Secret Spot · Puzzle #12 · Sunday, October 11
Secret Spot: the answers
Seven prompts, one answer each, and the fewer surfers who said yours, the more it scored. Here are the prompts with the answers we expected to be most common, and the rarest. Play today's Secret Spot, or play this day as practice (never counted).
1. Name a film director
Each director counts once, by full name or by surname when only one famous director has it (Spielberg, Hitchcock). Directors of feature films with an article; actors count only if they're also known as directors.
Most common
- Christopher Nolan
- Alfred Hitchcock
- Martin Scorsese
Rarest
- Ken Russell: Ken Russell made many films about the lives of Romantic-era composers. Source: Wikipedia, “Ken Russell” (CC BY-SA)
- Mani Ratnam: Mani Ratnam is a professional name: the Tamil cinema director was born Gopalaratnam Subramaniam. Source: Wikipedia, “Mani Ratnam” (CC BY-SA)
- Chloé Zhao: With Nomadland, Chloé Zhao became the second woman to win the Oscar for Best Director. Source: Wikipedia, “Chloé Zhao” (CC BY-SA)
Before the crowd came in: the answers we expected to be most and least common, from how well known each one is.
2. Name a Chinese dish
Each dish counts once, by any of its names (gong bao chicken is kung pao chicken, siu mai is shumai). American Chinese dishes count too (General Tso's chicken, crab rangoon).
Most common
- Fried rice
- General Tso's chicken
- Kung Pao chicken
Rarest
- Lion's Head: Lion's head meatballs are named for their shape, said to look like the head of a Chinese guardian lion. Source: Wikipedia, “Lion's Head (food)” (CC BY-SA)
- Beggar's chicken: Beggar's chicken is stuffed, wrapped in clay and lotus leaves, and baked slowly for up to six hours. Source: Wikipedia, “Beggar's chicken” (CC BY-SA)
- Ants climbing a tree: Ants climbing a tree gets its name from the bits of ground meat that cling to its noodles. Source: Wikipedia, “Ants climbing a tree” (CC BY-SA)
Before the crowd came in: the answers we expected to be most and least common, from how well known each one is.
3. Name a music genre
Each genre or style counts once, by any spelling (hip hop is hip-hop, rap is hip-hop, R&B is rhythm and blues). Subgenres count on their own (death metal, bebop).
Most common
- Country music
- Hip-hop
- Jazz
Rarest
- Fado: Fado, the Portuguese song style from Lisbon, takes its name from the word for 'destiny' or 'fate'. Source: Wikipedia, “Fado” (CC BY-SA)
- Boogie-woogie: Boogie-woogie is a style of blues that became popular in the late 1920s. Source: Wikipedia, “Boogie-woogie” (CC BY-SA)
- Yé-yé: Yé-yé pop got its name from the 'yeah! yeah!' sung by British beat bands like the Beatles. Source: Wikipedia, “Yé-yé” (CC BY-SA)
Before the crowd came in: the answers we expected to be most and least common, from how well known each one is.
4. Name a kind of hat
Each style counts once, by any of its names (a ten-gallon hat is a cowboy hat, a mortarboard is a graduation cap). Crowns and armored or safety helmets don't count, except the hard hat and pith helmet.
Most common
- Baseball cap
- Beanie
- Cowboy hat
Rarest
- Umbrella hat: An umbrella hat is just what it sounds like: a little umbrella canopy on a headband. Source: Wikipedia, “Umbrella hat” (CC BY-SA)
- Baggy green: Australia's baggy green has been called the most famous cricket cap in the world. Source: Wikipedia, “Baggy green” (CC BY-SA)
- Rally cap: A rally cap is a baseball cap worn inside out and backwards to will your team to a comeback. Source: Wikipedia, “Rally cap” (CC BY-SA)
Before the crowd came in: the answers we expected to be most and least common, from how well known each one is.
5. Name a figure from the US civil rights movement
Each person counts once, by name (MLK is Martin Luther King Jr.). Activists, leaders, lawyers, artists and allies who worked for Black civil rights in the US count, from the abolitionists to today, and so do other American civil rights pioneers like Cesar Chavez.
Most common
- Malcolm X
- Martin Luther King Jr.
- Rosa Parks
Rarest
- Constance Baker Motley: Constance Baker Motley was the first Black woman to argue at the Supreme Court, and won nine of her ten landmark cases. Source: Wikipedia, “Constance Baker Motley” (CC BY-SA)
- A. Philip Randolph: A. Philip Randolph led the Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters, the first successful African-American-led labor union. Source: Wikipedia, “A. Philip Randolph” (CC BY-SA)
- Diane Nash: Diane Nash organized the Nashville sit-ins, the first successful civil rights campaign to integrate lunch counters. Source: Wikipedia, “Diane Nash” (CC BY-SA)
Before the crowd came in: the answers we expected to be most and least common, from how well known each one is.
6. Name a kind of boat
Each kind of boat or ship counts once (a speedboat is a motorboat, a rowboat is a rowing boat). Warships don't count; a named boat class counts as its kind (an Optimist is a dinghy).
Most common
- Canoe
- Kayak
- Motorboat
Rarest
- Tom Pudding: Tom Pudding tub boats were named for looking like a string of black puddings. Source: Wikipedia, “Tom Pudding” (CC BY-SA)
- Tarai-bune: A tarai-bune is a Japanese fishing boat first made from half a barrel or a big tub. Source: Wikipedia, “Tarai-bune” (CC BY-SA)
- Team boat: A team boat was powered by horses or mules walking on a treadmill. Source: Wikipedia, “Team boat” (CC BY-SA)
Before the crowd came in: the answers we expected to be most and least common, from how well known each one is.
7. Name a volcano
Any volcano, active or not, with or without "Mount" or "Volcano" (Vesuvius is Mount Vesuvius). A volcano that's also a famous mountain counts (Kilimanjaro, Fuji). Krakatoa counts once, with its child Anak Krakatoa. Volcanoes that share a name count once.
Most common
- Mount St. Helens
- Mount Vesuvius
- Mount Etna
Rarest
- Kilbourne Hole: New Mexico's Kilbourne Hole is known for the chunks of Earth's mantle its eruption carried to the surface. Source: Wikipedia, “Kilbourne Hole” (CC BY-SA)
- Mole Hill: Virginia's Mole Hill, a volcano some 47 million years ago, is one of the youngest on North America's east coast. Source: Wikipedia, “Mole Hill (Virginia)” (CC BY-SA)
- Ol Doinyo Lengai: Tanzania's Ol Doinyo Lengai is the only volcano on Earth known to erupt natrocarbonatite, an unusually cool, runny lava. Source: Wikipedia, “Ol Doinyo Lengai” (CC BY-SA)
Before the crowd came in: the answers we expected to be most and least common, from how well known each one is.