SmartLess Presents ClueLess

Episode 204 – Word Centipede (w/ Naomi Ekperigin and Andy Beckerman)
Release Date: December 1, 2025
Host: Elliott Kalan
Guests: Naomi Ekperigin and Andy Beckerman

Episode Overview

This episode of ClueLess sees host Elliott Kalan guiding comedian couple Naomi Ekperigin and Andy Beckerman through a series of clever, word-based puzzles. From music trivia about presidents to rhyming challenges and the titular "Word Centipede" game, the married pair’s loving banter and comedic riffs create both competition and chaos. The show’s tone is light, rapid-fire, and joyously nerdy, making for a high-energy 10 minutes packed with laughs and quick wit.

Key Segments & Discussion Points

1. Presidential Music Trivia ([00:39–05:15])

• Prompt: Which U.S. president was mentioned in the most published songs as of 2018 (according to Billboard.com)?
• Guesses:
  • Andy: "McKinley, obviously."
  • Naomi: "Richard Nixon," arguing "people are always talking about him."
  • Banter segued into jokes about ABBA (or "Abba, a B, B, A") writing an album about Nixon.
• Correct Answer: Barack Obama, with 309 mentions—more than Bush, Clinton, Reagan, or Trump.
• Reactions:
  • Andy observes that Obama appears in both right-wing country and left-wing music, bumping up his total.
  • Naomi is “gobsmacked”: “You like music from what, the 60s to 2018? ... And you’re telling me they’re talking about Obama like that?” ([04:51])
• Notable Quote:
  • Elliott: “Very few pop songs about Zachary Taylor.” ([04:09])

2. President Rhyme-Time Game ([05:15–11:12])

• Game Explanation: Elliott asks for words rhyming with presidents’ names to answer clues.
  • Example: Making a trade with the peanut farmer president — “Carter barter.”
• Questions & Answers:
  1. Outback Steakhouse onion dish & haberdasher president?
     • Answer: "Bloomin' for Truman."
     • Banter about Truman being an old man, a haberdasher, and career changing in olden days.
  2. Celebrating a birth with a WWII commander president?
     • Answer: "Shower for Eisenhower."
  3. Gold mine structure & overweight president?
     • Answer: "Shaft with Taft."
  4. Disco dance for a vacuum-named president?
     • Answer: "Groover for Hoover."
     • Elliott also offers, “Louvre with Hoover.”
• Bonus:
  • Chronological order: Taft, Hoover, Truman, Eisenhower ([10:54])
  • Naomi on presidential trivia: “Don’t you love the past when you can just have 40,000 jobs but then all of them powerful and they generating.” ([07:26])
  • Running Zachary Taylor joke.

3. Word Centipede Game ([13:28–22:16])

• Rules: Find one word to add before or after three given words to form new, common words each time.
• Sample Round ([14:13]):
  • Fun, jail, fly → House (funhouse, jailhouse, housefly)
• Actual Puzzles & Solutions:
  1. Let, do, way — Add “sub” for sublet, subdue, subway ([16:36])
  2. Sky, blood, draw — Add “line” for skyline, bloodline, draw line ([17:39])
  3. Ward, broad, door — Add “way” for wayward, Broadway, doorway ([18:07])
  4. Ex, over, short — Add “change” for exchange, changeover, shortchange ([20:07])
     • Naomi challenges "changeover" as a word. Elliott assures: “It’s in the Oxford English Dictionary.” ([20:16])
  5. Land, genes, tax — Add “isle” for landisle, genesis, tax isle ([21:46])
     • Both guests challenge this as “not words,” leading to playful frustration.
• Notable Quotes:
  • Naomi (on strategy): “Look me in the eye and tell me you’re ready. Don’t you let me down in front of company.” ([14:13])
  • Andy laments: “When I hear sub, I'm just used to people on the street looking at me going, look at that sub.” ([16:41])
  • Elliott: “It’s rare … one of them is actively sabotaging the team.” ([19:19])
  • Naomi: “Actually, I went from feeling dumb to feeling enraged.” ([22:16])

4. The Mega Clue & Reveal ([22:16–22:54])

• Clue: Find a theme linking exchange, subway, skyline, Broadway, and island.
• Andy’s Quick Answer: “Manhattan.”
• Elliott: “Exactly! The place the Muppets took.” ([22:54])

Memorable Moments & Quotes

• On president music mentions:

  • “I'm not telling you this, Billboard.com is telling you this. You've got to take it up with that website.” – Elliott ([05:07])

• Marital banter:

  • Naomi, after Andy’s joking distractions: “My husband is a goof, and so he somehow managed to get us onto Batman, Wayne Knight and things that are not related.” ([08:35])
  • “You should come into any trivia game thinking our marriage is on the line.” – Naomi ([14:29])

• After a tricky clue:

  • “I went from feeling dumb to feeling enraged.” – Naomi ([22:16])

• Producer interjection:

  • “All I can say is that it’s in the Oxford English Dictionary.” – Producer Devin (“Demon”) Bryant, backing up a contested answer ([20:16])

Notable Structure & Participant Roles

• Elliott Kalan: Host, puzzle writer, cheerfully deadpan, loves digressions into presidential trivia and light self-promotion.
• Naomi Ekperigin: Enthusiastic, competitive, playfully frustrated at trickier clues, delightedly exasperated with Andy.
• Andy Beckerman: Goofball energy, distracts with tangents, earnest attempts at answers, committed to bit-supporting Naomi.

Timestamps for Key Segments

| Segment | Description | Timestamp | |---------------------------------------------|---------------------------------------------|--------------| | President Music Trivia | Opening question, music, Obama revelation | 00:39–05:15 | | President Rhyme-Time | Rhyming word puzzle game | 05:15–11:12 | | Chronological Order Mini-Quiz | Placing presidents in order | 10:54–11:12 | | Word Centipede Instructions | Main word-joining game begins | 13:28–14:13 | | Word Centipede Rounds | Each puzzle and its discussion | 14:13–22:16 | | Mega Clue Reveal | “Manhattan” answer, wrap-up | 22:16–22:54 |

Representative Quotes (w/ Timestamps)

• “I'm gobsmacked because it's like ... you're telling me they're talking about Obama like that.” – Naomi ([04:51])
• “Sporadic Benjamin Buttoning. It's a medical term.” – Elliott ([02:52])
• “A mine shaft with Taft.” – Naomi ([09:15])
• “Do you see how wayward is something I said in the first selection? ... So in a way, what I was was ahead.” – Naomi ([18:07])
• “I have to support my wife. Changeover.” – Andy, challenging the puzzle ([20:13])
• “You did it. So you didn't do great in that game, but you did get the mega clue, so that was fantastic.” – Elliott ([22:54])

Final Thoughts

This episode delivers exactly what ClueLess promises: energetic, brain-bending play with English, delivered by comics who are as eager to crack each other up as to solve each puzzle. The show’s quick wit, running gags (Zachary Taylor, marital high stakes), and breezy competition make for compulsive listening—no encyclopedic knowledge required to laugh along.

For Fans: If you enjoyed the banter, check out Naomi and Andy's podcast Couples Therapy for more of their comic chemistry.

Podcast episode summarized by AI. All notable quotes and summaries reflect the original tone and humor of the participants.