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Sunday Puzzle will shortz crossword NPR National Public Radio Sunday Puzzle Primary Format : Education Language : English Also Listed as: City : Unknown State/Province : Unknown Country : USA Region : NA User Tags: User Votes: RSS Feed Website People found this Podcast Searching for: View this Podcast on a Google Map. Podcast iTunes Link Text Only listing of NPR Sunday Puzzle Podcasts Methings.com listings of NPR Sunday Puzzle Podcasts If you like this podcast, you might also like:

A Tale Of Turkey, Full Of 'Blobs' This is a game called Blobs that Will Shortz found in an old book of party games. Will talks about his recent trip to Turkey, and the account has a number of intentional errors. Every time there's an error of fact, logic or word usage, the player says "blob." Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Familiar Phrases Starting With 'T' Every answer in today's puzzle is a familiar phrase in the form BLANK of BLANK, where the first word starts with the letter "T." Given the last word of the phrase, the player must give the first word. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Categories Fit For 'Radio' To mark Liane Hansen's 20th anniversary hosting Weekend Edition Sunday, this puzzle is a game of categories using the word "radio." Will Shortz names the categories, and the guest names something in the categories beginning with each of the letters in "radio." Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Fill In The Blanks Each clue is a sentence with two blanks. Fill in the blanks with two words that complete the phrase. But here's the twist: The words that complete the sentence are homophones of the words in the answer phrase. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website 'Mix And Match' These Word Ensembles This puzzle is called "Mix and Match." Every answer is a familiar two-word phrase in which the first word starts with M-I and the second word starts with M-A, as in "Mix and Match." For example, for the clue "a day before St. Patrick's Day," you would say "mid-March." Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Get A Clue And A Four-Letter Word I'm going to give you some clues. The answer to each clue is a four-letter word which can be found in consecutive letters inside the clue. For example, if I said "a sail boat's part", you would say "spar", because a sail boat's part is a spar, and it's concealed in consecutive letters inside "sail boat's" parts. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website P.S., Think U Have It Solved? This week's puzzle involves the letters P-S-U as in Portland State University, where Will spoke on Saturday. Each answer is a familiar two-word phrase in which the first word starts with "P" and the second word starts with "SU." So if the clue is "What a lawyer conducts to see if an invention has been made before," the answer would be "patent survey." Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website These C's Come In Threes Each clue consists of two words starting with the letter "C." The answer is a third word starting with "C" that can follow the first word and precede the second one to complete a compound word or familiar two-word phrase. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Initially, Michigan's Upper Peninsula This week's puzzle is in honor of Michigan's Upper Peninsula. Because U.P. is short for Upper Peninsula, each answer has "U" and "P" in it. The first clue is: "U" and "P" are the initials of a common two-word phrase naming something holding a street lamp. What is it? Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Give A Ring, Get A Grin For each clue, the answer is a four-letter word. The word is an anagram of one of the words in the clue. For example, if the clue is "main line through Egypt," the answer would be "Nile," because Nile is a rearrangement of the letters in "line." Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Maybe Not So Easy As Pie This puzzle is called "Dividing the Pie." Every answer is a familiar two-word phrase in which the first word starts "pi" and the second word ends with "e." So, the "pi-e" is divided. For example, if the clue is "power source for most automobiles," the answer would be "piston engine." Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website 'A' Test Of Islands For each word given, add the letter "a" and rearrange all the letters to name a well-known island. For example, if the clue is "trees," add an "a" to get the answer: Easter. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Reading Backward Is The Trick Each answer starts with a clue for a six-letter word. If you drop the first letter and read the remaining letters backward, you'll get a five-letter word that answers a second clue. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Scramble The Word To Get One Like The Other From two given four-letter words, rearrange the letters of one of them to get a synonym of the other. For example, given "each" and "pain," the answer is "ache," because "ache" is an anagram of "each," and it means "pain." Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Oh My, A Relaxing Game This puzzle involves meditation. Every answer is a familiar two-word phrase that starts with the initials "O-M." For example: protection for the hand while cooking? Answer: oven mitt. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website It's All About The Wordplay It's a game of completing analogies. Each involves wordplay. For example, "pink" is to "pen" as "plead" is to "pencil," because by removing the "p" from "pink," you get "ink," which goes inside a pen. And by removing the "p" from "plead" you get "lead," which goes inside a pencil. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website How Does That Old Saying Go? Every answer is a familiar proverb or saying. Given a two-word phrase, one of the words is in that proverb or saying, and the other is an anagram of a word in it. The anagram can be either word in the phrase. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Take A Risk To Be Risque Start with two sentences. Each sentence has two blanks. Put a word in the first blank. Add a long 'A' sound to the end of it to get a new word, phonetically, that will go in the second blank to complete the sentence. