NPR Sunday Puzzle (Nov 26, 2017): C'est la Vie

NPR Sunday Puzzle (Nov 26, 2017): C'est la Vie:

Q: Think of a familiar French expression in three words, containing 3 letters, 2 letters, and 5 letters, respectively. Then take its standard translation in English, which is a two-word phrase. If you have the right phrases, the first words of the two phrases said out loud will sound like a world capital. What is it?

Not the way I say it.

Edit: I'm used to hearing the first P distinctly pronounced, but the other pronunciation where the P is silent is acceptable.

A: NOM DE PLUME = PEN NAME
"NOM PEN" sounds like PHNOM PENH, the capital of Cambodia

NPR Sunday Puzzle (Nov 19, 2017): Dare to be Different

NPR Sunday Puzzle (Nov 19, 2017): Dare to be Different:

Q: Here is a list of six words. Besides the fact that each word contains the letter E, what highly unusual property do they share?

ADIEU

AMAZED

BUREAUS

ELATES

HEAD-ON

SIENNAS

I could add SOLUTE and ABASE to the list, but I really don't care.

Edit: Happy Thanksgiving! Removing the letter E from CARE, you get CAR.

A: All the remaining letters in each word (after removing the E) can be rearranged to name a car maker. AUDI, MAZDA, SUBARU, TESLA, HONDA and NISSAN. My additional two form LOTUS and SAAB.

NPR Sunday Puzzle (Nov 12, 2017): State Capital and World Capital --> State Name

NPR Sunday Puzzle (Nov 12, 2017): State Capital and World Capital --> State Name:

Q: Take the name of a U.S. state capital. Immediately to the right of it write the name of a world capital. If you have the right ones, the name of a U.S. state will be embedded in consecutive letters within that letter string. What three places are these?

Rather than wasting my time looking through several different lists; I feel I have to watch YouTube instead.

Edit: YouTube --> video --> Montevideo

A: DENVER or DOVER MONTEVIDEO = VERMONT

NPR Sunday Puzzle (Nov 5, 2017): Fall Back to a List of Directors

NPR Sunday Puzzle (Nov 5, 2017): Fall Back to a List of Directors:

Q: Think of the last name of a famous film director. The first two letters and last two letters in order spell a word. And the remaining letters, rearranged, spell a synonym of that word. What film director is it?

I have two answers -- a third if you want to include an Academy Award winning composer.

Edit: Along with the Huston family, the Coppolas are notable for having three generations of Academy Award winners: grandfather Carmine Coppola (best score), father Francis Ford Coppola (best film, director, screenplay and writing) and daughter Sofia Coppola (best screenplay).

A: (Francis Ford / Sophia) COPPOLA --> COLA + POP