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Looking For Common Ground? Sometimes All It Takes Is 3 Letters

NPR

On-air challenge: Given two kinds of people or things, name something they both do — in three letters.

For example: a false witness, and a person in bed --> lie.

Last week's challenge, from listener Peter Weisz of West Palm Beach, Fla.: Name something in 11 letters that's a common household item. You can rearrange the first six letters to form a synonym of a word spelled by the middle three letters. What is the item, and what are the words?

Answer: Thermometer; mother, mom.

Winner: Jeff Vorchheimer of Summit, N.J.

Next week's challenge, from Mike Hinterberg of Loveland, Colo.: Name a creature in nine letters. The name contains a T. Drop the T, and the remaining letters can be rearranged to spell two related modes of transportation. What are they?

Submit Your Answer

If you know the answer to next week's challenge, submit it here. Listeners who submit correct answers win a chance to play the on-air puzzle. Important: Include a phone number where we can reach you Thursday, May 19, at 3 p.m. ET.

Copyright 2021 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).