Welcome to
Joseph Young’s Puzzle –ria!
I, LegoLambda,
have in the past occasionally jocularly claimed powers of clairvoyance. For example, a
month ago, in the December 12, 2014 edition of Puzzle-ria!, we served up a puzzle slice titled “Hippo
Triple-Team” describing an NFL contest featuring three teams with equine
nicknames.
The answer:
Denver Broncos, Indianapolis Colts, and the penalty-flag-flinging team of
officials affectionately known as “Zebras.”
An so, on
January 11, right after the Green Bay Packers make mincemeat of the Dallas
Cowboys in a National Football Conference Divisional Playoff game, guess who is
playing an American Football Conference Divisional Playoff game?
The Colts and
the Broncos, with the Zebras officiating, that’s who! (The Zebras will not win.)
Which brings me to Word Woman and Paul, a pair of wonderful Puzzlerians! In the January 2 Puzzleria! comments section both posted several astute observations. Indeed, two of those comments (one each from Paul and Word Woman) proved to be quite clairvoyant about certain content in this week’s puzzle slices.
Which brings me to Word Woman and Paul, a pair of wonderful Puzzlerians! In the January 2 Puzzleria! comments section both posted several astute observations. Indeed, two of those comments (one each from Paul and Word Woman) proved to be quite clairvoyant about certain content in this week’s puzzle slices.
Perhaps both
Paul and Word Woman have Magic 8-Balls embedded in their brains! Or perhaps
they are the spiritual heirs to Carnac the Magnificent (see illustration at the
top of this blog).
The Carnac bit was a weird hybrid of the Oscars broadcast and Jeopardy! What are my nominees for the best answers that Carnac divined before opening the envelope to read
the answers?
That same pair
of Puzzlerians! (Word Woman and Paul) also set us off on a delightful
theological tangent with other comments they posted. Word Woman got the ball
rolling by providing a link to Enoch Light’s rendition of C’est Magnifique,” a
number from the musical “Can-Can.” Paul followed up with multiple links that, collectively, approximated a veritable Enoch Light mini-concert.
The name “Enoch”
then sent us onto a discussion of the Old Testament prophets Enoch and Elijah, and the theological controversy surrounding whether they experienced natural
deaths or their bodies were otherwise somehow “beamed up” into heaven “Star-Trek-like.”
The Bible says that Elijah went up to heaven in a whirlwind, and that Enoch
The Bible says that Elijah went up to heaven in a whirlwind, and that Enoch
Finally, Word
Woman on Thusday evening alluded to an
“E-noch knock joke.” So, first I Googled, but then I DuckDuckGoosed “Enoch-knock joke,” and found the following:
Elijah: Enoch-noch!
St. Peter: Hey! Knock it off, will ya? That’s expensive mother-of-pearl ornamental inlay molding on these gates. Use the doorbell, dumbbell!
Elijah: Oh, sorry about that. Ding-Dong!
St. Peter: Who’s there?
Elijah: Elijah.
St. Peter: Elijah who?
Elijah: The Elijah who blew up into heaven in the whirlwind...
St. Peter: Okay, whatever. But I’m afraid we’re gonna have to do something about that body. Up here in heaven we’ve got this rule: “No spirit, no soul, no service.”
Elijah: But I do have a spirit and a soul. It’s just that I still have a body, too.
St. Peter: No, no, no. That’s not how it works. You don’t get your spirit and soul until your body dies.
Elijah: That’s not what they told us down on Earth.
St. Peter: Yeah, well there are lots of misconceptions swirling around down there, kind of like the whirlwind you claim you...
Elijah: Hey, what about that guy over there? The old bloke walking with God. He’s got a body. And it looks like he might have an “in” with God, too.
St. Peter: Oh, him? That’s just Enoch.
Elijah: What makes him so special? Why did you let him in?
St. Peter: I just gave him a pass, that’s all.
Elijah: But why? He’s got a body, right, just like me?
St. Peter: Yeah, but when he approached these Pearly Gates he was 365 years old. I honestly thought he was dead.
Elijah: Dead? Enoch?
St. Peter: Hell no! He rang the everlivin’ doorbell. And if you would have done likewise, instead of perpetrating that infernal knock-knocking, I might have given you a pass, too. Holy Moses, what a dumbbell!
Incidentally, speaking of dumbbells, in a June 2014 edition of Puzzleria!, I predicted that the Minnesota Vikings and Cincinnati Bengals would compete in Super Bowl XLIX (sponsored by Ex-Lax?), less than a month away, and that the Vikings would plunder the Bengals, LIV to XIII.
