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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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(KS) NO, none of those.
Does this mark the end of something?
(RtheG) End of something? NO.
Is it the foundation of the United Federation of Planets?
(SM) NO, nothing as benign as that.
A legend?
We had a pink moon the other day, so is it a blue moon? If not, is this something astronomical?
(Raak) NO, not a legend.
(Bismarck) NO, nothing astronomical, so not a blue moon. Not shy blue or navy blue.
Er, sky blue, that is. Not royal blue, either.
The Impossible?
(Chalky) The impossible? NO.
Is the AOTC a single word?
(Tuj) Single word? NO. The AOTC is four words, one of which is the definite article.
Is the third word "of"?
(Raak) Third word "of"? NO.
End Of The Game?
Are the middle two words "of the"?
(Raak) Middle two words "of the"? NO. There is no "of" in it.
All The King's Horses?
Is it related to the Morniverse?
The sky?
(Raak) All the King's Horses? NO. None of 'em.
(Tuj) Related to the Morniverse? NO.
(Superman) The sky? NO. Remember the AOTC does not now exist in any true sense.
The European Super League?
Is it the next something or other?
The next big thing?
Underpinning Boolbar
(Boolbar & Softers) Alas, too late and wrong anyway because CDM, with a flash of inspiration and a huge wodge of cash, has the answer. It's the European Super League. "Let it fall among the weeds." (John Skelton ca. 1550).
A lurker's victory coming out of the blue with no preparation or planning. Seems about right.

ABSTRACT with ANIMAL CONNECTIONS
But is it art?
Heraldry?
Animal human?
A well known phrase or saying?
Is it Schoedinger's cat?
Bigger than an imaginary toaster?
Argh! I forgot about this; sorry.
Art? No.
Heraldry? No.
Animal connection human? Yes
A well known phrase or saying? Um. I guess it is a well known phrase, but it is not an aphorism or anything of that kind.
Sch(r)ödinger's Cat? *opens box to check* No. *looks in box again* Wait. Why is there nothing but HOPE left inside?
Bigger than imaginary toaster? Well, it definitely could be very big. But it is really incommensurable with a toaster, imaginary or not.
Is it a human invention?
Personal space?
A sense of humour?
Is it Lionheart or Heart of a Lion? playing my Wild-Guess card
To do with emotion?
And now some answers that I could have sworn I posted have disappeared; apologies again.

