Change the penultimate letter in the film title to an R and rearrange. The result is a plural for something else that can move and consume food.Q: Take the name of a popular 21st-century film with animals, in eight letters. Remove the first and last letters, then change one of the remaining six letters to a C, to spell a plural word for certain animals. What words are these?
Edit: ZOOTOPIA -I +R --> PROTOZOA
A: ZOOTOPIA, OCTOPI
A long running TV show comes to mind.
ReplyDeleteA related not so long running TV show comes to mind.
DeleteThis comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
Delete"HELP!" THEY sent me 2 X Scrabble board games. I already have this. I am going to auction them off, SIGNED!! By ME! To raise funds for my church: MAAT Temple. Goddess of truth and justice. Which is what I'm fighting for, here in Ohio.
Deletethe clue that Blaine blocked said how I was able to get my arms and legs around this. And that the Working title for"Help" was a dead giveaway. It was "eight arms to hold you". Which referred to the pagan idol (Shiva?) that Leo McKern's cult worshipped, also, the two arms apiece of the LADS from Liverpool. I reckon.
DeleteWhile SuperZee was referring to Blue Bloods, Squid Game was my not so clever observation.
DeleteFascinating! I thought Howie might be referring to another Police Procedural— NYPD Blue…
DeleteReplace the last four letters of the film with an article of clothing to get a famous 20th-century film.
ReplyDeleteWhich once, hilariously, showed up on M*A*S*H!
DeleteZootopia => Zoot Suit
DeleteMatthew 20:16
ReplyDeleteFor anyone that's thinking of complaining about the puzzle, please wait until Thursday.
ReplyDeleteAm I allowed to frown?
DeleteI don't want to complain, just debate. I will wait until Thursday.
DeleteJAWS, save debate for de fishing? ;-)
DeleteWW, I just got back from fishing, which I found alluring! :-)
DeleteWe had a blackout, which was delightful.
DeleteJAWS, lucky you! Some of my happiest early memories are of fishing from a rowboat in a small cove in Gloucester, MA, with my dad.
Deletejan, what happened to the firefly who backed into an electric fan?
She was delighted.
Because octopus is actually Greek, octopi is etymologically incorrect, though it is now widely recognized due to long-standing common use. The Greek plural would be octopodes and the English plural is octopuses.
DeleteI had meant to mention something about that, but got sidetracked by my tire issues. I just now remember the James Bond movie: Octopussy, that I do not think anyone mentioned.
DeleteI did. See my clue (which was deleted) below, in my reveal. No idea why Blaine thought "Not a James Bond film" was TMI.
DeletePandemonium also alluded to the Bond film with "all time high".
DeleteReputed to be very intelligent in another film
ReplyDeleteOver 700 correct entries last week
ReplyDeleteThough contemporary films is not my long suit, this was the first film I thought of. Now for a clue...
ReplyDeleteYeah, came to mind immediately. Normally I'm slow figuring these things out. No lists required!
DeleteThere is a musical connection between the animal and a hideaway.
ReplyDeleteWasn’t it rather poorly lit?
DeleteIn the previous thread, Iris mentioned a movie and I mentioned a book.
ReplyDeleteQuite independently, there's a book that mentions this animal, but the movie of the book does not.
I thought of a musical group, but it's probably tmi.
ReplyDeleteWe’ll pretend that group never formed
DeleteI think I may have played it too safe.
DeleteI too solved this one still in bed. Musical clue: Todd Rundgren.
ReplyDeleteThe eggs and bacon I ate for breakfast was very satisfying.
ReplyDeleteDid the actress go to the animals to find a prop? No, they brought the . . . .
ReplyDeleteIt took me a while to get this, but I like it. I had to expand my definition of "actress."
DeleteThe actress shares a property with the film title.
DeleteYup. I figured that she was the one you meant.
DeleteI would have preferred that this puzzle had aired closer to when the Oscars are awarded.
ReplyDeleteThere are approximately 25 years of movies to look through.
ReplyDeleteOctopi, or 8*pi, is approximately 25. This was a good puzzle for Pi Approximation Day.
DeleteI solved it lightning fast. Now I'm cracking open a beer to celebrate. (It's ok, I'm in Eastern time.)
