I can't say that I've read the whole book, but the section I read was riveting. Remember the deadline this week is Wednesday.Q: I 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 had nothing to do with sailing or the sea in any sense. It wasn't a book of fiction either. What was in the volume?
Edit: A section on RIVETING might appear in the volume.
A: It's an ENCYCLOPEDIA
Colorful half-dozen
ReplyDeleteI have this book and mine definitely covers sailing.
ReplyDeleteThat's a very salient observation!
DeleteAre you shore?
DeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
DeleteI think I solved this right away, but the second sentence threw me.
ReplyDeleteE pluribus unum.
Domine, defende nos contra hos motores bos.
DeleteTranslation of Musinglink's line above:
DeleteLord, protect us against these moving cattle.
There's an old joke like this
ReplyDeleteThe answer I got would, in contradiction to the instructions, have something to do with sailing or the sea.
ReplyDeleteBoth
DeleteYep! I looked it up in mine.
DeleteIn your Wunk & Fagnalls I presume?
DeleteI see that Blaine thoughtfully corrected NPR's grammatical error.
ReplyDeleteNo clue here.
ReplyDeleteI grew up with World Book, so maybe there was a bit of a clue in that clip.
DeleteDoes anyone receive entry receipts by email from NPR anymore? Since they went to the new submission form some months ago, I haven't and have wondered if my entries are even received.
ReplyDeleteSame here. I used the return emails as proof that I sent in the correct answer as early as Sunday. For those who didn't believe me. Now I have no proof.
DeleteYou can still take a screenshot. It will show the date and time, and the .jpg file will have the same date and almost the same time as file properties.
DeleteGood idea! Now how do I do that? I'm only using a cell phone.
DeleteThat would depend on the model. On my Galaxy, I have to press the on/off button and the lower-volume button simultaneously.
DeleteTrimmers beware: reefing your sails won't protect you from this week's high winds!
ReplyDeleteBut in a way, a common aid will help you a lot.
Should be a lot of correct entries this week. Since I can't make it into a puzzle, I thought the wordplay aficionados in Blainesville might appreciate this little poem:
ReplyDeleteWeird Sheila Goldstein
Fancies Marcie's Holstein.
While confident of my answer, I haven’t a clue as to how to clue it.
ReplyDeleteDon't reuse puzzlers like my brother!
ReplyDeleteSL - Were you referring to the March 4, 2025 Car Talk puzzler?
DeleteLorenzo, Good memory. I follow their frequently ridiculous puzzles too, but forgot about that one, as I do with most of the others. A few are really good though, and I mostly forget about them too.
DeleteI plan to order this book on Amazon
ReplyDeleteHas anyone seen the Wizard of Oz performance in Las Vegas? Is it worth the money?
ReplyDelete(Not a clue but an anecdote) Years ago I worked as the library desk clerk at the Department of Interior's library in DC. Because there was so little to do I started reading the books that were being returned. That, however, annoyed my superiors, who told me it looked out of place, so they gave me the job of putting the checkout slips for the last several years in Dewey decimal order just to keep me occupied. Pure tedium.
ReplyDeleteAt any rate, going through these hundreds of slips I found one for a book called "How To Hold Up A Bank." I was intrigued, so on my lunch break I went to look for the book in the stacks. I didn't find the book but I did learn that it was on a shelf devoted to . . . soil engineering.
True story--you can find the book on Amazon at https://www.amazon.com/How-hold-bank-Giorgina-Reid/dp/0498067297/ref=sr_1_1?crid=2WQ9V7HMKUWHP&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.jUOcT4YZU5MT9X-oT-WBQQ.B_UOZbnxNXgFpfPiIX_FOC79HVQ1p1EuKKG_-lLb_qI&dib_tag=se&keywords=%22How+to+hold+up+banks%22&qid=1766333196&s=books&sprefix=how+to+hold+up+banks+%2Cstripbooks%2C180&sr=1-1. Unfortunately it isn't helping me get the answer to this week's puzzle.
