April 17, 2024 • 12 mins
Hello, Puzzlers! Puzzling with us today: author and linguist Arika Okrent!
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.
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"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.
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Our Chief Puzzle Officer is Greg Pliska. Our associate producer is Andrea Schoenberg.
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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 Wasavi in
your Sushi Puzzle Platter. I am your host, A J. Jacobs,
and today's guest is the great Erica Okrant linguist, journalist, author,
(00:26):
all around brilliant word nerd and I mean that in
the most positive way. Welcome Erica.
Speaker 2 (00:32):
Hi, it's great to be here.
Speaker 1 (00:33):
We are delighted to have you. I'm a fan of
your books. Your most recent one is called highly Irregular,
Why tough through and dow don't rhyme and other oddities
of the English language. Is that right? Is that your
most recent or did I miss one?
Speaker 2 (00:50):
Yes? Yeah, right, that is the most recent, and yes,
so many oddities.
Speaker 1 (00:54):
It is the craziest language. It is nuts. And in
short you talk about many reasons, but one of them
is it's like it's a frankin language. It's just a
cobble together. Is that right? Is that a big reason?
Speaker 2 (01:07):
Yeah, there's so many different influences in the history and
and really lots of languages have that. All languages have
history have layers, but English has some particularly disruptive ones.
And yeah, usually the answer is history. When you find
one of those weird things you can. You can't really
(01:28):
explain it logically, but you can explain it, So that's
what I try to do.
Speaker 1 (01:32):
There is a reason, not a logical one, but a
historical one. And I will tell you the title why
tough through and do don't rhyme? I mean, you could
have gone on. It could have taken up the whole
page because you could have included cough, thought hiccup like
some people spell coeough. That's the old way. So yeah,
(01:57):
it is just and lesslie confusing.
Speaker 2 (02:01):
It's a mess. I have a lot of sympathy for
children trying to learn to spell and anyone trying to
learn to spell right.
Speaker 3 (02:09):
I mean.
Speaker 1 (02:10):
The good part is that it is great for puzzles
because without the insanity it might be hard to do
all of the homonyms and puns and wordplay, which brings
us to today's puzzle. This puzzle is based on what
you mentioned in your title, which are I rhymes. So these,
(02:30):
as you know, are words that look like they should rhyme,
but don't like dough and tough. So for instance this puzzle,
I'm going to give you a clue and the answer
will be a two word phrase that looks like it
should rhyme, but does not. So if I said uncooked
bread that is hard to chew, it would be tough dough.
(02:55):
So not all of them are going to be about
your title. But are you ready for or other I rhymes?
Speaker 2 (03:01):
All right, I'm gonna have to close my eyes to
picture these things.
Speaker 1 (03:05):
But okay, let's go good. And if you're listening while driving,
please don't do that. But let's go with sixty minute
sightseeing trip. What is the two word phrase that does
not rhyme?
Speaker 2 (03:20):
Okay, so sixty minutes is an hour. It's not gonna
sound like that. So a tour an hour tour exactly?
Speaker 3 (03:30):
You got it.
Speaker 1 (03:30):
And it looks like it should rhyme because they're both,
oh you are, but they do not. All right, speaking
of evil, that's the way I consider the spelling evil
spirit in a yellow citrus fruit.
Speaker 2 (03:45):
Okay, yellow citrus fruit has got to be a lemon,
so i'll start with that.
Speaker 1 (03:51):
It doesn't have to be. Aren't there some like citrons
and weird ones? But you happen to be right?
Speaker 2 (03:56):
Okay, Well I'm going over the simplest thing and then ah, okay,
a demon lemon.
Speaker 1 (04:04):
Demon lemon exactly, or a lemon demon. How about a
circular injury.
Speaker 2 (04:10):
A circular injury. Okay, injury is a is a hurt,
A round around wound.
Speaker 1 (04:24):
Around wound exactly. How about a beneficial inundation A beneficial
I can use big words like that with you because
you're a professional leader.
Speaker 2 (04:38):
Beneficial it's very good. Yeah. Wait, what's the second part
a benefit inundation? Inundation? Okay? An inundation is a flood,
A good flood. I feel like it's coming in at
the very last second.
Speaker 1 (04:55):
You're you're doing it. You have me fooled. I thought
you had it from the start. Okay. What about a
phantom that cannot find its way home? The poor law?
Oh I almost said it.
Speaker 2 (05:06):
I kind of said, a phantom is a ghost, yes,
and a ghost is that can't find its way a
lost a lost ghost exactly.
Speaker 1 (05:19):
I'm glad you didn't hear me say part of the
word law, or maybe you did, but actually that you
mentioned the word ghost I think in your book because
it should be ghost ghost, and it was I believe
some sort of Flemish typesetting error. What was the deal
behind ghost?
