126 - Word Centipede (w/ Carrie Aizley)

Summary

SmartLess Presents ClueLess: Episode 126 - Word Centipede (Featuring Carrie Aizley)

Release Date: February 10, 2025

Introduction

In Episode 126 of SmartLess Presents ClueLess, host Elliott Kalan teams up with the ever-charming contestant Sean Hayes and special guest Carrie Aizley to tackle a series of engaging word puzzles. This biweekly, bite-sized episode delves into the intricacies of language through the "Word Centipede" game, challenging both the contestants and listeners to think creatively and swiftly.

Recap of the Previous Episode's Cliffhanger Puzzle

The episode kicks off with Elliott addressing a cliffhanger from the last episode—an "Odd One Out" riddle. Listener Mr. B. Dillon from Minnesota had posed the question:

“How many roads must a man walk down before you can call him a man blowing in the wind?” (00:40)

Sean and Carrie engage in a thoughtful discussion to unravel the puzzle, exploring syllables and word construction. At [03:22], Elliott reveals the answer:

“The odd word out is spam. All the other words are acronyms.” (03:22)

He elaborates on each acronym:

• Taser: Thomas A. Swift's Electric Rifle (03:39)
• Care: Cooperative for Assistance and Relief Everywhere (03:39)
• Pakistan: An acronym based on its constituent regions (03:39)
• Scuba: Self Contained Underwater Breathing Apparatus (03:39)

Sean humorously admits his initial misunderstanding of the acronym breakdown:

“Well, the Swift thing, I thought it was T, A, Z, E, R.” (03:57)

Main Segment: Word Centipede

Transitioning seamlessly, Elliott introduces the main puzzle of the episode—Word Centipede—a game where contestants match words by adding a common word to form compound words. The rules are explained clearly:

“I’m going to give you sets of three words, and you must tell me what fourth word can be placed at the front or back of each of those three words to make three new compound words.” (07:25)

Example Provided:

• Words: doll, cry, sit
• Answer: baby → baby doll, baby cry, babysit (07:46)

Round-by-Round Gameplay

1. First Round: Accept, Absorb, Unbreak

   • Carrie suggests:

     “Unbreakable. Absorbable. Acceptable.” (08:23)

   • Elliott affirms:

     “That's why at first I was like. Is she saying acceptable, or is she talking about... Oh, no, you got 'able’.” (08:26)

2. Second Round: Sent, B.E.A., Tender

   • After some deliberation, Elliott reveals:

     “The answer is con. Consent, Beacon, Contender.” (09:29)

   • Sean remarks on the difficulty:

     “That was tough.” (09:37)

3. Third Round: Sun, Break, Wash

   • Carrie attempts various combinations without success.
   • Elliott provides guidance:

     “It's a real word that you can find in the dictionary. I use it all the time. I'm always like, oh, it's wash day again.” (10:22)

4. Fourth Round: Key, Worthy, Book

   • Sean discerns:

     “Notebook. Note. Keynote. Noteworthy. So, the word is 'note’.” (11:23)

5. Final Round: Father, Demi, Send

   • Carrie triumphs with:

     “Godfather. Godsend. Demigod. So, the answer is 'God'.” (11:50)

Mega Clue and Cliffhanger Puzzle

Elliott transitions to the mega clue, synthesizing the answers from each round:

“Unbreakable, Contender, Daybreak, Notebook, and Godfather—all are movies.” (12:43)

The episode concludes with a tantalizing cliffhanger puzzle:

“Take the name of a very popular current musician. A temporary current musician who's very popular. Their first name is eight letters. Their last name is four letters. You can rearrange all 12 of these letters to name two different musical instruments and a kind of flute. What musician are we thinking of? And what are the instruments you can make from their name?” (12:24)

Sean and Carrie engage in playful banter trying to decipher the puzzle, but the answer remains unveiled until the next episode.

Conclusion

Elliott wraps up the episode with heartfelt thanks to Carrie and Sean, commending their wit and humor throughout the game. The dynamic between the contestants adds a layer of entertainment, making the puzzles not only challenging but also highly enjoyable.

“This has been SmartLess Presents Clueless. And I've been your host, Elliott Kaelin, saying this isn't goodbye, it's just smell ya later, Clueless.” (15:26)

Listeners are left eagerly anticipating the next episode to uncover the solution to the cliffhanger puzzle, ensuring they remain engaged and "Clueless less" until then.

