arrow_circle_left arrow_circle_up arrow_circle_right
AVMA Take 2
help
Yes, it's another round of that classic guessing game - Animal, Vegetable, Mineral, Abstract [or any combination thereof]. This effort - '03/'04 should address any queries, but then again, may just serve to confuse and baffle which some might say is the point of the game. Patience, integrity and a decent search engine may be useful ....
arrow_circle_up
Is the descritpion on the card one of a ploy which many television productions use?
Do all, or almost all, humans do this?
Getting divorced?
[Dujon] ploy by TV producers? ARGUABLY, altho I doubt the word "ploy" would be the right one in that case, and it's certainly not something exclusive to TV producers.
[CdM] All/Vast majority of humans do it? I honestly don't know and am not sure how one would find this out. That's a surprisingly hard question. I suspect there are defensible YES and NO answers, and I would expect you to have a better idea than me.
[all] Sorry these answers are so messy. It's just that we don't quite seem to have hit on the perfect line of questioning so far!
[Spangle, simulposted] Nisi to not see you? NO
Does this interplay constitute some form of contract?
[Spangle] NO, not a contract.
Would this constitute news if a famous person was involved?
[FGZstar] News/famous? It MIGHT BE news if a famous person were involved, depending on the circs. Equally, it might be news if no famous person were involved.
Is it related to communication?
Keep on trying these "is it related to..." questions and you'll probably hit on it.
[INJ] Comms? NO, except in the very broad ways suggested above.
Does it involve conflict?
Hey, I'm just trying to catch up here.
[INJ] Involves conflict? IT CERTAINLY CAN DO, and often does, but not of necessity.
Student Protest?
Or any form of protest?
[FGZstar] Student Protest? NO *a sudden enthusiastic burst of applause from the audience*
Cutting spending?
Related to industrial disputes?
From 0-60 in 4 hours
[INJ] CAN BE related to industrial disputes.
[Spangle] Congratulations on that logical leap, since YES, the words on the card are "budget cutting"! For a while there I thought that I'd made a silly choice, but then in you stormed. I'm afraid that the resource situation means there isn't a baton to pass over, so have this bread roll instead.
(I'm still not sure what would have been an appropriate answer to CdM's "does almost everyone do this?" question. In terms of personal budgeting, I guess that most of us do do it, but it's hard to say whether the degree of formality/prior planning involved means that sort of thing counts more as belt-tightening rather than budget cutting. Still puzzled!)
This is unexpected. I am unable to visit here on a regular basis. Would somebody else like to step in? Please.
I nominate FGZstar or INJ, who did most of the heavy lifting there.
Oh, all right then
Well, since I was away for almost all of that, I think Projoy is overly kind, but in the interests of keeping the game going:
This is ABSTRACT or ANIMAL with VEGETABLE connections. It doesn't matter much how you parse that, it still works.
Anything to do with the human race?
Bugger it! Why must I always arrive late!
Is the tractor animal a mule?
[FGZstar] Oh, the humanity? - YES
[CdM] Ass
[CdM] Oh, I suppose you want a formal answer - Mule-related? - NO
Fictional?
[Projoy] Made-up? - NO
Pork barrel politics?
[irach] Normal politics? - NO (but I could make it 'Yes' for a small fee)
Is the vegetable connection wood?
[Projoy] Woody? - NO
Is the vegetable connection edible?
[CdM] edible vegetable? - YES
The carrot and stick approach?
Is the vegetable connection a vegetable?
[FGZstar] Carrot & Stick? Nice guess, but, NO
[Projoy] Really vegetably vegetable? - YES
Does it begin with pea?
[CdM] pea? - NO, but one of the words on the card begins with a 'p'
One specific type of vegetable?
Mr Potato Head?
[Projoy] Specific veg? - YES
[FGZstar] Mr Potato Head? - NO *some audience applause*
A root vegetable?
A cauliflower ear?
Mrs Potato Head?
[Projoy] Hmm - not sure what you're asking, so I'll answer both possibilities
Is the subject on the card 'A Root Vegetable'? - NO
Is the vegetable connection specifically to a root vegetable? - YES
[Raak] Cauli lug? - NO
[FGZstar] Distaff potato? - NO (there wasn't that much applause)
Knowing your onions?
A thingy-shaped turnip?
Or a turnip-shaped thingy?
Do the words Swedish and Potato appear on the card?
[Raak] Alliology? - NO
[Projoy] Mr Turnip......? - NO
[Dujon] Potatis? - NO and YES (*about the same amount of applause as FGZstar got*)
A chip on the shoulder?
Go back and check previous answers
[Software] messy eater? - NO
Something to do with potatoes?
[Projoy] Potatoist? - YES
(I thought it was clear enough, but my reply to Dujon meant that the word 'potato' does appear on the card - so that's the word that begins with 'p')
Is it related to a particular country?
A couch potato?
(I was just double-checking)
Well, that was relatively painless
We have a winner! The answer is A Couch Potato

[Projoy] I'm not going to get up and hand you the baton, you can come over here and get it.

