December 10, 2024 • 19 mins
Hello, Puzzlers! Puzzling with us today: neuroscientist, former star of The Big Bang Theory, and current host of "Mayim Bialik's Breakdown", Mayim Bialik!
Join host A.J. Jacobs and his guests as they puzzle–and laugh–their way through new spins on old favorites, like anagrams and palindromes, as well as quirky originals such as “Ask Chat GPT” and audio rebuses.
Subscribe to The Puzzler podcast wherever you get your podcasts!
"The Puzzler with A.J. Jacobs" is distributed by iHeartPodcasts and is a co-production with Neuhaus Ideas.
Our executive producers are Neely Lohmann and Adam Neuhaus of Neuhaus Ideas, and Lindsay Hoffman of iHeart Podcasts.
The show is produced by Jody Avirgan and Brittani Brown of Roulette Productions.
Our Chief Puzzle Officer is Greg Pliska. Our associate producer is Andrea Schoenberg.
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:05):
Hello, puzzlers, Welcome to the Puzzler podcast the Melti Cheese Center.
In your Puzzler, Aaroncini. Not Aaron Cini as I said before,
but Greg Greg Pliska of Italian descent has informed us
(00:25):
it's Aaroncini. And but regardless. Thanks to Rebecca Ranager for
the delicious intro about Italian fried rice balls. Almost as important.
We are here with our guest, the amazing Myambiolic, star
of The Big Bang Theory, neuroscientist, author and host of
(00:46):
the podcast Mayam Bioli's Breakdown.
Speaker 2 (00:48):
Welcome, Iam, thanks for having me back.
Speaker 1 (00:52):
We are delighted. Well today we actually have a puzzle
straight from Greg Pliska of the Puzzle So I'm just
going to turn it over to him.
Speaker 3 (01:02):
All right, Well, thank you, thanks for coming back, Maria.
I love having you here. This we're calling this Puzzle
Breakdown in honor of your podcast. Now, on that podcast,
you talk about guests about mental health, right and other topics.
Speaker 4 (01:20):
In this case, this has nothing to do with mental health.
This is just taking the word down and breaking it.
Speaker 1 (01:26):
I just want to qualify that listening to the Puzzler
is good for your mental health because it's a stress reliever.
Go just that, just pointing that well.
Speaker 5 (01:34):
And also it's very good to exercise this aspect of
your brain, especially in a culture that is so geared
towards instagratification and algorithms and mindless scrolling. It's really important
to use your brain. It's a little bit like a
use it or lose it. We know that, you know,
cognitive skills like this are so important. Anyway, So sorry, you.
Speaker 1 (01:53):
Heard it from that doctor. You heard her.
Speaker 3 (01:56):
Yes, it's a conclusion of the book, is right there
that Sorry, so let me do the intro again. We
call this puzzle breakdown in honor of your podcast, and
it's not about mental health any more than any other
puzzle we do. What we're gonna do is take the
word down and break it into two parts and then
(02:18):
stick some other letters inside to get a new word. So,
for example, uh, this answer is a two word phrase
that is the eye color of most people in the world,
and that is dark brown starts with D.
Speaker 2 (02:37):
And so can the word be broken up in any
number of ways? Yes, exactly, Okay, Okay, I'm into it,
got it?
Speaker 5 (02:45):
Yeah, I mean also, like, there's not an allele for
dark brown versus light brown. But I won't get into
like a chromosole fight with you.
Speaker 4 (02:54):
See we have scientists on the show.
Speaker 2 (02:56):
I mean that's anyway. It's okay, fine, but.
Speaker 4 (02:58):
Yes, you're right, if you're absolutely right there there is.
Speaker 5 (03:02):
But that's a color that can be an eye color
that it is usually what happens if it's a dominant gene.
Speaker 2 (03:07):
Okay, dark brown, got.
Speaker 3 (03:08):
It probably more right to say that most people's eyes
in the world are brown.
Speaker 4 (03:12):
Yes, whether it's dark or light.
Speaker 2 (03:14):
But you needed the dark because we're breaking up the
words work. I'm into it.
Speaker 5 (03:18):
I'm glad that was the example and not one of
the actual Good okay.
Speaker 3 (03:22):
Good, all right, here's your first one to reject completely
as a family member.
Speaker 2 (03:31):
I'm going to say, that's disown.
Speaker 4 (03:34):
You are right on it. Yes, very good to disown somebody.
Speaker 5 (03:39):
I'm also a huge like crossway puzzle person, so this
is like a different level of puzzle that's incorporating some
of my my crosswords.
Speaker 4 (03:47):
Yeah, this is Do you do cryptic crosswords or just
string I don't.
Speaker 5 (03:51):
I'm the kind of person like sometimes I can do
really well on things like that, but I need it
really explained and shown to me. I don't get it
into which is another reason that I thought I wasn't
able to be a scientist because things like that don't
come quickly to me. I need to be shown and
then I can get it. But that's an example of
one that's hard for me. Like sometimes on mensa quizzes,
(04:13):
I'm like, I get this mostly I need the instructions
explains to.
Speaker 2 (04:17):
Me that I can do really well.
Speaker 5 (04:18):
So maybe that means I'm not a good mensa person
who knows.
