Will Shortz

On-air challenge: I'm going to read you some sentences. Three consecutive words somewhere in each sentence are the first three words of a familiar proverb or saying. Tell me what it is.

Example: My parents went to the restaurant at 5 p.m. to get the early bird special. --> The early bird catches the worm.

1. The queen attends every royal function, so her absence makes the crowd concerned.

2. The cows with two heads are the big attraction at the carnival.

3. A nice Scottish lad is what a miss is looking for.

On-air challenge: I'm going to read you some words. For each one, change the initial consonant or consonants to a new consonant or new consonants to get a new word that looks like it should rhyme with the original but doesn't. Every answer is unique.

Example: Cord --> Word
1. Howl
2. Golf
3. Brave
4. Fork
5. Paste
6. Toad
7. Gasp
8. Green
9. Pooch
10. Goose

On-air challenge: This is a followup puzzle to last week's "Lost ID's." It's called "Replacement ID's." I'm going to give you some words. Each word contains the consecutive letters I-D somewhere in it. Change the I-D to two new letters to get a new familiar word.

Example: Stride --> Stroke or Strafe
1. Fidget
2. Ideate
3. Bridal
4. Rancid
5. Fiddle
6. Afraid (hyph.)
7. Collide
8. Provide
9. Humidity
10. Consider

On-air challenge: The theme of today's puzzle is "Lost ID's." I'm going to give you clues for two words. The first word has the consecutive letters I-D somewhere in it. Drop the I-D and what's left will spell a new word that answers the second clue.

Example: Opposite of narrowest / Direction for sunsets --> Widest, west
1. End of the workweek / Disorderly fight
2. Box for cigars / Jokes and such
3. Partition / One jumping in a pool
4. Mints that are said to be "curiously strong" / Voices below sopranos

On-air challenge: I'm going to give you some words. Anagram each one to make a new word. And as a help, the first three letters of my word will be the first three letters of your answer.

Ex. Sublet --> Subtle
1. Platen
2. Thereat
3. Declaim
4. Parleys
5. Magnate
6. Trained (hyph.)
7. Martial
8. Chorale
9. Senescent
10. Pedantries

On-air challenge: I'm going to name two things that are in the same category. And that category is itself part of another category, which I'll also name. You tell me the category in the middle.

Example: Volkswagen, Chrysler/Rock groups -->(The) Cars
1. Robin, Finch/Hitchcock movies
2. Seven, 100/Books of the Bible
3. Hip hip hooray!, Go team!/Sitcoms
4. Merlin, Harry Potter/N.B.A. teams
5. Mary, Elizabeth/Boroughs of New York City
6. Amazon, Nile/Female comedians
7. Roasted, Salted/Comic strips

On-air challenge: Every answer is a word, name, or phrase in which the only consonants are L and T — repeated as often as necessary. All the other letters are vowels.

Example: Add up --> TOTAL
1. Opposite of big
2. Coffee made with hot steamed milk
3. Name, as of a book or movie
4. Dole out
5. Sweepstakes game
6. "For rent" sign (2 wds.)
7. Lavatory
8. Place to insert an electric plug
9. No-holds-barred (hyph.)
10. Prevaricate (3 wds.)
11. Excite the imagination
12. Snitch

On-air challenge: In honor of Mother's Day, every answer today is a word that ends in the letters "MA." I'll give you an anagram of the letters that precede MA. You tell me the words.

Ex. GOD --> Dogma
1. ARK
2. OAR
3. LAPS
4. GIST
5. NICE
6. HATS
7. LIMED
8. RADIO
9. CHAIRS
10. EARLDOM

On-air challenge: I've brought a game of categories based on the word "maybe." For each category I give, name something in it starting with each of the letters M-A-Y-B-E.

For example, if the category were "chemical elements," you might say mercury, argon, yttrium, barium and erbium. Any answer that works is OK, and you can give the answers in any order.

1. Animals in zoos
2. Four-letter boy's names
3. Place names in Canada
4. Colors
5. Things to consume at breakfast

On-air challenge: I'm going to read you some sentences. Each sentence ends in "_____ to _____." Put two homophones in the blanks to complete it.

Example: The bicycle salesman had an innovative new _____ to _____. --> PEDAL, PEDDLE

1. The thieves prowling around the Pittsburgh mill were looking for some _____ to _____.

2. To prepare the dough for the oven, the baker will first _____ to _____.

3. Since my foot surgery, my toes have gotten better, but I still have to wait for my _____ to _____.

On-air challenge: Today's puzzle is a little unusual. It's all about "U" ... that is, the letter U. See how many of these U-related questions can you answer.

1. The names of two state capitals end in the letter U. What are they?

2. The word "you" sounds like the letter U, and it contains the letter U. What two words sound like the letter U but don't contain the letter?

3. Think of a common seven-letter word in which the first, third and fifth letters are all U's. (Hint: I said it in the first sentence of this puzzle's instructions.)

On-air challenge: Today I've brought a word ladder with sort of an Easter egg theme. The object is to convert CHICK to HATCH, changing one letter at a time, making a new word each step of the way. I'll give you clues for the steps. You tell me the words.

Starting with CHICK, change one letter in it to make ...
1. The sound of a camera. Then change one letter in that to make ...
2. A timepiece [etc.]
3. Unit of a city street
4. Opposite of white
5. Devoid of writing or marks
6. Long, flat piece of lumber

On-air challenge: I'm going to give you clues for two words. The first word starts with AB. Drop the AB and you'll get a new word that answers the second clue.

On-air challenge: I'm going to give you a word and an extra letter. Anagram everything into a new word ... in which the added letter is silent.

Example: MOW + B --> WOMB
1. GRIN + W
2. TOGS + H
3. FINE + K
4. TENS + C
5. HANS + G
6. BRIDE + S
7. NOMAD + L
8. DOTER + B
9. PEDLAR + O
10. SIMONE + T
11. RETINT + W
12. AIMING + E
13. NO SHAME + D
14. CHEAP MAN + G

On-air challenge: Every answer is a rhyming two-word phrase, in which each word has three syllables.

Ex. Beverage that stands out --> Notable Potable

1. How-to book that comes out once a year

2. Recollection of a university in Atlanta

3. Careful examination of a rebellion on a ship

4. Personal journal written with hot language

5. Yorkshire dog that's more jolly

6. Sweepstakes involving clayware

7. Devotion to kings and queens

8. Event sent by God involving a ball