tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5730391.post418490242978400922..comments2024-03-28T16:39:55.561-07:00Comments on Blaine's Puzzle Blog: NPR Sunday Puzzle (July 31, 2022): American TV PersonalityBlainehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06379274325110866036noreply@blogger.comBlogger163125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5730391.post-78924178691941879912022-08-07T05:43:31.582-07:002022-08-07T05:43:31.582-07:00This comment has been removed by the author.janhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05927176621372532733noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5730391.post-23978289046783429962022-08-07T05:43:27.052-07:002022-08-07T05:43:27.052-07:00At least 500 correct responses to the Norman Lear ...At least 500 correct responses to the Norman Lear puzzle.Wolfganghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02700971115994061654noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5730391.post-27840536481511681672022-08-07T05:41:50.793-07:002022-08-07T05:41:50.793-07:00Challenge:
This is the start of a two-week creativ...Challenge:<br />This is the start of a two-week creative challenge. The object is to write a sentence using only the letters of any particular U.S. state. You can pick the state and repeat letters as often as necessary. For example:<br />NEW YORK --> No one knew we were ornery.<br />WASHINGTON --> Sighting a ghost tonight was astonishing.<br />Entries will be judged on originality, sense, naturalness of syntax, humor, and overall elegance. *No more than three sentences per entry, please.*Enya_and_WeirdAl_fanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04099999127860055027noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5730391.post-46898104270077285542022-08-07T05:40:52.467-07:002022-08-07T05:40:52.467-07:00This is the start of a two-week creative challenge...This is the start of a two-week creative challenge. The object is to write a sentence using only the letters of any particular U.S. state. You can pick the state and repeat letters as often as necessary. For example:<br />NEW YORK --> No one knew we were ornery.<br />WASHINGTON --> Sighting a ghost tonight was astonishing.<br />Entries will be judged on originality, sense, naturalness of syntax, humor, and overall elegance. *No more than three sentences per entry, please.*janhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05927176621372532733noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5730391.post-83356170339029557602022-08-06T10:10:11.377-07:002022-08-06T10:10:11.377-07:00Dictionaries tell us, among other things, what wor...Dictionaries tell us, among other things, what words mean and how to pronounce them.<br />Secondary pronunciations sneak into the language and must be accommodated, no matter how much they grate. Examples are harass, patina and even arctic.<br />The rules of grammar are about how to use them.<br />The rules about the use of adverbs are the ones that Will Short and Steve Baggish decided in ignore in their excitement of finding a sort of cute phase about a famous person who just turned 100.<br />It is obviously not very important, but points out a theme common in Sunday Puzzles: The Master's carelessness.<br /><br />Mendo Jimhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06481821676197739907noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5730391.post-15883822502075678602022-08-06T05:00:34.649-07:002022-08-06T05:00:34.649-07:00Dictionaries are books that ram us with how to pro...Dictionaries are books that ram us with how to pronounce words.skydiveboyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17174073226290431753noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5730391.post-76484631894874138202022-08-06T02:44:59.019-07:002022-08-06T02:44:59.019-07:00"Dictionaries hold a mirror up to the lexicon..."Dictionaries hold a mirror up to the lexicon." And if the mirror doesn't fog, the lexicon is dead.janhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05927176621372532733noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5730391.post-66792072729487717242022-08-06T02:32:20.857-07:002022-08-06T02:32:20.857-07:00I thought it was "Harpy Collies."I thought it was "Harpy Collies."skydiveboyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17174073226290431753noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5730391.post-9463378783676469832022-08-05T23:47:03.097-07:002022-08-05T23:47:03.097-07:00Dog doo write a dictionary?
