Candy!
I’ll be back in a sec to post a new challenge. (I was beginning to fear the game was dying.)
By the way, I love the expression “candy ass”, although as a candy ass myself, I’m reluctant to use it in casual conversation.
Here’s my challenge:
ball
fingers
sugar
retort
Butter?
Not what I had in mind…
Yeah but … [/retort] 
You might be on the verge of convincing me that there are two solutions. How does “sugar” work with butter?
You cream the two together as the first step in baking cookies.
Correct!
You know, I liked this idea of this game when I thought it up because a dictionary and thesaurus will only go so far to help. I may have been too clever for my own good.
Butter works for two of them, three if you shoehorn Twicks’ association in there. Retort, however, not so much. I love it as a phrase though.
“What kind of a buttery retort was that?”
I’ll add another one.
- Pay
- Chicken
- Jump
- Water
- Stem
Oh c’mon – one who says “but” is a “butter”!
I’m afraid I can’t accept twickster’s answer. Also, I’m just really happy that I came up with one that wasn’t immediately answered. So, I’m just gonna put it down again:
ball
fingers
sugar
retort
A hint: the first three are associates (like “butter fingers”, but not so close); the last is actually a synonym of sorts.
While I’m doing battle with this one, let me add one more:
scandal
smoke
straight
rope
This one is probably truer to the original rules – the solution word (or a close derivative) can be used in a common phrase with each of the above.
Dope?
Yes! Doping scandal, smoking dope, the Straight Dope, and Rope-a-Dope.
Art
Law
Bearing
Court
Poet
Gah! I keep thinking “marshal” but I can’t make it work with “bearing.”
I’m still working on Bayard’s, too.
I’m not getting very far with your last one either. In case I don’t get back to the Dope this weekend (lots o’ studying to do), I’ll spoiler the answer:
It’s “snap”, as in “snap the ball”, “snap your fingers”, “sugar snap peas”, and the annoying “ooh…snap!” to signify a great retort.
I have an association for “letter(s)” for each of these, but I may be reaching.
OK, I’m not the only one reaching :dubious: 
I’m-a thinkin’ maybe… jerk?
Nope. I’ll spoiler this one, too.
Spring. (Spring for lunch, spring chicken, spring up, freshwater spring, springs from (originates))
I’ll come up with another a bit later. (Anyone else is free to, as well. :))