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PUNNY & NOT-PUNNY DEFINITIONS |
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Venezuela declared independence on this date, 35 years & 1 day after ours |
(Alex: [Inhales sharply] Did he--you got it in time, say our judges. Go again.)
July 5, 1811
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He defiantly said, "I have not become the king's first minister in order to preside over the liquidation of the British Empire" |
Churchill
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"To prepare for an exam insufficiently", or a Broadway acting replacement |
understudy
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The stories of the giant lumberjack Paul Bunyan & this blue ox companion date back to early frontier folk tales |
Babe (the Blue Ox)
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"Bloodless" is our preferred type of this 4-letter event, like the 1975 Nigerian one that deposed General Gowon |
coup
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He told his people, "I have found it impossible... to discharge my duties as king as I would wish to do" |
Edward VIII
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In the 19th century the city of Paris bought the land at the source of this river & erected a statue of the goddess Sequana |
the Seine
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"After the corn bread", or to delay an event |
postpone
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Pro wrestler Andre the Giant bodyslammed the role of Fezzik in this 1987 film |
The Princess Bride
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Jet engines & rockets both use jet propulsion; a jet engine takes in this element to burn fuel |
[The end-of-round signal sounds.]
oxygen
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In 1979 a Seminole chief used Indian sovereignty to offer healthy jackpots in this game also played in churches |
bingo
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In 2013 he said of contraception & related topics, "It is not necessary to talk about these issues all the time" |
(Bonnie: Who is the Pope?... [*]?) (Alex: Thank you.)
Pope Francis
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You can cruise this lake on a paddle steamer with stops at Lausanne & Montreux |
Lake Geneva
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"Before a cell phone message", or a reason for taking action |
pretext
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Nicknamed "The Freak", this long-haired pitcher helped the San Francisco Giants win 3 World Series |
Tim Lincecum
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This company's 787 has a 70-yard wingspan & cruises at Mach .82 |
(Matt: [Overlapping with being acknowledged] What is [*]?) (Alex: Pardon?) (Matt: [*].) (Alex: No.) (Matt: What is [*]?) (Alex: No. Oh, you said--oh, you phrased it properly? Okay, good.)
Boeing
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In 1989 this then-country ended Communist rule with its Velvet Revolution |
Czechoslovakia
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At the Scopes trial, he said of his agnosticism, "I do not pretend to know where many ignorant men are sure" |
Darrow
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It rises under Cuilcagh Mountain & divides Ireland almost in 2 |
(Matt: What is the Derry?) (Bonnie: What is the Liffey?) ... (Alex: Less than a minute now, Matt.)
the River Shannon
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"Put a noisemaker back on the cat", or to rise up in insurrection |
rebel
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He's a giant colorful canine in a children's book series by Norman Bridwell |
Clifford the Big Red Dog
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In 60 A.D. the scientist Hero of this city known for its lighthouse built a steam-powered jet engine--but not for flight |
Alexandria
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Let's revive this multi-day December celebration from ancient Rome that featured unrestrained merrymaking |
Saturnalia
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New Yorker founder Harold Ross said the magazine is "not edited for the old lady in" this Iowa city |
Dubuque
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At Hamburg, this river splits into 2 branches, which rejoin farther downstream |
the Elbe
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"To fill in the ditch around the castle", or to reduce in rank |
demote
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We're Certainly Dwarfs, a band in Terry Pratchett's Discworld series, is an homage to this alt-rock band |
(Neil: What is They Must Be Giants?)
They Might Be Giants
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A July 4, 1956 flight by this new alphanumeric plane put the Soviet Union's military buildup on camera |
a U-2
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