Notable Quotes

• “Everyone wants to know about the girl behind the glasses.” – Sean Hayes (01:30)
• “Acronyms are everywhere except that is in today's main puzzle. So stop thinking about acronyms.” – Elliott Kalan (06:47)
• “Wash day is a one word and it's in the dictionary?” – Sean Hayes (10:32)

Final Thoughts

Episode 126 of SmartLess Presents ClueLess masterfully blends intellectual challenge with lighthearted conversation. Through the "Word Centipede" game, listeners are encouraged to engage their linguistic skills while enjoying the chemistry between Elliott, Sean, and Carrie. The inclusion of memorable quotes and interactive puzzles makes this episode a standout installment in the series.

Transcript

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[Smartless Media]

Smart bless media.

[Elliot Kaelin]

We'Re gonna start today's show with a riddle sent in by one of our listeners, a Mr. B. Dillon of Minnesota. And he writes, question. How many roads must a man walk down before you can call him a man blowing in the wind? Don't quit your day job, Mr. Dillon. This is Clueless. Clueless. Clue.

[Sean Hayes]

I'm Clueless.

[Elliot Kaelin]

Welcome to Smartless presents. Clueless, the only Sean Hayes puzzle podcast that leaves you with that fresh feeling all day long. I'm your host, Elliot Kaelin, and I'd like you to imagine me with a full head of hair. Now please welcome our constant contestant, the man who loves games so much he's got a vacation house in Candyland, Sean Hayes.

[Sean Hayes]

Yes. Thank you so much. I'd like you to imagine me with no hair.

[Elliot Kaelin]

Oh, okay. Interesting.

[Sean Hayes]

Okay. Oh, I'm sick. I had introduced the girl who just laughed is my. One of my best friends in the whole world. Her name's Kerry Aisley, and she has new glasses on. And you look super smart. For today's gameplay. Everyone wants to know about the girl behind the glasses.

[Kerry Aisley]

I did just get the glasses because I thought maybe they would make me look smarter so I can play the games better.

[Sean Hayes]

Yeah. How's it working?

[Kerry Aisley]

Not great.

[Elliot Kaelin]

Yeah.

[Sean Hayes]

Yes, it is.

[Elliot Kaelin]

Look, we can't avoid it any longer. Let's just address the elephant in the room. Elephant. Why are you here? Oh, okay. He says he wants to know the answer to last episode's cliffhanger puzzle. I hate to waste an elephant's time, so let's get to it. Let's answer last episode's cliffhanger puzzle, which was an odd one out riddle, which went thusly. Which of the following words doesn't belong and why? And those words are Taser, care, Pakistan, scuba, and spam. Which of these words does not belong and why?

[Sean Hayes]

Terry, do you have anything?

[Kerry Aisley]

Well, I was trying to think, like, is it. Well, some of them have this many syllables and some of them don't. Or does it actually have to do with the meaning of the word? So I'm not sure. Do you?

[Sean Hayes]

Right. Well, no, because. Well, I was looking at, like, Spam has the person's name Pam in it. Does that have anything to do with it?

[Elliot Kaelin]

It doesn't. I love where you're going, but it's not the right direction at all.

[Sean Hayes]

Okay. Taser is a gun. Scuba does have anything to do with the gun, Like Taser gun.

[Elliot Kaelin]

No, I think about the way these words are built, the way they're put together.

[Kerry Aisley]

So it does maybe like a syllables kind of thing. Like a.

[Elliot Kaelin]

Not syllables exactly, but more along that line. Yes. What is it that. The way these words are constructed.

[Sean Hayes]

Yeah. Like ta and zer and C, A.

[Elliot Kaelin]

And R, E. How can you break these words down?

[Kerry Aisley]

All the letter A.

[Elliot Kaelin]

All right. Should I reveal to you.

[Kerry Aisley]

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

[Elliot Kaelin]

The answer is. Okay, this is a tough one. The answer is the odd word out is spam. And the reason for that is all the other words are acronyms. Yes. Pakistan, for instance, is actually an actual anagram for Punjab, Afghanistan, Kashmir, Sindh, and Baluchistan, the different regions that make up Pakistan.

[Kerry Aisley]

Sean knew that.

[Elliot Kaelin]

Care for Care packages, Cooperative for Assistance and Relief everywhere. Scuba is what? Self Contained Underwater Breathing Apparatus. And Taser stands for Thomas A. Swift's Electric Rifle, which was news to me that it's actually a reference to Thomas Swift, the literary character from the early 20th century.

