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Sunday Puzzle: Wordy to worldly

Sunday Puzzle
NPR
Sunday Puzzle

On-air challenge: I'm going to give you some words and phrases. For each one, change exactly two letters to name a country. Hint: You never have to change the first letter of my word.

Ex. SOLARIA --> SOMALIA
1. ALGEBRA
2. NORMAL
3. TUSKED
4. MEDICS
5. CANARY
6. RUSTIC
7. GRIEVE
8. HANGARS
9. TUNES IN
10. SEVERAL
11. PAPAYA
12. CAME UPON

Last week's challenge: Last week's challenge came from Peter Collins, of Ann Arbor, MI. Name of a famous TV actress of the past. Double her first name phonetically. You get the first name of a famous musician. If you put the last names of the musician and the actress together, in that order, you'll name a great legendary figure. Who is it?

Challenge answer: Bea Arthur, B.B. King --> King Arthur

Winner: Steve Vittori of Gig Harbor, WA

This week's challenge: Name a country of six or more letters. Change two letters in it to name the resident of another country's capital.

Submit Your Answer

If you know the answer to next week's challenge, submit it here by Wednesday, Nov. 24, at 3 p.m. ET. Listeners who submit correct answers win a chance to play the on-air puzzle. Important: Include a phone number where we can reach you.

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).