Interesting. Did you use the Dewey decimal system? I thought it would be the Library of Congress system, you know, with letters, like TSPMK as so forth?
DeleteAlso, it's available on pdf at the internet archive. It's by Giorgina Reed, or Reid, I forget. It reminds me of something I heard someone say one time, "All retaining walls will fall."
DeleteReminds me of the kid who draws a picture of a stagecoach with no wheels. Teacher asks, "What holds it up?" "Bad guys!"
DeleteMusinglink--I wish I could answer your question (it's been 50 years).
DeleteThen there's the book entitled "To Serve Man" in the story by Damon Knight.
DeleteSorting those slips--perfect opportunity to use the Quicksort method.
DeleteThe book is about pi and prime numbers.
ReplyDeleteThe words "pi" and "prime" are between "out" and "sea" in the dictionary.
DeleteReminds me of my childhood.
ReplyDeleteThe book is about a trip of sorts.
ReplyDeleteA few items of the on-air challenge might have stumped me. "Sinuous" I was able to infer (certainly after knowing the answer was "belly dancer"), but "dim sum" I had to look up. It is definitely not on the menu of my favorite Chinese restaurant.
ReplyDeletePS: And neither are BEef Dumplings.
DeleteYeah, "beef dumplings" are definitely a stretch as clues go. But you've gotta find a restaurant that serves dim sum. Yum! Usually available weekend mornings. LMK if you'd like a recommendation in Boston.
DeleteNot to disagree or to put too fine a point on it, Blaine, but the sections I read were overlong and plodding.
ReplyDeleteThe sequel is even better--ou we ni!
ReplyDeleteBy my answer, there would have to be at least a few mentions of sailing or the sea. Pirates, too. Quite rare for this volume, I'd say.
ReplyDeletepjbHasOwnedSuchABookGrowingUp(CameInHandyALot,Too!)
Jiminy Cricket, I think I got it.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the 70-year old earworm!
DeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
DeleteJan, I liked it but our teachers didn't so much.
DeleteThis one is near and dear to my heart, and often relevant in my job!
ReplyDeleteAre you a door-to-door sailsperson?
DeleteNodd - I have the concept of an answer that seems consistent with many of the clues above (including yours), but I’m not sure that I’ve solved the puzzle.
DeleteLorenzo, I'm not sure either. I think it's right based on the hints but I can think of another possible answer.
DeleteLorenzo, I'm in the same boat. I definitely have a concept but am failing to pinpoint the specific book.
DeleteIf it exists outside Will's (and now our collective) imagination, I'd like to see some evidence.
DeleteAnnotating literary works means spending quite a bit of time in dictionaries & encyclopedias!
DeleteWell, after a fair amount of searching around, I have an answer, but I am reasonably certain that it is not the intended answer. The worst part is, I think I quickly got the idea of what to look for, but I'm stumped so far on the actual answer.
ReplyDeleteMaybe I should have posted here earlier. I have a better answer now, that seems to fit with some of the comments above.
DeleteColorful Hint - Brown
DeleteI see multiple possible answers. What's the 'click' sound that the intended answer makes?
ReplyDeleteDid anyone catch the number of correct answers last week?
ReplyDeleteAs I noted at the end of last week's blog, 385.
DeleteIt may be out to sea but certainly not an ocean going vessel.
ReplyDeleteAnybody here read Yiddish?
ReplyDeleteThe puzzling part of the clue is "nothing to do with sailing or the sea in any sense." I read this as saying that there cannot be a page or even a paragraph devoted to sailing. That seems to eliminate what I thought was the answer.
ReplyDeleteDon't overthink it. Even if The New York Times changed its name to "Out To Sea" without changing its content, it would be correct to say had "nothing to do with sailing or the sea in any sense", even though it occasionally covers stories like an America's Cup race, or the Coast Guard boarding Venezuelan tankers.