ReplyDeleteOn my dresser, there is a tall stack of books. You'll find the correct answer on top of these.
ReplyDeleteThe pronunciation of the Greek plural is approximately ahk-TOP-uh-dees, which sounds like 'on top of these
DeleteEasy puzzle this week. And one of the words in the puzzle challenge provides an apropos clue.
ReplyDeleteI saw that too.
DeleteBoth the movie title and the plural remind me -- one very oddly -- of a puzzle from last year.
ReplyDeleteMusical clue: Simon and Garfunkel
ReplyDeleteAnother musical clue: The Beatles
DeleteWhere would we be without them?
DeleteWe'd be nowhere, man. Also, let me throw Mark Lindsay into the mixed tape.
DeleteNo joke!
DeleteGot the answer as soon I considered the clue.
ReplyDeleteAnd I solved Friday's WSJ puzzle contest a few minutes ago as well.
DeleteSame
DeleteEntries this week could be an all time high
ReplyDeleteIt's all Greek to me...
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
ReplyDeleteSorry, Blaine. I didn't think that gave anything away.
DeleteTake heart, jan. You and the palindromic doctor are still in the running for best comment of the week.
DeleteThank you kindly!
DeleteCST GOO
ReplyDeleteAlso, restroom.
ReplyDeleteThe last four letters of the plural word spell the plural of another animal in Italian.
ReplyDeleteA certain political movement just came to mind.
ReplyDeleteI don't know the answer to this, but if you take TOY STORY and change one letter to an E instead of a C, you get OYSTER.
ReplyDeleteI tried one of those coffee pod brewing things on my recent road trip. What a waste of resources, way to get more micro plastics ingested....and the coffee is lousy. Why do people like them so much?
ReplyDeleteI had one in my office, but rather than the single use pods, I had a refillable device that allowed me to use any coffee I chose and to vary the quantity of grounds to achieve a fuller bodied brew.
DeleteHave you met Americans? We're lazy AF.
DeleteWordle just awarded (awordled?) me another badge.
ReplyDeleteI just now solved today's Wordle in 2 and there was a message saying something about a badge and I think it indicated I have 40, which is the number of times I've solved in 2. So what? It was super easy anyway. I got 3 yellows and 1 green on my starter word, and the answer came to me right away.
DeleteIt was my 51st ‘sea of greens’ badge. You know that’s for real, because if I’m making it up, I’d say it’s my 48th, or 56th, or, better yet, my 64th.
DeleteIn related news, I spied Rita in Pandamonium’s hint.
If you can turn a frown into a smile by thinking about crosswalk markings in a rain forest, that’s a prime example of … something … or everything … or nothing.
I have an alternate answer! I am going to enter the answer everyone here is talking about to NPR and will post my alternate answer after 3pm Thursday. Technically, even really, it works! Hint - it is a two word title but when the words are placed next to each other they become one eight letter word.
ReplyDeleteWar Horse, change the O to a C and rearrange to get Charrs. OK, technicality on the rearrange, but Will never said keep it in order!
DeleteI am very upset with this senseless war with Iran. When is this waste of resources and persons going to stop so we can get on with more important business, such as invading Canada and Greenland, and Cuba?
ReplyDeletePatience. Rumor has it that in 2029, President -Cortez (named after a Conquistador, after all) will make Cuba the 51st State, or 53rd, or something. The only question remaining is what role Bernie will have in the administration.
DeleteIf anyone wants to watch a cute movie, check out "The Sheep Detectives". Just released this year, Amazon Prime Video. (No clue here.)
ReplyDeleteI only heard of it yesterday in a news report on the DOJ's subpoenas to NYT reporters seeking their sources on the Qatari plane story: the FBI arrived at the door of one reporter just as he and his family were about to learn who the murderer was. (The DOJ has just withdrawn the subpoenas.)
DeleteZOOTOPIA, OCTOPI
ReplyDelete"CST GOO" refers to this quote from the Chicago Daily Tribune and a Gang Of Octopi. And of course it was in 1888. Because, of course 888. >>> see quote below:
BESEIGED BY DEVILFISH. How Octopi Took Possession Of Schooner. Incident of a Voyage in the Banda Sea—An Octopus Who Is Injured by a Sailor Calls Upon His Companions for Help—They Respond Promptly, and a Gang of Octopi Take Control of the Deck of the Vessel, Driving the Crew Below.
