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 or name with the initials "J.R."
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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 sentences with two blanks. Put a word starting with R in the first blank. Then move that R to the end to make a new word that goes in the second blank to complete the sentence.
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Without a bridle or a saddle, across a thing I ride astraddle. And those I ride, by help of me, though almost blind, are made to see.
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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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Given a sentence, change one letter in one word to make a new word which completely reverses the meaning of the sentence.
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You'll be given a series of categories. For each one, name something in the category beginning with each of the letters of the word "robin." For example, given the category "two-syllable boys' names," the answers could be "Roger," "Omar," "Barry," "Isaac" and "Neville."
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Puzzle master Will Shortz quizzes one of our listeners, and has a challenge for everyone at home. (This week's winner is Kathy Emerson from Brunswick, Maine. She listens to Weekend Edition on member station WMEA in Portland.)
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Singer Jill Sobule has been charming critics with her smart and witty pop music for more than a decade. For the artwork of her latest CD, Underdog Victorious, she incorporated her love of crossword puzzles. Sobule talks with NPR's Puzzlemaster Will Shortz and NPR's Liane Hansen.
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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.)