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Sunday Puzzle: Clues Come in Twos

Sunday Puzzle
NPR
Sunday Puzzle

On-air challenge: I'm going to give you clues for two words. The first one has six letters, in which the middle letter is doubled. Drop one of the doubled letters and read the result backward to get the answer to the second clue.

Ex. Drooped / French Impressionist Edgar --> SAGGED, DEGAS

1. Texas home to the Cowboys / Dieter's lunch

2. Soldiers / Basketball or football

3. Sort of music for Bob Marley / Impatient

4. Faints from extreme emotion / Blizzards

5. Did one better than / Train station

6. Candies / Goulash and gumbo dishes

7. One who works the soil / Ignited again, as a candle

8. Move unsteadily from side to side / Joint in the arm

Last week's challenge: A muffler is part of an automobile. It's also the name of something you can wear. Think of two other parts of automobiles that are also things you can wear. These two words have the same number of letters and the same first two letters in the same order.

Challenge answer: Hood, hose

Winner: Xavier Smith of Tucson, Arizona.

This week's challenge: This week's challenge comes from listener Steve Baggish, of Arlington, Mass. Take the phrase WINTER SEASON. Add a letter of your choosing. Then rearrange all 13 letters to spell three related words. What are they?

Submit Your Answer

If you know the answer to the challenge, submit it here by Thursday, December 14th at 3 p.m. ET. Listeners whose answers are selected win a chance to play the on-air puzzle. Important: include a phone number where we can reach you.

Copyright 2024 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.

Will Shortz
NPR's Puzzlemaster Will Shortz has appeared on Weekend Edition Sunday since the program's start in 1987. He's also the crossword editor of The New York Times, the former editor of Games magazine, and the founder and director of the American Crossword Puzzle Tournament (since 1978).