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 ....
[GL] man-made, NO [Tuj] "P...", NO [irach] Eyeful Tower, NO [Rosie] Mechanical, NO [CdM] Fifth letter a "W", NO *titters from audience* [Ig] Three Words, Depends how articulate you are [Dandalf] Valuable, NO (subjectively) [Kim] Only one of these, YES [Botherer] Bungalow, NO [all] Salt, NO *the gentlest murmur of interest from just a few members of the audience, as if a light breeze had blown over a doormat*
[all] White cliffs, NO [Ink] Island, NO * a little laughter * [irach] sand, NO [Rosie] costal wetlands, NO [Ig] Gulf Stream, NO *two members of the audience start paying attention again*
The renewed interest when gulf stream was mentioned somehow triggerred off Mariana Trench. So Ig deserves a share of the Wow! And now for something completely different.....ANIMAL
I wish I could explain how the name popped into my head - I think it was the "always on tv" aspect with a round of applause. OK, time to think of another.
[Raak] Peanuts? No [irach] part-petrified wood? No [GL] Nailed club? No [Projoy] veneered chipboard? No [INJ] household artefact? No [all] armed lemon? No [Chalky] CN Cornflakes? No [Inkspot] A drink? No [Irouléguy] Edible? No [Kim] Bigger than box of cornflakes? No - Audience feels we may be getting somewhere at last [Raak] W&S? No [Dandalf] Wet towel? No [Rosie] Leek? No - Audience loses optimism
[Chalky] Cardboard? No [Projoy] Text thereon? Yes [GL] Container? No [Dandalf] Bowl of cornflakes? Nay, and twice nay :-) [all] Made of wood? No - Some audience members mutter to each other [Projoy] Designed to contain something? No
[Kim] Bigger than a box of matches? In terms of volume, using a Bryant & May matchbox (37x55x17mm). No, but it's a close run thing. - Audience finds this fascinating, but they are a little nerdy [Chalky] Postage stamp? No [all] Mug? No [Chalky] £10 note? No
[CdM] Beermat? No [Chalky] Not wood, cardboard, paper, cotton, cork? Correct [Kim] Food prep? No [Inkspot] Handmade? No [GL] Live veg? No [CdM] Flat? No
[Dandalf] Squash Ball? YES [Raak] 12-months supply for a married man? Unfortunately, no. Congrats to Dandalf! At last I can share the trivia that the volume of a squash ball is only 3% less than that of a standard box of matches, as its diameter is 40mm, giving a volume of 33510 cubic mm, compared with 34595 cubic mm.
[Phil] Thanks. I actually worked out the volume before guessing! Now I have to think of something else..... what about ABSTRACT with ANIMAL connections
[Phil] God? God, NO [Irouleguy]Particular nationality? No (murmurings from the audience) [Inkspot] bird? NO (happily munching on choc digestive while sipping a cup of Earl Grey :) ) [Raak] Law? NO [GL]collective title? In the sense that it covers a number of items, YES [KIM]person category? NO
[Inkspot] Trading cartel? NO [Projoy] County cricket? NO [Rosie] counties/countries? The one with the R. [CdM] Such a name is one of the words on the card! Loud applause!
[Inkspot] Refugees? NO [INJ] Political grouping? YES but that's not the full answer (Applause) [GL] Communism? NO (some chuckles from audience) [CdM] Racial grouping? NO
[all] Zionist Fed? NO Hamas? NO CLARIFICATION: I've just found out that there are two distinct Balfour declarations, one dated 1917 and the other 1926. It is to the latter that I referred in replying to Raak. Get googling!
[Raak] YES! Well done. Re my error concerning edibility, I googled "shamrock recipes" and got loads of sites with "shamrock salad", "shamrock sandwiches" "shamrock pie" etc. I didn't bother to visit any but just assumed that shamrocks were edible. Later I found out these were all sham recipes [ :) ] and did not contain any shamrocks at all but were either green, cut into shamrock shapes or were green cocktails consisting mainly of Irish Whiskey and Chartreuse or lime cordial! And now over to Raak.
[K] Could be bigger or smaller. [R] Er...quite the opposite. (Laughter from the audience) But it must move for this thing to be what it is. [INJ] (Applause!) Yes.
Summary: Mostly metal, involves water as it's only moving part. Is not ornimental. A container of sorts. Is used as a component. May be bigger or smaller than a zippo lighter. Is not functional?(not a tool).
[GL] Yes, mostly. It's not a tool but does normally perform a function. And container is onyl sort of. [all] No. (The audience evolve sentience the better to appreciate the impending conclusion of the game.) [I] No. (Impressed by this sign of the end times, the audience build a temple to Nicholas Parsons and pray for the rapture.)
Raak is playing a straight bat, he should only give Yes or No answers. So yes there are words on the card, the question should realy have been phrased "Are there more than XXX words on the card". Personally I'm just as far away from any notion of what the answer as I was at the start.
Does it require to be operated for it to carry out its function?
(Inkspot) Traditionally it was legitimate to ask how many words on the card, and the answer could include a helpful addition such as "including the definite article".
Oops, missed out all those other qns. [Inkspot] Not an ice cube maker. [Inkspot] (Receives similar raptures from the audience.) Yes (usually). [Rosie,Dandalf,Projoy] (A fiery chasm opens up under your feet.) No.
[Irouléguy] Northern Hemisphere? - Yes [Projoy] Eastern Hemisphere? - Eastern hemisphere? What the hell is the eastern hemisphere? At a guess I'd say no.