Human invention? More of a creation than an invention, but I will go with Yes.
Personal space? No.
Sense of humour? No.
Lions, Hearts? No.
To do with emotion? No.
Lebensraum?
Sorry, my German is pretty crap.
Mankind?
Is the AOTC a single word?
Might one do this upon a star?
Is it the shipping forecast?
Do computers play a part?
That's twice I have posted some answers from my phone and they haven't shown up. Not sure what is going on; sorry
Lebensraum? No.
Mankind? No.
Single word answer? No.
The act of being instantaneously incinerated? No.
Shipping Forecast? No.
Computer-related? Well, these days, pretty much everything is computer-related, and the AOTC is no exception. But since the AOTC also predates computers, I think the answer has to be No.
Did it arise before the Renaissance?
Pre-Renaissance? No. (I suppose there might have been some related concept prior to that time but the best answer is clearly No. Also, please don't now ask me a whole bunch of questions in an attempt to date the AOTC, since I am unable to give a clear answer. I can tell you that the google ngram viewer suggests that the phrase on the card seems to have started coming into significant use in the mid 1800s.)
Also, I guess I should clarify that the connection of the AOTC to computers is pretty tangential. I probably should just have said a simple No.
To do with economics?
To do with economics? No. (Except very tangentially blahblahblah.)
Is it associated with a particular geographic location?
Particular geographic location? Good question! In principle, no, and the AOTC has been relevant in various places in the past and in the present. But it's fair to say that, recently, it has a strong association with a particularly geographic location. So I'm going with Yes.
Hidden textAnd what does recently mean, you might ask? Well, it means both in the last couple of decades and in the last year in particular.
Anything to do with health?
Anything to do with politics?
Does it begin with P?
Health-related? No.
To do with politics? Yes. *sustained applause*
Begins with P? I'll tell you for free that there are three words on the card and the first is the definite article. One of the others does begin with P.
Is the word which starts with a P "party"?
The Monster Raving Loony Party?
According to the MRLP, their moniker consists of three words.
P = Party? No.
MRLP? No.
Does the P stand for 'principle'?
Probably oughtn't be encouraging this line of attack...
Principle? No. Nor Principal, in case that was going to be the next question.
Is it a lying buffoon?
Lying Buffoon? No.
The Industrial Revolution?
Is the P-word position?
The Pindustrial Prevolution? No.
Position? No.
Is the P word Philosophy?
Or even Parliament?
Philosophy? No.
Parliament? No.
For free I will tell you that the P word is not particularly connected to politics in and of itself. It is the other word that has a clearer political connection.
Is the P word pandemic?
Pandemic? No. Tuj's observation is probably a good one. There are a lot of words beginning with "P" in the dictionary.
Anything to do with land borders?
P-word proposition?
Border-related? No.
Propositional? No.
Is it to do with a war?
War-related? No.
Has it had a strong association with the USA in the last year?
Is the definite article the first word?
Is it directly related to voting?
Typical. You wait weeks for a Yes, and then three show up at once.
Strong association with USA in last year? Yes. *applause*
Definite article = first word? Yes.
Related to voting? Yes. *rapturous applause, where the rapture is definitely partly born of relief*
Is it a political position, such as Speaker?
The Trump Presidency...
About the one thing I didn't want to be reminded of. Hope it's wrong.
Political position? No.
Trump presidency? No.
Hidden text"...the phrase on the card seems to have started coming into significant use in the mid 1800s."
Is it 'The voting public,' or something along those lines?
Voting Public? *sustained applause* No.
Something along those lines? Yes. It is more of an established phrase than "voting public", though.
The hoi polloi?
Hoi Polloi? No.
Democratic Party?
Democratic Party? No. (P = Party has already been ruled out.)
Is 'Primaries' one of the words
Primaries? No. Also, the P word is not "photosynthesis", "parrot", "predestined", or "pickpocket". As I said before, the P word is not particularly connected to politics as such, so I don't think you will find this route profitable. Which is also not the P word.
Is it statistical?
Is it a group of people who share a particular characteristic?
Aware this may be too vague or broad to answer well, in which case so be it.
Is it statistical? The most technically correct answer is Yes, but I worry that this answer could end up being misleading. *applause*
Group sharing a characteristic? I am going to go with Yes (and *substantial applause*,) with the caveat/reminder that the AOTC is Abstract, not Animal.
Further clarification
The AOTC is not a group as such. But it stems directly from a group who share a characteristic.
Is it the popular vote?
Maybe my close guess was even closer than I thought it was. And I'm stumped for anything else. I keep thinking of things where the p word has the political connotations.
Do the words that aren't the definite article rhyme?
Stalling for time while someone comes up with a better approach...
Do they rhyme? No, because Popular does not rhyme with Vote. The Electoral College awards Simons the baton despite the fact that Tuj received more applause.
Me again? All right...
These things are VEGETABLE.
Are they edible to humans?
Is it unique?
[SM,CdM] Good show!
Something made of wood?
Are they used in the playing of a game?
[Edible] Yes.
[Unique] No.
[Wooden] No.
[Gameable] No.
Is that a record? A yes for the first ever question?
Well, they begin with P
Potatoes?
Comprising more than one ingredient?
[SM] Last happened half a dozen rounds ago
[Spuds] No
[Multi-ingrediented] Yes
Is it a dish? (Culinary, not ceramic.)
[Dishy] No.
Bouquet Garni?
Does it contain tomato?
[Bouquet and tomato] No and no.
Is it customarily eaten as part of a meal?
Is it a fruit?
[Meal, Fruit] No and no.
Although edible, is this not normally eaten?
A flower?
[not normally eaten, flower] No and no.
Medication?
Are the components uncooked?
[Medicinal, uncooked] No and no
Does it begin with P?
Does it include peas?
[Ps and peas] No and no.
Muesli?
Contains legumes?
[Legumes, muesli] No and no.
Is this normally eaten?
Not unclarifying the double negative
[Normally eaten] Yes. :-)
Eaten raw?
Is it drinkable?
[raw, drinkable] Nope and nuh-uh.
Does it include potato?
Cooked but among many "no"s, not a dish, nor customarily part of a meal... hmm.
Any nuts in it?
[Spuds, nuts] Nay and no.
Is it used to feed animals?
[Animal food] A clever twist, but no.
A biscuit?
Is there fish in it?
[Biscuits, fish] No twice more.
Does it contain sugar?
[Sugar] Oh yes.
Is it ornamental?
Cake like?
Fried?
[Ornamental, cake-like, fried] Nay, no, and nuh-uh.
Are oats in it?
Primarily eaten by animals?
[Oats, animals] No and no again
Does it contain cocoa butter?
Any rice in it?
Is it pulp for paper?
I cooked lots of that for my fourth grade science project.
[Cocoa, rice, pulp] A full set of nopes.
Does it come in a variety of colours?
Is it usually eaten cold?
[Colours] Yes

