The Current Challenge (given October 20, 2002):
Think of a familiar 9-letter word, in which the first letter immediately follows the 9th in the alphabet. The 2nd letter immediately follows the 8th in the alphabet. The 3rd immediately follows the 7th, and the 4th immediately follows the 6th. For example: SPECTATOR (S follows R, and P follows O). Unfortunately, the pattern breaks down with the remaining letters. Hint: The word is used most often in the TV and film industry. What word is it? http://www.npr.org/programs/wesun/puzzle/ I haven't been able to figure out the NPR puzzle, and I guess it will be revealed today, but I do have two 7 letter words in which the 1st letter immediately follows the 7th, the 2nd immediately follows the 6th, and the 3rd immediately follows the 5th. One of my two words is mentioned in a nursery rhyme.
Can you name my two words, or other examples?
Well, Bets, I must not be understanding your puzzle correctly. (I couldn't access the site.) From what I get, the word begins with the 10th letter of the alphabet, and is followed by the 9th, 8th, and 7th in order. This produces Jihg---, and I do not know any words that start with that.
In reply to:
Think of a familiar 9-letter word, in which the first letter immediately follows the 9th in the alphabet. The 2nd letter immediately follows the 8th in the alphabet. The 3rd immediately follows the 7th, and the 4th immediately follows the 6th. For example: SPECTATOR (S follows R, and P follows O). Unfortunately, the pattern breaks down with the remaining letters. Hint: The word is used most often in the TV and film industry. What word is it?
I think it would be better to rephrase the puzzle to avoid ambiguity:
... the first letter in the word immediately follows the word's last letter alphabetically. The 2nd letter in the word immediately follows the 8th letter alphabetically. The 3rd immediately follows the 7th, and the 4th immediately follows the 6th. Hint: The word is used most often in the TV and film industry. What word is it?
And my answer is.. I have no idea.
BTW: Greetings from Los Angeles.
This produces Jihg
Or you could look at the example:
SPECTATOR (S follows R, and P follows O)
The link above should now work, and the answer to their puzzle is one click away from there (at least as of now).
I also now know a 6 letter word that follows the same pattern. (i.e. the 1st letter of the word follows the 6th letter of the word alphabetically, the 2nd follows the 5th, and the 3rd follows the 4th)
Well, actually, it's two clicks away, but who's counting?
(picking nits with the best of 'em)
One click away from "THERE" means that it is one click away AFTER you click the link noted above. Of course, you'd have to click on Click here for the answer! in order to get there in just one more click.
However, I included the caveat, "for now," because in a week there may be a new puzzle's answer on that same page.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"The word EFFERVESCENCE is unusual because E's are spaced out in it. It has 13 letters, and E's appear in positions
1-4-7-13.
Now, think a familiar two-word phrase in 15 letters, in which the letter R appears in positions 1-4-8-12-15. These are the only R's that appear in them.
What word is it?"
- NPR Word Quiz of this Week.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Gee Bankroll, you'd think that a quiz about words would be consistent with their numbering instruction now wouldn't you?
But hey, it's only the effete happy cats at the NPR, give 'em a break.
Oh yeah, the answer is
Refrigerator Car
OK, Mr. Refrigerator Car, did you send that answer in so we all can hear you flabbergasted up to your ear bones next Sunday in the on air quiz?
No I didn't Mr. Friend-Of-Federal-Funding. I am scheduled to appear on the Rush Limbaugh television show that day, besides the NPR folk will probably want a more environmentally friendly answer like the small
rearoperator cars of the of the late sixties that ran on the exhaust fumes of the big gas-guzzling car just ahead.
They do accept alternate answers, Mr. I Don't Mind Chopping Down The Walls To Burn In The Wood Stove, if you can support them with references.
And Mr. Lush Bimbaugh and Liane Hansen/Will Shortz probably tape at a different times. No reason you can't do both.
OK, OK, Mr. I-Need-A-Laugh-At-Milum's-Expence, I'll send an alternate answer to the promoters of alternate lifestyles on National Party Radio and support it with refrences.
Which do you like best?
RET
ROCA
R STA
RTE
R - the guy with the gun at an antique car race.or...
ROA
RING
REFO
RME
R - a person who overreacts with misguided zeal to a slight of society by assuming paternal control of those slighted.
OK, Mr. I'd Rather Spend Money On Worthless Products Supporting Radio I'd Never Listen To In A Thousand Years, but I prefer RefRied RepoRteR, Someone who repeats someone else's lies rather than coming up with his own.
