< Sunday Puzzle: Complete the compound with these animal connections!

TAMARA KEITH, HOST:

It is time to play the Puzzle.

(SOUNDBITE OF MUSIC)

KEITH: Joining us is Will Shortz. He's puzzle editor of The New York Times and WEEKEND EDITION's puzzlemaster. Hey, Will.

WILL SHORTZ, BYLINE: Hey, Tam. Nice to hear from you.

KEITH: Good to hear your voice. So, Will, will you please remind me of last week's challenge?

SHORTZ: Yes, I asked - think of a well-known seven-letter geographical name and a single word that has just two consonants, and yet it's pronounced in five syllables. And the answer is Oceania, O-C-E-A-N-I-A.

KEITH: There were 870 correct entries, not one of them from me. This week's winner is Craig Hamilton of Mountain View, Calif. Congratulations, Craig.

CRAIG HAMILTON: Hi. Thank you.

KEITH: So how long have you been playing the Puzzle?

HAMILTON: A long time. I actually was on the show in 2005.

KEITH: Wow, just a short 19 years ago.

HAMILTON: Oh, that's right.

KEITH: And what do you do when you're not playing the Puzzle?

HAMILTON: I used to work for the California Teachers' Association, the big teachers' union. And I do a lot of puzzle-solving now.

KEITH: Are you ready to play the Puzzle?

HAMILTON: Sure.

KEITH: Will, take it away.

SHORTZ: All right, Craig and Tam, I'm going to give you three words, one of which is an animal. You give me a fourth word that can follow each of mine to complete a compound word or a familiar two-word phrase. For example, if I said toad, step and bar, you would say stool as in toadstool, step stool and bar stool.

KEITH: That one was easy enough. Now, I'm afraid of where we go from here.

SHORTZ: Here we go. Number one is snake, olive and castor, C-A-S-T-O-R.

HAMILTON: Oil.

SHORTZ: Right, snake oil, olive oil and castor oil. How about pig, fountain, and play - three letters?

KEITH: I think I know this one, actually.

HAMILTON: Pen.

SHORTZ: Pen - pigpen and fountain pen and playpen. Good job. And congratulations, Tam.

KEITH: I didn't blurt it out. You should congratulate me for not blurting it out.

(LAUGHTER)

SHORTZ: OK. The next answers are four letters long - cow, door and dumb.

HAMILTON: Cow, door and what?

SHORTZ: Dumb - D-U-M-B.

HAMILTON: Bell.

SHORTZ: That's it - cowbell, doorbell and dumbbell. How about dog, shooting and rock.

HAMILTON: Star.

SHORTZ: Good job. Cat, bathing and paternity.

HAMILTON: Cat, bathing and paternity.

SHORTZ: Uh-huh.

HAMILTON: Suit?

SHORTZ: There you go. Catsuit, bathing suit and a paternity suit. How about whale, wish, and collar?

HAMILTON: Whale, wish and collar.

SHORTZ: The collar thing is part of the body.

HAMILTON: Bone?

SHORTZ: There you go, Whale bone, wishbone, and collar bone is right. Horse, power and foul - FOUL. And if somebody does something wrong, they engage in foul blank.

HAMILTON: Oh, play.

SHORTZ: You got it. Good job. Now, your next answers are five letters long - tortoise, shotgun and taco.

HAMILTON: Shell.

SHORTZ: You got it. Mule, gravy and wagon.

HAMILTON: Train.

SHORTZ: You got it. Six letters now - bear, B-E-A-R, stock and black.

HAMILTON: Bear, stock and black?

SHORTZ: Black, uh-huh. If you buy something illegally, you might get it on the black...

KEITH: Market.

HAMILTON: Market. Yeah.

SHORTZ: There you go. Black market, bear market and stock market. Good job, Tam. Here's your last one, Craig - eight letters. Monkey, show and unfinished.

HAMILTON: Business.

SHORTZ: You got it.

KEITH: Craig, how did you feel about that? I think you did amazing.

HAMILTON: Thank you. Yeah, it was fun.

KEITH: Well, thank you for playing the Puzzle today. You will get a WEEKEND EDITION lapel pin, as well as puzzle books and games. You can read all about it at npr.org/puzzle. And, Craig, what member station do you listen to?

HAMILTON: KQED in San Francisco.

KEITH: That is Craig Hamilton of Mountain View, Calif. Thanks for playing the Puzzle.

HAMILTON: Thank you.

KEITH: All right, Will. What is next week's challenge?

SHORTZ: Yes, it comes from the noted crossword constructor and editor Peter Gordon. Think of a famous film with a three-word title, six letters in the first word, three letters in the second and four in the last word, in which the first and last words are rhymes for consecutive numbers. What movie is it? So again, a famous film with a three-word title, six-three-four, in which the first and last words are rhymes for consecutive numbers. What film is it?

KEITH: When you have your answer, go to our website, npr.org/puzzle, and click the submit your answer link. Remember, just one entry, please. Our deadline for entries this week is Thursday, May 23 at 3:00 P.M. Eastern. And 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 with puzzle editor of the New York Times and puzzlemaster of WEEKEND EDITION Will Shortz. Thanks, Will.

SHORTZ: Thanks a lot, Tam.

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