[Sean Hayes]

Well, the Swift thing, I thought it was T, A Z, E, R. Otherwise I would have gotten.

[Kerry Aisley]

I did, too. I had a Z. I also had a Z.

[Elliot Kaelin]

Cause people say TZ or that was the key that you were missing. I apologize. And spam, of course, is a different kind of word. Everyone says it stands for spiced ham, which is more of a portmanteau than apple.

[Kerry Aisley]

But that Pakistan, one, that was a doozy.

[Sean Hayes]

Who would know that? Going to take that with me.

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[Kerry Aisley]

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[Elliot Kaelin]

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[Kerry Aisley]

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[Kerry Aisley]

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[Elliot Kaelin]

Listeners did you get it right? If you're in Pakistan, you probably did if you said yes. I did get it right. Yes is also an acronym for you answered successfully. It only works if answered is spelled with an e. You answered successfully. Acronyms are everywhere except that is in today's main puzzle. So stop thinking about acronyms. It's time for the main puzzle. We're playing Word Centipede Word Centipede.

[Sean Hayes]

Centipede.

[Elliot Kaelin]

Oh what a jam. Makes you want to dance. It does with all your Hundred legs. Because you're Centipede.

[Kerry Aisley]

Word.

[Elliot Kaelin]

Centipede is kind of like the Dating Game, except instead of matching lonely people, you're matching lonely words. I'm going to give you sets of three words, and you must tell me what fourth word can be placed at the front or back of each of those three words to make three new compound words. So, for example, if I said the words were doll, cry, and sit, what would the answer be?

[Kerry Aisley]

Baby.

[Elliot Kaelin]

Yes. You got it. The answer would be baby. Baby. Doll, cry, baby, babysit. So that's the way you play it. You did it. You won the game. I'm just kidding, all.

[Kerry Aisley]

See you later.

[Elliot Kaelin]

No, don't go. Okay? We need you.

[Sean Hayes]

Wait, Carrie, don't do that.

[Kerry Aisley]

I'm just kidding.

[Sean Hayes]

I have to warn you, Elliot, Carrie is hilarious.

[Kerry Aisley]

Oh, boy. Oh, Mr. Comedy. Am I right?

[Elliot Kaelin]

So here we go. Are you to Centipede some words? Yes.

[Sean Hayes]

Yes.

[Elliot Kaelin]

The first round of words is Accept. Absorb, Unbreak.

[Kerry Aisley]

Is it unbreakable? Absorbable. Acceptable.

[Elliot Kaelin]

Exactly. Oh, no, you got able.

[Kerry Aisley]

I said a bull.

[Elliot Kaelin]

That's why at first I was like. Is she saying acceptable, or is she talking about, did a bull walk into the room? He's just warning us. Question number two. The words are sent. B, as in B, E, A, the name. And tender. Scent. B. Tender.

[Smartless Media]

What?

[Elliot Kaelin]

Word?

[Sean Hayes]

Line.

[Elliot Kaelin]

Line.

[Sean Hayes]

Sent.

[Kerry Aisley]

Pretender. Present and preby.

[Elliot Kaelin]

No, that was a. That was a really good guess. Until you.

[Sean Hayes]

That was good.

[Elliot Kaelin]

Yeah.

[Sean Hayes]

Pretend.

[Kerry Aisley]

B, E, A. You said Bea.

[Elliot Kaelin]

Yes.

[Sean Hayes]

Arthur. Be. Arthur. Arthur.

[Kerry Aisley]

Sent.

[Elliot Kaelin]

Sent. Arthur. Arthur. Tender. You're thinking, right, that it's a very short word. It's a very short word that you add on. Yes.

[Kerry Aisley]

Decent. DB Decent.

[Elliot Kaelin]

I'm gonna give you a couple more seconds.

[Sean Hayes]

Yeah, I'm stumped.

[Elliot Kaelin]

This is a hard one. Shall I give you the answer?

[Sean Hayes]

Yeah. Yeah, yeah, yeah.

[Elliot Kaelin]

The answer is con. C, O, N. Consent. Beacon. Contender. Oh, wow, that's a toug.

[Sean Hayes]

That was tough.

[Elliot Kaelin]

Question number three. The words are sun. S, U, N. Break. And wash. Wash. Down.

[Sean Hayes]

Break down. Sundown.