Speaker 3 (04:22):
But this is this is exactly that kind of wordplay
where you break down means to break the word down
into two parts.
Speaker 4 (04:29):
Okay, you're on it. This is the Uh this is
a famous TV Abby.
Speaker 2 (04:38):
Downton.
Speaker 5 (04:40):
Yeah, I've never seen the show, but I've heard my
mom talk about it.
Speaker 4 (04:44):
Look at that. That's see.
Speaker 3 (04:45):
That's all you need is to have that phrase stuck
in your head Downton Abbey.
Speaker 1 (04:49):
And I was trying to think of any other famous
TV Abby's maybe an actress named Abby, but yeah, yeah,
that's the only Abbey I know, the.
Speaker 4 (04:58):
Only one I could think of. Two all right, this
is the colorful author of the Da Vinci Code. No
also wrote Angels and Demons.
Speaker 3 (05:12):
But I'm not that that's going to be any more
helpful than Da Vinci code.
Speaker 5 (05:15):
I cannot remember who wrote the da Vinci code, and
I'm looking at these letters and it's not coming to me.
Speaker 1 (05:22):
Well, you can I give a hint.
Speaker 2 (05:24):
Is it Dan Blown?
Speaker 1 (05:26):
It is Dan Brown?
Speaker 4 (05:28):
I love it?
Speaker 1 (05:29):
Yeah, that was I was worried for you. But there
was in deep in your whatever hippocampus. Where is that?
Where was it?
Speaker 2 (05:37):
It's very good?
Speaker 1 (05:38):
All right, thank you.
Speaker 3 (05:39):
That's like a classic brain behavior where you like, I
have no idea and then some synapse does something right and.
Speaker 4 (05:45):
It pops in.
Speaker 2 (05:46):
Well done.
Speaker 3 (05:47):
I'm sure there's an actual neuroscience term for that, but
it's very cool when it happens.
Speaker 5 (05:51):
There is something called tip of the tongue syndrome that
actually can be studied, you know, when something's on the
tip of your tongue. Sure, there are researchers who literally
study is happening when you are feeling that sensation, and
you can think as much as you want about how
you would design that experiment because it's hilarious.
Speaker 1 (06:09):
Well, I feel how puzzler is like that experiment. I feel.
Speaker 4 (06:14):
To have that moment.
Speaker 5 (06:15):
That's the funny part, right, I know, well you're doing it, Greg,
I think you deserve it.
Speaker 2 (06:21):
Honorary PhD.
Speaker 4 (06:22):
Thank you.
Speaker 3 (06:22):
If we just had your brain hooked up to some electrodes,
we'd be tracking your brain activity right now. This is
a Petula Clark hit about the central part of the city.
Speaker 2 (06:36):
Downtown.
Speaker 4 (06:37):
Yes, well, and you sang it too.
Speaker 1 (06:40):
Well, she's a singer, she's a musician. You well, you've
got I heard you have? Wait was it trumpet, piano
and harp? Well?
Speaker 5 (06:50):
I I also played bass guitar, but I learned harp
for the Big Bang theory, which to me, the harp
is like a piano but laid out, you know, from
your chest out.
Speaker 2 (06:58):
But my my main love is piano.
Speaker 5 (07:00):
But I do also sing, and I actually do liturgical singing,
like like.
Speaker 2 (07:05):
Saturgical, yeah, like cantering.
Speaker 5 (07:07):
And I'm part of a choir and there's actually a
lot of kind of mauth to that. So for me,
it's a lot of a lot of my math brain
and my music brain are very very conjoined.
Speaker 1 (07:18):
Well, we got two syllables of song, I mean, we'll
take more. Pretty good, We'll take two as well.
Speaker 4 (07:26):
Great, let's do a couple more of these. This is
the robe that you might win.
Speaker 2 (07:30):
The lights are much brighter.
Speaker 5 (07:32):
You can't forget all your trobe bulls, forget all your kids.
Speaker 2 (07:35):
Sorry, Okay, we got more.
Speaker 1 (07:37):
I didn't want to I didn't want to press. I
didn't want to press.
Speaker 2 (07:41):
Thank I'm sorry. I'm listening now.
Speaker 4 (07:42):
I've got a piano right here. I can play it
and you can sing. Yeah.
Speaker 1 (07:45):
Greg's a musician.
Speaker 4 (07:46):
You can act it out and it'll be a little
show we do.
Speaker 2 (07:49):
Okay, I'm ready.
Speaker 3 (07:49):
Sorry, I was just I was going to say the
the math music thing is a I feel like and
puzzle thing.
Speaker 4 (07:55):
All feels connected to me. I'm also a musician in
my career. Totally right.
Speaker 3 (08:01):
Anyway, more puzzles and you can sing the answers if
you want, even if they're.
Speaker 2 (08:06):
Not so, only if it's necessary.
Speaker 3 (08:10):
This is the robe you might wear when lounging around
the boudoir.
Speaker 2 (08:15):
There one more time.
Speaker 4 (08:16):
It's the robe that you might wear when lounging around
the boudoir or anywhere. Really, it's a two word phrase, the.
Speaker 2 (08:25):
Answer that's not coming to me.