— (headline and caption) Chicago Daily Tribune, 15 Jan. 1888
All the coffee pod talk pointed to Octopodes, the third plural for octopus. (Octopi and Octopuses being the other two)
Or, as David Bowman famously said, “Open the pod bay door, HAL.”
DeleteMy hints:
ReplyDelete“The last four letters of the plural word spell the plural of another animal in Italian.” Topi is the Italian plural of mouse (topo).
“A certain political movement just came to mind.” “Octopi Wall Street. (Sorry!)
Lorenzo, gr8 minds. My "Restroom" clue evoked Octopied for Occupied.
DeleteTopi is also an African antelope. Plural is topis or topi.
DeleteZOOTOPIA—> OCTOPI
ReplyDeleteThe musical group that I thought would be tmi and therefore didn’t name was the Beatles, hinting at “Octopus’s Garden” and Help! (the film), originally titled Eight Arms to Hold You. But Scarlett seems to have posted the same clue without any repercussions. Uncle John, however, was not quite so lucky.
As I said, I may have played it too safe.
I’m also guessing Scarlett’s Simon and Garfunkel clue alluded to “At the Zoo.”
Was one of the tv programs alluded to Eight Is Enough, yet another show I’ve heard of but never seen?
Yes, I was going for At The Zoo and Octopus's Garden. I figure S&G and Beatles catalogs are so huge, that it's usual pretty safe to use them as musical clues.
DeleteLesson learned.
DeleteI’d wondered if you were thinking, tongue in cheek, of, “The Animals.”
DeleteAlso Lancek added Mark Lindsay to the mix to which I replied No joke! I assume he was referring to Mark's April Fools visit to the zoo in a caveman costume?
DeleteI had to google this, but evidently Paul Revere and the Raiders had Logo Octopus Soap Holders.
DeleteFunny memory unleashed: When I was a young teenager, my friend's mom thought they were Simon and Gar, the Funkel brothers.
DeleteSorry I'm late to the party. I was actually referring to a solo effort by Mark Lindsay: "Arizona" (AZ). These were the deleted letters from Zootopia. Jan handled that better with his brilliant Matthew 20:16 (The last shall be first and the first shall be last). That was my favorite post until Dr. Awkward posted "It's all Greek to me..." Octo is the Greek 8, and pi is pi. I was going to post my rating of 25.1327 out of 25 (since 25.1327 is about 8pi), but I decided I didn't want to gild the lily.
DeleteI didn't notice that Bobby had the 8pi insight on Sunday when he remarked that there are approximately 25 years of movies to look through. I thought he was being literal, since Will had specified a 21st-century film. Neatly concealed, Bobby!
DeleteGood catch, Lancek! I'm also tickled by all the "octopodes" talk.
DeleteDr. Awkward, the Octopodes talk has been tickling. I suppose being tickled by a group of Octopodes would be extra tickling given the 8 arms.
DeleteI have been pronouncing Octopodes incorrectly though. That emphasized syllabic shift is surely something to be tickled about.
ZOOTOPIA --> OCTOPI
ReplyDelete>> Where is my brain today?
> The answer to that question might be TMI.
"Cephalopod" means "head foot".
> Matthew 20:16
For the first letter of the movie shall be the last letter of the alphabet, and the last letter of the movie shall be the first letter of the alphabet.
> Did the actress go to the animals to find a prop? No, they brought the . . . .
. . . zoo to Pia. ("Zadora" also starts with Z and ends with A.) (I referred to her soap opera marriage, at age 23, to a 54-year old financier as "The Young and the Ricklis".)
> Both the movie title and the plural remind me -- one very oddly -- of a puzzle from last year.
I could imagine a many-volumed encyclopedia with "OC to PI" on the spine of a middle volume, but it would have to be a very short, reverse-ordered one to have a volume labeled "ZOO to PIA".
> Not a James Bond film. [deleted -- hard to see how this could lead someone to the answer]
Octopussy was 20th-century -- and too many letters.
