139 - Word Centipede (w/ Scotty Icenogle)

Summary

SmartLess Presents ClueLess – Episode 139: "Word Centipede" (Featuring Scotty Icenogle)
Release Date: March 27, 2025

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Introduction

In Episode 139 of SmartLess Presents ClueLess, host Elliott Kaelin teams up once again with the ever-charming Sean Hayes and introduces special guest Scott Icenogle. This episode dives deep into a series of engaging word puzzles, challenging the trio's wit and collaborative skills in a bid to outsmart the season's contestant, Sean Hayes.

Recap of the Previous Episode's Cliffhanger

Elliott begins by revisiting the previous episode's cliffhanger, presenting listeners with a cryptic sentence:

"Elliot Kaelin doesn't not not not dislike disco. So does he like disco?"
— [06:30] Elliott Kaelin

The challenge is to decipher the multiple negatives to determine Elliott's true feelings about disco—a classic brain teaser that sets the stage for today's puzzle-solving adventure.

Main Game: Word Centipede

The heart of the episode revolves around the Word Centipede game, a five-round challenge where Elliott provides sets of words, and Sean and Scotty must identify a common word that can precede or follow each to form new compound words.

Round 1: "Over," "For," "Seeing"

• Elliott's Prompt:
  "What word can you add to each of these words to make three new compound words?"
  — [07:01] Elliott Kaelin

• Discussion & Answer:
  Sean deciphers the clue by breaking down the words:

  "Oversight, foresight, and sightseeing."
  — [08:35] Sean Hayes
  The answer is "sight."

Round 2: "Bed," "Day," "Share"

• Elliott's Prompt:
  "Bed, day, and share."
  — [08:40] Elliott Kaelin

• Discussion & Answer:
  Sean quickly identifies:

  "Bedtime, daytime, and timeshare."
  — [09:03] Sean Hayes
  The correct word is "time."

Round 3: "Air," "Fan," "Well"

• Elliott's Prompt:
  "Air, fan, and well."
  — [09:21] Elliott Kaelin

• Discussion & Answer:
  Sean and Scotty work through the possibilities, leading to:

  "Airfare, fanfare, and farewell."
  — [09:46] Sean Hayes
  The solution is "fare."

Round 4: "Bud," "Tar," "Away"

• Elliott's Prompt:
  "Bud, tar, and away."
  — [10:38] Elliott Kaelin

• Discussion & Answer:
  This round proves challenging. Sean puzzles over the options before Elliott reveals:

  "Budget and getaway."
  — [11:14] Elliott Kaelin
  The answer is "get."

Round 5: "Round," "Let," "Films"

• Elliott's Prompt:
  "Round, let, and films."
  — [11:22] Elliot Kaelin

• Discussion & Answer:
  After some hints, Sean successfully concludes:

  "Round trip and film strip."
  — [13:12] Sean Hayes
  The final word is "trip."

Mega Clue Challenge

Combining the answers from the five rounds—sight, time, fare, get, and trip—Elliott presents the Mega Clue:

"Sightseeing, timeshare, airfare, getaway, and round trip. What theme unites these words?"
— [13:48] Elliott Kaelin

Sean quickly identifies the common theme: "Vacation."

— [14:12] Sean Hayes

Scotty concurs, reinforcing the connection:

— [14:13] Scott Icenogle

Cliffhanger Puzzle

As the episode draws to a close, Elliott introduces the cliffhanger puzzle for listeners to ponder until the next episode:

"Elliot Kaelin doesn't not not not dislike disco. So does he like disco?"
— [14:18] Elliott Kaelin

This linguistic twist invites fans to engage and speculate on Elliott's true feelings about disco—a playful nod to classic double negatives.

Conclusion

Elliott wraps up the episode by thanking Sean and Scotty for their stellar participation and engaging listeners to stay tuned for the next installment filled with more intriguing puzzles.

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Notable Quotes

• "Carrot cake with all that fresh roadrunner and cactus in it. Sounds wonderful."
  — [03:47] Elliott Kaelin

• "Vacation. Pack your bags. You're going on a vacation."
  — [14:18] Elliott Kaelin

• "The answer is trip, round trip, triplet in film strip."
  — [13:17] Sean Hayes

• "Elliot Kaelin doesn't not not not dislike disco. So does he like disco?"
  — [06:30] Elliott Kaelin

Final Thoughts

Episode 139 of SmartLess Presents ClueLess showcases the delightful interplay between host Elliott Kaelin and guests Sean Hayes and Scotty Icenogle. Through a series of cleverly crafted word puzzles and engaging banter, the trio demonstrates quick thinking and collaborative problem-solving, offering listeners an entertaining and intellectually stimulating experience.