Speaker 2 (05:38):
Why there was never a There's never an h sound
in that word. It was never a ghost.
Speaker 3 (05:44):
It was.
Speaker 2 (05:44):
It was ghost was the kind of old English source
of it. And the typesetters who were from who spoke Flemish,
they their word was gheast with a g h as
a lot of those kind of Dutch Flemish lineguages use,
and they their word for ghost had that in there,
(06:04):
and they put it into the English word just out
of habit because they were doing the type setting. And
that word showed up a lot in texts because it's
you know, it's in the Bible and it's the holy
ghost and it's got That was some of the things
that got printed a lot the earliest, and when you
see something in print a lot, you get used to
(06:25):
seeing it that way and it's really hard to change
it later. So yeah, we're.
Speaker 1 (06:29):
Stuck with that ghost basically a typo that has become
legit interesting. All right, let me give you two more.
This is a guffaw from your female child, a guffaw
from your female child.
Speaker 2 (06:46):
A guffa from a female child, daughter, yes, and laughter,
laughter from your daughter.
Speaker 1 (06:55):
Laughter from your daughter, exactly. And that is one of
those that gh turning into an F. Just quickly, where
did where did the GHF thing? What's going on?
Speaker 2 (07:06):
Well, it drifted in different ways all around the island
of Great Britain, and it was being pronounced as pronunciation
was moving, people were deciding how to write during that time.
It wasn't set yet, and so it got written some
(07:28):
ways here some ways. There different pronunciations, the same spellings,
and it just ended up that way. And the sounds
is kind of similar. They both come from this huh.
That's what the gh originally stood for. So huh can
become fuh, or it can drop out altogether, and sometimes
(07:49):
it gets kept as the f sometimes it's gone. But
it all started from that huh.
Speaker 1 (07:55):
So originally it was pronounced like doctor.
Speaker 2 (07:58):
Yeah, exactly. And if you look at German, it's still
that way. In German you can see that sound usually
in the you know enough, the daughter totter. It's usually
you can see. If there's a g h in English,
it's probably got that sound in another Germanic language.
Speaker 1 (08:18):
So well, I think you're very nice and sound alike,
because to me, they are totally different. So I blame
the people more, all right. Last one, how about an
explosive device hidden inside a tool that you use to
part your hair? An explosive device hidden inside a tool
(08:42):
you might use to part your hair.
Speaker 2 (08:44):
Part your hair with the comb, and and that would
be a bomb, a bomb comb. I was looking tomb somehow,
which gives you another one.
Speaker 1 (08:56):
There you go, well, well well done, love it as expected.
You are a word aficionado. Thank you, Erica. Where can
people read more of your work? There's your great book,
the most recent one. But you've got other stuff going on.
Speaker 2 (09:16):
Yeah, I got well, highly irregular, and I've got various
publications about word things on the web and a YouTube
page where we do live drawing of these kinds of
questions about English whiteboard videos on my YouTube page, which
(09:39):
is just my name, Eric Okrant. So check that out.
Speaker 1 (09:43):
And since this was about pronunciation and spelling, I do
have to bring up your name is spelled a r Ika,
but I believe it's pronounced more like Erica instead of Aurica.
So was that where your parents trying to to get
you ready for a life in linguistics?
Speaker 2 (10:04):
I think so. I don't know if it was intentional,
but definitely going through life with I have two names
that are difficult to spell and pronounce them that I
always have to explain, and it's given me acute awareness
of spelling and the misleading. This misleading roads that can
(10:24):
take you down. So yeah, I guess I guess I
can thank them for that.
Speaker 1 (10:29):
Indeed, well, before we wrap up, we have a puzzle
for the puzzlers at home, actually two, since they're so short,
I'm going to give you two I rhymes. One is
actor Connery Levi's, So the Levi's owned by actor whose
(10:49):
last name is Connery. And this is what you say
if someone misplaces red flowers for Valentine's Day. You will
get the answer to those on the next episode. And
please don't forget to subscribe to the Puzzler podcast. Tell
your friends, tell your acquaintances and everyone in between, and
(11:10):
we will meet you here tomorrow for more puzzling puzzles
that will puzzle you puzzlingly.
Speaker 3 (11:21):
Hey, puzzlers, this is Greg Pliska up from the Puzzle
Lab with the extra credit answer from our previous episode.
We brought back our favorite krone the Letters, which we
played with Adam Felber, and your extra credit clue was
a term meaning only partly correct, which turns into a
fear of the computer. In two thousand and one. That's
(11:44):
the computer in two thousand and one. A space odyssey,
and the answer is half right or how fright? Fear
of how the computer in that movie, We're not afraid
of Howl or any other computers. Here at the Puzzler,
we make all our puzzlers by hand. Come play with
us again next time.
