Quiz Guy John Chaneski’s puzzle features intentional misunderstandings of the names of familiar movies and TV shows. For example, if John refers to a creepy Netflix show set in the 1980s called More Unusual Objects, what’s the program he really means? Also: The Latin comparative adjective excelsior means higher, and also happens to be the state motto for New York. But a member of our Facebook group notes that it’s also a term for fine wood shavings used as stuffing or packing material. This is part of a complete episode.
Transcript of “Misunderstood TV Show Brain 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’re joined by John Chaneski, our quiz guy.
Hi, John.
Hi, Grant.
Hi, Martha.
Hi.
What’s up?
If you’re not following A Way with Words on social media, you really should, because recently on the A Way with Words Facebook group, there was this fun discussion about TV shows.
Thanks to McPaul Smith, a very talented writer, producer, and singer whom I’ve known for many years. McPaul says that he and his family sometimes intentionally rephrase titles. Now, I love these malapropisms. I’ll give you the title of an intentionally misphrased movie or TV show. You tell me the original. Okay. Sure. For example, let’s do an example. I love that creepy Netflix show set in the 80s, you know, more unusual objects. You might know it better as…
Stranger Things.
Right, Stranger Things.
Yeah, let’s try some more.
Next time you’ve got about four hours to kill, I recommend a classic film set in the South, Blown Away.
You might know it better as…
Yeah, Gone with the Wind, yes.
Give the listeners a chance there, Grant.
Okay.
You like musicals?
My favorite is Crooning in the Precipitation.
Bring your umbrella.
You might know it better as…
Singing in the Rain.
Singing in the Rain, yes.
Let’s do a TV show.
The Highest Vocal Ranges is not a music show. It’s a gritty drama about New Jersey wise guys who do bad things to songbirds, if you get my drift.
You might know it better as…
The Sopranos.
The Sopranos, yes.
Now, don’t let the title of Plasma Spheroid Conflicts Throw You Off. It’s a classic sci-fi film.
What’s the name of the movie you’re looking for?
Star Wars.
Yes, Star Wars. Installment of the first, a recent ambition.
Just made that up.
If you enjoy watching people in cringeworthy situations, what I call the comedy of discomfort, you’re probably a fan of Check Your Gusto.
It’s pretty, pretty, pretty good, but you might know it better as…
Curb Your Enthusiasm.
Yes.
Now, Doomsday Presently may just sound like the times we’re living in, but you’ll find it to be an epic war film based on a novel by Joseph Conrad.
You might know it better as…
Apocalypse Now.
Doomsday Presently. What’s that?
Apocalypse Now.
It is Apocalypse Now. Yes, very good.
Now, which version of The Workplace do you like better? The original UK version or the US one?
You might know it better as…
The Office.
The Office, yes.
And, of course, there are classic comedies, classic movie comedies, like There Are Those Who Prefer It Spicy.
It sounds like a food documentary, but it’s a screwball comedy with Marilyn Monroe.
You might know it better…
Some Like It Hot.
Yes, Some Like It Hot.
If you like your TV creepy, you’ll be delighted with Identical Pinnacles.
Appropriately, they rebooted this David Lynch series in 2017.
You might know it better as…
Twin Peaks.
Twin Peaks, yes.
Finally, Divertissement of Sovereignty gets its title from a quote in that HBO show.
When you play the Divertissement of Sovereignty, you win or you die.
Pretty harsh, but it’s a pretty violent series you might know better as…
Game of Thrones.
Game of Thrones, yes.
You guys were great.
I’ll see you later.
All right, bye, John.
Thank you very much.
We do lots of goofing around with language, and we also learn some stuff.
Call us, 877-929-9673.
Here’s another example of an odd word for a familiar thing that we were discussing on our Facebook group, Excelsior.
Well, I know it has the exclamation when something is great.
Well, it’s the New York State motto, Excelsior, which is the Latin word for higher.
It’s a comparative in Latin.
What I didn’t realize was that it is also the name for thin shavings of soft wood used for stuffing cushions.
Wow.
Isn’t that cool?
Yeah, that is great.
Yeah.
Yeah, the things we learn from our listeners, right?
Call us, 877-929-9673, or share your interesting words for common things by sending us an email.
That address is words@waywordradio.org.
