1) queue (remove the last four letters and you are left with "q")
2) 11 (3 in the word "the" and 8 in the word "alphabet")
3) meat
4) 7 (mom, dad, 4 daughters and one son)
5) beetle
6) It was a grandfather, son and grandson
7) palindromes (read the same backwards as forwards)
8) a secret...