SmartLess Presents ClueLess! 137 - Word Workout (w/ Jeff Max)

Summary

SmartLess Presents ClueLess! Episode 137 - "Word Workout" Featuring Jeff Max

Release Date: March 20, 2025

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Introduction and Guest Reveal

In the latest episode of SmartLess Presents ClueLess!, host Elliot Kaelin welcomes comedian and actor Sean Hayes along with his special guest, Jeff Max, an old friend from Sean's theater days. The episode kicks off with playful banter as Sean introduces Jeff with his trademark humorous flair.

Sean Hayes [01:16]: "Yeah, I can't get off it."

The chemistry between Sean and Jeff sets a lively tone for the episode, promising an engaging and entertaining session ahead.

Solving the Previous Episode's Cliffhanger Puzzle

Before diving into the main game, the hosts revisit the cliffhanger puzzle from the previous episode. The puzzle challenged listeners to identify the odd word out among a set: Drove, Never, Murder, School, and Unkindness.

Sean confidently analyzes the options, drawing connections between collective nouns for animals:

Sean Hayes [02:14]: "I mean, well, the first thing Jeff, I was thinking was there's a. Like a group of crows can be a murder. A group of fish can be a school. Oh, but am I on the right track?"

After a thoughtful discussion, Sean correctly identifies "Never" as the odd one out, emphasizing his logical approach to puzzle-solving.

Sean Hayes [02:50]: "I'm just gonna go for it."

Host Elliot praises Sean's methodical reasoning, highlighting the balance of knowledge and intuition essential for puzzle games.

Elliot Kaelin [03:09]: "This is classic professional puzzle playing. You're like, I have a sense of it. I know what some of these things are. I'm narrowing in. I'm getting closer."

Introduction to "Word Workout"

Shifting gears, Elliot introduces the episode's main game: Word Workout, a challenging and engaging word puzzle designed to test the contestants' linguistic agility.

Elliot Kaelin [05:45]: "Let's pretend there's such a thing as objective reality for just a couple more minutes so we can play today's main game. And it's called Word Workout."

Playing "Word Workout"

Word Workout involves manipulating given words by removing a letter and rearranging the remaining letters to form a new word or phrase based on provided clues. The game consists of seven rounds, each presenting a unique challenge.

Round 1: Candle to Dance

• Clue: Remove a letter from "candle" to get a series of rhythmic movements.

  Elliot Kaelin [06:43]: "Question number one. Remove a letter from candle to get a series of rhythmic movements."

• Sean's Answer: "Dance"

  Sean Hayes [06:54]: "Dance."

• Host's Feedback:

  Elliot Kaelin [06:55]: "Yes. Very good."

This round successfully warms up the participants, with Sean swiftly identifying the correct answer.

Round 2: Basket to Steak

• Clue: Remove a letter from "basket" to get a prime cut.

  Elliot Kaelin [07:05]: "Question number two. Remove a letter from basket to get a prime cut."

• Sean's Answer: "Steak"

  Sean Hayes [07:15]: "Steak."

• Host's Commentary:

  Elliot Kaelin [07:16]: "You take out the B, which is the part of the cow you don't use anyway. And you just get the steak."

Sean's quick deduction showcases his sharp wordplay skills.

Round 3: Course to Score

• Clue: Remove a letter from "course" to get the sports results.

  Elliot Kaelin [07:47]: "Remove a letter from course to get the sports results."

• Sean's Answer: "Score"

  Sean Hayes [07:49]: "Score."

Elliot commends Sean for his accurate and prompt response.

Elliot Kaelin [07:56]: "Yes. Very good."

Round 4: Serial to Rails

• Clue: Remove a letter from "serial" to get some long tracks.

  Elliot Kaelin [07:56]: "Question number four. Remove a letter from serial to get some long tracks."

• Sean's Attempt: Initially struggles but eventually arrives at "Rails."

  Sean Hayes [08:19]: "Come on, you got score, right?"