DeleteWould you say that the NY Times has contents that does not have to do with sailing in any sense? Would you say that even if today's paper had an article entirely devoted to sailing?
DeleteThe clue could have picked several sea-related words, but it picked sailing. Sailing seems to be a word specifically chosen to knock out my suspected answer.
Yes. I'm sure the Times has run many articles about sailing, but I would also say that the paper isn't about sailing or the sea.
DeleteMany of the comments above make the point that if you took the puzzle wording literally the answer most of us appear to have would be wrong.
DeleteWhoa, I just realized what the alt answer is, and now I understand a clue someone gave that I found baffling.
ReplyDeleteI do think the answer I came up with is the intended answer, and in one pretty clear way it's better than the alt answer. (But then again the alt answer is better in a different way.)
In case you missed my easy riddle last week, here it is again:
ReplyDeleteWhat do Sydney, Australia and Washington D.C. have in common?
Well, they both have something named Bondi, but they pronounce it differently.
DeleteYes, but they seem to pronounce everything differently down there. My first answer is #1, but during the night I came up with #2, and now I am unsure which one I like best.
DeleteAnswer #1: They both have Bondi Beaches.
Answer #2: They both have dangerous Bondi shark attacks
Insectivorous
ReplyDeleteBut don't worry, ZYZZYVA, that AARDVARK would have to cross at least one ocean to get to you.
DeleteI think I finally got it. Perhaps not the intended one, but one that meets the requirements. No clue here.
ReplyDeleteWell, now more of the Epstein files have been released with rather revealing discoveries, followed by the expected denials, it might be wise for us to consider that famous German/American naturalist John J. Autobahn, who is much quoted as saying, "Birds of a feather flock together."
ReplyDeleteThis week's published answer (to last week's puzzle) concerns me. I'm often uncertain what exactly they want in a response. Based on the wording, I just gave the singer's name, but then I saw the published answer included the other two words in the puzzle. I wonder if my answer was accepted, or rejected as incomplete? How do you all decide how much (or little) to include in your answers?
ReplyDeleteThis is a very good question. The answer is not so easy because we really do not know for sure. Who looks at the submitted answers? Is it a different intern each week? What are they told to look for? Perhaps any correct part for most of the puzzles will be accepted, as they are only looking for a contestant for their recording. Without us they really have nothing. So all that being said, your guess is as good as mine. Now go hang your stocking.
DeleteI never left a clue!
ReplyDeleteMy clue this week will be UPS, who is delivering at my door right now!
I don't listen to pop music much these days, but I watched a Marc Maron special yesterday that included some Taylor Swift clips. The phrase "out to sea" appears in her song, "Bigger Than The Whole Sky", which loosely defines a related adjective.
ReplyDeleteOut to Sea is one volume of a multi-volume reference work whose contents are arranged alphabetically. Based on the portion of alphabet covered, I’d guess it is volume 3 of a 4 volume set.
ReplyDeleteEncyclopedia entries between OUT — SEA
ReplyDeleteI was going to hint:
"I enjoyed how it dealt with rigging." But I felt it would be redundant after Blaine's hint.
Answer: In the volume were the dictionary entries of words from “out” to “sea” alphabetically arranged. The book is one volume in a multi-volume dictionary.
ReplyDeleteHint: E pluribus unum.
“Out of many, one.” —> A single volume in a multi-volume dictionary is one of many volumes making up one dictionary.
Hint: “Not to disagree or to put too fine a point on it, Blaine, but the sections I read were overlong and plodding.”
—> “overlong” and “plodding,” like Blaine’s word “riveting,” would of course be entries in a dictionary volume covering words from “out” to “sea”
The volume was part of an encyclopedia. (Doesn’t quite work, as there’d be sections on Sailing and Sea.)
ReplyDeleteMy hint referred to Jiminy Cricket, who sang about the encyclopedia on “The Mickey Mouse Club.”
