Q: Name something you don't want to have at night using two words (3,5). Shift each of the letters of the second word nine spaces later in the alphabet. If your count reaches the end of the alphabet, continue counting from the start. The result will name a famous singer.
A: BAD SLEEP --> BAD BUNNY
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.
Perhaps, but after having been stumped the last two weeks, this was appreciated.
ReplyDeleteBlaine's clue is almost TMI.
ReplyDeleteThe puzzle itself is almost TMI. But I'll remove it.
DeleteI predict that at least one other person here will post the same thing, having never seen Blaine's clue.
DeleteYup. 3, 2, 1.
DeleteI've never minded being lent a hand.
DeleteWhy didn’t we have this puzzle earlier this month?
DeleteWe're now in the season of Lent, soon after the Super Bowl, looking forward to Easter.
Deletejan, this time I concur. Blaine's t.s. is indeed, t.s. And that aint, Elliott!
ReplyDeleteOr Eliot, even!
DeleteInteresting that there are so many children's books, and authors, that I can't use as clues.
ReplyDeleteSince I see multiple posts about how easy this is, and I haven't figured it out yet, I'm going to ask a clarifying question: When we "shift nine spaces later in the alphabet," that means A -> J, B -> K, etc.? Or am I reading this wrong?
ReplyDeleteNever mind, I just got the answer
DeleteFor the record, the translation above is correct.
DeleteThe singer has appeared in more than one movie.
DeleteI didn't know that. Had to look it up.
DeleteGiven Blaine's redaction, I immediately thought of a singer with the same number of letters(3,5). But when I used the 9 steps in the alphabet code it didn't seem to pan out. I'm going back to sleep and come back to it later and not don't have whatever it is the puzzle refers to. I feel like I'm so close to an answer.
ReplyDeleteYou're even closer than you think! Hope you have a good nap.
DeleteNot too tricky. Good for kids, though.
ReplyDeleteYes, but I'm relieved this is so easy because my concentration is primarily on the USA-Canada Olympic hockey final. 1-0 USA, so far.
ReplyDeleteCongratulations to the USA Olympic men's hockey team! Great game!
DeleteRegarding Bobby and the lapel pin issue from last week --
ReplyDelete"A lapel pin, also known as an enamel pin, is a small pin worn on clothing, typically on the lapel of a jacket, that can be ornamental or signify the wearer's affiliation with a cause or organization. They are often used as symbols of achievement and belonging."
If others are interested and if Blaine approves, I'd happily take on designing a Blaine's Puzzle Blog lapel pin to signify a symbol of our achievement and belonging at Blaine's.
More details to come if there is interest and approval.
Bobby, you'll get a lapel pin, one way or another!
That's a lovely gesture, Word Woman. I hope Blaine approves, and I know Bobby would be most appreciative.
DeleteI am in favor of this.
DeleteAny other interest in lapel pins here? Please let me know.
DeleteBlaine, is it ok to proceed getting a quote for 50 1" lapel pins using your Rubik"s Cube design and wrapping text saying "Blaine 's Puzzle Blog?" I would take on mailing them out to interested puzzlers.
Don't forget that this is the United States. There might be litigation re: the cube.
DeleteThat's cool! Let me know what I can do to help.
DeleteThanks, Blaine. Do you know if the Rubik's cube on your website is copyrighted?
DeleteWe're looking at a one inch in diameter soft enamel lapel pin. Kelly is getting me prices tomorrow. She's been great to work with.
I remember it was from a program that someone had to render a 3-D cube and I took a snapshot of a scrambled state. I've used it for at least 30 years now.
DeleteHere's a PNG version with a transparent background.
DeleteI might have a bit of information on designing an original lapel pin because skydiving has numerous pins for certain accomplishments. The most common is for number of skydives. Gold Wings #xxx would describe these pins. There was no pin for Tandem skydives until I became the first person to make 1,000 Tandem skydives in 1987. Ted Strong, the owner of Strong Enterprises, the world's largest parachute manufacturer, is considered to be the inventor of Tandem Skydiving. His expert skydiving license is #16. He had a pin made for me for being first to accomplish making 1,000 Tandem skydives first. While it was in production he told me during a phone conversation that it was costing him somewhere in 4 digits for the first pin. At that time I, and I believe he too, thought it an outrageous amount of money. So don't be surprised at what you may be quoted. I should also point out that this pin is an inch and a half and multicolored. I wish I could take a photo and post it here, but we can't do that yet.
