Friday, July 18, 2014

All Worn Out; Gram-o-Phone; Light Dressing




Welcome again to Joseph Young’s Puzzle -ria! T.G.I.F. … Think Good, It’s Friday. Time to polish off some puzzles!

Our theme this week springs from this ditty:
Baseball, 
Apple pie, 
Chevrolet and 
Hotdogs. 
Yeah, I know, in the song Hotdogs are supposed to be sung between Baseball and Apple pie, but there is a method to my misplacement. I wanted the four initial letters to spell out BACH, as in Johann Sebastian, who composed the Goldbug Variations with his collaborators King Midas, Auric Goldfinger and some other guy.

That “other guy” is a part of the answer to the following Bonus One-hit Wonder Slice (BOWS):
A one-time Delaware Primary winner who is a goldbug (gold standard proponent) and a singer of a 35-year-old “one-hit wonder” tune go by the same first name. If you replace the last letter of the goldbug’s last name with the two letters flanking that letter in the alphabet you will form the singer’s last name. Who are this goldbug and singer?

(The “one-hit” has a Shakespeare title character in its title. Both men are still alive. Their first name is popular and common, but no president or vice-president has had this first name.)

But now, back to…

Baseball!
On this date 87 years ago, July 18, 1927, Ty Cobb set a major-league baseball record by getting his 4,000th career hit. Cobb recorded 4,191 hits in his career, including four grand slam homeruns.


Cobb’s career base-hit 
record stood until Pete Rose broke it, ending his career with 4,256 hits, including one grand slam homerun which he clouted July 18, 1964.




 Apple Pie (as in Mom’s)!



Chevrolet!

Certain Chevrolets are quite pricey but also hold their value. And some are even collectible. If you are lucky enough to own one of these Chevys, it behooves you to take very good care of it, to be a motorcar custodian and a sports car steward… especially if that Chevrolet sports car is a Corvette.

Hotdogs!

On July 18, 1936, Carl Mayer, nephew of Oscar Mayer, invented a quaint entry into Americana: the Oscar Mayer Wienermobile. The first Wienermobile rolled out of General Body Company’s factory in Chicago on that July day. Today, six Wienermobiles still trundle across the U.S. fascinating children of all ages while promoting Oscar Mayer wieners. As you can see, Wienermobiles are pretty much just giant hotdogs on wheels. (paraphrased from the 440 International Those Were the Days web site.) 


Hot digs, Italian-style! 
On July 18, 64 AD, 1,950 years ago, Nero fiddled while Rome burned (see illustration atop this week’s blog).

Hot diggity...

Almost 45 years ago, on July 20, 1969, Louis Armstrong set foot on the moon and broke into a chorus of “What a Wonderful Moon.” (And many moons ago, on July 20, the creator and custodian of Joseph Young’s Puzzle -ria was born. How many moons? It’s a number with three digits that sum to 18, and multiply to 210. Not counting the number 1, it has three prime factors, one needed twice and another needed thrice to produce the number. Have I fooled the guesser? I guess we’ll guess my weight some other week!)

So, sit Bach and listen to more Variations on Goldbug as you toss Bach these slices:

Menu

Easy As Pie Slice:
All Worn Out

Name an outdoor activity that can wear you out if you overdo it. Replace one of its letters with a letter two places ahead of it in the alphabet, thereby revealing clothing that usually you wear out of doors (if you “underdo” it). What are these two words?



Sporty Slice:
Gram-o-Phone

Think of a word that can be defined* as a female athlete who participates in a particular sporting activity. Now think of a participant in that activity whose first name is an anagram of that word and whose last name is a homophone of the word. What is the word? Who is the athlete?
* The word’s primary definition relates to classical mythology. The relevant definition for our purposes is a secondary or tertiary definition in 
Webster’s New World College Dictionary
Dictionary-dot-reference-dot-com
Infoplease-dot-com.






Specialty Of The House Slice:
Light Dressing


Name a fictional character known for sometimes sporting skimpy attire. Reverse the last two letters on this character’s name. Replace the new penultimate (second-last) letter with the letter two places before it in the alphabet. The result is another fictional character whose attire makes the original character seem overdressed by comparison. Who are these characters?




