The “It” Quiz

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 I can’t believe it. He’s blindfolded, juggling the swords, and walking backward. It’s our quiz guy, John Chaneski.

Hi, John. Careful. Watch your step.

Yeah, this is how I shave in the morning, by the way.

All right. That explains the Band-Aids.

Yeah. And the missing ear, Van Gogh. It’s the blindfold, too. I don’t want to see what I’m doing.

So I have, this quiz is very interesting. I hope you find this interesting. You know, sometimes I like it. Sometimes I can’t stand it. Sometimes I find it. Sometimes I lose it. It’s always on my mind. It’s it. I.T.

In this puzzle, we’re simply going to get rid of it. I’ll give you a sentence that clues two words. One has it in it. The other is without it. For example, you could donate a tenth of your earnings or just give them some doodad. That would answer tithing and thing.

Oh, my goodness. Tithing has IT in it. I made the hard one, the example.

Oh, thank goodness. It wouldn’t be all that challenging. I just made a good example.

Explain that answer again, please.

Sure. Tithing, T-I-T-H-I-N-G. If you remove it, the I-T, you just get thing.

Oh, okay. That’s wonderful. Here it is. The planet is a tiny sphere that makes a curved path around our star. The planet is a tiny sphere that makes a curved path around our star.

So is this a planet name? I wonder.

It’s not. It’s more general.

Okay. Jupiter.

Okay. So is it?

Good guess. Oh, orb? Orb and orbit.

Oh, nice. Orb and orbit. Very good.

Please come to my party on December 24. Just click on this link to RSVP. Five letters. Most of these are five or six letters. We’re keeping it.

Oh, Evite and Eve.

Yes, Evite and Eve. Very good, Grant. Nice.

I visited my lawyer’s fancy offices to discuss my case against the city.

Suit? Sweet? No, that doesn’t work.

What? Sweet and

Sue. Yes, Sweet and Sue. You’re right. Sue is close. You nailed it. You got it.

Finally, sometimes even a monarch wants to just spend the windy day playing with a kid’s toy.

Sounds like every monarch I know. King Charles III.

Kite and something?

Yeah, a version of that. Try the verb.

I didn’t even know it was a verb.

Oh, kiting and king.

Yes, kiting and king. I could have went with floating a check.

Yeah, I was going to say. Playing with a kid’s toy is much nicer, I think.

Yeah, much nicer.

Well, guys, that’s it. John, you need to rethink this blindfold. Your quizzes are fantastic, but your juggling…

The juggling needs some work, yeah.

Yeah, that’s Maxwell House juggling. All right, I’ve got to get that unicycle retooled, or refit, as it were.

Okay, I’ll talk to you guys next time. Thanks for having me.

All right, take care of yourself.

Thanks, John. Watch those swords.

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