Says You!

Word games, to me, are some of the most fun people can have.  Trivia, puzzles, puns, stories, they all stem from the core attribute of a civilization: a shared language.  No matter what your interests, you tend to express your enthusiasm and appreciation through the use of words similar to everybody else, so when something is willing to take something that everybody shares and has a natural experience with and breaks it down into its own source of enjoyment, I love it.

That previous paragraph was a fancy way to say that one of my favorite things in the entire world is the radio program Says You!  It airs on NPR stations across the country (but, sadly, not the one I get to listen to here in Maine be- whoops, almost went on a rant).

Hosted by Richard Sher, the program started in Boston but frequently shows up in cities across the United States.  He has a regular panel of contestants who have been long time friends of his (with one exception, Carolyn Faye Fox, who they met on the first day of auditions and whom Richard calls "the best break the show ever got."  It shows, with a level of familiarity with each other that can only come from not just performing a regular show together for at least fourteen years, but for having been friends for years before.

The contestants/panelists themselves are an eccentric and fascinating group, with each having a history that somehow ties into language.  Whether it's a history of performance, broadcasting, or writing, each manages to bring an educated and appreciative view to the game, and seem just as eager to learn the answers to the questions as they are to attempt to puzzle them out.

Each show consists of five rounds, three of which can consist of anything from "definitions and derivations of words and phrases" to games based off of whatever Richard and his crew can put together.  Rounds in the past have included such things as "what's the first song on side A of the following albums," "what's the difference between the following," "name the local town from these terrible clues," and my personal favorite "odd man out" where Richard presents a list, and the contestant has to figure out what all but one have in common and pick the one that doesn't belong.

For instance, if you were presented the following list: Comet, Cupid, Pharaoh, and Pip, would you know that all but Cupid was the name of back-up group members of rock and roll bands?

Or how about if you got: life, heart, toes, and underwear, could you figure out that toes is the only one you can't have "a change of?"

Or how about if you got Adam's apple, tin ear, spare rib, and water on the knee, tin ear is the only one not part of the board game Operation?

The other two rounds consist of attempts of one team of contestants to bluff the other team by presenting multiple definitions of a word, only one of which is correct.  I've learned so many new words (and laughed so hard at fake definitions) that the show has already become invaluable in my life.

For example, I'm not proud to call myself a "nelipot" since that's a person who walks around barefoot.

A tuzzy-muzzy is a small garland of flowers.  To "hoon" is to drive recklessly and without concern for others in Australia.  Hoove isn't a failed heimlich maneuver (as was presented by one contestant) but is in fact a disease in cattle.  Orgle is the sound a male llama makes when...well, "copulating" is the best way I can think of describing it.

I try to use these in daily conversation whenever I can.

I encourage everybody to check out the program's website.  You can even go to the store and download a free hour long episode for your own enjoyment to see if you like it.  Sit back, spend some time with a group of friends who not only love to have each other around, but help you feel like they're your friend as well with the intimacies and personal facts they share.  You might learn something.