A Superlative Quiz about Superlatives

You’re listening to A Way with Words. I’m Martha Barnette.

And I’m Grant Barrett. And we’re joined now by our fabulous quiz guide, John Chaneski.

Hello, Grant.

John, come on down.

I’m fabulous.

You are looking fabulous.

Are you going to win a toaster today on the show?

I certainly hope so, because I could use a toaster. Actually, we could use a toaster oven.

A toaster oven?

Yeah.

You have a puzzle?

Yeah, why don’t we move on to this puzzle?

All right.

Is it more interesting than what we’re talking about?

More interesting than appliances? I hope so.

Now, as you know, I strive ever onward and upward, aiming for that one puzzle that is second to none.

So that’s why this quiz is about superlatives.

Okay.

Okay?

All right.

Now, it’s pretty simple.

Each of the clues suggests a quote or a title that contains a superlative.

For example, in a classic fairy tale, this line follows, mirror, mirror on the wall.

Who’s the fairest of them all?

Right.

Fairest.

Okay.

Superlative.

Fairest and then what?

Just fairest.

Oh, okay.

That’s it.

No trickery here.

We’re just going to…

You say that, but usually there’s like…

And there’s another element to it.

Well, I’m not going to say they’re all walking the park.

Oh, I see.

There might be a challenge or two in here.

Let’s…

This isn’t a fairytale quiz, then.

I call this one, best puzzle ever.

Okay.

All right.

All right.

Let’s do the first.

This phrase is the nickname of several large theme parks found around the world.

Several large theme parks found around the world.

Again, very famous theme parks.

They all share this nickname.

At least the two that I know of in the U.S. Both share this nickname.

These are Disney-related theme parks?

Yes, they are.

What is the motto for Disney?

Is it the happiest place on earth?

The happiest place on earth.

That’s right.

This is the title of a 1978 Broadway musical which takes place in the fictional town of Gilbert.

The show contains numbers titled The Aggie Song, Hard Candy Christmas, and The Bus from Amarillo.

Oh, the something little whorehouse in Texas.

Where’s your superlative?

I can’t remember the superlative.

The greatest little, no, the best little whorehouse.

Yeah, that’s right.

And what’s his face with that?

Lerror.

No?

No, I don’t know.

I don’t know about it.

The best little whorehouse in Texas is correct.

It was made in 1982.

It’s a musical, a movie musical starring Dolly Parton.

Right.

Right.

Now, there is a dark side to superlatives as well, of course.

Of course.

Keith Olbermann deals out this dubious distinction on his MSNBC show.

Right.

Do you know what that is?

The worst person in the world.

The worst person in the world.

Very good.

Among the recipients of this award are columnist Robert Novak, Bill O’Reilly of Fox News, and the Ronald McDonald who held up a Wendy’s.

All right.

Now, Alderman admits that worst person in the world was inspired in part by this classic George Carlin observation,

In which he notes that by the process of ranking, this person must exist.

Can either of you remember what it is?

I don’t remember that routine.

I used to listen to Carlin regularly about it.

I’ll give you a hint.

By the process of ranking, this person must exist,

And somebody has an appointment to see him tomorrow.

The worst dentist in the world?

The worst doctor in the world.

That’s right.

You don’t say the worst dentist.

Someone is the worst doctor in the world,

And someone’s going to see him tomorrow.

My favorite.

Rest in peace, George.

Now, this descriptor of a very, very bad situation

Can be found in the titles of several books by Joshua Piven

And David Borgenicht.

I have no idea.

Well, these guidebooks offer advice on what to do if you have to, say, jump from a moving train.

Oh, yeah.

The worst case survival scenario?

Worst case scenario.

They’re called the worst case scenario survival handbooks.

I think I have the original one.

What’s your favorite worst case scenario?

Let’s see, how to cross a piranha-infested river, perhaps.

Really?

It’s one of my favorites.

My favorite worst case scenario is I have too much money.

That’s terrible.

So heavy, my back.

My back, the gold is too much.

All right.

Now we go back to the positive side of life.

This is the first line of the 1959 hit song, Money, That’s What I Want, by Barrett Strong.

They say the best things in life are free.

That’s it.

The best things in life are free.

Nice.

Had to go back to college for that one.

Yeah, I was reaching back into the womb trying to find that one.

That came out wrong.

Now we know what Martha was doing in college.

Partying.

Bad.

All right, here’s the next.

Tom Brokaw popularized this phrase to describe those Americans who fought World War II

And those who kept the home front intact.

All right, the greatest generation.

Right, the greatest generation.

They are preceded by the lost generation and followed by the silent generation.

That’s a little trivia for your pub team.

Thank you.

Finally, this phrase is used to describe anything that is new and fantastic.

It does the describing by way of comparison with a basic food staple.

The freshest?

No, better than sliced bread.

That’s superlative.

There was superlative in there.

I did better.

Best thing since.

How about best thing since?

The greatest thing since.

Oh, greatest thing since.

Sliced bread.

Gosh.

You would think that this quiz wouldn’t be so hard.

I told you a couple of stumbling blocks in there, a couple of tricks.

But you guys were actually.

Really bad.

It’s probably the worst quiz that I’ve done you last year.

You weren’t the best.

But you were pretty good.

Thank you, John, for joining us today with your puzzle.

You’ll have something new for us next week, I hope.

I’ll see you then.

Take care, Martha.

See you, Martha.

All right.

Bye-bye.

And if you have a question about wordplay, language, grammar, slang, regional dialects,

The best number to use is 1-877-929-9673.

That’s 1-877-WAYWORD.

Or send an email to words@waywordradio.org.