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Sunday Puzzle: Sibilant Solutions

Sunday Puzzle
NPR
Sunday Puzzle

On-air challenge: I'm going to read you some sentences. Each sentence has two blanks. Put homophones both starting with S in the blanks to complete the sentence.

Ex. The skunk ______ a strong ______ through the neighborhood. --> SENT, SCENT

1. The company is opening a new ______ mill to ______ business from a competitor.

2. At feeding time my dog ______ at me as I walk down the ______ from the second floor.

3. The hilarious joke about Santa getting stuck in his ______ would always ______ an audience.

4. When the jokester poked me in the ______ after making a pun, I ______ wearily.

5. Anyone on a fixed income is likely to become ______ when prices ______.

6. "You Send Me" was the ______ #1 hit by ______ singer Sam Cooke.

7. The ______ of the numbers was off by ______ amount.

8. The revolving display of pens in the ______ shop became broken, and it was ______ from then on.


Last week's challenge: Last week's challenge was sent independently by two listeners — Steve Baggish and Neville Fogarty — credit them both. Think of two well-known companies with two-syllable names starting with J and D, respectively whose names rhyme. One of these companies was founded in the last 10 years. What companies are these?

Challenge answer: Jordache, DoorDash

Winner: Flora Greenberg of Albion, Calif.

This week's challenge: This week's challenge comes from Henri Picciotto, of Berkeley, Calif. He coedits the weekly "Out of Left Field" cryptic crossword. Name a branch of scientific study. Drop the last letter. Then rearrange the remaining letters to name two subjects of that study. What branch of science is it?

Submit Your Answer

If you know the answer to the two-week challenge, submit it here by Wednesday, Nov. 23 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 2022 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.

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).