Good catch. I didn't notice the inaccuracy in their numbering instruction(s).
Nice answers... I am less thrilled by puzzles that have a multitude of possible answers, preferring puzzles with unique or at least limited answers (crossword puzzles come to mind). A puzzle with a myriad of answers can make for good posting material, but somehow seems inelegant.
Refrigerator Air (5190 google hits)
Refrigerator War (9 google hits....similar to the cola war)
How about RewRite RepoRteR? It garners 29 hits on a Google search. Of course it pales in comparison to the 3990 for "refrigerator car"
I'm sure we could come up with some definitions for such beauties as RefRain RecoRdeR and RegRet pReseRveR also...
...
RefRied RepoRteR,
Someone who repeats someone else's lies rather than coming up with his own. ~ faldageVery good Mr. Faldage, very good. But, you know, if you weren't caught up in the blinding moment of inspiration I bet you would have realized that you came dangerously close to name calling. I know better. You obviously know that I only listen to NPR and haven't listened to Rush in four or five years. I drink my morning coffee from a NPR mug, especially when I feel a bit lofty. I gave $50.00 to public radio this past spring. I guess you could say that I have bought my right to criticize the people who bring us Beethoven, Click and Clack, and Garrison Keillor. And I will...
By the nature of the all-inclusiveness of their politically correct assembly of
unrefried reporters they have rendered the information that they broadcast skewed toward social agendas rather than the transfer of proper semantic content. This, my friend, is the
lie inadvertent, the lie that insults the minds of free thinking men.
But then again, few listen, so its not a real big deal.
l
a d
Oh ~Fal~da~gee~Oh F a e,
g
Whasa matter u? Don't know your trees?
Name a variety of tree. Rearrange the letters, and you'll name the kind of tree it is plus something this tree produces. What tree is it?
_______________ NPR PUZZLE OF THE WEEK _____________
^
//\\
ll
ll
...and a "NO" VOTE is a VETO, NO?
Times up!
The variety of the tree is
bord lames which is french for "edge blades" for the serrated leaves of elm trees and the american elms
(Ulmus americana L.) are commonly called "
broad elms" and the products of these stately tree are, of course,
elm boards which are perfect for making furniture.
elm makes boards? elm is a good wood for furnature?
really? on which planet? the american elm, is a beautiful tree, with its V shape, but the grain of the elm is twisted and its almost impossible to cut, and harder still to plane or sand smooth.. (and no one can split it!, it just can't be done!) Elms remained after all the woods were cut down, since there was no reason to cut them.. they didn't make good firewood or furniture, or anything.. but they gave a nice soft, dappled shade, and they sure looked pretty...
it works as a words.. broad can become board... but elm boards are available the same place that stocks hen's teeth!
(even elm that have been killed off by dutch elm disease aren't cut down.. since they are even hard to cut with a chain saw- says a woman who once spent a fortune getting a elm that was cracking her house foundation cut down.)
...uh...I might have fudged a little...
But before the
Dutch Elm Blight the great elms were "admirably suited for the manufacture of cooperage, kitchenette furniture, flooring, baskets, vehicle parts, and woodenware." according to
Ellwood S. and J. George Harrar in their book "
Guide To Southern Trees".
So don't you all go thinking I made up that french part too...
"The wood of American elm is strong, split resistant and durable, and has been used for furniture, paneling, boat construction and crates. The fruits are important wildlife food, especially favored by ruffed grouse, quail and partridge."
http://floridata.com/ref/u/ulmu_ame.cfmNumerous sites on Google about the use of elm boards in furniture making.
It's an NPR quiz, so, hey, give 'em some leverage, even with Dutch Elm Disease being problematical.
By the way, if anyone's ever in Richmond, do check out the Dooley Estate, free to the public, with some of the most splendiferous, living examples of American elms anybody has ever set eyes on.
Edit:In fact, close to a thousand hits of the use of Almus americana in furniture making on Google. Here's another:
http://newton.dep.anl.gov/natbltn/200-299/nb279.htm
Ok I confess...
Will and Liane from NPR called and said that I was a crook and that the real answer is...
the group of trees know as the
conifers. And that a particular species of conifer are called
cone firs. And the products of cone firs are
fir cones.
Sometimes life can be cruel when life is so simple.
Rearrange the letters, and you'll name the kind of tree it is plus something this tree produces.
