Daily Mail Literary Quiz

[rossierose]

struggling with unusual words definitions for delphinet and dragomachy. have put delphinet as a young dolphin and dragomachy as a duel between dragons. can anyone confirm this please?

[islasmum]

Well, young dolphins are calves, havent got the foggiest what a dragomachy is!

[Toorak]

Dragomachy looks good

https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=A7iDw172KBcC&pg=PA142&lpg=PA142&dq=dragomachy+meaning&;source=bl&;ots=Z_t-MS7LCq&sig=WB42sqyQeZDGQ2FKSdA0jXaeA-I&hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwjDs_aJ78LfAhXzShUIHWESCCwQ6AEwCnoECAYQAQ#v=onepage&;q=dragomachy%20meaning&f=false

[rossierose]

thanks, thats the nearest I got too - although never heard of these terms until today!

[Toorak]

I can’t find any clear definitions for Delphinet but young dolphin looks likely.

[Mamyalynne]

Can only find...

Dolphinet - A female Dolphin

[Buenchico]

Finding where 'delphinet' occurs in literature isn't difficult. It's from Vladimir Nabokov's "Ada or Ardor: A Family Chronicle". It's trying to make sense of what it means that presents the real problem!

https://tinyurl.com/yb2rv45h

[islasmum]

I googled delphinet and it only came up with Delphi.Net!

[Toorak]

I found the Nabokov reference too but the meaning is unclear - there is a suggestion that it derives from the Greek for dolphin or the oracle of Delphi

[Mamyalynne]

Chambers gives - Delphin, relating to the Dauphin of France.

Doubt that helps.

[angie55]

Closing date 14 January 2019. Only published in today's paper.

[jno]

delphinet does seem to be a case of hapax legomenon, doesn't it.

[Toorak]

It does jno

[Mamyalynne]

Ta Angie, get it won - decent prize that.

[JJ109]

This is a good site for the meanings of obscure words - but it doesn't help this time!
http://phrontistery.info/d.html

It lists
Delphine : pertaining to the Dauphin of France
Delphinine : of like or pertaining to dolphins