I wrote, “There is a musical connection between the animal and a hideaway.” That’s the Beatles' song “Octopus’s Garden” (1969).
ReplyDeleteZootopia>>octopi
ReplyDeleteOctopuses have blue blood. Blue Bloods was a long running police procedural, starting Tom Selleck.
My post - “Easy puzzle this week. And one of the words in the puzzle challenge provides an apropos clue.”
ReplyDelete- “Easy” referred to ‘easy as (octo)pi’.
- And the “eight” in the “eight letters” in the film name was apropos since an octopus has eight limbs.
Zootopia, octopi
ReplyDeleteZootopia & octopi
ReplyDeleteI am late to post today; just got back home from having new tires installed on my car, after yesterday PM one blew out the entire sidewall on a stop and go residential street just one mile from my house. I am feeling lucky though because it did not happen on the 7 day camping trip to the ocean that I drove back home from monday morning. It could not have happened at a better time and location.
The Professor of Japanese History at the school I attended had something similar happen to him: the chassis of his car gave out just as he drove into the driveway of his home in Middletown Connecticut after a 2500 mile drive to Oxford, Mississippi and back. I'm trying to come up with a pun you can riff on, but the wheel's aren't turning.
DeleteNo puns on his classy chassis, but I began learning from my first paranormal experience when I was 18, that we all have spirit guides, or whatever term you are comfortable using, but most of us are unaware of this, as I was too. Sometimes they may intervene to negate or minimize a situation they see approaching. Even if one does not want to believe this, it can be a good idea to communicate with them and both thank and ask for help, etc. You may be surprised at what may happen. Nothing to lose by trying.
DeleteSDB: I gave up telling anyone about paranormal/psychic world. Good luck!
DeleteHere's a coincidence for ya. Several minutes ago my phone rang and I actually answered it because I saw it was my neighbor. He called to let me know he found a tool I had asked if he had 2 weeks ago. We got to chatting and I told him about my tire issues and it happening just a few blocks away. He then told me about decades ago when he was driving a company van home from about fifty miles away via the freeway, and as he pulled into the driveway the passenger side front wheel flopped down from the top as the bold holding the upper ball joint in place broke. Had it happened on the freeway the van most likely would have flipped over. These amazing things happen more than most of us realize.
DeleteMy clue was that there's a book that mentions this animal, but the movie of the book does not.
ReplyDeleteWhen Odysseus, clinging to a rock in the sea, is torn from it by the undertow, Homer says it’s like when an octopus is ripped from her lair with pebbles clinging to her suckers. But no octopus actually appears as part of the story – she’s just a metaphor – so there’s no octopus in the movie.
Oh, and last thread I said I had a book recommendation for Iris: it’s Other Minds, by Peter Godfrey-Smith. Then later I asked where is my brain today, and Jan noted that the answer might be TMI. Both of us were adverting to the fact that octopuses have several brains, including brains at the ends of their arms.
My clue: "I solved it lightning fast. Now I'm cracking open a beer to celebrate." Lightning was alluding to Flash the Sloth (one of the most hilarious movie segments I've ever seen). The beer was for Judy Hopps, the first rabbit on the Zootopia police force.
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
DeleteWas attempting to add a link to the funny scene, but don't know how. If you haven't seen Zootopia, you owe it yourself to search for "Flash the Sloth". Most of the clips out there are 4+ minutes. You'll thank me later. If not, you've given up 4+ minutes that you'll never get back. 😂
DeletePuzzleria! is again very proud to present our friend Jeff Zarkin's creativity on this week's editon of Puzzleria. Jeff has generously prepared a sextet of posers: a "Jefferific Appetizer" entitled:
ReplyDeleteRearranging the office assets?; “Here, have a new venue!”; “‘Anagranimal’ New Kingdom?” An Anagrammatic Quartet; “Bonbon” alas is a “No-no”; Featured Creatures!
You will not find word puzzles more excellent than Jeff's anywhere else on the Internet!
Also on our menus this week's Puzzleria menus:
* a Schpuzzle of the Week titled Minty-Fresh Verbal Numismatics
* a Redundant Hors d’Oeuvre titled “A recording... that is a type of recording”
* a “Disorienting Slice” titled A Doc prescribes some ,“peRXinate!”