Every Friday at Joseph Young’s Puzzle -ria! we publish a new menu of fresh word puzzles, number puzzles, logic puzzles, puzzles of all varieties and flavors. We cater to cravers of scrumptious puzzles!

Our master chef, Grecian gourmet puzzle-creator Lego Lambda, blends and bakes up mysterious (and sometimes questionable) toppings and spices (such as alphabet soup, Mobius bacon strips, diced snake eyes, cubed radishes, “hominym” grits, anagraham crackers, rhyme thyme and sage sprinklings.)

Please post your comments below. Feel free also to post clever and subtle hints that do not give the puzzle answers away. Please wait until after 3 p.m. Eastern Time on Tuesdays to post your answers and explain your hints about the puzzles. We plan to serve up at least one fresh puzzle every Friday.

We invite you to make it a habit to “Meet at Joe’s!” If you enjoy our weekly puzzle party, please tell your friends and frenemies about Joseph Young’s Puzzle -ria! Thank you.












46 comments:

  1. And I always thought it was Neil on the moon! Happy early birthday, Joe. Shall we sing you a Paul McCartney song in your honor?

    Is that a photo of your actual mom with the apple pie? Fantastic smile and flaky pie crust--a great combination!

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    Replies
    1. Word Woman,
      I stand corrected. It was indeed Neil on the moon. But he disembarked not from a LEM (Lunar Excursion Module) but from an IH (International Harvester) Tractor.

      Sing instead a Koko Taylor song in my honor. I don’t want to rush things.
      When Sir Paul approached that certain age, he must have felt similar to how Prince felt as 1999 approached, how Stanley Kubrick and Arthur C. Clark felt as 2001 approached, and how the ghost of George Orwell felt as 1984 approached.

      The woman pictured with the pie is not my mother, but she does remind me of almost every mother (past a certain age) I’ve ever met. My mother was blessed with a somewhat dichotomous combination: a fantastic smile and flaky progeny.

      KokoLambda

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  2. Assuming you count 12 moons per year, we were born in the same year.

    EAPS was EAP.

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  3. I generally don't like to brag, but I have a personal connection to SOTHS.

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  4. Unfortunately, the SS female athlete never got to compete in the Olympics in Greece.

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    Replies
    1. David,
      Looks like you’re batting three-for-three. (Yes, I do count 12 moonths per year.)

      A personal connection to SOTHS? Let’s just say we are impressed, especially so if your connection involves the more modestly attired character.

      Regarding your comment about the SS athlete… yes, that would have been quite fitting. Even Zeus would have smiled.

      LegoLympus

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  5. Interesting on BOWS that neither has the "go by the same first name" as their given first name (if you believe Wikipedia).

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  6. Thank you, David, my friend who was born in my same year. Have you celebrated your birthday yet in 2014, or still waiting? The year I was born and the year my sister was born, are twin primes, although, of course, we are not twins (or even Geminis!). However, all four digits in her birth year are squares, and one of the three two-digit numbers embedded with in the year is a square.

    LegOliva (Why did I write "Oliva"?)

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    Replies
    1. Have another great trip around the sun, Joe, and belated birthday greetings to you, also, David, for your 05/20/52 birthday.

      As to Oliva, Lego, we have a saying about rocks in the field. At the end of the day, when the pack is filled with rocks and you want to pick up one more, your field partner/Sherpa says "Oh, leave er right there." AKA olivarite. Is that what you mean? ;-)

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    2. Word Woman, we are looking for a prime numbered year for DOB.

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    3. This comment has been removed by the author.

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    4. Word Woman,
      But David’s birthday could be May 10 also, righto? Or May 30 if he was born the same year as my younger brother.

      Regarding Oliva, that is not what I meant, but I still like your meaning better. (Geologists actually trot Sherpas out into the rock fields with them? Like PGA tour golfers cart caddies out with them around the course?! C’mon you olivi-elite rock jockeys. Put that pack on your own back, knick-knack paddywack, give the Sherps a break! {Wo}man up and o-live-a-rite!)

      My Oliva-garden-variety meaning is more mundane and relates to Minnesota baseball.

      Regarding “olivarite”: Coining eponymous names for newly discovered minerals again, are we, Word Woman?

      LegOlivaRitin’WordWoman

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    5. Of course, 5/10/51, Monsieurs! Now I am trying to make you two a year younger than you are. Simply a fifty-one-derful year to be born.

