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A Beast of a Puzzle

NPR's Puzzlemaster Will Shortz quizzes one of our listeners, and has a challenge for everyone at home.

Challenge from Oct. 23:

Take the name Eli and add three letters in front of it, add the same three letters in reverse order after it to complete a familiar two word phrase in nine letter. What is it?

Answer: Time Limit

Winner: Betsy Nickols from Tijeras, New Mexico.

Challenge from Oct. 30:

This week’s challenge is from listener Ron Gallop.

Take the names pelican and antelope, the first is a bird the second a mammal.

The last two letters of pelican are the first two letters of antelope, and the last two letters of antelope are the first two of pelican, completing a loop.

Can you name another bird and mammal that this is true of?

These should be the general name of the bird and mammal not a specific breed or gender.

Hint: Each is a single word no more than eight letters.

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).