[Cold] Yes

Salad?
[Salad] Back to no again. Your processes of elimination are being super thorough this time.
Is it associated with a particular location?
Is yeast needed?
Locational, yeasty] Nuh-uh and nope.
Gaspacho?
Would most of us be able to find it for sale in our local supermarket?
[Gazpacho, supermarket] No and no.
Candy floss?
Can you drink it?
Is it mainly composed of sugar?
[Floss, drinkable] No and no

[Sugar] Yes. Audience applauds in relief

Rock?
[Rock] No. We did that one, not too long ago.
Might you buy this at a funfair?
[funfair] No, I don't think so. I'm not sure though. On balance let's play safe and stick with 'No.'
Recap
Edible, cooked, ingredient, not to be found in a supermarket or funfair, mostly composed of sugar, and not anything else you can think of.
Sugar cane?
Sugar Beet?
A sugar basket?
[Sugar*] All no, but Bismark's summary gets a weak smattering. Although I'm not sure what you mean by 'and not anything else you think of'. I can't relate that to any of the questions or my answers.
Soda syrup? I don't know the culture of these games well enough yet to say whether you'd say no to drinkable in this case. I don't think you can drink the syrups for cola, etc. by themselves.
[Soda syrup] No. 'Drinkable' was asked earlier and I don't think I'd have answered yes for that. It's like, shampoo. Technically you could gulp it down, but it's still a no. TBH I shudder to think what the concentrated syrups would taste like.
Mint flavoured?
[Minty] Yes. I had to check, but it seems that's a rarer option.
The filling of liqueur chocolates?
[Liqueur filling] No, getting that specific would have been unsporting. :-)
Corn syrup?
As used in almost everything :(.
[Corn syrup] No, not used in this, apparently.
Was this invented since 1900?
[Post 1900] No, a bit older, I think. I thought it was a firm no, but I'm struggling to confirm.
Can for sure say 'invented more than a century ago'.
A boiled sweet?
[Boiled sweet] No. Audience stirs, and there's some claps
Is it a viscous substance, like honey or treacle?
Sherbet?
[vicious sherbert] No and no, but the audience remains alert
Mat Mystery
[Mat] BTW, your surname's not Lambert is it? I knew a 'Matt' who preferred to be 'Mat' and it stuck in my head these many years
A sugar loaf?
[Sugar loaf] No. Cool idea, but no. You know, I knew about the mountain, never once thought about where it got its name.
Are these normally bought in packets containing different colours and flavours?
The problem with all this is I can't see what in this line is not available in a supermarket. I can get sweets and molasses and Mars bars for deep-frying in my local supermarket. So: is it a sugar chair, like those used in the movies to shatter over someone's head?
[Packets] No...? Yees...? I suspect that's too close to call nowadays. Nevertheless, solid clappage occurs

[Sugar chair] No.

[Supermarkets] Supermarkets may be pretty comprehensive, but they don't sell everything. I'd only expect this to show up in the biggest supermarkets (and the right specialist shops), so when asked about 'normal' supermarkets I said no. I don't think Twickenham Waitrose has 'em, for example, and that's a good-sized shop. But for Kingston Waitrose, which is quite a bit larger, I reckon the balance tips. You all need to tell me the precise square footage of your nearest supermarket, then I'll redo the calculations. :-)

[SM's Mat Mystery] No, not Lambert. Besides, my government name is neither Mat nor Matt.
Are they mostly used for commercial purposes? The supermarket thing had me believing it was some industrial ingredient only used in factories, so let's tease that one out if we can.
Would some type of restaurant use this?
Some type of pastille?
Opal fruits?
My favourite...
Is it medicinal?
I thought of Fisherman's Friends a while ago, but the dating doesn't fit.
[Commercial] Yes. At least in the sense I think you mean. They're things people can buy, but unusual enough that only a larger-than average supermarket would stock 'em.
[Restaurants] No.
[Pastilles] No.
[They're starburst now, bah] No.
[Medicinal] No.
Used to decorate cakes?
Correction
Sorry, rereading Mat's query, I think I ought to change that to a No. Overlooked the word 'purposes'. This isn't, e.g. catering supplies, it's an ordinary thing bought for or by its end-user.
Dragees?
[Cake decor, dragees] No and no.
Do they typically come individually wrapped?
[Individually wrapped] No.
Are they spherical?
[Spherical] Yes! Strong applause
Are they more than 1cm in diameter?
[Diametrics] Yes! More applauses, possibly even whoops
More than 2 inches?
Gobstoppers?
standing on the shoulders of giants
A winner at last
[Gobstoppers] Yes! Gobstoppers is the AOTC. Audience collapses in relief, and they're probably not alone By Jove you had to work hard for that one. I was genuinely surprised that no-one thought to ask 'Sweets' weeks ago.
I think a lot of us were focused in on sweets for a long time, even if we never asked the question specifically. (That was my focus of attention ever since your reply when I asked if sugar was an ingredient.) The "no" to boiled sweets, though undoubtedly a correct answer, may have ended up taking us away from the right line of thinking.

