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Sunday Puzzle: Wordy to worldly

Sunday Puzzle
NPR
Sunday Puzzle

On-air challenge: I'm going to give you some words and phrases. For each one, change exactly two letters to name a country. Hint: You never have to change the first letter of my word.

Ex. SOLARIA --> SOMALIA
1. ALGEBRA
2. NORMAL
3. TUSKED
4. MEDICS
5. CANARY
6. RUSTIC
7. GRIEVE
8. HANGARS
9. TUNES IN
10. SEVERAL
11. PAPAYA
12. CAME UPON

Last week's challenge: Last week's challenge came from Peter Collins, of Ann Arbor, MI. Name of a famous TV actress of the past. Double her first name phonetically. You get the first name of a famous musician. If you put the last names of the musician and the actress together, in that order, you'll name a great legendary figure. Who is it?

Challenge answer: Bea Arthur, B.B. King --> King Arthur

Winner: Steve Vittori of Gig Harbor, WA

This week's challenge: Name a country of six or more letters. Change two letters in it to name the resident of another country's capital.

Submit Your Answer

If you know the answer to next week's challenge, submit it here by Wednesday, Nov. 24, 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 2021 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.

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).

The independent journalism and non-commercial programming you rely on every day is in danger.

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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.

The independent journalism and non-commercial programming you rely on every day is in danger.

If you’re reading this, you believe in trusted journalism and in learning without paywalls. You value access to educational content kids love and enriching cultural programming.

Now all of that is at risk.

Federal funding for public media is under threat and if it goes, the impact to our communities will be devastating.

Together, we can defend it. It’s time to protect what matters.

Your voice has protected public media before. Now, it’s needed again. Learn how you can protect the news and programming you depend on.