DeleteHi Blaine. I have a quote and copy for the lapel pin. If you email me at wordwomans at gmail dot com I will send it along. It looks sharp and price is reasonable
DeleteOr please suggest another to get the prototype and price to you, please. Thanks.
DeleteDid my email get through?
DeleteBlaine, no it did not. Did you put the s after wordwoman?
DeleteI did. Can you check your spam folder?
DeleteGot it. Please take a look and share your thoughts. Thanks.
DeleteA Blainesville lapel pin has been discussed here previously, but this is the first week some action seems to have been taken. Though it would add engineering complexity and cost, maybe the circumference of the pin should be engraved with the alphabet, and rotate opposite a similarly engraved alphabet on the edge of the inner part of the pin?
Deletejan, we need you on the Design Team! I'll send you what I have so far. Engraving would be cost prohibitive, methinks. But we could print that?
DeleteI was mostly kidding, WW. Anyway, it's the rotating outer ring that would be cost-prohibitive.
Deletejan, it would be cool, though! Take a look at what we have so far.
DeleteSee Blaine's next post that features the lapel pin design for ways to order a pin for yourself or to support a pin for another. We are gauging interest at this point and need 20 Blainesvillagers at $15 each to go ahead and order 50 lapel bind
Delete^^^pins.
DeleteSomeone else has the same last name, but the first name is something else you don’t want at night.
ReplyDeleteExcellent, Rob!
DeleteNicely done, Rob.
DeleteGolly, thanks.
DeleteThis clue didn't come to me right away -- I think I misread it the first time. But now that I see what you're saying, LOL!!!
DeleteEasy but fun. Thanks Eco.
ReplyDeleteOoooh, I didn't see Blaine's clue before it vanished. (In fact I thought his clue might be the word 'redacted'.)
ReplyDeleteI like it, Eco, but it's hard to come up with non-TMI clues.
On behalf of eco (me saying this not eco), the original wording was changed significantly. 'Tis the PM's perogative to do so, but it took away from the puzzle's original elegance.
DeleteI have this thing at night more often than I would like so it was one of the first things that came to mind...
ReplyDeleteTake the distinct letters of the second word in the phrase. Add one of the letters in that word and the letter it turns into in the singer's name. Rearrange the letters to get an example of the second word in the singer's name.
ReplyDeleteThe distinct letters of "sleep" are SLEP. L turns into U. Add LU to SLEP and rearrange to get Plusle, a Pokemon bunny.
DeleteNo clue needed today. I'll get ready to shovel some snow. New York is about to get hit.
ReplyDeleteYes, so is Philly.
DeleteHere, in the DC suburbs, we seem to be on the edge. Hernando may miss us, give us 1-4 inches, or ???
DeleteWell, there was an alternative.
ReplyDeleteAre the first three letters part of the singer’s name? Are we looking for first and last names?
ReplyDeleteWhy is it that so many of these puzzles have ambiguous clues?
Dave, keep the first word. Shift the second word only.
DeleteRoger that. I was able to figure it out.
DeleteIs that Dave, Jr? ;)
DeleteFirst impressions - reminds me of a gun.
ReplyDeleteThis was the first singer that came to mind, so I just needed to work backwards to get the first set of words
ReplyDeleteThat is what I did, and all while still in bed. I would prefer it if the answer phrase was one that was used in a Beatles song. No chance of that though.
DeleteShakespeare in another language
ReplyDelete. . . wouldn't smell as sweet.
Delete. . .wouldn't be so in love.
Delete. . .wouldn"t have pizza at the mall.
DeleteA cetain chain restaurant comes to mind..
ReplyDeleteA latter day Desi Arnaz?
ReplyDeleteA wee bit reductive, imho.
DeleteNo me importa.
DeleteSome people may not understand a word of these clues, but I do!
