Sondheim 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, in his coat and tails and a top hat and cane, our quiz guy, John Janeski. Hi, John.

Hi, Grant. Hi, Martha. I don’t know why I feel I need to get so dressed up.

You know, actually, that’s actually appropriate for today’s quiz because it’s about theater in some way.

Yeah, yeah. You know, we are lucky to have lived at the same time as one of the greatest Broadway composers and lyricists, Stephen Sondheim. And it was pretty well known that Sondheim was obsessed with puzzles. He was primarily responsible for introducing cryptic or British-style crosswords to the U.S., so I felt it was my duty to set a quiz about Sondheim.

Now, he created or contributed to an amazing set of mostly musicals, and he was nice enough to hide a word or two inside the titles of each of them. Now, as an example, I’ll use the title of the memoir he wrote, Finishing the Hat. For someone who’s a big fan of murder mysteries, it’s not surprising he hid a body part in that title. What is it? Finishing the Hat. Finishing the Hat.

Oh. Is it part of the leg? Yeah, it is part of the leg. How about the shin? It is the shin. Of course it’s a shin, yeah. Now, I’ll give you the title of a Sondheim work and a hint to the word within it. Now, you shouldn’t need a pencil and paper for these, but you can do as you please.

Here we go. The only Sondheim show I was ever in, A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum. For a show about ancient Rome, how forward-thinking was Sondheim to download a small, specialized software program for your phone into that title?

App. App as in HAPPA.

Yes, exactly. It’s a long title with a very short word inside. Funny thing happened on the way to the forum.

Appropriately, the word inside Pacific Overtures is well-hidden.

Yes, I think Martha, the sound of Martha getting it.

I get it, too.

Say it together. What is it?

Covert.

Covert.

Covert, indeed, yes.

Now, much of Sondheim’s work was about seeking the truth in life, so it’s ironic that Follies contains an obvious untruth.

Lies.

Lie. It’s lie, yes, or lies.

Sondheim received scores of great reviews in his time. It’s also ironic that one of his greatest successes, Company, contains a not-so-good review.

Pan.

Pan.

Pan.

It’s pan, right in the middle of Company.

Pan.

Another irony is that one of his longest titles, Sweeney Todd, the demon barber of Fleet Street, has a tiny word within.

Sweeney Todd?

Oh, weenie.

How about just we?

Yeah, just we.

Finally, Sondheim was adept at all sorts of characters, and in Assassins, quite a few of them had cheek.

Well, ass.

Well, it’s not that kind of cheek.

It’s the other kind of cheek.

Sass.

It is sass.

Yes, very good.

Assassins.

Well, I mean, that’s my little tribute to Stephen Sondheim.

We appreciate all his work.

Indeed, and we appreciate your work as well, John.

Thank you.

So thank you very much.

Thanks, John.

Thank you, guys.

And we’d appreciate talking with you about any aspect of language whatsoever. So give us a call 877-929-9673 or send us an email. The address is words@waywordradio.org.