Quiz Guy John Chaneski has a twist on a challenge that’s a favorite among members of the National Puzzlers League, the classic fill-in-the-blank game called The Flat. This is part of a complete episode.
Transcript of “The Flat Word Game”
You’re listening to A Way with Words. I’m Martha Barnette.
And I’m Grant Barrett. And hey, who’s that handsome fella?
It’s John Chaneski, our quiz guy. Hello, John.
Hey, John.
Hey, it’s me over here, guys. Here I am. Hi, Grant.
Step up to the mic, buddy.
You can barely see me, I guess.
Nice hat.
You know, guys, it’s been a while since we’ve chatted about the NPL.
That’s the National Puzzlers League.
It’s a century-plus-old organization of word puzzle lovers who are located all over the U.S. And even the world.
I’m a member. My wife is a member. Lots of my friends.
The monthly magazine of the NPL is The Enigma, and it features dozens of different puzzles, but the puzzle type of choice is one unique to the NPL.
It’s called a flat.
A flat.
A flat is basically a short verse with one or more words redacted, usually with a Q word, and you have to figure out the redacted words from clues in the verse.
And each flat also figures a particular sort of wordplay.
Oh, okay.
For example, here’s a short one.
If I want to watch The Wizard of Blank, I have to turn my TV blank.
As and on?
Yeah, ahs and on.
We call that a last letter change.
Okay.
You take the first word, the first blank, change its last letter, and you get the second redacted word.
The answer, ahs and on.
Very, very simple.
So they won’t always be two-letter words, though.
No, no.
They won’t always be two-letter words.
Will it always be the last letter?
Letters?
No, it won’t always be the last letter.
We’re going to do a couple of different, there’s not very many, but we’re going to do a couple of different flats, different kinds of wordplay.
And I will tell you the enumeration, which is one of the big clues in a flat is how many letters are in the words and the answers.
Okay.
Good.
I’m going to give you some two-line flats.
Since there’s not a lot of context clues in two lines, at least one word in each answer will have something to do with the movie The Wizard of Oz.
Oh, okay.
Just something we all know about.
You might want to start writing down different things you know about The Wizard of Oz.
Okay?
Here we go.
Again, this is a first-letter change instead of a last-letter change.
Five letters.
The blank throws a fireball.
Scarecrows nearly fried.
It’s a good thing that her blank was high and outside.
Witch and pitch.
Yes, witch and pitch.
Oh, high and outside.
Okay.
You can see.
Very good.
Okay.
This one’s a first sound change.
So it necessarily doesn’t work out with the letters, okay?
First sound change.
The Wizard of Oz, I watch it blank.
You see, I’m obsessed with the Tin Man, Jack Blank.
Oh.
Daley and Haley.
I was going to say.
Yes, daily and hailey.
You can see where that’s not a first letter change, because if you change the first H, it’s spelled different.
So very good.
Here’s another.
This one’s just a letter change.
That means one of the letters inside the word is changed.
Five letters.
The scarecrow wants a blank, it’s true, but for fighting the winkies, some blank will do.
He wants a…
Brain.
Brain.
Brawn?
Yes, brain and brawn.
Very good.
The winkies.
Okay, this one’s also a letter change.
This one’s four letters.
If the lion lacks courage, why does he leave his blank?
For a plot hole like that, I can’t blame Bert blank.
Why does he leave his lair in Bert Lar?
Yes, very good.
Nice.
Now, we call this one a takeoff.
It means take off the first letter.
Okay, just remove the first letter from the first word, and you get the second word.
Now that Dorothy’s gone through some terrible things, her blank M won’t blank her apron strings.
Auntie and untie.
Yes, Annie M won’t untie her apron strings.
It’s good.
A little overprotective.
Okay, here’s the last one.
This one is a final sound deletion.
Again, the spelling doesn’t work out.
It’s just the final sound.
The blank city is a wonderland.
Its people are saucy.
I think it’s even got a restaurant by Chef Blank Lagasse.
Emerald.
Emerald and Emerald.
Emerald and Emerald.
Very good.
Final sound deletion.
So that’s the National Puzzlers League, and they are at what web address?
Puzzlers.org.
Thanks, John.
Really appreciate it.
We’ll talk to you next week, all right?
Thank you, guys.
That was fun.
Bye-bye.
Take care.
If you’d like to talk about language, call us 877-929-9673 or send an email to words@waywordradio.org.
