Quiz Guy John Chaneski’s puzzle is about common bonds among seemingly unrelated words. For example, name the one word that unites the following three items: report card, USDA inspected beef, incline. This is part of a complete episode.
Transcript of “Words-in-Common Brainteaser”
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 we’re joined by our quiz guy, that funny guy, John Chaneski.
Thank you, Grant. Hi, Grant. Hi, Martha.
I’m funny-looking.
Hi.
Oh, funny-looking. That’s true. I’ll take it. I’ll take anything.
You know, today’s quiz is something we have done before. We’ll try it again.
It’s called Common Bonds.
I’ll give you three things. You tell me what they have in common.
For example, if I said a report card, USDA inspected beef, and an incline, you would say…
Grades.
Grades, exactly. That’s the one we’ve used. Yeah. So here we go.
What do these three things have in common?
Dirt, heed, television.
Pay?
Pay, yes. How do they have that in common, pay?
Pay dirt, pay heed, and pay television.
Yes, very good.
All right, how about this one?
Pierce, Grant, Ford.
They’re all presidential names.
They’re all presidential names, and they’re also…
Well, they’re all verbs.
Pierce…
They’re all verbs, that’s it.
Okay.
They’re all presidents and verbs.
There are very few presidents we have that were verbs.
How about wing, wheel, deck?
Wing, wheel, all parts of an airplane.
That’s pretty good, but I’m looking for something else.
Oh, chairs.
Chairs, yes.
How about this one?
Beacon, Benny, Bunker.
Hill.
Hill, yes.
Beacon, Hill.
Benny, Hill.
Bunker, Hill.
Good.
How about tennis, monarchs, the legal system?
Tennis, monarchs, the courts.
Courts, yes.
Things with courts.
How about parade, pod, murder?
Oh, they’re all collective nouns for animals.
Yes, collective nouns for a parade is a group of anybody.
I don’t know, actually.
I just guessed.
Peacocks?
There’s so many of them.
Elephants.
Elephants are a parade.
A pod, whales.
Dolphins.
Dolphins.
Or dolphins.
Does everybody know, of course, everybody knows a murder is a group of crows.
Of murderers, that’s right.
Okay, how about Fortnite?
Fallout, Portal.
All video games.
All video games, yes.
However, not spelled.
If you heard the word Fortnite, it’s not spelled like it’s usually spelled.
How about Starbucks Coffee, Baltimore Ravens, Yahoo.
Literary.
Oh, yes.
Literary references.
Starbucks Coffee is from?
Moby Dick.
Moby Dick.
Baltimore Ravens?
From Edgar Allan Poe’s.
Edgar Allan Poe.
And Yahoo is from?
Swift.
Jonathan Swift.
Gulliver’s Traveler.
That’s right.
Okay, how about this one?
Corn verse lateral.
Uni.
Uni.
Unicorn.
Universe.
Unilateral.
Okay, you guys.
You did a really great job.
Congratulations on getting your common bonds down pat.
Outstanding, John.
Thank you so much.
We’ll talk to you next week.
Talk to you then.
Bye.
Adios.
This show’s about language and everything related to it.
