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 ....
Clarification/correction: I answered "No" to the question about whether the insect has a vegetable in its name. The technical term for this insect does in fact include a reference to a vegetable item. Non-technical references to this insect can also include a vegetable item, but more usually do not.
Dactylosphaera vitifoliae (Phylloxera) is the correct answer! I think cfm deserved that, since she (?) did most of the heavy lifting and got very close earlier with aphid (correct phylum, class, order, and suborder...) *hands cfm baton that has been grafted onto resistant N. American rootstock*
[INJ] YES, the strongest animal connection is human, though I can think of other animal connections. [Tuj] YES, hence the strong human connection. [Boolbar] YES, it is a contemporary concept. [CdM] YES, it does indeed begin with P. *loud applause...several audience members faint, overcome by the excitement of so many yes-es in a row*
[Tuj] NO, the thing is quite real. [Chalky] NO, the thing is abstract with animal and vegetable connections, not in and of itself animal. [Boolbar] Tough one. But I think the best answer is NO, not a method. But creating is a relevant concept. [INJ, NO, not an area of knowledge.
[Chalky] YES, there is an ancient religious connection--though ti seems that's the case with everything. :-) . [Raak]YES, the item can be related to weaving. [Tuj] YES, there is a fashion association.*audience swoons once again*
[Boolbar] YES. Connected to clothing. [Raak] YES. And NO. By that I mean not necessarily and not always associated with fanciness. [Chalky] YES. There is single word on the card.
[CdM] NO. Pattern is not the word on the card. But it is a relevant concept. *enthusiastic applause from the audience* [GL] NO. Not pinstripe. *lingering applause nonetheless*
[Boolbar] YES! It is a pattern found on clothing! *audience knows it's just a matter of time now until the other shoe drops and relapses into its regularly scheduled apathy
[ImNotJohn] Metal? At least partly, often mostly [Chalky] Rock? No, at least not that I've seen [cfm] Unique? No *Audience laughs* [Boolbar] Created after 1900? Yes
[cfm] A tool of some kind? I wouldn't say it was, but I've heard it both ways. [jim] Bigger than the Tardis? No. [Raak] 1,000,000+ extant? Yes. [Boolbar] Is it used in communication? Not to my knowledge.
[Dujon] utensil? Never sure about that word, but it is used for a purpose so I guess, Yes... household? I tend to expect the AOTC more in offices, but I have one at home and items similar to the AOTC are not uncommon in houses... So: [Dujon] A houshold utensil? Yes
[Boolbar] Does it do things to sheets of paper? It depends what you do with it/them. Personally I try to avoid letting mine do anything to sheets of paper but not always successfully.
[Chalky] I was a bit misleading there -- the paper is what's mainly wooden. [Tuj] Yes! Yes, it does begin with P! [CdM] I couldn't swear that no-one has ever set up a factory to make these, but no, not mass produced as far as I know.
Most of the hard work was done for me ... I just supplied the answer. But then, it's always a communal effort. Let's try a MINERAL, with ANIMAL and ABSTRACT connections.
[Boolbar] NO, not inside a building. [Raak] NO, not a statue, and hence not Michelangelo's David. Some audience approval of this line of questioning [GL] NO, not a city.
[Tuj] YES, it is art. [INJ] NO, it is not architecture. [Raak] NO, not made since 1900. [CdM] YES, in the UK. [Chalky] NO, does not involve water any more than anything else in the UK not enclosed in some sort of building :)
[CdM] NO, it is not a sculpture. (You could make a case for its being one, but on the whole I'd say no.) [Chalky] YES, it is made of stone. Some murmurs from the audience but no outright dissent. [Tuj] NO, it is not in London.
Might as well cut to the chase ... [INJ] YES! It is the Cerne Abbas Giant, aka the Rude Man of Cerne, for reasons that should be obvious. It may be an Iron Age depiction of a god or a fertility symbol, or it may be a giant 17th-century satirical drawing. But it is quite rude. Over to ImNotJohn goes one baton in the shape of ... well, probably best not to go into that.
[cfm] I say, I say? - YES [Boolbar] musical/vocal? - NO [Tuj] Fictional? - YES On the bike today, so leaving the laptop at work - normal service will resume in the morning
[cfm] Old Rock? - NO (is that biblical or just from the hymn? I shall check.) Back again. The exact phrase seems to relate to the hymn although there are close biblical links turned up in my swift googling. BTW the rock that is referred to is on the Isle of Wight, but I've not been there myself.
[INJ] Impulsive, misguided guess. Especially as you'd already said there was no connection to singing. But it's the name of a film playing in theaters now. So I thought it might be top of mind.
[cfm] - Always worth a try. I did know the story of the writing of the hymn, but I didn't (and don't) know if the phrase came to mind because it was biblical.
[Raak] GenExoLevNumDeu? - NO You may not know this as biblical - I chose it first and then checked the origin, so picking biblical quotes that fit might take a long time.
[Boolbar] Includes 'stone'? - NO [Chalky] Well-known in young adult conversation etc? - I think the average young adult would have come across the phrase, but not in general conversation. I'm sure everyone here will know it as a phrase and most also as the book title. [Raak] --- and ---? - NO [cfm] Glass House No-no? - NO
Thank you, INJ. Won't be difficult. It has been blazing hot and sunny for days with more of the same on the way. Let's try MINERAL with ANIMAL and VEGETABLE ASSOCIATIONS
[CdM] YES, the item is used by householders among other people. *a smattering of applause from the audience* INJ YES, larger than a 4-slice. *another smattering, plus a snicker or two* [Tuj] NOT NECESSARILY, but in some cases there are. [Software] NO, not a watering can.
[Raak] NO, not an Aga. (But I want of one those--one of the minty-turquoise green ones. :-) ) [GL] NO, not a barbecue/grill. *audience applauds nonetheless*
Cutting to the chase... [CdM] YES! The word on the card is indeed "smoker." (I recently inherited one from a relocating neighbor and have been having a fine time experimenting with it. One can only hope someone will leave me that Aga next.) *even as it is quickly handed off to CdM, the baton begins to vanish...*
Italy is a wonderful country but they don't quite seem to have mastered this whole Internet thing yet. Two hotels in a row, now, where the wifi has worked hardly at all. So I think it best if I leave this baton here for someone else to pick up.
[Tuj] P...? No [Boolbar] Known in 1900? Yes, but not in the context I thought of it. [cfm] Both vegetable and mineral together? The AOTC is abstract but were it not it may be vegetable, mineral or both depending on context and cultural preference [Software] The arts? The arts is too vague a term, no answer I give can be both accurate and helpful
[Boolbar] Computer related? I've seen it used on the internet but beyond that, No, I'm not aware of a computer connection. [Tuj] From fiction? No, it is not fictional, from fiction, the name of a work of fiction, nor is it noatably associated with a fictional character, place or organisation.
[Tuj] Your welcome I didn't want you worrying the wrong end of the stick for too long. It is safe to say if it is at all fictional it did not start out that way.