Homophone Word Quiz

You’re listening to A Way with Words. I’m Martha Barnette.

And I’m Grant Barrett, and we’re joined once again direct from New York City by John Chanesky, our quiz guy.

Hello, John.

Hi, Grant. Hi, Martha.

Hi, John.

What’s up? You’re atop the Empire State Building, right?

I am atop the Empire State Building. It’s raining today in New York City, so I’m in danger of any second being shook by lightning.

I’m swatting at airplanes.

Yes, I’m swatting at things and holding a gorgeous blonde. Don’t tell my wife.

A gorgeous blonde quiz, I hope.

Yes. You guys know homophones, two words that are spelled differently, but sound.

Same like “no” and “no” and “no” and “know” and you know “know” phrases.

Let’s say one word of a two word phrase is a homophone, it would change the meaning of the phrase.

For example, what would you call a single solitary ocean predator?

Any guess?

A single solitary… A loan shark.

A loan shark, yes, very good.

It’s a guy who fronts you money at an exorbitant interest rate, or a fish that fronts you money at an exorbitant interest rate.

Got it.

A lot of clams.

It’s very good.

Right, so we’ve got loan shark, L-O-N-E, shark, or loan shark, L-O-A-N, shark.

Let’s do some more.

In each case, the uncommon phrase comes first, and the actual well-known phrase comes second.

Here we go.

This is a rather redundant way to describe the most widely grown crop in the Americas, but it’s really a seasonal attraction at some farms that you may not be able to find your way out of.

Corn maze.

Corn maze, right.

Can you spell the mazes for me?

M-A-I-Z-E and M-A-Z-E.

Yes, very good.

This is something that lawyers who specialize in wills have to think about, whether or not the person who is to receive inheritance is of sufficient character.

But it’s also something that asthmatics in Los Angeles have to think about.

Air quality.

Air quality.

Very good.

Can you spell the errors for me?

Oh, well, there’s A-I-R and H-E-I-R.

Very good.

Now, if you suspect that a container of liquid contains a strong alkaline substance used to make soap, you can find out by using a device designed to identify it.

Or it could just be a…

Yeah, go ahead.

A lie detector.

A lie detector.

It could just be a polygraph.

Right.

Good.

L-Y-E, L-I-E.

Good.

A lie detector.

This might describe a picture of a person from the U.S. just lounging on his couch.

Or it’s a popular singing competition TV show.

American Idol.

American Idol.

I-D-O-L and I-D-L-E.

Very good.

Whenever I travel by air, I always wear the same outfit.

Or this describes a policeman who doesn’t wear a typical uniform.

Now, remember I said when I travel by air, I was sort of avoiding a certain word.

Plain clothes?

Plain clothes.

There we go.

Yes, very good.

This could be something you inherit from your parents that makes your eyes a pretty shade of azure, or it could be a pair of leaf eyes.

Blue jeans.

Blue jeans, yes.

This could be a way of describing a male domestic who cleans the house, or describing something that is created or constructed by human beings.

Man-made.

Man-made, yes.

I’ll bet the manis and the man-maids get together on weekends.

Finally, this might describe the tenure of the ice king or another name for sleet.

Rain, rain, ice rain.

What kind of?

Ice rain.

I’ll take it.

It’s freezing rain is what I was thinking for.

Freezing rain.

Oh, there we go.

Okay, you guys did fantastic on homophobic phrases.

Congratulations.

That was fun.

Thank you very much, John.

That was very good.

Thank you.

Thanks.

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