Sunday Puzzle
Each week, New York Times crossword puzzle editor and NPR's Puzzlemaster Will Shortz presents an on-air quiz to one contestant and gives a challenge for Weekend Edition listeners at home.
Sitting Comfortably In Between()
January 22, 2012 You'll be given two things in the same category. You name the only other thing in the same category that fits between the given things alphabetically. For example, given "Mars" and "Saturn," the answer would be "Mercury."
Second To Last()
January 15, 2012 Think of a word that can follow a given word to complete a familiar two-word phrase or name. The first two letters of the word must be the second and last letters, respectively, of the given word. For example, given "fallen," the answer would be "angel."
Arrange The Notes()
January 8, 2012 Each answer is a five-letter word or phrase containing the letters N, O, T, E plus one other letter. Answer the clues to get the words.
The Fame Game()
January 1, 2012 In our annual year-end news quiz, you are given new names in the news — people you probably never heard of before 2011, but who became famous during the past 12 months. Explain why they're famous.
Unwrap The Phrase To Reveal A Gift()
December 25, 2011 Identify a gift for a child spelled by consecutive letters in familiar two-word phrases. For example, if given "tomato paste," the answer would be "top."
Rearranging Titles On The Magazine Rack()
December 18, 2011 Rearrange a series of anagrams to identify some well-known magazines. For example, if given "never point," rearrange the letters to spell "Prevention," the name of a popular health magazine.
Teasing Out A New Word()
December 11, 2011 Add a letter to create new words in a series of word teasers.
Making Changes Is Up To You()
December 4, 2011 Change one letter in each word of a made-up, two-word phrase to get two new words that will start a familiar proverb or saying. Determining which letters to change is up to you.
Keep Your Head Above Water()
November 27, 2011 Each answer is a compound word or a familiar two-word phrase containing the consecutive letters H-H-O, as in H2O. For example, given the clue "Dutch province containing Rotterdam and The Hague," the answer would be "South Holland."
Where In The Blanks Are The Answers?()
November 20, 2011 Every answer is a familiar phrase in the form of "_____ for _____ ." Given the word that follows "for," what's the first word that precedes "for"? For example, if you're given "joy," the answer would be "jump" to complete the phrase "jump for joy."
A Four-Letter Word For Capital City()
November 13, 2011 Every answer is the name of a world capital. You'll be given a four-letter word. The first two letters are the first two letters of the city's name, and the last two are the last two letters of the country's name. For example, if you were given "loin," the answer would be London, Great Britain.
