NPR Sunday Puzzle (Aug 26): Providing clues in close to realtime

NPR Sunday Puzzle (Aug 26): Providing clues in close to realtime:

Q: Name an event at which food is served (eight letters). Inside this word is the name of a food in four letters. Remove these four letters, and the remaining four letters, in order, will name another food. What words are these?

I'm not sure if I have the intended answer or not. The foods seemed to be right there in the answer without having to look "inside" too hard.

Edit: I'm still not sure if this is the intended answer or not, so we'll see on Sunday. The clue to my answer was in the title "close to realtime" which should have made you think of...

A: MEALTIME --> MEAT + LIME

Edit: Indeed my answer was not the intended answer. 'L' from the comments notes that the intended answer is probably:
A: CLAMBAKE --> LAMB + CAKE

NPR Sunday Puzzle (Aug 19): Music Is in the Air

NPR Sunday Puzzle (Aug 19): Music Is in the Air:

Rearrange the letters of NITROGEN to get a familiar word everyone knows, that did not exist 10 years ago. What is it?

The title was intended for the on-air puzzle, not the challenge for the week. Or was it?

Edit: I have to think the title was a deliberate hint since there is no mention of air in the on-air puzzle, just musical instruments. And air is 78 percent nitrogen. So the answer is...

A: NITROGEN --> RINGTONE

NPR Sunday Puzzle (Aug 12): No Help Today

I'll be on vacation this next week, so I won't be able to post clues about the puzzle.

Edit: For completeness, here's last week's puzzle and answer:

NPR Sunday Puzzle (Aug 12): No Help Today

Q: Think of a pair of words that commonly go together. They're part of a larger group, but this pair of words is commonly said together. The first word contains a "W" sound without the letter "W" being in it. And the second word contains a "W" that is silent. (The pronunciation of the word wouldn't be changed if you remove the "W.") Name this pair of words.

The date of the puzzle was August 12, made up of the digits "1" and "2". I wonder if that was a hint?

A: ONE, TWO

NPR Sunday Puzzle (Aug 5): Outdoor Activity Puzzle

NPR Sunday Puzzle (Aug 5): Outdoor Puzzle:

Q: Think of a six-letter word ending in a vowel that names something worn outdoors. Change the vowel to a 'G' and you'll name a popular outdoor activity. What activity is it?

I have the answer to the two pieces of the puzzle, but trying to come up with a good clue is taking a toll on my brain.

Edit: Check the answer and the clues should be obviously (two piece, "a toll" as in Bikini Atoll)

A: BIKINI --> BIKING

NPR Sunday Puzzle (July 29): A Tale of Two Movies

NPR Sunday Puzzle (July 29): A Tale of Two Movies:

Q: Name a well-known movie in five letters, two syllables. The vowel sound in the first syllable is a short 'i.' Change that vowel to a long 'i' and phonetically, you'll name another famous movie, in six letters. What movies are these?

A couple hints: An older film and a more recent film. Also, the answers don't actually share a lot of letters in common. So there you go, I've kept you in suspense until later in the week...

A: Sicko (2007) and Psycho (1960)

NPR Sunday Puzzle (July 22): Sly as a Fox

NPR Sunday Puzzle (July 22): Sly as a Fox:

Q: Think of an adjective that would describe a fox. Remove all the letters in the even positions — second, fourth, sixth, etc. The remaining letters, in order, will answer this clue: Fox's natural rival... what is it?

This puzzle was initially posted on the NPR website saying "A fox's natural rival". The new wording seems to imply that this involves the Fox network, Fox News, Fox Sports, 20th Century Fox, etc. I first thought that it might be CRAFTY --> CAT, but that doesn't make sense. Then I thought the answer might be CUNNING --> CNN, but that only works if you take out an additional N. Anyone else have the answer?

