Ben Bass and Beyond: Artist of the week

This week's virtuoso is the great Robert Smigel, who chipped in the following gems to the American pop culture canon.

The first one's mean but funny; the second, sad but true.

NPR Sunday puzzle

This week:

What familiar saying with seven words has seven consonants in a row? The answer is a common saying, in ordinary English. Sometimes it's expressed in nine words rather than seven, but it's the same saying. And either way, in one spot it has seven consecutive consonants. What saying is it?

Enter here or email me for a hint.

Last week: 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?

Highlight for answer: Aspirin, pain

Two weeks ago: The name of what character, familiar to everyone, contains each of the five vowels (A, E, I, O and U) exactly once? The answer consists of two words — eight letters in the first word, four letters in the second.

Highlight for answer: Question mark

Three weeks ago: Name a well-known person from the 20th century who held an important position. Take the first and last letters of this person's last name, change each of them to the next letter of the alphabet, and you'll get the last name of another famous person who held the same position sometime after the first one. Who is it?

Highlight for answer: Ford, Gore