      Olivarite has been around for a rock of ages...AKA Leaverite by the Leave it to Beaver set. Field partners may be either other geologists or, in one case, a fellow hired to "protect" me in the wilds of Mexico. By the end of the field season he finally let me carry some rocks too!

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    6. My LegOliva sign-off was an allusion to Tony Oliva, a Cuban-born boyhood hero of mine with whom I share a birthday. In his late 20’s Tony-O blew his knee out when he stepped on an exposed sprinkler head in some outfield. Otherwise he would have been a shoo-in Hall of Famer.

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    7. Decent batting average and a winning smile. Too bad about Oliva's knee. . .

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  7. I happen to be the oldest. My brother is as many years younger as your sister is older. My birth date in mmddyy could be written abcabc.

    Now, a birthday riddle. After the gendarme's rehabilitation, with the invaluable help of his spouse, he went back to work. On his first day back at work, he lost both of his feet in another tragic workplace accident. At that point, his spouse asked for a divorce. Why?

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    Replies
    1. David, what was your birthday riddle answer?

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    2. She was lack toes intolerant.

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    3. Groan. I went round and round with no pieds. . .

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    4. David,

      I second Word Woman’s “Groan!” But I still think it is a solid birthday riddle and a fair answer. I too was hung up on “pieds” (which I’ve always had difficulty pronouncing).

      If the guy was no longer a gendarme, and lived in Cleveland, I might have had a better shot at solving it. Looking too much for a French angle.

      Thanks for the bonus PSSPSS for my birthday.

      LegoToesIntolerant

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  8. David,

    Thanks for the thoughtful, thought-provoking birthday riddle. I will devote my time and provoke my thoughts with it tomorrow during my birthday afterglow. Your new puzzle “flows” from your recent excellent Parisian Sewer System Puzzle Sequel Slice (PSSPSS) which I have copied below (along with its answer) for those who may have missed it.

    David’s post from last week:
    ...A French riddle:
    Question: What do you call a French person who, in a tragic toilet cleaning accident, has everything from the right finger tips to the right shoulder flushed into the famous Paris sewer system?
    Answer: A Gendarme

    LegoYellowJohnnedIce

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  9. Joseph Young’s Puzzle -ria patrons,

    The consensus this week over at An Englishman Solves American Puzzles (AESAP) and Blainesville is that Will’s NPR puzzle this week is “a can of corn,” as Dizzy Dean might have said. (That is, it is easy.)
    It reads:

    Q: Name something in five letters that's nice to have a lot of in the summer. Change the last letter to the following letter of the alphabet. Rearrange the result, and you'll name something else that you probably have a lot of in the summer, but that you probably don't want. What is it? (HINT: the second thing is a form of the first thing.)

    Yes, it is relatively easy… But now, for something completely “winter-ent!” A “change of seasons” puzzle slice that adds a tough-ice-encrusted topping to this kinda lukeywarm mooshy NPR puzzle. It is created not with cans of corn but with cans of snow peas and HardScrabble-brand alphabet soup!

    So, re-read the above NPR puzzle, solve it, then continue solving this extension to the NPR puzzle:

    To the end of the “second something,” add two letters: a replica of a letter from the second something, and the letter that got changed in the original “something,” thereby forming a new seven-letter something it is nice to have lots of in the winter.

    To this new “something” add a letter near the middle of the alphabet and rearrange the result to form two new words: something else you probably have lots of in the winter, but don’t want, and something most people never want… no matter what season of the year it is.
    Name these three new “somethings” (HINT: the “something else” is not a form of the “new something.” The last something is a form of insanity.)

    LegoSoapboxing

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    1. How about SWEATER, EEL, WARTS? ;-)

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    2. How about SWEATER, SLEET, WAR?

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    3. Good work ron and Word Woman. Your solving process reminds me of the old G.E. College Bowl in which, If I correctly recollect, teams could sometimes confer on certain questions and solve them as a team.

      LegoLambdaPanelist

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  10. Easy As Pie Slice:
    All Worn Out

    Name an outdoor activity that can wear you out if you overdo it. Replace one of its letters with a letter two places ahead of it in the alphabet, thereby revealing clothing that usually you wear out of doors (if you “underdo” it). What are these two words?

