On-air challenge: I'm going to give you some words. For each word, move one letter to a different position to spell another word.
Ex. NEVER —> NERVE
1. HURLED
2. GALLERY
3. INFIELD
4. SOOTHER
5. STARTLE
6. AMENDER
7. WITHER
8. SPARED
9. TOPICAL
10. PARLEYS
11. RETAIN
12. NEAREST
13. SIMMERED
The last one is a little different. It has two answers — which go together to make a familiar compound word:
14. SHORE
Last week's challenge: This challenge came from listener Peter Collins of Ann Arbor, Mich. Think of the last name of a famous film director. The first two letters and last two letters in order spell a word. The remaining letters, rearranged, spell a synonym of that word. What film director is it?
Answer: Francis Ford OR Sofia COPPOLA (cola + pop)
Winner: Danny May of Penfield, N.Y.
Next week's challenge: This week's challenge comes from listener Steve Baggish of Arlington, Mass. Take the name of a U.S. state capital. Immediately to the right of it write the name of a world capital. If you have the right ones, the name of a U.S. state will be embedded in consecutive letters within that letter string. What three places are these?
If you know the answer to next week's challenge, submit it here. Listeners who submit correct answers win a chance to play the on-air puzzle. Important: Include a phone number where we can reach you Thursday, Nov. 16, at 3 p.m. ET.
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