NPR Sunday Puzzle (Jun 21, 2026): Nocturnal Creature

NPR Sunday Puzzle (Jun 21, 2026): Nocturnal Creature

Q: Take the name of a nocturnal creature, in two words. The first word is a spooky sound. Move the last letter of the first word to the start of the second word and you'll get another spooky, nocturnal sound. What is the creature and what are the sounds?

Change the last two letters in the first word to a vowel and rearrange everything. The result is a word that describes most of this post.

Edit: Change "ch" to "a" and rearrange to get "lowercase"

A: SCREECH OWL —> SCREECH, HOWL

NPR Sunday Puzzle (Jun 14, 2026): From the Kitchen to Something Unwanted

NPR Sunday Puzzle (Jun 14, 2026): From the Kitchen to Something Unwanted

Q: Name something in 10 letters that's found in a kitchen. Drop its sixth letter to name something on a keyboard. Then drop the new word's fifth letter to name something no one wants to get. What words are these?

Normally I'd have something to add here, but today it's the opposite.

Edit: A postscript (P.S.) is something that might be added afterwards, but this time they are the letters to be removed.

A: BACKSPLASH, BACKSLASH, BACKLASH

NPR Sunday Puzzle (Jun 7, 2026): Necessary Misprint

NPR Sunday Puzzle (Jun 7, 2026): Necessary Misprint

Q: Rearrange the letters of "NECESSARY MISPRINT" to spell a familiar phrase.

There are many words that can be created from those letters, e.g. reminiscent, trespassers, creaminess, seamstress, etc.

Edit: I used a couple of Latin abbreviation: e.g. is exempli gratia meaning for example and etc. is et cetera meaning and the rest.

A: SIC SEMPER TYRANNIS ("Thus Always to Tyrants")