Boy, did I misunderstand the question. I thought you only had to rearrange the letters once to get the two answers.
rearrange the letters once to get the two answers.
That's what I thought. Like conifer gives us fir and cone. Cept that's backwards.
As an aside, what is the deal with public/ community media ( television and radio especially) in the US? How is it funded? Who watches it? We are required by law in Britain to own a television licence which funds the BBC stations, and the BBC has the largest audience share ( but then with only five channels the competition is not exactly beating down the door)on both tv and radio, there are no commercials on BBC channels. I get the impression that the commercial stations rule the roost over there, will someone enlighten me?
Whatever anyone tells ya about it now... in 12 years (or so) "Public (aka broadcast) TV, as we know it, will no longer be so.
We are required by law in Britain to own a television licence which funds the BBC stations,
Wha-at??? Are you serious? What if you don't even OWN a television? Commercial-free does sound good, though.
Public radio/television is funded by, in something vaguely resembling order of importance, listener-sponsors, corporate sponsorship and government funding.
The listener-sponsor funding comes from individual donations that are solicited in thrice yearly pledge drives during which they spend about twenty minutes out of every hour, usually in two ten minute segments on the hour and half hour. These drives generally last about a week to ten days.
The corporate sponsorship results in brief announcements during station breaks for the local sponsorships and during the intro or outro to a show for nation-wide sponsorships. These announcements sometimes verge on commercials; the information given can be more than a mere announcement of the name of the sponsor.
Government funding, as I understand it, is dependent on the amount raised from listener-sponsors. This funding has been decreasing in the past few years because of trickle-down tax cuts.
>"Public (aka broadcast) TV, as we know it, will no longer be so.
what musick is on about here, I think, is that while commercial stations once "ruled the roost", cable outlets have eroded their shares near to the vanishing point. 12 years could be optimistic. ("broadcast", or over-the-air stations include commercial + public)
Anyone with a television wired to a plug in their home has to have a tv license, even if it is not in use. Inspectors can levy 1000 pound fines for non compliance and repeated infractions can end you up in prison.
http://www.tv-l.co.uk/tvlic/index_frameset.html
Anyone with a television wired to a plug in their home has to have a tv license, even if it is not in use. Inspectors can levy 1000 pound fines for non compliance and repeated infractions can end you up in prison. ~ DodyskinIf you are 74 or over you will be eligible for either a free Over 75 TV Licence or a Short Term Licence (or until you pass away, whichever comes first). It is important to remember that you still need a licence. Your free licence will not be issued automatically, you do have to apply for it. Of course if you are blind you merely need to fill out a series of forms and you can watch TV free forever upon approval of your submitted application.
And if you are blind and over 74, well...hey, we all should be so lucky . ~ Information URL site (slightly modified)Now that, my distant friends, is a scary law. I'd bet the lot of your Tower Jewels that this crass affront to free information flow everywhere was enacted while your paternalistic labour boys were in power. Right?
Good Lord I hope so...
>'d bet the lot of your Tower Jewels that this crass affront to free information flow everywhere was enacted while your paternalistic labour boys were in power. Right?
In the catchy words of Charlie Daniels, "I'll take that bet and you're gonna regret because" the Labour Party first came to power not less than 2 years after the BBC licence fee was established.
So, how's milum gonna get the Tower Jewels for you?
>So, how's milum gonna get the Tower Jewels for you?
I don't know, but if he values his personal integrity, I expect him to keep his word. I would accept the cash equivalent, though, since I'm a reasonable man.
So, how's milum gonna get the Tower Jewels for you?
I don't know, but if he values his personal integrity,
I expect him to keep his word.**************************************************
_________________BILL OF SALE_____________________ In consideration of the forgivement of all war debts
incured by Great Britian in the just and noble war
against the Huns
I do hereby award Milo Washington on behalf of the American people
the Crown Jewels with the understanding that
they remain in the Tower of London for safekeeping.
___________________Signed__Lord George Dinwiddle HMJP
acting on behalf of King George the Sixth and the British Empire.
___________His Seal -> >o< on this date July 4, 1946.***********************************************************************************************
________________NOTE OF TRANSFER_______________ I, Milo Washington, being of sound mind do hereby
transfer ownership of the Crown Jewels to sjm to satisfy
a stupid bet I made when I was drunk. The Crown Jewels
are priceless. The ownership taxes imposed by a socialist
society are three times priceless.
