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Thread: Daily puzzles/problems.

  1. #1471
    www.markbastable.co.uk
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    Th industrialist will be Hoover then. Only Brits might have got that. Yanks don't use the eponym as a verb - they say 'vacuum'.

  2. #1472
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    This reader was considering graduate school in England but, after reading this thread, realized he doesn't speak the language.

    Also, billl, your inbox is full and it's hard to stuff a letter into there.







    J



    EDIT: Wow, this was 1,000.

  3. #1473
    www.markbastable.co.uk
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    Quote Originally Posted by Jack of Hearts View Post
    This reader was considering graduate school in England but, after reading this thread, realized he doesn't speak the language.
    First, don't get your knickers in a twist - you'd soon pick it up. My Beloved has managed to, and this is a woman who, before she met me, used to make primetime broadcasts mocking Madonna's adoption of British cadences and idioms.

    Secondly, it's not that much of a fag to understand the language, even early on. Most of it's the same as yours.

    Third, the flow of influence used to be from the US to the UK, but in the last ten years - since BBC America and the Harry Potter movies - I've noticed more and more Briticisms turning up in mainstream American slang. This is an anecdotal observation, certainly, but I don't think I'm talking out of my bum.

    Fourthly, if I were you, I'd come here anyway on the basis that you might make a couple of mistakes but, really, no one gives a toss.

    -------------------------------------------------------------------------------

    Having run my eye down the characters in Troilus and Cressida, I think that it must be 'pander' from 'Pandurus'.
    Last edited by MarkBastable; 11-28-2011 at 04:36 AM.

  4. #1474
    Registered User prendrelemick's Avatar
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    Yep, thats another two right. I hope Jack takes a gander at your idioms Mark.



    I thought I'd been severe in editing out things like " Hobson's choice" , "in like Flynn" and "Griselda" for a more international list.


    "Yanks don't use the eponym as a verb"

    oops! Didn't realize.
    Last edited by prendrelemick; 11-28-2011 at 06:03 AM.
    ay up

  5. #1475
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    ? Don't pander to him. (Though the character is listed as Pandarus?)

  6. #1476
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    'Fraid that one's been covered, kasie.



    The landlord's agent is 'Boycott', apparently.

    I didn't know that. Hasn't been an entirely wasted day, then.


    Ah - okay - got there. The President in question is 'Teddy' Roosevelt.
    Last edited by MarkBastable; 11-28-2011 at 08:49 AM.

  7. #1477
    Registered User prendrelemick's Avatar
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    Just the very obscure trekkie one to get. A term I first heard on this very site about a year ago and had to wiki it, this was the result.

    A **** ***, in literary criticism and particularly in fanfiction, is a fictional character with overly idealized and hackneyed mannerisms, lacking noteworthy flaws, and primarily functioning as a wish-fulfillment fantasy for the author or reader. It is generally accepted as a character whose positive aspects overwhelm their other traits until they become one-dimensional. While the label "**** ***" itself originates from a parody of this type of character, most characters labeled "**** ***s" by readers are not intended by authors as such.
    ay up

  8. #1478
    BadWoolf JuniperWoolf's Avatar
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    I know what that term is. If I say it, does that mean I have to think of a new puzzle?
    __________________
    "Personal note: When I was a little kid my mother told me not to stare into the sun. So once when I was six, I did. At first the brightness was overwhelming, but I had seen that before. I kept looking, forcing myself not to blink, and then the brightness began to dissolve. My pupils shrunk to pinholes and everything came into focus and for a moment I understood. The doctors didn't know if my eyes would ever heal."
    -Pi


  9. #1479
    www.markbastable.co.uk
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    I hope not, because I thought it would be me, and I've just spent my lunch hour coming up with a new one.

  10. #1480
    BadWoolf JuniperWoolf's Avatar
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    Good then, because random trivia is the only mind game I'm any good at. The answer is:

    __________________
    "Personal note: When I was a little kid my mother told me not to stare into the sun. So once when I was six, I did. At first the brightness was overwhelming, but I had seen that before. I kept looking, forcing myself not to blink, and then the brightness began to dissolve. My pupils shrunk to pinholes and everything came into focus and for a moment I understood. The doctors didn't know if my eyes would ever heal."
    -Pi


  11. #1481
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    I would never have got that.

    Because I've got to get back to work, can I be a bit presumptuous and post the new one....?


    It's your basic group-by-connection thing, except that you need to find three groups of four and one group of three.

    Then you post only the one-word connection for the group of three.

    Once I've said it's right, that'll give other people a chance to figure out what the other groups must be.

    <change made to list Wednesday morning - see subsequent angsty post - 'cousin' replaces 'free'>



    iron, cage, early, cousin,
    music, source, year, mile,
    ignorant, brain, relief, pen,
    entertainment, Latin, song
    Last edited by MarkBastable; 11-30-2011 at 02:35 AM.

  12. #1482
    Registered User prendrelemick's Avatar
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    Yup Mary Sue is right... but I didn't know she looked like that.


    In fact I think it was one of juniperwolf's post where I first heard it.
    Last edited by prendrelemick; 11-28-2011 at 02:28 PM.
    ay up

  13. #1483
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    Sorry, Mark, I failed to see your post-script.

  14. #1484
    Registered User prendrelemick's Avatar
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    Well, shall I start (fingers crossed in case I've misunderstood)

    Pig.
    ay up

  15. #1485
    www.markbastable.co.uk
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    Quote Originally Posted by kasie View Post
    Sorry, Mark, I failed to see your post-script.
    I should jolly well hope you are sorry. It was an unforgiveable lapse from the standards I've come to expect. You've let yourself down very badly - perhaps irrevocably. I'm afraid that I think much less of you because of this incident and, frankly, I'm not sure there's any way for you to recover your former position in the echelons of my esteem. I'm not angry - I'm just very, very disappointed.


    Quote Originally Posted by prendrelemick View Post
    Well, shall I start (fingers crossed in case I've misunderstood)

    Pig.
    No, 'fraid not.
    Last edited by MarkBastable; 11-29-2011 at 07:23 AM.

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