDelete385 correct entries last week
ReplyDeleteYeah, way more than either of us expected.
DeleteBelatedly...this was a sweet puzzle!
ReplyDelete