Speaker 4 (08:30):
It starts with the D and it ends with the own.
Speaker 5 (08:34):
If you were a dressing gown, dressing gown, got it nicely.
Speaker 2 (08:39):
Disappointed in myself. I'm not considering that I got that
one right. Well, I was.
Speaker 1 (08:44):
I was going to say, like, if you're one hundred
and fifty years old, you'd probably get it immediately.
Speaker 2 (08:48):
It's sort of I was like smoking jacket that doesn't
have those letters.
Speaker 3 (08:53):
Dressing I don't know. I you know, it's just a
robe when I put it on. If you're fancy, it's
a dressing gown, all right. A small munis whose local
government forbids the sale of any kind of alcoholic beverages.
Say it again, a small municipality whose government forbids the
(09:13):
sale of any kind of alcoholic beverages.
Speaker 1 (09:18):
I don't know if I even know this, like without
the puzzle, Well, break it down, break it down. What's
the set? What's a small miss like a little city,
not even a hamlet, a district, you could say that,
but it's more like a little small village. That's a
good And you sang it just moments ago, you sang
(09:43):
this word.
Speaker 2 (09:45):
Downtown, that one that one O.
Speaker 1 (09:51):
The town said, so a blank town.
Speaker 2 (09:54):
Oh, I do not know this, Do I know this?
Speaker 3 (09:57):
I think if you go to a place there there
are states or counties.
Speaker 1 (10:02):
Often there blue laws, right, and.
Speaker 4 (10:04):
You would call that county.
Speaker 1 (10:05):
What kind of county like during the Prohibition, a very
convenient county. During Prohibition, the whole country was this. It
was not dry.
Speaker 2 (10:19):
There it is.
Speaker 4 (10:21):
That's it a dry town?
Speaker 1 (10:23):
Dry town?
Speaker 2 (10:24):
Oh my godness that I took a long way around that.
Speaker 4 (10:28):
You got there though, that's a tough one.
Speaker 1 (10:29):
You got to the town.
Speaker 4 (10:31):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (10:31):
I don't know if that's a phrase I've used, but yes,
it is. It's a dry town. I've heard of a
dry drunk. It's a dry town, dry town.
Speaker 4 (10:39):
And there are dry counties and more commonly it's all county.
Speaker 2 (10:42):
That's you're right, you're right. I actually worked. I did
a movie.
Speaker 5 (10:46):
I directed a movie with Dustin Hoffman, kandas Bergen and
Simon Helberg from Big Bang Theory and Diana Agron and
it was called As They Made Us. And we actually
filmed in one of these dry towns. And I'm not
a drinker, but our crew was very curious and so
what was happening. Also, a lot of like moles were
(11:08):
closed on Sundays in this part of New Jersey.
Speaker 2 (11:10):
It was like another world.
Speaker 1 (11:12):
And what was the name of the movie, Because now
I want to see.
Speaker 2 (11:14):
As They Made Us? As they made as they made us.
Speaker 1 (11:18):
Yeah, excellent, okay, and everyone is sober when they're acting. Now,
I know.
Speaker 2 (11:23):
That's very true.
Speaker 3 (11:31):
I have one more. This one I think is really hard.
So I think we should just all do it together.
Speaker 4 (11:37):
I don't think this should be okay.
Speaker 3 (11:38):
Just because this was afrase first, I wasn't familiar with.
It's when two of the weakest chess pieces end up
in the same column.
Speaker 2 (11:50):
So a word for that.
Speaker 3 (11:52):
Work it out. It's a two word phrase actually. So
the weakest chess pieces are what.
Speaker 1 (11:59):
The little There are eight of them, I mean, the pawns,
but they can become royalty.
Speaker 2 (12:05):
I don't know that.
Speaker 1 (12:05):
I love you are sort of seeing their potential David.
Speaker 2 (12:10):
And Goliath, right, I mean, okay, but but let's say.
Speaker 3 (12:14):
The point, right, they are the least the least powerful.
Speaker 1 (12:19):
Love her point though, you're very glass half full. You
see the potential in these loser ponds.
Speaker 3 (12:24):
So that's going to be the second part of the phrase.
And there's your w n Right, So the first part's
got to start with d oh, got it, And it's
when two of these end up in the same Dodo pond.
Dodo pond perfect exactly the most extinct chess piece on
the planet, the Dodo pond.
Speaker 1 (12:43):
And like twice is what was the what was the
cigan twice.
Speaker 4 (12:48):
There's two of them in the same column.
Speaker 1 (12:51):
Like you know, you don't play singles, and.
Speaker 4 (12:55):
We've got to start with d oh oh.
Speaker 2 (12:56):
It's got to be d oh. That's right.
Speaker 4 (12:58):
But it has the same house. It's mean too of
someboding double that's it. That's a doubled pawn is the term.
Speaker 2 (13:06):
For you got doubled.
Speaker 1 (13:08):
You never heard of it?
Speaker 2 (13:09):
My kids dumb, my children when we play chess. There
you go.
Speaker 4 (13:14):
I got a double.
Speaker 1 (13:15):
I don't think and it's a bad thing, right, I
don't think you like a double pon?
Speaker 4 (13:19):
Yeah? I think they get in the way of each other.
