
Newsletter Teasers and Answers
13 February Teaser – A boring task
Valerie has asked you if there is another word she could use instead of “BORING”. You quickly consult your thesaurus but realise it’s the ‘jumbled word’ edition (very popular). Can YOU unscramble the following words that are all synonyms for ‘boring’?
- LULD
- MMUHDUR
- UNNAMED
- MOISTEER
- SELLFIES
- OUTMONSOON
- DOSUITE
- SINGENUTRIENT
- REDRAY
- FLUNTVENUE
- NALBA
ANSWERS BELOW! Continue scrolling at your own risk.
Did you have an interesting time finding the boring words? Here they are:
- LULD = DULL
- MMUHDUR = HUMDRUM
- UNNAMED = MUNDANE
- MOISTEER = TIRESOME
- SELLFIES = LIFELESS
- OUTMONSOON = MONOTONOUS
- DOSUITE = TEDIOUS
- SINGENUTRIENT = UNINTERESTING
- REDRAY = DREARY
- FLUNTVENUE = UNEVENTFUL
- NALBA = BANAL
6 February Teaser – Duo lingo
If he were still alive, Charles Dickens would be turning 213 years old tomorrow. So to celebrate his birthday, we’re asking you to spot which character (out of the three) we have made up for each of his most famous books. Good luck!
- David Copperfield: Maggotty, Dora Spenlow, Tommy Traddles
- Oliver Twist: Mr Sowerberry, Mrs Dumphrey, Mr Bumble
- A Tale of Two Cities: Madame Defarge, Marquis St Germain, Sydney Carton
- The Pickwick Papers: Alfred Jingle, Augustus Snodgrass, Miss Ploom
- Great Expectations: Limetoad, Orlick, Biddy
- Little Dorrit: Jeremiah Flintwinch, Amy Dorrit, Fanny Bancroft
- Bleak House: Lady Dedlock, Inspector Bucket, Lord Faversham
- A Christmas Carol: Mrs Mops, Fezziwig, Wilhelmina Wickstaff
ANSWERS BELOW! Continue scrolling at your own risk.
Did you sniff out all the FAKE characters? The made-up ones are in bold!
- David Copperfield: Maggotty, Dora Spenlow, Tommy Traddles
- Oliver Twist: Mr Sowerberry, Mrs Dumphrey, Mr Bumble
- A Tale of Two Cities: Madame Defarge, Marquis St Germain, Sydney Carton
- The Pickwick Papers: Alfred Jingle, Augustus Snodgrass, Miss Ploom
- Great Expectations: Limetoad, Orlick, Biddy
- Little Dorrit: Jeremiah Flintwinch, Amy Dorrit, Fanny Bancroft
- Bleak House: Lady Dedlock, Inspector Bucket, Lord Faversham
- A Christmas Carol: Wilhelmina Wickstaff, Mrs Mops, Fezziwig
30 January Teaser – Duo lingo
Many words have at least two different meanings (e.g. TAP – an action and a faucet). Can you identify the double-duty words from the following clues? (Number of letters in parentheses.)
- A lightbulb and the world. (5)
- Tree for an elephant? (5)
- To speak to a crowd about where you live. (7)
- Look at the thing on your wrist! (5)
- Call someone for this wedding accessory. (4)
- Stone cold music genre. (4)
- Got up to a flower. (4)
- A very serious burial place. (5)
- Used to weigh a snake’s skin? (6)
- Fruit preserve that stops traffic. (3)
- Say how you feel quickly. (7)
ANSWERS BELOW! Continue scrolling at your own risk.
How’d you get on solving these? Here are the answers:
- A lightbulb and the world. (5) GLOBE
- Tree for an elephant? (5) TRUNK
- To speak to a crowd about where you live. (7) ADDRESS
- Look at the thing on your wrist! (5) WATCH
- Call someone for this wedding accessory. (4) RING
- Stone cold music genre. (4) ROCK
- Got up to a flower. (4) ROSE
- A very serious burial place. (5) GRAVE
- Used to weigh a snake’s skin? (6) SCALES
- Fruit preserve that stops traffic. (3) JAM
- Say how you feel quickly. (7) EXPRESS
23 January Teaser – Words of a feather
The following words in each group all have a key thing in common.
Can you identify what that key thing is?
GROUP 1: POETRY, WRITER, QUIT, TOWER, PIER
GROUP 2: GLASS, FLASK, DASH, HALF, JAG
ANSWERS BELOW! Continue scrolling at your own risk.
Did you work out what the answer was? The key was the word “key”!
GROUP 1 uses only keys on the TOP ROW of a standard QWERTY keyboard. Meanwhile GROUP 2 uses only keys on the MIDDLE ROW. (You cannot make any words from the bottom row letters, as there are no vowels.)
16 January Teaser – Title fight
Jemima’s memory is not what it used to be. She’s trying to remember the name of some books she saw in the children’s bookshop window display on her walk, but is having a little trouble. Can you decipher what titles she is referring to?
- The Really Ravenous Centipede?
- The Big Cat, the Magic Lady and the Closet?
- The Train that was Determined?
- Jimmy and the Huge Apricot?
- The Breeze in the Birches?
- The Day the Colour Pencils Resigned?
- The Hidden Backyard?
- The Feline in the Fedora?
- Charles and the Confectionery Works?
- The Story of Doctor Did Nothing?
- Peter Skillet?
ANSWERS BELOW! Continue scrolling at your own risk.
How’d you go with these children’s titles? Here are the answers:
- The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle
- The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe by CS Lewis
- The Little Engine that Could by Watty Piper
- James and the Giant Peach by Roald Dahl
- The WInd in the Willows by Kenneth Grahame
- The Day the Crayons Quit by Drew Daywalt
- The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett
- The Cat in the Hat by Dr Seuss
- Charlie and the Chocolate Factory by Roald Dahl
- The Story of Doctor Dolittle by Hugh Lofting
- Peter Pan by JM Barrie