I got it on the fourth try.Q: Think of a famous movie villain. Insert one letter to get the brand name of a household product. Then change one letter of the product to get the last name of another famous movie villain. Who are the characters, and what is the product?
A: DR. NO, DRANO, DRAGO
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Never saw either film, but I used the product. What a waste!
ReplyDeleteOne of the names has appeared in multiple movies, with different hero’s.
ReplyDeleteRead the villain's first name backwards to get a name from another movie.
ReplyDeleteI don't understand SuperZee's clue, but I do have the same answer as Jan.
ReplyDeleteInstead of going for a last name, on the final step, you could change a letter of the product to get the first name of a movie villain.
Yes, but like most of these puzzle, this is for an older audience.
DeleteCrito - Matthew 20:16 may help you understand.
DeleteCrito-as it turns out, there is a better solution than my initial one. Details Thursday.
Delete86 the villain.
ReplyDeleteIt's 8:38 on the east coast and I have yet to see the puzzle for August 16th posted.
ReplyDeleteBlaine, it may be the familiarity of puzzling with you here for 13 years, but your clue took me right to the answer.
ReplyDeleteThe puzzle still,isn't available online. How did Blane get the puzzle and the answer before it was even online?
ReplyDeleteI subscribe to the NPR "Up First" newsletter which is published each Sunday morning. It has the puzzle. I learned of that "trick" from SDB.
DeleteShhhh. Don't tell. Everyone should think you are omniscient, simply residing in the ether and answering all puzzles as soon as they emerge.
DeleteI thought of the first two answers as soon as Will read the challenge. A clue ? I don't have a clue.
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteAgain, I ask, how did Blaine get the puzzle AND the answer before it was published on line. In the East, our puzzle segment is at approximately 8:45 a.m. So, how?
ReplyDeleteYes, it's true that Blaine resides outside the Bay Area in California. Which you would think is three hours behind the NPR Offices. But Blaine knows a shortcut so he is, in fact, 21 hours ahead of NPR.
DeleteCorrect, it is Monday morning here. 😜
DeleteI have the answer to this one, but it's not on the NPR website. How are we supposed to even send in the @#$%(figure out what curse word I'm thinking of for that one, y'all are so smart)answer in the first @#$% place?!?!?!?!?!
ReplyDeletepjbShouldJustEndThisPostWith"FrustratedInAlabama",AsThoughThisWereALetterToDearAbbyBackInTheDay!
Dear FrustratedInAlabama,
DeleteI always send postcards.
-- AbbyBackInTheDay
It's up.
DeleteI can think of an animal that unites all three.
ReplyDeleteWhile I appreciate Blaine’s clue, I got it on the 3rd try. Once again, this puzzle uses a bit of poetic license.
ReplyDeleteIt took me 7 tries.
ReplyDeleteIt took me a while, too. For a time, I was struggling with answers that almost, but not quite, worked, but I am persistent.
ReplyDeleteI wonder if we were in the same rabbit hole…..
DeleteMaybe. What I said is true, but there is an oblique hint, too.
DeleteNary anything over here. Not a clue.
ReplyDeleteToo tough for me. At age 88 I don't have time for an Infinity of attempts!!
DeleteThe villain is related to some earlier puzzles. Speaking of movie villains, was the lady JAWS was reminded of in a clue for the trampoline, tramline puzzle Lady Tremaine? I was wondering because Tremaine sounds like Tramline. Is that correct, JAWS?
ReplyDeleteSorry, between traveling for a funeral, and some other things, I have been quite busy, and not taking time to post on this site. On the trampoline puzzle, I was reminded of Lady and the Tramp.
DeleteAs for today's puzzle, I do not yet have the answer. I thought I had something that would work as the second villain and household product, but it does not work backwards to another villain. Hmm, now with a Google search, the answer I have does technically work, but the first villain does not seem famous to me.
There was a Dr. Oz, Dr. No puzzle on September 8, 2019, and James Bond was in the Loo, 007 puzzle on August 1, 2021. My question to JAWS had a hint. The Dr. Oz, Dr. No puzzle had an alternate solution of Jase, Jaws, and the Loo, 007 puzzle was the puzzle before the first trampoline, tramline puzzle on August 8, 2021.
DeleteThink of a popular song of the 80s. Then think the opposite.
ReplyDeleteOr, think of a popular song of the '60s without thinking of the opposite.
DeleteAnd then think of a tagline for a popular film of the 80s. Then think the opposite.
DeleteChange the fourth letter of the product to another letter and you’ll get the first name of a well-known antagonist.
