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Sunday Puzzle: 7 Letters

Sunday Puzzle
NPR
Sunday Puzzle

On-air challenge: Here's a list of seven-letter words. For each one, change the first and last letters — but only the first and last letters — to make a new, uncapitalized seven-letter word. Both the first and last letters have to change.

Ex. TOURISM --> NOURISH

1. PARTOOK

2. TERSELY

3. GUNROOM

4. HELLISH

5. LORELEI

6. CARCASS

7. GORDIAN

8. LIGNITE

9. PARTING

Last week's challenge: The letters C + D together sound like the word "seedy." And the letters I + V together sound like "ivy." Take the 18 letters in the phrase END BACKSTAGE TV QUIZ. Rearrange them into pairs, using each letter exactly once, to make nine common, uncapitalized words phonetically. Can you do it?

Challenge answer: AT, BD, EZ, IC, KG, NV, QT, SA, UE

Winner: Julia Frey of Brooklyn, New York

This week's challenge: This week's challenge comes from Steve Baggish of Arlington, Mass. Think of two five-letter words that are opposites. One of them begins with E, the other ends with E. Drop both E's. The remaining eight letters can be rearranged to spell a new word that is relevant. What are these three words?

Submit Your Answer

If you know the answer to next week's challenge, submit it here. Listeners who submit correct answers win a chance to play the on-air puzzle. Important: Include a phone number where we can reach you by Thursday, Nov. 14 at 3 p.m. ET.

Copyright 2021 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.

Corrected: November 9, 2019 at 11:00 PM CST
An earlier version of the answer to last week's challenge mistakenly said part of the answer was QD. It is actually QT.
NPR's Puzzlemaster Will Shortz has appeared on Weekend Edition Sunday since the program's start in 1987. He's also the crossword editor of The New York Times, the former editor of Games magazine, and the founder and director of the American Crossword Puzzle Tournament (since 1978).