For those keen on testing their puzzle-solving skills and enjoying the dynamic chemistry between the hosts and guests, this episode is a must-listen!

Transcript

[Elliot Kaelin]

Today's episode of Clueless is sponsored by Monopoly. And their three brand new expansions get faster gameplay and fresh twists with free parking. Jackpot. Go to jail and buy everything available now. Monopoly is a trademark of Hasbro Smart Voice Media. Clueless listeners are asked to be on the lookout for an electric blue Mustang convertible with a picture of a Tyrannosaurus Rex airbrushed on the side. The this vehicle has not been involved with any crime. It's just probably the coolest car you'll ever see. And you'll be real disappointed if you miss it. This is Clueless. Clueless. Clueless. Welcome to Smartless presents. Clueless, the only puzzle podcast brave enough to put its Sean Hayes where its mouth is. I'm your host, Elliot Kaelin. And yes, I've heard the rumors, but Tilda Swinton and I are just good friends. Now. Please welcome the man who appears when you say his name three times. Sean Hayes. Sean Hayes. Sean Hayes. And there he is.

[Sean Hayes]

And then it was just silent. Hi, everybody. Elliot, thank you for having me on the show again. This is so fun.

[Elliot Kaelin]

Sean, thank you for being here. Who with you today?

[Sean Hayes]

Well, I'm gonna tell you right now, his name is Scott Eisenogle. I met him 18 years ago. And what a ride it's been for 18 years. Scott. He doesn't speak until I allow it. What an incredible journey we've been on, and it's just beautiful. Go ahead, speak.

[Scott Eisenogle]

Hi, everybody. And what a journey it's been with no exit ramps. Thank you.

[Elliot Kaelin]

That's the best kind of journey. There's no end and you can't get out of it. Yeah.

[Sean Hayes]

Yeah. And we're waiting for it to begin.

[Scott Eisenogle]

That's right.

[Elliot Kaelin]

You're actually on the line to get on the journey.

[Sean Hayes]

Yeah.

[Elliot Kaelin]

Sean, as always, wonderful to have you with us. Scotty, as always, wonderful to have you with us as well. Both. Wonderful to have both of you with us. And now that I've used the art of chitchat to lull you both into a false sense of security, it's time to pull the rug out from under you and reveal we're actually here to solve some puzzles. So let's start with last episode's Cliffhanger, which went based on these ingredients. What kind of cake is this a recipe for 2 parts cactus, 1 parts rattlesnake, 2 parts roadrunner, and 1 part turmeric. I'll tell you again, 2 parts cactus, 1 parts Rattlesnake, 2 parts Roadrunner, 1 parts turmeric. What cake is this a recipe for?

[Sean Hayes]

Yeah. So can I ask a question? Do the parts matter to the answer?

[Elliot Kaelin]

Well, it's a little unorthodox for me to be answering questions about how to solve the cliffhanger, but I'll do it. Yes, the parts matter. They. Okay, don't overthink it. We've had a puzzle like this a long time ago, way back in the early days of Clueless, when you and I were still getting to know each other. Sean and Scotty was just a gleam in our eye.

[Sean Hayes]

Scotty was just an idea. Yes.

[Scott Eisenogle]

Yeah, just an idea floating around. Wow, this is tricky. Well, I. Yeah.

[Sean Hayes]

Wait. Two parts cactus, and it's a cake, and it's a round roadrunner. Oh, I see. So it's a cake, and it's two letters of carrot cake.

[Elliot Kaelin]

You got it. It's carrot cake. Oh, look at that. Good job. Two parts cactus, the first two letters C and A. One part rattlesnake, the first letter R. Two parts roadrunner, the first two letters R and O and one part turmeric. The first letter T. C, A, R, R, O, T spells carrot.

[Sean Hayes]

Carrot for carrot cake. God, that sounds good, doesn't it?

[Elliot Kaelin]

I mean, a carrot cake with all that fresh roadrunner and cactus in it. Sounds wonderful.

[Sean Hayes]

Yeah.

[Scott Eisenogle]

Delish.

[Sean Hayes]

I'll try it.

