August 02 2011
Uncle Joe Wants You
In three weeks this blog will notch up its first anniversary: one year of puzzles, Storms, verbal nitpicking and general lexical carry-on. And to enter the spirit of this red-letter month, the latest Storm is looking at things Russian. Six words in fact, wonderfully obscure, and the real ordeal for your clueing prowess.
Da, that’s the challenge. To cook up an elegant clue for any the words listed. Plenty of Zs and Ks will make the task a mazurka, but I’m sure you lot will weave and jink in the best Bolshoi tradition. So comrades, here are your six:
KURGAN – prehistoric burial mound
PRISIADKA – a step in Slavic dancing where the dancer squats and kicks outward
RENDZINA – fertile lime-rich soil
SAMIZDAT – underground press; illegal text
VOBLA – dried roach (the fish, if you don’t mind!)
ZAKUSKA – caviar sandwich
Since every word owns a unique initial, feel free to enter your clues marked by that letter. For example, a clue for PRISIADKA may be posted thus:
P: Kick-to-kick in park, I said
Or for VOBLA, maybe V: During arvo, blacken cooked fish
See if you can do the samizdat – or better! This is a tricky Storm, but any shot is a good shot, as a Stolichnaya buff once told me. Deadline is 8pm Thursday, with Red Stars for the best clue per word, and an overall winner by weight of votes. One last thing, if you do tackle the full set of words, I’d love your end-game submission to be filed as one cluster, especially as Letters and Numbers is set to monster my next six working weeks. So c’mon comrade, moosh
Comments
Boniface — 02 August at 02:12AM
R: Initially disrupted, Split Enz playing through scattered rain, hitting paydirt?
RV — 02 August at 05:43AM
K: Philosopher not holding throw rug for sacred bumpy ground.
RM — 02 August at 06:02AM
P: Pakistani spies and KGB leader join newspaper when five leave a dance.
RM — 02 August at 06:10AM
Nothing stimulates the clue-generating part of my mind quite so much as hitting "Post comment".
P: KGB leader and half of Georgian capital are in newspaper when five leave a dance.
RM — 02 August at 06:16AM
And now I find there are two transliterations of the Georgian capital. Wikipedia prefers the 7-letter version, but I found the Guardian using the 6-letter version which I've used here.
RV — 02 August at 07:44AM
P: Distinctive Slavic kick; said kick found in heart of paprikash.
RK — 02 August at 07:58AM
Zusak novel about Alaska is devoured in Russia
RK — 02 August at 08:00AM
A slight tweak:
Zusak's novel about Alaska is devoured in Russia
SK — 02 August at 08:20AM
P: Get's a kick out of a rapid ski manouevre?
RK — 02 August at 08:21AM
That last one was for ZAKUSKA.
V: Here it is — a book for one in a Russian school?
SK — 02 August at 08:44AM
Just glanced at my last post in horror, as I'm forever beating others up about incorrect use of apostrophe's...
P: Gets a kick out of a rapid ski manouevre?
RK — 02 August at 08:56AM
R: Ride NZ hype and rename 'Middle Earth'
Boniface — 02 August at 09:24AM
V: Dried fish back in experimental Bovril extract.
Boniface — 02 August at 10:22AM
Z: Muzak has no character - turn on Jamaican music for starters.
Boniface — 02 August at 10:30AM
K: Finding burial site, rang UK doctor.
Boniface — 02 August at 10:41AM
S: SAMIZDAT
It's Mazda breaking the unofficial record in Russia?
Boniface — 02 August at 10:49AM
P: Russian step-father leaves paprika lying around back stage.
RV — 02 August at 11:13AM
R: Tear down Garrison leaving rich soil.
RV — 02 August at 01:05PM
S: Half mast in former Egyptian leader's name reveals unsanctioned Russian report.
SK — 02 August at 02:09PM
@Bon, that Prisiadka is brilliant
Boniface — 02 August at 05:02PM
@SK - Cheers, good fun this. Yours is not bad either.
SK — 02 August at 05:11PM
S: Adam's zit burst due to surreptitious press
DA — 02 August at 08:09PM
Some Faberge eggs among this lot - and I don't mean half-boiled. A real treat to get home and scroll through the forum - well done on such artistry, and the glasnost to share it.
Call it punch drunk, rather than one too many slivovitzes, but I'm feeling like a cloud-brained cluer today, and most likely tomorrow, with back-to-back studio days of 10 hours each. Ohh for a shiatsu and doona. Be back among you living soon -
JPR — 02 August at 08:45PM
P: Blade Runner's athletic replicant starts imitating attractive dance kicking action
JPR — 02 August at 08:54PM
P: When dancing, raid a skip for kicks
[Ochen' khorosho!!! russki yazik! kalinka moya! where's the cyrillic alphabet when you need it!]
JPR — 02 August at 09:09PM
Z: Azerbaijan capital's changed first to last by Kansas for a fishy snack
SK — 02 August at 09:38PM
I'll post my lot early as I'm out of action from tomorrow. Nice challenge...some of these ain't easy and I'm not sure I've had time to do them justice.
