Stash-A-Star
I eat generic banana.
Which is one way to stow Eric Bana in a sentence. Can you find the Australian singer in the next example?
Men in Argentina are naturally macho.
Peer into the pampas long enough and you’ll see Tina Arena. Meanwhile another Tina – Tina Fey – hides backwards in this wonky specimen:
Goldeneye fan I tease with Bond music.
That’s right, you can stash the stars forwards or backwards. The only rules require you must present a single sentence only, with the star’s full name hidden (forwards or back) in consecutive letters, just like as a hidden clue operates.
Don’t blab the celeb – we’ll have to find him or her. See how long you need to unpack the Big Names bundled into these two babies (with answer further down):
Here’s the room I’m edging with new stucco.
Secret fart appeals to the malignant tutor.
With a late Friday deadline, you’re playing for three illustrious prizes:
Jewellery Box: Most elegant example
Chocolate Box: Longest name
Jack-in-the-Box: Zaniest-cum-funniest
A few more hints. On the Scottish heath, ledgers are fading. Please, that’s no way to hide Heath Ledger. Nor does Cate Blanchett nestle so well in this clunker:
Make a delicate blanch, Etty.
Who’s Etty? Leave her alone, I say. Or any other fake name, gobbledygook or acronym to cover your sins. On the other hand, this Mata Hari nonsense could score you the zany box:
I scoured the laundromat – aha – Rinso!
So scour the paparazzi pages, the headlines, the sport section, the history books. See who can stash a star with the greatest skill, wit or ambition. And may the best stashers win.
(PS – those two teasers were both backward celebs: Demi Moore and Pat Rafter.)
October 27th, 2009 at 9:01 am
I’ll kick things off with a nod to next month’s celebrations in the US:
For Thanksgiving I ate an entire pumpkin, five butter smeared corn cobs, a turkey, a ham (less the fatty bits of course, I’m dieting) and a whipped cream covered apple pie.
October 27th, 2009 at 9:13 am
Don’t worry about Spoiler Alerts. If you see the celeb, then feel free to crow. (Browsers just need to take care when scrolling down the page.)
But perhaps, Mr X, your Selma Hayek example highlights a further point of etiquette, and that’s the matter of brevity.
What say we try to keep the sentences trim? Not just for the sake of elegance, but to give all seekers a fighting chance.
Thanks for your usual fine entree. We’re all in for a feast.
October 27th, 2009 at 9:28 am
Perhaps we can use the rule of tweet – 140 characters or less? Such as:
@michelleobama Planning to use anecdote about Gramps in today’s press conference. Can you ask Nanna if OK?
October 27th, 2009 at 9:51 am
“We reformed for the Sound Relief benefit concert in 2009 but, given the circumstances, I felt sad.” (Iva Davies, Icehouse)
October 27th, 2009 at 9:58 am
Thanks for the stardom of the last example, robskee. (Are we hunting a celeb in the first Tweet, or is that titbit from today’s news?)
I like your Twitter rule, but rather than characters, let’s say 20 words or less. (And should we reveal the celeb’s name, or let our fellow stormers sweat?) Some of these will tax the cortex.
October 27th, 2009 at 10:48 am
You’re welcome, and yes there is a political/diplomatic celeb in that first tweet. Hehehehe. Let them sweat!
October 27th, 2009 at 11:09 am
Bono seen mailing a letter to countryman.
October 27th, 2009 at 11:10 am
Bono seen mailing a letter to countryman
October 27th, 2009 at 11:27 am
1) Kofi Annan
2) Liam Neeson
You’re on fire.
October 27th, 2009 at 11:42 am
After being hauled up for a “please explain” in the Garden of Eden, Adam offers the following star-stashed excuse:
After a healthy salad drenched in balsamic vinegar, Eve and everyone else, including me, had an apple for dessert.
October 27th, 2009 at 11:42 am
Nice work on Kofi Annan and Liam Neeson, Robskee
October 27th, 2009 at 1:44 pm
1) Apologies if – re DA’s ta – I renege.
2) De-tick any ewes tomorrow.
3) Go away near Thursday Island.
October 27th, 2009 at 2:08 pm
After foiling yet another crime gang, a legendary superhero said she looked forward to being portrayed by a supermodel.