Edit: Okay, I'm going with JJ's submitted answer (see comments). Listening to the puzzle, Will definitely left out the article 'a'. Given that the posted puzzle changed from 'A fox's...' to 'Fox's...' I have to assume that this implies that it isn't the animal. I think the answer is CNN, but I just didn't have the right adjective. And yes, CANINE can be used as an adjective too.

A: CANINE --> CNN

NPR Sunday Puzzle (July 15): Outdoor Sports Centre

NPR Sunday Puzzle (July 15): Outdoor Sports Centre:

Q: Name two outdoor sports or games in seven letters. The first two letters of the first sports name are the same as the first two letters in the second sports name. And the last two letters of the first sports name are the same as the last two letters in the second sports name. Hint: The names do not end in 'N-G.' What sports or outdoor games are these?

Incidentally, I'll be travelling on holiday shortly (gone for a fortnight), so I won't be able to post clues or answers during that time. You'll just have to get your clues from listening to the NPR programme. Cheerio!

Edit: Well, I'm a little late in getting this updated. The hints (centre, travelling, holiday, fortnight, programme, cheerio) were obviously pointing to sports that are typically British. So time for the answer:

A: CRICKET and CROQUET

NPR Sunday Puzzle (July 8): Going Places

NPR Sunday Puzzle (July 8): Going Places:

Q: Name a place where most people would like to go. The name of this place contains the letter 'V' somewhere inside it. Replace the 'V' with 'T' and 'H' to name a person you wouldn't expect to go there. Who is it and what's the place?

I can tell you I wouldn't want to be heading there anytime soon... but perhaps some day.

Edit: I doubt anyone needed help on this one.

A: HEAVEN --> HEATHEN

NPR Sunday Puzzle (July 1): Squirrel Prevention

NPR Sunday Puzzle (July 1): Squirrel Prevention:

Q: Will has a problem. For a long time squirrels have been jumping from trees near his house onto his roof. His house has an attic fan, and the squirrels can enter the attic thru a hole cut in the roof for the fan. Will had the tree branches cut back from the house to prevent the squirrels from getting into the attic. Now the squirrels have started running up his front steps, jumping up on the railing at the top, jumping six feet onto the telephone wires leading into the house — and from there, jumping to the roof. As Will cannot get rid of the railing, the telephone wires or the front steps, how can Will prevent the squirrels from getting onto his roof?

The most obvious solution is to prevent them from entering the fan opening by adding a wire grate. But that doesn't really prevent them from getting on the roof. The other obvious solution would be to add a large disc-shaped baffle to the telephone line. As long as they can't see through the baffle, the squirrels will be deterred from jumping over because they can't judge their landing spot. The drawback is that it is a rather ugly addition to the telephone line. However, my submitted solution is something else that I think is creative, amusing and practical. I'll tell you what I came up with after the deadline.

Edit: Here's my solution which may or may not match with what Will picks on Sunday...

A: I suggest adding a section of PVC pipe around the telephone line, slightly bigger than the wire so that it will easily spin. Imagine the fun you'll have watching the squirrels try to either land on it (flying off into space) or trying to cross it (and being spun back toward the ground). In my mind it meets the criteria of being practical, creative and amusing. If Will implements this solution I hope he films it so we can all have fun watching the results.

NPR Sunday Puzzle (June 24): Ran to Oregon?

NPR Sunday Puzzle (June 24): Ran to Oregon?

Q: Take a familiar three-word title, with four letters in the first word, two letters in the next and six letters in the last. The last word contains the consecutive letters R-A-N. Change the R-A-N, to O-R and you'll get another familiar three-word phrase. What is it?

If you finish this quickly it will be quite an achievement.

Edit: I barely finished reading the puzzle and I had the answer, so I doubt others struggled with this for too long. The six letter word with R-A-N in it was the key and the rest fell into place. In case you can't decipher the clues, "finishing quickly" was a hint to racing, but a certain race extended over several days. And "quite an achievement" was a clue to the second part of the answer.

A: TOUR DE FRANCE --> TOUR DE FORCE