A very timely puzzle.Q: Name a famous living singer whose first and last names together have four syllables. The second and fourth syllables phonetically sound like things a dog walker would likely carry. What singer is this?
Sunday, January 25, 2026
NPR Sunday Puzzle (Jan 25, 2026): Famous Living Singer
NPR Sunday Puzzle (Jan 25, 2026): Famous Living Singer
38 comments:
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Déjà vu, again?
ReplyDeleteJust over 200 correct answers last week
ReplyDeleteMy answer was
DeleteSUBNUCLEAR -> NUCLEAR SUB
which seems just as good. I wonder if I got credit.
Also contained therein is something a dog walker might say.
ReplyDeleteI am too old to do well on puzzles related to pop culture, so I had to consult lists. Rearrange the letters in the even positions of the singer’s name. You get something the singer might sing, unless that’s something only sung by singers more to the taste of old coots like me.
ReplyDeleteLove it! I must be an old coot too, because I still use shoe laces, even though Velcro is easier.
DeleteEasy puzzle with a Pete and rePete.
DeleteRob, thanks for bring up old coot, possibly named for the bird called the American coot, a waddling waterbird.
It brought me to this delightful chart of ways to talk about older gentlemen >>>
Old Coot: Eccentric, grumpy, foolish, but potentially endearing.
Old Man: Simply refers to age, often used neutrally.
Geezer: Similar to “old coot,” but perhaps slightly more dismissive and less endearing.
Senior Citizen: Respectful term emphasizing age and often association with benefits or privileges.
Elder: Suggests wisdom, respect, and a position of authority within a community.
So truly, where are you on the Old Coot Elder Scale (OCES)?
Ummm... well, I am eccentric and sometimes foolish. I am seldom grumpy. I have no community authority. I have a bit of wisdom, I guess. I am... off scale!
DeleteCool curmudgeon?
DeleteA medium that Rob might be fond of is relevant to this one.
ReplyDeleteThispuzzlewastooeasybecausewe'veusedthisnamebefore.
ReplyDeleteOh brother, I also thought this puzzle was on the easy side!
ReplyDeleteDoes anyone else see a possible singular / plural issue here?
ReplyDeleteYes
DeleteWell, not much of a connection with Wordle this time (though I could make a case), but I do see a connection to one of the singer’s songs.
ReplyDeleteHuh, I put the singer's name into Google, restricting to npr.org, and found nothing. But some people seem pretty sure it's a repeat.
ReplyDeleteIf you add "npr puzzle" instead, you should find it.
DeleteAs I said at the end of last week's thread, I have an answer, but...
ReplyDeleteI still do have reservations.
I'm just not seeing it.
ReplyDeleteYour periodic reminder that all syllables begin with a consonant sound. If I've arrived at the intended answer, the singer's name has been missyllabified (as was "subatomic" in last week's puzzle). Upon this hill, I will die.
ReplyDeleteUhhhhh.
DeleteAll syllables begin with a consonant sound??
So how many syllables are there in the word "area"?
The word 'area' is compromised of three syllables, each beginning with a consonant sound. In IPA, ['ʔe-ɹi-jə]...
DeleteOnset syllable /ʔe/
That first sound is the glottal stop, the brief clearing-your-throat sound made way in the back of the mouth in order to release the air for the ensuing vowel. Without the glottal stop, we'd need to be forever exhaling to pronounce vowels and that would eventually kill us. Thank you, glottal stop, for saving our lives!
Penult syllable /ɹi/
Self-explanatory.
Ultimate syllable /jə/
To get from the the high vowel /i/ in the second syllable to the schwa in the third syllable, you articulate the subtle palatal fricative /j/ like the 'y' in yellow or yacht. The phonetic term for this kind of consonant is 'glide' because it allows you to glide from one vowel sound to the next.
I appreciate that this may not jibe with what was drilled into our heads in second-grade phonics, but that was all spelling-based and spelling is a far too fickle representation of actual articulated language.
Very cool.
DeleteI'm still somewhat skeptical, because (a) I feel like if someone said "varia" aloud and we just cut off the 'v' sound it would sound exactly like "area", meaning the glottal stop is not an essential part of the phonetic word; (b) the OED does not include the glottal stop as part of the pronunciation.
However, I find your point interesting, in large part because I've always wondered whether there was a rigorous (scientific?) definition of a syllable. Can you point me toward such a rigorous definition (and discussion of its significance)?
I think I have the intended answer .. definitely a repeat...and also a bit of a stretch for syllabic reasoning
ReplyDeleteI posted the following before the puzzle aired this morning on last week's blog. This is a much better puzzle of the same kind:
ReplyDeleteName a famous living singer whose first and last names together have four syllables. The second and fourth syllables phonetically sound like something horses do. What singer is this?
? My back brain submitted an answer instantly, and neither it nor I know anything about the singer.
ReplyDeleteOk, why not?
ReplyDeleteRearrange the singer’s surname to get a famous locale.
Or not.
DeleteAha.
ReplyDeleteOkay I can see that an alternative answer (phonetically dubious, imo) would be a repeat, in the sense that the name has been an answer to an NPR Puzzle before.
What I think is the intended answer is not a repeat. That one is definitely the one Blaine clued.
So, Blaine, if you find that it's a repeat, then I'm just wrong about this.
I believe I have the intended answer too, but I'm not remembering it as an NPR puzzle answer previously.
DeleteRereading the puzzle, correctly this time, has opened my eyes to a better alternative.
ReplyDeleteNot a fan of this puzzle. But I'm afraid explaining why would be TMI.
ReplyDeleteTrump's Folly.
The last syllable of the first name, and the last name, are located in the southern U.S., though in different states.
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
ReplyDeleteTheir partner isn't Swiss.
ReplyDeleteThe dubious response (which fits many of the descriptions above) is surely wrong, for all the cited reasons. I recommend feinstee's approach before you settle on it.
ReplyDeleteMy first answer didn't quite fit. Then I reread the puzzle and the phrase "first and last names together have 4 syllables" clicked in a different way and gave me a much better answer.
ReplyDeleteSuper snowy day here, so I am cooking up some hot and spicy food!
ReplyDelete