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AVMA Take 2

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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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Is it edible?

Does the mineral portion of the MV&A constitute the majority component of the answer?

Does the vegetable portion of the MV&A constitute the plurality component of the answer?

Does the animal portion of the MV&A constitute the primary component of the answer?

Does the conjunction portion of the MV&A constitute the primary component of the answer?

[Dujon] Mineral > Veg + Animal? YES
[CdM] Veg > Animal AND Veg > Mineral? NO
[GL] Animal is "primary component"? Not entirely sure what that means precisely, but I'm confident with a NO
[Boolbar] "Conjunction portion"? As an Austrian friend of mine used to say in French lessons, "My friend, I am completely lost"

Great answers but is it edible?

Is there just one of it?

And is it edible?

Is the mineral part a liquid?

[Conjunction] As mineral, animal and vegetable had already been taken, I was left with the "and" ;)

My sincerest apologies:
[Raak] Edible? NO
[Raak] Unique? YES
[Boolbar] Liquid mineral? NO {Re: conjunction - ah, very good :-)}

Was it man-made?

[Primary Component] Either the initial component or that from which the majority is made.
If that doesn't make sense, I apologise. English is my first language, so I tend to play with it until I break it.

Is it in a building?

[GL] Man-made? YES
[Boolbar] In a building? NO *applause and hubbub*

A landmark of the type that a tourist would visit?

[cfm] Tourist-magnet? YES *applause*

I've forgetten my next question

CdM, Gusset Login & Boolbar: Thanks, it's not often I get a chuckle out of MV&A.

[Dujon] Imaginary next question? I've forgotten the answer ;-)

Is it in Europe?

Is the vegetable portion in Canada?

Is the animal part alive?

Is the animal part human in whole or in part?

[Boolbar] In Europe? YES
[CdM] Veg portion in Canada? NO
[Raak] Animal part alive? NO
[cfm] Animal part human? NO!

Is it more than 300 years old?

[Boolbar] > 300 years old? YES and NO. You might wish to pick another number *a little applause and much chattering amongst the audience*

Is the animal part bone?

Is it in England?

[cfm] bone? NO
[Boolbar] In England? YES *some applause*

Hidden text

I confess, I had to use the Whoops! button earlier, as I said NO to Europe, forgetting temporarily that the UK is a part thereof. How 70s of me!

Stonehenge?

[Software] Stonehenge? NO

Is the animal part leather?

[Raak] Leather? YES

Is it larger than an adult Old English Sheepdog?

Is it smaller than the New York Stock Exchange?

Is it a vehicle?

Is it a building?

[Boolbar] Bigger than the Dulux dog? YES
[Tuj] Smaller than NYSE? NO

Hidden text

Being unfamiliar with NY, that took some research!

*some applause*
[Raak] A vehicle? NO
[cfm] A building? YES *more applause*

Is the mineral element stone?

[cfm] Mineral = Stone? YES *a bit more applause*

Is it in London?

[Chalky] In that London? NO

A famous library?

A Museum?

[cfm] Library? NO
[Boolbar] Museum? NO

A tannery?

[Raak] Tannery? NO - I would just add that the leather is very much a minor component

Is the vegetable element wood?

A religious building?

[cfm] Wood? YES
[Raak] Religious? NO

A commercial location?

[CdM] Commercial location? NO, using UPS's definition of a "commercial address".
If you meant "has it been used in an advertisement?" then the answer is YES

Is it less than 50 miles away from Cambridge?

The Cambridge in England that is. The one where half the boat race comes from.

[Boolbar] <50 miles to Cambridge? NO

Associated with an academic institution?

[cfm] Academic? NO

Is it a National Trust property?

[Boolbar] NT? NO

Does anyone live in it?

[Raak] Inhabited? YES *some applause*

Is the leather component, though minor, essential in some sense?

[CdM] Essential leather? NO - not worth focussing on, IMHO.

Is its latitude less than 52° N?

[Boolbar] Lat < 52^oC? YES *much glowing of smartphones as audience members check the veracity of Phil's reply, followed by knowing smiles and a slow spread of applause*

Buckingham Palace?

[Software] Buckingham Palace? NO *applause and eager anticipation of a victory*

The Royal Pavilion at Brighton?

[Raak] Brighton Pavilion? NO

Tower of London?

[Software] Tower of London? NO

Is it in a county that ends with "shire" ?

It is associated with royalty?

Windsor Castle?

[Boolbar] In a shire? YES
[Raak] Associated with royalty? NO, not closely in the sense I think you mean.
[Software] Windsor Castle? NO

I think a couple of questions could be useful to revisit the answers to (and the audience's reactions). "Latitude" and "Older than 300 years" would be of interest, from memory.

Would longitude be of particular importance?

The Royal Observatory in Greenwich?

[Dujon] Longitude particularly important? NO, other than its importance for any building
[CdM] Greenwich Observatory? NO

I would also remind you that someone lives in it.

Clarence House?

[Clarence House] NO - it's in a "-shire" county

Blenheim Palace?

[Raak] Blenheim Palace - YES. In retrospect, I might have left the leather element out altogether. The latitude at 51.84^oN is just less than 52, and the palace was being built 300 years ago.
So, I pass on the baton to Raak with Churchillian gravitas.

The next is ANIMAL.

Audience chuckles as the answer goes up on the laser display board.

Human?

Not human

More chuckling.

Alive?

A single animal?

Mythological?

Not alive.
Not a single animal.
Not mythological.
The audience derives some merriment from all these questions.

Is it manufactured from part or parts of a dead animal?

A dead parrot?

[GL] *applause* Yes, manufactured from dead animals.
[Phil] Not that dead animal.

Glue?

A Tesco economy beefburger?

Leatherwear?

[CdM] Not glue.
[INJ] Not leatherwear.
[Phil] I think that's close enough to the words on the card, "a horsemeat burger". Have this rod of horse, um, jerky.

The laughter was fun :-)
So, next we'll have,

ABSTRACT - with Animal associations

Is the animal connection human?

[Boolbar] Human animal connection? YES

A fictional human?

[GL] Fictional human? NO

The regulations that prohibit horsemeat from human consumption?

[Raak] Anti-equivoreal Regulations? NO

A unique human?

Is it found in the Bible?

Begins with P?

Culture-specific?

[cfm] Unique human? NO
[Boolbar] Found in The Bible? YES *a few chuckles*
[Tuj] Begins with P? YES Applause, cheers, whoops and laughter
[CdM] Culture-specific? YES

Are there other animal associations as well as human?

Philistine?

Question, not insult (well, probably).

[Boolbar] Other animals? NO
[CdM] Me-istine? NO

Pornographic?

:o)

Paternalism?

[Software] Rudey bits? NO!
[cfm] Daddyness? NO

Pilates exercises?

[Raak] Pilates? NO

Paganism?

[cfm] Paganism? NO

Does the answer on the card have more than one word?

[Boolbar] AOC has > 1 word? YES

NB, on reflection for Tuj's "Does it begin with P?" question, I should add that the most important part of the answer on the card starts with "P".

A painted sepulchre?

Is the important P-thing you?

Related to a particular belief system?

Is it related to prayer?

[Raak] Painted sepulchre? NO
[Tuj] Me? NO
[cfm] Related to a particular belief system? NO
[GL] Prayer? NO

A plague of something?

[Raak] Plague? NO

Is there a person's name in the answer?

Related to food?

[Boolbar] A name? NO
[cfm] Foody? NO

A prophesy?

[Raak] Prophesy? NO

Is the specific culture geographically defined/distinct?

[cfm] Geographically defined specific culture? NO - plus I have not strictly said it's one culture.

[Phil] Indeed, I should have asked is/are the specific culture(s) geographically defined/distinct? Thanks for the conscientious clarification, though. :)

Related to language?

[cfm] Related to language? YES *Audience wakes up and applauds*

A parable?

Is it related to many other written works as well as the bible?

[Raak] A parable? NO
[INJ] Related to many other works? YES *enthusiastic applause*

Page number?

[GL] Page number? NO

A catch phrase?

[cfm] A catch phrase? NO

Related to language?

[INJ] Related to language? YES *more enthusiastic applause*

Is the P-word someone's name?

[Raak] A P-name? NO

Does it start with "Ph"?

A Proper Noun?

Has anyone done or used this in this game?

Anything to do with preaching?

[GL] Ph- ? NO
[INJ] A proper noun? NO
[Boolbar] Has it been used in this game? YES, many, many times. *Applause, cheers and a few knowing chuckles*
[Raak] To do with preaching? NO

To do with playing?

A pun?

[Raak] To do with playing? NO
[CdM] A pun? NO.

