© 2026 Connecticut Public

FCC Public Inspection Files:
WEDH · WEDN · WEDW · WEDY
WEDW-FM · WNPR · WPKT · WRLI-FM
Public Files Contact · ATSC 3.0 FAQ
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

Sunday Puzzle: Vowel Replacement

NPR

On-air Challenge: I'm going to read you some clues. The answer to each one is one of the words in the clue with its vowel sound changed.

Example: What fish bite --> BAIT (the word "bite" with the long-I sound changed to a long-A)
1. What a babe might wear in a high chair
2. Family dude
3. River seen in Paris
4. Waters that run through Cologne
5. Something that goes "boom!"
6. What you bowl with
7. What the government takes from your income
8. What a hat adds to your body
9. Where to order a beer
10. Something that will go round and round
11. What a cryptographer could read
12. Word that means "strange"
13. When night is done

Last week's challenge: Think of part of the body in seven letters. Add an "N" and rearrange all the letters to name two more parts of the body (none related to the original word). What body parts are these?

Challenge answer: KNEECAP + N -> NAPE + NECK

Winner: Mark Stefaniak of Ludington, Mich.

This week's challenge: This week's challenge comes from listener Theodore Regan, of Scituate, Mass. Name a famous actor — 4 letters in the first name, 7 letters in the last. You can change the first letter of the actor's first name to name a bird. And you can change the first letter of the actor's last name to name a mammal. Who's the actor?

Submit Your Answer

If you know the answer to next week's challenge, submit it here by Thursday, April 22, at 3 p.m. ET. Listeners who submit correct answers win a chance to play the on-air puzzle. Important: Include a phone number where we can reach you.

Copyright 2025 NPR

NPR's Puzzlemaster Will Shortz has appeared on Weekend Edition Sunday since the program's start in 1987. He's also the crossword editor of The New York Times, the former editor of Games magazine, and the founder and director of the American Crossword Puzzle Tournament (since 1978).

Federal funding is gone.

Congress has eliminated all funding for public media.

That means $2.1 million per year that Connecticut Public relied on to deliver you news, information, and entertainment programs you enjoyed is gone.

The future of public media is in your hands.

All donations are appreciated, but we ask in this moment you consider starting a monthly gift as a Sustainer to help replace what’s been lost.

SOMOS CONNECTICUT is an initiative from Connecticut Public, the state’s local NPR and PBS station, to elevate Latino stories and expand programming that uplifts and informs our Latino communities. Visit CTPublic.org/latino for more stories and resources. For updates, sign up for the SOMOS CONNECTICUT newsletter at ctpublic.org/newsletters.

SOMOS CONNECTICUT es una iniciativa de Connecticut Public, la emisora local de NPR y PBS del estado, que busca elevar nuestras historias latinas y expandir programación que alza y informa nuestras comunidades latinas locales. Visita CTPublic.org/latino para más reportajes y recursos. Para noticias, suscríbase a nuestro boletín informativo en ctpublic.org/newsletters.

Federal funding is gone.

Congress has eliminated all funding for public media.

That means $2.1 million per year that Connecticut Public relied on to deliver you news, information, and entertainment programs you enjoyed is gone.

The future of public media is in your hands.

All donations are appreciated, but we ask in this moment you consider starting a monthly gift as a Sustainer to help replace what’s been lost.