• Host's Explanation:

  Elliot Kaelin [08:09]: "Remove the e and you get rails."

This round introduces a bit of humor as Sean grapples with the clue before reaching the correct answer.

Round 5: Barber to Barre

• Clue: Remove a letter from "barber" to get a kind of fitness activity.

  Elliot Kaelin [08:40]: "Remove a letter from barber to get a kind of fitness activity."

• Sean's Struggle and Hint:

  Elliot Kaelin [09:03]: "The hint is this is a ballet-based fitness activity."

• Sean's Answer: "Barre"

  Sean Hayes [09:16]: "Barre."

Elliot praises the challenging nature of this round, highlighting Sean's perseverance.

Elliot Kaelin [09:22]: "I hope you walk away from this knowing that you got a really hard one and it just gives you conf for whatever you're doing next."

Round 6: Ringer to Rain

• Clue: Remove a letter from "ringer" to get the span of a monarchy.

  Elliot Kaelin [10:00]: "Remove a letter from ringer to get the span of a monarchy."

• Sean's Answer: "Rain"

  Sean Hayes [10:08]: "Rain."

Elliot acknowledges the correct response, smoothly transitioning to the final round.

Elliot Kaelin [10:08]: "Yes, rain. Very good."

Round 7: Sellout to Tussle

• Clue: Remove a letter from "sellout" to get a way to mess up someone's hair.

  Elliot Kaelin [10:08]: "Remove a letter from sellout to get a way to mess up someone's hair."

• Sean's Answer: "Tussle"

  Sean Hayes [10:21]: "Tussle."

The final round concludes successfully, with participants demonstrating their word manipulation prowess.

Elliot Kaelin [10:30]: "Excellent work. But now that we've sweated off all those unsightly extra letters, we've got to find some way to dispose of them."

Mega Clue Challenge

Elliot presents a Mega Clue challenge, requiring contestants to rearrange the removed letters from all rounds to form a piece of workout equipment associated with buying a drink.

Elliot Kaelin [10:42]: "Rearrange them to reveal a piece of workout equipment you could buy a drink from."

After a brief deliberation, the correct answer "Barbell" is humorously dismissed in favor of the intended answer.

Elliot Kaelin [11:13]: "It was a piece of workout equipment you could buy a drink from."

This segment adds an extra layer of complexity and fun, encouraging listeners to engage deeply with the puzzle.

Cliffhanger Puzzle

To maintain the engaging format, Elliot introduces a new Cliffhanger Puzzle for listeners to solve before the next episode.

Elliot Kaelin [13:03]: "I'm going to read a sentence to you. Can you replace five parts of this sentence with five uses of the same one word while keeping the meaning of the sentence the same?"

Cliffhanger Sentence: "After watching a concert and part of a tennis match on my TV, I put dishes on the table, then turned my clock back for daylight saving time."

This puzzle challenges listeners to think creatively about word substitution while retaining the original meaning.

Conclusion and Thank Yous

Elliot wraps up the episode with heartfelt thanks to Jeff Max for his participation and to Sean Hayes for his entertaining contributions. The hosts encourage listeners to engage with the puzzles and look forward to future episodes.

Elliot Kaelin [13:37]: "Until next time, this has been Smartless presents Clueless."

The episode concludes on a high note, leaving listeners eager for more interactive and humorous content in upcoming shows.

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Notable Quotes:

• Sean Hayes [02:50]: "I'm just gonna go for it."
• Jeff Max [01:46]: "And Ball barrel. That's it."
• Sean Hayes [07:25]: "Wow, that's good."
• Jeff Max [09:00]: "Would you like a hint or a clue?"

This episode of SmartLess Presents ClueLess! brilliantly combines humor, camaraderie, and intellectual challenge, making it a must-listen for fans of engaging and interactive podcast content.

