Sunday Puzzle: State Capitals

On-air challenge: I'm going to read you some sentences. Each sentence conceals the name of a state capital in consecutive letters. You name the capitals.

Ex. Check the chart for details. --> HARTFORD1. You can't rent only one trailer.2. How does golf rank for television?3. That's not too pleasant a feeling.4. Dad prepared flapjacks once.5. The numeral eight comes before nine.6. We fly to Zurich Monday.7. Are you and Eric on cordial terms?8. I wanna polish off dinner.

Last week's challenge: This week's challenge comes from listener Greg VanMechelen of Berkeley, Calif. Take the name of a famous actor — 4 letters in the first name, 5 letters in the last. Spoonerize it. That is, interchange the initial consonant sounds of the first and last names. The result will be two new familiar first names — one male, one female — that start with the same letter ... but that letter is pronounced differently in the two names. Who's the actor?

Challenge answer: John Wayne — Juan, Jane

Winner: Larry Otten from Sheridan, Oregon

This week's challenge: This challenge comes from listener Ben Austin, of Dobbs Ferry, N.Y. It's not too hard. Name a major world city with a population in the millions. Take one letter in its name and move it two spots earlier in the alphabet. Reading backward, you now have the name of a major restaurant chain. What is it?

Submit Your Answer

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 by Thursday, Oct. 1, at 3 p.m. ET. [Copyright 2020 NPR]