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Sunday Puzzle: BE-D with two words

NPR

On-air challenge

Every answer today is a familiar two-word phrase or name in which the first word starts BE- and the second word start D- (as in "bed"). (Ex. Sauce often served with tortilla chips  -->  BEAN DIP)

1. Sinuous Mideast entertainer who may have a navel decoration

2. Oscar category won multiple times by Frank Capra and Steven Spielberg

3. While it's still light at the end of the day

4. Obstruction in a stream made by animals that gnaw

5. Actress who starred in "Now, Voyager" and "Whatever Happened to Baby Jane?"

6. Two-time Conservative prime minister of Great Britain in the 19th century

7. Italian for "beautiful woman"

8. Patron at an Oktoberfest, e.g.

9. Dim sum dish made with ground meat and fillings wrapped in a wonton and steamed

10. [Fill in the blank:] Something that is past its prime has seen ___

11. Like the engine room and sleeping quarters on a ship

Last week's challenge

Last week's challenge came from Robert Flood, of Allen, Texas. Name a famous female singer of the past (five letters in the first name, seven letters in the last name). Remove the last letter of her first name and you can rearrange all the remaining letters to name the capital of a country (six letters) and a food product that its nation is famous for (five letters).

Challenge answer

Sarah Vaughan, Havana, Sugar.

Winner

Josh McIntyre of Raleigh, N.C.

This week's challenge (something different)

I was at a library. On the shelf was a volume whose spine said "OUT TO SEA." When I opened the volume, I found the contents has nothing to do with sailing or the sea in any sense. It wasn't a book of fiction either. What was in the volume?

If you know the answer to the challenge, submit it below by Wednesday, December 24 at 3 p.m. ET. Listeners whose answers are selected win a chance to play the on-air puzzle.

Copyright 2025 NPR

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).