Another possible answer: “Out to Sea: A Parents' Survival Guide to the Freshman Voyage”, by Kelly Radi. The spine might have only the title without the subtitle.
IT'S A MIDDLE VOLUME OF A MULTI-VOLUME DICTIONARY OR ENCYCLOPEDIA
ReplyDelete> The book may have contained puzzles, but no answer.
"Answer" would be in a preceding volume.
> Dorothy goes out to sea in an L Frank Baum book.
In Ozma of Oz (while enroute to Australia -- also called "Oz"). Baum said the name "Oz" came from his file cabinet labeled "O–Z".
> Anybody here read Yiddish?
On Sunday evening (ET), the English Wikipedia featured article was the Algemeyne Entsiklopedye, a Yiddish-language ENCYCLOPEDIA published in twelve volumes from 1934 to 1966.
> I don't listen to pop music much these days, but I watched a Marc Maron special yesterday that included some Taylor Swift clips. The phrase "out to sea" appears in her song, "Bigger Than The Whole Sky", which loosely defines a related adjective.
Encyclopedic.
For Cricket fans
ReplyDeleteI just said an encyclopædia volumn. The next volumn is sebum to zoology. Happy Rama-Hana-Kwanzamas!
ReplyDeleteWhen I wrote "The sequel is even better--ou we ni!" I was referring to Otis Redding's last studio album, his "Dictionary of Soul," which would logically be the next volume of this set of dictionaries or encyclopedias. "Ou we ni!" is defined on the back of the album cover (which I spent a lot of time staring at as a youth) as "Getting gooder by the minute"
ReplyDeleteIt is a book in a dictionary. The volume has words from "out" to "sea".
ReplyDeleteI figured it was a multi-volume reference book that alphabetically contained words between out and sea, but I thought we were supposed to pinpoint a specific book. I looked at OED, Encyclopedia Brittanica, and many other famous reference books, but nothing had OUT-SEA in one of its volumes. Had I realized we didn't have to be so specific, I would have considered it solved!!
ReplyDeleteSame. It was obviously a reference book. I gave up searching for a specific one. [sad trombone]
DeleteIf the answer is a reference work (dictionary or encyclopedia) I will be very disappointed. It's lame.
ReplyDeleteOUT TO SEA is written on the spine of a volume of an encyclopedia covering items alphabetically from the word OUT to the word SEA
ReplyDelete"Colorful half-dozen" refers to Encyclopedia Brown. ENCYCLOPEDIA has 6 syllables.
Merry Christmas Eve!
I submitted something like: 'A reference book with entries that start alphabetically with "OUT" up to entries that start with "SEA". ' (I thought that obeyed jan's suggestion to not overthink the answer.) Stretching the limits of the "Short Answer" portion of the form, I added: 'The reference book is likely a Name Index for, say, property records so the contents would contain nothing about "sailing", etc.'.
ReplyDeleteWe will post a preview of our Holiday edition of Puzzleria! later today, or early tomorrow... or both! We guarantee that it will be well-worth your wait. We will upload our Holiday Edition sometime during Christmas Day. Visions of Sugarplums and all that...
ReplyDeleteThank You!
LeggoNoggo
I discounted dictionary as the answer because I never saw anything like that on the spines of the Oxford volumes, and I know of no other set of a dictionary that is that large. So encyclopedia was my next guess, but I could not find any spine on one of those that qualified. However, later when I returned a book to my usual library branch, I looked to see what their reference shelves had. Nothing on either dictionaries or encyclopedias except for a set of thin encyclopedias on Nature. On the spine of one volume was 3 letters — SEA, and SEA — ??? began the next volume. So it only worked half way. I am left wondering if there actually is such a book.
ReplyDeleteThat's what puzzled me...I couldn't find an actual reference book with those set of words in the volume and I didn't realize the answer could be a hypothetical reference book.
