Sunday, May 31, 2026

NPR Sunday Puzzle (May 31, 2026): Song Title: Two Words, Two Countries

NPR Sunday Puzzle (May 31, 2026): Song Title: Two Words, Two Countries
Q: Name a classic song with a two-word title. Drop the first letter. Add an R after the new first letter. The result will be the names of two countries one after the other. What song is this?
Clue: Dolour

19 comments:

  1. The first line of the song is a lie. Rearrange the letters of the song to get two foods, one good, the other maybe not quite so.

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    1. I was standing on my porch one day when a couple of young people walked by and asked me to settle the argument they were having about the first line of this song. When I checked the answer I gave them, I found out I was wrong. I still find it problematic.

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    2. I'm looking forward to Thursday to find out what y'all mean.

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    3. This comment has been removed by the author.

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    4. Paul, that experience has real properties for a novel.

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  2. Rearrange the letters of the countries. You get a word related to another country.

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  3. Just a personal note: The artist and I share a birth year.

    Speaking of personal notes, it’s 1999 redux. The last NBA Finals game I attended (with the wife and kids) was Game 1 in 1999 in San Antonio, when the Knicks played the Spurs. I hope the outcome of this series is different. Go, Knicks!

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    1. I also grew up a Knicks fan.
      It's been a long time since the Knicks have appeared in a finals, but a really long time since they've won one!

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    2. When I was in college, I met the daughter of the owner of the Knicks, who was a classmate and graciously offered tickets to two of the 1970 Conference Finals against the Bucks (when Jabbar was still Alcindor) and two of the Finals against the Lakers. Great memories!

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    3. Oh wow. That was Alcindor/Jabbar's rookie year. Willis Reed had to curtail him, and then Wilt!
      I was not yet in college and definitely did see the games live, but I remember vividly when the injured Reed returned for game seven...

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    4. Great memories and, by the way, great seats, center court two or three rows behind the press table. I had never been to the Garden before and was a stranger in a strange land. An usher approached me and my group when I first arrived, wide-eyed and mouth agape, and asked--not "May I help you?" but--"Are you sure you're in the right section?" I silently handed him our tickets, still wide-eyed and mouth agape, and he said, "This way, sir." Those playoffs will forever remain, to me, unforgettable.

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    5. As a Lakers fan, that last game featuring Reed's heroic appearance still rankles a little. That was back when we were the perpetually disappointed fan base and it looked as if Jerry and Elgin would never get a ring. The only consolation (but only cold comfort) was that it wasn't the Celtics torturing us that time.
      Meanwhile this puzzle reminds me of a Thelonious Monk number.

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  4. I don't get any of the clues so far (except for Jan's in the previous thread), but I'm quite sure I have the intended answer. Here is my clue:

    𐌠 𐌡 𐌢 𐌣

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  5. Drop the last letter of the singer to get what sounds like part of another classic song title.

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  6. Ok, here’s a hint: Remove the first letter of the second country’s name, rearrange a bit, and get the name of an Academy Award-winning film.

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  7. Congrats to Mike Reiss for another entertaining puzzle! I doubt the successful entries will approach 2,000 again this week, but 1,000 is a possibility.

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  8. By the way, I'm glad the on-air player was a Chicagoan. For me (and I know for a lot of Blainesvillains), the words do not start with the same syllable!

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  9. The singer is mentioned in the Epstein files, but only in reference to a concert. It's unlikely that he had his feet massaged aboard the Lolita express, like Mike Reiss's boss.

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  10. The second verse of the song has a somewhat unique property. By the way, I initially thought of a different two word song title that shares the same second word but that one didn’t work out :)

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