What nine-letter word means someone to break bread with?

The answer to that at the end of the show.

My name's Tom Scott, and this is Lateral.

On the show today, we are delighted to be joined by a trio of stand-up comedians, all of whom

are after the Edinburgh fringe. I am not sure what of stand-up comedians, all of whom are off to the Edinburgh Fringe.

I am not sure what the collective noun for comedians is, a punchline, a heckle, a therapy session.

Whatever it is, our guests could beat any courier company in the world, because they all have excellent delivery.

I'm sorry, all right, I'm just, I am...

Wow.

Yeah, being outclassed by three...

That was crazy.

Thank you.

Thank you for the one non-professional here.

I believe the collective noun is a threat.

And on that note, we start.

First, Stuart Laws, welcome to the show.

Thanks so much for having me. I can't wait to laterally think all over the gaff.

Oh, what sort of things are you doing up at the fringe?

I'm doing like a play slash stand-up hybrid, which is lateral thinking, if you think about it, because normally you do one or the other.

But I said, you know what, no genre can confine me.

I'm doing both in a show about the time I worked as the caretaker of an island of puffins.

One went missing, and I had to solve the mystery of its disappearance.

...