DeleteDon't forget about Our Annual Puzzle and Video. Apparently it's really challenging because only 3 people have confirmed solving it. Or it could be people are very busy with some upcoming event. 😜
ReplyDeleteI solved it pretty quickly, but I'm waiting for some uninterrupted time to enjoy the video. As you noted, it's a busy time! I know it will be great.
DeleteIt might help to be old or ancient, I recognized this instantly. I bought a full set of encyclopedia volumes decades years ago ... retired them when The Web started answering questions a lot better.
ReplyDeleteHere's a clip from "The Shop Around The Corner," a wonderful Christmas movie (even though much of it takes place months earlier), that shows where shopping for an encyclopedia might take you: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1I6lWLrLL1s
DeleteMy parents had a set of the Encyclopedia Brittanica, which no one ever read as far as I know, and a set of World Books, which I read cover to cover. I still remember the graphic showing Uncle Sam accepting the Virgin Islands from a young woman wearing what looked like a Dutch cap. And the tiny icons of corn, oil wells, cows, etc., to convey information about each state's economic activities. But I digress. . . .
So, I immediately thought dictionary. Could be some old edition of the OED, for example.
ReplyDeleteI eventually realized some people here were cluing encyclopedia, which I think is pretty clearly acceptable, but in my opinion eictionary is better because an encyclopedia wouldn't have an entry for 'out'... would it??
I think it would if the 3 letters are only showing the beginnings.
DeleteAhhhhh. Good point. Like it could be an entry on outrigger canoes.
DeleteDictionary may be a better answer in another sense. An encyclopedia volume covering out-sea would almost certainly have more discussion of sailing than a dictionary would, so the dictionary would meet the puzzle criteria better. But I think Will Shortz's intended answer was encyclopedia, mainly because mult-volume encyclopedias are more common than multi-volume dictionaries.
DeleteAnnotated dictionary seems acceptable.
DeleteOr Out Magazine, devoted to gay travel, fashion, culture and politics.
DeleteMy clue was: "Trimmers beware: reefing your sails won't protect you from this week's high winds!"
ReplyDeletetrimmers beware is an anagram of Merriam-Webster.
My answer was dictionary. Same difference, for all practical purposes. Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays, everyone (and Tiny Tim)! 👋🎅🎄✨️
ReplyDeleteAnd now a plug for a great classic work of American non-fiction having to do with sailing and the sea:
ReplyDeleteTwo Years Before the Mast is a classic 1840 memoir by Richard Henry Dana Jr., detailing his 1834-1836 voyage as a common sailor from Boston around Cape Horn to California, offering a vivid account of harsh maritime life, the hide trade, and pre-Gold Rush California. The book is celebrated for its authentic portrayal of sailors' struggles, natural beauty, and social commentary, and it inspired maritime reforms.
Encyclopedia volume with entries between OUT — SEA.
ReplyDeleteMy UPS clue was because UPS has branded themselves BROWN, and I grew up with the Encyclopedia Brown books, probably an early tilt towards the forensics, for me.
I wrote “ I plan to order this book on Amazon”… the logo of Amazon has a line connecting A and Z.. so suggesting to think alphabetical ..
ReplyDeleteOcean and vessel fall outside the specified range, hence out to sea but not an ocean going vessel!
ReplyDeleteIt's either a dictionary or an encyclopedia, though I think SAILING and the SEA might still be represented just enough as separate entries that one could read about them. My comment about "pirates...quite rare" alluded to the other letters represented between O and S. I would've thought Blaine would catch that and remove it but he didn't. Also, I hardly think the O and S sections were well represented if the volume began with OUT and ended with SEA.
ReplyDeletepjbWishesEveryoneUponThisBlogAMerryChristmasAndAHappyNewYearFromAllOfUsHereInAlabama!
https://i.ebayimg.com/images/g/DHQAAeSwJktonLEU/s-l1600.webp
ReplyDeleteCheck out 15-16 and 17-18.
But is it okay to turnip the volume?
