Salon 51 - Dothraki Anarki
3 November, 2014
Been toying with Dothraki, the invented lingo within Game of Thrones. The words were sown by George RR Martin, and brilliantly advanced by David J Peterson. Here's the blossoming dictionary, some 2000 words of pure cryptic potential.
This week there's a manifold challenge for any intrepid cluesmith, using the Dothraki glossary. Nibble or gorge - the choice is yours, choosing any course that tickles your verbal palate:
Challenge 1 - Can you find two pure Dothraki anagrams within the current vocab? (I tried in vain for 30 minutes, but I'm sure there must be a handful.)
Challenge 2 - Can you find a word that seems born of a pun, or semantic mischief? One possible example - QAF means question, the reversal of FAQ. While I wonder if RACHEL, the Dothraki word for tiger, was a savage gal in Peterson's past. Or is SIMON a male relative?
Challenge 3 - Can you find any Dothraki-English anagram couples of 6 or more letters? ESINAKH, say is a different thing, a blend of HANKIES.
Challenge 4 - Our last challenge - The Clue Biz. Who can compose the best Dothraki deception? Supply the word, and weave its translation into the clue as the definition. Here's my opening slew:
FANSA - Cools a dabble horse
KOALA - Marsupial medicine
VERAT - Travel endlessly, travel, travel...
Enjoy your inroads. Dothraki is one splendid invention - a new verbal sandpit for kids with a crossword bent. Who knows? We may find things, make things, that will be toasted by Dothraki diehards? Vatterat! And have a great week. May your chosen hrazef win the Cup.
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