Transcript

[Sean Hayes]

Hey, Smarties, it's Sean Hayes here. You may remember that we launched a new bite sized game show last year called Clueless. And every episode our hilarious host, Elliot Kaelin takes me and a friend of mine through a different game. And sometimes they're word puzzles or chains of common phrases or robots singing songs. We have to guess. It's a whole lot of fun. Here's an episode that came out today with my good friend, actor and comedian Jeff Max, where we play one of our favorite new games, Word Workout. Check out Smartless Presents Clueless anywhere you get your podcast. New episodes every Monday and Thursday.

[Elliot Kaelin]

Smart Less media. I'd like to open this episode with a quick financial update. Due to inflation, a bird in the hand is now worth four in the bush. Please adjust your proverbs accordingly. This is Clueless. Clueless.

[Sean Hayes]

Clueless. I'm Clueless.

[Elliot Kaelin]

Welcome to Smartless Presents Clueless, the only puzzle podcast, period. I refuse to recognize any others. I'm your host, Elliot Kaelin, and I come from the future with a warning for all mankind. But first, please welcome the man who's got entertainment in his blood. But don't worry, he's taking something for it. Sean Hayes. Thanks for being here, Sean.

[Sean Hayes]

Yeah, I can't get off it.

[Elliot Kaelin]

That's the problem.

[Sean Hayes]

Today we are joined by an old friend of mine. His name is Jeff Max. We grew up in the theater together. If you heard the previous episode, you would know what I'm talk. Needs a little slapping around sometimes because we gotta keep him real. Ladies and gentlemen, it's Jeff. Or Jeffrey, depending on how gay he is that day.

[Elliot Kaelin]

Max.

[Sean Hayes]

Hello. And he's gonna sing a little something for us.

[Jeff Max]

And Ball barrel. That's it.

[Sean Hayes]

All right.

[Jeff Max]

Wow.

[Sean Hayes]

That's it.

[Elliot Kaelin]

That was a very little something.

[Jeff Max]

That's it.

[Elliot Kaelin]

They say patience is a virtue, but having too much patience is a. Is just being lazy. So let's stop waiting around and reveal the answer to last episode's cliffhanger puzzle, shall we?

[Sean Hayes]

Yeah.

[Elliot Kaelin]

You may remember, it was an odd one out that went, which word does not belong? Drove. Never. Murder. School or unkindness.

[Sean Hayes]

I mean, well, the first thing Jeff, I was thinking was there's a. Like a group of crows can be a murder. A group of fish can be a school. Oh, but am I on the right track?

[Elliot Kaelin]

You are very much on the right track, yes.

[Jeff Max]

Because you have a drove of something. You do have a drove of something.

[Sean Hayes]

But an unkindness, I don't know what that is. And a never. I don't know. Like a group of Animals. That's a never.

[Jeff Max]

Yeah, you're right.

[Sean Hayes]

I don't know, But I don't know. A group of animals. That's an unkindness. I mean, that's weird, but that does sound like one. I'm gonna say never. I'm just gonna go for it.

[Elliot Kaelin]

You're exactly right. Sean, here's what I love about what you did. This is classic professional puzzle playing. You're like, I have a sense of it. I know what some of these things are. I'm narrowing in. I'm getting closer. I'm using my logic to narrow it down to two. And then at the last two, you're like, I don't know which one. So I'm gonna take a gamble. Cause every game player at heart is a gambler. You're exactly right.

[Sean Hayes]

How about that?

[Jeff Max]

I would have never known there's a group of animals called a murder. I've never heard of that.

[Sean Hayes]

Oh, yeah. Murder of crows.

[Jeff Max]

Murder of crows.

[Elliot Kaelin]

And it's an unkindness of ravens.

[Sean Hayes]

Really? Is that really? Really. By the way, just so you know and everybody works on this show, Jeff's signature. Oh, really? What's a drove?

[Elliot Kaelin]

A drove of donkeys. Donkeys come in droves.

[Sean Hayes]

Okay. Murders, crows. Drove as donkeys. School is fish. Unkindness is ravens, which is very close to crows. And never is nothing.

