Show Me First

Transcript

OPHIRA EISENBERG, HOST:

Now we're going to crown this week's grand champion. Let's bring back from Close To Homer - Charles; from Compound Fractions - Jason; from Cinematic Bookends - Whittney; from One-Word One-Hit Wonders Of The '90s - Mary; and from Ask Me, Ant Hero - Angela.

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EISENBERG: They'll be playing out Ask Me One More final round and our puzzle guru, Greg Pliska, will lead this final round titled - in honor of the show me state - Show Me First.

GREG PLISKA, BYLINE: In this final round, every correct answer will be a word, phrase or proper noun that starts with the letters M-E. For example, if I said, this actress starred opposite Tom Hanks in "You've Got Mail" and "Sleepless In Seattle," you would say Meg Ryan because her first name starts with the letters M-E. Now, we play this spelling bee-style, so one a wrong answer and you're out. The last person standing will be our ASK ME ANOTHER grand winner. For their prize, Curtis Sittenfeld will come up and give them a personalized list of books they should be reading now.

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PLISKA: Ready? Here we go. Charles - this legendary creature is half-woman, half-fish.

CHARLES PAVLACK: Mermaid.

PLISKA: Correct. Jason - three-letter slang word used to express a lack of interest or enthusiasm for something.

JASON BUXTON: Meh.

PLISKA: Very good, thank you, Jason. Whittney - city where you'd find Elvis Presley's Graceland mansion.

WHITTNEY DUNN: Memphis.

PLISKA: Correct.

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PLISKA: Mary - frequently Oscar-nominated star of films such as "Sophie's Choice" and "The Devil Wears Prada."

MARY WIRJADI: Meryl Streep.

PLISKA: Correct.

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PLISKA: Angela - it's a strip of land between opposing lanes of traffic on the highway.

ANGELA GRISPAN: Median.

PLISKA: Correct.

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PLISKA: Charles - stop trying to make fetch happen is a famous line from what Lindsay Lohan comedy.

PAVLACK: "Mean Girls."

PLISKA: Correct.

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PLISKA: Jason - packaged mints whose slogans have included stay fresh and the fresh maker.

BUXTON: Mentos.

PLISKA: Correct.

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PLISKA: Whittney - this comedic actress starred in "Bridesmaids," "The Heat" and the TV series "Mike And Molly."

DUNN: Melissa McCarthy.

PLISKA: Correct.

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PLISKA: Mary - wizard from Arthurian legend who was bewitched by the Lady of the Lake.

WIRJADI: Merlin.

PLISKA: Correct.

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PLISKA: Angela - voiceover artist who created the distinctive vocal patterns of Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck and Porky Pig.

GRISPAN: Mel Brooks.

PLISKA: I'm sorry, that's not correct. Charles, do you know the answer?

PAVLACK: Mel Blanc.

PLISKA: That is correct. Angela, thank you very much for playing. I'm sorry, you're out. Jason, you're up. NBC's long-running, politically themed Sunday morning talk show.

BUXTON: "Meet The Press."

PLISKA: Correct.

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PLISKA: Whittney - this three-word phrase describes a charitable program that delivers food to people who are unable to cook or leave the house.

DUNN: Meals on Wheels.

PLISKA: That's correct.

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PLISKA: Mary - Animal Planet TV series about a family of slender mammals living in the Kalahari.

WIRJADI: "Meerkat Manor."

PLISKA: Very good, correct.

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PLISKA: Charles - it is customary to stand during the Hallelujah chorus of this George Handel oratorio.

PAVLACK: "Messiah."

PLISKA: Correct.

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PLISKA: Jason - meaning between two rivers, this ancient region is bounded by the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers.

BUXTON: Mesopotamia.

PLISKA: Very good, correct.

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PLISKA: Whittney - two-word Latin expression used to acknowledge one's own fault and express regret.

DUNN: Mea culpa.

PLISKA: Correct.

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PLISKA: All right, so we are back to Mary. This actor played Dr. Gregory Pratt on "ER" and is mentioned by name in Eminem's song "Lose Yourself."

WIRJADI: Mekhi Phifer.

PLISKA: Correct.

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PLISKA: Charles - Smashing Pumpkins's double album featuring the hits "Bullet With Butterfly Wings," "1979" and "Tonight, Tonight."

PAVLACK: I know the beginning. I don't know the whole thing.

PLISKA: OK. Jason, do you know the whole thing?

BUXTON: Mephistopheles.

PLISKA: No, I'm sorry. Whittney.

DUNN: "Mellon Collie And The Infinite Sadness."

PLISKA: That is correct.

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PLISKA: Charles and Jason, you're out. Thank you so much. We are down to our last two, Mary and Whittney. So if you two would now - would pick up buzzers, we are going to do our tiebreaker. OK, re you ready?

DUNN: Yes.

PLISKA: OK, Whittney and Mary, here you go. A psychic whom spirits speak through or the size between small and large.

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PLISKA: Mary.

WIRJADI: Medium.

PLISKA: That is correct, congratulations.

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EISENBERG: So close, so close. Mary, you're our ASK ME ANOTHER big winner, congratulations.

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EISENBERG: That is our show. Thank you so much for playing. Check out our podcast on iTunes or Stitcher. And you can find us on Facebook or Twitter @NPRAskMeAnother. And come see us live. Go to amatickets.org. ASK ME ANOTHER's puzzle guru is Greg Pliska.

PLISKA: Hey, my name anagrams to sparkle gig.

EISENBERG: Our house musician is Jonathan Coulton.

PLISKA: Thou jolt a cannon.

EISENBERG: Our puzzle editor is Art Chung, with additional puzzle writing by Ester Bloom, Greg Lightman, Natasha Lake, Noah Tarnow and senior writer Karen Lorre (ph). ASK ME ANOTHER's produced by Jesse Baker, Lina Misitzis, Josh Rogisin, Denny Shin and our intern, Aaron James, along with Portia Robertson Migas and Eric Nuzum. We are recorded by Bill Moss. We'd like to thank The Pageant...

PLISKA: Pagan teeth.

EISENBERG: ...KWMU and our production partner, WNYC. I'm her ripe begonias.

PLISKA: Ophira Eisenberg.

EISENBERG: And this was ASK ME ANOTHER from NPR. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.