Three of a Kind, Four of a Kind 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 there’s a handsome fellow at the door.

He’s wearing a boat neck top and boat shoes and a straw boater.

It’s John Shnisky, our quiz guy.

Hi, guys.

Just off the boat, am I?

So that’s just fine.

Let’s get to this quiz, which I call three of a kind, four of a kind, and has nothing to do with cards.

One of my favorite game shows is Guy Montgomery’s Guy Mont Spelling Bee.

It’s an Aussie show with a ton of wordplay and comedy and, of course, spelling.

This quiz is inspired by a round on that show, and you should be at least a little good at spelling for it.

Now, I’m going to give you a letter and a clue to a word that contains at least three of that letter.

Now, of course, what beats three of a kind, but four of a kind?

So I might ask you for a word with four uses of that letter.

Okay.

Got it?

Wow.

Yeah.

For example, if the letter is B and the clue is it doesn’t stop until it pops, the three-of-a-kind answer is bubble.

And there’s a four-of-a-kind answer, but it’s really tough.

The nuns describe Maria as this in How Do You Solve a Problem Like Maria?

Do you know what word that is? It has four Bs in it.

Fliberty gibbet.

There you go.

Yes, they call it a flibberty gibbet.

And thanks for the earworm. Appreciate it.

There you go. My pleasure. It’s for free.

All right, here we go.

Let’s begin with G, and your clue is a flock of honkers.

A flock of honkers.

Honkers.

This is the three of a kind.

Three of a kind.

So three uses of the letter G.

In a single word.

Yeah.

How about a gaggle?

A gaggle, yes, Martha.

Well done.

Now, for a four of a kind, first I go this way, then I go that way, then I go this way again.

Zigzagging?

What’s that?

I was going to say zigzagging, but that’s just…

Oh, wait, that is four, isn’t it?

No, zigzagging is perfectly fine.

Yeah.

Matter of fact, when you use G as a clue, sometimes the ING words are going to be your friend.

Yeah.

I was right there with you, Martha.

I was hugger-mugger next to you.

Hugger-mugger.

Very good.

Let’s move on to C now.

Let’s C.

C, it can describe an orbit or your unusual Uncle John.

An orbit or your unusual Uncle John.

It’s got to have three Cs in it.

Right.

Is there an eccentric orbit?

Oh, yes, you can have an eccentric orbit.

Yes, very good.

And my eccentric Quizmaster John.

Yeah, that makes sense.

There you go.

Shove myself in there.

What the heck.

How about for a four of a kind, if you cross it, you’re bound to get cold.

This is a two-word phrase.

Arctic circle.

Yes, Arctic circle.

Well done.

All right.

I call this one O-U-Kid.

It’s U.

The letter’s U.

Three of a kind.

Something that gets under your skin.

Wait, describe something that gets under your skin.

Like literally or figuratively?

No, literally.

Does it start with an S?

It does.

Subcutaneous?

Yes, subcutaneous.

Four of a kind.

It’s on the money.

The money that we hardly use anymore.

It’s a phrase.

Oh.

The money that we hardly use anymore.

What are we talking about?

Florence?

Like the Latin phrase?

Yes.

E pluribus unum?

E pluribus unum.

Four U’s in there.

Very good.

Nice tumultuous E pluribus unum.

Finally, let’s end with R.

We’ll do these two together, the three of a kind and the four of a kind.

The three of a kind, it’s you and me because we live on the earth.

The four of a kind, it’s the alien because he doesn’t.

Extraterrestrial and terrestrial.

Yes, that’s it.

Terrestrial and extraterrestrial.

Very good.

Phone home and tell them you got that one.

John, give our best to the family, and we will talk to you next time.

You too. Talk to you then.

And this is the place to talk about language.

Call us 877-929-9673 or send us an email.

The address is words@waywordradio.org.