'Pumpkin Bumpkin' and Other Fun with 'P' and 'B'

NPR | By Will Shortz

Published March 12, 2006 at 8:00 AM EST

Puzzle master Will Shortz quizzes one of our listeners, and has a challenge for everyone at home.

Challenge from March 5: From Henry Hook, of Brooklyn, New York: What eight-letter noun -- containing the letter "B" -- is pluralized by inserting an "S" immediately before the "B"?

Answer: Passerby. You pluralize it by adding "S" to make "passersby."

Winner: Margo Porras, from San Diego, Calif.

Challenge from March 12: Name an object in four letters, starting with the letter "P." Change the "P" to a "B" and you'll get a verb that names something you do with that object.

Will Shortz

Will Shortz has been the puzzle master for NPR's Weekend Edition Sunday since the program's start in 1987.

See stories by Will Shortz

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