“E-noch knock joke.” So, first I Googled, but then I DuckDuckGoosed “Enoch-knock joke,” and found the following:
Elijah: Enoch-noch!St. Peter: Hey! Knock it off, will ya? That’s expensive mother-of-pearl ornamental inlay molding on these gates. Use the doorbell, dumbbell!
Elijah: Oh, sorry about that. Ding-Dong!
St. Peter: Who’s there?
Elijah: Elijah.
St. Peter: Elijah who?
Elijah: The Elijah who blew up into heaven in the whirlwind...
St. Peter: Okay, whatever. But I’m afraid we’re gonna have to do something about that body. Up here in heaven we’ve got this rule: “No spirit, no soul, no service.”
Elijah: But I do have a spirit and a soul. It’s just that I still have a body, too.St. Peter: No, no, no. That’s not how it works. You don’t get your spirit and soul until your body dies.
Elijah: That’s not what they told us down on Earth.
St. Peter: Yeah, well there are lots of misconceptions swirling around down there, kind of like the whirlwind you claim you...
Elijah: Hey, what about that guy over there? The old bloke walking with God. He’s got a body. And it looks like he might have an “in” with God, too.
St. Peter: Oh, him? That’s just Enoch. Elijah: What makes him so special? Why did you let him in?
St. Peter: I just gave him a pass, that’s all.
Elijah: But why? He’s got a body, right, just like me?
St. Peter: Yeah, but when he approached these Pearly Gates he was 365 years old. I honestly thought he was dead.
Elijah: Dead? Enoch?
St. Peter: Hell no! He rang the everlivin’ doorbell. And if you would have done likewise, instead of perpetrating that infernal knock-knocking, I might have given you a pass, too. Holy Moses, what a dumbbell!Incidentally, speaking of dumbbells, in a June 2014 edition of Puzzleria!, I predicted that the Minnesota Vikings and Cincinnati Bengals would compete in Super Bowl XLIX (sponsored by Ex-Lax?), less than a month away, and that the Vikings would plunder the Bengals, LIV to XIII.
So much for my
clairvoyance!
I do, however, foresee a salvo of “solvation”
as you attack, with gusto, this week’s trio of fresh Puzzleria! menu slices:
Menu
Easy As Pi Slice:
Careering o’er the clouds
Name an adjective used often to describe
people pursuing their dream career. The adjective also describes people who
have already realized their dream career, if it is that of an astronaut, jet pilot, crop duster or some other such “soary” excuse for a profession.
What are the adjective and the product?
Regal Eagle Slice:
Name a two-word fictional city that is associated with a King. Change one of its consonants to a vowel.
The result is two synonyms that are both associated with a king.What is the city?
What are the synonyms?
Mathematical Slice:
This equality, unmercifully,
is quite strained
Replace the variable X with any substitute necessary to make the
following equation true:
A + B + C – √-1 + X + H = 21!
With what did you replace X? What does your finished equation
look like?
Note: A, B and C are not variables but constants. Each is an
irrational number and their sum is approximately 7.478… . The letters A, B, and
C should be replaced in the equation by the names of the three numbers, each spelled out in letters of the English alphabet. You must decide what order to
put the numbers in.
Note: The symbol “√” is a
radical sign, and “√-1” stands for “the square root of -1.”
Indispensable hint: The integer 21 is not a constant but rather
a “reverse variable. ” (That is, it is not a letter that represents numbers but
a number that represents letters.) It appears on the back of a certain NFL
football player’s jersey, beneath his hyphenated surname. But it would bring
smiles to his fans’ faces if the surname were replaced by his nickname. (Oh,
and such a replacement is also necessary to solving this equation.) 
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
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 about Joseph Young’s Puzzle -ria! Thank
you.
On the HIIR, I don't want to set a precedent and give you too easy a clue.
ReplyDeleteDavid,
DeleteFinally! Got it with your hint. I like iconic puzzles this this.
LegoRocket88
For the RES, there are also non-fictional cities of the same name.
ReplyDeleteThe easy as pie slice came quickly, a la Carnac.
ReplyDeleteAll the Enoch and Elijah references are interesting. I wonder why they were never mentioned in our weekly Catholic scriptures. Translation of translation-- now there's a story!
Word Woman,
DeleteFinally! I got your "J" puzzle/rebus. Interesting that I was on the right track with my initial "angleworm/earthworm" take, but I did not pursue it or follow through.
