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Any Questions #475: "Words In Alex Trebek"

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Any Questions logo
Any Questions logo

WAMC's Ian Pickus and resident quizzer Mike Nothnagel switch seats to honor a trivia forebear.

Last week's challenge
Start with the phrase WEATHER MAPS. Rearrange the letters to spell the first and last names of an actress and the name of a musical instrument. Who is the actress and what is the instrument?
Answer: MAE WEST, HARP.

THIS WEEK'S CATEGORY: WORDS IN “ALEX TREBEK”
On-air questions: Well Mike, it’s a sad time here in the world of trivia following the death of Alex Trebek at age 80. Trebek, of course, hosted Jeopardy! since 1984, and dozens of other game shows. It’s fair to say this show and many others like it wouldn’t be here without the sustained success of Jeopardy! and Trebek. In his honor, all of the correct answers tonight can be spelled using the letters in “Alex Trebek.”

1. What word can be found in book titles by Betty Smith, Shel Silverstein, and Mary Pope Osborne?
2. A McDonald’s ad campaign and accompanying jingles from 1995 through 1997 rhymed “we all need to get away” with a question asking, Have you had your ________ today?
3. What proper noun describes each of the following men: Anthony Davis, Elgin Baylor, LeBron James, Magic Johnson?
4. What is outcome in the following situation? A pitcher makes any motion associated with his natural pitching delivery and doesn’t deliver the ball; feigns a throw to first or third without throwing, or swings his free leg past the rubber without throwing home or to second.
5. Question five has two answers — brew, suds or a cold one?

Extra credit
1. What title adjective refers to an estate at Chesney Wold in an 1853 book by Charles Dickens?
2. What word, used pejoratively, comes before “scum” in “Return of the Jedi,” when Imperial Officer Renz is confronting Han Solo and Princess Leia, and again in “The Last Jedi,” when General Hux is speaking to Poe Dameron?

This week's challenge
Start with the phrase DAILY DOUBLES. Rearrange the letters and you can spell a two-word phrase that describes best friends. What are the words?

ANSWERS
On-air questions

1. Tree (A Tree Grows in Brooklyn, The Giving Tree, The Magic Tree House)
2. Break (the 90s version was an update of a 70s ad campaign saying “You deserve a break today” and was named the No. 1 ad jingle of the century by AdAge in 1999)
3. Laker (The Lakers have been in L.A., which is not exactly known for its lakes, after relocating from Minneapolis in 1960)
4. Balk (There have been at least 21 walkoff balks in major league baseball history, including a 2000 Marlins-Braves game when Atlanta closer John Rocker dropped the ball while stepping on the rubber for the loss)
5. Ale, beer

Extra credit
1. Bleak (“Bleak House”)  
2. Rebel

 

A lifelong resident of the Capital Region, Ian joined WAMC in late 2008 and became news director in 2013. He began working on Morning Edition and has produced The Capitol Connection, Congressional Corner, and several other WAMC programs. Ian can also be heard as the host of the WAMC News Podcast and on The Roundtable and various newscasts. Ian holds a BA in English and journalism and an MA in English, both from the University at Albany, where he has taught journalism since 2013.
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