Some clarification

While I have said no to playing, puns, preaching, proper nouns, philistines, page numbers, catch phrases and others, the answer on the card is related to all these things in a way.

Printed words?

[GL] Printed words? NO (but again, related as above).

The letter P?

[Boolbar] The letter P? YES - plaudits, pleasantries, praise and power be thine. Passing this practically perfect pole of power from person-to-person in the pursuit of pedantic pleasure is a project of prime privilege. Phew!

[Phil] Bravo!

Blimey! Funny enough, I needed a p after all that.

Let's do this ...
ABSTRACT (WITH ANIMAL, MINERAL & VEGETABLE ASSOCIATIONS)

An activity

A cracking start.

[NotJohn] Being active? - YES *Audience look keen*

Creation?

Peeing?

[Gusset Login] Creation? Did you mean The Creation or the act of creation in general? Either way, NO.
However, the AOTC was created, if your meaning was "is it a creation?"
[Phil] Micturate? NO.

A game?

this is going well.

[Raak] Game-on! YES *applause*

Normally takes place outdoors?

[NotJohn] Normally done outside? YES

Does the game involve a ball?

Is it widely played in England?

[cfm] Ball Game? NO.
[Phil] Widely played in England?
Hmmm. I suspect NO. It is played in England (as well as other countries), but not widely (as in often *and* all over the country, e.g. cricket or chess).

Does the game require forming teams?

Ultimate frisbee?

A spectator sport?

[cfm] Teams? NO. I'm sure it can be played with teams, but it isn't usually.
[CdM] Ultimate frisbee? NO.
[Raak] Spectator sport? I think the best answer is NO. But there is nothing to stop people watching!

Are there organised competitions?

Is it normally associated with one culture

e.g. Kabbadi (sp?)

Does the game involve equipment of some kind?

Do the players typically get muddy?

[Phil] Competitions? YES. I know of at least one.
[ImNotJohn] One culture? NO. I think.
[cfm] Equipment? YES-ish. Players need an item to play the game, but calling it equipment is perhaps misleading. Would the pies in a pie-eating contest be called equipment?
[Raak] Mud glorious mud? NO. But the opportunity is there.

Cheese-rolling?

Does the 'equipment' constitute the vegetable and mineral part of the definition?

[Phil] Chasing Cheese? NO.
[NotJohn] 'Equipment' vegetable/mineral? YES for vegetable traditionally. Some mineral items can also be used. *Audience applause and murmur*

Is it a game in which two people play against each other?

Is there a non-human animal connection?

Does this involve the throwing/tossing of an object?

Does it involve climbing?

Is the vegetal matter wood?

[Raak] One-against-one? YES. Or more than two. At least two.
[cfm] Non-human animal? In an abstract way, there is a connection, so YES. *Audience mutter*
[Dujon] Tossing? YES *A ripple of applause* Or at least using gravity.
[NotJohn] Climbing? NO.
[Phil] Vegetable wood? YES! *A wave of applause* The vegetable part could also be a mineral to play, but in the origins of the game, it was vegetable (wood).

Poohsticks?

Golf?

Winner!

[Raak] A hole in one? NO.
[NotJohn] Poohsticks? YES!! Your stick has passed under the bridge first.
Hands NotJohn a somewhat moist twig.

It's the little flick of the wrist as you drop it that makes all the difference.

OK, this one is VEGETABLE or (ANIMAL with ABSTRACT connections)

Wooden Horse?

[Phil] Sylvan equine? - NO

A vegetable?

As in, "a vegetable" being the answer, metaphorical for someone irreversibly brain-dead.

Some great guesses here

[Raak] Vegetable vegetable? - NO

Trojan Horse?

Is this a homograph?

A wooden sculpture?

A swede?

[GL] Trojan Horse? - NO
[Chalky] Homograph? - Tricky, I think it could be argued either way, but I'd go for - NO
[Raak] Wooden Sculpture? - NO
[Dujon] Swede? - NO

Is the Animal a human?

Is it usually eaten?

[Chalky] - Human animal? - YES
[Boolbar] Usually eaten? - NO

Made of paper?

[CdM] Papery? - NO, but * a few suppressed chuckles in the audience*

Is it unique?

Made of wood?

Some progress

[Boolbar] Only 1? - YES for the Animal
[Phil] Woody? - YES for the vegetable

Fictitional Animal?

[Chalky] Fictional Animal? - NO

Is it a tree?

Aha!

[Boolbar] A Tree? - YES *prolonged applause*

Family tree?

[Software] Genealogical? - NO

A specific kind of tree?

Warm

[CdM] Specific kind of tree? - YES *further applause*

Rowan?

Tree of Life?

[Phil] - Rowan? - NO? (So not ROWAN Atkinson, nor ASHley Cole, nor Gabriel OAK, etc)
[cfm] Tree of Life? - NO

Joshua Tree?

[cfm] U2 Tree? - NO (I wondered if someone would guess that)

There is no cheating or discrepancy going on here - the answer, exactly as stated on the card, is both a kind of tree and a unique human animal. Attacking either part is possible. Perhaps inevitably some people will find one alternative easier than the other.

Sequoyah?

[Raak] Sequoia? - NO (I'll look up your spelling - mine is that required to make it the equal shortest word containing all vowels once only)

{Raak] Isn't that fascinating - thank you. It's also a very good guess. Just happens to be incorrect.

Is the tree an evergreen?

Is the unique human male?

[Boolbar] Evergreen - YES
[cfm] - male? - YES

Did he die before 1900?

Died pre-1900? - NO *the audience is hushed*

Courtney Pine?

[Chalky] Courtney Pine? - NO

Stan Laurel?

[Phil} - A laurel called Stan? - NO
Just a a gentle prod, the person is probably the harder element to get for most of you.

Is it a pine tree?

[Boolbar] A pine? - Technically NO, but commonly YES *applause*

Scots pine?

A fir?

[cfm] McPine? - NO
[Raak] Firry? - NO

The monkey puzzle?

I thank my dear late father for one of his useless facts.

Araucaria

We have a winner AND we have a winner

The answer on the card is Araucaria, aka the Monkey Puzzle tree or the Chilean Pine.
Araucaria is also the pseudonym of the Rev. John Galbraith Graham, the doyen of British cryptic crossword compilers, who recently announced that he is suffering from terminal cancer using the answers to clues in one of his puzzles to do so. (Araucaria is suffering from 18 down of the 19, where the clue to 18 down was 'Sign of growth (6)')
Well then, now what do I do - Phil is exactly right, but he set the last one and in the absence of his answer I would have allowed Software's, so I will.
One 'Stick to continue the innings (5)' passed on to Software.

Department of Corrections

That's 'last but one'

Indeed, I meant to add that if I got that right, I would give the baton to Software, as I would not have got it without him. I remember the day (probably early 1990s) that I discovered what the crossword compiler's name meant. I hadn't heard about his illness though. Anyway, onwards and upwards (or downwards and acrosswards)

Department of useless facts

John Graham also sets puzzles under the pseudonym 'Cinephile', which is an anagram of 'Chile Pine'.

Ah, that'll be me then accepting the prickly baton.

Right, ANIMAL with ABSTRACT connections.

Red rum?

Human?

Fictional?

Animal the Muppet drummer?

[GL] Horse meat? NO
[cfm] One of us? YES!
[NJ] Virtual? NO
[Bool] Don't be a Muppet. NO

A unique human?

Currently alive?

[cfm] One-off? YES!
[NJ] Living? YES!

A male?

[Phil] Manly? YES!

The creative type? (writer, visual artist, performer, etc.)

Does this person have some language other than English as his mother tongue?

British?

Is or was involved in politics?

[cfm] arty farty? NO
[CdM] Bilingual? NO
[Raak] True Brit? YES!
[NJ] political animal? NO *some muttering among the audience*

Involved in government?

A member of the Royal Family?

[cfm] Elected? NO *more mutterings in audience*
[Phil] Royalty?NO

A scientist?

Has this person received an honour from the Queen?

A non-elected government employee?

A journalist?

[Phil] Boffin? NO *guffaws from some of the audience*
{Raak} Dubbed? YES! *mutterings among some of the audience*
[cfm] Quangoish? NO *some of the audience have views on this it would seem*
[NJ] Hack? NO

Sebastian Newbold Coe, Baron Coe CH KBE?

David Beckham?

[Raak] Superman? NO
[Phil] Becks? NO

Involved in the Justice system?

[NJ] Judiciary? NO

Involved in the sporting world?

A broadcaster?

[Raak] Sporty?: NO
[Phil] Pundit?: NO (not in the normal sense anyway)

Under 50 years old?

Over 70 years old?

[Phil] <50 years?: NO
[Bool] >70 years?: NO

A businessman?

