New Zealand Listener

Wordsworth th

- by Rebecca Zhong

Readers were asked to send us the origins of a nickname.

H Lucy of Nelson starts us off with: “Drip tray” – A person whose expansive belly catches any food that drops on the way from plate to mouth.

Sue Dalgety of Mangaweka writes: “Countdown” – A maths teacher with an inordinate love of numbers.

Chris Greenwood, Motueka: A petty thief called “Nick”.

Anne Martin, Helensvill­e provides two submission­s: “Kite” aims to be a high flyer. “Banger” goes off for the slightest reason.

Alan Belcher from Christchur­ch:

A man called “Gravity”, as everything gets him down.

Kaye Bennetts, Whangaparā­oa: “Snow” – A blond-haired boy.

John Mill of Christchur­ch: “Caterpilla­r” – He’s a wee crawler. And “Mirror” – She’s a bit of a dresser.

Daniel Phillips, Invercargi­ll:

He was called “Latch” because the girls thought he was a catch.

But the winner is Paul Kelly from Palmerston North. He sent a number of cracker options, so we’ll begin with two honourable mentions:

“Q-tip” – A skinny guy with bushy hair.

“Tripod” – A dog or cat that has sadly lost a leg.

But his winning submission is: “Cyclops” – Someone with a one-eyed view of politics.

For the next Wordsworth, readers are tasked with creating antigrams. These are words or phrases that create antonyms when rearranged. Examples include “honestly” into “on the sly”, “funeral” into “real fun” and “butchers” into “cut herbs”. Entries, for the prize below, close at midday, Thursday, September 16.

Submission­s: listenerwo­rdsworth@ aremedia.co.nz. Please include your name and address and No 2137 in the subject line. Entries may be edited.

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