Our Quiz Guy Greg Pliska takes a break from his music career to bring us a game called Initia-rithmetic. For example, if he says there are 4 P’s depicted on M.R., what do those initials stand for? The answer to that one is, you might say, monumental. This is part of a complete episode.
Transcript of “Initia-rithmetic Game”
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’ve got a special guest, ladies and gentlemen, the return of Greg Pliska, our quiz guy.
Greg!
Greg! Hi, buddy!
It’s nice to see you again.
Hey, what have you been doing? Where have you been?
Yeah, is there life after being the musical director for a Tony-winning Broadway show?
Well, they put him in cryosleep and they opened it up just for us.
Just for you, exactly.
They thawed my head out.
It’s actually just my head that’s sitting here on the table at the studio.
It is the thaw that counts.
Well, I’d like to revisit a favorite puzzle of mine, which I call initi arithmetic.
Ooh, that’s one of my favorites, too.
I’ll give you a clue to a set of items for which there are a particular number.
But some of the words in my clue will be replaced with just their initials.
So I might say, there are 12 M in the Y.
And then you would tell me what words, starting with M and Y, go in that sentence.
12 months in the year.
Exactly.
Very good.
They’re 12 months in the year.
So we’ve done this before.
I think you know how it works.
Let’s play.
Yeah, sure.
Yeah.
Here’s your first one.
There are nine SF in one SY.
Nine SF in one SY.
Boy.
Oh, nine square feet in a square yard.
Oh.
Exactly.
Oh, wow.
Oh, okay.
Boy.
This is tough.
Yeah.
Here’s another one for you.
9C of H in the DC by D.
Oh, please.
9C of H in the DC by D.
D.
D.
Oi.
This is in your category, Martha.
This is classics.
Oh, it is?
Yeah.
Oh, yeah.
Okay.
The Divine Comedy by Dante.
So it would be the nine circles of hell.
Very good.
Nine circles of hell in the Divine Comedy by Dante.
Yeah, you had me going all the way back in.
Look at you.
And the third circle of hell is reserved for puzzle guys like me.
It should be farther down.
I’ll give you a coin for the boat.
Thank you.
There are 10 P and 3 T that make up C.
And your category is geography.
10 P and 3 T that make up C, and our category is geography.
10 provinces and 3 territories that make up Canada.
Whoa!
Exactly right.
Good one.
For bonus, name them all.
I’m kidding.
I’m sure you could, but we don’t have time for that.
We do not have time.
It would take some time.
All right.
Here’s a sports one for you.
68 T in the NCAA’s MM.
68 teams in the NCAA’s March Madness.
Oh, there you go.
Martha, so quick with the sports.
Hey, basketball is a state religion where I grew up.
Oh, you’re right.
You’re right, it is.
31F sold at BR.
31F sold.
31 Flavors sold.
At Baskin-Robbins, yeah.
Exactly.
Right back to your childhood.
Or back to yesterday.
I don’t know which it could be.
Three B-A-O-1 by D-D-L.
Three B-A-O-1-W-O-N?
Yes, W-O-N by D-D-L.
Three Best Actor Oscars by Daniel Day-Lewis?
Correct.
Very good.
My record set just this year.
Martha, very good.
All right, here’s your next one.
56 S on the U.S. D of I.
And I’ll give you a hint.
J.H.’s is the L.
Oh, thanks.
Yeah, that was helpful.
56 S’s on the U.S. D of L?
D of I.
D of I.
56 S’s on the U.S. D of I.
So is it stars?
No.
Signatures?
56 signatures on the U.S. Declaration of Independence?
That’s right.
And J.H.’s is the L.
John Hancock’s is the largest.
Exactly.
You could just talk like this all day, Greg.
You could.
Next week you’re going to do the whole show like this.
His kids hate him.
All right.
Four P depicted on M.R.
Four P depicted on M.R.
Man Ray.
No.
It’s more specific than people.
Four Presidents depicted on Mount Rushmore?
Oh, and Martha steals at the last minute.
Nice.
Four presidents depicted on Mount Rushmore is correct.
I got one more for you.
Okay.
One more.
There are 117 Y in the 100 YW.
In the 100…
117 years in the 100 Years War?
Yes.
Exactly right.
Hey, Greg, thank you so much.
And it’s good to have you back, buddy.
It’s good to be back.
Thank you, guys.
I don’t even remember the name of the other guy anymore.
Who?
We had another guy?
We did, yeah, for a while.
Oh.
It doesn’t matter.
Oh, J.C.
Greg, we hope to see you again soon on the show, all right?
Sounds good.
I’ll see you soon.
Thanks, buddy.
It was great.
Take care.
Bye-bye.
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