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Diabolically Arcane

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Salon 33

19 August, 2013

Morning word lovers and general puzzle addicts. A mixed bag of business here, with a name challenge to help spice your day. When you trim the edges of Heath Ledger, you make EAT EDGE. Just as Claude Monet is LAUD ONE. Adding to that two-word list is one quest (Katy Perry makes AT ERR), but the real gold is where both pieces can be welded into a single word:

Tom Uren = ORE
Les Paul = EAU
Tim Lane = IAN
Sally Pearson = ALL EARS (plus a damn O!!)

There must be a few fine specimens to hunt down – in either category of Nub Names. see which prospector can locate the nugget.

Then there’s a challenge RK emailed, where her daughter created the word booky to encapsulate that mood you enter when you wish to hear (or read) a storybook. A cute word, better than the clinical confection of bibliopathic! But is there an actual word? A made-up alternative? And what snazzy word inventions have you heard kids coin? Another email told me all about a barkful dog! Do share. Could be a fun Wordplay column.

The crossword powwow in Trentham was a blast. (At the very least, I urge you to visit Book Heaven in Campbells Creek, about 19 rooms of eclectic books.) And the singular Scrabble Storm will get its results soonish, I promise. Enjoy your crosswording, and your week.

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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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