Rick Steves Drinking Game

My guidebook editor (Risa), TV producer (Simon), and radio producer (Tim) always nail me when I pop in one of my favorite and overused catchphrases. There are certain words Simon will let me use just once per script (like “proud,” “boom times,” “glory days,” or “carbonate”). Then I get this on the Travelers Helpline section of the Graffiti Wall on our website: “The Rick Steves Drinking Game.” I learned lots about my own brain patterns and limited vocabulary with this fun posting and thread. Here some of my no-no words (and quirky pronunciations) offered by attentive readers, viewers, and travelers. Let’s all drink to new and creative ways for travel writers to say the same old thing.

“workaday” — as in “such and such is a workaday city”
“main drag”
Michael in Phoenix, AZ

How about “grab” — such as “grab a train,” “grab a bite”
Swan in Napa, CA

“backwater”
“sleepy”
“unchanged”
“sit back”
Jim in Oklahoma City, OK

“Raise your travel dreams to their upright and locked position.”
Teresa in Seattle, WA

On his podcasts he’s always asking a guest interviewee, “What’s your take on that?”
Nancy in Bloomington, IL

He also likes to use “salty” and “workaday” quite a bit when describing things.
Ashley in Baton Rouge, LA

“thrills” as in “maximum thrills per mile” or “sightseeing thrills” or “alpine thrills”
He uses the word “thrills” a lot.
Laura in Virginia

If you tried the drinking game with the word “local,” you might need to visit the ER for detox afterwards.
Tom in Somewhere Else, Not in USA

Here’s another fun game…try this in Europe! Every time you see a Rick Steves guidebook, you go and get a gelato!! Hahahahaha…they would need to roll me on the plane!!
Jackie in Renton, WA

“ambience”… and he pronounces it different than I do.
Janet in St Joseph, MI

Whoever said he pronounces “ambience” differently, remember when he used to say “oh-BLISK”? For someone who was born and raised in the Pacific Northwest, he does have some interesting accent quirks. I wonder if he gets it from the Scandinavians in his family?
Teresa in Seattle, WA

“evocative”
P.S.: I hope he realizes this is all in good fun…apologies if no!
Betsey in New England

“Women/men/kids/locals strut their [insert appropriate adjective] stuff.” :)
Betsey’s right, this is just good fun. We love Rick!
Penny in Tulsa, OK

“Iran”
“sit back”
“grab”
“thrills”
Audrey in Keizer, OR

I second “evocative”! I’m not sure if I’ve ever heard anyone else use the word.
Candice in San Antonio, TX

To Jackie in Renton, WA: I would like the gelato game more than the drinking game. My human body has low toleration for alcohol, but a high toleration for gelato.
Ron in Florida

Comments

19 Replies to “Rick Steves Drinking Game”

  1. We wonder how much Rick is “orchestrated” by his “handlers” so that “groupies” can influence his blogs. But we understand that his communications cannot all be about serious subjects like Iran, Islam, Haiti and drugs. Interspersed with the hard facts of real life must be some whimsy. It would be nice to know who is the real Wizard behind the curtain in the land of Oz.

  2. I’m always amused when Rick refers to the last book in the Bible as Revelations. There was only one revelation, not several. Thus, the book has always been Revelation. Check it out.

  3. Don’t forget “spilling out.” It would seem that most European towns have several restaurants with tables spilling out into the street! Hopefully, however, no one’s money belt is spilling out onto the street.

  4. Don’t forget “breathtaking” a real favourite…. ……..and “travel like a local” and………….”enunciate” and …………… “thieves target Americans not because they are mean but because they are smart” and ………….I love his short forms……….TP, etc.

  5. I wonder what I say so frequently that my friends could make a drinking game of it? We all have little catch phrases that we use–incessantly. My brother has a habit of following everything you say to him with “mm- mhh” (closed-mouth version of uh-huh). Is he really listening or just waiting for a break in the flow of words to jump in? Either way, I could see his adult kids turning it into a drinking game… Like my captcha, this has ‘brightened’ up my day.

  6. I’m not sure if I’ve ever heard anyone else use that word… if you ever find yourself saying something like that…you might be the one who does not get out enough in different crowds

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