On-air challenge
I'm going to give you some nine-letter words. For each one, insert a letter somewhere inside it to make a familiar 10-letter word.
Ex. MEDIATION --> C to make MEDICATION or T to make MEDITATION
- IMPERIOUS
- HEADWATER
- PACEMAKER
- REHEARING
- SIMULATED
- GEOLOGIST
- ETERNALLY
- MINESTONE
- IMPLEMENT
Last week's challenge
Last week's challenge came from Bobby Jacobs, of Glen Allen, Va. Take the first and last names of a famous athlete. Change the first letter of the last name to L, and rearrange the result to get the first and last names of another famous athlete. In each case the first name has six letters and the last name has five. These are athletes everyone knows. Who are they?
Challenge answer
Simone Biles --> Lionel Messi
Winner
Sam McDowell of Boulder, Colorado
This week's challenge
This week's challenge came from Mike Reiss, who's a showrunner, writer, and producer for "The Simpsons." Name a famous English author. Change the first letter of the last name to an S. Then move the first, second, and final letters of that last name in front of the first name. The resulting string of letters reading from left to right will name a major American city. What city is it?
If you know the answer to the challenge, submit it below by Thursday, September 4th at 3 p.m. ET. Listeners whose answers are selected win a chance to play the on-air puzzle.
Copyright 2025 NPR