Words Without “ING” Quiz

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

And I’m Grant Barrett, and here to try to stump us once again is our quiz guy, John Chaneski.

Hello, John.

Hello, Grant. Hello, Martha. How are you?

Super.

We’re doing well.

How are you doing?

I’m doing great. We just got back from Arizona.

You and the kids and the wife?

Oh, yeah, all four of us on the plane for five hours, five and a half hours.

That was fun.

So today’s quiz is about pronouncing words that end in I-N-G.

Sometimes when some people pronounce an ing word, they leave off or elide the g sound, and sometimes that word sounds like another word.

For example, I might say, that goat just kept on button that rubber tree plant.

Now, butting with the g elided sounds like button.

Or I might say, I was out in the field branding some cattle.

If I own some cattle, which I don’t, and a branding iron, which I also don’t.

Brandon sounds like the name Brandon.

Got it?

Okay.

Now you have the basic premise of the quiz.

I’ll give you a clue that suggests both versions of an I-N-G word, one with the G on and one with the G off.

Please tell me both words and their spelling, okay?

Okay.

Good. Here we go.

First one, I think, is a softball.

Picture Vladimir Putin trying to catch a departing bus.

He must be Russian.

See, I’m going to do well with this because I’m from the South.

That’s right.

He’s a Russian Russian.

Russian rushing or rushing Russian, either way.

Okay, next one.

Now, this one’s not a stretch.

Imagine an iconic creature from Chinese mythology pulling its long, heavy tail along the ground.

Dragon.

Dragon.

D-R-A-G-G-I-N-G D-R-A-G-O-N.

Pretty good.

Good.

Wait, did I miss a letter?

No, that’s pretty good.

Very good.

Very good, then.

Off the charts.

100.

And a star.

Yeah.

Here’s another one.

This is also within the realm of possibility.

A convicted criminal doing the work of a lumberjack.

A convicted criminal?

I want to say it’s…

What?

A convicted criminal?

A felon?

Oh, felon.

Trees.

He’s felon trees.

F-E-L-O-N.

Felon.

Felon felling is correct.

Though nothing against lumberjacks.

I’m sure a lot of them are fine upstanding people.

Right.

Some of your best friends.

My best friends are lumberjacks.

And they’re okay.

But let’s move on.

Here I’ve got a spool with thread wound around it, and I’m alternately raising and lowering it.

Oh.

A bobbing bobbin.

B-O-B-B-I-N-G.

B-O-B-B-I-N.

That’s right.

Here’s one.

The star of The Graduate doing some light housework.

Nice, nice.

Dustin and dusting.

You don’t have to spell that one.

I think we all know how that goes.

But that’s quite good.

Okay, here’s the last one.

I have to tell you that while I don’t love the fungus growing on that rock, I do think that it’s pretty okay.

So you’re kind of liking it.

Is that right?

Liking and liking?

Liking, liking?

I’m liking, liking.

I’m allowed.

So L-I-K-I-N-G L-I-C-H-E-N.

Right.

That’s one case where we definitely need the spelling.

Yeah.

Well, guys, I hope you were liking that puzzle because that’s all I’ve got.

And you guys were fantastic.

Yeah, we had some fun, Gus.

Really good.

Ouch.

What is that from?

I don’t even know.

Fungus.

Oh, we had some fun, Gus.

Because John is such fun.

Because you all are such fun.

He’s a fun guy.

Okay, right.

Thanks, guys.

I’ll see you next week, okay?

All right.

Yes, we’ll be here.

Thank you, John.

Thank you so much.

And if you’re puzzling over a question about language, give us a call, 1-877-929-9673.

Or email us, we’re waiting.

The address is words@waywordradio.org.