SmartLess Presents ClueLess Episode 161: Word Centipede (featuring Jeff Max) Release Date: June 23, 2025

Introduction to "Word Centipede"

In this engaging episode of SmartLess Presents ClueLess, host Elliott Kalan welcomes the ever-entertaining Sean Hayes and the delightfully witty Jeff Max to tackle the episode's main puzzle game, "Word Centipede." The episode seamlessly blends humor with brain-teasing challenges, keeping listeners hooked from start to finish.

Recap of the Previous Puzzle

Elliott begins by revisiting the cliffhanger from the last episode, where four cars approach a four-way stop from different directions without crashing. Sean initially guesses that the cars are moving at different speeds to avoid a collision (02:07), but Elliott reveals the clever solution: all cars made right-hand turns, ensuring they didn't cross paths (02:25).

Introducing "Word Centipede"

Transitioning to the main event, Elliott introduces "Word Centipede," a game where participants are given three words and must identify a common word that can precede or follow each to form new compound words. The first set of words—care, way, and style—stumps Sean initially. After some deliberation, Elliott discloses the answer: free (freecare, freeway, freestyle) (06:24).

Round Two: Neck, Nose, Blue

In the second round, the words are neck, nose, and blue. Sean swiftly identifies the connecting word as bottle, forming bottleneck, bottlenose, and blue bottle (07:14). Elliott humorously remarks on Jeff's surprise at his quick answer.

Round Three: Eject, Affect, Congest

The third challenge presents the words eject, affect, and congest. This round proves tougher, with Sean pondering solutions like "affection" and "congestion." Eventually, Elliott reveals the answer: ion, tying into terms like ejection, affection, and congestion ion (08:05).

Round Four: Down, Jaw, Gridlock

Jeff Max shines in the fourth round, connecting down, jaw, and gridlock with the word lock, resulting in lockdown, lockjaw, and gridlock (08:35). Sean commends Jeff's rapid response, highlighting the competitive spirit of the game.

Final Round: Light, Gap, Back

The last set—light, gap, and back—trickles Sean, leading Elliott to provide the answer: stop. This forms stoplight, stopgap, and backstop (09:39). Sean humorously connects "stopgap" to his time working at The Gap, adding levity to the conclusion of the rounds.

Mega Clue: Traffic

Post-rounds, Elliott presents the "Mega Clue" by consolidating key words from the game: freeway, bottleneck, congestion, gridlock, and stoplight. Sean immediately identifies the common theme as traffic, showcasing their quick thinking (10:43).

Cliffhanger Puzzle

As the episode winds down, Elliott introduces a cliffhanger puzzle to entice listeners for the next episode: A mother had five children: Meryl, Taylor, Winona, and Tilda. Was the fifth child named Frasier, Ethan, or Adele? The answer remains a mystery, encouraging audience anticipation (11:04).

Notable Quotes

• “Clueless. It's Clueless.” – Sean Hayes (00:39)
• “The answer was free, carefree, freeway, freestyle.” – Elliott Kalan (06:44)
• “Stop gap is kind of like, we're just gonna do this now temporarily, just to take care of the problem for a short amount of time.” – Elliott Kalan (09:48)
• “Traffic.” – Sean Hayes (10:43)

Conclusion

Episode 161 of SmartLess Presents ClueLess masterfully combines humor, camaraderie, and intellectual challenges. Elliott Kalan, alongside Sean Hayes and Jeff Max, delivers a captivating session of wordplay that entertains and engages listeners, leaving them eagerly awaiting the next puzzle installment.

Note: The timestamps correspond to moments within the episode transcript for reference.