ReplyDeleteScarlett, that's some good PR on your part!
DeleteThanks WW!
DeleteThis comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
DeleteBlaine, ? Methinks I don't protest enough in this case.
DeleteThanks, Blaine
DeleteThis comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
DeleteWhoa. Thanks again, Blaine. You are on it, thankfully.
DeleteCute puzzle. Thanks Greg! Have fun in Berkeley today. My home too.
ReplyDelete^^^ Look! We could talk about the Blue Pearl Granite countertops going in in my remediated kitchen.
ReplyDeleteThe Blue Pearl Granite complements well my Sonic Pearl Gray Honda CRV. Not that they'll be seen together often ;-).
DeleteThe answer will bowl you over. (Thankful for this softball after the last few weeks)
ReplyDeleteYes, the puzzler has been pretty tough of late. Was almost time to dust off or come up with a new version of White House / Whitney Houston.
DeleteDid they not say how many entries they got last week? I thought it was pretty tough, so I was really curious.
ReplyDeleteNo, Ayesha apparently skipped that announcement.
DeleteI would prefer that they post the exact count on the webpage. Even better, total submissions, and the total considered correct.
Delete#TheNumbersGuyWantsToDoStats
" Is that a rhetorical question or would you like to do the math?"
Delete"I'd like to do the math."
Take the shifted second word, add an article of clothing, and rearrange to get a term of endearment.
ReplyDeleteI saw a great exhibit of Italian Futurist poster art yesterday. Glad I caught it before it closed, I'd wanted to go on Valentine's Day.
ReplyDeleteOne of our fellow bloggers should get this easy puzzle, which is quite the elixir after the past few weeks.
ReplyDeleteThey aren't my favorite group, but I did see the Goo Goo Dolls in Wilkes-Barre, PA when I was young. Google tells me that tour took place in 2002
ReplyDeleteI know I am expected to be happy we won the hockey gold medal by beating Canada, but I was really rooting for Canada because of how our country is mistreating our wonderful neighbor. But I really don't give a puck.
ReplyDeleteSeconds ago the top of the hour NPR news man reporting on the shooting at Mar-a-Lago today, said the Secret Service "asked him to put the fuel can and gun down." Only a total moron would buy that. They ORDERED him to put it down. Why is NPR so careless about some of their rhetorical reporting, but cannot use accurate words when reporting about what is happening to our country?
ReplyDeleteNPR has no corner on that market. That's why no one really relies on "news" reporting anymore. There's too much carelessness, to be sure; but there's too much imprecision, opinion, interpretation, speculation, second guessing, and lack of grammatical clarity these days. To coin a phrase: Broadcast news has been 75 percent decimated. Criminy!
DeleteI agree. But on grammatical clarity these days: If Broadcast news has been 75 % decimated, I believe that would = 7 1/2% of the total.
DeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeletePlayful Sarcasm Ooooh those emojis!
ReplyDeleteI'm thinking of a certain children's author...
ReplyDeleteI'm thinking of several.
DeleteAnd I'm thinking of Clark a psuedonym. :-)
Delete^^^Pseudonym
DeleteBeatrix Potter, author of The Story of a Fierce Bad Rabbit (and bunny owner herself)!
DeleteWells
ReplyDeletei don't think we should be naming names.
DeleteA rose is a rose is a rose?
DeleteUnless you mean MR. H. G. Wells. . . .
DeleteDifferent wells. Deep, huh? ;-)
DeleteDo you all receive a confirmation from NPR EVERY time you submit an answer? I used to, but not for the past 6 weeks or so. I have so many issues w/ my old hardware and OS and I'm wondering if my entry is NOT landing in the hopper.
ReplyDeleteThere are no more email acknowledgements, just one on the puzzle website.
DeleteI received my package from NPR. Along with the pin, I got a Scrabble set. I already have a Diamond Anniversary Edition Deluxe Scrabble set that my son gave me years ago, so I'm giving the new one to . . . my son (and his partner). The lapel pin, though, is a dream fulfilled.
ReplyDeletehttps://bsky.app/profile/shyralynn.bsky.social/post/3mfkufqbme22f
Congrats again! Wonderful to get the pin!