[Elliot Kaelin]

Yeah. And oh really of Jeffs, I guess, is the oh, really of Jeffs.

[Sean Hayes]

Oh, really?

[Elliot Kaelin]

This is what we've been missing. We've never had a guest with a catchphrase before, and I'm very excited about that.

[Sean Hayes]

And by the way, a catchphrase that caught on in literally 10 seconds.

[Jeff Max]

Well, you also have to follow up. Follow it up with I never knew.

[Sean Hayes]

Also get a couple drinks in them. And that, oh, really is about 2 octaves higher and about longer, 20 decibels louder.

[Devin Tory Bryant]

What drinks?

[Sean Hayes]

Yeah. Thank you to Monopoly for supporting today's episode.

[Elliot Kaelin]

Clueless listeners. Monopoly has created three new ways to play with expansions. You add on to your classic Monopoly set.

[Sean Hayes]

If you want to own the whole board, the buy everything expansion lets you do just that. That's right. Every space on the board is up for grabs.

[Elliot Kaelin]

Go to jail. Buy it. Free parking. Yep, that too. And with the buy die, you get even more ways to win fast.

[Sean Hayes]

If you're the kind of person who likes to press their luck, like Elliot, the free parking jackpot expansion is your jam. Land on free parking. Spin the wheel and boom. Cash in big. But don't get too comfortable because it's risky. One spin could have you rolling in money or losing it all. It's high stakes, fast, and definitely for the competitive.

[Elliot Kaelin]

And if you're a mastermind who loves little chaos like Sean, the go to jail expansion is a game changer. Jail isn't a punishment. It's strategic. Bribe, steal, and collect corruption cards to mess with your opponents. Turns out crime does pay, at least in Monopoly.

[Sean Hayes]

So whether you're a risk taker, rule breaker, or money maker, Monopoly has three new expansion packs for you to explore. Pick your pack or grab all three and let the game get a whole lot more exciting.

[Elliot Kaelin]

Available now on Amazon. All is fair in Monopoly expansions.

[Sean Hayes]

Monopoly is a trademark of Hasbro.

[Elliot Kaelin]

Listeners at home. Did you get the answer? If not, that's okay. Postmodern theory tells us all truth is relative. But let's pretend there's such a thing as objective reality for just a couple more minutes so we can play today's main game. And it's called Word Workout.

[Sean Hayes]

Yeah, Word Workout.

[Devin Tory Bryant]

We're working the words out.

[Elliot Kaelin]

Word Workout. Like, for sure. Good.

[Jeff Max]

It's really good.

[Sean Hayes]

Isn't that good?

[Jeff Max]

Yeah, it's really good.

[Elliot Kaelin]

These are great songs. I can't wait for the album to come out now. Okay, we've got seven words for you. Each of them wants to slim down and lose some weight, and we're gonna help get them into shape. For each clue, I'm gonna give you the starting word and then ask you to remove one letter and then rearrange the remaining letters to create a new sentence.

[Sean Hayes]

I love this.

[Elliot Kaelin]

I love this.

[Sean Hayes]

I love this.

[Elliot Kaelin]

Let's have an example. If the clue was remove a letter from cinema to get a type of Japanese animation, what would you do?

[Sean Hayes]

Anime.

[Elliot Kaelin]

Yep, exactly. You take out the C, rearrange them, you get anime. Are you ready to send these words to the gym?

[Jeff Max]

Sure.

[Elliot Kaelin]

Excellent.

[Devin Tory Bryant]

Word workout.

[Elliot Kaelin]

Let's start with question number one. Remove a letter from candle to get a series of rhythmic movements. Rhythmic movements.

[Sean Hayes]

Dance.

[Elliot Kaelin]

Yes. Very good.

[Jeff Max]

Damn, I would have never gotten that.

[Elliot Kaelin]

Tell me, which letter did you remove out of there?

[Sean Hayes]

I removed. Well, if you speak the English language, I removed the letter L.