[Raak] Something in the city?: NO

Does he begin with P?

Involved with education?

An Entrepreneur?

A celebrity chef?

[CdM] P?: NO
[NJ] Tutor?: NO * mutterings among some of the audience *
[Chalks] Wheeler Dealer?: NO
[Raak] Cooking fat?: NO

Summary

A living British man between 50 and 70 with a gong, but not any of: a creative, a non-native English speaker, a politician, a politician in power, employed by the government, a journalist, in the legal profession, a sportsman, a broadcaster, a businessman, a P_____, an educator, an entrepreneur, or a chef.

Was he formerly in any of those professions but is now retired?

[Raak] Retiree?: NO

Has he published written works?

*focusing on the abstract* Do we know about him because of a song or piece of music?

Do we know about him because of something that happened to him?

continuing the thought

Does he work in PR?

[CdM] Author?: NO not in the strictest interpretation, that is
[Chalks] Musical?: NO
[NJ] Events?: YES!
[Phil] Spinner?: NO * chuckles from some of the audience *

Is he known for inventing something?

Was he the victim of a crime?

Did the "something that happened to him" happen outside the United Kingdom?

[Bool] Inventor? NO
[NJ] Mugged? NO
[CdM]Overseas? NO

Did he mount or inspire some kind of protest?

Does he have a Wikipedia entry?

Is he a 'Sir .....'?

[cfm] Protester? NO * some heated discussion among part of the audience +
[Phil] Wikied? YES!
[Chalks] Knighted? NO * spontaneous sporadic claps from audience *

Has this person been stripped of his honour from the Queen?

[Bool] Demoted? NO

Has he received the Order of the British Empire?

Does he have an employer?

[GL] OBE etc? NO
[Phil] Employer? YES! * chuckles from some of the audience *

Is he a 'Lord ...'?

Is he a Duke?

[Chalks] Peer of the Realm? YES!
[GL] Duke? NO

A life peer?

[GL] Lifer? YES!

A man of the cloth?

The Lord Williams of Oystermouth?

(simulposted with Phil)

[Phil] Sky pilot? YES!
[CdM] Lord Who? NO.

Justin Portal Welby?

[NJ] The Lord Archbishop? YES!

Well done! Please accept this Shepherd's Crook shaped baton!

pedantry rears my ugly head

He's not, technically, a life peer, is he? I know ex-Arch B's of C generally are given life peerages, but not until they're ex. I think. I could well be wrong, though :-)

But no applause for my guess? That audience was harsh! Also, not to cavil, but saying "we know about him because of something that happened to him" seems to be dissing someone who rose to the highest possible point on his career path. A bit like saying we know David Cameron or Jack Welch because of something that happened to them (being elected, being appointed by a Board of Directors).

Hmmm.

Yes, I think Sir Alec would have had a few things to say about the ref in that round - I didn't guess earlier because I was sure CdM was right.

Moving on we'll have primarily VEGETABLE with major ANIMAL connections - In fact technically, there are also significant Mineral and Abstract associations as well, but that's not going to help at this stage

Can I eat it?

Can I eat it if Boolbar doesn't?

[Boolbar/CdM] Edible? - NO?

Bigger than a breadbox?

[cfm] > breadbox? - YES

Is the Vegetable part the Animal connection's habitat?

[Raak] Is the Vegetable part the Animal connection's habitat? - YES, you could put it like that (a little ripple)

Is the animal a bird?

Is the animal human?

Is the animal a fish?

Going OK so far

[cfm] avian? - NO
[Raak] Human? - YES
GLogin] Piscine? - NO

A log cabin?

[GL] Log Cabin? - NO *audience is stirring, some applausse heard*

Unique?

A famous home?

Warm

[CdM] just the 1? - YES
[cfm] Famous home? - YES *sustained applause*

Located in Europe?

In the USA?

[GL] Bravo

Well, this is very efficient

[cfm] European? - NO
[Tuj] USian? - YES

Built in the 20th century?

[cfm] C20? - NO

George Washington's home at Mount Vernon?

Is it famous because someone famous lived there?

Does it begin with the initial letter of Pennsylvania?

And the winner is

[Raak] Mount Vernon it is!!
I've just been reading a biography. Interesting that his greatness is as much about when he gave up power as when he wielded it.
Here, have this branch of a cherry tree I've just cut down as a baton.

Ah, so this is why my memory failed to conjure up a vision of a wooden house.

Q: Is the mansion at Mount Vernon built of wood or stone?
A: Mount Vernon is of frame construction, and the sheathing is beveled and covered with a mixture of paint and sand to give the appearance of stone.

Never actually been there, so I just went straight to Wikipedia, which just says 'The mansion is built of wood in neoclassical Georgian architectural style'.

The next is ANIMAL.

Is it unique?

Human?

[Notboolbarjohn] A unique human.

Is the unique human male?

Is this human still alive?

[cfm] Male.
[Boolbar] Alive.

Begins with P?

The odds aren't good on our 4-0 start continuing...

[Tuj] **applause** Yes, I think it would be fair to say so.

Is this unique living male human beginning with P European?

[CdM] Almost certainly European.

Is the answer a title rather than a name?

The next pope?

[NotJohn] Yes!
[CdM] The exact words on the card! Habemus papam! *a puff of white smoke emerges from a cottage in north Wales*

Fastest ever?

Well, yes, that was what I was hinting at, but I didn't want to hog it.
We got that one with 8 guesses, all answered 'Yes'. That must be a record.

[NJ] Well, except for this. And, yes, I knew that you had probably guessed the answer, but I didn't want to let the streak be broken.

All right. A nice easy MINERAL .

Unique?

Cor.

Primarily Rock/stone?

Of course, if the Ghanaian or Canadian cardinal is appointed then we will have to come back and rewrite one of the YESs as a NO)

On/in the Earth?

Unique? Yes. But, oddly enough, also No.
Primarily Rock/stone? Yes. *applause*
On/in the earth? Yes.
Incidentally, there is also an animal connection, but I was unaware of it until I started reading Wikipedia, and I suspect it won't be useful.

Is it smaller than Kylie Minogue?

Begin with 'P' ?

A human construction?

The remains of the Chelyabinsk meteor?

Smaller than Kylie? No.
Begins with P? Yes?
Human construction? No. (*a few members of the audience whisper among themselves about some technicalities, but agree with the conclusion*)
Meteoric remains? No. ( *a few members of the audience applaud the insight of the question*)

A natural geographic feature?

Pyramid of Cheops?

Natural geographic feature? Well, yes and no. The spirit of the question points to Yes, but I am not sure it really qualifies as a geographic feature, and there is some potential quibbling about natural (see "Human construction?").
Pyramid of Cheops? No.

The parallel roads?

You know how it is - you have a thought and just have to throw the guess in even though there's plenty more digging to be done.

Is it south of the Tropic of Cancer?

Parallel roads? No.
South of Tropic of Cancer? No.

In one single geographical location?

The North Pole?

In one location? Strictly speaking, No.
North Pole? No.

Geographic location modified by man?

Geographic location modified by man? I am really having trouble knowing how to answer this. The answer does not refer to a geographic location as such, though it does refer to something associated with a particular geographic location.

I think you just asked this that so you can get revenge on my quibbling about your previous one. :-)

Does it move?

Is this a jewel?

Does it move? Not in general, no.
A jewel? No.
This is one of those topics that i thought would be relatively straightforward when I thought of it, but was a bit more complicated once I did a bit of research. You might find the best route is to think in terms of the geographic location.

Is the associated geographic location in Europe?

In Europe? No.

Is the associated geographic location in Asia?

In Asia? No.

You might also want to revisit the audience applause.

Is the associated geographic location in N America?

Welcome back, Chalky

North America? Yes.

Is the answer on the card the name of the rock/stone?

Thanks CdM.

Is it connected with mining/drilling?

Answer on card name of rock/stone? Yes. *applause*
Connected to mining? No.

Is the geographical bit a mountain?

Yellowstone Park?

Mountain? No. *some laughter*
Yellowstone? No.

Does it have a superficies of less than 1 square mile?

Superficial superficies? Yes.

Is the word begining with P the location of the AOTC?

P-word = location? Yes. *applause* (Technically, actually, the answer is Yes and No, but that would mislead much more than it would help.)

Roxbury Puddingstone?

Roxbury Puddingstone? *googles* No.

In the USA?

In the USA? Yes. I think this is eminently guessable now.

Plymouth Rock?

And I was right!

Plymouth Rock is correct!

Never having been there, I had always assumed it was just this place on the coastline. But no. Turns out it is a smallish rock (though bigger than Kylie!) that has been split into two (not to mention having lots of smaller pieces chipped off it), and both pieces have been moved. One is still in Plymouth, and one is in Brooklyn.