No. I will not take them back.____________________________________November 12, 2002
*********************************************** -
-
Thanks, Milum. I didn't want to weaken my bargaining position, but I was actually prepared to trade them for this deed to the Brooklyn Bridge I bought aeons ago.
Well, just so long as we aren't talking about the family jewels.
Well, just so long as we aren't talking about the family jewels.
What is it with you guys!?
ASp....what is it with these guys? And you the very one what got 'em talkin' 'bout baroque pianists?
In reply to:
What is it with you guys!?
AHEM! To quote Tim Rice, "I do my thinking above the waistline, sunshine."
>Who's Tim Rice?
A renowned lyricist, the man who wrote the words for most of A. Lloyd Webber's "rearrangements of Mendelssohn's greatest hits" qwuote from Rowan Atkinson
Rice also wrote the words for the musical "Chess", composed by Benny & Bjorn of ABBA fame, from which musical came my earlier quote.
Okay--now, who's Rowan Atkinson? [playing right in e]
Yeah, and I think the line was "I have my fun above the waistline, Sunshine." A perennial favorite.
Consider that nit picked.
Oh, Jackie. I have a hard time believing you haven't beeeeen introduced to Rowan Atkinson yet! Quick, someone, adder to the list of people who need a dose of culcha!
Aksherly, the pphrase was "I get my kicks above the waistline, Sunshine." Consider that nit re-picked.
Tim Rice?
Come on Jackie, you have kids. He also did the lyrics for The Lion King.
Now that, my distant friends, is a scary law. I'd bet the lot of your Tower Jewels that this crass affront to free information flow everywhere was enacted while your paternalistic labour boys were in power. Right?
Well I'd rather have a license fee than only have access to commercially run corporate stations which interrupt programmes every ten minutes with endless exhortations to CONSUME CONSUME CONSUME, telling me what to think and how to live and ending every sodding programme with some asinine moral lesson as if I need to learn how to run my life and interact with society from some electronic box in the corner. I'm ever so glad of the license fee if it saves me from outrageously biased news reporting and the 'network line' and the exclusion of gay people ( unless devoid of any sexual urges and simply reduced to the modern equivalent of black minstrels),Asians, and indeed the total exclusion of anything deemed offensive to the fundamentalist Christian lobby whereas depictions of violent murder and torture are encouraged all day every day, even in kids programmes. Okay tirade over, this'll make you laugh, blind people only get a 50% reduction off the tv license.
Dody, you have got to see Bowling for Columbine. If it hasn't made it to the UK, watch for it. I just saw it last night, and it speaks to many of your points. I'm with you, sister...
Amen, dody. This is why those of us USns who value independent thought love our NPR and our PBS (the television arm).
Bowling for Columbine just hit our small town and I hope to see it this weekend or next.
The Current Challenge (given November 10, 2002) Name a well-known European city. Remove the first two letters to get the name of another well-known European city. What cities are these? Hint: These are two major cities with populations of over 250,000. Ah Ha! NPR comes up with a tricky one. First impulse is to answer...
Venice minus Ve equals Nice, France. But no, we sophisticates know that although pronounced "Nice", the city is spelled "Neece", and therefore doesn't qualify.
But I bet my bottom dollar we can come up with another pair.
What do ya think?
And Dodyskins,
"Okay tirade over, this'll make you laugh, blind people only get a 50% reduction off the tv license." ~ Dody
You were right... On the floor.
In the hall.
On the wall.
All the way to the bank.
And back.
etc.
,
___________
Milum, sophisticates aside, I do wish you'd submit your answers as you come up with them. I'd love to hear your sugar molasses tones on the radio battling witz wit Will Shortz.
The Current Challenge (given November 17, 2002):
Think of a famous actress with a last name in 5 letters. Rearrange these letters to get the last name of another famous actress.
Rearrange again, adding a "T" at the end to get the last name of a famous actor in 6 letters.
What names are these?
_________________________Greta Garbo
_________________________Za Za Gabor
_____________________Humphrey Bogart
Dammit! Submit your answer, already!
I agree, Elizabeth. I've been tuning in to the NPR puzzle for a couple of years now, and once in a while I send in an answer. As it happened I had e-mailed this week's response before seeing it posted here. But as a puzzle fanatic I like to figure it out myself and not see it posted by someone else.
Well Slithy, if this quiz is fun for you, I'll not answer it anymore. Be cool.
Milo.
Well, that's right nice of y'all, Milum...