Speaker 2 (13:21):
Yea, but something always interesting happens.
Speaker 1 (13:23):
Then that's true.
Speaker 2 (13:25):
That is true if you don't want them to stay
that way.
Speaker 3 (13:28):
Well, and to be fair, you can't get them doubled
if you haven't taken something with one of them, right,
You've got to take something diagonally. So you've gotten there
because you did something good.
Speaker 5 (13:39):
You have to double down, which is also breaking down.
Speaker 1 (13:44):
Yeah, come join the Puzzler writing staff. Yeah, we need you.
Speaker 4 (13:48):
You're in now.
Speaker 1 (13:49):
I will say You're You're a wonderful podcast that we
based this puzzle on. It is one of the few
that I listened to at like one point five speed
one point too fine because I feel you are a
fast I usually go to to speed, including the puzzler. Wow,
it's not because I'm smart, it's just like I'm impatient.
Speaker 5 (14:11):
No, I can't for me that well, I understand that.
I for me, it's too much.
Speaker 2 (14:15):
Uh, it's it.
Speaker 5 (14:17):
Overstimulates my brain when I listen to things fast. It's
overwhelming to me. But I am a faster talker. My
my co host, Jonathan is Canadian. He's a much more
gentle talker, so I sometimes want to speed him up
in real life.
Speaker 1 (14:31):
Yeah, it's hard. I have to keep pressing back and
forth too. But I did say that was interesting that
that was the first feedback you got as an actor
was when you tried out out. Yeah, well no, it
was you tried out for something was full House, Full House.
Speaker 5 (14:49):
For DJ on full House, and that was the feedback
from the casting director that I spoke way too fast.
Speaker 1 (14:54):
I disagree. I like fast talkers and you've done perfectly
well with your thank you speed. Yeah, and it's a
great podcast.
Speaker 2 (15:06):
And it is.
Speaker 1 (15:07):
It deals with all sorts of things. You've interviewed fascinating people,
and a lot of it has to do with with
mental health. And so in these times which some find stressful,
including me, why what do you have like two tips
for us on how to manage our stress from the
(15:28):
from the doctor's.
Speaker 5 (15:30):
Y Yeah, I mean, you know, they're two very basic
things that honestly I ignored for a long time.
Speaker 2 (15:38):
Sleep the way we sleep sleep.
Speaker 5 (15:41):
They call it sleep hygiene, which sounds fancy but it's
really not. But for many of us, we've gotten used to,
of course, scrolling until we fall asleep and then picking
our phone up first thing in the morning. Many of
us watch TV until we fall asleep. Many of us
eat in bed or eat you know, snack late at
night when you know, as we say, your stomach's not hungry,
(16:02):
it's lonely.
Speaker 4 (16:03):
You know.
Speaker 5 (16:03):
Those kinds of things can disrupt sleep, which is a huge,
huge factor for general mental wellness and well being. And
the other thing, you know is this word meditation, which
a lot of people get really turned off when they
hear it, Like I don't want to sit and listen
to nothing like that's not for me, or I can't
turn off my brain. There are many, many different kinds
of meditation and actually a lot of different approaches depending
(16:26):
on your personality style or if you're ADHD. There are
different kinds of meditations, even guided meditations, that can help
you achieve the same results lowering blood pressure, you know,
helping things like sleep, helping stress regulation. So you don't
have to do loving kindness meditation if it's not your thing.
You don't have to do mindfulness meditation if it's not
(16:46):
your thing. There is a meditation though, for everybody's brain
that helps you get those same benefits, and you have
to start slow. It is literally like a muscle. You
cannot expect to be able to meditate for twenty minutes
your first time. I started by doing two and three
minute meditations, work my way up to five. Sometimes I
can do ten. But it's it's a muscle. You literally
have to to exercise it to learn it.
Speaker 1 (17:09):
Love that I'm still on the one. I like the
one minute meditation.
Speaker 2 (17:13):
It's something.
Speaker 1 (17:13):
It's better than nothing. Well that was fantastic, Thank you
for the wisdom. And of course the other thing is
to do puzzles that relaxes you and speed which Greg
do you have an extra credit? From folks to tone, I.
Speaker 3 (17:26):
Do have an extra credit as always, I worry that
this might be a little East Coast centric as an
extra credit.
Speaker 4 (17:33):
OK, have some time to think about it and look
it up if they have to. Black Cherry Original cream
soda and Celray cel hyphen Ray are soft drink varieties
from this eponymous medical professional. Medical in quotes because I
(17:53):
don't think.
Speaker 1 (17:54):
Oh, it took me a second he was real or not?
But interesting. We have a real doctor here, so I
don't know if this guy is, but thank you. We
will think on.
Speaker 2 (18:05):
That and.
Speaker 1 (18:07):
In the meantime, everyone check out the puzzler Instagram feed
at Hello Puzzlers, where we post the original puzzles and other
fun stuff for your brains. And we'll meet you here tomorrow
for more puzzling puzzles that will puzzle you puzzlingly.