[Elliot Kaelin]

Except it doesn't fit the mega clue, so I'm not going to give it to you.

[Sean Hayes]

Okay.

[Elliot Kaelin]

Well, no, that's a good answer.

[Kerry Aisley]

Sundance. Break. Fast. Break.

[Sean Hayes]

Oh, fast.

[Kerry Aisley]

Well, then wash fast. Doesn't make sense.

[Sean Hayes]

Well, if you're in a hurry and their clothes are dirty. Wait, what about sun up.

[Kerry Aisley]

Sun.

[Sean Hayes]

Sun rays.

[Kerry Aisley]

Sunday, break day. Wash day.

[Elliot Kaelin]

Can you switch it around? On. On break?

[Sean Hayes]

Yeah. Daybreak.

[Kerry Aisley]

Daybreak. Oh, Sunday day. Wash. Wash day.

[Elliot Kaelin]

It is. Day. Sunday daybreak. And wash day.

[Sean Hayes]

Wash. Wash day.

[Kerry Aisley]

Is that like when you do your laundry.

[Elliot Kaelin]

It's a real word that you can find in the dictionary. I use it all the time. I'm always like, oh, it's wash day again. Huh?

[Sean Hayes]

No. Is that really a really a real word?

[Kerry Aisley]

Does it mean the day you do your laundry? No.

[Elliot Kaelin]

Yes. Yeah. It is the day you do your wash day.

[Sean Hayes]

Wait, wash day is a one word and it's in the dictionary?

[Kerry Aisley]

Never heard of it. That's crazy.

[Elliot Kaelin]

The dictionary is a crazy place where a lot of strange things happen.

[Kerry Aisley]

Start using it.

[Elliot Kaelin]

They gotta fill out that whole book, you know?

[Sean Hayes]

I know. It's like the Dark Web.

[Elliot Kaelin]

Okay, question number four. Okay, this one. I know you're gonna get this one. All right, the words are key worthy and book. Key as in house, key worthy and book smart. Not smart, no.

[Sean Hayes]

Marquee. Bookmark. Worthy. Mark worthy. Yeah.

[Elliot Kaelin]

For book. The word will go in the front.

[Sean Hayes]

Yeah. I was just going to say something. Book.

[Kerry Aisley]

Oh, sun.

[Elliot Kaelin]

Book.

[Kerry Aisley]

Buying Book. John Book.

[Sean Hayes]

That's what I do.

[Kerry Aisley]

If you just keep saying letters, you're.

[Elliot Kaelin]

Going to find it eventually.

[Sean Hayes]

Yeah, Very correct.

[Kerry Aisley]

Journal. Book. Note.

[Sean Hayes]

Notebook. Note. Keynote. Noteworthy.

[Elliot Kaelin]

Yes. Note, Keynote. Noteworthy. Notebook. Note is the word. Exactly. Finally, these are your last round of words. The words are father, demi, and send.

[Kerry Aisley]

Demi, D, E, M, I.

[Elliot Kaelin]

Yes.

[Sean Hayes]

And send.

[Elliot Kaelin]

Send. S, E, N, D. Glaze.

[Sean Hayes]

Demiglaze. Demigod.

[Kerry Aisley]

Father Glaze.

[Sean Hayes]

Godfather. Godsend.

[Elliot Kaelin]

Yes. You got it.

[Kerry Aisley]

God. Yep.

[Elliot Kaelin]

God is the answer, as he always is. Godfather, Demigod, and godsend. That is the final one. You got it.

[Sean Hayes]

As he always is. Yes.

[Elliot Kaelin]

So, looking at it now, before we get to the mega clue. Mega clue question, you've got three out of five. That still is the majority of the answers. You're doing really fine. You're probably exhausted after centipeding all those words, but you can't rest yet. Rest, of course, is an acronym for relax eternally sweet things. But you can't do that right now.

[Kerry Aisley]

Everything's an acronym.

[Elliot Kaelin]

It's all acronyms. A theme runs through one answer from each round of these words. Can you tell me what that theme is? Those clue words run from each of the rounds is Unbreakable, Contender, Daybreak, Notebook, and Godfather.

[Kerry Aisley]

Unbreakable.

[Sean Hayes]

Daybreak.

[Kerry Aisley]

Godfather.

[Sean Hayes]

What was before Godfather?

[Elliot Kaelin]

Notebook.

