Our Quiz Guy John Chaneski has a word game about words with a silent “e” and their “e”-sound counterparts. For example, a walking stick and someone good at judging situations might be a canny guy with a cane. Or a guy with a noble title playing with a bathtub water fowl would be a duke with a ducky. This is part of a complete episode.
Transcript of “Silent E Word Quiz”
You’re listening to A Way with Words. I’m Martha Barnette.
And I’m Grant Barrett, and we’re joined once again by that quiz master, John Chaneski. Hello, John.
What do you have for us today?
Well, this puzzle reflects what it’s like for kids to learn English.
We all agree that English is not so easy to learn, but certain things make it more difficult.
For example, silent E at the end of a word can be confusing.
When you watch a child read a book, you’re very much prepared for the fact that the first few times they encounter silent E, they’ll read the letter sound.
For example, a preschooler might look at the word bone and say what?
Boney.
Boney or bonnie, right.
I’ll give you two definitions.
One defines a word that ends in silent E.
These are all four-letter words.
The other defines what word the preschooler would say when he or she reads it.
For example, a kind of walking stick and good at judging situations.
Cain and canny.
Cain and canny.
Very good.
Here are some more.
Or Mori.
Mori.
Here’s the first one.
To approach.
And red menace.
Menace.
Come and commie.
Come and commie.
Very nice.
An open river valley.
And to be slow in doing something.
Dale and dally.
Dale and dally.
Very nice.
To erase.
To remove something.
Put in type.
And a place to get pastrami.
Wait.
Oh, I thought you knew the answer, Grant.
The deli is the last one.
Right.
And the first one.
No.
But deal and deli?
Deal and deli.
Though to be fair, if your preschooler is reading text that includes the word deal, they’re probably not going to make that mistake.
No, no.
Here’s the next one.
At an end and half of a seventies singing duo.
Dun and Donnie and Marie.
Dun and Donnie.
Yes.
Very good.
Place for papers and winning colors or genuine risk.
File and Philly.
File and Philly is right.
Nice work.
A noble title and a bathtub waterfowl.
Duke and Ducky.
Duke and Ducky.
A strong storm and a ship’s kitchen.
Gale and Galley.
Gale and Galley, nice work.
A fast-moving mammal of the genus Lepus and Mr. Potter of fiction.
Hair and Harry.
Hair and Harry.
How about a grand leap in ballet and a place for boats to dock?
A jeté and a jetty.
Jeté and jetty.
It’s a little different than the others, but you did it very well.
I think these last two might be a little more challenging.
Okay, good.
Let’s see if it works.
Okay, good.
Put away and the ability to understand and judge situations.
Put away.
It’s not file and filly again.
Is it save and savvy?
It is save and savvy.
Very good, Grant.
Oh, good.
Nice working.
Okay.
Something to spin and to count up.
Tail and tally.
Tail and tally, right.
I was going to say to count up like coconuts, but you didn’t need it.
Nice work, Grant.
Those are my…
Tally me bananas.
That’s telling me bananas for sure.
That’s my quiz.
E will not be silenced.
E sure won’t.
Thank you so much, John.
Thanks, John.
Thank you, Grant.
Thank you, Martha.
If you want to talk about words and how we use them, this is the place to do it.
