NPR Sunday Puzzle (July 23): He, she or they? Figure in Greek Mythology...

NPR Sunday Puzzle (July 23): He, she or they? Figure in Greek Mythology...

Q: Name a well-known figure in Greek mythology, whose name consists of two consecutive pronouns. Who is it?

I would debate the well-known part of this question. I think you'll recognize the answer but it may not be the first Greek figure you think of. Don't forget to try all the possessive and demonstrative pronouns you can think of and consider the subjective, objective and possessive forms. My first thought was HERMES, but that isn't exactly right... think a little more and the answer will come to you.
Edit: In addition to pronouns like he, she, they, him, her, we, us, me, my, mine, ours and yours I hope you remembered it, its, that, this, these and those. Here's the answer I came up with.

A: THESE + US --> THESEUS (Greek Θησεύς) was a legendary king of Athens, son of Aegeus (or of Poseidon) and of Aethra. Theseus was a founder-hero, like Perseus, Cadmus or Heracles, all of whom battled and overcame foes.

NPR Sunday Puzzle (July 16): Criminals and the Crimes they Commit

NPR Sunday Puzzle (July 16): Criminals and the Crimes they Commit

Q: Think of a word meaning criminals. Think of another word for a certain crime. Read these words one after the other, and you'll get a new word for something that may be a crime. What is it? Also, the longer word is unrelated etymologically to the shorter word.

The first word is obviously a plural. As a hint, the second word starts with a consonant and its vowel sound changes in the final word. And yes, all the answers are words, not phrases.
Edit: My wife gets the credit for coming up with the answer first.

A: CONS + PIRACY --> CONSPIRACY

NPR Sunday Puzzle (July 9): Roman Numeral Name

NPR Sunday Puzzle (July 9): Roman Numeral Name

Q: Name a well-known American of the past consisting of eight letters. This is the person's full name, as he or she was known. Six of the letters are consonants, and all six of these consonants are Roman numerals. Who is this famous person?

First it helps to know your roman numerals (I=1, V=5, X=10, L=50, C=100, D=500, M=1000). The consonants are V, X, L, C, D and M. The other thing is to remember that it is the person's full name. But don't be thrown by this. I thought the first name might be something short like AL, ED, MAX, etc. You might be surprised by the answer. One hint, the person's name has 3 syllables.
Edit: The deadline has passed, so it's time to reveal my answer...

A: Black Nationalist and spokesperson for the Nation of Islam, MALCOLM X (born Malcolm Little).

NPR Sunday Puzzle (July 2): Boy to Bird to Brit

NPR Sunday Puzzle (July 2): Boy to Bird to Brit

Q: Think of a boy's first name in six letters. Move the first two letters to the end, and you'll get a word meaning, a bird. Then, move the first two letters of that to the end, to name a well known English writer of the past. What words are these?

Well, I struggled with this one and never got past the bird... Now that I've heard the answer I realize it was a type of bird, not a species of bird. And I'm not familiar with the author either... anyway, here's the puzzle answer they gave.

A: ERNEST (Boy's first name, e.g. Hemingway)
NESTER (Bird that builds a nest)
STERNE (Laurence Sterne, English Writer 1712-1768)

NPR Sunday Puzzle (June 25): A Country and Two 20th-century World Leaders

NPR Sunday Puzzle (June 25): A Country and Two 20th-century World Leaders:

Q: Think of a certain country in the world. Change its first letter to name a well-known 20th-century world leader. Or change its third letter to name another well-known 20th-century world leader. What is the country and who are the leaders?

It shouldn't take too long to come up with this answer. First be sure to focus on 20th-century leaders, not 21st-century leaders. Also, it helps to have an atlas at hand or at least a list of countries.
Edit: If you looked through an alphabetical list of countries, it definitely shouldn't have taken long... I had the answer almost immediately

A: Republic of BENIN (Country in Western Africa)
Vladimir LENIN (First Premier of the Soviet Union, 1917-24)
Menachem BEGIN (Prime Minister of Israel, 1977-83)

NPR Sunday Puzzle (June 18): R-blank and F-blank become Synonyms

NPR Sunday Puzzle (June 18): R-blank and F-blank become Synonyms:

Q: Think of a phrase of the form, Blank and Blank. The initials of the two words in the blanks are R and F. Change the first letter of the second word from an F to a V, and the two words will become synonyms. What are they?

