Mitosis Psychosis Word 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 here he is, John Janeski, our quiz guy, wearing a T-shirt that says, “I went to where and all I got was this lousy T-shirt?”

I went crazy and all I got was this lousy T-shirt.

That’s it, yeah.

Actually, where I went to was the science museum.

And I got inspired.

It’s science time.

One of the key elements of living things is how cells divide into more cells.

And all of this is going on inside you right now.

Let’s take that idea and apply it to words.

We’ll start with a simple three-letter word like cot, C-O-T.

Now, if the vowel inside it divides, we’ll get the word coot.

Any old coot will tell you that.

I’ll give you a sentence that will clue two words.

One is a word with a single vowel inside it.

The other is the same word with a double version of that same vowel.

Now, words like let and leet, but we won’t use versions of the same word like met and meet.

That’s cheating.

Now, bear in mind, the vowel that will split in these words is either an E or an O.

The only word I could find with a vowel A that could split is nah.

So, nah.

We’ll just use E and O.

Yeah, we can’t.

Doesn’t work.

Doesn’t work.

Here we go.

When I was a kid in the 50s, we’d go to a dance or play ring toss.

Go to a dance or play ring toss.

You’d go to a hop and toss hoops.

Yes, a hoop and hop.

Hop and hoop.

Oh, there we go.

We divide the O.

If he invites you aboard his sailboat, just look out.

The food is awful.

If he invites you aboard his sailboat, just look out.

The food is awful.

Yeah.

So an E or an O word.

Sailboat.

Sloop and slop.

Oh, good one.

Yes, the slop is aboard the sloop.

Very good.

Yeah, it’s some milestone when your little girl reaches double digits, but just wait three years.

Ten and teen.

Yes, ten and teen. Very good.

Look, this tree has deteriorated so much we’ll have to dig it out from all the way underground.

Oh, rot and root.

Yes, rot and root. Very good.

My toddler has so much get up and go, I’m a little suspicious if I hear nary a sound from their room.

Nary a sound from their room.

Which would be a peep, and he’s got a lot of pep.

Yes, get up and go is pep, and then nary a sound.

Sound is peep.

That’s usually what you hear from a toddler’s room.

And finally, my shirt came with that little thing on the back to let you hang it on your locker.

I hate that.

I’m going to cut it right off.

Oh.

Lop the loop.

You’re going to lop the loop.

Yes.

Very good.

You’re going to lop that loop.

Very good.

John, thank you so much for jumping through the hoops to hop on with us.

Really appreciate it.

Oh, very nice.

Thank you, guys.

I’ll see you next time.

Bye-bye.

You doubled our fun.

And you can double your fun by calling us, 877-929-9673.

We talk about all kinds of language.

So give us a call or send us an email, words@waywordradio.org.