Hello, Puzzlers, Welcome to the Puzzler Podcast, the Wasavi in
your Sushi Puzzle Platter. I am your host, A J. Jacobs,
and today's guest is the great Erica Okrant linguist, journalist, author,
(00:26):
all around brilliant word nerd and I mean that in
the most positive way. Welcome Erica.
Speaker 2 (00:32):
Hi, it's great to be here.
Speaker 1 (00:33):
We are delighted to have you. I'm a fan of
your books. Your most recent one is called highly Irregular,
Why tough through and dow don't rhyme and other oddities
of the English language. Is that right? Is that your
most recent or did I miss one?
Speaker 2 (00:50):
Yes? Yeah, right, that is the most recent, and yes,
so many oddities.
Speaker 1 (00:54):
It is the craziest language. It is nuts. And in
short you talk about many reasons, but one of them
is it's like it's a frankin language. It's just a
cobble together. Is that right? Is that a big reason?
Speaker 2 (01:07):
Yeah, there's so many different influences in the history and
and really lots of languages have that. All languages have
history have layers, but English has some particularly disruptive ones.
And yeah, usually the answer is history. When you find
one of those weird things you can. You can't really
(01:28):
explain it logically, but you can explain it, So that's
what I try to do.
Speaker 1 (01:32):
There is a reason, not a logical one, but a
historical one. And I will tell you the title why
tough through and do don't rhyme? I mean, you could
have gone on. It could have taken up the whole
page because you could have included cough, thought hiccup like
some people spell coeough. That's the old way. So yeah,
(01:57):
it is just and lesslie confusing.
Speaker 2 (02:01):
It's a mess. I have a lot of sympathy for
children trying to learn to spell and anyone trying to
learn to spell right.
Speaker 3 (02:09):
I mean.
Speaker 1 (02:10):
The good part is that it is great for puzzles
because without the insanity it might be hard to do
all of the homonyms and puns and wordplay, which brings
us to today's puzzle. This puzzle is based on what
you mentioned in your title, which are I rhymes. So these,
(02:30):
as you know, are words that look like they should rhyme,
but don't like dough and tough. So for instance this puzzle,
I'm going to give you a clue and the answer
will be a two word phrase that looks like it
should rhyme, but does not. So if I said uncooked
bread that is hard to chew, it would be tough dough.
(02:55):
So not all of them are going to be about
your title. But are you ready for or other I rhymes?
Speaker 2 (03:01):
All right, I'm gonna have to close my eyes to
picture these things.
Speaker 1 (03:05):
But okay, let's go good. And if you're listening while driving,
please don't do that. But let's go with sixty minute
sightseeing trip. What is the two word phrase that does
not rhyme?
Speaker 2 (03:20):
Okay, so sixty minutes is an hour. It's not gonna
sound like that. So a tour an hour tour exactly?
Speaker 3 (03:30):
You got it.
Speaker 1 (03:30):
And it looks like it should rhyme because they're both,
oh you are, but they do not. All right, speaking
of evil, that's the way I consider the spelling evil
spirit in a yellow citrus fruit.
Speaker 2 (03:45):
Okay, yellow citrus fruit has got to be a lemon,
so i'll start with that.
Speaker 1 (03:51):
It doesn't have to be. Aren't there some like citrons
and weird ones? But you happen to be right?
Speaker 2 (03:56):
Okay, Well I'm going over the simplest thing and then ah, okay,
a demon lemon.
Speaker 1 (04:04):
Demon lemon exactly, or a lemon demon. How about a
circular injury.
Speaker 2 (04:10):
A circular injury. Okay, injury is a is a hurt,
A round around wound.
Speaker 1 (04:24):
Around wound exactly. How about a beneficial inundation A beneficial
I can use big words like that with you because
you're a professional leader.
Speaker 2 (04:38):
Beneficial it's very good. Yeah. Wait, what's the second part
a benefit inundation? Inundation? Okay? An inundation is a flood,
A good flood. I feel like it's coming in at
the very last second.
Speaker 1 (04:55):
You're you're doing it. You have me fooled. I thought
you had it from the start. Okay. What about a
phantom that cannot find its way home? The poor law?
Oh I almost said it.
Speaker 2 (05:06):
I kind of said, a phantom is a ghost, yes,
and a ghost is that can't find its way a
lost a lost ghost exactly.
Speaker 1 (05:19):
I'm glad you didn't hear me say part of the
word law, or maybe you did, but actually that you
mentioned the word ghost I think in your book because
it should be ghost ghost, and it was I believe
some sort of Flemish typesetting error. What was the deal
behind ghost?
