Sunday Puzzle: Time Spent In The Kitchen Might Help You Cook Up An Answer

By Will Shortz

Published February 12, 2017 at 6:45 AM CST

On-air challenge: "S-V" are the initials of St. Valentine. They're also the initials of some other familiar two-word phrases and names. See if you can get them from the clues.

Center of the tech industry in California

Unofficial ballot conducted as a test of opinion

Poison from a viper

Saigon was its capital

Person selling hotdogs or gyros from a cart

Italian phrase meaning "said quietly so as not to be overheard"

Medical breakthough by Edward Jenner in 1796

Lettuce, carrots, radishes, etc.

Total amount of business for a manufacturing company

20th-century jazz singer who was nicknamed "The Divine One"

Member of the Sex Pistols

Arena, for example

Cause of a usually short-lived illness that produces abdominal pain

Extremely valuable stringed instrument from Italy

B, in a set of encyclopedias

Kind of mirror on a car

Pull-down item that reduces glare for a driver

Necessary paperwork for a foreigner attending an American university

Last week's challenge: This challenge came from listener Peter Collins of Ann Arbor, Mich. Name a prominent figure in a fairy tale. Write this in all capital letters. Add a stroke to one letter and rearrange the result. You'll name another prominent figure in a fairy tale. What two fairy tale figures are these?

Puzzle answer: FROG --> OGRE

Puzzle winner: Louise Haskett of Indianapolis, Ind.

Next week's challenge: This week's challenge is an easy one, but it's pretty. It comes from listener Michael Shteyman of Odenton, Md. Name some things commonly seen on a kitchen table. Switch the positions of the fifth and sixth letters of the word, and read the result backward. You'll name two things commonly seen in a kitchen. What are they?

Submit Your Answer

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, Feb. 16, at 3 p.m. ET.