On-air challenge: This Sunday's New York Times has a special 14-page section called "Puzzle Mania," which I edited, containing puzzles of all sorts. Here's the start of one I made called "Silence Is Golden." I'm going to give you a word and a letter of the alphabet. Rearrange everything to make a new word in which the added letter is silent.
Example: WAN + G --> GNAW
1. MUD + B
2. PAR + W
3. FINE + K
4. TOGS + H
5. RODS + W
6. TILE + S
7. ALMS + P
8. STONE + H
9. MULES + C
10. SNARE + W
Last week's challenge: Think of a word that can go before "table" to make a familiar phrase. Move the last letter to the front, and you'll have a word that can go after "table" to make a familiar phrase. What phrases are these?
Challenge answer: Craps table, table scrap.
Winner: WYPR listener Jonathan Sussman of Pittsford, N.Y.
This week's challenge: This challenge comes from Joseph Young of St. Cloud, Minn., who conducts the blog Puzzleria. Think of two words meaning "certain groups of females." If you have the right ones, you can rearrange all the letters to name a famous novel by a female writer. The title has 13 letters in total. What novel is it?
If you know the answer to next week's challenge, submit it here. Listeners who submit correct answers win a chance to play the on-air puzzle. Important: Include a phone number where we can reach you by Thursday, Dec. 20 at 3 p.m. ET.
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