*chips off baton-sized piece and hands it to cfm*

[CdM] *declines contraband baton* You can get arrested for that, you know. :-) Okay, let's try this:
ABSTRACT with animal assocations

Is the animal association a single human?

NotJohn's retired "Im"?

A piece of music?

[INJ] Singularly human? NO. There are multiple associations.
[Tuj] Nominal amputations? NO but *laughs*
[CdM] Hum a few bars? NO

Are the animals referred to by association human?

Is it a well-known saying?

Is there a religious or spiritual connection?

But is it art?

[Phil Human association? YES and NO. There are multiple animal associations and at least one of them is human.
[Boolbar] Just sayin'? NO.
[NJ] Prayer and stuff? NO
[Tuj] Artful? YES *applause*

The visual arts?

A story?

Is the answer on the card a single word?

[NJ] Eyes have it? YES *applause*
[Phi] Tell me a story? YES *fair and equal applause*
[Tuj] One word answer? NO

Related to a TV series?

[Tuj] TV-related? NO

Film/movie related?

[NJ] Wide screen? YES *applause*

Was it nominated for an Academy Award?

[GL] Nods from the Academy? YES *three thundrous claps*

Was it a winner of the Best Picture award?

Came out since 1/1/2000?

[Cdm] Top honor? NO
[NJ] Post-2000? NO

Begins with P?

Is Meryl Streep in the film?

[Tuj] I'll have the usual? NO
[Boolbar] Meryl-y on our way? NO

Did it win an Academy Award?

[GL] Oscar winner? YES

Was it filmed in color?

Does the answer on the card include the word 'king'?

[CdM] Full spectrum? NO
[Dujon] Royal treatment? NO

Did it star Jimmy Stewart?

[CdM] That leading man? NO *audience perks up a smidge*

Was it a musical?

[NJ] Musical? NO.

Passport to Pimlico?

[Software] P-to-P? NO (I don't think that won any Oscars.)
(Players may want to revisit unresolved questions around animal associations?)

Was the Oscar won in the 1950s?

[Phil] 50s vintage? NO *a little twitter from the audience*

earlier?

[NJ] Pre-1950? NO

The Poseidon Adventure?

Is it an English language film?

[Software] Fish story? NO
[Boolbar] English language? YES
To recap, The AOTC is both an English language story and a non-musical, black-and-white film made between 1959 and 1999. It has won 3 Academy Awards, but none of those were for Best Picture. There is at least one human association (hard to imagine a story or film without one) but there may be other animal associations, as well. Oddly, the audience perked up at the mention of a leading man not connected to the film--perhaps because the players were getting warm in some way. It could also point to another productive line of questioning. :-)

Did it win the Academy Award for Best Actor?

Is this black-and-white movie from the 60s?

Psycho?

[Boolbar] Leading leading man? YES *vigorous applause*
[Chalky 1] Product of the 60s? YES *applause continues*
[Chalky 2] Shower scene? NO

To Kill A Mockingbird?

Has to be, surely...

[CdM] TKAM, surely? YES. A favorite film. I came perilously close to naming a kid Atticus.
*hands CdM the severed leg of a busted up chiffarobe* Careful now, don't get yourself a splinter.

Well, once we know we were looking for a multiple-oscar-winning B&W movie post 1960, it was pretty easy, even without the answer to Boolbar's question.

MINERAL with ANIMAL and VEGETABLE connections

Unique?

metallic?

Bigger than Dame Judi Dench?

Unique? Yes.
Metallic? No.
Bigger than Judi? *audience laughter* Bigger than Dame Judi and Dame Maggie combined!

A statue?

A statue? No.

A building?

A building? No.

Human-made?

Human-made? Most definitely not.

Mountainous?

Is it in Europe?

Begins with P?

Mountainous? No.
In Europe? No.
Begins with P? Yes.

Does it have a border?

Is it a desert?

Does it have a border? Depends what you mean by a border. In a sense it does, yes, but you might want to clarify what you mean.
Is it a desert? No.

Of this earth?

Of this earth? Yes. *a little muttering in the audience*

Is there a connection to the earth's atmosphere?

Is it underground?

Connection to atmosphere? Well, yes, for a fairly broad definition of "connection"
Underground? No.

Is it less than 65 million years old?

Is it wet?

Now we are getting somewhere

Less than 65 million years old? No. *applause*
Wet? Yes. *applause*

Might this be an expanse of water?

Is it likely to be a source of preciptation?

Might this be an expanse of water? Yes it might.
Source of precipitation? Only in the sense that an expanse of water is an indirect source of precipitation.

Is it a pacific ocean?

Pacific Ocean. No. *some more muttering in the audience*

(I think that my No is the best answer, but the mutterers do have a point.)

The Philippine Sea?

Phil's sea? No.

Is it contained within the Pacific Ocean?

Contained within the Pacific Ocean? No.

Patagonian fjords?

Patagonian crinkly bits? No.

Panama Canal?

Is it bigger than Wales?

(clarifying) ...in surface area?

In the possession of a single country?

*pondering the audience applause for the age question*

Is it a glacier? *trying to imagine how a body of water gets classified as mineral*

Panama Canal? No.
Bigger than Wales? Yes.
In the possession of a single country? No. *some laughter*
A glacier? No. (And, yes, that is I guess a legitimate question/complaint. I think that in this game we generally take a broad definition of "mineral". For example:
4 : something neither animal nor vegetable.
The answer on the card certainly wouldn't fit the more narrow definition of mineral, which includes the word "solid". I am not sure how else I should classify a body of water, though. In any case, you (the group) have correctly figured out that this is a body of water, bigger than Wales, more than 65 million years old, with some muttering about whether or not it is a Pacific Ocean.)

Is it under the Antarctic ice cap?

Under Antarctica? No.

*Stands corrected and clearly uninitiated* Does the P stand for Pacific?

P for Pacific? No. (And I don't think you should stand corrected at all. Your definition is more standard than the one I was (unthinkingly) using.)

Panthalassa?

Panthalassa is correct! Three hundred million years ago (give or take a decade), our current continents were joined in the single landmass of Pangaea. Panthalassa was the ocean surrounding that continent. Or, if you prefer, the giant salt lake in the middle of it. It can be thought of as the precursor of the current Pacific Ocean. I had originally planned to make Pangaea the word on the card, but when I checked some sources (ok, ok, wikipedia) I learned about Panthalassa, and thought that sounded more fun.

*passes NJ some empty space with a baton-shaped hole in the middle*

Oops - Sorry for the lurker's victory

Let's try ABSTRACT with significant Animal connections (Mrs NJ thinks it should actually be Animal)

Is it fictional?

Is it a taxonomic class?

Does it refer to a group of animals (more broadly than in the sense of Raak's question)?

Unique?

[CdM] That's my one new thing for the day, ta!

[GL] Unreal? - NO
[Raak] Group of creatures? - NO
[CdM] Group of creatures? - NO
[Tuj] Just the one? - YES (though not a very meaningful question or answer)

Is it a characteristic or feature of an animal?

A human invention?

Onomatopoeia?

Cold

[CdM] Animalish thing? - NO
[Tuj] Man-made-up? - NO
[cfm] Sounds like? - NO

Phrase of saying?

[Software] I say, I say? - NO

Begins with P?

Are the animal connections human?

[Tuj] P-ness? - One of the words on the card begins with a P
[CdM] Oh, the Humanity? - YES

Is the AOTC a post/job/position held by a person?

Connected with a particular geographic location?

[Chalky] Gissa job? - NO
[Tuj] In one place? - YES *for the first time the audience shows some interest*

Is the particular geographic location in Africa?

[Boolbar] African? - NO

Geo = Europe?

Is the association a particular country?

[Software] EU? - NO
[Tuj] Is the association a particular country? - NO (but I'm not quite sure what the question is asking)
(*the audience is still attentive at this line of questioning*)

Is this a race or tribe of peoples?

[Chalky] Race/tribe? - NO (Remember, it's abstract)

A language?

A belief system of some kind?

[Chalky] Lingo? - NO
[cfm] Belief system? - NO

A disease?

Is the particular geographic location a body of water?

[Chalky] Poorly? - NO
[Boolbar] Watery? - NO

Connected with religion?

Is the particular geographic location in the Southern Hemisphere?

Back to basics: Is the AOTC the name of a place?

[Tuj] God-bothery? - NO
[CdM] Meridional? NO
[Chalky] Place Name? - Not as such but *considerable applause*

Do the animal connections involve more than 10 humans?

[CdM] >10 people? - YES (quite a lot more, but I won't be able to give you an exact figure)

Related to a trade or skill?

To do with a nation or race?

