Will Shortz’s October 4, 2026, NPR Sunday Puzzle asks you to add IN to the end of each first-clue answer to make the answer to its paired clue. The page gives nine on-air clue pairs but no answer key. A separate weekly challenge has an October 8 submission deadline.
How “In at the Finish” works
For each pair, solve the first clue, then append the two letters IN to that answer. The resulting word should fit the second clue. The page’s example is “Bit of smoke / Arctic bird”: PUFF becomes PUFFIN.
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Here are the nine on-air pairs as published:
- Shopping area / President Van Buren
- Fancy home beside the sea, maybe / Opposite of a hero
- Fine powder / Actor Hoffman
- Terse / Jane who was an original cast member of “S.N.L.”
- Actor Lundgren of “Rocky IV” / Intelligent sea creature
- Item on a bracelet / Brand of bathroom tissue
- Bit of ammunition / Short news report
- Force of gravity on Earth (2 wds.) / Tchaikovsky opera “Eugene ___”
- Gillette razor brand / Vehicle in a Duke Ellington jazz standard (2 wds.)
The published page presents these as clues and does not provide this week’s solutions, so the pairs above are left unsolved rather than presented as a confirmed answer key.
How to enter the separate weekly challenge
The weekly challenge is distinct from the nine on-air pairs. Robbie Ellis of Chicago asks solvers to find two well-known colleges or universities in the same state such that the last letter of one is the first letter of the other. Replace each occurrence of that shared letter with the same new letter to make two other well-known colleges or universities. The page does not give the challenge’s answer.
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Submissions are due by Thursday, October 8, 2026, at 3 p.m. ET. Selected listeners get a chance to play the on-air puzzle. Include a phone number with your submission. The challenge and submission details appear on the VPM/NPR puzzle page.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.About this week’s puzzle
Will Shortz’s “In at the Finish” was published by VPM/NPR on October 4, 2026, at 9:18 a.m. EDT (13:18 UTC). The page describes Shortz as NPR’s Puzzlemaster on Weekend Edition Sunday since the program began in 1987; it also notes his work as New York Times crossword editor, former Games magazine editor, and founder and director of the American Crossword Puzzle Tournament, which it dates to 1978.
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