On-air challenge: Each of the following sentences has two blanks. The first word has the letter O somewhere in it. Double the O to get the second word, which completes the sentence.
Example: In math class, my PROF asked me to find the shortest PROOF.
1. To get to an online article about the 31st U.S. president, you should ____________ your cursor over the name Herbert ____________.
2. On the team's baseball ____________ was a player who perfectly imitated the crowing of a ____________.
3. To order craft stockings made in Indiana, I needed a ____________ who was a ____________.
4. Our instructor on whaling would always ____________ the need for the ____________ to be very, very sharp. [note: what goes in the first blank is two words]
5. When barbecuing spare ribs, you should ____________ them with a bourbon sauce to get a ____________ taste.
6. John's wife stormed out of the disco after the ____________ dancer made ____________ eyes at her husband. [note: the first word has two O's, both of which are doubled]
Last week's challenge: Name a famous actress who has four letters in her first name and four letters in her last name. Add one letter and rearrange the result to name an animal and the sound this animal makes. Who is the actress and what is the sound that the animal makes?
Answer: Teri Garr --> tiger, roar
Winner: Dan Simmons of Salem, Ore.
Next week's challenge: This is a variation on the old word ladder puzzle. The object is to change WHOLE to HEART by either adding or subtracting one letter at a time, making a new, common, uncapitalized word at each step.
For example, you can change RED to ROSE in five steps. Starting with RED, you could add a U, making RUED; drop the D, leaving RUE; add an S, making RUSE; add an O, making ROUSE, and then drop the U, leaving ROSE.
Changing or rearranging letters is not allowed, neither are plurals or verbs formed by adding -S. No word in the chain can have fewer than three letters.
How many steps are needed to change WHOLE to HEART? I have my best answer. We'll compare results next week.
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 at which we can reach you Thursday, Jan. 7, at 3 p.m. ET.
Copyright 2021 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org. 9(MDAxODc1NzUzMDEyMTgyMjc0NzUxZmVhMQ004))
