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Diabolically Arcane

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Huh 55

30 January, 2018

Late last year I skimmed the Balkans, savouring Sarajevo while a book of Times crosswords as I went. Dated back to 1998, the book was damn fine company, offering plenty of wry clues, as well as handy notepaper in the margins.

Yet some clues resisted scrutiny. Or a quick parsing at least, such as the octet on show, all drawn from the same book: The Times Crosswords Book 21. Any help on my huhs would be welcome. And see who can compose the wiliest alternative clues for any of the same solutions.

1. First road turns into railway station = VICTORIA

2. Marx, nonetheless, unwanted in party? = HARP [I get the HARP/o trick, but why so unpopular at parties?]

3. It describes the investment of a decade = ILIAD [Classical reference over my bronze visor?]

4. Partner to lead? = ESCORT 

5. A seat that rider initially gets into with legs apart = ASTRADDLE [Where did ADDLE come from?]

6. Voice strong objection to fashion = CREATE

7. Metal ship = BRITANNIA

8. Compare edges of iron coin found in a bit of China? = COFFEE-CUP

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Riddledom Rave

If you missed my riddle chat with Richard Fidler, then feel free to slurp the podcast at http://ab.co/1I9t1x5

Text-speak is creeping into Scrabble. Where do you sit?
OBVS I'm fine with it
Entrenched stuff - like LOL and OMG - but no more.
Words With Friends, maybe. Scrabble, no
Let the 'real' dictionaries decide first
Just the handy stuff, like FAQ and EUW
I mean, WTF?! No way
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