Salon 8
31 March, 2014
CHARLES DARWIN, as Puzzability discovered last week, contains a bird and a mammal when scrambled, with every letter of the naturalist used once. (Can you find the pair? And can you find some ten other animals as well? SEAL and WHALE are two more. Warning – the safari gets addictive.)
That’s one conundrum to kick-start your week. Another relates to odds-and-evens, where the word IMPAIR contains its synonym MAR with the even letters. Now can you name a five-letter word meaning ‘poll’ that oddly holds a word which can also means poll? (Any other odd/even flukes you know about? TWITCH and TIC is another succulent curio.)
This week will be a bit of comedy-hopping here in Melbourne, making the most of the stand-up fest, and the resumption of my personal Times challenge, seeking to score a ton from today’s crossword #9900 onward, solving a puzzle a day, with no reference books, Wiki trawls, software sorties or Google dips. Wish me luck. Or join me. The century will be mine…
Any other verbal business, let us know. Great clues? Cryptic huhs? Linguistic leads? The salon is the place. Have a wordy week.
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