[cfm] Artisanry? - NO
[Software] Nation/Race? - NO (or only vaguely)

To do with a religion?

[Phil] Religion? - Well, it wasn't when Tuj asked, but He does move in mysterious ways *checks* - Still NO

Clarification

I should probably have been slightly less dismissive of Software's question wrt a nation. There is a bit of a link there, but I'm afraid it might lead you astray. The answer is still NO.

To do with politics?

If it does suddenly become to do with religion, you will let me know, right?

[Phil] Political? - NO (or only obliquely)

Is it something that people do at a particular location?

Is it related to light?

A website?

We apologise for the short break in service

[Boolbar] Let's do the show right here? - NO - not 'do'
[Tuj] Et lux erat? - NO
[Chalky] Where the spiders are? - NO

Is this a custom or tradition linked with a particular location?

Race rather than nation related?

[Chalky] Custom/tradition - I certainly hope not
[Software] Race v Nation - a bit of both (depends on your pov), but I'd still answer NO to either.

An area which covers part/all of more than one country?

Would you characterize this as a negative phenomenon or experience?

Is this connected with death?

Progress of a sort

[Dujon] >1 country? - NO
[cfm] Negative? YES (phenomenon or experience? - NO)
[Chalky] Connected with death - YES

Does it involve deliberate killing of humans?

[CdM] You have deaded me? - YES *applause*

Is it a method of killing humans?

[cfm] Method of Killing? - NO

The Black Plague?

(I seem to have mashed up "Black Death" and "bubonic plague." Abomination!)

The death penalty?

[Quendalon] Bubonic Death? - NO
[CdM] Judicial killing? - NO
(Remember - associated with a specific location) - let me re-answer Tuj's earlier question - the association is not a specific country, but is in a specific country. Also, I should probably have answered Phil's question about Politics a bit more positively - there is a link, but that's not the essence of the answer.

Is this a mass graveyard?

Is the geographic region (in) North America?

[Chalky] Mass Grave? - NO *a little ripple*
[Quendalon] Norteamericano? - NO

Associated with a specific historical event?

[Quendalon] Specific historical event? - YES *some relieved applause*

Did it take place in Asia?

Did the historical event occur before 1800?

A WW1 Cemetary?

Named after a person?

[Phil] Asian? - YES *more relieved applause*
[Boolbar] pre-1800? - NO
[Chalky] Rows of crosses?- NO
[Quendalon] eponymous? - NO

Did the killings involve firearms?

A shot in the dark.

Getting warm

[Quendalon] Shots in the dark and light? - YES

The My Lai (Pinkville) Massacre?

I was briefly sure that the answer had to be the My Lai massacre because INJ started this AVMA on its 45th anniversary. Then I was convinced that was wrong because of the lack of a P-word. Then googling revealed that My Lai was codenamed "Pinkville", which I hadn't known. So now I am convinced I am right again. :-)

Ha! I was waiting for that.

[CdM] My Lai? - NO but *considerable applause*

The Panjiayu Tragedy?

Going off to look it up

[Phil] Panjiayu? - NO

How about the Pingdingshan one then?

(good old wikipedia)

Let me follow you through wikipedia

[Phil] Pingpong? - NO (IMO it's less obscure - I didn't look it up)

Did this event take place in China?

[Phil] Sinitic? - NO

Phong Nhi and/or Phong Nhat massacres?

Yet more wikipedia for me

[cfm] Phong Not? - NO
(Bonus answer 'Massacre? - NO')

Did the historical event occur before 1920?

Did more than one person perform the actual killing?

[Boolbar] Pre 1920? - NO
[Quendalon] >1 killers? - YES *a few chuckles in the audience*

The 38th Parallel?

[Chalky] Korean? - NO

Was this a key event in a war?

In Asia. Which has been established. I think.

Aha!

[Chalky] Key event in a war? - YES *considerable applause* (and yes, Asia (not China or Korea) has been established)

So .. are we talking Vietnam then?

Which was NOT established by previous line of questioning.

or Japan?

The audience is beginning to pack bags.

[Chalky] Vietnam? - YES
[Phil] Therefore Japan? - NO

Dien Bien Phu?

Has Raak scored a lurker's victory?

The Battle of Dien Bien Phu?

... as you specifically stated earlier that this was not the name of a place.

There, that wasn't so hard, was it?

[Chalky] It is indeed The battle of Dien Bien Phu where a small French force held out for weeks against overwhelming Viet Minh forces before being comprehensively defeated. The French inability to relieve or effectively resupply the garrison spelt the end of French colonial ambitions in Indo-China.
Since I got this round as a bit of a lurker I feel disinclined to step into this quarrel, but the answer is specifically the battle, not the place.

Throws a baton in the air to see who will catch it.

Me!

Thank you NotJohn for a splendid AVMA - spookily not dissimilar to a subject that'd crossed my mind a few weeks ago - should the chair beckon.
So this is not that one, NotJohn - it's this one ..

ABSTRACT

Related to mathematics?

The #1 question on the board.

Begins with P?

Surely #2.
[NJ] And well done for not getting impatient as the team worked at getting there! Bit worried about those black-humoured audience members chuckling near the end...

Pi?

In case the previous two were both correct.

Related to the arts?

Some answers

(Quendalon) Mathematics? - NO only obliquely
(Tuj) P? - YES :)
(Gusset Login) Pi? - NO
(NotJohn) Arts? NO

Is the AOTC just one word?

Science-related?

A human invention?

Good questions

(Phil) One word answer - YES
(NotJohn) Science-related? - NO only obliquely
(Tuj) Human invention? - YES although I'd question the word 'invention'

Perfection?

[Phil] Perfection? NO *audience begins to pay attention*

Does the AOTC describe a state of being or quality?

Would the answer on the card exist in a world without humans?

(No, I don't think this question is rendered moot by Tuj's question...)

Apologies for absence -

(cfm) State of being or quality? - YES
(CdM) Exist in a world without humans? - NO :)

Is the word on the card an adjective?

Clever questioning ...

(Quendo) Adjective? - NO, not in this instance.

Is the word used in reference to animals (as opposed to homo sapiens solely)?

(Dujon) In reference to animals? - NO

Is it normally considered positive?

Is the AOTC a state of mind?

Is the word used in reference to humans?

(NotJohn) Positive? To some YES; to most, I suspect NO.
(cfm) State of mind? YES
(Quendalon) Humans? - still YES

Is the word used in reference to one gender significantly more than the other?

(Quendalon) Gender specific? - NO

any more for any more?

Linked to a particular culture?

Is it a recognised medical condition or syndrome?

Pleasure?

Associated with a particular geographic location?

Does the word on the card start with a prefix?

Pedantry

(CdM) Linked to a particular culture? - Erm ... N0 - well maybe a small 'yes' but am not sure if that's helpful. Am struggling with the culture word to be honest.
(NotJohn) Medical condition/syndrome? - NO
(Software) Pleasure? - NO.
(Tuj) Location location? - NO
(Quendalon) Prefixed word? - NO
(Phil) Pedantry? - NO but *appreciative sounds can be heard in the audience*

Related to religion?

(Quendalon) Religion-related? Could be - but not necessarily.

An attitude?

Related to philosophy?

Related to language?

(Dujon) An attitude? - YES it is. And more. *audience has perked up* .
(Quendalon) Philosophical? - if you scratch the surface, the AOTC might be ascribed to various philosophies - so I'd say more Yes than No. However, this could apply to most attitudes so my answer may not be too helpful.
(NotJohn) Language? - NO

*contemplating an earlier question by Quendalon regarding mathematics - perhaps I should have replied 'Yes, but only obliquely'*

Perfectionism?

(NotJohn) Perfectionism? - NO *audience remains perky*

Does the AOTC end with "ism" ?

Aha!

(Phil) -ism? - NO - although all three letters are contained within but not necessarily in the same order :)

Promise?

Is the word on the card a noun (in this instance)?

.. back in business

(Tuj) Promise? - NO
(Quendalon) A noun? YES indeed it is.

Perfect?

(Software) Perfect? - NO more than when Phil asked the same on 28th March :)

I chose this 'P' word because it has a succinct definition. A human trait, which we have established, which can easily be arrived at given some judicious questioning.
However, this word has another use which necessitates a change to a couple of my replies. Mathematical/Scientific/Philosophical links are rather stronger if this path to the solution is chosen.

... and what's more

... a little research tells me that this alternative use of my P word is the crux of a Subject for guessing in this very game back in 2005.

Related to anger?

Proof?

Is the 'P' silent?

(cfm) Related to anger? - NO
(Gusset Login) Proof? - NO (see my last reply to Phil)
(NotJohn) Silent P? - NO. A noisy one :)

Does the word on the card end with a suffix?

