Not only are Lionel Latoszek of Long Jetty and Lyn Spratt of Springwood the joint winners of Brett Jack’s lyric challenge (C8), Lionel has also taken time out to provide an excellent review: “The poignancy of young love is laid bare by Janis Ian when the repayment of ‘debentures’ exceeds the accounts received in her evocative song At Seventeen. This was a clever twist on the usual financial meaning of debenture as an instrument of debt.” Granny was always pretty sure Janis’ tune was more likely to be the one in question than Sci-Finance by Van der Graaf Generator.
Christopher Gow of Austinmer writes: “All this talk of great song lyrics (C8) and you have not mentioned the best rhyme in pop history, by the great Hal David from I’ll Never Fall in Love Again: ‘What do you get when you kiss a guy? You get enough germs to catch pneumonia. After you do, he’ll never phone ya.’ Unsurpassable!”
“Mention of a spinet (C8) reminds me of the school exam howler where a music history student noted that, apart from his composing achievements, Bach had 20 children and ‘as a young man would retire to a garret and practise on a spinster’,” offers Alynn Pratt of Grenfell.
In unearthing even more regional football teams (C8), one reader has opted for the Queanbeyan region with Michael Sparks in nearby Braddon (ACT) declaring his favourite sporting team names, “the Bungendore Mudchooks, and the women’s team, the Mudchicks”. Jonathan Lumley of Cameron Park, who admits to dispensing wisdom “usually on matters of football and heavy metal”, has returned with the Maitland (Pumpkin) Pickers and the Parkes Spacemen.
Still on football, expat Joburger Rhoda Silber of Manly and family “have been proud Aussies for 30 years and pride ourselves on speaking the lingo. However, we just heard rugby jerseys being called ‘guernseys’? Please explain!” Channel your thoughts.
“How about places that defy their geometric names,” challenges George Zivkovic of Northmead. “Like Circular Quay (semicircular at best) and Madison Square Garden (round) and Sydney’s own tall, cylindrical tower, Australia Square? I’ll acknowledge the Bermuda Triangle.”
Thanks to Jan Roberts (C8), readers are now checking the “time taken” field to see if they can better her digital crossword time of six minutes and 26 seconds. “This morning wasn’t too bad,” says Chrissie Whitlock of Earlwood. “I had the 26 seconds part.”
Column8@smh.com.au
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