AYESHA RASCOE, HOST:
It's time to play The Puzzle.
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RASCOE: Joining us is Will Shortz. He's puzzle editor of The New York Times and puzzlemaster of WEEKEND EDITION. Hey there, Will.
WILL SHORTZ, BYLINE: Good morning, Ayesha.
RASCOE: So, Will, would you please remind us of last week's challenge?
SHORTZ: Yes, it came from listener Bob Fecho of New York City. I said, think of a well-known actor of the past whose last name is also a brand name. Remove the last letter of the actor's first name, and you'll have a product produced by that brand. What is it? Well, the intended answer was Alec Gens, and if you remove the C from Alec, you get ale, and Guinness makes ale. There's also an obscure answer. Some people sent in Cary Grant. Remove the Y from Cary, and you get car. Back in the 1910s, there was a Grant automobile.
RASCOE: Oh, those people went deep into the archives for that one. But (laughter) there were more than 1,200 correct responses, and this week's winner is Corinna Christman of Chicago, Ill. Congratulations, Corinna.
CORINNA CHRISTMAN: Thank you so much. I am so excited.
RASCOE: (Laughter) Well, I am glad. I am excited for you. How long have you been playing The Puzzle?
CHRISTMAN: I've been playing since about 2000, but five years ago, I made it my New Year's resolution to win, to actually get to play live. And so it's finally coming true.
RASCOE: Well, that's a lot of dedication. I mean, five years - you know, I can't keep my New Year's resolution past, like, February. And you kept it going.
CHRISTMAN: Well, I've lost a lot of other ones, yeah.
RASCOE: (Laughter). Well, you stuck to this one, and it pays off today. Are you ready to play The Puzzle?
CHRISTMAN: Yes. Yes, I am.
RASCOE: OK, take it away, Will.
SHORTZ: All right, Corinna and Ayesha. If you were to list the 10 digits from 0-9 alphabetically, the first two on the list would be eight and five respectively. In this puzzle, I'm going to name something that's second alphabetically in its category. You tell me what comes first. And your first one is Monday. What's the only day of the week that comes before Monday alphabetically?
CHRISTMAN: Friday.
SHORTZ: Friday is it. Good. Jupiter.
CHRISTMAN: Earth?
SHORTZ: Earth. It's our own planet. That's right. Alaska.
CHRISTMAN: Alabama.
SHORTZ: That's it. Columbus Day.
CHRISTMAN: You said Columbus Day? What comes before Columbus Day? So it's a holiday.
SHORTZ: A federal holiday. And it has a connection to your family name.
CHRISTMAN: Christmas?
RASCOE: (Laughter).
SHORTZ: Christmas, yes.
CHRISTMAN: I've heard of that. Yeah.
SHORTZ: Adverb.
CHRISTMAN: Adverb. Adjective.
SHORTZ: That's it. Diamonds. We're going for...
CHRISTMAN: I'm trying to think.
SHORTZ: ...Card suits here.
CHRISTMAN: Oh, card suits. OK. Clubs.
SHORTZ: That's it.
CHRISTMAN: I was thinking of gems.
SHORTZ: Right. How about Aries, A-R-I-E-S?
CHRISTMAN: Aries. Artemis? No.
SHORTZ: So it's like zodiac?
SHORTZ: We're going for signs of the zodiac.
RASCOE: OK. What's...
CHRISTMAN: Zodiac. OK.
RASCOE: OK. There's Aries, and then...
CHRISTMAN: What's the other A? Aquarius?
RASCOE: Yes.
SHORTZ: Aquarius. Good job. Center fielder.
CHRISTMAN: Center fielder. Before that, there's the catcher.
SHORTZ: Good job. Antarctica.
CHRISTMAN: Antarctica.
RASCOE: Continents?
CHRISTMAN: So continents.
RASCOE: OK.
SHORTZ: We're doing continents.
CHRISTMAN: Africa.
SHORTZ: Africa is it. Here's your last one, Doc, D-O-C.
CHRISTMAN: D-O-C, a doc, like a sheet or...
SHORTZ: We're going for Disney dwarfs here.
RASCOE: Oh.
CHRISTMAN: Oh, OK. So there's Sleepy, Happy, Grumpy.
SHORTZ: There's one starting with a B.
CHRISTMAN: Bashful.
SHORTZ: Bashful. Good job.
CHRISTMAN: Thank you.
RASCOE: Well, first of all, I am so glad that you were getting it - the vast majority of these because I was lost much of the time. So thank goodness (laughter) that you knew what you were doing. So great job, Corinna. How do you feel?
CHRISTMAN: Thank you. I'm on cloud nine. I'm so excited.
(LAUGHTER)
CHRISTMAN: That was really fun.
RASCOE: You did an excellent job. 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, Corinna, what member station do you listen to? WBEZ in Chicago. That's Corinna Christman of Chicago, Ill. Thank you for playing The Puzzle.
CHRISTMAN: Thank you so much, Will and Ayesha. Thank you so much.
RASCOE: OK, Will, what's next week's challenge?
SHORTZ: Yes. Think of a famous writer with a three-word name. The first two letters of the last name, followed by the first two letters of the middle name, followed by the first two letters of the first name, in order, spell an adjective that describes this author today. Who is it? So again, a famous writer with a three-word name. The first two letters of the writer's last name, followed by the first two letters of the middle name, followed by the first two letters of the first name, in order, spell an adjective that describes this author today. Who is it?
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, June 6 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 with the puzzle editor of The New York Times but, more importantly, the puzzlemaster of WEEKEND EDITION, Will Shortz. Thank you, Will.
SHORTZ: Thanks a lot, Ayesha.
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