ELISSA NADWORNY, HOST:
Time to play the Puzzle.
(SOUNDBITE OF STEFAN SCAGGIARI AND NED WHARTON'S "PUZZLE MASH THEME")
NADWORNY: Joining us is Will Shortz. He's puzzle editor of The New York Times and puzzlemaster of WEEKEND EDITION. How's it going, Will?
WILL SHORTZ: Hey there. Welcome back, Elissa.
NADWORNY: Thank you. So, Will, will you remind us of last week's challenge?
SHORTZ: Yes. It came from Benita Rice of Salem, Ohio. I said, name a famous foreign landmark - two words, five letters in the first word and four letters in the last. Change the eighth letter to a V and rearrange the result to make an adjective that describes this landmark. Well, the landmark is Notre Dame in Paris. Make that change, and you get renovated.
NADWORNY: There were over 770 correct entries this week, and our winner is Chee Sing Lee of Bangor, Maine. Congrats, Chee Sing.
CHEE SING LEE: Thank you. Hello.
NADWORNY: Hello. How did you figure out this week's answer?
LEE: So I was stuck on Great Wall for a long time 'cause that's another five-and-four landmark. And so I got stuck. I let it percolate for a while. And then just randomly, I thought of Paris and France and then...
NADWORNY: Then it came to you.
LEE: ...Came back to it. Yeah.
SHORTZ: That's a good way to solve a puzzle. Let it percolate.
NADWORNY: (Laughter).
SHORTZ: Come...
LEE: (Laughter).
SHORTZ: Go away and come back and try it again.
NADWORNY: How long have you been playing the Puzzle?
LEE: Just kind of off and on over the past decade or so.
NADWORNY: Past decade. Wow. And what do you do when you're not playing the Puzzle?
LEE: I'm a software developer.
NADWORNY: Chee Sing, are you ready to play this Puzzle?
LEE: I'm as ready as I ever will be.
NADWORNY: OK. Will, it's you.
SHORTZ: All right. Chee Sing and Elissa, today's puzzle is a tribute to Mimi. Every answer is a familiar two-word phrase or name in which each word starts with the letters M-I. For example, if I said an assignment for soldiers, you would say, military mission. Here's No. 1 - a pageant title for a contestant from Detroit.
LEE: Michigan?
SHORTZ: Yes.
LEE: Miss...
SHORTZ: What would...
LEE: ...Michigan.
SHORTZ: Miss Michigan is right. One of the twin cities.
LEE: Minneapolis, Minnesota.
SHORTZ: You got it. Nickname for the river through New Orleans.
LEE: Miss. Mighty Miss.
SHORTZ: Mighty Mississippi is it. A super-short skirt.
LEE: Mini.
SHORTZ: There's a...
LEE: Micro mini.
SHORTZ: ...Word before mini.
NADWORNY: A micro mini. Wow.
SHORTZ: Micro mini is it. That is really short.
NADWORNY: (Laughter).
LEE: Yeah.
SHORTZ: How about neighborhood in Los Angeles that contains Museum Row?
LEE: Oh. Is it Mission something?
SHORTZ: No. The second word is a distance.
LEE: Is - Miracle Mile? Is that...
SHORTZ: You got it.
LEE: ...A place?
SHORTZ: Nice.
LEE: OK.
NADWORNY: Is that a place (laughter)? Turns out it is.
SHORTZ: The Miracle Mile. Good. Just over four times the distance from the Earth to the moon.
LEE: Million miles.
SHORTZ: That's it. Goateed sing-along conductor of old TV.
NADWORNY: Ooh. That one is hard.
SHORTZ: This goes back.
LEE: Oh, yeah.
SHORTZ: It's a generational thing. My dad watched this conductor on TV. And maybe you don't know, so I'll tell you the answer. It's Mitch Miller. Do you know Mitch Miller?
LEE: Oh, yeah. I would never have gotten that.
NADWORNY: Nope.
SHORTZ: Got you.
NADWORNY: No...
SHORTZ: OK. Here we go.
NADWORNY: ...These are hard (laughter).
SHORTZ: Let's get back to normal. How about a little accident?
LEE: Mini mishap?
SHORTZ: Minor mishap. I'll give you that.
LEE: Yeah.
SHORTZ: How about a land-based weapon in America's nuclear arsenal?
LEE: Minuteman missile.
SHORTZ: You got it. Here's...
LEE: Oh.
SHORTZ: ...Your last one. In "Snow White," the Evil Queen's words before, on the wall.
LEE: Mirror, mirror.
NADWORNY: (Laughter).
SHORTZ: Good job.
(LAUGHTER)
LEE: Thank you.
NADWORNY: Wow. Chee Sing, how do you feel?
LEE: Nervous. Excited.
NADWORNY: (Laughter).
LEE: You know, normal way to feel.
NADWORNY: Was it as hard as you thought it would be?
LEE: Yeah.
NADWORNY: (Laughter).
LEE: I think it's about the same (ph).
NADWORNY: Well, for playing our Puzzle today, you'll get a WEEKEND EDITION lapel pin as well as puzzle books and games. You can read all about this at npr.org/puzzle. And, Chee Sing, what member station do you listen to?
LEE: My member station is WMEH in Bangor. And if I may, I'd like to give a shout-out to my daughters listening at home, Songyi (ph) and Meiyi (ph).
NADWORNY: That's Chee Sing Lee of Bangor, Maine. Thank you for playing the Puzzle.
LEE: Thank you so much. Have a good one.
NADWORNY: OK. So, Will, what's next week's challenge?
SHORTZ: Yes. It comes from James Ellison of Jefferson City, Missouri. Think of a popular movie of the past decade. Change the last letter in its title and the result will suggest a lawsuit between two politicians of the late 20th century, one Republican and one Democrat. What's the movie, and who are the people?
So again, a popular movie of the past decade. Change the last letter and the result will suggest a lawsuit between two politicians of the late 20th century, one Republican and one Democrat. What's the movie, and who are the people?
NADWORNY: When you have that answer, go to our website npr.org/puzzle to submit your response. Just fill out the form on the puzzle page. And remember - just one entry, please. Our deadline for entries this week is Thursday, April 23, at 3 p.m. Eastern. Don't forget to include a phone number where we can reach you. If you're the winner, we'll give you a call. And if you pick up the phone, you'll get to play on the air with the puzzle editor of The New York Times and puzzlemaster of WEEKEND EDITION, Will Shortz. Thanks, Will.
SHORTZ: Thank you, Elissa.
(SOUNDBITE OF STEFAN SCAGGIARI AND NED WHARTON'S "PUZZLE MASH THEME")
Copyright © 2026 NPR. All rights reserved. Visit our website terms of use and permissions pages at www.npr.org for further information.
Accuracy and availability of NPR transcripts may vary. Transcript text may be revised to correct errors or match updates to audio. Audio on npr.org may be edited after its original broadcast or publication. The authoritative record of NPR’s programming is the audio record.