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Sunday Puzzle: A (D)arn (H)ard Puzzle!

Sunday Puzzle
NPR
Sunday Puzzle

On-air challenge: Every answer today is a familiar two-word phrase or name with the initials D-H.

Ex. Batter who may substitute for a pitcher --> DESIGNATED HITTER

1. Shape of DNA

2. Little-known contender who comes from behind to win

3. Race ending in a tie

4. Large room where students gather to eat

5. Road with a median

6. What you may turn in order to enter a room

7. Person who works on a boat

8. Person who helps clean teeth and do fillings

9. Middle of an item sold at Dunkin

10. Volcanic crater on Oahu

11. Bruce Willis action film

12. Clint Eastwood action film

13. "Harry Potter and the ___" (last book in the Harry Potter series)

Last week's challenge: Last week's challenge came from listener Jim Humphreys, of Northampton, Mass. Name a well-known U.S. city in four syllables. The first two syllables, with a letter inserted, will name an animal — that might be found in the place named by the last syllable. What city was it?

Challenge answer: Kalamazoo --> koala, zoo

Winner: Jen Swedish of Arlington, Virginia

This week's challenge: This week's challenge comes from listener Andrew Chaikin, of San Francisco. Think of a mammal, an insect, and a bird, in that order —six, three, and four letters, respectively. Say them out loud and you'll name something often seen around this time of year. What is it?

Submit Your Answer

If you know the answer to the challenge, submit it here by Thursday, October 5th at 3 p.m. ET. Listeners whose answers are selected win a chance to play the on-air puzzle. Important: include a phone number where we can reach you.

Produced by Lennon Sherburne contributed to this story

Copyright 2023 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.

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).