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Sunday Puzzle: Capital Scramble

Sunday Puzzle
Sunday Puzzle

On-air challenge: I'm going to give you two words. The letters in the first word appear in left-to-right order, although not consecutively, in a state capital. The letters in the second word appear in left-to-right order in that capital's state.

Example: Scant, Corn --> Sacramento, California
1. Annals, Aryan
2. Singed, Lois
3. Alas, Ford
4. Saul, Mines
5. Boon, Assets
6. Motor, Lama
7. Mason, Coin
8. Prince, Resand

Last week's challenge: From listener Dominick Talvacchio of Chicago. Think of a common two-word phrase for something you experience in a desert. Rearrange the letters to get a single word for something you should do in the desert as a result.

Challenge answer: Dry Heat --> Hydrate

Winner: Brian Dunworth of Tallahassee, Fla.

This week's challenge: This week's challenge comes from listener Alan Hochbaum, of Duluth, Ga. Think of a famous living American whose first and last names have a total of eight letters — all different. Five of these letters are consecutive in the alphabet. The remaining three can be rearranged to spell a woman's nickname. What famous American is this?

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 by Thursday, August 6, at 3 p.m. ET.

Copyright 2021 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.

Will Shortz has been the puzzle master for NPR's Weekend Edition Sunday since the program's start in 1987.
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