[Elliot Kaelin]

Hello, listeners. Elliot Kaelin here, and I just want to say thank you to our sponsor, Monopoly, for finally making it fun to go to jail. Listener, we're just talking about Monopoly jail. We're not promoting actually committing a crime and going to jail. Our lawyers need us to be super clear here. Please do not go to jail. With the new Go to Jail expansion pack, which you can add on your classic Monopoly board. Landing in jail isn't a penalty. It's your secret weapon. No more sitting in a corner waiting to get out. You don't have to cash in that get out of jail free card or roll any doubles. Now you're pulling corruption cards and getting advantages over the other players. Bribing, stealing, and getting away with board game crimes ends up paying off in Monopoly. Go to jail. This is a game that we have been playing a lot lately. I have two sons. They love the idea of sending me to jail, but they don't love that it now helps me. In the past, when we played, they really liked it, but now it's helping me out. Now when I go to jail, it's like I can pull off a heist. I can. I can do whatever I want. It's like any movie where the bad guy wants to get to jail because it's part of his plan. That's what you can do in Monopoly now. It's really fun. The new Go to Jail expansion pack is available now. Embrace the chaos and let's see how you play the system. But if you're too good for crime, as so many of us are, there are also two other expansions you may like. For the big spenders, look for the Buy Everything expansion. For the risk seekers, go for the Free parking Jackpot expansion. All is fair with Monopoly expansions. Choose your expansion pack or get all three available on Amazon now. A classic board is required to play, but you can buy that on Amazon too if you don't already have one. Monopoly is a trademark of Hespro. Firehouse Subs is partnered with Hot Ones. Grab the zesty Garlic Hook and ladder with crispy Garlic Chips and the spicy Dill hook and ladder with Last Dab Reaper Marinated pickles only at Firehouse Subs. Individuals sensitive to spice or the Carolina Reaper Pepper should not consume the spicy Dill hook and ladder. Limited time at participating Firehouse subs restaurants.

[Devin Tory Bryant]

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[Elliot Kaelin]

Listeners at home, did you get the answer? If not, I'm going to assume you just took John Keats too literally when he said beauty is truth, truth, beauty. That is all ye know on earth and all you need to know. But I hate to break it to you, he was wrong. You also need to know the answers to the puzzles. That's right, John Keats. Sorry.

[Sean Hayes]

Yeah, yeah.

[Elliot Kaelin]

We've got another chance to be right with the next puzzle. It's time for today's main game. It's called Word Centipede.

[Sean Hayes]

Centipede. I like that song the best.

[Scott Eisenogle]

I'm doing space work over here. Like I'm playing the video.

[Elliot Kaelin]

Yeah. For the audience at home. You can't see Scotty was. Was air. Air keyboarding through the whole song. And he was nodding, butt, nodding his head. Now, in this game, Word Centipede, I'm going to give you a set of words and you must tell me what word can go before Them or after them to make a whole number game. Yeah, this is a fun one. For example, if I gave you the words bulb, spot, and sky, what would the answer be? What other word would you be able to add to each of those words to make three new compound words? Bulb, spot, and sky?

[Sean Hayes]

Spotlight. Light. Spotlight.

[Elliot Kaelin]

Exactly. The answer would be light. You guys did great. Unfortunately, that was just the example. You get no points for it. No, but the engine's revved up. This is wonderful. Are moving. This is great. We're going to play five rounds, and five of the answers, one from each of the rounds, will hopefully help you figure out today's mega clue at the end of the puzzle. But first, let's do the actual puzzle. Are you ready?

[Sean Hayes]

Ready, Santa.

[Elliot Kaelin]

Round one, your words are over. Four, spelled F O, R E, as in golf and seeing.

[Sean Hayes]

And what?

[Elliot Kaelin]

And seeing.

[Sean Hayes]

S E E I n G. Yes.

[Elliot Kaelin]

S E E I, N, G. Over, as in hey, over there. For. As in for, and seeing, as in I can't believe what I'm seeing. What word can you add to each of those words to make three new compound words?

[Sean Hayes]

Foresight.

[Elliot Kaelin]

Sight.

[Sean Hayes]

Oversight. Foresight. Sightseeing.

[Elliot Kaelin]

Wonderful. Sean, you got it. The answer is sight. Yes. Oversight, foresight, and sightseeing.

[Sean Hayes]

Sorry.

[Elliot Kaelin]

All right, round two. The words are bed, day, and share. S H A R E. Share. Not like share. The singer. Bed, day, and share.

[Sean Hayes]

Okay, bad day and share. Bedtime, Timeshare. Daytime. Daytime, bedtime.

[Elliot Kaelin]

You got it. Answer is time. Oh, my God. Daytime and timeshare. Sean, you are.

[Sean Hayes]

I don't know. I don't know what's happening.

[Scott Eisenogle]

It's incredible.

[Elliot Kaelin]

You're a champion. You don't need to make apologies for it. You know what you're doing?

[Scott Eisenogle]

You sound really good at this.