Flailing around in the dark, because frankly I'm stumped.

(Quendalon) Suffix? NO - nor an 'ology' or 'ism'

--- begins with a P and also contains the letters m, s and i within. One word. A human trait which is neither gender nor geographically related. Desirable to some but probably rather annoying for others.
This particular word has another use and is key to a scientific/mathematical/philosophical principle which was the subject for an AVMA in 2005.

Parsimony?

While I try to think of another way in.

Result!

Thank you and well played NotJohn - was hoping for an early solution today as I am in need of rescue ...
For me - Parsimony is frugality or excessive economy which was my starting point all those days ago. As for the secondary meaning - Occam's Razor was the subject of the AVMA (with the principle of parsimony at its technical core).

And I used the word 'rescue' advisedly. My daughter has just gone into early labour and I may needed at the hospital ...
*swiftly hands over baton to NotJohn on way out*

Calling Raak

[Chalky] Hope it all goes well
Yes, the mathematical and philosophical connotations did come to me after I'd thought of the word.
Now maybe I can remedy the unsatisfactory end to the previous game by suggesting that Raak gets his belated turn.

Who, me?

Er, ok then. The next is ABSTRACT with ANIMAL connections.
[Chalky] Best wishes for all three of you.

Is the animal connection human?

Any artistic connection?

[cfm] Human
[NJ] Not artistic.

Is it the act of giving birth?

[Chalky] More best wishes winging their way to you.

Is there more than one word on the card?

[Chalky] Best wishes and congratulations! Remember that "Mornington Crescent" is a lovely name for a girl or a boy.

Is the answer a phrase or saying?

[Chalky, Ms Chalky] All the best!

An intellectual process?
[Chalky] How lovely! Also you look far too young to be a grandmother. :-)]

[B] Topical waaaah!!!? No.
[Q] More than one word.
[Tuj] Not a saying?
[cfm] Not intellectual.

we are not a grandmother .. yet

Thanks for all the good wishes! Bad News - daughter poorly. Good News - 32 wk foetus staying where it is for the time being.)
Sorry to interrupt your game Raak. I have a question .. coming up shortly

More than one human being?

Is it unique?

Is it an event?

[Chalky] More than one.
[Q] Not unique.
[NJ] Not an event.

Fictional?

[Chalky] Not fictional.

A group?

[GL] Not an organised group, although the people associated with this have something in common.

Do any of the words on the card start with 'P'?

[Q] No Ps anywhere.

[Raak] To be clear, is this simply a flamboyant way of saying no to the question that was asked, or are you providing additional information to the effect that the letter 'P' does not appear anywhere on the card?

[Q] The letter P does not occur anywhere on the card.

[Raak] Excellent, thank you!

This thing in common - medical/health connections?

Any political connections?

[Chalky] No medical/health connections.
[NJ] Yes, political connections.

The Iron Lady?

[S] Ding-dong? No.

A recognized voting block that is not formally organized?

Is it associated with a specific geographical area?

[cfm] Not a voting block.
[NJ] Not really. The thing on the card is found in many places.

Anarcho-syndicalism?

[Chalky] (laughter) Absolutely not anarcho-syndicalism.

The humans involved, are they politicians?

[Q] Not politicians.

Is it a political or economic philosophy?

[NJ] Not a philosophy, although it could be said to be connected with one.

A trade agreement?

[GL] Not a trade agreement.

Is there a fiscal or financial connection?

[NJ] *applause from those members of the audience who haven't been holding their breath so long they've expired* To do with money! Yes!

Does each instance of the phrase on the card relate to more than one human?

[Q] Er....no. Each instance involves one human.

A member of the audience

How about playing Hangman for it! Is there a Ⱙ?

(hastily withdrawing his hand from the ventriloquist's dummy) No Ⱙ.

Is there a 'V'?

Hmm. Related to both politics and money. Each instance involves one human, and the people associated with this have something in common. Could be said to be connected with a philosophy.

[Q] No V.

Connected with individual wealth?

[NJ] **applause** Yes! Very much connected with individual wealth!

Income tax?

[CdM] Not income tax.

Connected with an increase in individual wealth?

Shareholder?

Unearned Income?

[GL] *more applause* Yes, an increase in individual wealth.
[S] Not shareholders.
[NJ] *laughter* Legally speaking, it is not classified as unearned income.

Union strike benefits?

[Q] Not strike benefits.

Expenses of some sort?

[NJ] Duck houses? No.

Associated with gambling?

Connected with Banker's Bonuses?

[NJ] Not gambling.
[GL] Not merely connected, but the very words on the card! Have this fat brown envelope.

Oh, um er... right

thanks

ANIMAL and VEGETABLE

Is the animal element human?

Is the vegetable edible?

[NJ] Oh the humanity? (animal) No.
[Chalky] Just eat it? (veg) Yes

Is the AOTC food?

[NJ] Glorious food? Yes, I believe most people would classify it as food.

Marmite?

Associated with a particular culture?

[Quenda] Yeeeach? No
[CdM] regional speciality? I would say, no, but some people disagree.

Savoury - as opposed to sweet?

Is it cooked?

[Chalky] Savoury? Yes
[Quenda] Heated? Yes

Containing multiple distinct (as opposed to mixed or blended) ingredients?

Is the animal part - meat?

[CdM] Clumps o'stuff? Yes
[Chalky] meat? (animal) Yes

Is the AOTC in the form 'A and B'?

As in 'Bangers and Mash'

Is there a liquid component?

Is it a sandwich?

Is it like a proper meal - Sunday Roast or suchlike?

Is the vegetable part potatoes cut into strips and deep fried?

Sorry for the delay, I was at a friend's funeral and couldn't get to the net.
[NJ] A + B? No
[cfm] liquid? There shouldn't be, No.
[Tuj] The Earl of foods? Yes
[Chalky] A meal in itself? No, its a sandwich, see Tuj's question above.
[Raak] Do you want fries with that? No.

A hero/hoagie/submarine sandwich?

A BLT?

[cfm] One of those types? It can be
[Chalky] BLT? Yes. Have a delicious baton.

<mode=ultrapedant>So the bread was made without salt? Yuk.</mode> Sorry, once I thought of it, I couldn't keep it to myself. Sorry again.

Gosh

Thanks GL - that was a swift conclusion - probably due the early airing of the 'edible' question.

Aiming for another quickie with:

MINERAL and VEGETABLE with a pedant-sized trace of ANIMAL

Is it a tool?

[NotJohn] Tool? NO

Something made of wood held together with metal?

[Raak] Wood held with metal? NO

A geographical feature?

Is it a sandwich?

Is the vegetable part potatoes cut into strips and deep fried?

[NotJohn] Geographical feature? YES
[Tuj] Sandwich? NO :)
[Gusset Login] Stripped fried spuds? NO :)

... furthermore - it doesn't begin with P.

Is its name something-or-other forest?

[Rosie - hello:)] Something-or-other forest? NO *audience perks up*

Is its name Mount something-or-other?

[GL] Mount ...? NO

Is it in a single country?

[Chalky] Oh, you answered a question I didn't ask! Perhaps "Is it a sandwich?" should become my default question...

Is it unique?

[GL] Unique? YES

[Tuj] In a single country? YES

In Europe?

[Tuj] Europe? Oh YES indeedy

In the British Isles?

[Rosie] British Isles? YES

Is it on a hill?

Is it a range of hills?

[Raak] ON a hill? There is some undulation but contour lines indicate the AOTC isn't actually ON a hill. *audience applauds the question*
[Rosie] A range of hills? NO

A site of archaeological significance?

... nearly there

{Raak] Archaeological significance? YES! *huge cheer erupts from audience*

A henge?

A stone circle but not technically a henge?

Is it about 2 miles (3.2 km) west of Amesbury and 8 miles (13 km) north of Salisbury?

Stonehenge?

I may be wrong but I'm not proud.

*audience on edge of their seats*

[NotJohn] A Henge? YES!
[Gusset Login] A stone circle/not technically a henge? NO - the AOTC is both
[Raak] NO ... therefore
[Quendalon] NO - not Stonehenge.

Avebury Stone Circle?

The Ring of Brodgar?

It's a win!

[NotJohn] Brodgar? Not in Scotland .. staying with my county of residence - Wiltshire - and
Phil scores a stunning lurker's victory with the correct [more-or-less] AOTC - Avebury Ring.
*gently passes neolithic baton to Phil*

,

Apols for the lurk, but every time I thought of a question, someone else had asked it. I'll make this one quick (I hope).

Mineral

Metal?

A good start...

[NJ] Metal? YES

Iron?

[GL] Iron? YES or NO, depending on the specific meaning of the question.

A manufactured item?

Stainless steel?

Unique?