DeleteSince I changed my Bluesky post, the link won't get you anywhere. Try this one.
Deletehttps://bsky.app/profile/shyralynn.bsky.social/post/3mfn77znvjk2z
I have two pins. The few times I wore one publically, nobody commented. When I wear them at home, my wife comments and I don't feel like posting what she says.
DeleteOh, but we want to know what she says. C'mon, can't we pin you down?
DeleteCassius Clay (later Muhammad Ali) famously fought Sonny Liston for the world heavyweight championship on February 25, 1964, in Miami Beach, Florida.
ReplyDeleteThe day before I arrived by troop ship in Bremerhaven, Germany and the next morning arrived in Wurzburg, where that evening I listened to the fight on the radio. I was still only 18.
Great story! I'm working on a crossword puzzle right now and a clue is boxer Ali. The answer was not Muhammad, but his daughter Laila. It's a whole new generation!
DeleteThanks. I guess it does have a certain ring to it.
DeleteI found Laila's picture. She's a real knockout!
DeleteI'll have to take you at your word on that because I did not hear the bell ring.
DeleteI always enjoy sparring with you SDB. You can really pack a "pun"ch!
DeleteNo doubt a bout it, Judy. We both know the ropes.
DeleteI'm no match for you.
DeleteDon't backpedal. Go Toe-to-Toe.
DeleteBAD SLEEP --> BAD BUNNY
ReplyDelete> Singer and siblings share an initial initial.
Benito , Bernie, and Bysael
> Interesting that there are so many children's books, and authors, that I can't use as clues.
Bedtime stories are meant to help kids have a good sleep. Do you suppose Beatrix Potter, Margaret Wise Brown, Rosemary Wells, Mo Willems, etc., knew of the rot9 SLEEP --> BUNNY transform?
>>> I'm thinking of a certain children's author...
>> Wells
> i don't think we should be naming names.
> Unless you mean MR. H. G. Wells. . . .
That's MR as in Max and Ruby, Rosemary Wells' BUNNY siblings.
Bad Sleep >>> Bad Bunny
ReplyDeleteMy first thought Bad Dream, lead to Bad Bunny, but had to be wrong as there was no way to get the, “nn,” from Dream. Seconds later…
I wrote, “Someone else has the same last name, but the first name is something else you don’t want at night.” That’s BUGS BUNNY.
ReplyDeleteBAD SLEEP, BAD BUNNY
ReplyDeleteI initially tried to solve this by working backwards from singer's names. Unfortunately, the list I was working from had Bad Bunny only listed under his full name, and I didn't catch that. After I posted to check that I was reading the puzzle correctly, the answer suddenly popped into my head.
Bad Bunny has appeared in more than one movie, including Bullet Train, Caught Stealing, and Happy Gilmore 2.
"Conundrumbstruck by Chuck!" strikes again on this week's edition of Puzzleria!
ReplyDeleteOur friend "Chuck" (aka Puzzlemaster Chad Graham) has conjured up a quartet of cleverness for your solving enjoyment, titled:
~ Three Species;
~ Prophesying Profitability?
~ Anagram Plantation; and
~ Decrepit Car... Contemporary Character
We shall upload this week's edition very soon this very afternoon!
Also on this week's menus are:
A Schpuzzle of the Week titled "Limerick ’bout a Lexicon,"
A “Thirstfree” Hors d’Oeuvre titled "No watering required,"
A Blissful Slice titled "A Couplet for Couples,"
A Maritime Dessert titled "Save Lifers, Safe Livers!" and
10 Amazing riffs of this week's Ecoarchitect-penned NPR Puzzle titled "Riffing Off Shortz And VanMechelen Entrees: Bad Bunny: Bummer of a Slumber!"... including 6 riffs from Nodd, 2 from Plantsmith, and a "self-riff" by Greg VanMechelen.
That is one PUZZLE PACKED menu! Thank you!
Lego...
Bad sleep, Bad Bunny
ReplyDeleteMy rather oblique clue: "I saw a great exhibit of Italian Futurist poster art yesterday. Glad I caught it before it closed, I'd wanted to go on Valentine's Day."
