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Sunday Puzzle: For French fanatics

Sunday Puzzle
NPR
Sunday Puzzle

On-air challenge: Every answer today is a word or phrase that comes from French but is also commonly used in English. See if you can get them from their anagrams.
 

Ex. TOPED / Train station   -->   DEPOT

  1. BRIDES / Scattered pieces of waste
  2. ROSE UP / One who pretends to be something he's not
  3. BEARCAT / Nightclub
  4. EURONET / On the way (2 words)
  5. CONTOUR / Bit of toasted bread in soup or a salad
  6. IT'S CHEAP / Artistic work that imitates another
  7. BEARS OUT / One who deliberately wrecks something for military gain
  8. QUITE SOUR / Bluish green
  9. RUNESTONE / Confidentially (2 words)
  10. HOTEL SUITE / Dark outline of something against a light background
  11. CENTRAL BEACH / Complete freedom to act (2 words)

Last week's challenge: Last week's challenge comes from listener Dan Asimov, a Berkeley, Calif. In English the two-letter combination TH can be pronounced in two different ways: once as in the word "booth," the other as in "smooth." What is the only common English word, other than "smooth," that ends in the letters TH as pronounced in smooth?
 

Challenge answer: Mouth (as a verb)

Winner: Amy Anderson of Aurora, Ohio

This week's challenge: This week's challenge comes from Henri Picciotto and Joshua Kosman, the creators of "Out of Left Field" cryptic crosswords. Think of a word meaning "delay." Remove one W from it. and you'll be left with another word meaning "delay." What words are these?
 

Submit Your Answer

If you know the answer to the challenge, submit it here by Thursday, April 3rd 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 2025 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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