[Elliot Kaelin]

Question number two. Remove a letter from basket to get a prime cut.

[Sean Hayes]

Oh, I was gonna say brisket. Wait. To get a prime cut.

[Elliot Kaelin]

Take a look at those letters and see which ones you might be able to rearrange to me. Oh, you got it. Yes. Steak. You take out the B, which is the part of the cow you don't use anyway. And you just get the steak.

[Sean Hayes]

Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.

[Jeff Max]

Wow, that's good.

[Sean Hayes]

You know, I'm. Go ahead and put the L from candle and steak. No, I'm kidding.

[Elliot Kaelin]

And get steelk.

[Sean Hayes]

Get steelk.

[Elliot Kaelin]

Question number three. Remove a letter from course spelled C O, A, R, S E. So course as in rough. Remove a letter from course to get the sports results.

[Sean Hayes]

To get the sports results.

[Elliot Kaelin]

Score. Score. Yes. Very good. You remove the A and you get score. Number four, remove a letter from serial, as in things in order. S E, R, I, A, L. To get some long tracks.

[Sean Hayes]

Long tracks.

[Elliot Kaelin]

Mm.

[Sean Hayes]

Long tracks.

[Elliot Kaelin]

Long tracks.

[Jeff Max]

Long tracks.

[Elliot Kaelin]

I was hoping you would also say long tracks, Jay, so we'd all say it rails. Yes, rails. Exactly. You remove the e and you get rails. Yeah, I'm showing you.

[Jeff Max]

Kicking my.

[Sean Hayes]

Come on, you got score, right?

[Jeff Max]

I think I said that with you.

[Sean Hayes]

Yeah.

[Elliot Kaelin]

Question number five. Remove a letter from barber to get a kind of fitness activity. Remove a letter from barber to get a kind of fitness activity.

[Sean Hayes]

Huh?

[Jeff Max]

Barber.

[Sean Hayes]

B, A, R, B, A, R. Right? Or is it E R, B, A.

[Elliot Kaelin]

R, B, E, R. Yeah.

[Sean Hayes]

Not the elephant.

[Elliot Kaelin]

Barber. The elephant is a different story. He holds the scissors in his trunk. It's pretty cute.

[Sean Hayes]

Wait, A.B.

[Jeff Max]

No.

[Elliot Kaelin]

Would you like a hint or a clue?

[Sean Hayes]

Sure, a hint.

[Elliot Kaelin]

Okay. The hint is this is a ballet based fitness activity. That's the hint. If you want a clue, I'll tell you what letter to remove.

[Sean Hayes]

Oh, it's a ballet related activity. That's all.

[Elliot Kaelin]

Ballet based fitness Barre.

[Sean Hayes]

Oh, yeah. Yes.

[Elliot Kaelin]

Barre. Exactly right.

[Sean Hayes]

B, A, R, R, E. Yes.

[Elliot Kaelin]

You remove the B to get barre. That was good. But that's a hard one.

[Jeff Max]

That was a really hard one.

[Sean Hayes]

Really hard one.

[Elliot Kaelin]

I hope you walk away from this knowing that you got a really hard one and it just gives you conf for whatever you're doing next.

[Sean Hayes]

Yeah. Wait, a fitness what?

[Elliot Kaelin]

Activity?

[Jeff Max]

Activity.

[Sean Hayes]

So what do you do there? You just hang out on the bar?

[Jeff Max]

The bar? No, when you do barre, you do like a bunch.

[Sean Hayes]

But I would think it's more dance related and not. I don't know. Anybody goes to the gym and rushes to the bar.

[Jeff Max]

Does bar.

[Elliot Kaelin]

Well, they do. Well, they've started doing. It's a. You know, they can turn anything into fitness. They turn ballet exercise into fitness.

[Sean Hayes]

Oh, is that new? Okay, great.

[Elliot Kaelin]

Just like how Pilates used to be. Just plates.

[Sean Hayes]

Right? Very good.

