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'.

NPR Sunday Puzzle (May 14): Transportation Fill in the Blanks and Blanks

NPR Sunday Puzzle (May 14): Transportation Fill in the Blanks and Blanks

Q: Take two words that go together to make a familiar phrase in this form: 'blank and blank.' Both words are plurals, such as 'bells and whistles.' Move the first letter of the second word to the start of the first word. You'll get two new words that name forms of transportation. What are they?

Sorry about the delay in posting, it took a little while to figure this one out. I don't have many clues other than in the first 'blanks and blanks' one word starts with a vowel and one starts with a consonant. I'll reveal the answer after the deadline, but before the airing...
Edit: I'm sure others tried this and tried to include TRAINS, RAINS, STRAINS or SCARS, CARS or PLANES, LANES, etc. without success. I was looking at the word RAFTS and trying to make AFTS work when my wife figured out the answer.

A: ARTS and CRAFTS --> CARTS and RAFTS

NPR Sunday Puzzle (May 7): Formaldehyde anagram

NPR Sunday Puzzle (May 7): Formaldehyde anagram:

Q: Take the word formaldehyde. Rearrange its 12 letters to spell two shorter words that are uncapitalized and very common. Each one has just one syllable. Not counting a slight variation, the answer is unique. What words are they?

The hard letters to deal with in this puzzle are the H and Y, though you'll figure what to do if you give it a try.
Edit: If you looked at the my clue above, you'll notice that it rhymed. And if you didn't give it a try, well I guess you just loafed!

A: FORMALDEHYDE = RHYMED + LOAFED (or less commonly FOALED)

NPR Sunday Puzzle (Apr. 30): "Here's Looking at You, Kid"

NPR Sunday Puzzle (Apr. 30): "Here's Looking at You, Kid":

Q: Name a boy's nickname in three letters. Name another boy's nickname in four letters. Say these names out loud, one after the other. The result, phonetically, will be a familiar two-word phrase for someone who is good looking. The phrase is an entry in the dictionary. What is the phrase?

The credit for this answer goes to my wife this week... The only clue I'll give is that the final answer is 3 syllables.
Edit: This one seemed a little harder for some people to figure out, myself included. Fortunately, my wife was able to come up with it in about 30 seconds...

A: IKE + ANDY --> EYE CANDY

NPR Sunday Puzzle (Apr. 23): Household Entertainer

NPR Sunday Puzzle (Apr. 23): Household Entertainer:

Q: Think of a six-letter word for a common household activity. Change the second letter to the following letter of the alphabet, and you will have the name of a well-known American entertainer. This is the person's full name as he or she is popularly known. And a hint: This person is still performing today. What is the word and who is this entertainer?

Actually my son was the one that came up with the answer. He didn't even know the entertainer, but worked at it from the standpoint of guessing "household activities". Don't limit yourself to thinking that it has to be someone like Prince or Cher...
Edit: Once again the deadline has passed so it is time to reveal my answer. The hint was that the answer is the person's full name as they are popularly known. I thought this meant performers that go by a single name, but it doesn't. Here's the answer with credit to my son who got it first.

A: BAKING --> B.B. KING