On-air challenge: The three B's in classical music are Bach, Beethoven and Brahms. But in this puzzle they're three words starting with B. Each set can be followed by a fourth word to complete a compound word or a familiar two-word phrase.
Example: Baseball Bathing Bottle --> CAP (baseball cap, bathing cap, bottle cap)
1. Bow Black Bolo
2. Bar Bell Bunny
3. Boom Ballot Bread
4. Brick Berlin Border
5. Building Bar Binary
6. Big Bank Booster
7. Blood Bee Bottom
8. Ball Board Blame
9. Boat Bird Boarding
10. Butter Bowie Butcher
11. Bulletin Bill Backgammon
Last week's challenge: This challenge came from listener Sandy Kutin of Princeton, N.J. Think of a 7-letter past tense verb for something good you might have done in a football game. Move each letter one space later in the alphabet (so A becomes B, B becomes C, etc.), and rearrange the result. You'll get a past tense verb for something bad you might have done in football. What words are these?
Challenge answer: Tackled, Fumbled
Winner: Alec Sloane of Oakland, Calif.
This week's challenge: This week's challenge comes from listener Mike Strong of Mechanicsburg, Pa. Think of a familiar two-word phrase — 5 letters in each word — that might be something you'd write in a letter. The first and last letters are the same. The 3rd and 8th letters are the same. The 4th and 7th letters are the same. And the middle two letters are consecutive in the alphabet. What phrase 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 by Thursday, Oct. 31 at 3 p.m. ET.
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