Initial Public Offering (solution)

by Patrick Blindauer

Solvers are presented with strings of letters that look like cryptograms, but are, in fact, the initial letters of phrases in seven varying categories. ID the source and index the number after each one into the title of the work to get another string of letters.

The letters extracted from these rounds are:

A. Christmas Carol Lyrics
  1. Sleigh bells ring, are you listening? In the lane, snow is glistening. A beautiful sight, we’re happy tonight, walking in a winter wonderland. - WINTER WONDERLAND (W)
  2. Chestnuts roasting on an open fire. Jack Frost nipping at your nose. Yuletide songs being sung by a choir, and folks dressed up like Eskimos. - THE CHRISTMAS SONG (I)
  3. Away in a manger, no crib for a bed, the little lord Jesus laid down His sweet head. The stars in the sky looked down where He lay, the little lord Jesus asleep in the hay. - AWAY IN A MANGER (Y)
  4. On the first day of Christmas, my true love gave to me: a partridge in a pear tree. - THE TWELVE DAYS OF CHRISTMAS (W)
B. Famous Lines from Movies
  1. I love the smell of napalm in the morning. - APOCALYPSE NOW (P)
  2. Go ahead, make my day. - SUDDEN IMPACT (P)
  3. I’m gonna make him an offer he can’t refuse. - THE GODFATHER (F)
  4. You can’t handle the truth! - A FEW GOOD MEN (F)
  5. What we’ve got here is failure to communicate. - COOL HAND LUKE (O)
  6. May the force be with you. - STAR WARS (W)
  7. Toto, I’ve a feeling we’re not in Kansas anymore. - THE WIZARD OF OZ (A)
  8. You talkin’ to me? - TAXI DRIVER (R)
  9. Rosebud. - CITIZEN KANE (I)
  10. Frankly, my dear, I don’t give a damn. - GONE WITH THE WIND (I)
C. Nursery Rhymes
  1. Little Miss Muffet sat on a tuffet, eating her curds and whey. Along came a spider and sat down beside her and frightened Miss Muffet away. - LITTLE MISS MUFFET (S)
  2. Jack and Jill went up the hill to fetch a pail of water. Jack fell down and broke his crown and Jill came tumbling after. - JACK AND JILL (C)
  3. Humpty Dumpty sat on a wall. Humpty Dumpty had a great fall. All the king’s horses and all the king’s men couldn’t put Humpty together again. - HUMPTY DUMPTY (P)
D. Songs from Musicals
  1. Dammit, Janet! - THE ROCKY HORROR SHOW (W)
  2. I’m Gonna Wash That Man Right Outta My Hair - SOUTH PACIFIC (A)
  3. You Can Be as Loud as the Hell You Want (When You’re Makin’ Love) -
  4. AVENUE Q (N)
  5. Feed Me (Git It) - LITTLE SHOP OF HORRORS (L)
  6. Do You Hear the People Sing? - LES MISERABLES (S)
  7. Mama, I’m a Big Girl Now - HAIRSPRAY (I)
  8. I Don’t Know How to Love Him - JESUS CHRIST, SUPERSTAR (H)
  9. The Rum Tum Tugger - CATS (T)
  10. Why Should I Wake Up? - CABARET (B)
  11. Getting to Know You - THE KING AND I (G)
E. Quotes from Shakespeare Plays
  1. O, wonder! How many goodly creatures are there here! How beauteous mankind is! O brave new world, That has such people in’t! - THE TEMPEST (P)
  2. Friends, romans, countrymen, lend me your ears. - JULIUS CAESAR (A)
  3. To be or not to be, that is the question. - HAMLET (T)
  4. O, Romeo, Romeo! Wherefore art thou Romeo? - ROMEO AND JULIET (I)
  5. Age cannot wither her, nor custom stale Her infinite variety. - ANTONY AND CLEOPATRA (Y)
  6. If music be the food of love, play on. - TWELFTH NIGHT (T)
F. Quotes from Books
  1. Call me Ishmael. - MOBY-DICK (D)
  2. “The blood is the life!” - DRACULA (L)
  3. “I am the Ghost of Christmas Present,” said the Spirit. “Look upon me!” - A CHRISTMAS CAROL (H)
  4. It was the best of times, it was the worst of times. - A TALE OF TWO CITIES (W)
  5. All animals are equal, but some animals are more equal than others. - ANIMAL FARM (I)
G. Quotes from Songs
  1. Oh, this is how it starts, lightning strikes the heart. It goes off like a gun, brighter than the sun. Oh, we could be the stars, falling from the sky. Shining how we want, brighter than the sun. - BRIGHTER THAN THE SUN (I)
  2. ’Cause this is thriller, thriller night. And no one’s gonna save you from the beast about to strike. You know it’s thriller, thriller night. You’re fighting for your life inside a killer, thriller tonight. - THRILLER (T)
  3. We are the champions, my friends. And we’ll keep on fightin’ till the end. We are the champions. We are the champions. No time for losers, ‘Cause we are the champions ... of the world. - WE ARE THE CHAMPIONS (A)
  4. She loves you, yeah-yeah-yeah. She loves you, yeah-yeah-yeah. With a love like that, you know you should be glad. - SHE LOVES YOU (L)
  5. Ice Ice Baby. Vanilla. Ice Ice Baby. Vanilla. Ice Ice Baby. Vanilla. Ice Ice Baby. Vanilla. - ICE ICE BABY (A)
  6. Take me by the tongue and I’ll know you, Kiss me ‘til you’re drunk and I’ll show you All the moves like Jagger. I’ve got the moves like Jagger. I’ve got the moves like Jagger. - MOVES LIKE JAGGER (K)
  7. I’m on the edge of glory, and I’m hanging on a moment of truth. Out on the edge of glory, and I’m hanging on a moment with you. I’m on the edge, the edge, the edge, the edge, the edge, the edge, the edge, I’m on the edge of glory, and I’m hanging on a moment with you. I’m on the edge with you. - THE EDGE OF GLORY (O)
  8. I don’t get many things right the first time. In fact, I am told that a lot. Now I know all the wrong turns the stumbles and falls brought me here. And where was I before the day, that I first saw your lovely face? Now I see it, everyday. And I know... That I am, I am, I am the luckiest. - THE LUCKIEST (T)

The final round of abbreviations is:

  1. WIYW?
  2. P, P, F, F. O, WARII.
  3. S! C! P!
  4. WANLS ... IHTBG.
  5. PATIYT.
  6. DLHWI.
  7. ITALAKOT.

Which are the initial letters of ad slogans.

  1. What’s in your wallet? - CAPITAL ONE
  2. Plop, plop, fizz, fizz. Oh, what a relief it is! - ALKA-SELTZER
  3. Snap! Crackle! Pop! - RICE KRISPIES
  4. With a name like Smuckers ... it has to be good. - SMUCKERS
  5. Put a tiger in your tank. - ESSO
  6. Don’t leave home without it. - AMERICAN EXPRESS
  7. It takes a licking and keeps on ticking. - TIMEX

The first letters of the products advertised spell the answer, CARSEAT.