MINERAL
Marbles?
Unique?
Metallic?
Marbles? No.
Hidden text''Unlike the ones from the book and the films, where Willy Wonka says you would break your teeth if you tried to chew a gobstopper, the Nestle produced gobstoppers are chewable once sucked long enough, and unlike their fictional counterparts they are not everlasting.'' Remarkably, that does not have a [citation needed].

Unique? Yes.
Metallic? Yes. *some muttering and head-shaking in the audience*
Is it found on planet Earth?
Does it weigh more than a million tons?
Is it smaller than a toaster?
Is it a small blob of neutron star matter?
(Just on the off chance that the answers to the previous two are both yes.)
Neutron Blob. The latest addition to the Mornington Crescent Cinematic Universe
On Earth? Yes.
> 1012g? Yes.
< toaster? No.
Neutron Blob? No.
The totality of British steam locomotives in 1960?
About 1.2 million tons give or take.
Ancient locomass? I know you'll find this hard to believe, Rosie, but No.
The Earth's core?
Human made?
Does it begin with P?
Earth's core? No. *some applause*
Human made? No.
Begin with P? No.
Is it the reserves of something?
Is it visible at the surface of the Earth?
Reserves? No.
Visible at the surface of the Earth? Yes.
Man-made?
Iron ore?
A specialised building?
Man-made? No.
Iron ore? No.
Specialised building? No.
A mountain?
Is it thinly spread all over the planet?
All the uranium in the oceans?
Is the metal in elemental form?
Mountain? Yes.
Thinly spread? No.
Damp and salty U? No.
Metal in elemental form? I am pretty sure the answer is Yes, though I know Rosie is a chemistry expert, while chemistry has never been my strong suit, so apologies in advance if I got this wrong.
(CdM) I meant metal as metal rather than chemically combined as in an ore, or rust even.
Does it begin with an E?
[Rosie] *nods* You can tell me at the end of the round whether I was right or not. :)
Begins with an E? No.
Is it plated?
Is the metal metaphorical?
Is it in a single nation?
Plated? No.
Metaphorical? No.
In a single nation? Yes.
Is it in Europe?
Is the metal copper?
In Europe? Yes.
Copper? No.
Does the metal end in 'um'?
As so many of them do
Does the name of this mountain include the name of a metal?
End in um? Yes. And also No. Check your assumptions.
Name include name of a metal? No.
A little more research also suggests to me that the correct answer to Rosie's last question (elemental form) might be Yes and No. But I am honestly not sure what the best answer is.
Is just one metal involved?
Is it West of Prague?
I should ask this more often.
Just one metal involved? No.
Hidden textIn a nerdy linguistic way, I find it interesting that the phrase 'the metal', which showed up in four questions, spanned meanings that I reasonably interpreted as potentially including multiple metals (elemental, metaphorical), to a meaning that definitely required a single metal (ending in -um). 'Is the metal copper?' kinda sits in the middle; I perhaps should have suggested assumption checking at that point. As you were.

West of Prague? Yes.
Hidden textOf course, it's also East of Prague, if you go far enough.
Does the mountain actually have Mount or Mountain in its name?
Is this mountain named on Google Maps?
The EU Butter Mountain it isn't, but it's too good not to play it
Mount or mountain in the name? There are in fact two acceptable answers on the card. The answer is Yes for one and No for the other. *a little muttering from some of the more literal-minded audience members*
Named on Google Maps? Yes. (Both answers on the card appear on Google Maps.)
Butter Mountain? No. (Interestingly, the second one of those would clearly have been only a marginal Yes in response to Tuj's last question.)

(This one is proving harder than I expected. I hope I haven't been misleading with any of my answers.)
Is it in Wales?
Is it South of Lyon?
In Wales? No.
South of Lyon? No.
What I would like it to be is the enormous yellow sulphur dumps you get at the end of some oil pipelines where they de-sulphurise the stuff. Is it that?
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