美国国家公共电台 NPR Sunday Puzzle: It's Time To Rhyme

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LULU GARCIA-NAVARRO, HOST:

Tomorrow the moon will blot¹ out the sun. But there's one thing that is never eclipsed, and that's The Puzzle.

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GARCIA-NAVARRO: Joining me as always is Will Shortz. He's puzzle editor of The New York Times and WEEKEND EDITION's puzzlemaster. Will, good morning.

WILL SHORTZ, BYLINE²: Good morning, Lulu.

GARCIA-NAVARRO: What are your eclipse plans, may I ask?

SHORTZ: Well, I will probably watch it on TV or something - a little too far from New York. What about you?

GARCIA-NAVARRO: I will be up in Maine, not in the path of totality. But, you know, I will try and catch what I can. Neither of us are good ambassadors for the eclipse, I'm afraid (laughter).

SHORTZ: Yeah.

GARCIA-NAVARRO: All right, remind us of last week's challenge.

SHORTZ: Yeah. It came from listener Patrick Berry of Jasper, Ala. I said name a long-running TV show in two words, add a C, and rearrange the result to name another long-running TV show also in two words. And the answer is "American Dad," which is on Fox, and add a C, scramble³, you get "Candid⁴ Camera," which is still on TV Land.

GARCIA-NAVARRO: All right, this week received over 130 correct responses. And our randomly⁵ selected winner is Shari Meyer of Somerville, Mass. Congratulations, Shari.

SHARI MEYER: Thank you. My husband and I really are huge puzzle enthusiasts⁶. The very first thing we ever did as a couple was a crossword⁷ puzzle. It was the New York Times puzzle actually.

SHORTZ: Oh, cool.

MEYER: So we're very, very, very excited to have won. We've truly have been entering just about every week for a decade.

GARCIA-NAVARRO: Aw, that's nice. So the answer to the challenge this week were two TV shows - "Candid Camera" and "American Dad." Do you watch those? Are those some of your favorites?

MEYER: Not especially. I don't know if I've ever seen an episode of "Candid Camera." I've seen a few episodes of "American Dad." But my husband and I started by just looking at a list of long-running shows and "American Dad" stuck out. And from there, we went to a blog that we frequent called Blaine's Puzzle Blog. And the hint there helped us crack it.

GARCIA-NAVARRO: I hear you're about to be a mom?

MEYER: I am. We're due with our first baby in a month, so.

GARCIA-NAVARRO: Good luck (laughter).

MEYER: Thank you.

GARCIA-NAVARRO: And do you have any eclipse plans?

MEYER: I'm not sure just yet. I think we'll probably try to craft something, but we're not traveling to see it. So, you know, we won't get the total - the total view here.

GARCIA-NAVARRO: Exactly. Eight months pregnant, I can imagine you're not going to hit the road.

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GARCIA-NAVARRO: All right, are you ready to play The Puzzle?

MEYER: I guess so.

GARCIA-NAVARRO: All right, here we go.

SHORTZ: All right, Shari, I'm going to give you some clues. The answer to each one is a six-letter word that rhymes with the last word of the clue. For example, if I said cause of muscle pain, you would say strain.

MEYER: OK.

SHORTZ: OK, here's number one - time of year when birds start to sing.

MEYER: Spring.

SHORTZ: That is it. Number two - having glaring light.

MEYER: Bright.

SHORTZ: What follows Sunday?

MEYER: Monday.

SHORTZ: That's right. What's raised in a mound⁸?

MEYER: Ground.

SHORTZ: That's right. More than twice.

MEYER: Thrice.

GARCIA-NAVARRO: Hey, you're really good.

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SHORTZ: On a roll. Place where you might find a vassal⁹.

MEYER: In a castle.

SHORTZ: That's right. Tool on a mechanic's bench.

MEYER: Wrench¹⁰.

SHORTZ: That's it. What you can use to fill in a stencil¹¹.

MEYER: A pencil.

SHORTZ: Bank feller.

MEYER: Sorry, bank what?

SHORTZ: Feller, F-E-L-L-E-R, bank feller.

MEYER: Oh, teller¹².

SHORTZ: Of course, it could be female, too. But I couldn't make that rhyme. How about traveling theater group?

MEYER: Troop.

SHORTZ: Important measure for freight.

MEYER: Is it just weight?

SHORTZ: Yes, that's all. Like the hair of a horse.

MEYER: Course.

SHORTZ: Oops. That's O-O-P-S. What's something else you might say instead of oops?

MEYER: Oh, whoops¹³.

SHORTZ: Woops is right. Cover as in a cloud.

MEYER: Shroud¹⁴.

SHORTZ: That's it. And here's your last one. Where many French films first ran.

MEYER: Cannes.

SHORTZ: That is it. Shari, wow, 100 percent.

MEYER: Thank you so much.

GARCIA-NAVARRO: One hundred percent. Congratulations, that was really great.

MEYER: Thank you very much.

GARCIA-NAVARRO: For playing our 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. Shari, what member station do you listen to?

MEYER: WBUR.

SHORTZ: All right, Shari Meyer of Somerville, Mass., thank you for playing The Puzzle.

MEYER: Thank you so much for having me.

GARCIA-NAVARRO: OK, Will, what's next week's challenge?

SHORTZ: Yes. This week's challenge comes from listener Steve Baggish of Arlington, Mass. Think of two synonyms¹⁵ - one in five letters, the other in four. The five-letter word starts with S, as in Sam. And the four-letter word contains an S. Change one of the S's to an A. And you can rearrange the result to name a group of people in nine letters that ideally have those two adjectives describe them. What group is it?

So again, two synonyms - one in five letters, the other in four. Five-letter word starts with S. Four-letter word contains an S. Change one of the S's to an A, and you can rearrange the result to name a group of people that ideally have those two adjectives describe them. What group is it?

GARCIA-NAVARRO: When you have the answer, go to our website npr.org/puzzle and click on the Submit Your Answer link. Just one entry per person, please. Our deadline for entries is Thursday, August 24 at 3 p.m. Eastern. Include a phone number where we can reach you at about that time. And if you're the winner, we'll give you a call. And you'll get to play on the air with the puzzle editor of The New York Times and WEEKEND EDITION's puzzlemaster, Will Shortz. Thanks so much, Will.

SHORTZ: Thank you, Lulu.

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