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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For each familiar two-word phrase and name, take one or more letters from the start of the first word plus one or more letters from the start of the second word to name a country.
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Given a clue, each response is a two-word answer with the first word starting with B-R and the second word starting with R.
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Every answer today is a familiar two-word phrase or name with the initial letters N and O.
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Given two words, change the first consonant sound in each word to the same new consonant sound and you'll phonetically name two things in the same category.
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For each famous name given, change either the first or last letter of the last name to a new letter, and rearrange the result to name a country.
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A series of sentences will be given; each one contains a blank. Put the name of an occupation in the blank to complete the sentence in a punny way.
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Every answer this week is a made-up two-word phrase, in which both words start with 'S' and they're anagrams of each other.
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Today's puzzle is a game of categories based on the word peony (a type of flower). For each category, name something in the category beginning with each of the letters P-E-O-N-Y.
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Two clues will be given. The first answer will be a brand name that sounds like it's plural; change the first letter to spell a new word that answers the second clue.
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Every answer is a word starting with "ch," and your clue will be an anagram of the word.