Quiz Guy John Chaneski gathers clues to words that contain æ, the ligature called ash that can appear in such words as Cæsar. For example, what’s a dessert historically served after church services? This is part of a complete episode.
Transcript of “A Quiz on Words with the Ligature “Ash,” as in “Cæsar””
You’re listening to A Way with Words, the show about language and how we use it.
I’m Grant Barrett.
And I’m Martha Barnette.
And joining us now is the guy who always turns wordplay into a contact sport, and he is dressed for it, Our quiz guide, John Chaneski.
Hey, John.
Nice shinyards.
Got my pads on.
Is gonna be it.
Those are some big shoulders, buddy.
Let’s get into it.
Yeah.
All right.
You know, one vowel combination you see more often in Latin is AE, like in Caesar.
You know, it’s pronounced Caesar in classical Latin and Caesar in medieval or church Latin.
But of course we say Caesar, of course.
In print it’s known as a ligature or combination of two vowels called ash.
You’re familiar with that, right?
Mhmm.
Sure.
I’m gonna give you a clue to a word with a and e together, an English word.
This is or a loan word.
Pronounce it however you wish.
Are you ready?
Yes.
Okay, good.
A and e together, ae.
A dessert named for when it was historically served after church services, and we’re not sure why it’s spelled this way, but it might be intended as a trademark.
Ice cream sundae.
Sunday is correct.
S u n d a e.
Shakespeare could have used this word for his late romance about magic, betrayal, and forgiveness.
It means a chaotic, turbulent situation or a whirlpool.
Maelstrom.
Maelstrom is right.
Well done.
Now let’s talk about people.
Like, many people you might know who share a name with a biblical angel whose name means he who is like God.
Oh.
You probably know many of these.
Michael.
Michael is correct.
M I c h a e l.
Or we could talk about a fictional character whose name means God will hear.
I’m sure he will hear because in the first line of the novel he says he wants you to call him Ismael.
Ismael, yes.
Let’s travel to Valencia, Spain.
I’m feeling kind of peckish for another AE word.
This loanword from Catalan means a wide flat pan, like where you might cook a dish of rice, saffron, sausage, chicken, shrimp.
Paella.
Paella.
Yes.
Now I’m hungry.
Now all of this quiz stuff hurts my head.
What I really need is exercise.
And as a child of the seventies, I’m a fan of what physical conditioning from the words for air and life.
Aerobics.
Aerobics, a e r o b I c s.
Of course, I need music for my workout.
A fleeting dance craze in the nineteen sixties inspired a song by the Maytals that gave a name to what Jamaican music genre?
Reggae.
Reggae.
The song was called Do the Reggae, r e g g a y, and they changed it to r e g g a e, Reggae.
Well done, guys.
Thanks, John.
We really appreciate it.
Thank you.
Thank you.
You can also describe me as a maestro, that would be fantastic.
There you go.
You’re a maelstrom, not a maestro.
See you next time.
Bye, John.
See you next time.
Thank you, guys.
Well, we have a lot of fun on this show with John, and we’d love to have some fun with you.
So call us to talk about any aspect of language.
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