Quiz Guy John Chaneski brings a quiz based on what editors for the Oxford English Dictionary say are the 100 Most Common Words in English. This is part of a complete episode.
Transcript of “Most Common Words Quiz”
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 from New York City.
Hey, quiz guy. What’s up, bud?
Hey, John.
Hi, word people. How are you? I’m doing just fine.
All right.
You know, I imagine that most of our listeners, being word freaks and puzzle people, are like me. They like lists.
You guys like lists, don’t you?
Mm—
Sure, yeah.
Sure. It’s just nothing about diving into all this.
So, no, we don’t usually go the trivia route here, but I’m making an exception because this is all about words.
I’m using as my source material the top 100 most common words in English as compiled by Oxford Online, which is associated with the Oxford English Dictionary.
I’m going to start very, very easy.
There are only two words on this list that are one letter long. What are they?
A and I.
I and A.
Yes, A and I.
A is word number six, and I is number 10, exactly number 10.
Very good.
Great start.
Now, there are exactly two cardinal numbers on the list. What are they?
First.
Oh.
-huh.
Wait, is that right?
We need, yes.
Cardinal numbers.
One of you is going down the right path.
Oh, heck.
One is O-N-E.
Yes.
Yeah.
And then 10?
No, not 10.
Five.
Two.
Two is right, Martha.
Oh, two?
Okay.
You’re spanking him, yes.
One is at number 35, and two is at number 84.
Doesn’t matter.
Guesses are just as good in this game.
Next question.
There is exactly one ordinal number on the list. What is it?
Oh, first.
That’s first, yes.
But Martha got that in first, as they do on the internet.
First.
Now to the top of the list.
What are the first five words on the list of the top 100 most common words?
Oh, Lord.
The.
Yeah.
Yes, that’s number one.
And.
Is.
That’s number five.
Me.
Are.
No.
No.
Not A-R-E.
No.
Really?
No.
Is.
No.
Words two, three, and.
No.
I’ll give you this.
Words two, three, and four are all two-letter words.
And word number two is actually a form of the word am.
That is, it’s.
It’s B.
Oh.
Two.
Oh, I see.
Did we say two already?
T-O?
No, you didn’t.
And that’s number three.
Okay.
Of.
Of is correct.
Very good.
You got all five nicely done.
Only three letters of the alphabet do not appear in any word on the list. What are they?
X.
Yeah.
X is right.
Q.
Z.
Q is right, and Z is right.
Yes, very good.
Your Scrabble score has just tripled.
Now, the first three nouns that appear on the list can be placed into the following blanks in order to make an annual issue of a U.S. magazine. What are they?
Sports bikini.
No, no, no.
Yes, bikini is in the top 100 words in English.
Blank, blank of the blank.
Times man of the year.
Not man.
Times person of the year.
Yes, time person of the year.
Very good.
55, 61, and 63 in order.
Nice.
That’s very clever.
What an interesting quiz.
We learned a lot.
Thanks, guys.
Thanks, John.
We’ll talk to you next week.
Take care, John.
Bye-bye.
Next week.
Bye.
877-929-9673.
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