Will Shortz
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).
Will sold his first puzzle professionally when he was 14 — to Venture, a denominational youth magazine. At 16 he became a regular contributor to Dell puzzle publications. He is the only person in the world to hold a college degree in Enigmatology, the study of puzzles, which he earned from Indiana University in 1974.
Born in 1952 and raised on an Arabian horse farm in Indiana, Will now lives near New York City in a Tudor-style house filled with books and Arts and Crafts furniture. When he's not at work, he enjoys bicycling, movies, reading, travel, and collecting antique puzzle books and magazines.
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Every answer is a familiar two-word phrase with the consecutive letters of S-H-H. Specifically, the first word in the answer will end in SH, and the second will start with H.
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You're given some sentences. Each sentence conceals the name of a language in consecutive letters. Name the language. Each answer has five or more letters.
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You're given two words starting with the letter S. For each pair, select a third word — also starting with S — that can follow the first one and precede the second one, in each case to complete a compound word or a familiar two-word phrase.
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Every answer is a familiar two-word phrase or name with the initials "J.R."
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This week's puzzle celebrates ringing in the new year. Take the letters Y-E-A-R. Add one letter and scramble to make a new word that answers the clue. For example, by adding the letter B to Y-E-A-R, with the clue "maker of aspirin," the answer would be "Bayer."
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Every answer today consists of the names of two famous people. The last name of the first person is an anagram of the first name of the last person. Given the nonanagram parts of the names, you identify the people.
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You are given two five-letter words. Put the same pair of letters in front of each of them to complete two familiar seven-letter words.
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Every answer is the name of a former Olympic sport. Given an anagram, you name the sport. For example, "flog" becomes "golf."
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Every answer is the name of a Major League Baseball team. Given anagrams of their names, each with one letter added, name the teams. Example: "dress" would be "Reds." -
Puzzle master Will Shortz quizzes one of our listeners, and has a challenge for everyone at home. (This week's winner is Gary Levin from Bedminster, N.J. He listens to Weekend Edition Sunday on member station WHYY in Philadelphia.)
