The words below are the first half of words which are made up of two smaller words - but are not compounds. For example, SUN could be combined with DRY to get SUNDRY. SUNDRY is not a compound word (like BEDROOM), since its two halves are not related. Can you think of the other half of the word below to make longer, but not compound words. Some of the words may have more than one answer. 

1. US 

2. SIN

3. PAR 

4. THY

5. POT

6. CAN

7. DEW 

8. SLAT

9. TAPE 

10. BUOY

11. ORIGIN 

 

Answers:

 

1. USHER

2. SINUS

3. PARDON / PARLANCE / PARAMOUNT

4. THYME

5. POTION

6. CANDID / CANTEEN

7. DEWLAP

8. SLATHER

9. TAPESTRY

10. BUOYANT

11. ORIGINALLY  

NPR Weekend Edition Sunday Puzzle

June 14, 2026

Will Shortz 

 

Change each word below into a world capital by replacing the first and last letters.

Ex: VASSAL - NASSAU (Bahamas)

 

1. CONDOR

2. ROSCOE

3. PUBLIC

4. SAVANT

5. ETHENE

6. TARSAL

7. TUSCAN

8. CALLING

9. I AGREE 

10. DRAG UP

 

Answers:

 

1. LONDON

2. MOSCOW

3. DUBLIN

4. HAVANA

5. ATHENS

6. WARSAW

7. MUSCAT (Oman)

8. TALLIN (Estonia)  

9. ZAGREB (Croatia)

10. PRAGUE (Czech Republic)

  

 

FAMILY TIES XLIII

Dell PennyPress Variety Puzzles

Winter, 2025

 

Each group below contains four unrelated words. Without changing the order of the letters, change one letter in each of the words to form four related words.

 

1. Peppy.....Lamp.....Dawn.....Bid

2. Twin.....Blanch.....Bank.....Truck     

3. Wood.....Sulk.....Liken.....Belt

4. Word.....Mope.....Spring.....Chair

5. Posture.....Yield.....Plait.....Pea

6. Share.....Curtail.....Grape.....Sputter

7. Chest.....Scramble.....Worry.....Rink

8. Next.....Borrow.....Fair.....Dive

9. Surgeon.....Prosier.....Thrice.....Broom

10. Canon.....Slow.....Rant.....Tinker 

 

Answers:

 

1. Puppy, Lamb, Fawn, Kid

2. Twig, Branch, Bark, Trunk

3. Wool, Silk, Linen, Felt

4. Cord, Rope, String, Chain

5. Pasture, Field, Plain, Lea

6. Shade, Curtain, Drape, Shutter

7. Chess, Scrabble, Sorry, Risk

8. Nest, Burrow, Lair, Hive

9. Burgeon, Prosper, Thrive, Bloom

10. Canoe, Scow, Raft, Tanker 

 

 

TWO OUT OF THREE IV

Anagram two of the three words in each clue to get a synonym of the third word:

Ex: BUD, KIDNAP, CAT

Ans: BUD + CAT = ABDUCT (kidnap)

 

Ex: TAPE, VISE, HEAD

Ans: VISE + HEAD = ADHESIVE (tape)

 

1. EEL, MUG, PEA

2. COT, SMALL, LAMP

3. MERE, SOFA, SCARY

4. RIDER, SNEER, GASP

5. SURE, TIDBIT, METE

6. NODS, HARSH, SAINT

7. MAST, SCALE, PUPIL

8. DARE, HEEL, CLANG

9. PAR, DRESS, PALE

 

HINTS:

One of the word to be anagrammed:
1. EEL

2. LAMP

3. SOFA

4. GASP

5. SURE

6. NODS

7. MAST

8. CLANG

9. PAR

 

Answers: 

 

1. EEL + MUG = LEGUME (pea)

2. COT + LAMP = COMPACT (small)

3. MERE + SOFA = FEARSOME (scary)

4. SNEER + GASP = PASSENGER (rider)

5. SURE + TIDBIT = DISTRIBUTE (mete) 

6. NODS + SAINT = DISSONANT (harsh)

7. MAST + SCALE = CLASSMATE (pupil)

8. HEEL + CLANG = CHALLENGE (dare)

9. PAR + PALE = APPAREL (dress)   

Can you think of three familiar expressions that use the word IS two times each that reflect resignation - the feeling that there's nothing more that can be done to change the situation?

(Possible) Answers: 

It is what it is.

That's how it is. 

What's done is done.

The following ten, eleven, and twelve-letter words have something in common that has to do with their letters rather than their meanings. Can you determine what it is?

BACKGROUND

SUBORDINATE

PROBLEMATIC

AMBIDEXTROUS

 

Answer:

 

The words are unusual in that for such long words there are no repeated letters.  

Each of the phrases below has a very unusual property. Can you determine what it is?

1. MONA'S THICK RAINCOAT

2. RECORDS A TV EPISODE

HINT:

Anagrams

 

Answers:

 

1. Two of the three words can be anagrammed to make a synonym of the remaining word:

     MONA'S THICK = MACKINTOSH (raincoat)

 

2. Three of the four words can be anagrammed to make a synonym of the remaining word:

     A TV EPISODE = VIDEOTAPES (records) 

 

Credit:
Dell PennyPress Variety Puzzles