Speaker 4 (18:24):
Hey Puzzlers, it's Greg Pliska, fresh off a fun episode
with my embiolic, and I'm here to give you the
extra credit answer from that episode. We played a game
of charades and AJ gave you the extra credit clue
bestowing the title of sir to someone. Plus the last
part of IPA the answer is the surname of a
(18:46):
famous scientist, famous scientific professional bestowing the title of Sir
is nighting and the last part of ipa India pale Ale,
So the answer is knighting Ale or Florence Nightingale. Thanks
for playing with us. We'll see you here tomorrow for
more puzzling puzzles that will puzzle you puzzlingly.
Hello, puzzlers, Welcome to the Puzzler podcast the Melti Cheese Center.
In your Puzzler, Aaroncini. Not Aaron Cini as I said before,
but Greg Greg Pliska of Italian descent has informed us
(00:25):
it's Aaroncini. And but regardless. Thanks to Rebecca Ranager for
the delicious intro about Italian fried rice balls. Almost as important.
We are here with our guest, the amazing Myambiolic, star
of The Big Bang Theory, neuroscientist, author and host of
(00:46):
the podcast Mayam Bioli's Breakdown.
Speaker 2 (00:48):
Welcome, Iam, thanks for having me back.
Speaker 1 (00:52):
We are delighted. Well today we actually have a puzzle
straight from Greg Pliska of the Puzzle So I'm just
going to turn it over to him.
Speaker 3 (01:02):
All right, Well, thank you, thanks for coming back, Maria.
I love having you here. This we're calling this Puzzle
Breakdown in honor of your podcast. Now, on that podcast,
you talk about guests about mental health, right and other topics.
Speaker 4 (01:20):
In this case, this has nothing to do with mental health.
This is just taking the word down and breaking it.
Speaker 1 (01:26):
I just want to qualify that listening to the Puzzler
is good for your mental health because it's a stress reliever.
Go just that, just pointing that well.
Speaker 5 (01:34):
And also it's very good to exercise this aspect of
your brain, especially in a culture that is so geared
towards instagratification and algorithms and mindless scrolling. It's really important
to use your brain. It's a little bit like a
use it or lose it. We know that, you know,
cognitive skills like this are so important. Anyway, So sorry, you.
Speaker 1 (01:53):
Heard it from that doctor. You heard her.
Speaker 3 (01:56):
Yes, it's a conclusion of the book, is right there
that Sorry, so let me do the intro again. We
call this puzzle breakdown in honor of your podcast, and
it's not about mental health any more than any other
puzzle we do. What we're gonna do is take the
word down and break it into two parts and then
(02:18):
stick some other letters inside to get a new word. So,
for example, uh, this answer is a two word phrase
that is the eye color of most people in the world,
and that is dark brown starts with D.
Speaker 2 (02:37):
And so can the word be broken up in any
number of ways? Yes, exactly, Okay, Okay, I'm into it,
got it?
Speaker 5 (02:45):
Yeah, I mean also, like, there's not an allele for
dark brown versus light brown. But I won't get into
like a chromosole fight with you.
Speaker 4 (02:54):
See we have scientists on the show.
Speaker 2 (02:56):
I mean that's anyway. It's okay, fine, but.
Speaker 4 (02:58):
Yes, you're right, if you're absolutely right there there is.
Speaker 5 (03:02):
But that's a color that can be an eye color
that it is usually what happens if it's a dominant gene.
Speaker 2 (03:07):
Okay, dark brown, got.
Speaker 3 (03:08):
It probably more right to say that most people's eyes
in the world are brown.
Speaker 4 (03:12):
Yes, whether it's dark or light.
Speaker 2 (03:14):
But you needed the dark because we're breaking up the
words work. I'm into it.
Speaker 5 (03:18):
I'm glad that was the example and not one of
the actual Good okay.
Speaker 3 (03:22):
Good, all right, here's your first one to reject completely
as a family member.
Speaker 2 (03:31):
I'm going to say, that's disown.
Speaker 4 (03:34):
You are right on it. Yes, very good to disown somebody.
Speaker 5 (03:39):
I'm also a huge like crossway puzzle person, so this
is like a different level of puzzle that's incorporating some
of my my crosswords.
Speaker 4 (03:47):
Yeah, this is Do you do cryptic crosswords or just
string I don't.
Speaker 5 (03:51):
I'm the kind of person like sometimes I can do
really well on things like that, but I need it
really explained and shown to me. I don't get it
into which is another reason that I thought I wasn't
able to be a scientist because things like that don't
come quickly to me. I need to be shown and
then I can get it. But that's an example of
one that's hard for me. Like sometimes on mensa quizzes,
(04:13):
I'm like, I get this mostly I need the instructions
explains to.
Speaker 2 (04:17):
Me that I can do really well.
Speaker 5 (04:18):
So maybe that means I'm not a good mensa person
who knows.
Speaker 3 (04:22):
But this is this is exactly that kind of wordplay
where you break down means to break the word down
into two parts.
Speaker 4 (04:29):
Okay, you're on it. This is the Uh this is
a famous TV Abby.
Speaker 2 (04:38):
Downton.
Speaker 5 (04:40):
Yeah, I've never seen the show, but I've heard my
mom talk about it.
Speaker 4 (04:44):
Look at that. That's see.
Speaker 3 (04:45):
That's all you need is to have that phrase stuck
in your head Downton Abbey.