ReplyDeleteFrom the Department of Redundancy Department.
DeleteYes; Crito made the same point earlier. I suspect the first name version is better known than the second name version. I had to recheck the wording and do some research to get the intended answer. In the process, I came to appreciate Blaine's comment
DeleteAhhh, Lancek's little note helped me understand Blaine's clue. Shoulda been obvious!
DeleteObviously I must have misread the puzzle the first time. I immediately thought of the "first-name" antagonist, not the "last-name" one, as the second villain. Upon checking it again on the website, I then thought of the other name, and had to look it up to make sure. Three different film franchises for all these villains, BTW!
DeletepjbHasNeverReallyWatchedAnyOfTheseFilmsAtAll,Ironically!
I'm just excited I understood Blaine's clue
ReplyDeleteMe too (or at least I think I did).
DeleteThis is all so petty! I'm going over to the angels' side.
ReplyDeleteTom PETTY wrote “Stop DRAGGIN’ My Heart Around” and sang it along with Stevie NICKS.
DeleteNIX, 86, & NO are all terms of negation.
DRACO, the Latin word for DRAGON,is the first name of a Harry Potter antagonist, and I’ll bet Mr. Stallone had something similar in mind when naming his Rocky IV antagonist IVAN DRAGO.
IVAN backwards is NA’VI, a species of blue aliens. I kinda remembered DRANO crystals being bluish, but maybe “silver-aqua” is more accurate. Close, I figured, but maybe not close enough to make “Tommy James” a persuasive clue.
So, in the spirit of “close enough”, I reasoned that if my body is a temple of God, and a temple is kinda like a house, then the line between “household product” and “personal care product” is blurry enough that HALO shampoo should count. I only really remembered that brand because practically every “movie villains” list I consulted mentioned the malevolent AI in “2001: A Space Odyssey”. Then I found that “Killers of the Flower Moon’ deals with a real-life scoundrel named William King HALE. Triptych complete.
Well, I'm pretty sure it's not Syndrome from The Incredibles. The correct villain came to me immediately as I was reading the puzzle online. I can't say it's a repeat, but it seems very familiar
ReplyDeleteThe answer sneaks up on you like a snake.
ReplyDeleteWordle today was easier to solve.
ReplyDeleteprovided you don't get caught in the piano trap.
DeleteI eliminated that possibility quickly. Mine was more basic.
DeleteNo clue.
ReplyDeleteClearly, when I get stuck on the puzzle, I need to post on here that I'm stuck. Once again, minutes after I posted, the answer popped into my head.
ReplyDeleteI commented above about an answer that technically works, but the first villain is not famous enough in my opinion. I will explain Thursday.
There is a henchman character named Chunk in Toy Story 3. From there, you can get Chunky soup and the doll Chucky. Chunk is not really famous enough, IMHO, but it fits the pattern.
DeleteRearrange all the letters of the two villain names to get something a university hopes to produce.
ReplyDeleteI like that. I can assert that my school produced it!
DeleteI'm reminded of a disturbing nursery rhyme.
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
DeleteSorry, Blaine.
DeleteBut is the 2nd villain really a villain, Or just someone doing their job?
ReplyDeleteThe first villain's first name is also the first name of a famous basketball player.
ReplyDeleteIndeed - pretty cool of you to make that connection. Another famous basketball player has a similar sounding last name.
DeleteThanks, Snipper. As I’m sure you know, there’s another connection between the villain and the basketball player that would certainly be tmi to mention but that also drew me to the hint. Surprisingly, I have a six degrees of separation link—actually just two degrees—to the ballplayer, not that we’ve ever met or he’s ever heard of me. However, I did see him in person this past April.
DeleteI think I can see that second connection as well. And I look forward to hearing about your two degrees of separation!
DeleteThursday, Snipper, though I may be a bit late as we're traveling hundreds of miles by car to a nephew's wedding.
DeleteShouldn't the first clue in the on-air puzzle have said Coyote was opening something from Acme, instead of Roadrunner?
ReplyDeleteYeah, they fixed it in the text version posted on the web site.
DeleteCorrect, it was always Wile E. Coyote that opened the crates of Acme devices which would inevitably backfire in him. I'm not seeing the text correction Crito mentions.
DeleteUhhhh.
DeleteNeither am I! Huh.
I have no explanation for how I could have misread that when I was specifically looking to see whether it was right.
Maybe it that Acme computer you were using.
DeleteI just can't understand it. You know, I am a supergenius.
DeleteYes, we do know that, Crito, but have you consulted AI?