[Sean Hayes]

Sorry. I'm awesome.

[Scott Eisenogle]

Today.

[Sean Hayes]

Yeah, exactly. It'll end in about a half an hour. Yeah.

[Elliot Kaelin]

Round three. Let's go to the next set of three words. Those words are air, fan, and, well. Air, as in I'm breathing the air. Fan, as in it's hot. Can you hand me that fan? And well, as in what's that, lassie? Someone fell down the well.

[Sean Hayes]

Right. I love when you give us example.

[Scott Eisenogle]

Fair.

[Elliot Kaelin]

F A, R E. Beautiful. Scotty. That's exactly it.

[Sean Hayes]

I didn't even look at the words yet.

[Elliot Kaelin]

Airfare. Fanfare, Farewell. Very good. So that's. No one's keeping track, but that's Sean with twice as many right answers as Scotty, but again, nobody's keeping track. Perfect. Round four. The words are bud, tar and away, Bud, B. U, D, tar, T, A, R. And away, as in that's far away. Surprisingly hard for me to think of an example to use the word away in.

[Sean Hayes]

That's incredible. This is a hard one.

[Scott Eisenogle]

Oh, no, that's not it.

[Elliot Kaelin]

What did you think it was?

[Scott Eisenogle]

I was thinking I literally circled all the way back around to your clue or your example.

[Elliot Kaelin]

Okay.

[Sean Hayes]

Yeah.

[Scott Eisenogle]

It was a good journey.

[Elliot Kaelin]

We're all about journeys on today's episode. I love it.

[Scott Eisenogle]

Yeah.

[Elliot Kaelin]

Because it's not about getting the answer. It's about the. No, it is about getting the answer. I'm going to give you a little bit more time, but not too much more time.

[Sean Hayes]

Sitar. Sitar. No. Sawe. Sawey. Away is budsy.

[Elliot Kaelin]

Budsy.

[Sean Hayes]

Yeah.

[Scott Eisenogle]

I'm literally, literally stumped.

[Elliot Kaelin]

All right. That says I'm gonna give you the answer again. You did not get this one. The answer is get G, E, T. But it's hard. Cause it's budget. Pronounced with the soft git. And getaway.

[Sean Hayes]

Oh, my God. That's so crazy. I was gonna say guitar and you would have said. That's close.

[Scott Eisenogle]

Yep.

[Elliot Kaelin]

Question number five. This is our final one for the game. This is the hardest one, potentially. That last one was hard, too.

[Scott Eisenogle]

Yeah.

[Elliot Kaelin]

Round, let and films. Round, let and films. What word can you add to those three words to make new words?

[Sean Hayes]

Film. Stock. That's two words. Film. Films.

[Scott Eisenogle]

Film.

[Elliot Kaelin]

Round, as in.

[Sean Hayes]

Is the answer roundlet. Films.

[Elliot Kaelin]

Roundlet. Films. Yeah. We changed the rules for this last question, John. You broke it. You're supposed to combine all the words.

[Sean Hayes]

Yeah.

[Elliot Kaelin]

Round, as in. That's not square. That's round, Let, as in. Let me tell you something. And films, as in. I watch films.

[Sean Hayes]

Yes. Can you give me a hint and tell me if films is the beginning of the word or the end of the word?

[Elliot Kaelin]

I will give you that hint. Films is the beginning of the word.

[Sean Hayes]

Okay.

[Scott Eisenogle]

That's kind of what I was thinking.

[Elliot Kaelin]

And films is the one that makes this a particularly hard one, I think. The way that I think.

[Sean Hayes]

But that's the one to work on because I think the S. Scotty, in films, I think the S is the beginning of another word.

[Scott Eisenogle]

The other word. That's what I was thinking, like film scape or something.

[Sean Hayes]

Yeah, yeah, yeah. Right, right. I want to get this.

[Scott Eisenogle]

I know. I do, too. I refuse to let the last one.

[Elliot Kaelin]

No, I appreciate your tenacity. Would it help you to know where on the other words this other word goes?

[Sean Hayes]

No.

[Elliot Kaelin]

Okay.

[Scott Eisenogle]

All right.

[Elliot Kaelin]

Good night.

[Sean Hayes]

Yeah. No, that would help. That would help. Okay.

[Elliot Kaelin]

So it will Go at the end of round, the beginning of let and the end of films.

[Sean Hayes]

Okay, so round trip, film strip.

[Scott Eisenogle]

Film strip. Oh, that's it.

[Sean Hayes]

That's it.

[Elliot Kaelin]

That's right. The answer is trip, round trip, triplet in film strip.

[Sean Hayes]

That's a good film strip.