[Sean Hayes]

Well, they're all movies.

[Elliot Kaelin]

You're right. That's exactly it. They're all movies.

[Sean Hayes]

They're all movies.

[Elliot Kaelin]

There you have it, Sean. You got it. They're all movies. I was gonna let you just finish what you're saying, but then I was like, no, he got the win. Give him the Win.

[Sean Hayes]

Give him the win.

[Elliot Kaelin]

Just give him the win already.

[Sean Hayes]

Yeah. Don't oversell it.

[Elliot Kaelin]

Exactly. Don't sell past the close on this one.

[Sean Hayes]

Yeah.

[Elliot Kaelin]

Listeners at home, did you do as well as Sean and Carrie? If not, don't despair. Life's too short for regrets, and this show's really too short. Why? We're already at today's cliffhanger puzzle. The cliffhanger puzzle is like the last little bits of riddle crumbs left at the bottom of the bag. You should need them, but you always do. For today's cliffhanger, you'll take the name of a very popular current new musician. A temporary current musician who's very popular. Their first name is eight letters. Their last name is four letters. You can rearrange all 12 of these letters to name two different musical instruments and a kind of flute. What musician are we thinking of? And what are the instruments you can make from their name?

[Sean Hayes]

Is this true?

[Kerry Aisley]

Holy cow.

[Sean Hayes]

And it's a very popular musician.

[Elliot Kaelin]

A very popular current musician.

[Sean Hayes]

How many letters in the first name?

[Elliot Kaelin]

Eight letters in the first name and four letters in the last name.

[Sean Hayes]

The first person I thought of was Taylor Swift when she said she's a popular, but she doesn't have eight letters. That's five in the end.

[Elliot Kaelin]

And Taylor Swift is old news compared to this music star. This is much newer music star.

[Sean Hayes]

Oh, really?

[Kerry Aisley]

And we don't know if they're male or female or.

[Elliot Kaelin]

I'm not gonna tell you a single thing about them except how many letters they have in their name. Eight in the first and four in the last. This is one. When I was first looking at these scripts, I said, I'm never gonna get this. But then I kind of got it, so. What a story.

[Sean Hayes]

Wow.

[Kerry Aisley]

And it's a person that everybody's heard of.

[Elliot Kaelin]

That was an epic tale of beating the odds. Yeah. Endurance. Wow. So we find out the answer next episode. It's time to end this episode of clueless, which means for the next few days, you, the audience, will be clueless less. But don't worry, we'll be back, and then you'll be clueless. List. List. Before we go, I'd like to thank Carrie once again. Keri Asley, thank you so much for being a ray of sunshine.

[Kerry Aisley]

Thank you for having me. It's so fun.

[Elliot Kaelin]

Our pleasure. And I'd like to thank Mr. Sean Hayes for being like a jug of moonshine to Carrie's ray of sunshine. And most of all, I'd like to thank you, the audience, for not throwing your phone in a river in anger when I made that Sunshine moonshine joke just now. I'll do better next time, I promise. This has been Smartless presents Clueless. And I've been your host, Elliot Kaelin, saying this isn't goodbye, it's just smell ya later, Clueless.

[Smartless Media]

You have been listening to Smartless presents Clueless, a Smartless media production in association with Sirius xm. Your host is Elliot Kaelin, who also writes our scripts. Your constant contestant is Sean Hayes, who does Scare Easily. Your producer, editor and engineer is Devin Tory Bryant, who is me. I also write all the music and sound effects assistant engineer, Kyle McGraw. Today's puzzles were written by Kevin Lehman and Matthew Broussard. Talent producer is Anne Harris. Associate producer Matty McCann. Social media producer, Tommy Galgano. Executive producers are Elliot Kaelin, Sean Hayes, Will Arnett and Jason Bateman. Executive producers for Smartless Media are Richard Corson and Bernie Kaminski. Remember to follow, subscribe, rate and review the show. It really helps. That's all for now. We will see you again for More Smart, less medium.

[Elliot Kaelin]

Hey, Fidelity.

[Smartless Media]

How can I remember to invest every month?

[Fidelity Representative]

With the Fidelity app, you can choose a schedule and set up recurring investments in stocks and ETFs.

[Smartless Media]

Oh, that sounds easier than I thought.

[Fidelity Representative]

You got this?

[Smartless Media]

Yeah, I do. Now, where did I put my keys?

[Fidelity Representative]

You will find them where you left them.

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