NPR Listener Challenge Hints at 11-Letter Actor Name

NPR aired a word puzzle on Sunday that tasks listeners with identifying a part of a garden using the surname of a famous actor as the primary clue. The segment, titled Sunday Puzzle, featured a new on-air game called Categories. The host asked participants to provide items in four specific categories that begin with the letters f, l, a, g, and s. The categories included makes of cars, islands, sitcoms, and a phrase ending in the word Time.

The main challenge for the week was submitted by Mike Bertoglio of King County, Washington. Listeners must identify a famous living actor whose last name contains exactly 11 letters. They are instructed to take the first two letters of that name and repeat them at the start of the sequence. The seventh letter of the actor's original surname must then be changed to the letter P. The resulting word names a specific part of a garden.

Sharon Huck of Springfield, Illinois, won last week's puzzle contest. Her correct answer was Charm, which was derived from the previous clue. The prior challenge asked for a three-letter part of the human body to be inserted into a four-letter part of the body to create a brand name found in supermarkets. The resulting word was Charm, a product name often seen in stores.

Participants who solve the current actor-based riddle have until 3 p.m. Eastern Time on Thursday, November 12, to submit their answers. The contest requires entrants to include a phone number where they can be reached. Selected winners will receive an invitation to play the on-air Categories game during a future broadcast of the show.