Friday Foxer #85

Every Friday at 1300 hours, Tally-Ho Corner’s cleverest clogs come together to solve a ‘foxer’ handcrafted by my sadistic chum and colleague, Roman. A complete ‘defoxing’ sometimes takes several days and usually involves the little grey cells of many readers. Don’t be shy. All are welcome to participate.

The ‘cluster foxer’ is regarded by some as the most demanding form. Solving one involves identifying 25 pictures and five hidden themes. The enlargeable mosaic below consists of five interlocked picture clusters (some possible cluster arrangements are shown above) each with its own theme. Themes have nothing in common with each other. Don’t be surprised to find, for example, “Crocodiles”, “Tulip mania”, “Words beginning with “ter””, “1948” and “Fictional policemen” sharing a puzzle. A picture’s connection to a particular theme won’t always be literal. An image of the Brandenburg Gate is just as likely to be part of a “Bach” cluster as a “Berlin” one.

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SOLUTIONS

Last week’s ’33 things wot you might find in Sri Lanka’ missing vowels foxer

1. RGLY – aragalaya (Electric Dragon)
2. KNG DMFKN DY – kingdom of kandy (Electric Dragon)
3. THMMTTM – thammattama (Electric Dragon)
4. DMSBRD G – adam’s bridge (Electric Dragon)
5. STRS ND YRD – easter sunday raid (Colonel_K)
6. PRT GSBRGHR – portuguese burgher (Electric Dragon)
7. F LQ – fuel queue (Electric Dragon)
8. BZTSPR LFSH RS – bizet’s pearl fishers (ylla)
9. L CGN NS SNNR MYN FRM – alec guinness in an army uniform (ylla)
10. LYRD SPRKT – layard’s parakeet (Electric Dragon)
11. NCR NRMR DPRS NNLCRRR – unicorn armoured personnel carrier (Colonel_K)

12. RV NSCLFT – ravana’s cleft (Phlebas)
13. HNSKNTHL PHN T – hansken the elephant (Electric Dragon, Colonel_K)
14. RJ VGNDHSS SSN – rajiv gandhi’s assassin (Electric Dragon)
15. KRBTH – kiribath (Phlebas)
16. THHGH STTS TWC KTTK RNCR CK THST RY – the highest test wicket taker in cricket history (gusdownnup)
17. DLLR S – dull rose
18. MR RRWLL – mirror wall (Colonel_K)
19. TM PLFT HTT H – temple of the tooth (ylla)
20. STG R – sea tiger (Colonel_K)
21. LSCRN – lascarin (Colonel_K)
22. THS TFT HWR LDSD D LSTR LDSS TR – the site of the world’s deadliest rail disaster (Electric Dragon)

23. V – uva (Phlebas)
24. SN HLNL YCT – sinhala only act (Electric Dragon)
25. RB BDSMK DSHTRB BR – ribbed smoked sheet rubber (Colonel_K)
26. SR NDBS CPSWL – serendib scops owl (ylla)
27. THW RT RFRND ZVSW THR M – the writer of rendezvous with rama (Electric Dragon)
28. KSTN – kastane (Colonel_K)
29. LT STWR – lotus tower (Electric Dragon)
30. SRMVBND RNK – sirimavo bandaranaike (Electric Dragon)
31. BD DHSFTPRNT – buddha’s footprint (Electric Dragon)
32. BRD BYSHLDNCN TR – bradby shield encounter (Colonel_K)
33. CNN MNRC S SNCR VN – cinnamon air cessna 208 caravan (Colonel_K)

43 Comments

  1. B3. Ambrose BURNSIDE – inventor of sideburns 😉

    ETA: D5. PRINSENHOF (“The Court of the Prince”), Delft, Netherlands
    Bullet holes from the assassination of William I of Orange (William the Silent) at the main stairs of the Prinsenhof, 1584

    Another Silent One!

  2. B1. DIEGO (?) – sabre toothed tiger from Ice Age animated films
    Not sure where the model might be located for people to pose with

  3. Drake group so far:
    B1. Diego ? – escaped/liberated slave, became ship-builder
    C1. Judith – first command ? – “Drake was two and twenty when he obtained the command of the Judith”
    D1. Tavistock – birthplace
    E1. (Golden) Hind – formerly Pelican, circumnavigation ship

    D2. Mike Leigh film ‘Vera Drake’ is probably a red herring

    Can’t find a connection to Piedmont, so the group most likely finishes with either B2. (Penguin Modern Classics book cover) or E2.

  4. Inklings, for what they’re worth:
    C3. Chinese rocket artillery of some form, the star looks right

    E3. Brass musical instument ?, related to the jazzophone, maybe or the saxhorn

    ETA: I’m fancying a silent group, which might be a sailplane in B5.

    • Ice Creams ?
      Would be nice if the Chinese had a rocket system called Mr. Whippy, but it’s more likely a ’99’.

  5. C4 – ALFA ROMEO badge

    contains the red cross of Milan and a grass snake swallowing a child, the symbol of the House of Visconti.

    Always thought it was a fire breathing dragon but once you see it… The most gruesome car logo?

    • The Andromeda Strain:
      • A1 – Piedmont (Arizona)
      • A2 – Wildfire protocol
      • B2 – Scoop satellite

      • C2 – this bit of dialogue

        [Leavitt and Stone examine a micro-meteoroid embedded in the Scoop collection medium at 60x magnification]
        Dr. Ruth Leavitt: Jeremy, do you think maybe…
        Dr. Jeremy Stone: Maybe it’s just a grain of sand. Go to 80.
        [at 80x, specs of green become visible]
        Dr. Ruth Leavitt: What about the bits of green?
        Dr. Jeremy Stone: Paint!
        Dr. Ruth Leavitt: For God’s sake!
        Dr. Jeremy Stone: Pistachio ice cream! There’s no basis to assume it’s anything yet.
        Dr. Ruth Leavitt: You’re too good a scientist to not be thinking the same thing I am. If this really is something now, some brand-new form of life…

  6. The Andromeda Strain
    (I had the wiki page open earlier as it linked Piedmont and something, but I can’t remember what that something was).

    A1. PIEDMONT, Arizona – nearest town to landed satellite, everyone apparently dead
    A2. Project WILDFIRE – program to contain threats to life
    B2. SCOOP – military satellite + recovery program that sets plot off

    ?? C2. Kulfi

    Potentially C3. Dr. Jeremy STONE- lead scientist

  7. Just plain Milan, I think:
    A3. Bianca Castafiore – the “Milanese Nightingale”.
    B3. AMBROSE Burnside – patron saint of Milan, formerly Bishop of Milan 374-397.
    B4. MILAN Central station.
    C4. Alfa Romeo – founded on 24 June 1910, in Milan, Italy.
    D4. The Five Days – set during The Five Days of Milan, anti-Austrian revolt of 1848.

    Final unknown group:
    E5. LAVA (Pixar 2014) / UKU ? (character)
    E4. LAUGHING CAVALIER / FRANZ HALS
    E3. THAYER axial-flow valve / some sort of TROMBONE / F-attachment
    then, most likely
    D3. Bonaparte at MARENGO
    and then either
    D2. VERA / KENNY DOUGHTY (DS Aiden Healy)
    or E2. USS DOLPHIN / BERKELEY

    • Cripes, Google works fast!
      THC’s Friday Foxer #85 is the third result for “thayer marengo lava”.
      SEO opportunity?

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