    Answer: BIKING can wear your out. A BIKINI is worn out of doors.

    Sporty Slice:
    Gram-o-Phone
    Think of a word that can be defined as a female athlete who participates in a particular sporting activity. Now think of a participant in that activity whose first name is an anagram of that word and whose last name is a homophone of the word. What is the word? Who is the athlete?

    Answer: A NAIAD is a female swimmer. The athlete is Diana Nyad.

    Specialty Of The House Slice:
    Light Dressing

    Name a fictional character known for sometimes sporting skimpy attire. Reverse the last two letters on this character’s name. Move the new penultimate (second-last) letter back two places in the alphabet. The result is another fictional character whose attire makes the original character seem overdressed by comparison. Who are these characters?

    Answer: Daisy Duke; Daisy Duck

    Bonus One-hit Wonder Slice (BOWS):

    A one-time Delaware Primary winner who is a goldbug (gold standard proponent) and a singer of a 35-year-old “one-hit wonder” tune go by the same first name. If you replace the last letter of the goldbug’s last name with the two letters flanking that letter in the alphabet you will form the singer’s last name. Who are this goldbug and singer?

    (The “one-hit” has a Shakespeare title character in its title. Both men are still alive. Their first name is popular and common, but no president or vice-president has had this first name.)

    Answer: Steve Forbes is the goldbug; Steve Forbert is the singer with his wonderful one hit “Romeo’s Tune.”

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    1. I only had BIKING/BIKINI. As the only outdoor activities I knew all ended in -ing, the only piece of clothing I could think of ending in -ini was bikini.

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    2. Tanning and tan(n)kini almost works. Naw, never mind.

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    3. Yes, ron, good solving strategy. I imagine your process might have gone something like this:

      ron pondering: Swmmini, campini, picnickini, sunbathini, frisbeeini, roller-skatini, windsurfini, rollerbladini, skateboardini, yachtini, walkini, snorkelini, fishini, parasailini, skydivini (not to be confused with those fluffy sweet confections, “sky divinity”), paintballini, golfini (Gee, and, wasn’t he in The Sopranos?), bungee-jumpini, hang-glidini, whitewater-raftini, waterboardini (Oops, sorry. That sounds like a summertime activity, but isn’t really that much fun.), rock-climbini, birdwatchini, whale-watchini, pontoonini, gardenini, spelunkini, surfboardini, joggini, canoeini, beachcombini, water-skiini, hikini…
      ron exclaiming: “Aha! Of course! Biking!”


      “She wore an itsy-bitsy, teeny-weeny yellow polka dot bicyclini!” I wonder how many people -- because they mistake its “bi-” as a prefix -- think the etymology of “bikini” has something to do with “two” (They would reason, “A bicycle has two wheels, and a {woman’s} bikini has two parts.”)

      Legini…

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    4. This is NOT how it went. Here is the actual process: running, jogging, cycling...All the outdoor activities seem to be ending in -ing. If I move the i 2 letters forward to k, I have -kng, no good, if I move the n 2 letters forward, I have -ipg, no good, but if I move the g 2 letters forward I have -ini. Ah, I can think of an article of clothing that ends in -ini, namely BIKINI and changing the final i back to g yields BIKING, an outdoor activity.

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    5. Yes, ron, yours is a much better solving strategy. What I described is the roundabout process I would have used to solve the puzzle. My apologies for presuming. Your steamlined strategy cuts right to the chase (scene… as in this movie featuring bikers and bikinis.
      Lego…

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  11. I figured out "naiad," Diana, and Nyad. I did know Ms. Nyad had changed her name to reflect her love of swimming.

    No presidents named Steve. Nor Steph! Nor Lego! I'd vote for a Lego. . .

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    1. Word Woman,

      According to this link, Ms. Nyad, was aware at the age of 6 of the meanings of the word “naiad,” which was the original spelling of her adoptive father’s family’s last name before it was changed to Nyad.

      Had Diana changed it on her own later in life to reflect her swimming prowess, the puzzle would have lost some of its luster because the “coincidence factor,” which is a key ingredient in most puzzles, would have been diminished.

