NPR Weekend Edition Sunday Puzzles 

May 3, 2026

Will Shortz

 

Each of the words and phrases below can be anagrammed into a German word that has been adopted into English. For example, GNATS could be anagrammed into ANGST.

 

1. PILES

2. ELIDES

3. MUTUAL 

4. WE'RE IN

5. POSTAGE 

6. GET LAST 

7. BENT OVER

8. ADULT WRENS 

 

Answers:

 

1. PILES - SPIEL

2. ELIDES - DIESEL

3. MUTUAL - UMLAUT

4. WE'RE IN - WIENER

5. POSTAGE - GESTAPO

6. GET LAST - GESTALT

7. BENT OVER - VERBOTEN

8. ADULT WRENS - WANDERLUST  

What do the following words have in common?

Muffin

Curling

Bomb

Wire

Foot

Balloon

Siding

Standard

Tank

Sign 

Spoon

Liquid 

 

Answer:

 

Each word can be either preceded or followed by the name of an element to make a common phrase:

 

Muffin tin

Curling iron

Hydrogen bomb

Copper wire

Lead foot

Helium balloon

Aluminum siding

Gold standard

Oxygen tank

Neon sign

Silver spoon 

Liquid nitrogen   

NY Times Crossword

May 3, 2026

Mark Diehl

WHAT ARE THE ODDS? 

 

In each pair of clues below, the second clue has a punny relationship with the first. Can you determine what it is. 

 

1. PLASTIC SHEETS

    Gives a darn

 

2. NO EASY TASK

    Sticky pads

 

3. BRIDGET JONES

    Low digit

 

4. KEN KESEY

    Child support

 

5.  ACCOUNT REP 

    Not quite right 

 

6. BARBARIANS

    Scarecrow's lack 

 

HINT:

The puzzle title is a hint. 

 

Answers:

 

In each pair of clues, the odd letters in the first clue spell out the answer to the second clue:

 

1. PlAsTiC sHeEtS = patches (gives a darn)

2. No EaSy TaSk = nests (sticky pads) 

3. BrIdGeT jOnEs = big toe (low digit) 

4. KeN kEsEy = knee (child support) 

5. AcCoUnT rEp = acute (not quite right) [angle]

6. BaRbArIaNs = brain (scarecrow's lack) [in The Wizard of Oz]  

     

WHO'S THE MAN? III 

GAMES/World of Puzzles 

October, 2021

Edward Mooney

 

Can you fill in the names of the people and characters below whose middle name is THE? The names are listed in alphabetical order. 

 

Robin the Boy Wonder

________ the Riveter

________ the Red-Nosed Reindeer

________ the Teenage Witch

________ the Sham and the Pharaohs

________ the Sailor

________ the Bear

________ the Man

________ the Tiger

________ the Impaler

________ the Conqueror

________ -the-Pooh 

________ the Turtle

________ the Greek

 

Answers:

 

Rosie the Riveter

Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer

Sabrina the Teenage Witch

Sam the Sham and the Pharaohs

Sinbad the Sailor

Smokey the Bear

Stan the Man (Musial)

Tony the Tiger

Vlad the Impaler

William the Conqueror

Winnie-the-Pooh

Yertle the Turtle

Zorba the Greek 

 

  

COMPOUND LINKS XXV

Dell PennyPress Variety Puzzles

October, 2025 (1-4)

 

Fill in the blanks with a compound word or two-word phrase so that the first two words and the last two words make up other compound words or two-word phrases.   

 

1. MAKE A  ________ PRICE

2. SEALING ________ PIECE

3. LAUNCH ________ HOUSE

4. FIREPLACE ________ POWDER 

5. APRIL ________ POSITIVE

6. OPEN ________ MOTHER

7. HORSE ________ ZERO 

8. SEA ________ LACE

9. ELEVENTH ________ MENAGERIE 

 

Answers:

 

1. make a WISH LIST price  

2. sealing WAX MUSEUM piece

3. launch WINDOW FRAME house

4. fireplace POKER FACE powder

5. april FOOL PROOF positive

6. open DOORSTEP mother

7. horse PLAYGROUND zero

8. sea TURTLENECKlace

9. eleventh HOURGLASS menagerie  

 

DROP A LETTER - GET A NEW WORD CXXXVIII

GAMES/World of Puzzles

April, 2026

FAMILY REUNIONS

Bob Stigger 

 

Drop one letter from each word and re-arrange the remaining letters to form eight related words.

 

1. EXPEL

2. FIRST

3. KEBAB

4. CINEMA

5. YANKED 

6. BUNDLE

7. IMMERSE

8. MARQUEES 

 

HINTS:

First letters of the new words:

1. P

2. S

3. B

4. M

5. K

6. B

7. S

8. M

 

Answers:

 

1. PEEL

2. STIR

3. BAKE

4. MINCE

5. KNEAD

6. BLEND

7. SIMMER

8. MEASURE - - - Recipe verbs  

FLEXERS CXLII

Answer each clue by matching it with one of the choices below. Wordplay is fair play.

1. Frost bit

2. Hide outside 

3. Noted precursor 

4. Bobs and weaves 

5. This isn't working

6. Nice way to leave

7. Say "I do" without ado

8. It's often glossed over

9. Flight component

10. E's in BREED

 

CHOICES:

a. Au revoir

b. Stair

c. Duly

d. Verse

e. Lip

f. Leisure

g. Two of a kind

h. Animal pelt

i. Elope

j. Hairdos

 

Answers:

 

1. d - Verse (Robert Frost)

2. h - Animal pelt (hide = animal skin)  

3. c - Duly (duly noted)

4. j -Hairdos

5. f - Leisure

6. a - Au revoir (Nice = city in France)

7. i - Elope

8. e - Lip

9. b - Stair

10. g - Two of a kind

 

Credits:

1: Alan DerKazarian 

2: Enrique Henestroza Anguiano

3: Ben Zimmer

4: Daniel Hrynick

5: Rafael Musa and Sala Wanetick

6: Kevin Shustack

7: Ryan Gallagher

8: Zhouqin Burnikel

9: Zhou Zhang and Kevin Curry

10: Jeffrey Martinovic