DeleteOr, as Linda McMahon, Trump's Secretary of Education, calls it, "A-1." https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yb-a5uX9uVY.
DeleteDon't let local transit to get your goat. Nor should you allow goats to get your local transit:
ReplyDeletehttps://www.kgw.com/article/news/local/owner-escape-artist-goats-surprised-see-them-boarding-trimet-bus/283-786d127f-55ea-43b0-8824-112c02c97538
I read about this. Will it be on Wait Wait Don't Tell Me?
DeleteThey're mostly doing greatest hits compilations over the summer. This is an okay story, but not the Greatest Of All Time....
Delete"No standing while the bus is in motion," said the driver gruffly.
DeleteThis is really baaaaad!
DeleteI realize you all saw the 2 white goats board the bus, but did anyone notice the black goat in the back?
DeleteThis puzzle is breaking me. If I don't finish it, I don't finish it. (Clue in there).
ReplyDeleteDr. No >>> Drano >>> Drago
ReplyDeleteI wrote, “86 the villain.” 86 is the atomic number of RADON, which is an anagram of DRANO. Obscure enough?
ReplyDeleteOhhhhh. I guessed you were alluding to Maxwell Smart, agent 86, but I couldn't see what the connection was.
Delete(So, yes, obscure enough!)
Dr. No >>> Drano >>> (Ivan) Drago
ReplyDeleteI had two different solutions.
My initial solution was Dr. No >>> Drano >>> (Marc-Inge) Draco, the head of the Union Corse in On Her Majesty’s Secret Service.
Based on that solution, I commented on the fact that one of the names (Draco) appears in two different movie series, as Draco Malfoy is Harry Potter’s nemesis at Hogwart’s. (Ergo my citation from Matthew, “The first shall be last…”)
But, while as head of the Union Corse, Marc-Inge Draco is certainly villainous, in the movie he teams with Bond against SPECTRE, so is not the movie's villain.
Going back to the well, I found (Ivan) Drago of the Rocky movies, a far more villainous character.
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteI wrote: “Rearrange all the letters of the two villain names to get something a university hopes to produce.” That would be “donor grad,” of which Snipper reported being one.
ReplyDeleteDr. No, Drano, Drago
ReplyDeleteMy clue was: Instead of going for a last name, on the final step, you could change a letter of the product to get the first name of a movie villain.
ReplyDeleteOthers noticed this too: Draco Malfoy, also a villain.
My clue was "The answer sneaks up on you like a snake." Plumber's snake, used to unclog drains.
ReplyDeleteI also clued "I'm reminded of a disturbing nursery rhyme." Three Blind Mice were the assassins in Dr. No.
My post:
ReplyDelete- “While I appreciate Blaine’s clue, I got it on the 3rd try”…..this refers to the 3rd time (by my count) that Dr No was an answer to the weekly challenge.
- “Once again, this puzzle uses a bit of poetic license”…..this refers to removing the period in Dr. to make the rest of the puzzle work.
And yes Lorenzo, I give money to my Alma mater as a ‘donor grad’!
I’ll await Dr. K’s reveal before addressing my comments there.
FWIW Brits regularly omit the period after Mr and Dr. They sometimes omit apostrophes where we Americans would insert them.
DeleteWhen Dr. K wrote "Or, think of a popular song of the '60s without thinking of the opposite." I took him to mean "Tell Her No" by the Zombies, which holds the world record (if there were one) for the most appearances of the word "No" in a single song (63 if you're counting). That led me to another song by The Zombies: "She's Not There," the opposite of which is the catchphrase "They're here." from "Poltergeist."
ReplyDeleteMy hint was, it took me 7 tries, a reference to 007 from "Dr. No."
ReplyDeleteI sent in DR. NO, DRANO, and DRACO, as in DRACO Malfoy, who is Harry Potter's main adversary, from Slytherin.
ReplyDeleteI clued Nary anything over here. for my fellow scientists in Blainesvillie.
Nary anything over here spells out NaOH, the chemical formula for LYE, the main component in DRANO and pretty much all drain cleaners.
DR. NO, DRANO, DRAGO
ReplyDeleteI was certain Blaine was referring to IVAN DRAGO in Rocky IV. I thought to clue something about IVAN'S name having IV embedded in it but never actually posted that.
On another front, my family has always referred to #33 as the Jesus birthday. My daughter hit her Jesus birthday today. I was then completely amused by my Whole Foods driver's name this morning. Jesus was 4 minutes later than my delivery 33 years ago. Delivery timing, whether in childbirth, comedy, or orzo procurement, is everything.
