Overlap-Plied Linguistics Puzzle

You’re listening to A Way with Words. I’m Grant Barrett.

And I’m Martha Barnette. And we’re joined now by our quiz guy, John Chaneski.

Hi, John.

Hi, Martha. Hi, Grant. How you doing?

What’s up, buddy?

Oh, I’m just, you know, lugging these puzzles around.

I’m looking for a place to put them down. I hope this is good right here.

Have a seat. Santa’s bill. Put your feet up.

Some quizzes, a few enigmas.

You say lugging. Are you putting them on stone tablets still?

I still, you know, I’m a Luddite. I just, I don’t trust these pencil things you talk of.

I don’t know.

Now, look, I don’t have a lot of time for horsing around, so I’m always looking for ways to save time.

Right.

Okay?

Okay.

Thanks for coming today.

We’ll see you later.

Good.

See you.

Adios.

All right.

In that vein, I’ve decided that if I come across two words where the first word ends with the same sounds that the second word begins, I’ll just condense them.

For example, I was at a garage sale yesterday, and I purchased a pair of those metal supports you use in a hearth to keep the firewood off the floor.

And my wife asked me what I bought that day, so I said, any guesses?

I bought something and irons.

Right.

Irons and irons?

What else did you buy?

Well, they were at a garage sale, so they were used.

Used and irons.

What’s that?

Secondhand irons.

Secondhand irons.

Very good, yes.

That’s exactly how this works.

I call this overlap plied linguistics.

So we’re making blends.

Yes, we’re making blends.

They’re similar to portmanteau words, but they’re…

Okay.

Each word is there.

Okay.

Okay.

Like I said, I’m in a hurry.

Let’s do this.

All right.

The first one is a classic.

In fact, if you do a web search for the combo, you’ll find over 2,000 hits.

I’m a big fan of the baseball team from Maryland, the team Cal Ripken played for.

I call them the…

Balmorials.

Very good.

Balmorials.

You’re in more of a hurry than I am.

Oh, my gosh.

Yes, the Baltimoreals.

Baltimoreals.

That was actually the inspiration for this puzzle.

It’s the Baltimore Orioles.

Okay.

Here’s the next.

My new favorite show is a reality show where fashion designers attempt to create clothes for astronauts to wear on spacewalks.

It’s called…

America’s Top…

Diaper.

I don’t know.

No.

Astronauts.

I’m trying to think of words that…

NASA…

Well, spacewalks are…

Space suits.

Astronauts on spacewalks can be described as?

Extravehicular activities, EVAs.

I guess you guys don’t watch this fashion designer show.

Oh, Project Runway Out in Space?

Try to find a word that begins with way.

I’m looking for it.

It describes people in space.

Weightless.

Weight loss.

Weight loss?

Project Runway-less.

Project Run Weightless or Run Weightlessness.

Very good.

No, that’s horrible.

I think Project Run Weight Loss would be a big hit.

Well, that would probably be the biggest loser in space.

A lot of barfing, yeah.

Since Mozart’s The Marriage of Figaro is about a guy who cuts hair, I like to call it a…

Or it takes place in a…

Barbershoppera.

Barbershoppera.

Very good.

Okay, I think you’ll like this one.

I like this one.

Hey, have you heard about this really talented guy I know?

He’s the first African-American presidential candidate, and he also wrote Ina Kline Nachtmusik.

I’m a Danish.

I’m a Danish.

Yeah.

Here’s the next one.

My kid’s doctor doesn’t only know medicine.

She knows absolutely everything from A to Z.

So we call her the pediatrician.

Know it all?

No, but that’s the second word.

What is?

Pediatrician.

Oh, second word.

Encyclopediatrician.

Encyclopediatrician, yes.

Wikipedia-trician.

Well, that’s somebody who thinks they know it all, but doesn’t.

That one goes out to Dr. Gillespie, the kid’s encyclopediatrician.

Yeah.

You know, they say that the number of smiley faces you use in your lifetime is finite, and once you run out, that’s it.

That’s why I practice…

Emotic conservation?

That’s it. Emotic conservation.

Right. That’s pretty good, actually.

Thank you.

Okay, here’s the last one.

I was watching this old movie from 1939, and I saw a whole bunch of people worshiping this giant ape.

And I thought to myself, how nice for that priest to have such a large…

Is Congregation the second one?

Yes, it is.

King Congregation.

Oh, King Congregation.

Okay.

And that’s it.

Like I said, fast one in, out, boom, I’m done.

Wow.

Conserve space.

Well, John, that was fantastic.

Thanks, guys.

I hope you had a good time.

Colossal.

What a taxing one that was, though.

Yes.

Wow.

My brain hurts.

Thank you very much.

See you later.

Bye-bye, John.

Bye-bye.

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