Will Shortz

On-Air Challenge: Every answer ends with the letter F and are given an anagram of the letters before the F. For example, given the word "flub," the answer would be "bluff."

Last Week's Challenge: From listener Dale Shuger of New York City: Think of a common four-letter adjective. Then take its opposite in French. (It's a French word that everyone knows.) Say the two words out loud, one after the other, and you'll name a famous film director. Who is it?

Answer: Truffaut (true and faux)

Winner: Brent Jeffers of Pullman, Wash.

On-Air Challenge: You are given a series of sentences, each of which is missing three words. The word in the first blank is five letters long. Drop the last letter to get a four-letter word for the second blank. Drop the last letter to get a three-letter answer for the third blank. For example, given the sentence, "While I was filming at the Egyptian pyramids, a ____ with a rider on it ____ into view of my ____," the words would be "camel," "came" and "cam."

On-Air Challenge: Each answer is the name of a well-known film. You are given three words. Say the words out loud quickly to identify the film. For example, given the words "booty," "Andy" and "pieced," the answer would be Beauty and the Beast.

Last Week's Challenge: From listener Adam Cohen, of Brooklyn, N.Y.: Think of a former world leader whose first and last names both sound like things you might see in a mine. Who is the leader, and what are the things?

Answer: Helmut Kohl (helmet and coal)

On-Air Challenge: The four rarest letters in the alphabet are J, Q, X and Z. You are given a familiar word and must change one letter in it to a J, Q, X or Z to get another familiar word. For example, given the clue "enact," the answer would be "exact."

On-Air Challenge: You are given three words, starting with the letters T, O and P, and must come up with a fourth word that can follow the words and complete a familiar two-word phrase. For example, given the words "taste," "oral" and "paternity," the answer would be "test," as in "taste test," "oral test" and "paternity test."