But is it art?

An iron--like the kind with which one presses one's shirts?

Smaller than a telephone kiosk?

A bridge?

[NJ] Manufactured? YES
[Raak] Stainless Steel? YES, that's what it's made of *a ripple of applause*
[Quendalon] Unique? NO
[Tuj] Art? NO
[cfm] An iron? NO
[Chalky] < phone box? YES
[GL] Bridge? NO

Medical connections?

Is it smaller than a breadbox / bread bin?

Inverting the classic question.

[Raak] Medical? NO (well, a small connection, but it won't help)
[Quendalon] Smaller than breadbox? YES

Does it have any moving parts?

[NJ] Moving parts? YES

Is there one in your kitchen?

[Tuj] In my kitchen? NO. Well, there might be, but I'd move it if I were tidying up.

A tool?

[NJ] Tool? YES

Calipers?

[Software] Calipers? NO *Most of audience look slightly bemused by the handful that clapped, briefly*

A Leatherman?

(On the grounds that a Swiss Army Knife has plastic as well)

A hole punch?

[NJ] Leatherman? NO *some audience members explain to others what a Leatherman is, after which some of them make appreciative noises*
[Raak] Hole punch? NO

Does it cut?

[cfm] A cutter? YES *Applause*

A tin-opener?

Garden shears?

A kitchen tool?

End game appears to have commenced

[Rosie] Tin opener? NO (I wouldn't move that out of the kitchen when tidying)
[Raak] Garden Shears? NO (I'd call them bigger than a breadbin) *appreciative applause*
[NJ] A kitchen tool? NO (again, I'd keep that in the kitchen).

Secateurs?

[Software] Secateurs? NO *more applause*

Scissors?

D'oh - I meant to ask 'garden', for that reason and then turned the question round without thinking.

Wire cutters?

[NJ] Scissors? YES, but more detail required. *Lots of applause*
[Raak] Wire cutters? NO, see above.

Pinking shears?

Nail clippers?

[Quendalon] Pinkers? NO *some applause*
[Raak] Nail clippers? NO *Thunderous applause, oohs, aaahs, gasps and winces*

Nail scissors?

Hair scissors?

[Raak] Nail scissors? YES INDEED! *Deafening roars*
Congrats! Here, have this toenail as a makeshift baton.

VEGETABLE, with ABSTRACT connections.

An object made from vegetable matter?

[Rosie] Yes, made from vegetable matter.

Is wood involved?

Is it edible?

Unique?

Is it smaller than a toaster?

[GL] Would be wood.
[NotJohn] Edible wood? No.
[Tuj] Not unique.
[Phil] Bigger than a toaster.

Is it bigger than a cross-channel ferry?

[GL] Smaller than a cross-channel ferry.

Found domestically?

Does it have writing on it?

Naturally occurring?

[S] Domestic? Not really, at least nowadays.
[Q] Probably not written on.
[T] Not naturally occurring.

A piece of furniture?

Would one find it in a pub?

[R] Not furniture.
[C] *a ripple of applause* Yes, one might find it in a pub.

Does it have a picture or pictures on it?

Is it a container of some sort?

Is it used for a leisure activity?

[Q] No picture.
[NJ] *applause* A container.
[P] A witty thought goes up on the laser display board. Laughter in the audience. Not used for a leisure activity.

Normally holds liquid?

[NJ] Can normally hold liquid.

A barrel?

Might be my turn in it, innit?

[Rosie] *cheering* A barrel is involved. I suggest the abstract connection would repay attention.

Is it a well-known phrase or saying .. like Roll Out The Barrel?

[Chalky] Yes! A well known phrase or saying.

"Over a barrel"?

[Q] Not over a barrel.

So it's a colloquial phrase along the lines of "a can of worms"?

Scraping the barrel?

Barrel of laughs?

[D] Yes.
[R] *oooooh!!* Not quite.
[Q] Not a barrel of laughs.

The bottom of the barrel?

Attempted lurker victories R us

[CdM] Yes! Rosie was nearly there, but you have nailed the exact answer! Have this recycled wooden planter. Ignore the rotten apple juice seeping out of it. And it can now be revealed that the Witty Comment on the laser display board was about the undemanding leisure activity of shooting fish in one.

hmmm ...

.. thought it might be that - was rather hoping that Rosie might get a turn 'in the chair'.
May I respectfully suggest a slight change to the non-rules of this game, ie. you need to have asked at least one question before guessing the AOTC? Or is that altogether too regimentatious? < made up word alert >

I am more than happy for Rosie to take the chair if he wishes. He definitely got 98.2 percent of the way to the AOTC. Mind you, I think this game has had its share of lurker victories, and I'm not exactly a lurker in the grand scheme of things. :-)

Is flattered

(Chalky, CdM) Generous, but let's play by the rules. In any case, if a lurker wins, their "punishment" will be to host the next one. That'll teach 'em not to just jump in and out.

(CdM) Couldn't you have made it 98.4 - body temperature, the percentage of H₂SO₄ in conc. sulphuric, the number of feet in 30 metres . . . . I could go on.

While you're all being polite, I'll get the first question in: Would you find it in your kitchen?

Is it a sandwich?

Anarcho-syndicalism?

Convectively Available Potential Energy (CAPE)?

Where's CdM? Give us a category, man.

This is ANIMAL and VEGETABLE with a trace of MINERAL. I had decided on this before I saw any of your questions, so I am going to go with it. Oh god, I hope Rosie has heard of it :-)

In your kitchen? You could, but it's probably unlikely. I'm pretty sure I have never had one in my kitchen.
A sandwich? Yes! *applause*
Anarchosyndicalism? No.
CAPE? No.

Is egg an ingredient?

Explicitly not counting any egg(s) that are part of the bread-baking process.

A horseburger in a bun?

Eggy? Interesting question. Not necessarily, and not in its own right. But there are versions of this that would include egg as an ingredient, I think.
Shergarburger? No.

Unique?

[Chalky] You have taken the very wind from my sails!

Unique? No. (A unique sandwich??)

Edible?

That Masked Man

Is saurkraut involved?

Contains fish?

A Croque Monsieur?

Edible? I certainly hope so. It's a sandwich!
Sauerkrauty? It's possible (I can find examples online), but it is certainly not an essential or even a standard ingredient.
Fishy? It sometimes contains fish, yes, but need not. For free, I will tell you that it is quite common for it to contain other seafood, however.
Croque monsieur? Non, madame.
Clarification on the egg: my reply was meant to imply that it would be very unusual to see egg listed explicitly as an ingredient, and I stand by that. But googling reveals that it is not unheard of.

A po' boy?

Chip butty with mayo?

could have been a knuckle sandwich :o)

Served hot?

Smörgåsbord?

Slicing to the chase

A po'boy? Yes! (It was the only sandwich beginning with P that came to mind.) Have this foot-long baton stuffed with fried oysters. [Software] Touché, even if I'm not sure what the vegetable component of a knuckle sandwich would be. :-)

Never heard of it ;-)

Yes, well...

[Chalky] I'd bet big money that the number of people who have heard of a po'boy is at least an order of magnitude larger than the number who have heard of the Avebury Stone Circle. :-)

Ah .. but

.. we'll never find out so you may as well bet your big money on the 4.45 at Redcar :-)
For the record - yet another Lurker Victory ...

[CdM] But which is Rosie more likely to know? ;)

[Chalky] I wasn't lurking! It was just my first question of the round. And your first question plus the mention of fish made it easy. :-)
However, I am glad to hand this yummy but calorie-laden baton to someone who would like a turn. Speak up if you'd like to give it a whirl.

[Tuj] Hehe!
[cfm] Only teasing ... as you well know ;-) My mind's eye is seeing badly disguised AVMA players in the shadowy fringes of the game poised to pounce on the AOTC and it's given me an idea for a very silly game along the lines of Spot the Ostrich.
By the way, I shall decline a turn/whirl as I'm a bit too busy this coming week.

[cfm] I'm always glad to take a turn with the baton, assuming that no better candidate presents themselves.

Take it away, Q. :-)

Very well then! This one is unequivocally Vegetable.

Unique?

Well stepped into the breach, that Quenders!
[Chalky] A game idea! Sounds good!

[Tuj] Not unique. *laughter from the crowd*

Peas in a pod?

Is it a sandwich?

leaping in so if i win will not be a lurking victory :)

It is some species of wood?

Victory goes to the swift

The word on the card is "pea," for which Raak's guess is more than sufficiently accurate. Passing a small, round green baton...

Drawing the line

Wow! Ok, the next is ANIMAL.

Human?

I chose it largely so that I could giggle inanely if Tuj asked if it began with the letter 'P'.

Is it unique?