Speaker 1 (04:49):
And I was trying to think of any other famous
TV Abby's maybe an actress named Abby, but yeah, yeah,
that's the only Abbey I know, the.
Speaker 4 (04:58):
Only one I could think of. Two all right, this
is the colorful author of the Da Vinci Code. No
also wrote Angels and Demons.
Speaker 3 (05:12):
But I'm not that that's going to be any more
helpful than Da Vinci code.
Speaker 5 (05:15):
I cannot remember who wrote the da Vinci code, and
I'm looking at these letters and it's not coming to me.
Speaker 1 (05:22):
Well, you can I give a hint.
Speaker 2 (05:24):
Is it Dan Blown?
Speaker 1 (05:26):
It is Dan Brown?
Speaker 4 (05:28):
I love it?
Speaker 1 (05:29):
Yeah, that was I was worried for you. But there
was in deep in your whatever hippocampus. Where is that?
Where was it?
Speaker 2 (05:37):
It's very good?
Speaker 1 (05:38):
All right, thank you.
Speaker 3 (05:39):
That's like a classic brain behavior where you like, I
have no idea and then some synapse does something right and.
Speaker 4 (05:45):
It pops in.
Speaker 2 (05:46):
Well done.
Speaker 3 (05:47):
I'm sure there's an actual neuroscience term for that, but
it's very cool when it happens.
Speaker 5 (05:51):
There is something called tip of the tongue syndrome that
actually can be studied, you know, when something's on the
tip of your tongue. Sure, there are researchers who literally
study is happening when you are feeling that sensation, and
you can think as much as you want about how
you would design that experiment because it's hilarious.
Speaker 1 (06:09):
Well, I feel how puzzler is like that experiment. I feel.
Speaker 4 (06:14):
To have that moment.
Speaker 5 (06:15):
That's the funny part, right, I know, well you're doing it, Greg,
I think you deserve it.
Speaker 2 (06:21):
Honorary PhD.
Speaker 4 (06:22):
Thank you.
Speaker 3 (06:22):
If we just had your brain hooked up to some electrodes,
we'd be tracking your brain activity right now. This is
a Petula Clark hit about the central part of the city.
Speaker 2 (06:36):
Downtown.
Speaker 4 (06:37):
Yes, well, and you sang it too.
Speaker 1 (06:40):
Well, she's a singer, she's a musician. You well, you've
got I heard you have? Wait was it trumpet, piano
and harp? Well?
Speaker 5 (06:50):
I I also played bass guitar, but I learned harp
for the Big Bang theory, which to me, the harp
is like a piano but laid out, you know, from
your chest out.
Speaker 2 (06:58):
But my my main love is piano.
Speaker 5 (07:00):
But I do also sing, and I actually do liturgical singing,
like like.
Speaker 2 (07:05):
Saturgical, yeah, like cantering.
Speaker 5 (07:07):
And I'm part of a choir and there's actually a
lot of kind of mauth to that. So for me,
it's a lot of a lot of my math brain
and my music brain are very very conjoined.
Speaker 1 (07:18):
Well, we got two syllables of song, I mean, we'll
take more. Pretty good, We'll take two as well.
Speaker 4 (07:26):
Great, let's do a couple more of these. This is
the robe that you might win.
Speaker 2 (07:30):
The lights are much brighter.
Speaker 5 (07:32):
You can't forget all your trobe bulls, forget all your kids.
Speaker 2 (07:35):
Sorry, Okay, we got more.
Speaker 1 (07:37):
I didn't want to I didn't want to press. I
didn't want to press.
Speaker 2 (07:41):
Thank I'm sorry. I'm listening now.
Speaker 4 (07:42):
I've got a piano right here. I can play it
and you can sing. Yeah.
Speaker 1 (07:45):
Greg's a musician.
Speaker 4 (07:46):
You can act it out and it'll be a little
show we do.
Speaker 2 (07:49):
Okay, I'm ready.
Speaker 3 (07:49):
Sorry, I was just I was going to say the
the math music thing is a I feel like and
puzzle thing.
Speaker 4 (07:55):
All feels connected to me. I'm also a musician in
my career. Totally right.
Speaker 3 (08:01):
Anyway, more puzzles and you can sing the answers if
you want, even if they're.
Speaker 2 (08:06):
Not so, only if it's necessary.
Speaker 3 (08:10):
This is the robe you might wear when lounging around
the boudoir.
Speaker 2 (08:15):
There one more time.
Speaker 4 (08:16):
It's the robe that you might wear when lounging around
the boudoir or anywhere. Really, it's a two word phrase, the.
Speaker 2 (08:25):
Answer that's not coming to me.
Speaker 4 (08:30):
It starts with the D and it ends with the own.
Speaker 5 (08:34):
If you were a dressing gown, dressing gown, got it nicely.
Speaker 2 (08:39):
Disappointed in myself. I'm not considering that I got that
one right. Well, I was.
Speaker 1 (08:44):
I was going to say, like, if you're one hundred
and fifty years old, you'd probably get it immediately.
Speaker 2 (08:48):
It's sort of I was like smoking jacket that doesn't
have those letters.