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website The Most Common Consonants, In Any Order Three of the most common consonants of the English language are R, S and T. Every answer today is a word, name or phrase that contains each of the letters R, S and T exactly once, along with any number of vowels. For example, if the clue is "short-winded," the answer would be, "terse." Note: The R, S and T can appear in any order. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Special Edition: This Game's A Beach The challenge is a game of categories. The word is "beach." Each clue is a category, and for each category, the goal is to name something in it starting with each of the letters in "beach." Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Have A Cow The theme today is "cow." Every answer is a familiar two-word phrase or name in which the first word starts with "co" and the second word starts with "w." For example, if the clue is "person who can fix a hard drive in 10 minutes," the answer would be, "computer whiz." Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website First And Last Rhymes Every answer is a familiar three-word phrase. The clues are two-word phrases. The first word of each phrase rhymes with the first word of the answer. The last word of the phrase rhymes with the last word of the answer. For example, if the clue is, "Split this," the answer would be, "Hit or miss." Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Building On Four-Letter Words There are three four-letter words. Think of three letters that can precede each of them to complete familiar seven-letter words. For example, for "each," "rove" and "lode," the answer is "IMP": impeach, improve and implode. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Testy Word Play Today's puzzle is called "test." Every answer is a familiar two-word phrase, in which the first word starts with "te" and the second word starts with "st." For example, if the clue is "cut of beef that is often grilled or barbequed," the answer would be "tenderloin steak." Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Three Of A Kind Each clue is a list of three things. The answer is what they all have in common. For example, if the clues are: "a college graduate, a thermometer and longitude," the answer would be "degrees." Hint: Every answer, like "degrees," is a seven-letter plural. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website A Tough Act To Follow Each clue is a pair of words. For each pair, find a word that can follow the first word and precede the second one so that, in each case, it will complete a familiar two-word phrase. For example, given "hand" and "talk," the answer would be "jive," as in "hand jive" and "jive talk." Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Look Inside A Famous Person Each clue is a pair of four-letter words. Each can be found inside the first and last names, respectively, of a famous person. For example, given "rend" and "rase," the answer would be "Brendan Fraser," the actor. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Flush The Birds Change one letter in each of two words of a sentence to name birds. For example: "Is actor Dennis Quaid afraid of the dark?" The answer: Quail and Lark (Change the "d" in "quaid" to make "quail" and change the "d" in "dark" to make "lark."). It's always the same letter of the alphabet that changes — twice for each sentence, and the letter it changes to is also the same. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website A Mother Lode Of Brainteasers This week's puzzle is an assortment of brainteasers that all have to do with the word "mother." The first challenge: Rearrange the letters of "mothers" to name something you might drink from. The answer: "thermos." Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Make A Name For Yourself Every answer is the name of a famous person whose first and last names start with the same letter and end in the same letter. For example, given "the poet who wrote poems about imaginary gardens with real toads in them" and the letters M and E, the answer would be "Marianne Moore." Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Put The Meaning In Reverse For each sentence given, change just one letter in one word to reverse the sentence's meaning. For example, given "The guard will not let you through the gate," you would change the T in "not" to a W for "The guard will now let you through the gate." Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Periodically Mixed Up Every answer is the name of a popular magazine. Name the title of the magazine from the anagram. For example, given "weird," the answer would be "Wired." Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website A Stitch In Time Every answer is a familiar phrase in the form "_____ in _____," in which the first and last words given as clues are rhymes. For example, given "hide in spots," the answer would be "tied in knots." Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Keep It Short Every answer is a familiar two-word phrase, in which each word has a short "A" vowel sound. For example, given the clue "A pest weed in lawns," the answer would be "crab grass." Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website An Hour Of Our Time Puzzle master Will Shortz quizzes one of our listeners, and has a challenge for everyone at home. (This week's winner is Albert Tumpson from Beverly Hills, California. He listens to Weekend Edition on member station KPCC in Pasadena, California.) Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Find Your Calling Each clue is three words. For each set, think of a fourth word that can follow each clue to complete a compound word or familiar two-word phrase. For example, given "cat," "cattle" and "telephone," the answer would be "call," as in "catcall," "cattle call" and "telephone call." Hint: Each answer ends in two L's, like "call." Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Rites Of Spring For each category, name five items, each one beginning with a different letter in the word "Aries," the first Zodiac sign in spring. For example, given the category "elements on the periodic table," the answers could be "argon, radium, iron, einsteinium and silicon." Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Barking Up The Right Tree Every answer is a familiar two-word phrase that contains the consecutive letters "E-L-M." And specifically, the first word will end in "E-L," and the second word will start with "M." For example, given "publication that a person with wanderlust might read," the answer would be "travel magazine." Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website A Merchant, A King And A Shrew Walk Into A Bar ... Every clue is an anagram for the name of a Shakespeare character. For example, given, "real," the answer would be "Lear." Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website That's What She Said You are given some quotes with the ending, "Tom ________." The word that goes in the blank is a synonym for "said" and completes the statement in a punny way. For example, given, " 'That was the best all-night dance party ever,' Tom ________ ," the answer would be "raved." Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website All Mixed Up Every answer is the name of an animal you might see in the zoo. Name the animals from their anagrams. For example, given "oil" plus "N," the answer would be "lion." Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Linking Letters This week's challenge: Take the name of a country, interchange two consecutive letters. Add an "e" after the fifth letter. The result will be two synonyms, one after the other. What is the country, and what are the synonyms? Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website The Super Bowl Of Word Games Every answer is a familiar two-word phrase in which one word starts with S-T, as in Steelers, and the other starts with C-A, as in Cardinals. The words can be in either order. For example, given "people who work for a political candidate," the answer would be "campaign staff." Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website The Answer Is A Car Think of a word that starts and ends with the letter 'm' as in Mary, drop the first 'm,' insert an 'o' somewhere and you'll get a new word that means the same thing as the first word. What words are these? Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website The Answer Has A Hole In It Every answer is a word starting with the letter O. The clues are two words — one that can precede the answer, and one that can follow it to complete familiar two-word phrases. For example, given "elected" and "statement," the answer would be "official," as in "elected official" and "official statement." Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website The Sound Of Letters This week's challenge: Every answer consists of two letters of the alphabet that sound like a word or name. Fill in the blanks to get them. For example, if the clue is ___ watermelon, then the answer would be, "C-D" as in seedy watermelon. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website What's In The Pan? Every answer is a familiar two-word phrase or name, in which the first word starts with "PA" and the second word ends in "N." For example, if the clue is, "namesake of a popular pizzeria chain," the answer would be, "Papa John," because it starts with "PA" and ends in an "N." Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Name That Headline-Maker You are given the names of people whom you had probably never heard of before 2008, but who sprang to national or international prominence during the past 12 months. Who are they? Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Categorically Claus This is a game of categories using the word "Claus." For each category, name something in it starting with each of the letters: C-L-A-U-S. For example, if the category was girls' names: Carol, Laura, Alice, Ursula and Sarah. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website The Answer May Elude You You are given two seven-letter words. Rearrange the letters in one of the words to get a synonym of the other. For example, if the clue is "gratify" and "eluding," the answer would be "indulge," which is an anagram of eluding and means gratify. The anagram can be the first or second word. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website You've Got A Friend In P-A Every answer is a familiar two-word phrase or title in which one word starts with P-I, as in Pittsburgh, and the other starts with P-A. The P-A and P-I words can be in any order. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website City Slickers For each word given, add a letter at the start, the end or somewhere inside to name a well-known U.S. city. For example, given the word "flit," the answer would be "Flint." Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website From First To Last Each clue is one word. The answer is a word that can follow the clue to complete a familiar two-word phrase. The first two letters of the answer must be the first and last letter of the clue. For example, given "pool," the answer would be "player." Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Sure Bet You'll Know The letters S-B stand for seat belt. They also stand for some other familiar two word phrases. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Good Morning, Anagrams Every answer is an anagram of a word starting with the letters, A-M. For example, if the clue is "A-M + sue," then the answer would be, "amuse." Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website A Long Way From Milan To Minsk For each category given, the answers are things within the category that start with the letters, M, I, N, S and K. For example, given "two-syllable girls names," the answer could be "Mary, Ingrid, Nora, Sarah and Kathy." Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website A Pox On You Each answer is a familiar word, name or phrase that begins with the letter P and ends in X. For example, if the clue is "showy flower," the answer would be "phlox." Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Now That's A Capital Idea You are given a word. Drop two letters so that the remaining letters, in order, spell the name of a world capital. For example, given "backup," the answer would be "Baku," the capital of Azerbaijan. