Bob Elliott (1923-2016)Tribute List

Bob Elliott passed away on February 2nd 2016, at the age of 92, from throat cancer. Elliott was one half of "Bob and Ray, " a radio comedy team whose show lasted in some form from 1946 to 1987. Bob and Ray were experts at letting the jokes emerge from a situation, like the guy who tries to sell his tree to Rockerfeller Center, or an interviewer who just focuses on his own questions and doesn't listen to the answers. Their influence on comedy is felt even today, as people like David Letterman and Conan O'Brien regard them as great writers and performers. Here are 15 vocabulary words from Bob and Ray's routines, as well as some from a tribute by another one of their huge fans, author Kurt Vonnegut, Jr.
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Full list of words from this list:

words only definitions & notes
  1. glimmer
    a flash of light
    Bob (his own voice): Say, it’s mighty dark down here; I don’t like the looks of this. In fact, I can’t see anything to not like the looks of. [Ray is muttering something] The music is so loud I can’t hear a word you’re saying!

    Ray (breathlessly intense): No no, that’s what we need, the music, it’s saving everything. But look, straight ahead there – up ahead. It’s a glimmer of light!
  2. distinguished
    standing above others in character or attainment
    Garth(Ray) : He was a very distinguished looking gentleman, uh, and I said, uh, who do I go to, uh, here in New York to sell this tree?

    Interviewer (Bob): Uh huh.

    Garth: He says you go up to Rockefeller Center.

    Interviewer: Right.

    Garth: So I walked up there--

    Interviewer: Did you notice they'd already bought one? It was already up.

    Garth: I hadn't noticed.
  3. ferocious
    marked by extreme and violent energy
    Bob: Komodo dragon is the world's largest living lizard. It's a ferocious
    carnivore. It's found on the steep-sloped island of Komodo in the lesser Sunda
    Chain of the Indonesian Archipelago and the nearby islands of Rinja, Padar, and Flores. And one swipe of the Komodo dragon's tail can render an enemy senseless.

    Ray: Where do they come from?
  4. pejorative
    expressing disapproval
    Ray: Have you noticed the "in vogue" words - words that you seem to hear more and more every day? Words like "pejorative" ... "charisma" ... and "dichotomy."
  5. charisma
    personal attractiveness that enables you to influence others
    Ray: Have you noticed the "in vogue" words - words that you seem to hear more and more every day? Words like "pejorative" ... "charisma" ... and "dichotomy."
  6. dichotomy
    a classification into two opposed parts or subclasses
    Ray: Have you noticed the "in vogue" words - words that you seem to hear more and more every day? Words like "pejorative" ... "charisma" ... and "dichotomy."
  7. fenestration
    the arrangement of windows in a building
    Bob: And three times a day I have to walk Tippy the Wonder Dog. And I compete in adult spelling bees.

    Ray: How did you do?

    Bob: Today my opponent got the word "who." And then it came to me and I got "interfenestration."

    Ray: A tough break
  8. stately
    impressive in appearance
    Bob: After that I'm headed home to my luxurious mansion in Garish Summit, where we, the socially prominent live in stately splendor, far removed from the squalid village below, fighting our petty battles over power and money.
  9. splendor
    the quality of being magnificent or grand
    Bob: After that I'm headed home to my luxurious mansion in Garish Summit, where we, the socially prominent live in stately splendor, far removed from the squalid village below, fighting our petty battles over power and money.
  10. squalid
    foul and run-down and repulsive
    Bob: After that I'm headed home to my luxurious mansion in Garish Summit, where we, the socially prominent live in stately splendor, far removed from the squalid village below, fighting our petty battles over power and money.
  11. melancholy
    a constitutional tendency to be gloomy and depressed
    I was puzzled that day by Bob's and Ray's melancholy. It seemed to me that they should be the happiest people on earth, but looks of sleepy ruefulness crossed their faces like clouds from time to time.
    -Kurt Vonnegut, Jr.
  12. ruefulness
    sadness associated with some wrong done or some disappointment
    I was puzzled that day by Bob's and Ray's melancholy. It seemed to me that they should be the happiest people on earth, but looks of sleepy ruefulness crossed their faces like clouds from time to time.
    -Kurt Vonnegut, Jr.
  13. surmise
    infer from incomplete evidence
    I surmise that Bob and Ray feel accursed sometimes -- like crewmen on the Flying Dutchman or caged squirrels on an exercise wheel. They are so twangingly attuned to their era and to each other that they can go on being extremely funny almost indefinitely.
    -Kurt Vonnegut, Jr.
  14. indefinitely
    to an unknown extent
    I surmise that Bob and Ray feel accursed sometimes -- like crewmen on the Flying Dutchman or caged squirrels on an exercise wheel. They are so twangingly attuned to their era and to each other that they can go on being extremely funny almost indefinitely.
    - Kurt Vonnegut, Jr.
  15. contemptible
    deserving of scorn or disrespect
    Bob and Ray's jokes are singularly burglar-proof. They aren't like most other comedians' jokes these days, aren't rooted in show business and the world of celebrities and news of the day. They feature Americans who are almost always fourth-rate or below, engaged in enterprises which, if not contemptible, are at least insane.
    -Kurt Vonnegut, Jr.
Created on Wed Feb 03 16:07:16 EST 2016 (updated Wed Feb 03 17:06:52 EST 2016)

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