Speaker 3 (08:53):
Dressing I don't know. I you know, it's just a
robe when I put it on. If you're fancy, it's
a dressing gown, all right. A small munis whose local
government forbids the sale of any kind of alcoholic beverages.
Say it again, a small municipality whose government forbids the
(09:13):
sale of any kind of alcoholic beverages.
Speaker 1 (09:18):
I don't know if I even know this, like without
the puzzle, Well, break it down, break it down. What's
the set? What's a small miss like a little city,
not even a hamlet, a district, you could say that,
but it's more like a little small village. That's a
good And you sang it just moments ago, you sang
(09:43):
this word.
Speaker 2 (09:45):
Downtown, that one that one O.
Speaker 1 (09:51):
The town said, so a blank town.
Speaker 2 (09:54):
Oh, I do not know this, Do I know this?
Speaker 3 (09:57):
I think if you go to a place there there
are states or counties.
Speaker 1 (10:02):
Often there blue laws, right, and.
Speaker 4 (10:04):
You would call that county.
Speaker 1 (10:05):
What kind of county like during the Prohibition, a very
convenient county. During Prohibition, the whole country was this. It
was not dry.
Speaker 2 (10:19):
There it is.
Speaker 4 (10:21):
That's it a dry town?
Speaker 1 (10:23):
Dry town?
Speaker 2 (10:24):
Oh my godness that I took a long way around that.
Speaker 4 (10:28):
You got there though, that's a tough one.
Speaker 1 (10:29):
You got to the town.
Speaker 4 (10:31):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (10:31):
I don't know if that's a phrase I've used, but yes,
it is. It's a dry town. I've heard of a
dry drunk. It's a dry town, dry town.
Speaker 4 (10:39):
And there are dry counties and more commonly it's all county.
Speaker 2 (10:42):
That's you're right, you're right. I actually worked. I did
a movie.
Speaker 5 (10:46):
I directed a movie with Dustin Hoffman, kandas Bergen and
Simon Helberg from Big Bang Theory and Diana Agron and
it was called As They Made Us. And we actually
filmed in one of these dry towns. And I'm not
a drinker, but our crew was very curious and so
what was happening. Also, a lot of like moles were
(11:08):
closed on Sundays in this part of New Jersey.
Speaker 2 (11:10):
It was like another world.
Speaker 1 (11:12):
And what was the name of the movie, Because now
I want to see.
Speaker 2 (11:14):
As They Made Us? As they made as they made us.
Speaker 1 (11:18):
Yeah, excellent, okay, and everyone is sober when they're acting. Now,
I know.
Speaker 2 (11:23):
That's very true.
Speaker 3 (11:31):
I have one more. This one I think is really hard.
So I think we should just all do it together.
Speaker 4 (11:37):
I don't think this should be okay.
Speaker 3 (11:38):
Just because this was afrase first, I wasn't familiar with.
It's when two of the weakest chess pieces end up
in the same column.
Speaker 2 (11:50):
So a word for that.
Speaker 3 (11:52):
Work it out. It's a two word phrase actually. So
the weakest chess pieces are what.
Speaker 1 (11:59):
The little There are eight of them, I mean, the pawns,
but they can become royalty.
Speaker 2 (12:05):
I don't know that.
Speaker 1 (12:05):
I love you are sort of seeing their potential David.
Speaker 2 (12:10):
And Goliath, right, I mean, okay, but but let's say.
Speaker 3 (12:14):
The point, right, they are the least the least powerful.
Speaker 1 (12:19):
Love her point though, you're very glass half full. You
see the potential in these loser ponds.
Speaker 3 (12:24):
So that's going to be the second part of the phrase.
And there's your w n Right, So the first part's
got to start with d oh, got it, And it's
when two of these end up in the same Dodo pond.
Dodo pond perfect exactly the most extinct chess piece on
the planet, the Dodo pond.
Speaker 1 (12:43):
And like twice is what was the what was the
cigan twice.
Speaker 4 (12:48):
There's two of them in the same column.
Speaker 1 (12:51):
Like you know, you don't play singles, and.
Speaker 4 (12:55):
We've got to start with d oh oh.
Speaker 2 (12:56):
It's got to be d oh. That's right.
Speaker 4 (12:58):
But it has the same house. It's mean too of
someboding double that's it. That's a doubled pawn is the term.
Speaker 2 (13:06):
For you got doubled.
Speaker 1 (13:08):
You never heard of it?
Speaker 2 (13:09):
My kids dumb, my children when we play chess. There
you go.
Speaker 4 (13:14):
I got a double.
Speaker 1 (13:15):
I don't think and it's a bad thing, right, I
don't think you like a double pon?
Speaker 4 (13:19):
Yeah? I think they get in the way of each other.
Speaker 2 (13:21):
Yea, but something always interesting happens.
Speaker 1 (13:23):
Then that's true.
Speaker 2 (13:25):
That is true if you don't want them to stay
that way.
Speaker 3 (13:28):
Well, and to be fair, you can't get them doubled
if you haven't taken something with one of them, right,
You've got to take something diagonally. So you've gotten there
because you did something good.
Speaker 5 (13:39):
You have to double down, which is also breaking down.