That must be the one b...Dog doo write a dictionary?<br />That must be the one by "Harper Collies."<br /><br />LegoWhoAdds"OrPerhapsTheOneByBarkhart"legolambdahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18081014756741740081noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5730391.post-14274211546481800152022-08-05T22:25:34.066-07:002022-08-05T22:25:34.066-07:00Ah yes, and when you think of it "we do"...Ah yes, and when you think of it "we do" and dog doo are not all that different.skydiveboyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17174073226290431753noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5730391.post-58377644017803062212022-08-05T22:01:38.643-07:002022-08-05T22:01:38.643-07:00Here is the point where I pull out the old "O...Here is the point where I pull out the old "Our language is a <a href="https://artandhome.net/words-that-have-changed-meaning/" rel="nofollow">'living organism,'</a> not a relic frozen in time" card.<br />The <em>only</em> definition of <a href="https://johnsonsdictionaryonline.com/views/search.php?term=awful" rel="nofollow">"awful"</a> in Samuel Johnson's 1747 dictionary, for example, is not either of the first two entries in <a href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/awful#:~:text=1%20%3A%20extremely%20disagreeable%20or%20objectionable%20awful%20food,presence%20of%20Nature%20in%20all%20her%20awful%20loveliness." rel="nofollow">the current M-W</a>.<br />Meanings and usages of words change over time. Dictionaries hold a mirror up to the lexicon, written and spoken, at any one particular point in time. To not include the "negative" meaning of "awful" in a modern dictionary, for one example, would smack of lexical malfeasance. To turn a deaf ear and blind eye to the use of "artic" and "preventative" by the "great unwashed masses" would be equally irresponsible.<br />Merriam, Webster, Johnson, Barnhart, Collins, Macmillan, etc. don't write dictionaries... we do! <br /><br />LegoWhoseRantsAreBeginningToSoundMoreAndMoreLikeThoseOfThatGuyAtTheCheersBarInBostonWhoSatOnHisArseOnAB</em>arse</em>toolNearNorman! legolambdahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18081014756741740081noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5730391.post-91655643939935589882022-08-05T21:57:54.014-07:002022-08-05T21:57:54.014-07:00This comment has been removed by the author.legolambdahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18081014756741740081noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5730391.post-77502210923508314172022-08-05T21:04:10.014-07:002022-08-05T21:04:10.014-07:00https://www.washingtonpost.com/national/sandy-hook...https://www.washingtonpost.com/national/sandy-hook-parents-alex-jones-claims-created-living-hell/2022/08/03/7a89ee6c-131c-11ed-8482-06c1c84ce8f2_story.html<br /> <br />This is a link to a Washington post article on Alex Jones. I hope it works.<br />He originally offered exactly $8.00 in compensation to the family. $1.00 for each of the eight charges brought against him. I guess it is easy to keep up with the Joneses. I never heard of anything in my life as twisted as this. Alex Jones is so bad in a schadenfreude kind of way, that I actually feel better about myself and any rotten things I've ever done.Musinglinkhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03427577554210474654noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5730391.post-44732555747611528562022-08-05T20:29:34.546-07:002022-08-05T20:29:34.546-07:00Goodness, gracious.. Goodness, gracious.. Musinglinkhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03427577554210474654noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5730391.post-59649252474506070802022-08-05T18:54:59.627-07:002022-08-05T18:54:59.627-07:00A Janesville couple celebrating their 56th wedding...A Janesville couple celebrating their 56th wedding anniversary with a trip to the nation's capital were killed Thursday night in a lightning strike at Lafayette Park across from the White House, District of Columbia officials and a family member said Friday. The victims were identified as James Mueller, 76, and Donna Mueller, 75.<br /><br />Apparently they were trying to put some spark back into their marriage.skydiveboyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17174073226290431753noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5730391.post-88908909661947637222022-08-05T17:04:19.570-07:002022-08-05T17:04:19.570-07:00It appears that it may becoming easier for us to k...It appears that it may becoming easier for us to keep up with the Joneses.skydiveboyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17174073226290431753noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5730391.post-7395464509762790662022-08-05T16:33:49.078-07:002022-08-05T16:33:49.078-07:00While this is a grammar question I am not bothered...While this is a grammar question I am not bothered by, I must say I lean more towards MJ's post. "But if M-W says "near dead" is okay, then it is okay with me." M-W is not saying it is okay. Dictionaries, M-W included, are not in the business of making up words, nor are they making the rules. They are simply reporting the common usage. If enough ignorant people among us keep misusing a word or a phrase, as they do, then eventually this misuse will be reported in the dictionaries. <br /><br />The correct word is: ARCTIC, not ARTIC, but that annoying pronunciation is now accepted by dictionaries because of the constant misuse. Same with: PREVENTIVE, which is more often pronounced PREVENTATIVE, which is redundant and now accepted due to sloppy usage. skydiveboyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17174073226290431753noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5730391.post-80451985095153343552022-08-05T15:27:41.603-07:002022-08-05T15:27:41.603-07:00I have always understood "near normal" a...I have always understood "near normal" as an elliptical phrase, short for "near <i>that which is</i> normal." That elliptical would be grammatically acceptable.