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Sunday Puzzle: All In

Sunday Puzzle
NPR
Sunday Puzzle

On-air challenge

Today's puzzle is called "All In." I'm going to give you clues for two words. Insert the letters A-L-L inside the answer to the first clue to get the answer to the second.

Ex. Opposite of good / Romantic song  -->  B(ALL)AD

1. Exam / Having the greatest height
2. Bathe standing up / Not as deep
3. Something that's unexpected and beneficial / Air-filled rubber sac attached to a string
4. What bees do / Playing for time
5. Descendant / Green onion
6. Attempt in basketball / Onion used in cooking
7. Sweeper's tool / Locale in the game Clue
8. Overhead structure supporting a crane / Courage displayed in battle
9. Vast wooded areas / Prevents from happening

Last week's challenge

Last week's challenge came from Joseph Young of St. Cloud, Minn. Think of a word that means "very small." Move the first syllable to the end, separated by a space, and you'll get a two-word phrase naming something that is very large. What words are these?

 

Challenge answer

Subatomic / Atomic sub

Winner

Mark Minster of Terre Haute, Ind.

This week's challenge

This week's challenge comes from Evan Kalish, of Bayside, N.Y. Name a famous living singer whose first and last names together have four syllables. The second and fourth syllables phonetically sound like things a dog walker would likely carry. What singer is this?

If you know the answer to the challenge, submit it below by Thursday, January 29 at 3 p.m. ET. Listeners whose answers are selected win a chance to play the on-air puzzle.

Copyright 2026 NPR

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).