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AVMA Take 2
help
Yes, it's another round of that classic guessing game - Animal, Vegetable, Mineral, Abstract [or any combination thereof]. This effort - '03/'04 should address any queries, but then again, may just serve to confuse and baffle which some might say is the point of the game. Patience, integrity and a decent search engine may be useful ....
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A kampong?
A kampong? No.
A kelong?
Gotong royong?
Neither of these.You must surely be close. Would it help if I told you that there's one word on the card?
Rukun?
Runkun (as in pillars}? Nope, although pillars do feature. I am looking for the people which give the name of the architecture, not the architecture themselves.
[FGZstar] Rukun as in the Indonesian concept of "mutual adjustment". Presumably not, nor will it be tolong-menolong, adat, bayanihan, or العرف.
[Raak] You presume correctly.
We seem to have run to a halt. Time for a clue?
Okay, Clue time. The word on the card is also the name of an international air port. The word is the name of a 'people' with a distinctive style of architecture which responds passively to the microclimate of the area.
Is the airport in Indonesia?
Minangkabau?
OK, I assume that's going to put this question out of it's misery (if it's not right you won't hear from me again on this one). Frankly, without the clue it could have gone on for several more weeks.
Minangkabau? YES! - Have a saddleback shaped baton.
Thank goodness for that!
OK, let's have something that shouldn't need Google, Wikipedia and several empty hours.

This one is VEGETABLE, possibly also ANIMAL and with ABSTRACT connections

Is the vegetable component a potato?
Animal =Human?
Mr. Potato Head?
Edible?
[FGZ*] Yeah, I'm afraid that one makes even me channel Rosie a little bit. It was pretty arcane; I lived in that part of the world for several years and had never heard of them. That could still have been OK if you had been a bit more helpful with your definition and answers, mind you. Part of the problem was that you told us we were looking for an ABSTRACT, but your answer was the people themselves; that had me confused for a while. And there were a few places where you could certainly have had the audience be more helpful. Finally, Raak was definitely on track when he mentioned Indonesia and adat, but you gave no hint at all that he was getting close. I don't mind obscure topics as such, but I think you have got to be willing to let the audience help out more in those cases.
[irach] Earth Apple? - NO
[FGZstar] human? - NO
[Raak] Kartoffelkopf? - NO
[CdM]Edible? - YES
Manufactured?
[Software] Manufactured? - YES or 'Can be', depending on your definition of the question. Shall we say it's 'made'.
A dumpling?
Does the "making" involve a physical cooking process involving heat, such as baking or frying?
This won't take long
[Raak] My leetle dumpling? - NO
[irach] Cooked? - YES
Is it associated with a fesetive occasion?
(festive)
[Raak] Festiveive? - YES *audience chants of 'Easy, Easy*
Mince Pies?
Christmas pudding?
There, that wasn't hard, was it?
[GL] MINCE PIES it is!
Of course, on reflection it's quite hard to get away without some animal (milk in the pastry), but much less so than for pudding or cake, when you're dealing with eggs and butter as well. I was thinking about the presence or absence of suet in the mincemeat.
Now, would you just like to pull one end of this baton?
OK. Keeping it simple. MINERAL
Metal?
Unique?
[INJ] Metal? Partly.
[Tuj] Unique? No.
plastic?
A household object?
[Raak] plastic? No.
[CdM] Household object No.
On reflection I think the answer to INJ question should have been "Mostly" rather than "Partly".
Valuable?
Decorative?
Manufactured?
[CdM] Valuable? Depends on your definition of Valuable.
[cfm?] Decorative? Not originally.
[INJ] Manufactured? Yes.
Heavier than a car?
Antique?
Begins with P?
[Raak] Heavier than a car? Uncertain, but probably not.
[Software] Antique? Yes.
[Tuj] Begins with P? Not on the card, but a less formal description might.
A piece of sculpture?
Is the metal wrought iron?
Ironbridge?
Contains moving parts?
[irach] A piece of sculpture? No.
[Raak] Is the metal wrought iron? Iron, Yes. Wrought, No.
[Software] Ironbridge? No.
[Rosie] Contains moving parts? Y...yes I guess.
Is this a "Heritage" contraption such as pit-gear, steam engine, guillotine etc?
[Rosie] "Heritage" contraption? I'm not sure I'd call it a contraption, but heritage is not an unfair adjective.
Is it a weapon?
[Tuj] Weapon? No.
Is there a large number of these things in the UK?
[Rosie] Are there a large number of these in the UK? Yes.
A skip? (dumpster for our friends across the pond)
Would you be surprised to find one of these indoors?
[Software] A skip? No.
[Tuj] Would you be surprised to find one indoors? Normally I would, Yes (except in a museum), but after the evening I've just had...
A suit of armor?
Is this in the form of a wheel?
[GL] 'A large number' is no different from 'A number' and thus is singular.
G'day, Rosie, and welcome back.
Are these found throughout the world?
[Rosie, GL, Dujon] I was going to agree with Rosie and Dujon here, until I looked it up. Certainly, in my writing to date, I have always treated "a number" as a singular object. But, to my surprise, Merriam-Webster's Concise Dictionary of English Usage has this to say (after noting that "all commentators agree" on essentially this idea):
The rule of thumb for this construction is stated succinctly by Bernstein 1977:
In general, a number takes a plural verb and the number a singular.
Evidence in the Merriam-Webster files shows that the rule of thumb is generally observed. Even when the sentence begins with there, a number of commands the plural verb. {example] An adjective like increasing or growing tends to emphasise the word number in its singularity, and results in rather more mixed usage. [examples] But even in these constructions, the plural verb is the more common.
My inclination would still be to treat Rosie's phrase as contained within standard English usage, but GL is certainly not incorrect; to the contrary, the usage he favours is apparently more standard.

So I learned something today.
Anything to do with transport?
(CdM) French avoids the problem, it seems. Many people would say "Are there large numbers of....." which strictly is rather illogical but I'd probably use it colloquially.
(Dujon) *snarls back* G'day. :-)
[irach] A suit of armor? No.
[Dujon] In the form of a wheel? No.
[CdM] Are these found throughout the world? No. But in more than one country.
[Rosie] Anything to do with transport? No.
Related to a certain religion?
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