Hobbledehoy

We mustn�t look the answer up in a dictionary!

I suppose we shouldn�t swiz, shenanigan, swindle and trick, trying to test technical tomes, but I couldn�t resist roguishly risking researching the rare, �Exercises in Simple Linguistic Practices�, by Professor Quatch von Dummkopf of Ireland.

He lectures in �Thermal Underwear�, (speaking in Kikuyu), at the Yule Enterprises Technical Institute, in the central sauna of Enonteki�-Kilpisj�rvi, Lapland, Finland.

I was extremely fortunate, for three reasons.

1)   I also speak Kikuyu, together with Swahili and an African Click language, (my false teeth are very badly fitted).

2)   My visit coincided with the only week of daylight in the entire year.

3)   And finally, because there is a direct kayak service between the Arctic Circle and my home town, (with a change at Moscow and another at Istanbul).

My search reveals that the word �Hobbledehoy� comprises �Hobb-le-de-hoy�.

�Hob�, pronounced "Huurb", is Scandinavian for �crumb�; �le-de� is French, meaning �of the� (backwards!); �hoy�, (from the Scandiwegian), is the Tyneside dialect word for �throw� � �to hoy a clemmie�, (�to throw a stone�). �H�ey� is also Norse for �high island�.

In no time at all we have our answer � �Throw the crumbs back to make a high island�.

�Hobbledehoy� � The original recipe for the roughly shaped cake: �The Rock Bun�.