Quiz Guy John Chaneski has a word game about words and phrases that involve furniture or parts of a house. For example, if you want to see your lover but you only have two hours, that’s a tight window of opportunity. And if you invest in, say, smartphones for pets — only to see your savings go down the drain — we’d say you’ll be taking a bath. This is part of a complete episode.
Transcript of “Furniture Word Quiz”
You’re listening to A Way with Words. I’m Martha Barnette.
And I’m Grant Barrett. And joining us once again is our master quiz master,
The masterful man, John Chaneski. Hello, master.
Hi, Grant. Hi, Martha. I wonder if someday I get to be doctor of puzzles
Instead of just master of puzzles.
I don’t know. Do you have a blue foam box?
Oh, yeah. I’ll settle for being a puzzle companion.
Nice.
I’m good with that, yeah.
You can be the dog one.
Canine? Oh, I love canine.
Sure.
It occurs to me that I’ve never had you guys over to the house.
No, you haven’t.
Since you live so far away, maybe we should find a substitute for a house visit.
How about some words and phrases that include furniture and things around the house?
Okay.
How’s that for a second?
Around your house or around my house?
A normal person’s house.
Oh, okay.
Neither of you being normal, so he means my house.
Neither of us or Grant, maybe.
I don’t know.
Okay.
For example, televisions have been around since 1928.
So why did this term only become popular in 1982?
Maybe people used to watch TV standing up?
What do I know?
I’m just a youngster.
Television stand?
No.
That’s in a house.
Kind of a, that’s true.
TV tray?
TV dinner?
No.
No, the TV isn’t in this phrase.
No, it’s a different piece of furniture.
It’s for someone who watches a lot of TV.
Oh, a TV chair?
No, it’s for a person.
TV couch.
Couch potato.
Couch potato is right.
Nice work, Grant.
Finally got it.
What?
Yes.
I don’t get it.
Try to pay attention.
Let me turn off the TV.
Just a second.
There’s your problem, couch potato.
The answer is, of course, couch potato.
Let’s see how many more of these you can get.
Remember, there’s a piece of furniture or a part of a house somewhere in this phrase.
Okay, good.
If I’m in love with my lovely pen pal from Spain and I want to propose to her,
But she’ll only be in town for a brief two-hour layover tomorrow,
Those two hours are known as what?
Something window.
Window.
Yeah, something.
Of?
Opportunity.
Yes, my window of opportunity.
Good.
Got it.
Now we’re on track.
If I invest in a sure thing, like, say, smartphones for pets, and that doesn’t turn out too well and I lose all my money, I’ve done what?
Taking a bath.
Taking a bath.
Yes.
Okay.
Very good.
Now, the very real but metaphorical barrier that keeps some minorities and women from success despite their achievements is known as what?
Glass ceiling.
Glass ceiling, sure.
Glass ceiling.
Very good.
They can’t deny your skill, of course, if you invent something amazing, like, say, smartphones for pets, naturally.
And the sales figures do what?
Go through the roof.
Yes, through the roof.
Are you trying to get funding from a VC or something?
Yeah, maybe.
Smartphones for pets.
Contact me, by the way.
Smartphones for pets.
Now, in this case, you will get a promotion, and they might describe you as having been this, which frankly sounds a little painful.
Above board? No.
No? That’s a nice guess.
Kicked upstairs?
Kicked upstairs is right.
Oh, nice.
Yes. Stairs.
Of course, when I told my parents of my meager aspirations, they were amazed and stunned.
They were…
Hornswoggle.
Bean counters.
They weren’t bean counters? No.
No, no.
Floored.
Floored.
Nice.
Completely floored.
Very good.
Very good.
Now we’re going to get away from my aspirations.
We’re going to talk about one of the largest and longest lasting sovereignties in history
Existed in Turkey between 1299 and 1923.
The Ottoman Empire.
The Ottoman Empire is right.
Now, finally, Russian chemist and inventor Dmitry Mendeleev must have been a pretty organized guy.
I mean, he organized all the things that make up everything in a chart.
What’s that called?
The periodic table.
Yes, the periodic table.
Very good.
You guys did great.
That’s a little tour of my house of words.
Your psyche.
Yes, very scary.
His mental space.
John, thank you very much.
It was great fun.
Thank you, Grant.
Thank you, Martha.
And if you have a question about language or wordplay, grammar, slang,
Give us a call, 877-929-9673, or send us an email to words@waywordradio.org.
