I Definitely Not Before E

Transcript

OPHIRA EISENBERG, HOST:

Now we're going to crown this week's grand champion. Let's bring back from Party of Five, Pranjali Desai.

(APPLAUSE)

EISENBERG: From Whose Sound is it Anyway, Jen Keefe.

(APPLAUSE)

EISENBERG: From Present the Present, Isabel Martin.

(APPLAUSE)

EISENBERG: From We'll Always be Royals, Marty Casella.

(APPLAUSE)

EISENBERG: And Only Happy Endings, Sam Kampa, to play our ASK ME one more final round.

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EISENBERG: Our puzzle guru Mary Tobler will lead this round titled I Definitely Not Before E.

MARY TOBLER: In this final round, every correct answer will be a word, phrase or proper noun that contains the letters E and I in that order, with complete disregard for the I before E except after C rule. For example, if we said, a Hawaiian wreath of flowers worn around the neck, you would say lei.

We're playing this spelling bee style, so one wrong answer and you're out. You'll only have a few seconds to give us an answer. The last person standing will be our ASK ME ANOTHER grand prize winner. And for your prize, Eliza Coupe has provided a one-of-a-kind "Happy Endings" cast photograph, and she has autographed all of their heads.

(LAUGHTER)

TOBLER: Here we go, starting with Pranjali. A stimulant compound found in tea and coffee.

PRANJALI DESAI: Caffeine.

TOBLER: Caffeine is correct.

(APPLAUSE)

TOBLER: Jen, in a classic Christmas song, he was ridiculed until Santa asked him to guide his sleigh.

JEN KEEFE: Nixon.

TOBLER: Nixon is not the answer that we're looking for. Isabel?

ISABEL MARTIN: Rudolph the red Nosed Reindeer.

TOBLER: That's the correct answer. Jen, I'm sorry. That means that you're out. Thank you.

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TOBLER: Marty, the Nobel prize-winning author of "The Grapes of Wrath," "Of Mice and Men," and "East of Eden."

MARTY CASELLA: John Steinbeck.

TOBLER: That's it.

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TOBLER: Sam, a landmark monument in Paris originally built to celebrate the centennial of the French Revolution.

SAM KAMPA: Eiffel Tower.

TOBLER: Good answer.

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TOBLER: Pranjali, award-winning singer and actress with hits like "Funny Girl," "The Way We Were," and "Meet the Fockers."

Three more seconds.

(SOUNDBITE OF WHISTLE)

TOBLER: I'm sorry. Pranjali, you are out of time. Isabel?

MARTIN: Barbra Streisand.

TOBLER: Barbra Streisand's correct. Pranjali, I'm sorry, that means you're out. Thank you for playing. Marty, you're up. U.S. president who ran on the pre-Facebook campaign slogan, I like Ike. He's thinking about it, he's shaking his head. We'll give you three more seconds.

DESAI: Adlai Stevenson.

TOBLER: No, I'm sorry. Adlai Stevenson's not correct. Sam, U.S. president who ran on the pre-Facebook campaign slogan, I like Ike. Sam's looking. Three more seconds for Sam.

(SOUNDBITE OF WHISTLE)

TOBLER: I'm sorry. Isabel, if you can get this right, you'll be our grand prize winner.

MARTIN: Eis-

TOBLER: Go for it.

(LAUGHTER)

MARTIN: Sorry.

TOBLER: Go for it.

MARTIN: Eisenhower.

TOBLER: Eisenhower is it. Nice job. Thank you Marty and Sam. Isabel's our grand prize winner.

EISENBERG: Nice job Isabel. You are the ASK ME ANOTHER grand winner of the show. Well done. And you will be getting a fantastic poster from "Happy Endings."

MARTIN: Fantastic.

EISENBERG: It is full of signatures. Congratulations.

(APPLAUSE) That is our show. Thank you so much for listening. If you would like to be a contestant, find us on Facebook or Twitter. Just look around for NPR ASK ME ANOTHER. And you can be a puzzle player anytime, anyplace by downloading our podcast from iTunes, Stitcher or TuneIn. And this is ASK ME ANOTHER from NPR. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.