Sunday Puzzle: Word Sandwiches

On-air challenge: Every answer today is a familiar phrase in the form "___ & ___," in which the first two letters of the first word plus the first two letters of the last word themselves spell a word. I'll give you that word as well as a definition of the phrase. You tell me the phrase.

Example: SODA — combination performance --> Song & dance

1. BOAR — Native American weapon

2. CAMO — cunning game that a feline and rodent might play

3. EVAN — old-fashioned phrase meaning "occasionally"

4. ABBE — more than could possibly be expected

5. LASE — amphibious

6. SHAW — overwhelm through a show of force

7. BACH — heavy restraint to keep a prisoner from escaping

8. HOVE — like the positions of the x and y axes on a graph

Last week's challenge: This challenge came from listener Jared Harvey, of Santa Cruz, Calif. Think of a common word in six letters. Write it in lowercase. If you hold up a mirror at its side, the reflection will show the same word. What is it?

Challenge answer: tidbit

Winner: Gloria Rear from Eugene, Ore.

This week's challenge: This week's challenge comes from listener Steve Baggish, of Arlington, Mass. Using only the letters in the phrase RIDE ON — repeating them as often as necessary — you can spell 1) the one-word proper name of a famous fictional animal, and 2) a word for what kind of animal it is. What's the name of the animal, and what's the word?

Submit Your Answer

If you know the answer to next week's challenge, submit it here by Thursday, Dec. 17th, at 3 p.m. ET. Listeners who submit correct answers win a chance to play the on-air puzzle. Important: Include a phone number where we can reach you. [Copyright 2020 NPR]