[Elliot Kaelin]

When I was a kid, we didn't watch films in class. We watched film strips. Film strips. I'm going to give you half a point for that one. Just for your persistence, just because I admire it, you know?

[Sean Hayes]

Yeah.

[Elliot Kaelin]

Excellent work. So your score right now as a team is about three and a half out of five, but those last two were tough. But for all the fans of closure out there, remember at the top I mentioned a mega clue. Well, it's finally here. We are closing the loop here at Clueless. We did it. This is our mega clue.

[Devin Tory Bryant]

Mega clue question.

[Elliot Kaelin]

To recap, your mega clue clues are going to be made up out of one word from each of these rounds, and I'll tell you what the words are, and you just have to tell me what theme unites these clues. So from each of those rounds, your words are sightseeing, timeshare, airfare, getaway, and round trip. What theme unites those two?

[Sean Hayes]

Vacation.

[Scott Eisenogle]

Vacation.

[Elliot Kaelin]

You're right. Vacation. Pack your bags. You're going on a vacation.

[Sean Hayes]

Or as your sister might say, holiday.

[Elliot Kaelin]

That's true. My sister lives in England, so she would say holiday. That's true, yeah. Listeners at home, did you get the puzzle and did you get the mega clue? If so, the legal department says I need to read this. All vacations mentioned on Clueless are theoretical and imaginary. We make no claim to be awarding vacations as actual prizes to either contestants or listeners, as fun as that would be. Offer not valid in Kentucky. Now, on most shows, you are cautioned.

[Sean Hayes]

Why not Kentucky?

[Scott Eisenogle]

Yeah, why Kentucky?

[Elliot Kaelin]

That's the lawyers. I don't know. Ask the lawyers.

[Scott Eisenogle]

They blame the lawyers.

[Elliot Kaelin]

Okay. There's special state laws there. Now, on most shows, you are cautioned to not try what you see or hear at home. But on Clueless, we live dangerously. We want you to take our next game home with you. And, in fact, you'll have to, because it's our cliffhanger puzzle. The cliffhanger music is a mystery that turns into a party. I always like it. The cliffhanger puzzle is like if you were a Dickensian orphan and you said, please, sir, can I have some more? And then we said, more, of course you can. And then gave you another one, which is what we're doing. This episode's cliffhanger goes thusly, this sentence is gonna have a lot of negatives in it, and you're gonna have to just tell us how do they even out? It goes like this. Elliot Kaelin doesn't not not not dislike disco. So does he like disco? I'll tell you again, Elliot Kaelin doesn't not not not dislike disco. So does he like disco? Sean, Scotty, you'll have until the next episode to figure out how I feel about disco according to this puzzle. But everybody veni Veedipuzzly. We came, we saw, we puzzled. To quote Julius Caesar's brother. We'll be back next episode with even more puzzles for you. But before we go, I'd like to thank Scotty Eisenogle for being everything we could hope for in a guest. Thank you, Scotty, so much. And I'd like to thank Sean Hayes for being even more than we could have hoped for in a star. And I want to thank you, the listener, for being even more than the more that we could have hoped for in an audience. And if that makes sense to you, I appreciate it. Until next time, this has been Smartless presents Clueless. And I've been your host, Elliot Kaelin, saying, give me liberty or give me liberty's cash value and quality merchandise. Goodbye for now.

[Sean Hayes]

That's good.

[Elliot Kaelin]

Clueless.

[Kyle McGraw]

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 with those blue, blue eyes. 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. Talent producer is Anne Harris. Additional script material by Associate producer Matty McCann. Social media producer, Tommy Galgano. Executive producers are Elliot Ca, 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.

[Elliot Kaelin]

Thank you to our partner Monopoly for supporting today's episode. Just like Clueless is a shorter, faster show from Smartless Media, Monopoly is introducing three new expansion packs that you add on to classic Monopoly for fresh twists, faster gameplay and a modern take on the game you love. I'm talking about Monopoly. Look out for the all new buy everything, go to jail or free parking jackpot expansions to spice up your next game night, pick your expansion and level up your game. Available now on Amazon Monopoly is a trademark of Hasbro Smart Less Media.

[Sean Hayes]

Substance use disorder and addiction is so isolating. And so, as a black woman in recovery, hope must be loud. It grows louder when you ask for help and you're vulnerable. It is the thread that lets you know that no matter what happens, you will be okay. When we learn the power of hope, recovery is possible, find out [e-mail] brought.

[Elliot Kaelin]

To you by the National Council for.

[Sean Hayes]

Mental well Being, Shatterproof and the AD Council.