I needed Paul's "captain/party/lead shot" hint to get it, though. (Although when Paul hinted, "Every pop song has one, and I thinks the classics had them too," I thought he was referring to a "bridge.")
Nice clever puzzle, Word Woman, just like David's "precedent-setting" effort, above... and like ron's "21-conundrum salute," which led to the posting of even more vexing volleys.
LegoGratefulToAll
Here is a hint for this week’s Mathematical Slice:
ReplyDeleteThis equality, unmercifully, is quite strained Puzzle:
The “certain NFL football player” in the “Indispensible hint” is playing in this weekend’s playoffs.
LegoSweetCouchPotato
Very funny. I also got the EAPS.
DeleteLooks like you got all three slices, David. Kind of a "light" week (at least for you) over at Puzzleria! We'll try to add some some adiposity next week.
ReplyDeleteJ
__________
FENCE
LegoDownOnTheOcearFloorWithSpongeBobTheTitanic&AndreaDoria
I have EAPS & RES.
ReplyDeleteFor you mathematicians, see my post on Blaines blog:
All the digits in the following multiplication problem have been replaced by letters. (A letter always represents the same digit throughout the problem.) Can you reconstruct the original multiplication?
TWO x TWO = THREE
I presume WW's "J" puzzle is "HOOK, LINE & SINKER!" But I have no idea as to the solution of HIIR. Any help?
ron,
DeleteThe first two comments in this thread (David's and mine) provide hints. One more: "Milinda, the movie star, has a lovely complexion."
Thanks for the math puzzle. I shall work on it.
LegoRocketMan
ron,
DeleteWell, I learned something as I solved your fine puzzle. I now am aware of double (!!) and triple (!!!) factorials!
If TWO = n, then (n!!! - 1) is prime (How's that for a hint?!). Here's one that is less obscure: In my answer, THREE consists of perfect square numbers.
Thanks, ron.
Lego!!!
Nice going Lego. "THREE" does contain perfect square numbers. I posted this puzzle on Baine's Blog as a clue to Will Shortz' Sunday Challenge, trying to indicate that TWO, yes TWO, was a THREE-letter word!
DeleteI will post the answer to my multiplication problem Thursday on Blaine's Blog.
I still don't have HIIR. It's just not coming. Hope someone post the answer.
ron,
DeleteI think it's up to David to post the answer to HIIR, as it's his super puzzle.
I used Google to cheat on 2 x 2 = 3; I assume DuckDuckGo would have worked as well.
That's what I like about this blog -- it's so campy! :)
Another clue first, but somewhat abbreviated.
DeleteAlso, I used Excel for the TWO * TWO = THREE.
DeleteI thought about using my 130XE, but, nah!
DeleteO.K. I didn't realize you could google or duckduckgoose the answer.
DeleteHere's one I don't think you can do that for:
Using exactly two 2's and any of the standard mathematical symbols, write down an expression whose value is five.
ron,
DeleteThanks for this math puzzle. We need more math puzzles on Puzzleria!
A certain fraction, when squared, results in a 25 in its denominator. That original fraction, when written in decimal form, includes a number that when spelled out is the middle of a historical southern U.S. city. Go a bit negative (exponentially) and radical… and there you go!
LegoNoRomanMatchsticksRequired
ron-
DeleteI have (I think) your two 2s (and it has nothing to do with ballet).
Still looking for HIIR hints?
ron,
DeleteYour doggedness in the pursuit of solving David's HIIR puzzle is admirable (no hint so far).
The answer to David's puzzle considered cartoonist Al Capp an influential popular cultural figure, and once wrote Capp a letter eliciting his assistance in promoting American ideology worldwide.
Sorry, David, if this is too much of a hint.
LegoMamieYoakambda.
I would have gone in a different generally, but with your advice, nix on that, for now.
DeleteLego, congrats to you and the Green Bay Packers! Maizie is yawning at the Broncos, though.
ReplyDeleteI think Maizie just yawns a lot, and you choose to infer a causal relationship.
DeletePerhaps. I am yawning also. . .and I slept well last night.
DeleteWord Woman,
DeleteMy Broncondolences.
Thanks for the Packongrats, but the Cowboys was robbed. The NFL has to do something about that "football move after a catch" rule. It's doesn't pass the smell test for most of us average joe sixpack fans.
LegoThat'sSixPackAsInBeerNotAbs
Thanks, Lego. I thought the Broncos were just looking past this game. . .and the Colts had great momentum and Luck.