KURGAN: Cell dead-zone in the hills of the back-country...rang out
PRISIADKA: Gets a kick out of a rapid ski manoeuvre?
RENDZINA: Reinvesting capital reportedly ends in a richer Earth
SAMIZDAT: Press beneath the surface burst Adam's zit
VOBLA: Cured roach habit after I twice left Bolivia stoned
ZAKUSKA: Ask around after shaved Yakuza delinquent? Try the Caviar Club
RV — 02 August at 10:43PM
V: Against repetitive Beatles lyric being sung after barrow in the market place reveals dried roach.
RV — 02 August at 11:15PM
Z: After final letter we strike out inside, also known as a caviar sandwich.
NB: For non baseball fans, a "K" is a strikeout in baseball.
RV — 02 August at 11:24PM
Here's my lot.
K: Philosopher not holding throw rug for sacred bumpy ground.
P: Distinctive Slavic kick; said kick found in heart of paprikash.
R: Tear down Garrison leaving rich soil.
S: Half mast in former Egyptian leader's name reveals unsanctioned Russian report.
V: Against repetitive Beatles lyric being sung after barrow in the market place reveals dried roach.
Z: After final letter we strike out inside, also known as a caviar sandwich.
NB: For non baseball fans, a "K" is a strikeout in baseball.
Boniface — 03 August at 01:01AM
V: Scoring dried roach, Virginia inhales heads of oustanding bhang leaves.
Boniface — 03 August at 01:22AM
K: Tattered, rank Ugg boots good for a burial site in Siberia.
SK — 03 August at 07:18AM
Minor tweak, then I'm off...
S: Press below the surface to burst Adam's zit
(Apologies for the gross image)
RK — 03 August at 08:26AM
K: Spooner's pickle is where to bury the dead
Mr X — 03 August at 10:39AM
Privyet comrades
K: Corpse filled hill is Highlander's nemesis.
R: Grind lawless broadcast into the dirt.
S: Egyptian leader suppressed talk of feminist address in forbidden media.
V: Behold! French bass replaces one fishy snack.
Z: From last to first, a doomed sub is trapped, routed and offered as nibbles.
P: Sparkadia rocks endlessly and I cossack dance.
Dozhvidanya
RK — 03 August at 12:53PM
S: Amidst a revolution, imprisoned dozen central to dissident writings
AG — 03 August at 04:41PM
K: Old grave man lost head after having drunk Krug
P: I’d ask a PR hack to put one in a Cossack dance
R: Razed inn collapses to earth
S: Sounds like Spooner’s oath is put down on paper: naughty words!
V: Fish roasted endlessly above, fricasseed with raw entrée
Z: Young Starr, you recorded some music for egg sandwich
RobT — 03 August at 11:18PM
Z: "Kayak Suzy" not too wise (we hear) to club sandwich!
RobT — 03 August at 11:30PM
Rank GU concoction sends us to an early grave.
RobT — 03 August at 11:35PM
V: Volga goes from good to bad farming this fish!
RobT — 03 August at 11:48PM
S: Amazing adits loses gain but finds underground press.
RobT — 03 August at 11:54PM
R: End grazing on cultivated fertile soil after Bryce leaves.
RobT — 04 August at 12:09AM
Sorry David. Here they all are (as requested):
K: Rank GU concoction sends us to an early grave.
P: Ambitious dance move requires healing (aka Disprin).
R: End grazing on cultivated fertile soil after Bryce leaves.
S: Amazing adits lose gain but lead to underground press.
V: Volga goes from good to bad farming this carp!
Z: "Kayak Suzy" not too wise (we hear) for club sandwich.
Boniface — 04 August at 12:37AM
My submissions. Spasiba DA.
K: Scruffy, rank Ugg boots good for burial in Siberia.
P: Russian step-father leaves paprika lying around back stage.
R: Yielding ground, Royal Academy accepts eccentric denizen dropping ecstasy.
S: Mad Zita's breaking the Russian record for knockers? [Zita was the former Queen of Hungary]
V: Scoring dried roach, Virginia inhales old heads of bhang leaves.
Z: Like an egg roll, muzak has no character - turn on Jamaican music.
RK — 04 August at 06:50AM
Here's my lot:
K: Spooner's pickle is where to bury the dead
P: Kids pair off before a Slavic dance
R: Ride NZ hype and rename 'Middle Earth'
S: Amidst a revolution, imprisons dozen central to dissident writings
V: Here it is — a book for one in a Russian school?
Z: Zusak's novel about Alaska is devoured in Russia
RobT — 04 August at 08:36AM
Eek! letter fix required:
K: Rank GU concoction sends us to an early grave.
P: Ambitious Russki dance move requires healing (aka Disprin) following removal of Pole!
R: End grazing on cultivated fertile soil after Bryce leaves.
S: Amazing adits lose gain but lead to underground press.
V: Volga goes from good to bad farming this carp!
Z: "Kayak Suzy" not too wise (we hear) for club sandwich.
Sam — 04 August at 09:44AM
not great, but here's a couple of attempts
K: Barrow-load a rug woven in a knot
K: In Uruk, Ur gangster buried!
R: Last prisoner at Zenda in trouble over paydirt
Like your K above RK!