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Ready for a word game that pairs wit and pattern? Today’s puzzle asks you to spot four-letter words or names formed by repeating their first two letters. Read the clues, enjoy the wordplay, and see if you can name each mirrored term.
Clue list: Match the four-letter mirrored words
- 1. A simple spinning plaything attached to a cord
- 2. The short, layered skirt worn by ballet dancers
- 3. A common one-line reply after a punchline
- 4. A native Hawaiian goose with a distinctive call
- 5. Dorothy’s small companion in a famous film
- 6. The Best Picture that took the Oscar just before Ben‑Hur
- 7. Pop star Lady whose stage name repeats two letters
- 8. A playful pet name often used for Rihanna
- 9. The leading female role in Puccini’s La Bohème
- 10. A slang term for something remarkable or striking
- 11. A short word for a stubborn, thickheaded person
- 12. Early 20th-century artistic movement known for absurdity
- 13. A 2017 animated film set amid Mexican culture
- 14. The appetizer platter often served at tiki spots
- 15. A casual term for something disallowed or off-limits
- 16. A quaint, informal way to say goodbye
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How the puzzle works
Each solution is a four-letter word or proper name where the first two letters repeat as the final two. For example: so-so illustrates the pattern.
Last week’s brainteaser and its solution
The previous puzzle asked for two neighboring countries whose names can be rearranged into rhyming English words. The pair was China and Nepal. Their anagrams were given as chain and plane.
Reader winner from last week
Congratulations to Kate Jakuta of Baltimore, Maryland, who submitted the winning entry.
This week’s submission challenge
New puzzle from Dan Moren of Somerville, Mass.: Pick a well-known U.S. geographic name with six letters. Move its final letter two spots earlier in the name. The result is a common English word. When spoken aloud, that word sounds like a famous geographic place overseas. Neither place is a city.
Hints and rules for entries
- Think of U.S. place names that are six letters long.
- Shift the last letter two positions left to form an English word.
- Say that word aloud; it should resemble a foreign place name.
- Neither the U.S. location nor the foreign name is a city.
How to enter and deadline
If you want to submit an answer, use the form linked below. Entries must arrive by Thursday, Oct. 1 at 3 p.m. ET. Be sure to include a phone number so producers can reach you if your response is selected.
