Will Shortz

Will Shortz appears in the following:

You'd Better Sit Tight For This One

Sunday, June 16, 2013

On-air challenge: Every answer is a familiar two-word phrase or name in which the first word starts SI and the second word starts with T. For example, given "unadorned set of facts," you would say, "simple truth."

Last week's challenge: Name a movie in two words — five letters in ...

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Follow Homer To Find Your Way

Sunday, June 09, 2013

On-air challenge: Categories are given based on the name "Homer," the name of a town in Alaska. Name something in the category beginning with each of the letters H-O-M-E-R. For example, if the category were "Chemical Elements," you might say Helium, Oxygen, Magnesium, Einsteinium, and Radon. You can give the ...

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Keep Your I On The Prize

Sunday, June 02, 2013

On-air challenge: Every answer is a made-up two-word phrase in which the letter I is inserted somewhere inside the first word to get the second word.

Last week's challenge: Think of a word starting with G. Change the G to a T and rearrange the letters after the T. The ...

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Investigating The Crime Scene

Sunday, May 26, 2013

On-air challenge: Today's theme is "C.S.I." — as in the name of the long-running TV show. You're given three words starting with the letters C, S and I. For each set, give a fourth word that can follow each of the original words to complete a compound word or a ...

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Put On Your Thinking Hat

Sunday, May 19, 2013

On-air challenge: Every answer is a familiar two-word phrase or name in which the first word starts with H-A and the second word starts with T.

Last week's challenge: From listener Al Gori of Cozy Lake, N.J. Name a famous American man — first and last names. Change the first ...

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This One Is For You, Ma

Sunday, May 12, 2013

On-air challenge: You are given two words starting with M-A. The answer is a third word that can follow the first one and precede the second one, in each case to complete a compound word or a familiar two-word phrase.

Last week's challenge: Name a famous performer whose last name ...

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Two Last Names For The Price Of One

Sunday, May 05, 2013

On-air challenge: Every answer today consists of two people, either real or fictional, whose last names are anagrams of each other.

Last week's challenge: It comes from listener Matt Jones of Portland, Ore. Jones creates a weekly syndicated puzzle called the "Jonesin' Crossword," which appears in more than 50 alternative ...

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As You Know, Puzzles Are A Pastime

Sunday, April 28, 2013

On-air challenge: For each given category, name something in the category where the first letter is also the first letter of the category. For example, given "Military Ranks," you would say "Major."

Last week's challenge: Name a geographical location in two words — nine letters altogether — that, when spoken ...

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You'll Get It Just Right, Junior

Sunday, April 21, 2013

On-air challenge: Every answer is a familiar two-word phrase or name with the initials "J.R."

Last week's challenge from listener Sandy Weisz: Take a common English word. Write it in capital letters. Move the first letter to the end and rotate it 90 degrees. You'll get a new word that ...

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O Say Can You C The Answer?

Sunday, April 14, 2013

On-air challenge: Every answer is a two-word phrase in which the first word starts with O. Drop the O, and you'll get a new word that ends the phrase.

Last week's challenge: Name something in nine letters that is commonly read on Sunday morning. If you have the right thing, ...

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A Brand-New Word

Sunday, April 07, 2013

On-air challenge: Every answer is a well-known commercial name that spells a regular word or name backward. Identify the brands. For example, given "laundry detergent" and "work in a magazine office," the answer would be "tide" and "edit."

Last week's challenge: Name something in four letters that you use every ...

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Hiding In Plain Sight

Sunday, March 31, 2013

On-air challenge: You will be given some words. For each one, you provide a four-letter word that can follow the first to complete a familiar two-word phrase. The four letters of the second word can always be found inside the first word. For example, given "personal," the answer would be ...

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Finding The Answers Within

Sunday, March 24, 2013

On-air challenge: You'll be given clues for some five-letter words. In each case, the letters of the answer can be found consecutively somewhere inside the clue. For example, given "Some teenagers' language," the answer would be "slang"(hidden inside "teenagerS' LANGuage").

Last week's challenge from Tyler Hinman: Take an eight-letter word ...

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Take Your Pics

Sunday, March 17, 2013

On-air challenge: Every answer is a familiar two-word phrase or name in which the first word starts with the letters P-I and the second word starts with C. For example, given "One of 27 compositions by Mozart" you would say "(Pi)ano (C)oncerto."

Last week's challenge: Think of two familiar three-word ...

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From A To Z

Sunday, March 10, 2013

On-air challenge: Every answer is a word containing an A and a Z. Given anagrams of the remaining letters, name the word. For example, given "leg," the answer would be "glaze".

Last week's challenge: Eight people are seated at a circular table. Each person gets up and sits down again ...

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Perfectly Puzzling

Sunday, March 03, 2013

On-air challenge: You will be given two words starting with the letter P. Name a third word starting with P that can follow the first one and precede the second one, in each case to complete a familiar two-word phrase. For example, given "peer" and "point," you would say "pressure," ...

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Your City, Your New York: Your Favorite Places

Wednesday, October 26, 2011

Jeryl Brunner, entertainment journalist and author of My City, My New York: Famous New Yorkers Share Their Favorite Places, takes your calls about your favorite New York City spots and talks about what celebrities said when she asked them about the NYC locations dear to them. Jay Jay French, founding member and one of the guitarists of the band Twisted Sister, and Will Shortz, editor of the New York Times crossword puzzle, chime in with their favorite places.

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Yes, We KenKen

Tuesday, February 24, 2009

Will Shortz, crossword editor for the New York Times and puzzlemaster for NPR's Weekend Edition Sunday, explains KenKen, the new numbers-based puzzle in the Times, and looks ahead to the weekend's crossword puzzle championship in Brooklyn.

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Solving Politics

Tuesday, February 24, 2009

Puzzle master Will Shortz discusses crosswords, sudoku and ken-ken, the latest puzzle craze. Plus, Newsweek's Jonathan Alter and Gwen Ifill of the PBS Newshour talk politics. And, psychologist Stephen Pinker.

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