Much of Godfather 2 is set on the shores of Lake Tahoe, IIRC, which is what made me think of it. Feels like ages since I've had the chair - our next is ANIMAL and ABSTRACT.
Rosie] Is the answer some characteristic of an animal rather than the animal itself? No Kim] Is it an animal of fiction? No Gusset Login] The laughing cow? No Raak] A part of an animal? No
*the audience worries that their murmurs may have been misinterpreted*
irach] An animal found in the wild in Britain? *the audience prick up their ears* Part of the answer, but not the answer. Dandalf - Dog in the manger? No
Phil] Related to a specific time? In a sense, yes, but that's not really useful Dandalf] The first cuckoo in Spring? Four legs right, two legs wrong No - see earlier answer to Inkspot
Gusset Login] Related to a specific county? No Gusset Login - Related to a specific country? No Raak - Related to a specific activity? No Rosie - Is the animal normally considered edible? *cries of "Nice one, Rosie" from the audience* Proverbially not
Dandalf] Badger? It's easy to get confused about feet - that's the advantage of the metric system *ducks* No Projoy - A crazy fox? *applause* Some might think so...
Raak] An animal puppet? No Projoy] Basil Brush? No Rosie] A rabid fox? No CdM] Is "fox" one of the words on the card? *loud cheering* Yes (though strictly speaking it's 'foxes')
What, me? Wow - that felt like a bit of a lurker's victory, although I see so many semi-urban foxes on a daily basis it jumped straight into my mind. So I'll set a nice simple one for now.
[Irouléguy] Samantha? No [Rosie] British? Yes [Projoy] Mrs Phil? In a way, yes, but those are not the two words on the card. *excited applause from audience*
[Rosie] Transport, YES *applause* [Ig] Road, no [all] Road to Hell, no, and, strangely, that doesn't even lead to your getting warmer. [All] I think it's probably wise not to get hung up on the Abstract bit, since as abstracts go, this one is pretty concrete.
[Ig] *scattered applause*, no [Rosie] *laughter*, no (at least not by the definition of that phrase I just googled) [INJ] *more laughter and some applause, no, not at all.
[Iroul ] Mammal - YES [all ] extinct - Hmmm - (after some hesitation) NO [Kim ] One specific animal? - YES [Rosie] anarcho-syndicalist wildebeeste? - Not as such [GL] Can it fly - YES (some laughter in the audience)
[INJ] Not umbilical cords (those would definitely be Animal). To make the initial words more explicit, this thing is neither Animal, nor Vegetable, nor Mineral, nor Abstract, but has Animal connections.
[Raak] Alive? No. [Chalky] TV personality? No. [Projoy] Alive-o? No-o. Not in Dublin's fair city, nor anywhere else, for that matter. [Inkspot] Born before 1940? Yes. [IG] European? Yes.
[Projoy] Philosopher? No. [Inkspot] Military person. Hmmm. On balance, I would have to say Yes. *Some members of the audience stir in their sleep* [Irach] Composer? No. [IG] English? Most of the audience now sit up, yawn and stretch* The generally accepted answer to this is Yes.
[Rosie] Anything named after him? Difficult to answer fairly without either being excessively cryptic or giving the game away, so I am going to say Yes. [INJ] Craftsman? Many are called craftsmen with more or less justification and he might have been, but he was not a craftsman in the "skilled artisan" sense.
Congrtulations, Phil! I would have accepted either answer, but you got both. *Hands over cutlass and ceremonial eyepatch to Phil*Why are pirates called pirates? Just because they Arrrr!
Dear God, really!? I thought I was just being obtuse, by trying to work out who could be naval, somehow of a military nature, possibly have something named after them, but not into politics etc. Then I searched for pirates that died in the 18th century, and picked the most famous one. I'm somewhat surprised to have got that right, to tell the truth.
[Rosie] Requires cooking? No [CdM] Typically cultivated? yes [INJ] Single "vegetable"? Yes [Irouléguy] Prticular country or culture? Yes [Dandalf] An herb? Yes - [Applause from come audience members]
(CdM) - Not associated with a particular culture. (Projoy) - A purpose? It certainly does. (Raak) - Can be smaller than a toaster, but certainly not necessarily. (CdM) - There are lots of them. (Phil) - Do I own one? No, not yet. (Irouléguy) - Made of metal? Usually, but not necessarily.
Well, that was quick because RAAK is the winner. Congratulations. A sundial it its. I'm making one for the wall of the back of the house. It faces south 25 degrees east so there's a nice bit of trigonometry involved.
[I] Not Roger Rabbit. [I] Hm, yes and no. Strictly speaking, according to the words on the card, no. [I] Hm, yes and no (see previous answer). More yes than no.
[Raak] Species-wise, one of them typically is, the other generally not. However, in this particular case, neither is found in the wild. Cryptic answer, but true.
[irach] Crazy as a loon? - NO [PJ] Dog-tired - NO [irach] Cat-nap - NO [all] a phrase - NO (except in the sense that it consists of more than one word in a meaningful grammatical relationship)
[Projoy] includes a verb? - NO [Rosie] Bovine anarcho-syndicalism? - Y...NO [ Rosie ] disease - NO [CdM ] Is the animal connection human? - Partly [ Iroul ] Bird flu? - NO [ Kim ] a fictional animal? - NO [ Inks ] anthropomorphism? - NO