Paul from Watertown, MA listens to Says You! On WGBH and inquired about the team that almost always comes in last: Often the audience gets points. Has the audience ever won, or, if not, what’s the most they’ve ever got? Often, when a question has stumped everyone one on stage, someone in the audience will […]
Nolan from Hayward, CA heard a round that sounded all too familiar… I tuned into the KQED broadcast (out of San Francisco) on 4/14/18 of a show that was recorded in Monterey Bay, California. My husband and I had just returned home from wine tasting in the Livermore Valley when — to my surprise — you introduced […]
Barbara listens to Says You! on KUOW from Tacoma, WA and is looking to add a few new songs to her playlist. Sharp Nine bandleader Enrique Rios-Ellis couldn’t remember what songs were played in which show, so he sent us the whole setlist! Is there a name to the piece of music sharp nine was playing Apr 7? Tema […]
Leon, a listener from KUNR in Truckee, CA, strumbled upon a word he had to share: The Google Earth measurement tool contained a most unusual term for a unit of measurement, “smoots.” This led me immediately to Wikipedia for a definition. This word is the first I have encountered with the second thought (after what […]
Krish, a KQED listener from San Francisco, wrote to us about one of his favorite rounds: One of my favorite segments on the program included opposite aphorisms like “the pen is mightier than the sword” and “actions speak louder than words” among others. Would you know how I could find this show segment? I’d love […]
Lisa, armchair panelist from Champaign, IL and listener on WILL-AM, is shouting answers into the radio: I enjoyed this morning’s ‘new words’ game created by combining/altering two existing words to make a new word. I appreciate the answer ‘hamazon.’ My guess, though, was Amazoink. It rightly puts the referenced words in the order to in which […]
Lara, who listens on KAZU from Escondido, CA, discovered that there really is a word for everything. Now, when she asks someone to pass the “aberuncator,” they respond, “the what?” and after a moment of doubt, how did I marry such a loser? she sighs, “the long-handled picker.” Thank you Says You for telling me what my dad […]
Jeff, a listener on Asheville’s WCQS, weighed in on a conversation about the longest words featured in Says You! bluffing rounds: Regarding the question about the longest words ever used for a bluffing round, I’m sure there are many that are longer than those in your list, but my favorites are: antidisestablishmentarianism pneumonoultramicroscopicsilicovolcanoconiosis If you have […]
This week Tony’s team was tasked with defining “woo-woo.” Dana, who listens on KQED from San Francisco, provided a possible etymology: The term is a stylized imitation of the old science fiction movie sound track use of the Theremin, one of the oldest electronic music instruments. It is played by moving a hand in front […]
Rucina, a podcast listener from Bali asks Where does the title of your show come from? The title can be credited to Richard Sher’s swagger. He really wanted it to be sassy, in the same style he played Scrabble. Richard loved nothing more than reaching for the dictionary to fend off challenges from his opponents. He […]