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Ready for a brainteaser? This week’s puzzle invites you to play detective with world capitals. Each clue is a six-letter word or phrase whose first and last letters have been swapped. Decode the transformation to reveal the real capital names, and scroll down for a fresh listener challenge and entry details.
How the capital-swap puzzle works (with an example)
The trick is simple: a six-letter answer hides a world capital. Its first and last letters have been replaced by others. Reverse the swap to uncover the city.
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Example to guide you
Given VASSAL, swap the outer letters back to find NASSAU, the capital of the Bahamas. Use that logic for each puzzle item.
The twelve scrambled clues to solve
- CONDOR
- ROSCOE
- PUBLIC
- SAVANT
- ZANILY
- DRAG UP
- ETHENE
- TARSAL
- TUSCAN
- NONACT
- I AGREE
- [7 letters:] CALLING
Last week’s challenge: solution and winner
The previous puzzle asked solvers to rearrange the letters of “NECESSARY MISPRINT” into a familiar phrase. The correct answer was “Sic semper tyrannis.”
Our prize winner for that round: Judy Alexander of South Burlington, Vermont.
New listener puzzle and how to submit your answer
This challenge came from listener Michael Pickard. Find a 10-letter object commonly found in a kitchen. Remove its sixth letter to form a new word that names something on a keyboard. Then remove the fifth letter of that second word to produce something nobody wants to get. What are the three words?
- First word: 10 letters, found in a kitchen.
- Second word: drop the 6th letter of the first to get this; it’s on a keyboard.
- Third word: drop the 5th letter of the second to name something undesirable.
If you have the answer, please submit it by Thursday, June 18 at 3 p.m. ET. Include a phone number so we can reach you if your entry is chosen. Listeners whose submissions are selected may win a chance to play the puzzle on air.