Speaker 1 (13:44):
Yeah, come join the Puzzler writing staff. Yeah, we need you.
Speaker 4 (13:48):
You're in now.
Speaker 1 (13:49):
I will say You're You're a wonderful podcast that we
based this puzzle on. It is one of the few
that I listened to at like one point five speed
one point too fine because I feel you are a
fast I usually go to to speed, including the puzzler. Wow,
it's not because I'm smart, it's just like I'm impatient.
Speaker 5 (14:11):
No, I can't for me that well, I understand that.
I for me, it's too much.
Speaker 2 (14:15):
Uh, it's it.
Speaker 5 (14:17):
Overstimulates my brain when I listen to things fast. It's
overwhelming to me. But I am a faster talker. My
my co host, Jonathan is Canadian. He's a much more
gentle talker, so I sometimes want to speed him up
in real life.
Speaker 1 (14:31):
Yeah, it's hard. I have to keep pressing back and
forth too. But I did say that was interesting that
that was the first feedback you got as an actor
was when you tried out out. Yeah, well no, it
was you tried out for something was full House, Full House.
Speaker 5 (14:49):
For DJ on full House, and that was the feedback
from the casting director that I spoke way too fast.
Speaker 1 (14:54):
I disagree. I like fast talkers and you've done perfectly
well with your thank you speed. Yeah, and it's a
great podcast.
Speaker 2 (15:06):
And it is.
Speaker 1 (15:07):
It deals with all sorts of things. You've interviewed fascinating people,
and a lot of it has to do with with
mental health. And so in these times which some find stressful,
including me, why what do you have like two tips
for us on how to manage our stress from the
(15:28):
from the doctor's.
Speaker 5 (15:30):
Y Yeah, I mean, you know, they're two very basic
things that honestly I ignored for a long time.
Speaker 2 (15:38):
Sleep the way we sleep sleep.
Speaker 5 (15:41):
They call it sleep hygiene, which sounds fancy but it's
really not. But for many of us, we've gotten used to,
of course, scrolling until we fall asleep and then picking
our phone up first thing in the morning. Many of
us watch TV until we fall asleep. Many of us
eat in bed or eat you know, snack late at
night when you know, as we say, your stomach's not hungry,
(16:02):
it's lonely.
Speaker 4 (16:03):
You know.
Speaker 5 (16:03):
Those kinds of things can disrupt sleep, which is a huge,
huge factor for general mental wellness and well being. And
the other thing, you know is this word meditation, which
a lot of people get really turned off when they
hear it, Like I don't want to sit and listen
to nothing like that's not for me, or I can't
turn off my brain. There are many, many different kinds
of meditation and actually a lot of different approaches depending
(16:26):
on your personality style or if you're ADHD. There are
different kinds of meditations, even guided meditations, that can help
you achieve the same results lowering blood pressure, you know,
helping things like sleep, helping stress regulation. So you don't
have to do loving kindness meditation if it's not your thing.
You don't have to do mindfulness meditation if it's not
(16:46):
your thing. There is a meditation though, for everybody's brain
that helps you get those same benefits, and you have
to start slow. It is literally like a muscle. You
cannot expect to be able to meditate for twenty minutes
your first time. I started by doing two and three
minute meditations, work my way up to five. Sometimes I
can do ten. But it's it's a muscle. You literally
have to to exercise it to learn it.
Speaker 1 (17:09):
Love that I'm still on the one. I like the
one minute meditation.
Speaker 2 (17:13):
It's something.
Speaker 1 (17:13):
It's better than nothing. Well that was fantastic, Thank you
for the wisdom. And of course the other thing is
to do puzzles that relaxes you and speed which Greg
do you have an extra credit? From folks to tone, I.
Speaker 3 (17:26):
Do have an extra credit as always, I worry that
this might be a little East Coast centric as an
extra credit.
Speaker 4 (17:33):
OK, have some time to think about it and look
it up if they have to. Black Cherry Original cream
soda and Celray cel hyphen Ray are soft drink varieties
from this eponymous medical professional. Medical in quotes because I
(17:53):
don't think.
Speaker 1 (17:54):
Oh, it took me a second he was real or not?
But interesting. We have a real doctor here, so I
don't know if this guy is, but thank you. We
will think on.
Speaker 2 (18:05):
That and.
Speaker 1 (18:07):
In the meantime, everyone check out the puzzler Instagram feed
at Hello Puzzlers, where we post the original puzzles and other
fun stuff for your brains. And we'll meet you here tomorrow
for more puzzling puzzles that will puzzle you puzzlingly.
Speaker 4 (18:24):
Hey Puzzlers, it's Greg Pliska, fresh off a fun episode
with my embiolic, and I'm here to give you the
extra credit answer from that episode. We played a game
of charades and AJ gave you the extra credit clue
bestowing the title of sir to someone. Plus the last
part of IPA the answer is the surname of a
(18:46):
famous scientist, famous scientific professional bestowing the title of Sir
is nighting and the last part of ipa India pale Ale,
So the answer is knighting Ale or Florence Nightingale. Thanks
for playing with us. We'll see you here tomorrow for
more puzzling puzzles that will puzzle you puzzlingly.
Hosts And Creators
Greg Pliska
A.J. Jacobs
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