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website A Little Hankity-Pankity Every answer is a two-word, rhyming phrase in which both words have three syllables. For example, given the clue "unexplained circumstance of the past," the answer would be "history mystery." Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Fill In The Blanks And Ta-Da! You are given a sentence that's missing two words. The word that goes in the first blank has a T in it. Change this to a D, and phonetically, you'll get the word that goes in the second blank. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Keep Plugging Away Every answer is a word, name or familiar phrase starting with K and ending with Y, as in "Kentucky." For example, given the clue "stereotypical fraternity blowout," the answer would be "keg party." Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Scoring A Touchdown You are given two clues. The first answer is a word that starts with the sound T. Change this to a D, and phonetically you'll get a new word that answers the second clue. For example, if the clue is "to work hard" and "author Conan _______," the answer would be "toil" and "Doyle." Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website At The REC Center Each answer is a familiar two-word phrase in which the first word ends in R-E and the second word starts with C. For example, if the clue is "text that comes from the Associated Press or Reuters," the answer would be "wire copy." Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website The End Justifies The Clue You are given clues that end in a six-letter word. Rearrange the letters in the last word to get the answer to the clue. For example, given "Jewels a pirate buries," the answer would be "rubies." Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Thinking Phoneticall-EE Each word has 2 syllables. The first vowel sound in the first word is a long "E." Change this to a short "E," and phonetically you'll get a new word that answers the second clue. If the clue is "slang term for an eye, and partner for salt," the answer is "peeper and pepper." Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website CH-CH-CH-CH-CHanges Each word you're given has the letters C-H within it. Rearrange the letters to come up with an anagram that begins with C-H. For example, "inch" becomes "chin." Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website A Turn Of Phrase Every answer starts with the letter A and completes a familiar three-word phrase that takes the form "blank of blank." Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Of Primo Importance In the on-air puzzle, you are given several 10-letter words. For each word, rearrange the first five letters to spell a common word and the last five letters to spell another common word. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Vowel Swapping You are given clues to two words, each with two syllables. The vowel sound in the first syllable of the first word is a long A. Change that vowel to a short I, and phonetically you will get a new word that answers the second clue. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website It's a Real Tease In this week's on-air challenge, every answer is a word or familiar phrase of no more than 12 letters. The word contains at least four T's. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website A River Runs Through It In this week's on-air challenge, you are given anagrams plus an extra letter that you must unscramble to name a river. For example, given "roil" plus E, the answer would be "Loire," the river in France. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website I-O You a Clue In this week's on-air puzzle, every answer is a compound word or a familiar two-word phrase in which the first part has a long I vowel sound and the second part has a long O sound. Both parts have just one syllable. For example, given "a small pink flower growing in a field," the answer would be "wild rose." Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Fill in the Blanks: Going Up, Anyone? In this week's on-air puzzle, you are given two sentences. Each sentence has two blanks. A word starting with "UP" goes in the first blank. Move the "UP" to the end, and you'll get a familiar two-word phrase that goes in the second blank to complete the sentence. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Ode (Owed?) to Ma In this week's on-air puzzle, you are given clues for six-letter words, each containing the consecutive letters M-A. Remove the M-A, and the remaining four letters, in order, will spell a word answering the second clue. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Rhyme Three Times In this week's on-air puzzle, you are given three words that rhyme with three things that start with the same letter and are in the same category. For example, given "soxer," "facet" and "regal," the answer would be "boxer, "basset" and "beagle." Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website A Challenge for Star Gazers In this week's on-air puzzle, you are given anagrams of the names of constellations. You name the constellations. For example, given "ray" plus L, the answer would be "Lyra." Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Any Champs in the House? For each category Will lists, you must name something that belongs in it that begins with each of the following letters: C, H, A, M and P. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Amen to Gag Men In this week's puzzle, clues are given for two words. The first word has two or more G's in it. Remove all the G's and the remaining letters, in order, will spell the answer to the second clue. For example, given "joke writers" and "prayer ending," the answer would be "gag men" and "amen." Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website 'VA' Is for Word Lovers In this week's puzzle, every answer is a familiar two-word phrase, where the first word starts with V and the second word starts with A. For example, given "subject of a tax in Britain" the answer would be "value added." Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Getting in the Swing 'of' Things In this week's puzzle, every answer is a familiar three-word phrase in the form of "______ of ______." The first word starts with M, and you are given the third word. For example, given "production" the answer would be "means" for "means of production." Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website A Puzzle for Crows In this week's puzzle, every answer is a familiar two-word phrase in which the first word starts with CA and the second word starts with W. For example, given "a glass opening in a wall that is attached by hinges," the answer is "casement window." Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Common Ground In this week's puzzle, you are given two things and must name what they have in common. Each answer has six letters. For example, given "typewriter" and "Christmas gift," the answer is "ribbon." Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Separated by A Clues are given for two short words. Combine the words and add the letter A in between them and you'll get the answer to a third clue. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Er, Give Me Another Clue In this week's on-air puzzle, clues are given for two words that each ends in an unaccented vowel sound. Change that sound to an "er," and you'll get a new word that answers the second clue. For example, if the clue were "sandwich fish" and "piano repairman," the answer would be "tuna" and "tuner." Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Uh-Oh! Clues for Two Clues are given for two words. Each word has two syllables. The first syllable of the first word has a short "U" sound as in "uh." Change this to a long "O" sound and, phonetically, you'll get a new word that answers the second clue. Example: "absolutely beautiful" and "an old-style punishment," would be "stunning" and "stoning." Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website The Hidden Presidents This week, an on-air presidential puzzle for Presidents Day. Will reads a series of sentences. Each sentence conceals the name of a U.S. president in consecutive letters. For example: Have moms hairstyle redone. The answer would be Tyler, which is hidden inside, hairsTYLE Redone. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Anagram Magic In this week's on-air puzzle, every answer is a two-word phrase, in which both words start with the letter "P" and the two words are anagrams of each other. For example, for the clue "One hundred percent the land of Lima," the answer would be: Pure Peru. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Prepare to Be Taxed In the on-air puzzle, every answer is a familiar two-word phrase in which the first word starts with the letter C and the second word starts with P-A. For example, given "a place for electrical switches and gauges," the answer would be "control panel." Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Guess the Rest In this week's on-air puzzle, every answer is a three-word phrase in the form "(blank) the (blank)." Will offers rhymes for the first and last words in the phrases. For example, given "lease the reels," the answer would be "grease the wheels." Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Seeing Red In the on-air puzzle, you are given a word and must drop two letters so that the remaining letters, in order, spell a color or shade. For example, given "greed," the answer would be "red." Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Calculated Risks This week's on-air puzzle is about CARS. Every answer is a familiar two-word phrase, in which the first word starts with C-A and the second word starts with R. For example, given "basis for computing insurance rates," the answer would be, "calculated risk." Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Mixed-Up Company In the on-air puzzle, every answer is the name of a well-known company. You must name the company from its anagram. For example, given "Coal plus A," the answer would be, "Alcoa." Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website The Nouveau-Fame Name Game In this week's puzzle, Will Shortz names people who became famous during the past twelve months, whom you probably never heard of before 2007. The player tells why they're famous. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Reduplicated Elements In the on-air puzzle, every answer involves reduplicative words. An example would be ping pong, whereby the first half is the same as the second half and only the vowel changes. So if the clue is "table tennis," then the answer would be "ping pong." Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Anagram from Mr. Shortz In this week's on-air puzzle, every answer is a word starting with the letter V. Use an anagram of the clue to find the answer. For example, if the clue is "serve," the answer would be "verse." Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Going Down to R-I-O In this week's on-air puzzle, every answer is a seven-letter word or name that contains the consecutive letters, R-I-O, somewhere in it. For example, if the clue is, "inquisitive," the answer is, "curious." Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Music Is in the Air In this week's on-air puzzle every answer is the name of a musical instrument. See if you can get it through its anagram. For example, if the clue was MUD plus R, you would rearrange those letters to get DRUM. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Where's It At? The on-air puzzle is called, "Where's It At?" There are clues for two words. The first word contains the consecutive letters "A-T" somewhere inside. Remove the "A-T" and you'll get a new word that answers the second clue. For example, if the clues are "a lampoon and a way to address a king," the answer would be satire and sire. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Three-Word Phrase, First Word: Verb This week's puzzle has a familiar three-word phrase in which the first word is a verb, the second word is "the" and the third word is a noun. I'll give you the phrase, but with an anagram of either the first or last word, you give me the phrases. For example, if I said "Flee the pinch," you would say "Feel the pinch." Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Rhyming Crossword Clues In this week's on-air puzzle, crossword clues point the way to the ansCwer, which will rhyme with the first word of the clue. For example, if the clue is "Home of the Vatican" the answer would be "Rome." Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website A Trip to the ALPs In the on-air puzzle, we go to the ALPS. Every answer is a familiar two-word phase, with the consecutive letters "A-L-P." In particular, the first word ends in "A-L" and the second word starts with "P." If the clue is "I, you or we," the answer would be "personal pronoun." Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Going Left and Right at the Same Time The on-air puzzle this week is called "left and right." Every answer is a familiar two-word phrase or name in which the first word starts with "L" and the second word starts with "R." For example, given the clue "a popular passenger vehicle from Britain," the answer would be "Land Rover." Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website The Key to the Answer? It's 'It' In the on-air puzzle this week, clues are given to two words. If you insert the letters "I-T" somewhere in the first word, you get the second word. For example, if the clues are "an elevator company" and "an inflammation of the ear," the answer would be "Otis" and "otitis." Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Mixing Up Some Famous Names In the on-air puzzle this week, every answer is the name of a famous person whose first name starts with "J". Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Re-Figuring Familiar Phrases In the on-air puzzle for this week, every answer is a compound word or a familiar two-word phrase in which each half has exactly four letters. The middle two letters of the first word are the same as the middle two letters of the last. For example,"departed years ago"would be"Long Gone." Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website State the Answer The on-air puzzle for this week is a two-person puzzle. Given two three-letter words, the first word can be found in consecutive letters in the name of a U.S. state capital. And the second word can be found in consecutive letters of that capital's state. For example, given"son"and"our,"the answer would be Jefferson, Missouri. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website A Host of Categories for Liane A game of categories, using the letters L-I-A-N-E. For each category, the player will name something in it beginning with each of these letters. For example, for chemical elements, answers might be lead, iron, argon, nitrogen and erbium. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Firing Blanks In this puzzle, you'll get a series of sentences that end in two blanks. Insert two words in the blanks that are reversals of each other. The words will be four letters long. For example: The spring, and the place to set your bait, is each a BLANK-BLANK. You'd say: Each is a Trap Part. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Keeping It on the'DL' Every answer to this week's puzzle is a familiar two-word phrase with the initials"DL."For example, the clue"What a spy leads"would yield the answer:"A double life." Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Fun with Four-Letter Words In this challenge, you'll form four-letter words we can use on public radio. Will Shortz supplies the second and third letters; you make up the rest of a unique word. For instance, P and R lead to"spry." Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Looking for NET Results Puzzle master Will Shortz quizzes one of our listeners, and has a challenge for everyone at home. This week's participant is Laura Leis of Providence, R.I. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Pun City, U.S.A. Puzzle master Will Shortz quizzes one of our listeners, and has a challenge for everyone at home. This week's participant is Chris Roberts of Richmond, Va. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website All in the Familiar Puzzle master Will Shortz quizzes one of our listeners, and has a challenge for everyone at home. This week's winner is Ranjana Murthy from Redwood Shores, Ca. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Are You Drawing 'A' Blank? Puzzle master Will Shortz quizzes one of our listeners, and has a challenge for everyone at home. This week's participant is Candy Wyatt of Victoria, British Columbia. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Hot, Hot, Hot Puzzle master Will Shortz quizzes one of our listeners, and has a challenge for everyone at home. This week's contestant is Robert Berretta of Houston. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Say Anything with S and A Puzzle master Will Shortz quizzes one of our listeners, and has a challenge for everyone at home. This week's winner is Bob Finch from Rochester, Minn. He listens to Weekend Edition on member station KZSE in Rochester. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website 2-D Entertainment Puzzle master Will Shortz quizzes one of our listeners, and has a challenge for everyone at home. This week's winner is Michael Christiano of Madison, Wisc. He listens to Weekend Edition on WHAD in Milwaukee. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Do You Know Your Proverbial Alphabet? Puzzle master Will Shortz quizzes one of our listeners, and has a challenge for everyone at home. This week's competitor is Barbara Lawrence of Lake Wales, Fla. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Your Anagrams Have Arrived Puzzle master Will Shortz quizzes one of our listeners, and has a challenge for everyone at home. This week's winner is Max White from Albany, Ore. He listens to Weekend Edition on member station KOAC in Corvallis, Ore. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Trim a Bit off Both Ends Puzzle master Will Shortz quizzes one of our listeners, and has a challenge for everyone at home. This week's winner is Sabina Brukner of New York City. She listens to Weekend Edition on member station WNYC in New York. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Fun with Proverbs Puzzle master Will Shortz quizzes one of our listeners, and has a challenge for everyone at home. (This week's winner is Kathy Bakke from Klamath Falls, Oregon. She listens to Weekend Edition on member station KSKF.) 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