On-air challenge:
Today's theme is ... HOT! I'm going to give you three words starting with the letters H-O-T. You give me a fourth word that can precede each of mine to complete a compound word or a familiar two-word phrase.
Example: Helmet Oven Tank (starting with G) --> GAS (gas helmet, gas oven, gas tank)
[Each of the following answers is 4 letters long:]
1. Hose Opal Truck (starting with F)
2. Hook Oil Tail (F)
3. Held Organ Towel (H)
4. Haste Office Time (P)
[Each of the next answers has 5 letters:]
5. Hunting Organ Trailer (H)
6. Hole Olive Tie (B)
[The next answer has 6 letters:]
7. Holiday Offering Television (P)
Last week's challenge: Name a woman's title. Drop the first and last letters and read the result backward to get another woman's title. Both titles are common English-language spellings. What titles are these?
Answer: Baroness, senora
Winner: Bob Flood from Allen, Texas
Next week's challenge: This challenge comes from Andrew Chaikin of the National Puzzlers' League.
The word PANCAKE has an unusual property. If you remove its last letter, you get a series of U.S. state postal abbreviations — PA, NC, and AK. Can you name a major city and state that both have this property? To solve this, first think of a state in which you can drop its last letter to leave a series of state postal abbreviations. Then find a major city in that state that also has this property. The city and state names have to be different. What city and state is it?
If you know the answer to next week's challenge, submit it here. Listeners who submit correct answers win a chance to play the on-air puzzle. Important: Include a phone number where we can reach you Thursday, July 12 at 3 p.m. ET.
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