Fixer-Upper Word Game

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 on the line from New York City is our quiz guide, John Chaneski.

Hello.

Hey, John.

Hello.

Hello, Grant and Martha.

What’s up, buddy?

Here I am here in New York City.

Did you guys see Frozen?

Yes, I did.

No, I haven’t seen it yet.

Oh, you should see it.

Yeah, I really liked it a lot.

It was great.

The music was fantastic.

I actually met the composers, Bobby Lopez and Kristen Anderson Lopez, the other day.

Yeah, they’re super great.

I liked the song Fixer Upper.

Do you remember that song, Grant?

No.

How does it go?

He’s a bit of a fixer upper.

It’s when the trolls are trying to fix up Anna and Kristoff because they’re sort of his parents and they extol his bad virtues.

Because they’re trolls.

What the trolls say, they say how he smells and how he looks to this and to that.

And they say, well, maybe the way to fix him is to fix him up with you, which is great.

It’s just a sweet song.

Now, it occurred to me that maybe they might have better luck if they had stressed other kinds of things that Kristoff could have been.

That’s sort of going around a ways to find a concept for a puzzle, but here it is.

Instead of a fixer-upper, maybe he’s played a key defensive position on the kingdom of Arendelle’s baseball team.

He’s a bit of a center fielder.

Maybe that would have worked better.

Okay.

Two words.

Each one ends in E-R.

Okay.

That’s what I need to hear.

Yeah.

There we go.

That’s why I went all out and called this puzzle Blanker Blanker.

Okay.

There we go.

Not fixer-upper, but Blanker Blanker.

Okay.

Here’s our first one.

You know, maybe Anna wants children and would be impressed to hear that Christoph is a state-certified caregiver who takes minors into his home.

He’s a bit of a…

Foster father.

Yes.

He’s a bit of a foster father.

Very good.

Okay.

This one will work.

Maybe Anna is concerned about radiation.

It might come in handy that Christoph begins to click whenever there’s radiation about.

A Geiger counter.

He’s a bit of a Geiger counter.

He’s a bit of a Geiger counter.

You want that guy around, yeah.

Look, we’re open-minded.

Maybe she likes a guy who rebels against typical male-female societal roles.

Gender bender?

Yeah, he’s a bit of a gender bender.

Why not?

Anna probably wants a guy who’s employable, right?

Well, Christoph can write code.

He knows Java, C++, Perl, and Visual Basic.

He can get an IT job easy.

He’s a bit of a…

He’s a bit of a computer programmer.

Yes, very good.

He’s a bit of a computer programmer, so good for him.

Maybe Anna wants a guy who’s at the center of everything.

He may not be the queen of Arendelle, but he’s the guy who divides up all the political influence among the ruling class.

Gee whiz.

Oh.

What’s another word for influence?

Power broker?

Yes, he’s a bit of a power broker.

Nice.

Now, government work is very secure.

Kristoff is really good with that sled.

Maybe he can make sure the mail gets through on time every day.

Oh, by the way, not all of these are two-syllable words.

Something deliverer?

No.

This is what my dad was for 40 years.

Letter carrier.

Oh, letter carrier.

He’s a bit of a letter carrier.

Good.

Now, maybe what’s most important to Anna is his attitude.

Maybe she will like that Kristoff is always up for anything and totally throws himself into anything she suggests.

Sort of like an animal with a strong work ethic.

Eager beaver.

Yes, he’s a bit of an eager beaver.

Hey, look, when times get really hard, when winter hits and they can’t grow crops, someone has to go out and get food somehow.

Kristoff still has all those primitive skills.

He’ll keep them fed.

Hunter-gatherer.

Yes, he’s a bit of a hunter-gatherer.

Now, let’s face facts.

You never know when that sister of hers will make it snow.

It may win Anna over to know that Kristoff is particularly skilled at meteorology.

Weather forecaster.

Yes, he’s a weather forecaster.

Now, you know what?

I hate to do this, but maybe Anna should find another guy.

It seems that Kristoff is not what he seems.

He seems strong and powerful, but in the end, he can’t stand up to a challenge.

Let’s see.

These are harder than I thought.

Yeah, really.

It’s a very lighthearted quiz, but there’s a pretty strong…

Something quitter?

Was he?

No, this is a phrase that means.

Let’s see, a phrase that means someone who seems very powerful and can fight, but in the end, it just crumples.

Oh, Paper Tiger.

Yes, very good.

He’s a bit of a paper tiger.

And that is our Blanker Blanker quiz.

Go see Frozen, Martha.

I’m an eager beaver.

It’s one of the better Disney movies in a long time.

Some really great performances musically.

It’s got an ending, which is outside the usual Disney kind of paradigm.

A little bit of the same stuff.

Love will save the day, but still a good movie.

Okay, I’ll see you guys next time.

Okay, great.

Thanks a lot, John.

We’d love to hear your stories about language.

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