OPHIRA EISENBERG, HOST:
Now we're going to crown this week's grand champion. Let's bring back our winners from our earlier rounds. From Flip It and Reverse It, Matt Ragan. From Ted Talks, Lily Rothman. From Do You Believe In Something, Tracey Rhys. From Foodie Can't Fail, Emma Schwartz, and from I-plurals, Ann MacEwan.
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EISENBERG: I'm going to ask our puzzle guru, Art Chung, to take us out.
ART CHUNG: Ophira, this final round is called Academy Award Thesaurus. In this game we're looking for the titles of films that have won the Academy Award for Best Picture. But we've used our trusty thesaurus to rewrite the titles and you have to tell us the original name. So, for example, if I said, "The Monarch's Soliloquy," you would say "The King's Speech."
We're going to play this spelling bee style, so one wrong answer and you're out. You'll only have a few seconds to give us the right answer. And the last person standing is our grand winner. Remember, these are all films that have won the Academy Award for Best Picture. We're going to start with Matt. "Waltzes with Canines."
MATT RAGAN: "Dances with Wolves.
CHUNG: You got it. Lily, "Drizzle Guy."
LILY ROTHMAN: "Rainman."
CHUNG: "Rainman" is correct.
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CHUNG: Tracey, "The Caribou Killer."
TRACEY RHYS: "The Deer Hunter."
CHUNG: "Deer Hunter." You're right. Emma, "The Tone of Melodies."
ANNA MACEWAN: "Sound of Music."
CHUNG: You got it. Anna, "A Gorgeous Intellect."
MACEWAN: "Beautiful Mind."
CHUNG: Correct. We're back to Matt. "The Tenement." Three seconds. Do you have an answer?
RAGAN: I don't.
CHUNG: I'm sorry. Lily, "The Tenement."
ROTHMAN: "The Apartment."
CHUNG: You got it. That's right.
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CHUNG: Thank you, Matt, for playing. We're back to Tracey. "Carriages of Conflagration."
RHYS: "Chariots of Fire"?
CHUNG: Right. That's right. Emma, "The Bard in Adoration." Three seconds.
MACEWAN: "Goodwill Hunting."
(LAUGHTER)
CHUNG: Close. Anna, do you know the answer to that question?
MACEWAN: "The Singer of Mysteries"?
CHUNG: No, I'm sorry. That's not a movie I've heard of. Lily, do you know the answer?
ROTHMAN: "Shakespeare in Love."
CHUNG: That's right.
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CHUNG: We're down to two players, Tracey and Lily. Tracey, "Seinfeld's Neighbor Against Seinfeld's Neighbor."
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RHYS: "Kramer Versus Kramer."
CHUNG: You got it. Lily, "Words of Affection."
ROTHMAN: "Terms of Endearment."
CHUNG: Wow.
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CHUNG: I'm getting to the tough ones. Tracey, "Enormous."
RHYS: "Big."
CHUNG: No, I'm sorry. "Big" is not a Best Picture winner. I'm sorry.
RHYS: Aww.
CHUNG: Lily, if you know the answer, you will be our champion. Three seconds.
ROTHMAN: "Giant"?
CHUNG: No, I'm sorry. No, "Giant" also did not win. The answer was "Titanic."
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CHUNG: So Tracey, you're still in. Tracey, your clue is "Unsteady."
RHYS: "Rocky"?
CHUNG: Yes.
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CHUNG: That was a tough one. Lily, "Customary Folk."
ROTHMAN: "Ordinary People."
CHUNG: You got it. I've got a couple more. Tracey, "A Small Village."
RHYS: "Hamlet"?
CHUNG: Yes.
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CHUNG: Lily, "Marvelous Marriott."
ROTHMAN: "The Grand Hotel."
CHUNG: Correct. All right. We're actually in a tie-breaker situation so ring in when you know the answer. "The Painter."
(SOUNDBITE OF BELL)
CHUNG: Lily.
ROTHMAN: "The Artist."
CHUNG: You got it.
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EISENBERG: That was an amazing close match. A final round like no other. A huge hand for Tracey. And Lily, you are our ASK ME ANOTHER big winner. Congratulations. And your prizes are VIP Julie Klausner has agreed to be your own personal TV guide. You're going to tell her what your favorite shows are and she's going to come up with a personalized list of the shows you should be watching. Congratulations.
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EISENBERG: So this is where we say good-bye, or until next time, but you can be a puzzle player anytime. Just take us with you by downloading our podcast. Or you can find us on Facebook or Twitter. Just look around for NPR ASK ME ANOTHER. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.