October 27th, 2009 at 2:14 pm
…and her husband likewise must have steely DNA.
October 27th, 2009 at 2:17 pm
Nice succinct examples.
No. 2) I’m happy for you and I’mma gonna let you finish but Wayne Arthurs and Fred Astaire were the best hidden clelebrities in this Comment.
October 27th, 2009 at 4:09 pm
After DA completes the first linked pair, here’s a couple of unrelated examples. One’s straightforward while the other takes some poetic license with the rules:
In the Middle East, oil establishes wealth.
A survey of hospital staff ranks “in a trauma ward” as the most stressful place to work.
October 27th, 2009 at 4:40 pm
Clues for both X’s brainwaves:
1) Rum Tum Tugger
2) doo-be-doo-be-doo
Fine work, especially that last one.
October 27th, 2009 at 5:00 pm
Wow. And it’s only Tuesday. The bar has been set high. Poetic license rulz ok, as I don’t think Megan Gale and Andy Lee have actually tied the knot. To avoid confusion, or at least to avoid wasting precious minutes looking for hiddens that aren’t there, I will restrict actual entries to italics .
October 28th, 2009 at 6:00 am
Racking my brains last night, I stumbled on a Hidden &Lit for this storm:
He’s smart in a mischievous vein!
October 28th, 2009 at 8:34 am
Like Martin Amis, this one’s a bit self referential:
Ecological hero, glad to remain relevant
October 28th, 2009 at 10:36 am
Tidy work, X, with panache galore. Try these throwaways:
1) Don’t waste view on derriere.
2) Tokyo’s carpeters only use tatami.
3) In smart haste, war turned ugly.
And just to be ridiculous:
4) Discover banjo sera – mosh or tango?
October 28th, 2009 at 11:29 am
1) I can see the answer, even if the reverse isn’t true.
2) jazzy
3) got out of jail with that one
4) longest name so far
October 28th, 2009 at 11:44 am
Political scandal mnemonic: ale wins KY jelly from President
October 28th, 2009 at 2:26 pm
Lewd n shrewd. Two more, from the unlikely worlds of meditation and mineralogy:
1) Zen Buddhists remark ‘Om’, so-called.
2) To etch a gypsum arc, use in feldspar.
October 28th, 2009 at 3:06 pm
1) on his way to a reunion
2) no get out of jail card for him
October 28th, 2009 at 3:07 pm
“Chrysler” is an easy hint for “car”, a less obvious one for “skyscraper”.
October 29th, 2009 at 7:58 am
And Lara Croft, I’ve just realised, entails two Windies cricketers. Sticking to the sports arena:
“Pssst, hey baddie, go mar a Donatello.”
October 29th, 2009 at 8:41 am
Following the Argentinian potty mouth, here’s a celeb that it seems appropriate to hide in a rhyme:
Putting some troops on the MV Tampa
may result in a PM who’s a happy camper
October 29th, 2009 at 3:04 pm
The star of this one appears twice (under different guises):
“Neither Vietnam nor Iraq are very stony” star Korean rock collector complains.
October 29th, 2009 at 7:41 pm
Freshly torn, I made her, over lunch at the jamboree, sew it. Her spoon dropped to the floor in surprise.
October 29th, 2009 at 8:17 pm
“Brittany” Bob and “Normandy” Pat, in kinship forever. RIP.
October 29th, 2009 at 8:59 pm
Mmmm, Chateaubriand. Awesome!
October 30th, 2009 at 9:17 am
Robskee – 1) I’m gussing that the mystery star at the jamboree would not be impressed to run into this hidden colleague;
This risotto contains a yabbie, corn I shucked myself and field mushrooms.
2) Are Bob and Pat a pair of criminal minds ?
3) I guess we can enjoy the chateaubriand at 7.30 on Thursdays.
October 30th, 2009 at 9:44 am
All this talk of criminal minds – which you two must own to commit this recent spree – here are two killers in one killer sentence:
With a Coonawarra crate of red we start this rental I’m navigating.
October 30th, 2009 at 10:34 am
Forget the House of Horror or (State) Forest of Fear, you’ve created a Sentence of Slaughter.