ELISSA NADWORNY, HOST:
And it is time to play the Puzzle.
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NADWORNY: Joining us, as always, is Will Shortz. He's puzzle editor of the New York Times and the puzzlemaster of WEEKEND EDITION. Hello there, Will.
WILL SHORTZ, BYLINE: Good morning, Elissa.
NADWORNY: So Will, would you please remind us of last week's challenge?
SHORTZ: Yes. It came from listener Laura Kozma of South River, N.J. I said, think of a brand name in seven letters that you might find in a pharmacy. Drop the last letter and rearrange the letters that remain, and you'll get another brand name in six letters that you might also find in a pharmacy. What is it? Well, the intended answer was Clairol, the hair coloring, to Ricola, the cough drops. There was another answer that a lot of listeners sent in - Centrum, the vitamin supplement, curtails and anagrams to Nurtec, N-U-R-T-E-C, a medicine for migraines. So we counted both of those as correct.
NADWORNY: There were about 84 correct entries, and this week's winner is Eric Feinstein of Ossining, N.Y. Congratulations, Eric.
ERIC FEINSTEIN: Thank you so much.
NADWORNY: How long have you been playing the Puzzle?
FEINSTEIN: Well, I'm not sure what came before postcards, but I used to walk them in.
NADWORNY: Wow. And what do you do when you're not playing the Puzzle?
FEINSTEIN: Well, I own and operate a mobile audio guide platform. And then when not doing that, I bake a lot - perhaps too much if you ask my family - and also work on puzzles and crossword puzzles and such.
NADWORNY: What's the last thing you've baked?
FEINSTEIN: I made these Welsh cakes, a cross between basically biscuits and scones that are cooked on a griddle top - supremely good.
NADWORNY: Wow. Now you're making me hungry.
(LAUGHTER)
NADWORNY: Let's play the Puzzle.
FEINSTEIN: Excellent.
NADWORNY: Take it away, Will.
SHORTZ: All right, Eric and Elissa, I'm going to give you some three-letter words that are found inside the names of countries. You name the countries. For example, if I said mar, M-A-R, in seven letters, you would say Denmark. And the three letters are always inside the name, never at the start or the end. And here's No. 1 - wed, W-E-D, and a six-letter country.
FEINSTEIN: Sweden.
SHORTZ: ...Is correct. Ham, H-A-M, seven letters.
FEINSTEIN: H-A-M - well, I'm not - geography, not my forte.
SHORTZ: So seven letters and ham is right in the middle. So there's two letters before. Two letters after. And it's an island country.
FEINSTEIN: Oh, the Bahamas.
SHORTZ: ...Is correct. Gas, G-A-S, 10 letters.
FEINSTEIN: Madagascar.
SHORTZ: Excellent. Bod, B-O-D, eight letters.
FEINSTEIN: B-O-D, eight letters - Cambodia.
SHORTZ: ...Is right. Wit, W-I-T, 11.
FEINSTEIN: Eleven - Switzerland have 11? I'm not going to count.
SHORTZ: Yes, you got it. Law, L-A-W, six letters.
FEINSTEIN: L-A-W, law...
SHORTZ: It's in Africa.
FEINSTEIN: Let's see. (Laughter) Yeah, that narrows it down to a small amount of countries.
SHORTZ: There's two letters before law, one letter after.
FEINSTEIN: Malawi.
SHORTZ: ...Is correct. Rug, R-U-G, seven.
FEINSTEIN: R-U-G - South America?
SHORTZ: Yes.
FEINSTEIN: Uruguay.
SHORTZ: You've got it. Lip, L-I-P, 11.
FEINSTEIN: Lip - Philippines.
SHORTZ: ...Is correct. Roc, R-O-C, seven.
FEINSTEIN: R-O-C, seven - Morocco?
SHORTZ: ...Is right. Oat, O-A-T, seven.
FEINSTEIN: O-A-T - Croatia.
SHORTZ: ...Is right. Hut, H-U-T, six.
FEINSTEIN: Haven't we covered all the countries so far?
NADWORNY: I know. This is really hard, Will.
(LAUGHTER)
FEINSTEIN: H-U-T, hut...
SHORTZ: Six letters - it's in Asia.
FEINSTEIN: Bhutan.
SHORTZ: ...Is right. OK, we got one more for you. And this one has two answers. The word is ban, B-A-N, seven letters. And ban is right in the middle of the seven letters.
FEINSTEIN: One, two, three, four - so two on each side.
NADWORNY: Yeah. Where in the world are we talking here?
SHORTZ: One is in Europe...
NADWORNY: OK.
SHORTZ: ...Formerly a communist country.
FEINSTEIN: Oh, so Albania.
SHORTZ: Albania - and your second one is in the Mid East, and it borders Israel.
NADWORNY: It's been in the news recently.
FEINSTEIN: I'm totally blanking.
SHORTZ: Uh-huh. OK, and one big hint - its capital is Beirut.
FEINSTEIN: Lebanon.
SHORTZ: Lebanon is it. You got it.
NADWORNY: Wow. I mean, how do you feel, Eric? Coming in pretty hot at the top...
FEINSTEIN: (Laughter).
NADWORNY: ...Trickling out at the end. But what are you thinking (laughter)?
FEINSTEIN: I know - pretty exhausting. I didn't realize there were that many countries.
NADWORNY: (Laughter) Well, for playing our Puzzle today, you will get a WEEKEND EDITION lapel pin, as well as puzzle books and games, and you can read all about the puzzle and its prizes at npr.org/puzzle if you're playing along at home. Eric, what member station do you listen to?
FEINSTEIN: WNYC.
NADWORNY: That's Eric Feinstein of Ossining, N.Y. Thanks for playing the Puzzle.
FEINSTEIN: Thank you.
NADWORNY: OK, Will. What is next week's challenge?
SHORTZ: Yes, it comes from listener Steve Baggish of Arlington, Mass. Name a famous classical composer in three syllables, change the vowel sounds in the first and third syllables, and phonetically, you'll name a sport. What is it? So again, famous classical composer - three syllables. Change the vowel sounds in the first and third syllables, and phonetically you'll name a sport. What sport is it?
NADWORNY: When you have the answer, go to our website, npr.org/puzzle, and click on the submit your answer link. Remember, just one entry please. Our deadline for entries this week is Thursday, February 8 at 3 p.m. Eastern. And don't forget to include a phone number where we can reach you. If you are the winner, we will give you a call. And if you pick up the phone, you'll get to play on the air with the puzzle editor of the New York Times and puzzlemaster of WEEKEND EDITION, Will Shortz. Thanks, Will.
SHORTZ: Thank you, Elissa.
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