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Add Two for Something New

Puzzle master Will Shortz quizzes one of our listeners, and has a challenge for everyone at home.

Challenge from Feb. 5: From Margaret Pendergast of Cape Cod, Massachusetts: Name a traditional means of sending a communication, in eight letters. It contains the letter "R"somewhere inside it. Drop the "R" and rearrange the remaining letters to name another means of communication, in seven letters. It's a modern means of communication. Hint: Both words start with the same letter. What words are these?

Answer: Postcard and Podcast.

Winner: Wendell Shaffer of Stillwater, Oklahoma.

Challenge from Feb. 12: Take the word "lore." If you insert the letter pair "ic" twice inside it, you get "licorice." Now take the word "horn." Add the same letter pair three times to "horn" to get a familiar two-word phrase, naming something good puzzle solvers have. What is it?

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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).
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