ReplyDeleteThe Italian Futurist art exhibit (at the Poster House in Midtown Manhattan) of course featured a lot of imagery of BENITO Mussolini. Valentine's Day, aka February 14th, was meant to allude to New York's 14th congressional district, represented by Alexandria OCASIO-Cortez.
My clue: "Some people may not understand a word of these clues, but I do!" I was alluding to a certain 'world leader' who hated the Super Bowl halftime show.
ReplyDeleteBAD SLEEP —> BAD BUNNY(/B)
ReplyDeleteGreetings from the friendly skies over CA.
There are going to be a substantial number of correct submissions this week.
My reference to "certain chain restaurant" meant IHOP.
ReplyDeleteMy hint "Shakespeare in another language" refers to "The Bad Sleep Well," a Kurosawa film (悪い奴ほどよく眠る, "The worse they are, the better they sleep") that is loosely based on "Hamlet." Or so they say--I haven't seen it.
ReplyDeleteLate to the party again. Same answer as everyone else. I know nothing about the singer, but there is no way I could not have heard of him over and over, so with the letter count I immediately figured it must be Bad Bunny. I simply worked the letters backward and knew the 5 letter word had to have the same letter in the 3 & 4 positions. So simple to solve.
ReplyDeleteAll this talk about making a lapel pin makes me think of all the pins I have earned and sometimes just been given. Most are having to do with skydiving, and are too large to be appropriately worn as a lapel pin. They are better if used on a cap, but I do not normally wear a cap. I do have a Six Majors pin that I sometimes wear as a lapel pin. It is awarded by the Seattle Mountaineers to members who have successfully summited what they consider to be the 6 most prominent mountains in Washington State, including Mt. Rainier.
ReplyDeleteBut there is one lapel pin that has always eluded me. This is a pin that can only be earned and not planned in advance. It includes membership in The Caterpillar Club along with their wonderful lapel pin. In order to gain membership in this exclusive club one must first have to have jumped unintentionally from an aircraft in an emergency in order to save one's life. I have several thousand times jumped from aircraft, but never due to an emergency, so I am not a member of this club. I do know a few who fully qualified though.
Check out this link to learn about this club and pin and see a photo of the pin at the end of the article.
https://www.nationalww2museum.org/war/articles/hitting-silk-caterpillar-club#:~:text=Named%20for%20the%20silkworm%20caterpillar,depends%20on%20a%20silken%20thread.%E2%80%9D
My post - “One of our fellow bloggers should get this easy puzzle, which is quite the elixir after the past few weeks.” The “fellow blogger” referred to Superzee and “elixir” referred to “LX” since Bad Bunny performed at Super Bowl LX.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the shout out!
DeleteBAD SLEEP >>> BAD BUNNY
ReplyDeleteMy ice cream talk refers to BLUE BUNNY ice cream. That's the scoop!
My clue was just "I like it", because that's the title of a Bad Bunny song.
ReplyDeleteBAD SLEEP, BAD BUNNY
ReplyDeleteI wrote No clue needed today. I'll get ready to shovel some snow. New York is about to get hit.
This was a callout to Bad Bunny's callouts to Nuyorican culture in his Hit Superb Owl show.
BAD SLEEP, BAD BUNNY
ReplyDeleteI've never known anyone to refer to it as a "bad sleep". A "bad NIGHT'S sleep", sure. I wasn't sure if it was going to turn into Bad Bunny at first, and the first thing I guessed was BAD DREAM, but "dream" didn't come out to anything when I rotated it. Once I worked backwards from "BUNNY", I knew I had the answer.
pjbAppreciatesThisAndManyOther"Harebrained"IdeasThatGetChosenToBeTheSundayPuzzleEveryWeekend!
I would imagine that 99% of the folks who solved it followed that path. Keep the Bad, drop the Dream, and work backwards from Bunny.
DeleteDitto.
DeleteMy clue was "Take the shifted second word, add an article of clothing, and rearrange to get a term of endearment." BUNNY + SHOE = HONEYBUNS
ReplyDelete