Speaker 2 (05:38):
Why there was never a There's never an h sound
in that word. It was never a ghost.
Speaker 3 (05:44):
It was.
Speaker 2 (05:44):
It was ghost was the kind of old English source
of it. And the typesetters who were from who spoke Flemish,
they their word was gheast with a g h as
a lot of those kind of Dutch Flemish lineguages use,
and they their word for ghost had that in there,
(06:04):
and they put it into the English word just out
of habit because they were doing the type setting. And
that word showed up a lot in texts because it's
you know, it's in the Bible and it's the holy
ghost and it's got That was some of the things
that got printed a lot the earliest, and when you
see something in print a lot, you get used to
(06:25):
seeing it that way and it's really hard to change
it later. So yeah, we're.
Speaker 1 (06:29):
Stuck with that ghost basically a typo that has become
legit interesting. All right, let me give you two more.
This is a guffaw from your female child, a guffaw
from your female child.
Speaker 2 (06:46):
A guffa from a female child, daughter, yes, and laughter,
laughter from your daughter.
Speaker 1 (06:55):
Laughter from your daughter, exactly. And that is one of
those that gh turning into an F. Just quickly, where
did where did the GHF thing? What's going on?
Speaker 2 (07:06):
Well, it drifted in different ways all around the island
of Great Britain, and it was being pronounced as pronunciation
was moving, people were deciding how to write during that time.
It wasn't set yet, and so it got written some
(07:28):
ways here some ways. There different pronunciations, the same spellings,
and it just ended up that way. And the sounds
is kind of similar. They both come from this huh.
That's what the gh originally stood for. So huh can
become fuh, or it can drop out altogether, and sometimes
(07:49):
it gets kept as the f sometimes it's gone. But
it all started from that huh.
Speaker 1 (07:55):
So originally it was pronounced like doctor.
Speaker 2 (07:58):
Yeah, exactly. And if you look at German, it's still
that way. In German you can see that sound usually
in the you know enough, the daughter totter. It's usually
you can see. If there's a g h in English,
it's probably got that sound in another Germanic language.
Speaker 1 (08:18):
So well, I think you're very nice and sound alike,
because to me, they are totally different. So I blame
the people more, all right. Last one, how about an
explosive device hidden inside a tool that you use to
part your hair? An explosive device hidden inside a tool
(08:42):
you might use to part your hair.
Speaker 2 (08:44):
Part your hair with the comb, and and that would
be a bomb, a bomb comb. I was looking tomb somehow,
which gives you another one.
Speaker 1 (08:56):
There you go, well, well well done, love it as expected.
You are a word aficionado. Thank you, Erica. Where can
people read more of your work? There's your great book,
the most recent one. But you've got other stuff going on.
Speaker 2 (09:16):
Yeah, I got well, highly irregular, and I've got various
publications about word things on the web and a YouTube
page where we do live drawing of these kinds of
questions about English whiteboard videos on my YouTube page, which
(09:39):
is just my name, Eric Okrant. So check that out.
Speaker 1 (09:43):
And since this was about pronunciation and spelling, I do
have to bring up your name is spelled a r Ika,
but I believe it's pronounced more like Erica instead of Aurica.
So was that where your parents trying to to get
you ready for a life in linguistics?
Speaker 2 (10:04):
I think so. I don't know if it was intentional,
but definitely going through life with I have two names
that are difficult to spell and pronounce them that I
always have to explain, and it's given me acute awareness
of spelling and the misleading. This misleading roads that can
(10:24):
take you down. So yeah, I guess I guess I
can thank them for that.
Speaker 1 (10:29):
Indeed, well, before we wrap up, we have a puzzle
for the puzzlers at home, actually two, since they're so short,
I'm going to give you two I rhymes. One is
actor Connery Levi's, So the Levi's owned by actor whose
(10:49):
last name is Connery. And this is what you say
if someone misplaces red flowers for Valentine's Day. You will
get the answer to those on the next episode. And
please don't forget to subscribe to the Puzzler podcast. Tell
your friends, tell your acquaintances and everyone in between, and
(11:10):
we will meet you here tomorrow for more puzzling puzzles
that will puzzle you puzzlingly.
Speaker 3 (11:21):
Hey, puzzlers, this is Greg Pliska up from the Puzzle
Lab with the extra credit answer from our previous episode.
We brought back our favorite krone the Letters, which we
played with Adam Felber, and your extra credit clue was
a term meaning only partly correct, which turns into a
fear of the computer. In two thousand and one. That's
(11:44):
the computer in two thousand and one. A space odyssey,
and the answer is half right or how fright? Fear
of how the computer in that movie, We're not afraid
of Howl or any other computers. Here at the Puzzler,
we make all our puzzlers by hand. Come play with
us again next time.
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