DeleteGod may indeed be a male, but keep in mind He rules the world with Ruth and Grace.
ReplyDeleteI don't know if I could abide with a Ruthless God.
DeleteYeah. Yesterday (Christmas) after breakfast I was sitting at my computer with my stereo tuned to our local classical music station, which was playing Xmas music all day. I am not really into Xmas music, but was too lazy to turn on my CD player. I wasn't really listening, but at the end of a version of Joy to the World for some unknown reason that passage entered my consciousness and I noticed the humor in it and then put that joke together. Now I am wondering why it took me so long, and I can't believe I am the first to notice this, but who knows?
DeleteThis week's Holiday Edition of Puzzleria! comes gift-wrapped with some great goodies:
ReplyDelete* Six "Nodd ready for prime time" puzzling gifts composed by our friend Nodd, titled: "Bah! Humbug! Unfair Christmas Fare; Puzzling Christmas Film; Better Late Than Never; All About (New Year’s) Eve; Holiday Poetry Corner, With Anna Gingerbread Graham Cracker,"
* Six additional gift-wrapped riffs (again, from Nodd) of Will Shortz's confounding “OUT TO SEA” volume-on-the-library-shelf NPR puzzle,
* A Schpuzzle of the Week (the best puzzle I have ever written) titled "Poetry Portends Pending Sports,"
* A "What’s for Christmas Dinner Hors d’Oeuvre" titled "Singular! Plural! Synonymous!"
* A "Dice-Like-Ice-Twist-Lemon-Slice" titled "Gold-&-many-colored-mini-boulders,"
* A " Triple-Dog-Dare Dessert" titled “...Coming Down In Three-Part Harmony,” and
* 13 riffs of Will's Shortz's "Out To Sea" (on the library shelf) NPR Puzzle.
Puzzleria! is now uploaded. Join in the celebration!
Thank you.
Lego...
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteI eventually came up with an encyclopedia, and left the colorful hint of Brown, for Encyclopedia Brown (and I see that I was not the only one who read those!
ReplyDeleteHowever, while searching around, I also came up with this:
https://www.amazon.com/Out-Sea-Navigating-Practical-Emotional-ebook/dp/B0FX3H6Q2W
It appears that there exists a book with the title Out to Sea, and it is a guide for those who have gone, or are going through, a divorce, which has nothing to do with sailing or the sea. Clearly, this book meets the criteria of the puzzle, so I noted it in my entry, along with the encyclopedia answer. However, I doubt WS will mention it in the Sunday broadcast.
I did spend entirely too much time trying to come up with a longer title that would have OUT TO SEA in the title, with a few letters worn away. The best idea I had was GROUT TO SEAL, which would be a guide to installing kitchen and bathroom fixtures, but alas, no such book exists.
Maybe I'll go look at the bookshelves for a while, to see if I can create a puzzle based on that idea...
I found a book entitled "Out to Sea". It was a book planned to help parents assist their child as he/she enters the first year of college. That also meets the criteria of the puzzle.
ReplyDeleteThis week's challenge comes from Joseph Young, of St. Cloud, Minn. Think of a two-syllable word in four letters. Add two letters in front and one letter behind to make a one-syllable word in seven letters. What words are these?
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
DeleteCongrats, Lego!
DeleteThere may be more than one starting word. I have two 7-letter words.
ReplyDeleteIt's the right time of year.
ReplyDelete985 correct answers last week
ReplyDeleteI didn't submit because I wasn't happy with the apparent answer. 1 - there are various publications that could be arranged in alphabetical volumes, eg the OED. 2- OUT to SEA is too wide a range for a typical encyclopaedia volume. 3 - the clue was emphatic that the contents had "nothing" to do with the sea or sailing "in any sense"! But the volume would surely have to cover the sea, sea-related topics beginning with "sea", sails, and sailing. I guess from now on I'll just submit the best answer I've got, even if it seems non-unique and incorrect.
ReplyDelete