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Sunday Puzzle: Fill in the Blank

Sunday Puzzle
NPR
Sunday Puzzle

On-air challenge: I'm going to read you some sentences. Each sentence has two blanks. Change the first letter of the word that goes in the first blank to QU- to get the word that goes in the second blank.

Ex. The ducks in our ____ yard ____ a lot. --> BACK, QUACK
1. After jogging, I sat on a park ____ with a sports drink to ____ my thirst.
2. The price of a ____ of oil to the exact penny is not something to ____ about.
3. How many blocks of limestone can a railcar ____ from a ____?
4. The chef's ____ in the world of cooking was making ____ Lorraine.
4. If you haven't heard about a manuscript you submitted months ago, it would be ____smart to ____your editor.
5. The ____ was two members short of a ____ to conduct business.
6. The witty writer was most ____ for being eminently ____.
7. The words "____" and "____" both mean to exhibit unsteadiness.

Last week's challenge: This week's challenge comes from Michael Schwartz, of Florence, Ore. Name something found on a map of England. Two words. The last two letters of the first word are the same as the first two letters of the last. If you go to England, you can't see this place. You can see it only on a map. What was it?

Challenge answer: Prime Meridian

Winner: Jeff Forster of Pittsburgh, PA.

This week's challenge: This week's challenge comes from listener Dan Pitt, of Palo Alto, Calif. Name a famous contemporary singer (6,4). The second, fourth, sixth, eighth, and ninth letters, in order, spell a repeated part of a song that everyone knows. What is it?

Submit Your Answer

If you know the answer to the challenge, submit it here by Thursday, August 17th 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.

Produced by Lennon Sherburne contributed to this story

Copyright 2023 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).