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DEBBIE ELLIOTT, HOST:
It's time to play the Puzzle.
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ELLIOTT: NPR puzzlemaster Will Shortz is out this week, so we brought in Greg Pliska to take his place. Greg is the chief puzzle officer of "The Puzzler" podcast with A.J. Jacobs and the former puzzle guru of NPR's ASK ME ANOTHER. He's also a musician and a composer. Hey there, Greg. Thanks for stepping in.
GREG PLISKA, BYLINE: Well, thank you, Debbie. It's nice to be here with you.
ELLIOTT: I understand you and Will Shortz go back a ways.
PLISKA: I met him when I competed at his American Crossword Puzzle Tournament several decades ago and eventually became a commentator there. Will also invited me to be part of the annual Words Weekend at Mohonk Mountain House in the Hudson Valley, which now my whole family attends. So Will and I and my wife and kids have known each other through the world of puzzles for many years.
ELLIOTT: So I assume he got you up to speed on last week's challenge?
PLISKA: Indeed, yes. It came 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? The correct answer was Pachelbel and pickleball.
ELLIOTT: There were about 950 correct entries, and this week's winner is Kyle Shenk of Bridgeport, Pa. Congratulations, Kyle.
KYLE SHENK: Hey. Thanks, Debbie.
ELLIOTT: So how long have you been playing the Puzzle?
SHENK: Oh, about two years. My girlfriend got me into it. She's been doing it for a much longer time. She and her father are big fans, but I've been doing it about two years.
ELLIOTT: I bet they're jealous that you won.
SHENK: Oh, you don't know the half of it.
ELLIOTT: (Laughter). What do you do when you're not playing the Puzzle?
SHENK: Oh, well, my day job - I'm a data analyst in the health care industry. And then another big part of my life - I'm a local elected official. I sit on the town council.
ELLIOTT: Are you ready to play the Puzzle, Kyle?
SHENK: Ready as I'll ever be.
ELLIOTT: OK. Take it away, Greg.
PLISKA: OK, Kyle. Welcome. Will gave me this challenge for you to do today, and it's a game of categories based on the word chair. So for each category I give you, name something in it that starts with each of the letters C, H, A, I and R. For example, if the category were parts of the body, you might say chest, head, arm, intestines and ribs. Now, any answer that works is OK, and you can give the answers in any order.
SHENK: Understood. I think I got it.
ELLIOTT: This sounds like quite a challenge.
PLISKA: All right, here we go, Kyle. The first category is countries whose names end with a vowel.
SHENK: Ooh, let's say, Colombia and Argentina. And what's an H country? Ireland ends with a D. Iran, Iraq...
ELLIOTT: Think of a really big country.
SHENK: Oh, I got Russia. Oh, thank you. Russia, and what's left? An H.
PLISKA: I will also add, Kyle, that countries that end with a Y are acceptable. We'll count Y as a vowel for this challenge.
SHENK: Oh, I'm starting off slow here, aren't I?
PLISKA: There's a country just south of the United States that starts with an H.
SHENK: Oh, Haiti.
PLISKA: There you go. Very good. So you just have an I left.
SHENK: Oh, bear with me. I'm going to get it. I promise.
PLISKA: It has a distinctive shape, like a piece of footwear.
SHENK: Oh, Italy. Oh, my God.
PLISKA: (Laughter) There you go. Well done. All right. Your next category is birds.
SHENK: Birds. Let's go with a cardinal. And let's go with a robin and an indigo bunting and a hummingbird and a - what's an A bird? A...
PLISKA: It's a large seabird that features in "The Rime Of The Ancient Mariner."
SHENK: Oh, an albatross.
PLISKA: There you go. All right, let's do - the last category is sitcoms.
SHENK: Let's see. We've got "Charles In Charge." There's an older one.
ELLIOTT: I came up with a few of them looking at, like, really old classic sitcoms from back in the day.
SHENK: Oh, "I Love Lucy."
PLISKA: Yes. Good. There's a current sitcom about a school, I believe.
ELLIOTT: That wins a lot of awards.
SHENK: It sure does, and I live near Philadelphia. I should know this one. It's "Abbott Elementary."
PLISKA: Yes. Good job.
SHENK: OK, what do I have left? - an H and an R.
PLISKA: Yes. There's an animated show that would qualify for the R that's two man's names.
SHENK: I know this one. That's "Rick And Morty."
PLISKA: Yes. Very good. And now just the H.
SHENK: "Happy Days."
PLISKA: Yeah, very good - another classic. Great job, Kyle.
ELLIOTT: Well, that's it. You finished the Puzzle. How do you feel, Kyle?
SHENK: Oh, I feel relieved, but that was a lot of fun. I'm glad I got the opportunity. Thanks, guys.
ELLIOTT: For playing our Puzzle today, you'll get a WEEKEND EDITION lapel pin, as well as puzzle books and games. You can read all about the Puzzle and its prizes at npr.org/puzzle. And, Kyle, what member station do you listen to?
SHENK: WHYY in Philadelphia.
ELLIOTT: That's Kyle Shenk of Bridgeport, Pa. Thanks for playing the Puzzle.
SHENK: Hey, thanks, Greg. Thanks, Debbie.
ELLIOTT: OK, Greg, you brought along a challenge for next week, right?
PLISKA: Yes, I did, Debbie. It's from our puzzler friend A.J. Jacobs. The challenge is this - start with the name of a blockbuster movie star. Remove the first letter of the first name and the last two letters of the last name to get the types of movies he almost never stars in. Who is this?
ELLIOTT: Do you scramble the letters, or is it just straight?
PLISKA: Great question. No, you do not scramble the letters. You keep them straight.
ELLIOTT: Well, 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 15 at 3 p.m. eastern. Don't forget to include a phone number where we can reach you. If you're the winner, we'll give you a call. And if you pick up the phone, you'll get to play the Puzzle on the air on WEEKEND EDITION. And, Greg, thank you for being this week's puzzlemaster.
PLISKA: Thank you, Debbie. It's been a huge pleasure.
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