Puzzle Guy Greg Pliska presents a puzzle about William Sn akespeare—you know, the great playwright whose works are just one letter different from those of his better-known fellow writer, William Shakespeare. It was Snakespeare, for example, who wrote that gripping prison drama, “Romeo and Joliet.” This is part of a complete episode.
Transcript of “One Letter Off Word Puzzle”
You’re listening to A Way with Words. I’m Grant Barrett.
And I’m Martha Barnette, and we’re joined again by our quiz guy, Greg Pliska.
Hiya, Greg.
Hiya, Martha.
Hello, Greg.
How are things going?
Groovy.
Well?
I feel like I’m here to be your cultural maven.
This is true.
Because I would like us to look today at one of the greatest artists in human history, William Snakespeare.
Huh?
Snakespeare?
Snakespeare.
Snakespeare.
You may remember him from the past. He’s the author of a series of plays whose titles are just one letter different from those of the better-known William Shakespeare.
Oh, right.
Plays like Romeo and Joliet, the great prison drama, and King Liar about when Pinocchio divides his land up among his daughters.
Those plays.
Oh, dear.
Well, I have just recently learned that Snakespeare is also the creator of a number of great films, each of which is just one letter different from a better-known movie.
Oh, is that right?
Mm—
Hard to believe, but true.
If I told you, for example, that Snakespear created a film about an alien creature who attempts to phone home but instead gets the company computer support department, what do you guess that film’s title would be?
I thought he was going to phone the emergency room.
Yeah, I know.
It’s a different – yeah, that’s good.
IT phone home.
Yeah.
Right, IT phone home.
IT, the extraterrestrial.
Right.
All right.
So if all this makes sense, then I think we can take a look at the list of great movies by William Snakespeare.
I’ll give you a description of the film, and then you just give me the title.
Okay.
So here’s your first one.
A small-town Kansas girl and her dog are swept to a strange land by a tornado, finding themselves hanging out with a bunch of teens in Southern California.
That’s good.
That’s really good.
I’d like to see that movie.
The Wizard of O.C.
The Wizard of O.C.
Exactly.
Here’s a movie you might remember.
In this movie, Hawkeye Pierce and B.J. Honeycutt’s madcap Korean War adventures teaching arithmetic in a small village.
That’s good.
Sure.
Math.
Math, of course.
Instead of mash.
Instead of mash.
That’s good.
And while we’re on the war subject, this Vietnam movie anticipates the end of the world, but it doesn’t actually happen, dude.
Bill and Ted’s Excellent Adventure.
Is that the movie that we’re…
No.
You said dude.
Oh, Fast Times at Ridgemont High.
That’s where I was going.
No, that’s too long.
Let me give you the clue again.
Wayne’s War?
That’s good.
This Vietnam movie anticipates the end of the world, but it doesn’t actually happen, dude.
Apocalypse No?
Yeah, I was going to say.
Apocalypse No?
Apocalypse Not.
Apocalypse Not.
Oh, okay.
Apocalypse No.
That would be eliminating one letter in the noun.
Concrete block to bang my head against.
Oh, very good.
Here’s one I’m sure you saw and loved.
Hannibal Lecter is driven crazy by very quiet lighting equipment.
That little fluorescent light bulb hum.
Yeah.
Very quiet.
The silence of the lamps.
Yes, I got it.
Silence of the lamps instead of silence of the lambs.
And here’s an appropriate one for Snakespeare.
In this musical adaptation of Romeo and Juliet, a bird delivers a baby to a young couple in the midst of a New York gang warfare.
Whoa.
Oh.
My baby.
Do I have it?
I think I have it.
Let me turn on my ESP link and find out.
How about Love Stork?
That’s almost redundant, Love Stork.
Let me read the clue again.
Is that wrong?
Love Stork?
That’s not the one I’m thinking.
Oh, you’re kidding.
I thought I was right.
I don’t know this plot at all.
Oh, you know this plot.
A baby in a gang war?
What?
Well, part of the—
West Side Story?
West Side Stork?
West Side Stork.
Exactly.
I don’t know.
In this musical adaptation of Romeo and Juliet.
We’re the Jets.
We don’t do that.
We don’t do that.
All right.
Here’s another one perfect for our show.
Spooky film about a young boy who not only sees dead people, but who saw them, is seeing them, had seen them, would see them, and will have seen them.
Six tenths?
Yes, six tenths.
Oh, man.
Exactly.
I had to go look up some tenses.
I didn’t know there were more than just three.
Yeah, it depends what language.
Oh, well, of course it depends on what language.
But English, we have all that would see and would have seen.
I like that.
I see transitives.
Oh, man.
How about one more, Greg?
One more, sure.
In this musical version of The Merchant of Venice, Shylock demands that Antonio sing Edelweiss and My Favorite Things as repayment for a loan.
The pound of music.
The pound of music.
Oh, wow.
The hills are alive.
The pound of music.
Exactly.
So instead of the sound of music where you can hear songs like My Favorite Things.
How do you solve a problem?
Or that.
How do you make a quiz that’s really hard?
Yes, next time Grant sings your favorite songs from musical theater.
Greg, this was tremendous fun.
I want to thank you again for a great puzzle.
It is my pleasure.
Greg, you get two thumbs up from us.
Oh, what are you going to do with the other two thumbs between you?
Well, I’ll be sitting on my thumbs, hanging by my thumbs.
Oh, and if you’d like to let your fingers do the walking, give us a call.
The number is 1-877-929-9673.
Or send us your candidates for Snakespear titles.
The discussion forum can be found at waywordradio.org/discussion.
