Think of a familiar three-word phrase that might be used in poker and add an "E" at the end and you'll get a two-word phrase that's common in football. What phrases are these? (The spaces in between the words changes in the two phrases but the letters stay in the same order.)I was surprised with the comments that so many of you claim not to have heard of the poker term (GO ALL IN). But that's okay, the football term (GOAL LINE) is pretty ubiquitous.
We had some interesting comments in the Comments from Sunday, all about whether hinting on this blog (or Blaine's blog) can actually affect the number of NPR entries. Such an affect would be relevant for our Pick a Range contestants. We *used* to have Google Analytics set up for this blog, but Ross has informed me that it got "broken" or something and there's no way to turn it back on retroactively.
So I can't test out the theory, namely that with the very hard NPR puzzles, more people come looking here or at Blaine's blog (or other blogs that discuss the NPR puzzle, if there are other blogs), get the hint(s) that help and thus send in a correct entry for a puzzle they couldn't have solved otherwise. I figured if last week's Sunday post had significantly more hits, that could support the theory. Ross is turning analytics back on, so if the Puzzlemaster would kindly hit us with another bear of a puzzle, we will see what we can see.
Photos. The football photos were pretty obvious, even if it's the "wrong" sort of football in two of the three pictures. (I love the University of Michigan Law School gargoyle!!) But how many of you figured out the poker photos? Two of them are of Poker Flat Research Range in Alaska, the largest land-based rocket range in the U.S. The final photo is of red-hot pokers, a flower that (I learned when I looked for it on Wiki) is an environmental weed in Australia. You can click on the photos for more information; the one of the red hot pokers was taken at Sissinghurst, the famous gardens in Sussex established by Vita Sackville-West and Harold Nicholson, so these very specific red hot pokers are not noxious weeds. (You're welcome; I know you worry.)
Fewer than 50 51 - 100 101 - 150 151 - 200 201 - 250 251 - 300 301 - 350 351 - 400 401 - 450 451 - 500 501 - 550 551 - 600 601 - 650 651 - 700 701 - 750 751 - 800 801 - 850 851 - 900 901 - 950 951 - 1,000 |
1,001 - 1,050 -- Natasha 1,051 - 1,100 -- Henry BW 1,101 - 1,150 -- Dave 1,151 - 1,200 1,201 - 1,250 1,251 - 1,300 -- Ross 1,301 - 1,350 1,351 - 1,400 -- Curtis 1,401 - 1,450 -- Marie 1,451 - 1,500 1,501 - 1,550 -- David 1,551 - 1,600 1,601 - 1,650 -- skydiveboy 1,651 - 1,700 1,701 - 1,750 1,751 - 1,800 1,801 - 1,850 1,851 - 1,900 1,901 - 1,950 1,951 - 2,000 |
2,001 - 2,050 2,051 - 2,100 2,101 - 2,150 2,151 - 2,200 2,201 - 2,250 -- Magdalen 2,251 - 2,300 2,301 - 2,350 2,351 - 2,400 2,401 - 2,450 2,451 - 2,500 2,501 - 2,750 2,751 - 3,000 3,001 - 3,250 3,251 - 3,500 3,501 - 4,000 4,001 - 4,500 4,501 - 5,000 More than 5,000 More than 5,000 + new record. |
Our tie-break rule: In the event that a single round number is announced, AND two separate people picked the ranges leading up to and leading up from that round number, the prize will be awarded to whichever entrant had not already won a prize, or in the event that both entrants had won a prize already or neither had, then to the earlier of the two entries on the famous judicial principle of "First Come First Serve," (or in technical legal jargon, "You Snooze, You Lose").