© 2026 WRVO Public Media
NPR News for Central New York
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

Sunday Puzzle: What goes around, comes around

Sunday Puzzle
NPR
Sunday Puzzle

On-air challenge: Every answer is a seven-letter compound word or familiar two-word phrase in which the first two letters are the same as the last two in reverse.

Ex. Part of a train --> RAILCAR
1. Product from Purina or Pedigree
2. Crimson, for example
3. Where a football player reaches to score a touchdown
4. Cheer on, as a team
5. Symbol with rainbow colors that might be displayed in a Pride parade
6. Number of people voting or attending an event
7. Male journalists
8. First position in a ranking
9. What you might say when patting Rover on the head

Last week's challenge: It comes from listener Paula Egan Wright. Name a well-known island. Move the first letter six spaces later in the alphabet. Read the result backward. You'll get where this island is located. What island is it?

Challenge answer: Malta --> atlas

Winner: David Kurman of The Villages, Florida

This week's challenge: This week's challenge comes from listener Michael Penn, of Durham, N.C. Name two countries, with a total of 12 letters, that when spelled one after the other form six consecutive state postal abbreviations.

Submit Your Answer

If you know the answer to the two-week challenge, submit it here by Thursday, September 8 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 2026 NPR

Will Shortz has been the puzzle master for NPR's Weekend Edition Sunday since the program's start in 1987.
WRVO is now well into its second year without federal funding. Through it all, our mission has stayed the same: serving central and upstate New York with trusted journalism, vital local coverage, and the diverse programming that informs and connects our communities. Listeners like you are what keep journalists on the ground, asking the hard questions that matter to our region.

Stand with public media and make your gift today. You'll be supporting more than yourself. You'll be supporting everyone who depends on WRVO as a trusted resource and civic cornerstone in central and upstate New York.