AYESHA RASCOE, HOST:
And it is time to play the Puzzle.
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RASCOE: The puzzle editor of the New York Times and puzzlemaster of WEEKEND EDITION, Will Shortz, is out this week, so we are joined by Greg Pliska. He's the chief puzzle officer of the "Puzzler" podcast with A.J. Jacobs and a former puzzle guru of NPR's Ask Me Another. Hey there, Greg.
GREG PLISKA, BYLINE: Good morning, Ayesha.
RASCOE: So, Greg, remind us of last week's challenge.
PLISKA: Of course. Last week I noted that the English language, developed in a patriarchal society - so many words in our language were traditionally assumed to refer to men and turned into female versions by adding a prefix or a suffix. But there is a common English word that works the opposite way, where the uninflected form is used generally for women, and to which we add a two-letter suffix for the male form. What is that word? And the answer is widow, which becomes widower when you add E-R.
RASCOE: There were over 2,600 correct entries and this week's winner is Rich Foss of Lake Forest, Ill. Congratulations, Rich.
RICH FOSS: Well, thanks so much. And good morning, Ayesha and Greg.
RASCOE: Good morning. And so how did you figure this out? Did you just know this?
FOSS: You know, I was driving in the car and listening to the show, and it just popped into my head, and I literally pulled over and wrote it down.
RASCOE: What do you do when you're not playing the Puzzle?
FOSS: Well, I'm retired, and I also enjoy playing tennis, woodworking, and flying small airplanes for fun.
RASCOE: Oh, flying small airplanes - are you in the airplanes, or they're like remote control airplanes?
FOSS: So, no, I fly as a pilot.
RASCOE: Oh, wow. Oh, that's amazing. Rich, I have to ask you, are you ready to play the Puzzle?
FOSS: I'll give it my best shot.
RASCOE: OK, take it away, Greg.
PLISKA: So, Rich, tomorrow, many Americans will be traveling to view the total eclipse, which, as you know, is when the moon passes in front of the sun, casting its shadow on the Earth. So today's puzzle answers are all idiomatic phrases that include either the sun or the moon. I'll give you a clue. You tell me what the phrase is. For example, if I gave you the definition, try to attain something extremely difficult, you give me the phrase, shoot for the moon.
FOSS: OK.
PLISKA: All right. Here's your first one - very rarely.
FOSS: I think I'm going to need a hint on that one.
PLISKA: Sure. That starts with the word once.
FOSS: Once in a blue moon.
PLISKA: Yes, very good. Everything's been done before.
FOSS: Everything's been done before - I'm afraid I'm going to need another hint.
PLISKA: Sure. This starts with the word there's - T-H-E-R-E, apostrophe, S - and it's a sun phrase.
FOSS: There's nothing under the sun.
RASCOE: Nothing new (laughter) - nothing new under the sun.
PLISKA: Yeah, you got it. Take advantage of an opportunity while it is available.
FOSS: Not shoot for the moon.
PLISKA: No, this starts with the word, make.
RASCOE: Is this with the sun?
PLISKA: Yeah.
FOSS: Make something under the sun or...
PLISKA: Yeah.
FOSS: Make hay while the sun shines.
PLISKA: There you go. Make hay while the sun shines. We've got a few more here. Extremely happy.
FOSS: Extremely happy.
PLISKA: Three words.
RASCOE: Yeah, well, this is with the moon. But after the birth of a child, you'll be like, I'm...
FOSS: Over the moon.
PLISKA: Over the moon - I have one more. To do something overly ambitious that can lead to one's downfall.
FOSS: Could that be the shoot for the moon?
PLISKA: Well, nope, this comes from Greek mythology.
FOSS: Oh. Flying too close to the moon.
RASCOE: Remember Icarus. He...
FOSS: Oh, too close to the sun.
RASCOE: (Laughter).
PLISKA: Yes, too close to the sun. Very good.
RASCOE: Well, you did a great job, Rich. And we worked together on a lot of this. How do you feel?
FOSS: I feel like the kid who didn't quite deserve the participation ribbon. That I had a lot of fun.
RASCOE: No, no, no, these were hard ones, and you got it. But you know what they say. If you shoot for the moon, even if you don't get there, you'll land among the stars (laughter). 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 it at npr.org/puzzle. And Rich, what member station do you listen to?
FOSS: Chicago Public Radio WBEZ.
RASCOE: Yes. Thank you so much. That's Rich Foss of Lake Forest, Ill. Thanks for playing the Puzzle.
FOSS: Thank you so much.
RASCOE: OK, Greg, what's next week's challenge?
PLISKA: Next week's challenge comes from listener Steve Baggish of Arlington, Mass. Think of a nine-letter word naming a kind of tool that is mentioned in the Bible. Remove the second and sixth letters and the remaining letters can be rearranged to spell two new words that are included in a well-known biblical passage, and are related to the area in which the tool is used. What are the three words? So again, think of a nine-letter word naming a kind of tool mentioned in the Bible. Remove the second and sixth letters and rearrange the rest to spell two words that are part of a well-known biblical passage.
RASCOE: 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, April 11 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 on the air on WEEKEND EDITION. And Greg, thank you so much for being this week's puzzler.
PLISKA: Thank you, Ayesha.
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