Give 'Em The Go-Ahead

Transcript

JONATHAN COULTON, BYLINE: From NPR and WNYC, live from The Bell House in beautiful Brooklyn, N.Y., it's NPR's hour of puzzles, word games and trivia, ASK ME ANOTHER. Here's your host, Ophira Eisenberg.

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OPHIRA EISENBERG, HOST:

Thank you, Jonathan. Our VIP has been acting since she was 11 years old. Now, she plays the chief of staff to the vice president on the hit HBO series, "Veep." And, you know, when I watch "Veep," I just find it so relatable. You know, powerful women in control, making big decisions. It's like I'm looking in a mirror. As a host of an NPR show, I know. I know what it's like - people always coming to you looking for answers. I, too, dress primarily in power suits in strong jewel-tones.

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EISENBERG: And like it or not, part of my job is to tell a lot of people that they're wrong.

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EISENBERG: And it is fun.

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EISENBERG: I can't wait to talk shop with our VIP. It's Anna Chlumsky.

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EISENBERG: Our first game is called Give 'Em The Go-Ahead, and here to play it is Jeff Soules and Emily Langowitz.

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EISENBERG: Jeff, your hobby is poetry. I enjoy that.

JEFF SOULES: Thank you, so do I.

EISENBERG: What kind of poetry - what topics are you writing about?

SOULES: To be honest, I think doggerel is probably a more appropriate term.

EISENBERG: Sure, OK.

SOULES: So, we've covered such issues as - well, once somebody...

EISENBERG: (Laughter) I like how you took nerdy-ness and then you just - whoa - made it way more over-nerdy.

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EISENBERG: Emily, speaking of nerdy things, used to try to fake sickness to get out of Hebrew school.

EMILY LANGOWITZ: Yes.

EISENBERG: And your dad would bribe you with puzzles and NPR shows.

LANGOWITZ: Correct - and waffles.

EISENBERG: And waffles.

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LANGOWITZ: Which was a key component.

EISENBERG: Yeah, exactly. I was trying to put those in order. What NPR Shows?

LANGOWITZ: We listened to a lot of Car Talk, which my dad enjoyed because he likes to try and fix everything in our family. And his solution is usually just, like, hit it a lot or take it apart, and then put it back together and press the power button again. My grandparents think he's a genius 'cause it always works.

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EISENBERG: Well, maybe he has a true method. OK, well, you both seem tough.

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LANGOWITZ: Do we?

EISENBERG: Nope.

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EISENBERG: But this game, we're going to get into your inner tough guy, 'cause you know Clint Eastwood's character Dirty Harry and his famous line, go ahead, make my day. So you are going to live the dream, and you're going to deliver that line ASK-ME-ANOTHER-style because the answers in this game will be words or phrases that rhyme with, day. So let's go to our house musician, Jonathan Coulton, for an example.

COULTON: So if I said, do you want me to tie together a bunch of beautiful flowers for you? You would answer, go ahead, make my bouquet.

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EISENBERG: Do you feel lucky, puzzle punks?

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EISENBERG: Do you? Because the winner will move on to our Ask Me One More final round at the end of the show. Ready?

SOULES: You got it.

EISENBERG: OK. I want to hear some good impressions. Can I prepare a palate-cleansing frozen dessert made a fruit or fruit juices?

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EISENBERG: Emily.

LANGOWITZ: Go ahead, make my sorbet.

EISENBERG: Yeah.

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EISENBERG: I would serve you some dirty berry.

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COULTON: Should I sew together a hairpiece so you can cover your bald spot?

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COULTON: Emily.

LANGOWITZ: Go ahead, make my toupee.

COULTON: Yes.

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EISENBERG: How about if I chop up some goose liver and mix it with fat so you can spread it on crackers?

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EISENBERG: Jeff.

SOULES: Go ahead, make my pate.

EISENBERG: Oh, yeah.

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COULTON: Should I put together a bunch of top-secret papers containing detailed information about you in a fancy French file?

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COULTON: Emily.

LANGOWITZ: Go ahead, make my cachet.

COULTON: No, I'm sorry. That is not what we're looking. Jeff, do you know what it is?

SOULES: Go ahead, make my dossier.

COULTON: That's right.

EISENBERG: Yeah.

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EISENBERG: Do you want me to craft you something out of yarn, using a needle with a hook at the end of it?

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EISENBERG: Emily.

LANGOWITZ: Go ahead, make my crochet.

EISENBERG: Yeah.

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EISENBERG: I think in the winter, Dirty Harry could use a gun cozy.

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COULTON: He could. You can't - 'cause you can't let your gun get too cold.

EISENBERG: They're very cold.

COULTON: Yeah. They're very hard to shoot when they're cold.

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COULTON: Should I give your doctor the small, fixed amount required by your health insurance for an office visit?

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COULTON: Jeff.

SOULES: Go ahead, make my co-pay.

COULTON: Indeed. That is correct.

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EISENBERG: As a Canadian, I did not know that word until I moved here.

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EISENBERG: It's true. I didn't know what that meant. I had to learn that word, and I didn't know filibuster. That was the other word I did not know.

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COULTON: Yep, also new to you.

EISENBERG: Should I sculpt you something out of pulp mixed with water, glue and other stuff that hardens as it dries?

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EISENBERG: Emily.

LANGOWITZ: Go ahead, make my papier-mache.

EISENBERG: Exactly.

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COULTON: This is your last clue. How about I create an actress - this is a stretch, I admit - and give her an Oscar for her role in "My Cousin Vinny"?

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COULTON: Jeff.

SOULES: Go ahead, make Marisa Tomei.

COULTON: That's right.

EISENBERG: Yeah.

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EISENBERG: All right, let's go to our puzzle guru, Greg Pliska. Greg, how did our contestants do?

GREG PLISKA: Well, actually, Ophira, Jonathan, contestants, we have a tie.

COULTON: Oh, my goodness.

PLISKA: So I will give you a tiebreaker question, and whoever answers this correctly will be our winner. What if I create for you a candy bar made from chocolate, nougat and caramel and name it after a spiral galaxy with over 100 billion stars?

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PLISKA: Emily.

LANGOWITZ: Go ahead, make my Milky Way.

PLISKA: That is correct.

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PLISKA: You'll be moving on to the Ask Me One More final round at the end of the show. Thank you, Jeff. Thank you, Emily.

(SOUNDBITE OF MUSIC) Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.