Just know that _I_ was on time. Jesus, however, was LATE. But, you know', he's Jesus, so we can cut him some slack.
DR. NO, DRANO, (Ivan) DRAGO
ReplyDelete> Add together the years since the first appearances of the villains and the product, and you get over 200.
64 + 103 + 41 = 208
> Never saw either film, but I used the product. What a waste!
Even when it works, buying Drano is like pouring money down the drain.
> Read the villain's first name backwards to get a name from another movie.
The Na'vi are the indigenous, humanoid species that inhabit Pandora in the Avatar movies.
> No clue.
!!
Dr. No, Drano, Draco
ReplyDeleteLast Sunday I said, “Think of a popular song of the 80s. Then think the opposite.” I was thinking of the song, Say Yes to Life by Gang of Four. And if you think the opposite you come up with Say No to Life, as in Dr. No.
I loved Gang of Four, but never thought of anything they did as "popular"
DeleteDR. NO, DRANO, DRAGO
ReplyDelete“but I am persistent.”
—> That is, I never take “no” for answer.
“think of a popular song of the ’60s without thinking of the opposite.”
—> There were so many possible musical hints, but in the Human Beinz’ 1967-68 hit, “Nobody But Me,” a cover of the Isley Brothers’ original, the word “no” is repeated over 100 times, and for good measure, the word “nobody” is repeated about 50 times. Music critic Dave Marsh considers it “the most negative song to hit the Top 40.”
“The first villain’s first name is also the first name of a famous basketball player.”
—> Dr. Julius No —> Julius Erving, also a “doctor,” “Dr. J”
I saw Dr. J this past April in Indianapolis during the Final Four.
Snipper, here’s my two degrees of separation story: For about a year, while in grad school, I played on a team whose center—his name was George—had played against Erving in college. (Their universities were in the same conference.) George was 6’7”, a gifted athlete, and in all the years I was active in the game the one player I thought could have made the NBA. When he let drop one day that he had played against “The Doctor,” I asked him what that had been like. George’s answer: “Freshman year Erving was a skinny Black kid from Long Island. Sophomore year, he left sneaker burns on my shoulder.” Subsequently, George became a physician, an internist, and has been in practice for over 40 years.
And, for one degree of separation, there's always Dr. J to Dr. K!
DeleteGreat story Dr. K! I’m sure George hasn’t looked back since. It also reminds me of when I thought I was a good basketball player and then went to a sports camp and found out otherwise, which led me to take up tennis which I’ve been playing my whole life since!
DeleteWell I was as wrong as can be in seeing a Zombie reference in Dr. K's hint. And giving them an award for the most negative song that they had not earned.
DeleteI just learned that Dave Marsh died last week. A loss--he refused to mince his words, no matter how big a following the singer (Dylan) or ban (Zep, Dead) had.
Near misses: I quickly had Degree (deodorant) to Legree, but I couldn't find a first villain. I also noticed that all three Blaine villains ended in -er (Vader, Joker, Lecter), so I surmised that his "fourth try" also ended in -er. This led me to Riddle (Voldemort's real name) turning into Riddler (another Batman villain). The product could be Riddles (controversial perfumes). Unfortunately, this involved appending (not inserting) a letter.
ReplyDeleteDR. NO, DRANO, (Ivan)DRAGO
ReplyDeleteI, too, thought of DRACO(Malfoy)from the Harry Potter film series first. It was only when I checked the puzzle later Sunday afternoon that I saw it said LAST name, not first. Guess it was actually a good thing that the new puzzle wasn't up on the NPR website yet that morning, or I would've sent in my answer with my mistake for sure!
pjbAlsoFoundOutLaterThat,WhileDragoIsCalledA"Villain"InTheListingFor"Rocky[IV]",DracoInTheHarryPotterMoviesIsReferredToAsAn"Antagonist"(SameDifference,Right?)
AH, well. Two out of 3. My third was Draco, just cuz it sounded BAD. Didn't watch ANY of the "Rockies", and am not a fan of sly stallone either. Didn't Don Cornhole-leone give him a medal of honor or something?
ReplyDeleteI know it was fifty years ago, but I'm still entirely bent out of shape by the fact that Rocky won best picture over All The President's Men, Network, One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, and Taxi Driver. That's just not right IMHO.
DeleteCome on, Ben! Haven't you figured out yet that the AW is nothing but a self serving bunch of greedy conservatives who care little if anything about quality. This country runs on $$$$. You didn't even mention losers such as On the Beach and Brokeback Mountain.
ReplyDelete