In a departure from the usual Birdbrain puzzle, one name in the list below can be scrambled to reveal what the other seven names have in common.
Norman Manley
Marco Polo
John F Kennedy
Maria Preston
Indira Gandhi
Will Rogers
Simon Bolivar
Lester B Pearson
SOLUTION NEXT WEEK
BB232 SOLUTION: Gut-of-war, shooting rats, miniature flog, vampire stab, square gel, lone flow, top reward, spare strap, relief [...]
A brain-strainer this week, just to keep you lot honest. Reverse one word in a familiar expression to create each answer below. Sugary spinners, say, is sweet tops (where SPOT is reversed).
Bellicose belly (3-2-3)
Vermicide? (8,4)
Wee whip (9,4)
Stake to the heart? (7,4)
Nerd mousse (6,3)
Single stream (4,4)
Great prize (3,6)
Extra belt (5,5)
Extra e-junk (6,4)
SOLUTION NEXT WEEK
BB231 SOLUTION: Hula hoop, [...]
We’ve spilt ten fad-toys from the past, and then altered one letter to each fragment. TAME and GOTCHA, say, with one change each makes TAMAGOTCHI. Go crazy.
hulk/hood
logos/kick
Bernie/Kim
season/kegs
any/form
mow/doing
holler/blazes
poker/onwards
pear/oak
prays/peck
SOLUTION NEXT WEEK
BB230 SOLUTION: Fear/dawn (deer/fawn), cox/fit (fox/kit), force/whole (horse/foal), leap/sham (sheep/lamb), candour/pub (panda/cub), shore/boat (boar/shoat)
Solve each pair of clues correctly, and your answers can be spoonerised to make an animal and its young. Rind/eat, for one, equals PEEL/SUP = seal/pup.
dread/sunrise
stroke caller/toned
violence/entire
vault/bogus
honesty/hotel
seaside/sea transport
SOLUTION NEXT WEEK
BB229 SOLUTION: Lying inside ‘Matilda’s Winton’ is actress Tilda Swinton
Waltzing Matilda’s Winton museum in central Queensland holds Banjo Paterson relics, jumbuck fleece, trooper mannequins and a well-known Hollywood actress.
(Without needing to go outback, or know any far-flung fact beyond our opening sentence, can you name the star? And no, she’s not Naomi Watts. After last week, I’m not game to take use her name in vain. [...]
Using only end letters (first and last of each name) and a simple clue, can you ID all eight people? PATS swimmer, say, is Petria Thomas.
Singer PACK
RYDE novelist
AIRY novelist
HISS actor
Stateswoman CARE
REDS thinker
BALI ghoul
DIME judge
SOLUTION NEXT WEEK
BB229 SOLUTION: Elvis Presley, Billy Thorpe, Serena Williams, Paula Yates, Petria Thomas, Miranda Devine, Steve Elkington, Stuart Appleby
We give you a person’s end letters (first and last of each name), plus a simple clue. Comedian (ENDS), say, is Ellen Degeneres. Can you end up with all eight?
ESPY singer
Guitarist BYTE
SAWS volleyer
PAYS TV host
PATS swimmer
MADE columnist
Golfer SEEN
Golfer STAY
SOLUTION NEXT WEEK
BB226 SOLUTION: Omega reversed = age/mo
Melbourne Romp ran last weekend, a mix of treasure hunt, Amazing Race and puzzle. To compete, say the organisers, you need a team, a mobile and a sense of adventure, sleuthing clues around town in hope of snagging part of a 10-grand purse.
You also need an IQ above 180 to crack this final rhyme pitched [...]
Now and then, making puzzles, I flummox myself.
Typically this happens when I return to a stash of older puzzles, their answers lost or adrift in the scrimmage – and I can’t solve them!
Here on this blog, back in November, I ran a mystery list of words, beseeching passersby for the hidden link. That same list [...]