Sunday Puzzle: How It Started
Will Shortz, the renowned puzzle master, brings us the latest challenge in the Sunday Puzzle series. In this edition, we delve into the world of wordplay, where the first two letters of the answer mirror the first two letters of the clue.
Source: media.npr.org
The challenge begins with a clever example: ‘Planetoid beyond Neptune’ is answered with ‘PLUTO’, where the first two letters ‘PL’ match the clue. This sets the stage for a series of puzzles that will test your vocabulary and wordplay skills.
On-air Challenge
Here’s how it works: answer each clue with a word that starts with the same first two letters as the clue. Sounds simple, but trust us, it’s not! The puzzles are carefully crafted to challenge even the most skilled wordplayers.
Let’s take a look at the first few clues:
- 1. Car at the end of a train
- 2. Early spring holiday
- 3. Windshield clearer
- 4. Bank amount
- 5. Boxing match
As you can see, each clue requires a unique answer that meets the criteria. The first two letters of the answer must match the first two letters of the clue.
Last Week’s Challenge
Last week’s challenge came from Sam Ezersky, a colleague of Will Shortz at The New York Times. The puzzle was to take the name of a popular 21st-century film with animals, ‘Zootopia’, remove the first and last letters, and change one of the remaining six letters to a C, to spell a plural word for certain animals. The answer was ‘octopi’, a clever play on words.
The solver who successfully completed the challenge was Daniel Erenstein of Lafayette, California. Congratulations, Daniel!
This Week’s Challenge
This week’s challenge comes from Evan Kalish, of Bayside, N.Y. There is a set of five five-letter words that vary by just their middle letter. If the middle is any letter from K through O, it makes a common word. However, no other letter can go in the middle to complete a word. What words are these?
Will you be the one to solve this challenge and win a chance to play the on-air puzzle? The deadline is Thursday, July 30 at 3 p.m. ET, so get thinking and submit your answer soon!
Remember, the first two letters of the answer must match the first two letters of the clue. Good luck, and have fun!
