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Sunday Puzzle: State that City

Sunday Puzzle
NPR
Sunday Puzzle

On-air challenge: I'm going to read you some sentences. Each sentence conceals the name of a U.S city phonetically.

Ex. Any good auctioneer will rebuff a lowball offer. [N.Y.] --> BUFFALO (hidden inside "rebuff a lowball")

1. Before pitching a ball, can a southpaw tuck it under his armpit? [R.I.]

2. The demolitionists want to tear a hotel down. [Ind.]

3. The Hawaiian film director plans to dub ukulele music into the soundtrack. [Iowa]

4. Amanda got a bunch of steady catering gigs. [Ill. or Ga.]

5. That's not the way coherent thoughts are produced. [Tex.]

6. Maggie is the most serene au pair we've ever had. [Nev.]

7. Given your perfect S.A.T. scores, I'd rate you "genius-level," academically. [Ore.]

8. Bullwinkle would sometimes belittle Rocky in old cartoons. [Ark.]

Last week's challenge: Last week's challenge came from listener Tom Helfrick, of Sacramento. Think of a common sign seen along a highway. Rearrange the letters to name something inside a car.

Challenge answer: Rest area --> rear seat

Winner: Jeff Wood of Madison, Wisconsin.

This week's challenge: A muffler is part of an automobile. It's also the name of something you can wear. Think of two other parts of automobiles that are also things you can wear. These two words have the same number of letters and the same first two letters in the same order.

Submit Your Answer

If you know the answer to the challenge, submit it here by Thursday, December 7th 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

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).
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