DeletePaul,
ReplyDeleteWe’ll take “campy.” Thanks, I think.
As for blog commenters, Puzzleria! seems to attract more “HIS”es than “HIIR”s. We’d like to see more HIIR’s commenting.
But perhaps Puzzleria! attracts several female followers who, for some reason, just choose not to comment. I access my Blogger statistics every hour to monitor the eyes that are checking this out. Many of these eyes seem to be sporting eye-shadow and eye-liner, which might suggest femininity. (Yes, Blogger is equipped with virtual two-way micro-camera technology that allows me, the blog administrator, to actually observe people as they are logged onto my blog!) Some of the eyes I see are smiling (they apparently hail from Ireland). Others appear to be closed. (Note to self: Make Puzzleria! more stimulating!)
About an hour ago, we posted the following puzzle over on Blaine’s. It’s a “piggyback” puzzle. A take-off on Will Shortz’s NPR offering this week:
“Remove six letters from the name of a large seven-letter U.S. city, leaving a little less than three. Remove five letters from the same city, leaving a little more than three. Remove four letters from the same city, leaving less than two but more than one.
What is this city?”
Regarding campy: I still miss my cherished cat. She was not so much a smiler, however; more of a purrer, cuddler and nuzzler.
LegoSadYetHappyCamper
There are some guys who wear eye shadow and eyeliner, too, of course. . .
ReplyDeleteNoosie memories are cherished ones.
We are kinda campy. I agree. Depending on what your definition of campy is.
Puzzlerians!
ReplyDeleteI must apologize for this week’s Easy As Pi Slice, “Careering o’er the clouds.” I am trying to include at least one “easier puzzle” each week. I do not want to turn this blog into one purveying only arcane, obscure and impossible-to-solve puzzles. (And we certainly purvey our share of those!)
This weeks “Careering” puzzle, I fear however, might have been too much a “triumph of packaging style over puzzle substance.” Perhaps it is too easy not only for the elite and grizzled veteran conundrum solvers but for all, including tyros, who faithfully follow this blog.
(Although we must admit to being guiltily pleased with the packaging-style-points-scoring audio-link we slipped into the puzzle’s menu title!)
LegOpenToFeedback
EAPS:
ReplyDeleteAn ASPIRING young person seeking a dream career. As an aviator or astronaut, he/she might need some ASPIRIN on the job.
Didn't Will Shortz use this medicinal product on September 29, 2013?
Last week's challenge: Name something in seven letters that most people keep in their homes. Take the first, third, fourth and seventh letters and rearrange them. The result will be a four-letter word naming something that the seven-letter thing is commonly used for. What is it?
Answer: Aspirin (pain)
RES:
CASTLE ROCK à la Stephen KING>>>CASTLE = ROOK.
The non-fictional CASTLE ROCK, COLORADO.
Using exactly two 2's and any of the standard mathematical symbols, write down an expression whose value is five.
Solution: √.2⁻² which shows that two 2's can make five. So .2 = ⅕ raise that to the -2 power = 25 and take the square root (√25) = 5.
Lego's seven-letter city: PHOENIX.
Still haven't solved HIIR.
How are we ever going to lead you to the answer, ron? Time will tell.
DeleteThere is also a Castle Rock here in WA.
DeleteAs for HIIR, I thought of saying IOU a clue, but that may be too obscure even for me. HIIR + IOU (anagram) = HOIIIUR = HIIR.
Sorry, HOIIUR does nothing for me. I guess I'll have to wait for the "aha" or "groan" moment when you post the answer.
DeleteEisenhower.
DeleteGROAN!
DeleteMajor groan! II rolling. ii rolling. . .
DeleteYes, the aspiring >>> aspirin was familiar territory from recentish NPR puzzling.
I did get your math puzzle also, ron, and enjoyed it to its very root.
David, that's as filthy as dried fish bladders or glaiiiss!
DeleteActually, I was inspired by your DIGHIRA.
DeleteEAPS: I have no idea (thanks for pouring salt on the wound)
ReplyDeleteRES: Castle Rock/rook
MS: EPIPHANISH = JA! (I shall try to explain later)
Thanks ron, Paul and David for the good responses. I do recall that NPR "aspirin" puzzle, ron. It was not a bad effort by Will. (I am just aspirin' to be "Will Shortz Lite!") At least it did not give me a headache.