      Regarding. No presidents named Steve. Nor Steph! Nor Lego… It would be a blast to market a presidential candidate (but not me, of course; I was born in Kenya) named Lego… with a video commecial:

      Pan in: to a sepia-toned close-up clip of a child’s hands putting the finishing touches on a solid log cabin made of Lincoln Logs. The canister of the toy logs is in plain view, clearly labeled Lincoln Logs.
      Announcer: “He is regarded by most historians as our finest and most solid president ever.” Fade out.
      Immediately re-pan in: to a full-color close-up clip of a child’s hands putting the same finishing touches on a an identical solid log cabin, except that it is made of vivid red Lego bricks. The canister of the toy bricks is in plain view, clearly labeled Legos.
      Announcer: “America is again in need of rebuilding and reconciliation. Isn’t it time we elect another solid head of state who can recapture Lincoln’s leg-o-cy? Vote Lego, 2016.

      We could also print up “Ego like Lego” lawn signs , bumper stickers and buttons.

      Your phrase: “No ... Steve, Nor Steph! Nor Lego…” reminded me a line from one of my favorite Van Morrison songs (and that’s saying something), which is also probably his weirdest recorded song ever.

      LeGovenmentC’estMoi

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    2. Thanks for the link, Lego. I misremembered Diana's story.

      "Ego like Lego" signs-hmmmm. Have to think about that one. ;-)

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    4. "Cogito ergo sum." Rene Descartes
      "Cogito ergo sum Lego." Rene Decheval

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    5. That is a very strange song. . .Do you know what it means?

      Lego my Eggo?

      Why "of the horse" though?

      WW

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    6. Sorry, I put Descartes before Dehorse.

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    7. I think, therefore I am Lego.

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    8. Natch. I keep looking for French answers and they are all in English! Sacre bleu, Monsieur!

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  12. Starting with the BOWS, we have Samuel Stephen "Steve" Forbert, a singer-songwriter who wrote-sang “Romeo’s Tune” and Malcolm Stevenson "Steve" Forbes, Jr. I don’t recall Mr. Forbert or his song. Thank you, DJ Google.

    For Lego, his 756 months alive (as of his 63rd birthday) is equivalent to approximately 779.226 synodic lunar months (there are other kinds of lunar months, who knew?). A synodic lunar month = 29.53059 days, thank you Dr. Google.

    For the EAPS, biking/bikini.

    For the SS, Naiad/Diana Nyad. I wrote “Unfortunately, the SS female athlete never got to compete in the Olympics in Greece.” That referenced long distance swimmers greasing their bodies.

    Finally, for the SOTHS, Daisy Duke/Daisy Duck. I wrote, “I generally don't like to brag, but I have a personal connection to SOTHS.” This references the General Lee, the car driven by Daisy’s Duke’s cousins, Bo and Luke Duke. (The personal connection is that my granddaughter is named Daisy, and has nothing to do with my knowing anyone involved in the TV show.)

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    Replies
    1. David,

      I neglected to provide a link to Steve Forbert’s Romeo’s Tune. It is an upbeat feel-good summertime song with happy piano. I couldn’t find any songs by Steve Forbes.

      I was vaguely aware of the difference in duration between our moon’s lunar cycle and our months. So, let me see if I’ve got this straight. I’m 9-years-old in dog years. Which makes me sound younger than I really am. I am also a very-spring-chicken-sounding 756-months-young, but now you’re telling me that, in synodic lunar months, I am an ancient 779-months-old!

      Daisy is a wonderful name for a granddaughter. And it integral to my favorite 2001: A Space Odyssey scene, the one where HAL sings his swan song, “Bicycle Built for Two.”

      I do have to admit, when you wrote “I generally don't like to brag, but I have a personal (emphasis added) connection to SOTHS,” I was hoping you had dated TV’s Daisy Duke in high school (Stevens H.S. in Rapid City, SD) or college (UCLA), or something like that.

      Michele Bachmann just today hinted she might run for president in 2016 (likely against the odds-on favorite to be next U.S. prez, Lego Lambda). Catherine Bach’s birth name was Catherine Bachman, so she and Michele must be related somehow. Since Catherine changed her surname to Bach though, I think she must now be somehow related to the composer of the Goldbug Variations.

      LeGoldbug

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    2. I think it goes the other way-you are 441 in dog years (and I am pushing 443).

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    3. I think (David is correct); therefore I am (much older and more depressed than I originally thought!).

      LegoDescartesBeforeTheDog

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