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NPR

I'm going to give you some sentences. Each sentence has two blanks. The word that goes in the first blank has an O somewhere in it. Double the O and you'll get a new word that goes in the second blank to complete the sentence..

Ex. In the college lecture hall, the math ___ explained a difficult ___.   -->  PROF/PROOF

1. Road Runner opened a ___ of Acme products in the Looney Tunes ___.

2. For his next blockbuster set in Africa, will director James ___ film in ___?

3. While on vacation in the West, we saw a flock of birds ___ over the ___ Dam.

4. Having a stubbed toe was sort of a ___ excuse for playing ___ from school.

5. In a Wild West movie set, a nail ___ is an unlikely business next to a ___.

6. Among the ___ of workers at the poultry farm, one man had to see that every ___ was well cared for.

7. The chef will ___ the steak in gravy to give it a ___ texture.

8. The Russian novelist Nikolai ___ has become so popular, he gets almost a ___ hits on the Internet.

9. On the bus in Glasgow, I asked a ___ to ___ over.

10. The losing candidate for mayor of ___, Delaware, is calling for a ___.

Last week's challenge comes from Steve Baggish, of Arlington, Mass. Using only the letters of FACES NORTH, repeating them as often as you wish, you can spell a familiar expression in seven words (4,3,3,6,3,3,5). What expression is it?

Answer: Can't see the forest for the trees.

Nori Aquino of Sacramento, California

This week's challenge comes from James Ellison, of Jefferson City, Mo. Think of a famous movie villain. Insert one letter to get the brand name of a household product. Then change one letter of the product to get the last name of another famous movie villain. Who are the characters and what is the product?

If you know the answer to the challenge, submit it here by Thursday, August 20 at 3 p.m. ET. Listeners whose answers are selected win a chance to play the on-air puzzle. Important: include a phone number where we can reach you.