[Jeff Max]

Sure.

[Elliot Kaelin]

Question number 6. Remove a letter from ringer to get the span of a monarchy. Remove a letter from ringer. Rain.

[Sean Hayes]

Rain.

[Elliot Kaelin]

Yes, rain. Very good. And now finally, our last one for this game. Remove a letter from sellout to get a way to mess up someone's hair.

[Sean Hayes]

Tussle.

[Elliot Kaelin]

Yes.

[Sean Hayes]

Oh, that was good.

[Elliot Kaelin]

Very good. That's. I thought that was gonna be the hardest of them, but instead, if anything, it was the easiest of them.

[Sean Hayes]

Probably.

[Jeff Max]

That was good.

[Sean Hayes]

How about that? No pain, no gain.

[Elliot Kaelin]

Excellent work. But now that we've sweated off all those unsightly extra letters, we've got to find some way to dispose of them. How about we recycle them as today's mega clue? Mega clue Question. To solve the mega clue, I want you to take the letters you removed from those words, and I'll remind you what they are, and I want you to rearrange them to reveal a piece of workout equipment you could buy a drink from. And the letters are L, B, A, E, B, R, and L. And what's the clue? And the clue is A piece of barbell. Well, you don't even get the clue anymore. It's too late. That's the right answer.

[Sean Hayes]

Yay.

[Elliot Kaelin]

It was a piece of workout equipment you could buy a drink from. And the answer was barbecue.

[Sean Hayes]

And it's not a bar. Again. B, A, R, R, E. No. Okay.

[Elliot Kaelin]

No, this time, it's just the. It's just the other kind of bar.

[Jeff Max]

Let's not lose our pleasing disposition.

[Sean Hayes]

And it's not an elephant. It's not a French elephant. No. Okay. Yeah.

[Elliot Kaelin]

We've narrowed it down. Nice work. Great work, guys. Well, listeners, did you do as well as Sean and Jeff? If so, your steak is free. But before you chow down, make sure you keep a little room for today's cliffhanger puzzle. Aw, the haunting cliffhanger puzzle. The cliffhanger puzzle is like if a genie let you wish for more wishes, except you only get one more wish, and it's a puzzle. And today's cliffhanger goes thusly. I'm going to read a sentence to you. Can you replace five parts of this sentence with five uses of the same one word while keeping the meaning of the sentence the same? So again, I'm going to read the sentence to you. I want you to replace five parts of it with the same word while keeping the meaning the same. And that sentence is.

[Sean Hayes]

Got it.

[Elliot Kaelin]

After watching a concert and part of a tennis match on my tv, I put dishes on the table, then turned my clock back for daylight saving time. Again, I'll read you that sentence one more time.

[Sean Hayes]

Yeah, slower.

[Elliot Kaelin]

After all, after watching a concert and part of a tennis match on my tv, I put dishes on the table, then turned my clock back for daylight saving time. So for next episode, can you replace five of the parts of that sentence with the same single word and keep the meaning of the sentence the same?

[Sean Hayes]

Yeah. Yeah. Okay. Very good.

[Elliot Kaelin]

Well, the feds are here, and this time they've got a warrant, so we better bring this episode to a close. But first, I'd like to thank Jeff Max for finding the quickest path to our hearts. And I'd like to thank Sean Hayes for taking a more roundabout route to the heart. Just getting there.

[Sean Hayes]

Yeah, he's still on the road.

[Elliot Kaelin]

Exactly. And I'd like to thank you, the listeners, for accepting these sound waves into your head right now. Until next time, this has been Smartless presents Clueless. And I've been your host, Elliot Kaelin, saying that by the power vested in me by the universal Life church and the state of Montana, I now pronounce you married to whoever you're sitting next to right now. Mazel tov.

[Sean Hayes]

Very good, Clueless.

[Devin Tory Bryant]

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, dreamer adventurer. 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 Josh Richmond. 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 Clueless.

[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.