The way I solved this was to look for words in the dictionary... I started with words starting with V and considered which would make words starting with F. Once I hit the word, it was obvious that it was the right answer. I won't give any hints since I think this puzzle should separate the elite from the run of the mill puzzle solvers. My answer after the deadline.
Edit: Who are the opposite of the elite? I guess I did give a clue.

A: RANK and FILE --> RANK and VILE

NPR Sunday Puzzle (June 11): People and Region in Europe

NPR Sunday Puzzle (June 11): People and Region in Europe

Q: Name a people of Europe. Remove the second and third letters of this word. The remaining letters, in order, will spell an area of Europe, that is unrelated to the people. Who are the people and what is the area?

I've got an answer to this question but I'm not sure it is the intended answer. Anybody want to post a comment on this? My answer involves the ancient city of Troy.
Edit: Okay, we'll see if this answer is correct or not...

A: ITALIAN --> ILIAN (Ilian is related to Iliad and an alternate spelling is Ilion. It relates to the city of Troy. Again, I don't know if this is the right answer or not but I'll update you on Sunday when the NPR puzzler airs...)
Edit: The official answer was FINLANDERS --> FLANDERS...

NPR Sunday Puzzle (June 4): Synonyms in the News

NPR Sunday Puzzle (June 4): Synonyms in the News:

Q: Name two people who have been in the news together recently. One of them has a three-letter last name. The other has an eight-letter last name. Move the first letter of the eight-letter name to the start of the three-letter name. The result will be two words that are synonyms. Who are the people and what are the synonyms?

My first thought was that the three-letter name had to be an Asian name, but I was completely wrong. Just think about people in the news and you'll have this puzzle licked.
Edit: I was trying to give a clue where I said 'have this puzzle licked' but it was rather obtuse. So who has been in the news recently?

A: Former Enron executives Kenneth LAY and Jeffrey SKILLING were recently found guilty. The answer is: LAY + SKILLING --> SLAY + KILLING

NPR Sunday Puzzle (May 28): Highway Dance

NPR Sunday Puzzle (May 28): Highway Dance:

Q: Think of a five-letter name of a company that is often seen while driving on the highway. Drop the first letter, and re-arrange the four remaining letters to name a dance. Or, go back to the company's name and drop the second letter, then re-arrange the four remaining letters to name an event where the dance may be performed. What is it?

This one doesn't take long to figure out; I had it within about 2 minutes. I focused on the name of the dance and the location, and worked backwards to the company name.
Edit: Okay, just in time for the 3-day weekend, here's the answer.

A: UHAUL --> HULA dance at the LUAU

NPR Sunday Puzzle (May 21): Boggling Happy Mother's Day Puzzle

NPR Sunday Puzzle (May 21): Boggling Happy Mother's Day Puzzle:

Draw a five-by-three square rectangle, five squares wide by three squares high. Fill it with the letters from Happy Mother's Day, in order:

HAPPY
MOTHE
RSDAY

The object is to spell the longest common English word in the grid, following the rules of Boggle. That is, proceed from letter to letter, following connected squares horizontally, vertically and diagonally. Repeating a square is not allowed.

Well, I've been wandering through the letters. The best I've been able to accomplish is a set of three 8-letter words, none of which would be used to describe most mothers. Anyone been able to do better with a 9-letter word perhaps? If not, I'll give you my three 8-letter words after the deadline.
Edit: Okay, time is up. Since I first posted, I've found one more potential answer, so I have four 8-letter words.

The words I found were:
HOTHEADS - Quick-tempered or impetuous persons.
POTHEADS - Slang term for habitual smokers of marijuana, see Stoners.
HOPHEADS - Slang term for drug addicts.
MATADORS - Bullfighters who perform the final passes and kill the bulls.

The first 3 aren't very flattering for a Mother's Day puzzle, so I sent in my official answer as 'MATADORS'.