© 2025 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: In Reverse

Sunday Puzzle
NPR
Sunday Puzzle

On air challenge: Today's puzzle is called "Reversible Words." I'm going to give you clues for two compound words. Switch the order of the parts of one to get the other.

1. Bit of movie filming that ends up not being used / Dining option at a restaurant

2. Aching head on the morning after / Place for a gutter on a house

3. Breakfast item you put maple syrup on / Bakery container

4. $10 bill, in slang / Cutting tool that needs two hands

5. Decline in economic activity / Refusal

6. Distract from thinking about the immediate issue / Spectator area immediately next to where horses race

Last week's challenge: Last week's challenge came from listener Jim Francis, of Kirkland, Wash. Take this equation: 14 + 116 + 68 = 47. Clearly this doesn't work mathematically. But it does work in a nonmathematical way. Please explain.

Challenge answer: The atomic numbers 14, 116, and 68 represent the chemical elements silicon (Si), livermorium (Lv), and erbium (68), respectively. The symbols for these elements spell SiLvEr, which has the atomic number 47.

Winner: Sheri Bone of Big Flats, NY.

This week's challenge: This week's challenge comes from the screenwriter and comedian Mike Reiss. Name something scary in two words. Five of the letters are vowels, which are all the same. And the consonants are all Roman numerals. What scary thing is this?

Submit Your Answer

If you know the answer to this week's challenge, submit it here by Thursday, 9th at 3 p.m. ET. Listeners whose answers are selected win a chance to play the on-air puzzle. Important: Include a phone number where we can reach you.

Produced by Lennon Sherburne contributed to this story

Copyright 2023 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.

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.

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.