LIANE HANSEN, host:
From NPR News this is Weekend Edition. I'm Liane Hansen. And joining us is puzzle master Will Shortz. Hey, Will. How are you?
WILL SHORTZ: Hi, Liane.
HANSEN: Did you have a safe flight back from Minsk?
SHORTZ: A safe flight back. And interestingly, we were delayed at the Minsk airport because Muammar Gaddafi came in. And that caused us to miss our connection in Germany.
HANSEN: Did you go in the bookstore and buy some crossword puzzle books?
SHORTZ: I always carry enough puzzles to carry me through.
(Soundbite of laughter)
HANSEN: I bet you do. Well, you always have enough to keep us satisfied every week. You had a great challenge last week, presidential in nature. Would you repeat it?
SHORTZ: Yes it came from listener Peter Weiss. I said the names of Presidents Reagan and Clinton have something unusual in common. In fact, they're the only presidents in U.S. history whose names share this characteristic. What is it?
HANSEN: Now, it's interesting because I was looking at them for letters and sounds. But you were very precise in the names sharing a characteristic. What's the answer?
SHORTZ: Yes, their middle names are the last names of other presidents, namely Wilson and Jefferson.
HANSEN: Well, about 1,500 people knew their presidential history well enough to get the answer. And from those correct entries, we randomly selected Michael Luxner of Decatur, Illinois, to play the puzzle on the air today. Hi, Michael.
Dr. MICHAEL LUXNER (Competition Winner; Professor of Music, Millikin University): Hello, Liane.
HANSEN: How long did it take you to solve this puzzle?
Dr. LUXNER: Well, this one was almost instantaneous. I just said the full names, and those other two presidents just jumped right out.
HANSEN: Well done. How long have you been playing this puzzle?
Dr. LUXNER: Oh, gee. I can remember at least a few from the postcard days.
HANSEN: Cool. What do you do in Decatur?
Dr. LUXNER: I conduct a symphony orchestra here and teach classes in music at Millikin University.
HANSEN: Wow. Well, I hope those skills come in handy when you play today because you can help me out.
Dr. LUXNER: Well, we'll find out.
HANSEN: All right. Will, please meet Michael. Let's play.
SHORTZ: All right, Michael. Today's puzzle is called Good Morning. Every answer is an anagram of a word starting with the letters A-M. For example, if I said A-M plus sue, S-U-E, you would say amuse.
Dr. LUXNER: OK.
SHORTZ: All right. Number one is A-M plus hubs, H-U-B-S.
Dr. LUXNER: H-U-B-S. Ambush.
SHORTZ: Ambush is right. Number two, A-M plus unto, U-N-T-O.
Dr. LUXNER: Oh, U-N-T-O. Amount.
SHORTZ: Amount is right. Try this one. A-M plus styne, S-T-Y-N-E.
Dr. LUXNER: S-T-Y-N-E. Let's see. Is it mys...
HANSEN: They're an organization.
Dr. LUXNER: Amnesty. Sure.
HANSEN: Yes. Amnesty.
SHORTZ: Amnesty, good one. A-M plus teeup, T-E-E-U-P.
Dr. LUXNER: Amputate.
SHORTZ: Amputee is right.
Dr. LUXNER: Amputee, sorry.
SHORTZ: Good one. A-M plus be nice, B-E-N-I-C-E.
Dr. LUXNER: Ambience.
SHORTZ: Ambience is good. A-M plus isobar, I-S-O-B-A-R.
Dr. LUXNER: Ambrosia.
SHORTZ: Ambrosia, ooh. Good one.
HANSEN: Great.
SHORTZ: A-M plus panders, P-A-N-D-E-R-S.
Dr. LUXNER: Aren't we out of time yet, Will?
(Soundbite of laughter)
HANSEN: No, you haven't heard that lovely sound, "And your last one." OK am panders.
Dr. LUXNER: Ampersand.
HANSEN: Ampersand.
SHORTZ: Oh, you've got it, ampersand. And your last one. A-M plus thesauri, T-H-E-S-A-U-R-I.
Dr. LUXNER: Oh, my goodness.
HANSEN: This is ridiculous.
(Soundbite of laughter)
SHORTZ: All right, your third - your next letter is A. A-M-A.
Dr. LUXNER: A-M, M - it's (unintelligible). No, M...
HANSEN: M, T...
SHORTZ: And this would be an adjective that does not describe you in terms of your puzzle-solving ability.
HANSEN: So, if it's not professionalish...
SHORTZ: Yes.
Dr. LUXNER: Oh, amateurish.
HANSEN: Right.
SHORTZ: Amateurish. Nice job.
HANSEN: Which is exactly the opposite of the puzzle ability that you have, Michael.
(Soundbite of laughter)
HANSEN: Nice going. All this and the senator from Illinois being elected president. This is your week, huh?
Dr. LUXNER: It feels great.
HANSEN: Well, you know, we're going to keep the Illinois theme going just a bit because our celebrity guest who's going to tell you what you're going to take home today actually performed in Rosemont, Illinois, last night. He's on a nationwide tour with the other half of his famous comedy duo. And let's just say that both of them are known for their smoking habit. Here he is.
Mr. CHEECH MARIN (Comedian; Actor): Hey, this is Cheech Marin. For playing our puzzle today, you'll get a Weekend Edition lapel pin, lucky you. And you've won the Eleventh Edition of Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary and Thesaurus, the Scrabble Deluxe Edition from Parker Brothers - they're brothers? You've won "The Puzzlemaster Presents" from Random House, volume two, Will Shortz's "Little Black Book of Sudoku" and "Black and White Book of Crosswords" from St. Martin's Press, and one of Will Shortz's "Puzzlemaster Decks" of riddles and challenges from Chronicle Books.
HANSEN: That was Cheech Marin of Cheech and Chong. Hey, Michael. Groovy, far out, huh?
Dr. LUXNER: Yeah, that wasn't the Cookie Monster?
(Soundbite of laughter)
HANSEN: I think he was on earlier.
Dr. LUXNER: It takes me back to my youth.
HANSEN: Yeah, exactly, really. You can remember your youth? That's good. You know what they say? If you remember the '60s, you weren't there. What is your member station, Michael?
Dr. LUXNER: I'm right in between two of them, WUIS, where you've been, Liane, and Will's favorite in Champaign-Urbana, WILL.
HANSEN: All right. Michael Luxner of Decatur, Illinois, thanks a lot for being our guest today. It was so nice to have you as a partner. You were fabulous.
Dr. LUXNER: It was a great pleasure. Thank you.
HANSEN: OK. Will, what's the challenge for next week?
SHORTZ: Yes. Take the names of two animals. Drop the third letter in each name. Read the remaining letters in order from left to right, and you'll name a world capital. What is it? So, again, the names of two animals. Drop the third letter in each name. Read the remaining letters in order, and you'll name a world capital. What capital is it?
HANSEN: When you have the answer, go to our Web site, npr.org/puzzle, and click on the "Submit Your Answer" link. Only one entry per person, please. Our deadline this week is Thursday, 3 p.m. Eastern time. Please include a phone number where we can reach you at about that time because we're going to call you if you're the winner, and you'll get to play puzzle on the air with the puzzle editor of The New York Times and Weekend Edition's puzzle master, Will Shortz. Will, thanks a lot.
SHORTZ: Thanks, Liane.
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