* a Transposing and Spoonerizing Dessert titled “Impeding a pet and a punt,” and
* Eight riffs of this week's Sam Ezersky-composed NPR Challenge Puzzle Riffing Off Will Shortz And Ezersky Entrees, titled “Octopi Occupi the Ocean Floor”... including six riffs and one riff, respectively, from resident riffmeisters Nodd and Plantsmith.
Note: I am running a bit behind, but I promise to upload this week's edition of Puzzleria! as soon as I can today, Thursday, July 23. Thank you.
Lego...
Join me now as I applaud
ReplyDeleteOur friend, cephalopod.
Undersea his grays look duller
But he’s capable of color!
Watch him, in the vasty deeps
Changing, while he dreams and sleeps.
This chromatophoric mollusk
Splatters hues like Jackson Pollock!
If you’ve three or four o’ these
Then you’ve got octopodes.
If the Greek you’d not apply,
The specious plural ‘octopi’
Is frowned upon. Less dubious is
Just to call them ‘octopuses’.
That's terrific! Is it original?
DeleteThank you, it is!
DeleteBy Crito, inspired by the work of Ogden Nash.
I was guessing either him or Calvin Trillin. Kudos!
Deletejan, Everything is original, even Vintage Lanvin My Sin Perfume a.k.a. original sin. Very clever poem.
DeleteCrito,
DeleteYou are truly a poet!
LegoWhoIsTrulyAPoetaster(ButWhoAppreciatesRealPoetry)
Blaineville”s Poet Laureate.
DeleteZOOTOPIA, OCTOPI
ReplyDeleteMy Musical Clue of Todd Rundgren was because his band was called UTOPIA.
I didn't dare use my initial clue of GENTLE GIANT, who had an album called OCTOPUS.
Zootopia, octopi
ReplyDeleteLast Sunday I said, “The eggs and bacon I ate for breakfast was very satisfying.” Ate --> 8 --> octopus --> octopi.
Before I solved it, your clue caused me to look for movies with pigs and chickens, despite knowing that Blaine would have removed something so obvious.
DeleteI had commented, "I would have preferred that this puzzle had aired closer to when the Oscars are awarded." As in, closer to Pi Day, since the answer included octopi.
ReplyDelete"ZOOTOPIA", OCTOPI
ReplyDeletepjbFoundThisOneMuchEasierThanTheCurrentCropOfPuzzleria!Riff-Offs,That'sForSure
Here is this week's puzzle, from the NPR Sunday morning e-mail newsletter: "There is a set of five five-letter words that vary by just their middle letter. If the middle is any letter from K through O, it makes a common word. However, no other letter can go in the middle to complete a word. What words are these?"
ReplyDeleteThe puzzle is up now on the NPR site and was submitted by Evan Kalish, of Bayside, N.Y.
DeleteWow, that is incredibly cool. What an observation! (No clue here -- I don't have it yet.)
ReplyDeleteGot it! But it’s going to be tough to clue.
ReplyDeleteOkay I have it. Still think it's a great observation.
ReplyDeleteHmm, what's a clue that won't help anyone...
Well, here is a metaclue. I was going to give this clue:
"One of the words has a _____,"
but then I thought I'd better not, even though that fact about the set of five words is not a very useful fact.
Sweet!
ReplyDeleteAnagram the common letters to name an actor.
ReplyDeleteIf my solution is correct (note, it doesn’t match Jan’s clue) three of the words are adjectives, one is a noun, and one may be a noun, but often isn’t.
ReplyDeleteYeah that fits mine.
DeleteIt does fit Jan's clue, only the actor is not very famous. The actor was in a movie that is maybe best known for being in another movie. (At least I think that's right -- I'm not totally clear on this.)
Same here (I think). Tough one.
DeleteThe actor I get won an Oscar award few years ago.
DeleteNo kidding!
DeleteOkay, well, I do see another actor, an anagram of the actor I found. But none of them has won an Oscar. I wonder if there are alternative answers to this puzzle -- that would really be amazing!
Correction, I’ve now found the actor…
DeleteI found three actors, but only one with an Oscar win.
Delete