May 12 2011
Raccoon Ran
You can treat this as a Birdbrain-in-progress. I’m currently putting together a Wordwit puzzle for the Herald, playing with words that own two double letters. Drop those two pairs, and see if a smaller word remains. RACCOON, say, can lose its double to make RAN. Hence a clue could say: Forager bolted.
Giving Herald readers a preview of the puzzle, here are the nine other examples I’ve discovered. Feel free to crack them, though I can’t help but think there are three or four lollapaloozas I’m missing. Any suggestions?
- Outlaw woodwind
- Turn cuspidor
- Enthrall Edgar
- Litigate hit
- Shaggy blemish
- Lament Brand
- Before Lady
- Clown roll?
- Horse bed
Let’s confine the answers to initials at first, to allow all comers to have a crack. And number any fresh additions. I wish you success.
Comments
DC — 12 May at 09:46AM
10. Accountant is junior but excellent
(I can't claim credit for the word, as it came up in some wordplay column I read long ago)
DC — 12 May at 09:50AM
I should also mention it doesn't follow your exact instructions. It would have to be '2 or more double letters'.
Anyway.
6: r
7: p
DC — 12 May at 09:54AM
1. b
3. p
4. s
Boniface — 12 May at 10:43AM
10 Super sub-bookkeeper
RK — 12 May at 10:47AM
2. s
9. m
11. Deceive Irish girl
DC — 12 May at 10:57AM
12. Indisputable muzzle
DA — 12 May at 10:58AM
11. Con Colleen (sounds like a match made in heaven)
13. The wiles of Michael
Boniface — 12 May at 11:04AM
8. b
@DA - Do the doubles have to be together? If not:
14. Linden hooker
DA — 12 May at 11:07AM
Doubles can be dispersed, Boniface, a-la the horse in (9), as well as the new (13). No hassles, with the only proviso being that the deletion leaves a new word standing intact, like DC's SUPER example.
RK — 12 May at 11:13AM
5. w (I was just trying to clue that one myself when I realised it was already there)
RK — 12 May at 11:24AM
12. Sure suppress
15. Crush mineral
RK — 12 May at 11:30AM
16. Swell bar
DC — 12 May at 11:36AM
15. Oppress
16. Balloon
Boniface — 12 May at 11:41AM
17. Golf state?
RK — 12 May at 11:41AM
14. basswood
DC — 12 May at 11:43AM
17. Tennessee tee
Boniface — 12 May at 12:50PM
18. Novel ennui
RK — 12 May at 12:54PM
18. Dune dullness?
Boniface — 12 May at 12:59PM
@RK - spot on
Boniface — 12 May at 01:01PM
19. Folk from the county
Boniface — 12 May at 04:52PM
20. Mars those to whom it may concern?
DA — 12 May at 05:02PM
Clever camouflage of Mars, Bon: Ares addressees. (Though I still haven't figured out your 19.)
Dune dullness is divine.
Can't help but think there are a few good name examples, like Brett Lee, or Benny Hill, presuming brel or beyhi were words -
Boniface — 12 May at 05:10PM
On names, I thought of doing Millaa Millaa/Mimi (as in Qld town/La Boheme star) but thought it a bit obscure.
This has been hard but fun.
RK — 12 May at 05:12PM
Is 19 Kin Killeen?
DC — 12 May at 05:45PM
I was hopefully for Bollywood, until I noticed that errant W (Boyd being an actor).
21. Love lunch? (4 / 3,5)
DA — 12 May at 05:47PM
DC, your two word split has inspired this tack:
22. Confessional meal?
RK — 12 May at 05:57PM
23. Bad dancing judge
RK — 12 May at 06:03PM
24. Will cost
DA — 12 May at 09:13PM
23 Mal Matt Lee (needed to look him up)
Yours, Minogue (Dannii/DA)
philth — 13 May at 08:10AM
looks like I'm late to the party as always, here are a few more familiar words I hope aren't double ups:
24. Half arse?
25. Circle in which to gob in.
26. Singular property?! (i get the feeling i have seen this before, it is too amazing a connection)
27. Low person uses this?
i've a couple more, but they're a little more obscure. there seems a natural extension to this, that is getting rid of the doubles one after the other, which allows for things like: oversees->(overss)->over
...or maybe, off the top of my head this seems less general and actually harder to come up with a good example where the transient word is an actual word
AK — 13 May at 08:42AM
28. Dr Fashion
29. Music medium sang out
30. Bug Wayne
Boniface — 13 May at 09:13AM
@RK Yep, you got 19.
DA — 13 May at 10:18AM
Aha!
24. Ferrell fee (And I was thinking estate tax!)
Boniface — 13 May at 10:39AM
31. Stoking mobile vendor (6/6,4)
DA — 13 May at 11:05AM
28 Jeyk Jenny Kee?! (So close to Jekyll!)
29 ?
30 Bee Bennett
As for your clues, Philth, I'm struggling. Any takers?
AK — 13 May at 02:33PM
Nay on the 28, DA. 30 is spot on.
28 is (3 / 5) and 29 is (1.1. / 6).
philth's 24: fly / fooly?
25: spin / spittoon
I can't get "unit" out of my head for 26, and have only a very strange idea for 27: proie / prossie ?, which is both blue and uses French. Low creature would make more sense if that's the answer.
Anthony Douglas — 13 May at 02:46PM
Too overrun to play on this one, but a suggestion that you might want to make use of 'double double toil and trouble' in the final column, DA...
AK — 13 May at 02:55PM
32. Lapelled clothing peak
AK — 13 May at 02:57PM
Ooh, dear. I didn't realize it was double double letters. Disregard my failures. :(
philth — 13 May at 05:23PM
ah, sorry my clueing at midnight was a little terrible
25 was indeed spin/spittoon
24./26/27 are still unsolved...
rewriting:
24. Arse-roll
26. AK is very close with 'unit'
27. Lowdown person used to breathe lowdown.
Boniface — 13 May at 05:58PM
31 was Coffee King/coking for anyone still cogitating...
AK — 13 May at 06:25PM
Nice one, Boniface. I don't know of Coffee King, though. I don't think we have that in Brisbane.
Regardless of my incorrect constructions (28 and 32) 29 still stands.
And I'm no closer to getting yours, philth. Thanks for the hints, though.
philth — 13 May at 07:41PM
no probs AK, perhaps i should have written:
27. Lowdown person used to breathe down low
i think your remaining one(s) is(are)
29- C(ooee)d, nice one
32 - su(mm)it
dare i add
33. Fleecy spot
AK — 13 May at 08:06PM
Yeah, that's 29, and 32, although that is only a single double. :P
33. wen / woollen
DA — 13 May at 08:55PM
22 = Tell-all tea
While I'm sure going to suppress (13) as it's one of the Wordwit entries next month. Patience.
DC — 13 May at 10:11PM
21 was eros / egg rolls. I could be made to believe the clue was a little opaque.