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Puzzle: What's Perceptible in Non-Perception

Puzzlemaster Will Shortz quizzes one of our listeners, and has a challenge for everyone at home.

Challenge from Dec. 11:

(From listener John Duschatko of Arlington, Texas) Take the word "debunk," starting with the "b" inside, read the letters forward and you get "bunk." And starting with the "b" and reading backward, you get "bed." Together, these two words spell "bunk bed." Now, think of a word with an "m" inside, starting with the "m" and reading forward, you'll get one word, and starting with the "m" and reading backward, you get another word. And together these two words make a job title. What is it?

Answer: Diameter = meter + maid

Winner: Bob Riedel from Dansville, New York.

Challenge from Dec. 18: Take the word non-perception. Rearrange its 13 letters to name three things that are in the same category. What are they?

Copyright 2022 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.

NPR's Puzzlemaster Will Shortz has appeared on Weekend Edition Sunday since the program's start in 1987. He's also the crossword editor of The New York Times, the former editor of Games magazine, and the founder and director of the American Crossword Puzzle Tournament (since 1978).