Bridge December 2022

Solutions

Reading Part Nine
1 A, 2 B, 3 C, 4 B, 5 C, 6 A, 7 B, 8 A, 9 C, 10 A, 11 C, 12 C, 13 B, 14 C, 15 A

 

The Puzzler

BRAINTEASER

It was three generations of one family: A girl, her mother and her grandmother (so of course the grandmother was the mother of the girl’s mother, and the girl’s mother was the grandmother’s daughter).

CHRISTMAS WORDOKU

p n g k a r l i s

a i i p g s r k n

r s k n l i a g p

g k n s i a p l r

s p a r k l i n g

i r l g n p s a k

n a s i r g k p l

k i r l p n g s a

l g p a s k n r i

The word is sparkling (centre row)

CHRSTMS WRTRS

1 “Always winter and never Christmas; think of that!” (C.S. Lewis, The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe)

2 “What kind of Christmas present would Jesus ask Santa for?” (Salman Rushdie, Fury)

3 It was the beginning of the greatest Christmas ever. Little food. No presents. But there was a snowman in their basement. (Markus Zusak, The Book Thief)

4 “The real Santa Claus is at the mall.” (Lemony Snicket, The Lump of Coal)

5 Bloody Christmas, here again. / Let us raise a loving cup: / Peace on earth, goodwill to men, / And make them do the washing up. (Wendy Cope)

CHRISTMASSY CRYPTICS

1 Elf: A friend of Santa is in a sELFie

2 Star: A Christmas symbol in the word RATS spelled backwards

3 Tinsel: A sparkly decoration hidden in marTINSELfishly

4 Carols: The odd-numbered letters in ChAtRoOmLiSt spell out the songs we sing at Christmas

 

An Idiom for Christmas

Done up like a Christmas tree: wearing fancy, over-the-top clothes

The proof is in the pudding: experience will show if an idea is good

Don’t look a gift horse in the mouth: gratefully accept anything free

It’s the thought that counts: the value of a gift comes from the thought that went into it

A snowball’s chance: it is sure to fail

 

Who Do We See on Screen?

1 extra

2 blurry

3 butt of a joke / butt of jokes (note: the form depends on whether someone makes a joke about you or lots of jokes about you; literally it means the target – a butt is an archery target)

4 relatable

5 emergency

6 typo

 

“Not Fitting in Can Be a Great Thing”: Odesza

1 to bond

2 put off

3 to take sth by storm

4 moving

5 to stir [someone’s] spirits

 

Cold Got a New Meaning

1 sprawling

2 longing (to long for sth)

3 frolicking (to frolic) (note: the basic form is “frolic”, but the past tense and gerund add a k: frolicked, frolicking)

4 texture

5 hustle and bustle

2022-12-03 2023-01-03