Spoonerism Game

You’re listening to A Way with Words, the show about words and language and how we use them.

I’m Grant Barrett.

And I’m Martha Barnette.

And joining us now is our quiz guy, Greg Pliska.

Hello, Greg.

Hello, Martha.

Hello, Grant.

Hi, buddy.

What’s up?

What do you have for us?

I have another puzzle today, and it consists entirely of spoonerisms. That’s where you shift the initial sounds on a pair of words. You’re familiar with those, right?

Sure.

So I will give you definitions for both the original phrase and the spoonerized phrase, and then you guess the phrases. So, for example, here are two definitions. The first is a stream of information in 140-character increments, and the second is a better-tailored suit jacket material.

Tweet and tweed.

But they need more than that, right?

Yeah, you think about a two-word phrase for the stream of information that comes in 100-character increments.

Twitter feed?

Mm—

And?

Witter, something, tweed. Swap the first sounds of those two words.

Oh, fitter tweed.

Fitter tweed.

Oh.

Better tailored suit jacket material is fitter tweed.

Oh, this is going to be a workout.

Okay.

Also, I should tell you that the first of the phrases will always be familiar or commonplace. The second will usually be quite fanciful. Are you ready?

And terribly clever.

Yes, I’m ready.

The typical freelancer’s wage metric and two mantas going out for dinner and a movie.

So hourly rate, no, daily rate, and really –

You’re so close.

Yeah, make it –

Hourly –

Daily rate.

Day rate.

Day rate.

Yeah, day rate and ray date.

There we go.

Day rate and a ray date, which is two mantas going out for dinner and a movie.

Very good.

All right.

How about, this is an item often seen in certain beer commercials, and the other is legislation to stop cows from ruminating.

Can.

A can.

Is it a beer can?

It’s a specific brand.

Bud can?

A bud can.

A bud can and a cud band.

A cud band.

A cud band.

That’s right.

Going to stop those cows from ruminating.

All right.

While we’re on agriculture, let’s try this one.

A California agricultural area that runs roughly from Redding all the way to Bakersfield. And an attack on the abdomen.

A Central Valley and a Ventral Sally.

Exactly.

Gosh.

A Royal Dansk dessert offering often seen at Christmastime. And a guy who takes bets on a Coast Guard boat.

So something cutter and butter?

Yep.

Yep.

The dessert is a butter.

Butter.

Starts with a cus.

Cookie?

Yes.

Butter cookie.

And cutter bookie.

And cutter bookie.

The guy who takes bets on a Coast Guard boat.

Here’s one from Pop Music.

A street in a Beatles song and the discomfort caused by comedian Bruce.

So Abbey Road?

No?

A different street in a different Beatles song.

Penny Lane and Lenny Payne?

Exactly.

The discomfort caused by Lenny Bruce.

Back to the world of delicious things to eat, hamburger meat, and a sad book, perhaps.

Ground beef and a bound grief.

Exactly.

Bound grief.

Good.

Here’s your last one.

A little California one.

This is a 2011 film and 2003 book about the Oakland A’s innovative general manager, Billy Bean. And it’s a place where rabbits go to shop.

So it’s Moneyball and Bunny Mall.

Exactly.

I would like to go to a bunny mall.

I definitely want to go to a bunny mall.

Is it a place where rabbits shop or where you go to buy rabbits?

I just hope they don’t mind being petted.

You hope it’s a crowded bunny mall.

You can squeeze right in there with all those furry little beasts.

They’re popping up all over the place.

Where are my ears?

They’re multiplying.

Thanks, Greg, for the quiz.

It’s a pleasure.

Greg, that was amazing.

See you at the bunny mall.

Take care, buddy.

Bye-bye.

If you want to talk about language, this is the place. Call us, 877-929-9673. Send an email to words@waywordradio.org. And you can find us on Facebook and Twitter.