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Rhyming Phrases, With Consistent Consonants

On-air challenge: Every answer is a familiar two-word phrase in which the two words start with the same consonant or pair of consonants. Given rhymes for the words, you name the words.

Example: Given "stubble checker," you would say, "double decker."

Last week's challenge from listener Peter Gwinn: Think of a word that means "to come before." Replace its last letter with two new letters to get "someone who comes after you." These two words are unrelated etymologically. What words are they?

Answer: Predate, predator

Winner: Paul Oberley of Fort Wayne, Ind.

Next week's challenge: Think of a word starting with T. Drop the T, and phonetically you'll get a new word that's a synonym of the first one. What words are these?

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 Thursday at 3 p.m. Eastern.

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

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).