Quizmaster Frank Paul has dropped a linguistic gauntlet in the form of four brain-twisting wordplay challenges that will put your language skills to the test.
In puzzle number 1, each answer is paired with its identical twin, except for three consecutive consonants in the first word replaced by three consecutive vowels. For example, "mildly" pairs with the word "milieu", while "bursts" becomes "bureau". Frank Paul has revealed that none of these puzzles involve strings of more than three words.
The next challenge is a bit more complex, as each answer consists of three words where the first and last letter of the first word are removed to make the second, and the first and last letter of the second word are removed to make the third. The example given is "classic" which becomes "lassi" when removing its first and last letters, only for Frank Paul to reveal that none of these words form a string longer than three characters.
For puzzle number 3, the challenge is more straightforward - find an answer in the form of AB, BC, CA. In this case, the example given is "hold forth with hold" where each word can be rearranged into "withhold". However, Frank Paul claims that the only solution to this puzzle involves finding three words from a specific piece of text.
In the final challenge, a seemingly innocuous image of rats needs to be viewed upside down in order to find the hidden numbers. Once you turn it over, the answer is revealed as "seven, zero, eight". Frank Paul has stated that these puzzles can all be found in his latest book, 'Spin Off: Choose your puzzle-filled path to TV stardom', available on the Guardian Bookshop.
It's clear that only a true wordplay wizard will be able to solve each of these puzzles and make it onto TV.
In puzzle number 1, each answer is paired with its identical twin, except for three consecutive consonants in the first word replaced by three consecutive vowels. For example, "mildly" pairs with the word "milieu", while "bursts" becomes "bureau". Frank Paul has revealed that none of these puzzles involve strings of more than three words.
The next challenge is a bit more complex, as each answer consists of three words where the first and last letter of the first word are removed to make the second, and the first and last letter of the second word are removed to make the third. The example given is "classic" which becomes "lassi" when removing its first and last letters, only for Frank Paul to reveal that none of these words form a string longer than three characters.
For puzzle number 3, the challenge is more straightforward - find an answer in the form of AB, BC, CA. In this case, the example given is "hold forth with hold" where each word can be rearranged into "withhold". However, Frank Paul claims that the only solution to this puzzle involves finding three words from a specific piece of text.
In the final challenge, a seemingly innocuous image of rats needs to be viewed upside down in order to find the hidden numbers. Once you turn it over, the answer is revealed as "seven, zero, eight". Frank Paul has stated that these puzzles can all be found in his latest book, 'Spin Off: Choose your puzzle-filled path to TV stardom', available on the Guardian Bookshop.
It's clear that only a true wordplay wizard will be able to solve each of these puzzles and make it onto TV.