<br /><br />Although, now that I come to think of it (again), that would make "near" a <i>preposition</i> (rather than an adjective), per <a href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/near" rel="nofollow">M-W entry 2 of 4 for "near"</a>.<br /><br />I stand (self-)corrected. (Thank you, Lego!)Wolfganghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02700971115994061654noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5730391.post-16551430239282004972022-08-05T15:20:10.138-07:002022-08-05T15:20:10.138-07:00$45 million isn't bad.$45 million isn't bad.janhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05927176621372532733noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5730391.post-37925779838175975252022-08-05T15:06:24.736-07:002022-08-05T15:06:24.736-07:00"Nearly dead", most sincerely.<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4vFRB61xyls" rel="nofollow">"Nearly dead", most sincerely.</a>janhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05927176621372532733noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5730391.post-15595751086328237452022-08-05T15:03:47.269-07:002022-08-05T15:03:47.269-07:00Good question, Mendo Jim.
I suspect that Will may ...Good question, Mendo Jim.<br />I suspect that Will may have already encountered "the use of 'near' as an adjective" in the course of his wordplay workings. M-W is considered a reputable lexicon, last time I checked.<br />Do I prefer "near dead" to "nearly dead?" No, I do not. "Nearly dead" sounds "better" to my "proper-usage-indoctrinated-ears." But if M-W says "near dead" is okay, then it is okay with me.<br />Had I submitted this puzzle to Will Shortz, I would have linked to the Merriam-Webster definition of "near" in an attempt to lobby for the legitimacy of its usage in the puzzle.<br /><br />LegoWhoNotesThatIronicallyWordsThatEndIn"ly"Are<b>NearlyNormally</b>Adverbslegolambdahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18081014756741740081noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5730391.post-42276594577850655302022-08-05T14:58:21.607-07:002022-08-05T14:58:21.607-07:00Thank you all! That is really helpful. I kept thin...Thank you all! That is really helpful. I kept thinking I wasn't making them tricky enough :P It usually takes me a couple days to get the puzzles. Ah well. I appreciate the help! I will work on easing it up a bit.percysmomhasgotitgoingonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01911810904434692914noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5730391.post-19925366280918155572022-08-05T14:41:25.378-07:002022-08-05T14:41:25.378-07:00I've paid some attention to this story, and I ...I've paid some attention to this story, and I too hope for a much larger punitive amount. Interesting that 2 jurors voted against convicting. I think you are being overly optimistic when you say, "something is working." I see an empire in rapid decline. skydiveboyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17174073226290431753noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5730391.post-82282678313907039882022-08-05T13:34:12.973-07:002022-08-05T13:34:12.973-07:00Has anyone been following the Alex Jones trial? He...Has anyone been following the Alex Jones trial? He's been ordered to pay 4.1 million in compensatory damages to one Sandy Hook victim's family. Norman Lear spent twice that on his authentic 1776 copy of the Declaration of Independence! Frankly, I hope they get him for at least 4 million more in punitive damages, which has yet to be decided. Alex Jones followers were harassing this family so much they had to move 10 times! Because their address was constantly being leaked out, and harassment would follow. It's interesting that Donald Trump, it has been stated, will probably be spending the rest of life tangled up in legal proceedings. Finally, something is working.Musinglinkhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03427577554210474654noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5730391.post-35211167678283934252022-08-05T11:24:24.888-07:002022-08-05T11:24:24.888-07:00My clue "Aw, sweet mystery of life!" is ...My clue "Aw, sweet mystery of life!" is what Madeline Kahn sang after a rather satisfying encounter with the monster in the movie Young Frankenstein. (He had received an abnormal brain when Igor mistakenly retrieved the brain of "Abby Normal.")Scarlett https://www.blogger.com/profile/00728693990643604469noreply@blogger.com