Roman is on holiday this week, but thanks to the graft and guile of a volunteer foxer setter there’s no interruption to the puzzle supply. Today’s co-op brainteaser is the work of veteran defoxer, captaincabinets.
Below is a list of ‘33 Things Wot You Might Find In The 1980s’ (‘things’ is used in its broadest possible sense). Entries have been stripped of vowels and numbers and have had any inter-word spaces repositioned*. For example, if Indiana Jones was present, he might appear as N DNJNS. Yuppie would be YPP.
*Hyphens are treated as spaces. Apostrophes are ignored.
1. RNL DY
2. ZRSJ CKT
3. JHNZ CHRYDL RN
4. NNHDBN D
5. MRL DGTC MP
6. R NCNT RFFR
7. KR
8. TN KMN
9. GD BYF RWL LNDMN
10. RGNMCS
11. THSC NDD THS TR
12. MRB RS
13. VCT NFPR PYT
14. SCPR N
15. SRTR STRMN DSRG LHD
16. PNRP NPC NC
17. BNNRM
18. P RTNR GNTFRY
19. MMNLGL DSTN
20. NWC K
21. VR YL YLS KNSLS
22. T HLS TGL DNTD
23. RGTR PR
24. JNF NDSWR KT
25. SNBR TS HJNTDCL RTN
26. ZL
27. FM NNT HP
28. JRZYPP LSZK
29. STNMN TG
30. SB RNDSH TL
31. RD NTBBY
32. PP PYDYMS SCR
33. RG RMR SFN LPPR N CS
* * *
SOLUTIONS
Last week’s geofoxer theme: ‘Hell and its denizens’ (defoxed by captaincabinets and Zwack23)
a. Devil’s Bridge, Switzerland (ylla)
b. Hellcat (partially obscured by B-29), New England Air Museum (Aergistal)
c. HMAS Cerberus, Australia (Aergistal)
d. Devil heads, Bohemia (Zwack23, Aergistal)
e. Home of ‘The Imps’, Lincoln (Aergistal, Viscount)
f. Devil’s Elbow, Ecuador (captaincabinets)
g. Pont de Caronte France (Colonel_K)
h. Devil’s Den, Gettysburg (Aergistal)
i. Teufelsberg, Berlin (gusdownnup)
j. Hell’s Kitchen Railway Museum, Ireland (Aergistal)
k. Mephistopheles, Hyderabad (capatincabinets)
l. Tasmanian Devil, Tasmania (Zwack23)
A guest Foxer from captaincabinets – thanks, man.
8 – TANK MAN (Tiananman Square mobile bollard)
26 – ZUUL (non-Keymasters need not apply)
4. NEON HEAD-BAND
19. EMMANUEL GOLDSTEIN – character in Orwell’s 1984
3) JOHN ZACHARY LELOREAN
32) POPPY DAY MASSACRE
(DELOREAN, that should say)
10 – REAGANOMICS
That’s a better answer. I was thinking ERGONOMICS as sold to/pushed by yuppies.
11 – THE SECOND DEATH STAR (non-operational, its destruction probably causing the death of many contracted handymen)
22) THE LAST GOLDEN TOAD
27) FAMINE IN ETHIOPIA
17 – BANANARAMA (Keren was my favourite)
9) GOODBYE FAREWELL AND AMEN
33 – ROGER MOORE’S FINAL APPEARANCE AS 007 – the letter groupings say six words, so one of those words being all numbers is a bit of a googly from our question setter
It’s been done before with words which are all vowels 😀
P.S. Well done!
33. ROGER MARIS’ FINAL APPEARANCES ? – but it needs to be 6 words
(who knows if Roger Maris ever dressed as James Bond)
28. Jerzy Popiełuszko – Polish priest and martyr
33. ROGER MOORE’S FINAL APPEARANCE AS 007?
23. ROGUE TROOPER
24. JANE FONDA’S WORKOUT
13. EVACUATION OF PRIPYAT – Chernobyl disaster
1. IRON LADY
25 – SINO-BRITISH JOINT DECLARATION
20 – NEW COKE
I think 15. ends … SIR GALAHAD
and has something to do with the ship lost during the Falklands conflict:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RFA_Sir_Galahad_(1966)
ETA:
15. SIR TRISTRAM AND SIR GALAHAD
14. ASCII PORN – the least said the better
22. THE LAST GOLDEN TOAD
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Golden_toad
And I’ve just noticed that ylla got that ages ago. Sorry!
It happens. I can share 🙂
16. PAN-EUROPEAN PICNIC
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pan-European_Picnic
2 looks like something JACKET, but I can’t make anything fit ZRS
Also, 6 could be something COUNTER OFFER
Azores? Zeroes?
(IRON COUNTER OFFER got me close enough for the correct answer to pop up – thanks!)
Tried those…
18. OPERATION URGENT FURY
5. EMERALD GATE CAMP
https://www.heritagegateway.org.uk/Gateway/Results_Single.aspx?uid=MWB21764&resourceID=1030
30. SABRA AND SHATILA
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sabra_and_Shatila_massacre
7. KIA-ORA ? – too orangey for crows
6. IRAN-CONTRA AFFAIR
29. AUSTIN MONTEGO
Not Estonia Montage after all!
There is such a thing as an ARDENT BABY, but it’s a bit older than that! https://cybermotorcycle.com/gallery/ardent/Ardent-1949-Baby-01.htm
Four left to get – 2, 12, 21 & 31
Number 7 also remains to be defoxed. Colonel_K’s guess above, while a good one, breaks the golden rule of hyphens.
But the spaces are repositioned, so it would have to be KRspace 😀
Anyway, various AKIRA things, but I don’t know how famous they are (not at all to me!) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Akira_(franchise)
The 1988 film AKIRA is what we want here, I think
Ding ding! AKIRA is correct. I had the film in mind. Maybe not exactly “famous” to everyone, but its influence on many other later works, Japanese and western, was huge.
I’d say it is fairly famous – I have no interest in manga but I’ve heard of it.
> Four left to get – 2, 12, 21 & 31
Two of these are 50% defoxed.
Possible half solutions:
2)
JACKET
AZORES
ZEROES
12)
MORO
MARIO
BARS
BROS
31)
ARDENT
BABY
Well, there’s a RADIANT BABY, but it’s another thing I’ve never heard of myself.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Keith_Haring
Only 2 and 21 to get now (I hadn’t noticed Colonel_K had solved 12)
So is 2 half solved, or was 12 one of the halfs?
2 is half solved. In hindsight perhaps 21 is a bit chuffing cryptic, but perhaps if you ask a fairly recent US Secretary of State they could point you in the right direction.
I want it to start VERY LOYAL, but that just makes me think of Her Majesty’s Most Loyal Opposition and wonder what her least loyal one is up to 🙂
12. MORO BARS ?? – introduced in 1985 by Cadburys, branded Boost in the UK but as Moro in Ireland, New Zealand and Australia
or, more likely, MARIO BROS.
Re: 21.
Rex Tillerson -> Exxon -> Exxon Valdez, March 24, 1989
VERY OILY ALASKAN SEALS
A very emphatic tip of the hat in your direction, good Colonel. Bravo.
2 – ZAIRESE JACKET?
President Mobutu banned Western style suits in favour of this – https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abacost
A fine guess, but I’m looking for something a little more specific. For a last-minute hint, I suggest asking Seth Green and Jason Hall whether they know anything about it.
AZARIA’S JACKET – the baby the dingos ate.