NPR Sunday Puzzle (May 31, 2015): What comes first?

NPR Sunday Puzzle (May 31, 2015): What comes first?:

Q: A simple challenge: Think of a 5-letter word that can precede "chicken" to complete a common two-word phrase. Change the middle letter to get a new word that can follow "chicken" to complete a common two-word phrase. What phrases are these?

Not to complain but we were up late helping our son move back from college, so I apologize for the late post.

Edit: My clues were complain (roast) and back home (roost).

A: ROAST chicken --> chicken ROOST

NPR Sunday Puzzle (May 24, 2015): What's your Occupation?

NPR Sunday Puzzle (May 24, 2015): What's your Occupation?:

Q: Take the phrase "merchant raider." A merchant raider was a vessel in World War I and World War II that targeted enemy merchant ships. Rearrange the letters of "merchant raider" to get two well-known professions. What are they?

Sorry, didn't see that one coming so I wasn't prepared. You'll have to sift through the lists to find a pair of occupations on your own.

Edit: My clues hinted at the Radar Tech and Miner professions, but they may not be the intended answers.

A: RADAR TECH and MINER or RANCHER and MAITRE'D

NPR Sunday Puzzle (May 17, 2015): Traveling Around The Globe

NPR Sunday Puzzle (May 17, 2015): Traveling Around The Globe:

Q: Name a country with at least three consonants. These are the same consonants, in the same order, as in the name of a language spoken by millions of people worldwide. The country and the place where the language is principally spoken are in different parts of the globe. What country and what language are these?

On the lists I checked, both the country and the language rank somewhere in the middle.

Edit: The hint was "rank" which contains the consonants in one of the answers.

A: UKRAINE --> KOREAN (alternate answers on the NPR website)

NPR Sunday Puzzle (May 10, 2015): 5 Letters, 1-2-3 Syllables

NPR Sunday Puzzle (May 10, 2015): 5 Letters, 1-2-3 Syllables:

Q: The letters of the one-syllable word "groan" can be rearranged to spell "organ," which has two syllables. Here's the challenge: Think of a common one-syllable, five-letter word whose letters can be rearranged to spell a common two-syllable word — and then rearranged again to spell a common three-syllable word. I have two different answers in mind, and it's possible there are others, but you only have to think of one.

Are plurals allowed?

Before I edited it down, my full hint was going to be "Who can help me? Are plurals allowed? Thoughts?" But that seemed a little too obvious.

A: AIDES, ASIDE, IDEAS or AIMED, AMIDE, MEDIA

NPR Sunday Puzzle (May 3, 2015): Everything, Including The Kitchen Sink

NPR Sunday Puzzle (May 3, 2015): Everything, Including The Kitchen Sink:

Q: Think of a common two-word phrase for something you might see in a kitchen. Reverse the words — that is, put the second word in front of the first — and you'll name a food, in one word, that you might prepare in a kitchen. What is it?

Growing up my mother insisted we eat everything on our plate. If you didn't finish your lima beans at one meal, she starved you, and you had nothing but those lima beans until you ate them.

Edit: The phrase "she starved you" anagrams to Shrove Tuesday.

A: CAKE PAN --> PANCAKE