Quiz Guy John Chaneski’s puzzle this week was inspired by the name for that two-way radio, the walkie-talkie. If you named other objects using the same repetitive pattern, you’d refer to a pair of socks as feety-heaties. Following that same pattern, if you consider that one of the biggest types of batteries is the one that supplies your car with electricity, that automotive component might be called by what rhyming name? This is part of a complete episode.
Transcript of “Duzzy Puzzy”
You’re listening to A Way with Words, the show about language and how we use it.
I’m Martha Barnette.
And I’m Grant Barrett, and we’re joined by that master of daring do with a pen and paper, our quiz guide, John Chaneski.
Hi, John.
How you doing?
Hey, Grant.
Hi, Martha.
Coming to you from the flying trapeze high above New York.
Yes, with my daring quizzes.
Here we go.
Every once in a while, I get a quiz idea from A Way with Words’ social media presence.
And this one definitely counts as a sort of by popular request.
Now, there’s this funny list going around titled, what if the guy who named walkie-talkies named everything else?
Maybe you’ve seen it.
It’s self-explanatory.
Walkie-talkies.
You walk, you talk.
Seems pretty on the nose.
Now, so what if that lazy dude who named them named other things?
Like, for example, socks.
They’re on your feet.
They keep you warm.
They’re not socks.
They’re feety-heeties.
Got it.
Put your feety-heeties on.
Let’s get going.
Here we go.
I’ll describe an item you’re probably familiar with.
I’ll describe its usage.
And you should be able to figure out what the walkie-talkie guy would have called it.
Okay.
For example, a car battery.
It stores electricity.
And it’s among the biggest of the things that do.
What would a walkie-talkie guy call it?
Parkies.
Sparky.
A large charge?
Largy-chargy.
Largy-chargy.
It’s got to be E-E, right?
Oh, got it, got it, got it.
Largy-chargy, but you’re on the right track, yeah.
So here we go.
A spoon, often used to pick up hot, broth-like foods.
Soupy-scoopy.
Soupy-scoopy, yes, very good.
I see a little, yeah, okay.
A garbage compactor.
It takes refuse, and it applies pressure.
Trashy-mashy.
Trashy-mashy, yes.
A pillow.
It cradles your noggin when you’re on your mattress.
Betty-heady.
Eddie-beddy?
No.
Heady-beddy, Betty-heady.
I’ll take either one of those.
That works, yeah.
A defibrillator.
It takes one of your organs and gets it going.
Hardy-starty.
Hardy-starty, right.
Here’s another one.
An oven window.
You use it to keep an eye on what you’re making.
Cookie-looky.
Cookie-looky, yeah.
Yes.
Mortar.
Used to attach building material to other building material.
Sticky, bricky, bricky, sticky.
Sticky, bricky.
Yes, very good.
Ballet.
The entirety of ballet.
People moving to music in a very elaborate and sophisticated manner.
Fancy, francy.
Fancy, fancy, fancy.
Fancy, fancy is right.
Yes.
How about a perfume shop?
A place where odiferous items are offered in exchange for money.
Smelly celly?
Smelly celly, yes.
My friend works in a smelly celly.
Yeah.
Finally, yeast used to make flour and water get bigger and bigger.
Doughy something.
Doughy goey.
Doughy blowy.
Doughy showy.
Doughy.
Growy.
Doughy growy.
Yes, there you go.
Doughy growy is another name for yeast.
Nice teamwork there, you guys.
All right.
Thanks, John.
Appreciate it.
Thank you, guys.
If you’d like to talk with us about any aspect of language, give us a call, 877-929-9673, or send your whole story to us an email that addresses words@waywordradio.org.