[Q] Human.
[GL] In a sense, it is unique. But one could quibble interminably about it.

Male?

[Q] Apologies for letting you down! I do worry my poor history of questioning has skewed the game somewhat...

Currently alive?

[Quendalon] For your giggling motive alone, you're my hero!

[Q] OOPS! I meant to say "Not human".
[Tuj] Male.
[Phil] Quite likely to be currently alive.

Quadruped?

Is it unique by virtue of something it has done?

[S] Not a quadruped. [NJ] *applause* It is indeed unique by virtue of something it has done.

Is the thing that he has done a physical (versus an abstract) act?

Is this bloke animal larger than the average domestic toaster?

[cfm] A physical act.
[Chalky] Smaller than a toaster.

Is it a bird?

[Phil] Is it a plane? Is it Superman? No, it's a bird!

Cock Robin?

.. avoiding the lurker label

Nah - that was a daft question. It's still alive, you say? And 'sort of' unique?

[Chalky] Not Cock Robin. To clarify the uniqueness thing a little: the answer is a singular noun phrase beginning with "The".

The Early Bird?

[Chalky] Not the early bird, but you're thinking along the right lines.

The First Cuckoo of Spring?

[Phil] The very thing!

Woohoo! (or something that sounds remarkably like that). And not a lurk in sight.
Pressing on rapidly with

Animal (or Abstract, depending on your point of view)

Unique?

Fictional?

Is it an archosyndicalistic sandwich?

... and a 'woohoo' and 'wahay' [sounding exactly like they're spelled] for Phil's victoreee.

Human?

The bee's knees?

Is it edible?

[Quendalon] Unique? YES
[Software] Fictional? YES
[Chalky] A wossname sarnie? NO
[Tuj] Human? YES
[Rosie] Apiarian patellae? NO
[GL] Edible? NO. Technically yes, but I really don't think you should eat it.

Abstract solely because it's fictional?

An eponymous character?

[Quendalon] Solely fictionally abstract? YES
[NJ] Eponymous character? NO

A male character?

[cfm] Male? YES

I don't have a question; this is just a place-marker to avoid accusations of lurker victory later.

[CdM] This is not an answer, merely an acknowledgement of your statement.

A detective?

This is a question and also an acknowledgement of CdM's non-lurker status.

[GL] Detective? NO

C20 Literature?

This is a question but also a quibble as to whether a non-interrogatory interjection is sufficient to remove lurker status.

[NJ] 20th Century Literature? YES

Is the animal one of the big cats?

[Rosie] A big cat? NO, he's human (see Tuj's question)

Originally written in English?

[NJ] English lit? YES

Fantasy genre?

Harry Potter?

Does an interrogatory interjection remove lurker status if the question is unrelated to the AVMA AOTC?

[Quendalon] Fantasy? NO
[Software] Harry Potter? NO, not eponymous
[CdM] Questionable lurker? NO, you're not getting out of it that easily.

Appears in a series of books?

Why is CdM so convinced he is going to score a lurker's victory? Is he in league with Phil? </ratsmelling>

[NJ] In a series of books? YES *some applause*
[NJ] Am I in cahoots with CdM? One question at a time, please.

James Herriot?

[Software] Herriot? NO
I should add that when I said yes to '20th century Literature' I simply meant that there were books, not necessarily great works of literature.
Also, although I have described the character as not eponymous, I have found that he is mentioned in the title of at least one book.

A detective series?

Is CdM in league with Phil?

Is this person a restorer of antique sewing-machines who keeps an Afghan hound and lives within earshot of St. Paul's in an apartment that appears to be beyond his modest means?

Does asking an apparently relevant question remove lurker status if the question was asked solely for the purpose of removing lurker status?

[cfm] Detectives? NO
[GL] Conspirateur de Moi? NO
[Raak] Your main question? Oh so close! Actually, I lied. NO, not any part of it is correct, and a meaningless note has been made of your completely legal, yet immoral, lurk avoidance (as opposed to lurk evasion, which is strictly illegal).

Is there a connection to espionage?

Any day now we'll be getting phone calls asking 'Do you believe you have ever suffered unfairly at the hands of a lurker?' and offering their services on a 'No Win No Fee' basis (once you've paid the £300 administration charge)

[NJ] Espionage? NO *a couple of giggles from the audience*

Are they books for adults?

Which is worse - lurking or taking successive turns?

[NJ] Books for adults? NO *applause*

Are they comic books?

Did the character first appear before 1960?

[GL] COmic books? NO
[Quendalon] Pre-1960? YES

Tin-Tin?

[Tin-Tin] NO, not eponymous.

Do they share the books with an eponymous character?

[GL] Is there an eponym? Well, only about a fifth of the book titles feature one character's name, but most people would automatically answer YES. It's a definite YES for other media. *applause for a very good question*

Does this character have a "sidekick"?

Violet Elizabeth Bott?

If that isn't right I'll thcweam and thcweam until I'm thick.

[GL] Has a sidekick? NO
[NJ] Violet? NO, thcweam away.

Christopher Robin?

[cfm] Christopher Robin? NO

The Fat Controller?

[Gusset Login] YES, dagnammit, YES !! It was indeed Sir Topham Hatt 1st Bt, of "The Railway Series", often referred to as the "Thomas the Tank Engine" books, although Thomas' name is only in the title of 9 of the 42 books. The Fat Controller is named in only one title, "Thomas and the Fat Controller's Engines".
Nice to get that one finished off for the weekend. And not a hint of a lurk in sight. Please take this green flag in lieu of a baton.

Cool. I never expected having a three year old nephew would help me win anything.

This next one is:

Mineral.

Unique?

[Phil, GL] Excellent =)

Begins with 'P'?

[Tuj] I see you have well and truly nicked my signature question! So I must claim yours in turn.

[Tuj] A one off? Yes
[Quenda] P...? No.

Made of iron?

[cfm] iron? Depending on how loosely you define the terms 'made of' and 'iron' the answer could be either Yes or No.
It is more than 5% steel (which is an alloy of iron).

A building?

*lurks*

[Quenda] Building? No
[CdM] Good to see you, feel free to stop lurking and join in.

Is it larger than a standard kitchen-size refrigerator?

[cfm] > average fridge? No.

A work of art?

Made before 1900?

I'm assuming man-made because it incorporates steel rather than iron.

[Phil] Work of art? No. Although, as always with that question, some people might call it such.
[Quenda] Made before 1900? Yes.

Unique?

A scientific instrument?

Is it in a fixed location?

[Quenders] Apologies, but a change is a good as a rest!

[Rosie] Unique? Yes, still unique.
[Raak] Scientific instrument? No.
[Tuj] Unmoving? Yes.

Military in nature?

[Tuj] A fair cop. Perhaps I will advance to asking whether a thing starts with 'Q'...

Outdoors?

Shaped like a human?

*unlurks*

In the USA?

Located in a museum?

[Quenda] Military in nature? Yes, although perhaps not in nurture. :)
[Rosie] Outside? No
[Chalky] Humanoid? No
[Tuj] 'Merk'n? No
[cfm] In a museum? That's a tough question. Personally, I wouldn't count it as a museum, as such but others might see it differently.

I seem to be very much in the minority. Yes, it's in a museum.

Does it have moving parts?

Even though I have now asked a question, I would like to declare that I am immediately going to revert to lurker status.

[CdM] Moving Prats? (If you're lurking again, I don't have to answer.) No.

Does it have royal associations?

[Tuj] Royal inclinations? *Drowned out by audience aplause and has to repeat* Yes

A sword?

A suit of armour?

Moving Prats? Sounds fun.

A crown?

[cfm] Sword? *More applause* Yes
[Rosie] Suit a'more? No
[Chalurkery] Crown? No

Sword of Mercy?

Military in nature, although not in nurture.

Is this a sword used only for ceremonial purposes?

Pops out of the shrubbery hoping that no one will notice.

The Great Sword of State

Lurker? Me? No! Just a slow starter.

"The Wallace Sword" (William Wallace's Claymore) ?

[Phil] The Gromit Sword? No
[NJ] Greatsword of State? Nope
[Dujon] Ceremonial? Yes
[Quendo] Sword of Mercy? Is the AOTC.

Have a baton with an inch broken off of one end.

[GL] I accept! And with this baton, I dub thee Sir Gusset of Login.

*ahem* This next one is MINERAL.

Is it unique?

[Phil] One of a kind? NO.

Man-made?

[Raak] Man-made? YES.

Begins with Q?

[Tuj] Q-ish? NO.

Made of metal?

Bigger than an average household microwave oven?

Electronic?

[NJ] Metallic? NO.
[Phil] Bigger than a microwave oven? NO.
[Raak] Electronical? NO.

Made of stone?

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