Deleteron, In a previous post I believe you mentioned you are not a big fan of puzzles involving sports or "popular culture?" I realize that lately, we've been pretty heavy on such sports and pop culture trivia and, I'm afraid, next week will continue that jocky-jokey trend.
But we vow to you to try to try to be a bit more eclectic with our subject matter. (Just as I vow to Word Woman to try to create a few puzzles with admirable women as subjects.)
Thanks for hanging with us. I know others out there feel as you do.
Some consolation: David's HIIR puzzle has nothing at all to do with either sports or popular culture ("or great women, alas" as Word Woman might add.)
Paul, a little aspirin in the maw is good medicine for a little salt in the wound. I have experience with this!
LegoTakeTheAspirinWithAGrainOfSalt
Answers, for the record, Part 1:
ReplyDeleteEasy As Pi Slice:
Careering o’er the clouds
Name an adjective used often to describe people pursuing their dream career. The adjective also describes people who have already realized their dream career, if it is that of an astronaut, jet pilot, crop duster or some other such “soary” excuse for a profession.
Remove the adjective’s final letter, forming a medicinal product that some say can be especially effective for those who must work at high altitudes.
What are the adjective and the product?
Answer:
ASPIRING; ASPIRIN
Regal Eagle Slice:
Akin to a king
Name a two-word fictional city that is associated with a King. Change one of its consonants to a vowel.
The result is two synonyms that are both associated with a king.
What is the city?
What are the synonyms?
Answer:
Castle Rock
Castle, Rook
LegoOnlyAPrawnInTheirGameFilledWithJumboShrimp
Answers, for the record, Part 2:
ReplyDeleteMathematical Slice:
This equality, unmercifully, is quite strained
Replace the variable X with any substitute necessary to make the following equation true:
A + B + C – v-1 + X + H = 21!
With what did you replace X? What does your finished equation look like?
Note: A, B and C are not variables but constants. Each is an irrational number and their sum is approximately 7.478… . The letters A, B, and C should be replaced in the equation by the names of the three numbers, each spelled out in letters of the English alphabet. You must decide what order to put the numbers in.
Note: The symbol “v” is a radical sign, and “v-1” stands for “the square root of -1.”
Indispensable hint: The integer 21 is not a constant but rather a “reverse variable. ” (That is, it is not a letter that represents numbers but a number that represents letters.) It appears on the back of a certain NFL football player’s jersey, beneath his hyphenated surname. But it would bring smiles to his fans’ faces if the surname were replaced by his nickname. (Oh, and such a replacement is also necessary to solving this equation.)
Also, H is not a variable; it is an uppercase H.
Answer:
The “any substitute” that X must be replaced with is the word “any”
The finished equation reads:
epiphany = aha!
The three irrational numbers that sum to 7.478… are:
phi = 1.618…
e = 2.718…
pi = 3.1416
A = e; B = pi; C = phi
v-1 = i (the imaginary number, i)
On the right side of the equation, 21, the “reverse variable,” stands for “HA HA,” the nickname of Ha’Sean Clinton-Dix (starting safety for the Green Bay Packers NFL team) as it would appear on the back of his jersey above his number, 21.
Thus,
A + B + C – v-1 + X + H = 21! >>>>
A + B + C – v-1 + X = 21! - H >>>>
e + pi + phi – i + any = HA HA! – H >>>>
e + pi + ph + any = A HA! >>>>
epiph + any = AHA! >>>>
epiphany = AHA!
Proof of Word Woman’s and Paul’s clairvoyance:
I uploaded this puzzle on January 9. Five days earlier, on January 4 at 12:39 PM, Word Woman commented in response to ron’s
YYY
MEN
Spatial puzzle, “Just had an Epiphany!”
Later, Paul in his 1:01 PM post on January 8, after solving Word Woman’s “hook, line and sinker” puzzle, commented: “Oh, wait! I just had an epigram ... or epistle? ... you know, one of those sudden enlightenment thingies.”
LegoWeCatholicsWereEncouragedToAttendChurchOn”SuddenEnlightenmentThingieSunday”
I knew Castle Rock was somehow familiar.
ReplyDelete21 = JA!
ReplyDeleteAs in YES!
As in 'a face and an ace'.
If the face says 'thumbs up', even better.
X = SIN(A) = sin(e)
This is still a work in progress....
BTW, I've been enjoying this.
ReplyDeleteI'm actually understanding it, in spite of the language barrier.
Did you catch Will's INternational DIAling on Sunday? It made me grin a bit.