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Sunday Puzzle: Beware the Ides of March

Sunday Puzzle
NPR
Sunday Puzzle

On-air challenge: We just passed the Ides of March, or March 15, an Ancient Roman date best remembered for the assassination of Julius Caesar. Now, I know that IDES is a singular noun in Ancient Roman, but today we're calling it a plural. We're going to insert a bunch of I-D-Es into words to make new words.

I'll give you a word, you insert IDE into that word to make a brand new word or phrase. For example, if I gave you the word BRAD, B-R-A-D, you'd say BRAIDED, which is BRAD with I-D-E inside of it.

  1. SCAR
  2. BESS
  3. GUS
  4. MAN
  5. PRESS
  6. STABLE
  7. WANGLE

Last week's challenge: Take a body part, add a letter at the beginning and end to get another body part, then add another letter at the beginning and end to get something designed to affect that body part.

Challenge answer: Ear, heart, the arts

Winner: David McKinnis of Fairfield, Connecticut

This week's challenge: Our challenge comes from Emma Meersman of Seattle, Washington: Take two three-letter tree names and combine them phonetically to get a clue for a type of fabric, then change one letter in that word to get something related to trees. Your answer should be the two tree names you started with.

Submit Your Answer

If you know the answer to the challenge, submit it here by Thursday, March 21st 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.

Copyright 2024 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).
Greg Pliska

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

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Now all of that is at risk.

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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.