VEGETABLE or MINERAL or ABSTRACT
A "thing-a-ma-bob", or a related "doo-hickey" or a " thing-a-ma-jig"?
Whatever you may call it...
[irach] None of those.
An award of some kind?
[INJ] Award? NO *applause* (there are cases, tho, where it might be thought of as an award).
Beginning with "pea"?
Booby Prize?
[Software] P or pea-headed? NO
[FGZstar] Blue-Footed Bird Recognition? NO
When it's vegetable, is it a specific vegetable?
When it's vegetable, is it a flower?
[Raak] Specific veg? NOT REALLY
[INJ] Florid? NO.
Does it have to do with things underground?
[Raak] ...but to bury him? NO, nor things Underground, for that matter.
A (or the) wooden spoon?
*Please ignore that attempt* You've answered it already.
Is the mineral precious?
[FGZstar] Precious? NO
Is it related to entertainment or the arts?
[INJ] Entertainment/Arts? NO
Oh, well, actually, there is an arts/ents link, but not intrinsic.
A saying?
Is the category mutually exclusive?
So when vegetable, is it then neither animal nor mineral, and when animal, is it neither vegetable nor mineral, and when mineral, is it neither animal nor vegetable?
Is the mineral metal?
On FGZstar's query - ignoring the 'animal' (since that's not in the definition) may I rephrase as 'When it is regarded as physical, is it exclusively either vegetable or mineral?'
[FGZstar] Does that capture the essence?
[FGZstar via INJ] I have just applied that question to about five cases of The Answer that I can think of, and the answer for all of them was YES, so, I guess, TYPICALLY YES, based on a random sample.
Is the word "heart" on the card?
points North
A vegetarian menu?
[Raak] Heart of...? NO
[INJ] Nanook etc.? NO
[Spangle] Vege Diet? NO (I think someone set that once before).
Is the mineral metal?
Since subtlety isn't working...
Did you answer my last question?
[Software] Not a saying.
[INJ] Metal? NO (and nothing to do with magnetism. I thought you meant as in "[location x, and] points north")
Bugger
Sorry, Metal? YES, often!
Is the vegetable wood?
An award?
[Raak] Wood? YES, usually.
[Raak] Award? I refer the hon. gent. to my second answer in this round, or, to put it another way, NO.
Functional?
[CdM] Functional? YES
A spoon?
As in Wooden Spoon, Metal Spoon and in Spooning?
A domestic implement?
[FGZstar] THERE IS NO SPOON.
[INJ] Domestic? NO, in most cases.
When physical, is its primary function to be a symbol?
[Raak] Symbolic? I would have to say YES and NO, but YES for the case I immediately thought of, and probably more YES than NO overall. Probably. I think.
Anything to do with music?
[Raak] Music? In one case, YES, in others NO.
Is the wood in the form of paper?
[CdM] Papery? NO.
Would citizens of the morniverse be likely to own one?
[CdM] Not more likely to own one than the population at large. Perhaps most helpful to say that most cases of this can be owned by an individual.
string?
[FGZstar] String? NO
Could it be used in the preparation or consumption of food?
[FGZstar] Foody? NO (there is an edible case of this, but it it's not the one a person would first think of)
Is this a syndrome or medical condition?
[Spangle] Medical? NO.
The toaster dimensional question
[INJ] Typically smaller than a toaster by volume, and usually by dimension.
Is it used in the kitchen?
[Raak] Kitchen? NO (the only exception being the edible case, I guess).
Clue or summary required?
Is it tangible?
[FGZstar] Most cases of this are tangible, fewer are abstract.

Here's a roundup and a bit of extra info: This is something that can be vegetable (usually wood) or mineral (usually metal) or abstract. Two cases of this that I can think of have a music connection. Two different cases that I can think of are edible. There is one case, a different one again, where this might be thought of as an award. In that case, and another one again, it acts as a symbol. Nearly all non-abstract cases of this that I can think of are smaller than a toaster.

As you can see, different cases of this have different properties. Feel free to pick on a specific case to help you unfold the whole answer.
Does it have any moving parts?
This feels like we are having a category problem and once someone asks the right question it will go quite quickly - but I'm stuck.
As I say, maybe focus on one case rather than all.
[INJ] Moving Parts? NO - I can't think of a case of this that has moving parts! Hooray for straight answers. :)
Are there less than three words on the card?
[FGZstar] Fewer than 3 words? YES.
(PS. the edible cases are vegetable but not wooden!)
A one word answer?
Do you have a (physical) one of these?
[FGZstar] One word? YES, plus the indefinite article
[INJ] Do I have one? *checks* Hm. Apparently not any more. Wonder where it went?
Does one wear this?
Is it some form of protection?
[Spangle] Worn? NO
[INJ] Protection? NEARLY NO. One case of this is arguably for protection.
A charm?
[Charm] NO.
Is there writing on it?
Does an individual viewpoint contribute to the definition?
In other words could 2 different people look at the same object and disagree as to whether it was one of these?
I'm trying to think how I can follow your exhortation to focus on one case, I can't actually identify one case well enough to ask about it!
Is this a form of label or tag?
A container of some sort?
[Raak] Is there writing on it? NO.
[INJ] Could two people disagree? PROBABLY NOT, which is not to say that there aren't alternative words for this.
Well, you could ask me about the metal one, for instance, or the abstract one, or one of the wooden ones.
[Spangle] A label or tag? NO * a sprinkle of applause from a few audients*
[INJ] Container? NO
arrow_circle_down
Want to play? Online Crescenteering lives on at Discord