AYESHA RASCOE, HOST:
And it's time to play the puzzle.
(SOUNDBITE OF MUSIC)
RASCOE: Joining us today is Will Shortz. He's puzzle editor of The New York Times and puzzle master of WEEKEND EDITION. Good to talk to you, Will.
WILL SHORTZ, BYLINE: Good morning, Ayesha.
RASCOE: So, Will, please remind us of last week's challenge.
SHORTZ: Yes, it came from Wei-Hwa Huang of San Jose, Calif. I said, you know, it's unusual for a multiword movie title to consist entirely of words starting with vowels, none of which are the article A or pronoun I. And I asked, can you name a popular movie with a five-word title with word lengths 10, 10, three, two, four, all of which start with vowels? And the answer is "Everything Everywhere All At Once." Ayesha, did you see that?
RASCOE: I have not seen it yet. Oh, my God. I need to.
SHORTZ: Yeah, it's got - it's 95% positive rating on Rotten Tomatoes.
RASCOE: Well, it looks like we were overwhelmed with solutions this week. We had over 2,000 responses, probably from a lot of people who really love the movie. Our lucky winner this week is Alex Gallamore of Charlottesville, Va. Congratulations, Alex, and welcome to the show.
ALEX GALLAMORE: Thank you very much.
RASCOE: So how long have you been playing the puzzle?
GALLAMORE: I have been playing off and on for about 20 years, but it's only been about the last two that I have actually started submitting answers. So I'm lucky to get around this time.
RASCOE: So why did you start submitting the answers in these past two years?
GALLAMORE: I was just old and nothing better to do.
(LAUGHTER)
RASCOE: No, that's not it.
SHORTZ: No.
RASCOE: No, no, you just...
GALLAMORE: No, that's not it.
RASCOE: You knew you could do it, right?
GALLAMORE: Absolutely.
RASCOE: And so what do you like to do when you're not playing the puzzle?
GALLAMORE: Well, you know, it's that time of the year where it's good to get outside and hike and enjoy fresh air and nature and everything that's going on good before winter sets in.
RASCOE: Oh, well, that sounds very nice. I'm sure you're - are you outside right now? You're probably inside (laughter).
GALLAMORE: I'm inside right now, looking outside. Yeah.
RASCOE: Alex, are you ready to play the puzzle?
GALLAMORE: Ready as I'm ever going to be.
RASCOE: OK. Take it away, Will.
SHORTZ: All right. Alex and Ayesha, every answer today is a word or name starting with the syllable soo in any spelling. For example, if I said surgical stitch, you would say suture. Here's number one - the country south of Egypt.
GALLAMORE: Sudan.
SHORTZ: That's it. A thing kept as a memento.
GALLAMORE: Souvenir.
SHORTZ: Uh-huh. One branch of Islam.
GALLAMORE: One branch of Islam.
RASCOE: I think I got it. You got it?
SHORTZ: Go ahead, Ayesha.
RASCOE: Sunni.
SHORTZ: Sunni is it. Good one.
RASCOE: Sunni, Sunni. Yes.
SHORTZ: Light baked dish with beaten egg whites.
GALLAMORE: Well, that would be a souffle.
SHORTZ: That would be right. Second in command in a kitchen.
GALLAMORE: Sous-chef.
SHORTZ: Nice. How about a form of sugar?
GALLAMORE: Sucrose.
SHORTZ: Group once led by Diana Ross.
GALLAMORE: Supremes.
SHORTZ: That's it. Nom de plume.
GALLAMORE: Oh, a pseudonym.
SHORTZ: A Mideast canal.
GALLAMORE: Suez.
SHORTZ: That's it. A popular medicine for cold and sinus relief.
GALLAMORE: Sudafed.
SHORTZ: Sudafed is it. An auto import from Japan.
GALLAMORE: Auto import - Subaru.
SHORTZ: Subaru. How about a famous composer of marches?
GALLAMORE: Oh, Sousa.
SHORTZ: Sousa is it. A kind of wrestling.
GALLAMORE: Kind of wrestling.
SHORTZ: With very heavy wrestlers.
GALLAMORE: Oh, sumo, sumo.
SHORTZ: Sumo is it. And your last one is a logic puzzle with 81 squares.
GALLAMORE: Sudoku.
SHORTZ: Sudoku. Good job.
RASCOE: Oh, well, Alex, you did a great job. You let me solve one of them that you didn't get. I always like that. I appreciate that. How do you feel?
GALLAMORE: Like many people, relieved.
RASCOE: Well, you did an awesome job. For playing the puzzle today, you'll get a WEEKEND EDITION lapel pin as well as puzzle books and games. You can read all about it at npr.org/puzzle. And Alex, what member station do you listen to?
GALLAMORE: I listen to WMRA.
RASCOE: And thank you so much. That's Alex Gallamore of Charlottesville, Va. Thank you for playing the puzzle.
GALLAMORE: Thank you so much.
RASCOE: All right, Will, what is next week's challenge?
SHORTZ: Yes, it comes from listener David Wagner of Atlanta, Ga. Think of a common phrase in the form blank of my blank. The word that goes in the first blank is the name of a well-known company. And the word that goes in the second blank sounds like part of the names of many of that company's products. What phrase is it? So, again, common phrase, blank of my blank. The word that goes in the first blank is the name of a well-known company, and the word that goes in the second blank sounds like part of the names of many of that company's products. What phrase is it?
RASCOE: OK, I think I got that one. I never get them.
SHORTZ: Whoa.
RASCOE: (Laughter) I never get - and I never get them. OK. When you have the answer, go to our website, npr.org/puzzle, and click on the submit your answer link. Remember, just one entry, please. Our deadline for entries is Thursday, November 3 at 3 p.m. Eastern. Don't forget to include a phone number where we can reach you. If you're the winner, we'll give you a call. And if you pick up the phone, you'll get to play on the air with the puzzle editor of The New York Times and puzzle master of WEEKEND EDITION, Will Shortz. Thanks, Will.
SHORTZ: Thanks, Ayesha.
(SOUNDBITE OF MUSIC)
Copyright © 2022 NPR. All rights reserved. Visit our website terms of use and permissions pages at www.npr.org for further information.
NPR transcripts are created on a rush deadline by an NPR contractor. This text may not be in its final form and may be updated or revised in the future. Accuracy and availability may vary. The authoritative record of NPR’s programming is the audio record.