Friday Foxer #108

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 geofoxer theme: codes & ciphers (defoxed by Viscount)

a. arnold cipher (Phlebas)
b. baconian cipher (AbyssUK, ylla, Electric Dragon)
c. purple cipher (ylla)
d. caesar cipher (copperbottom)
e. beaufort cipher (Nutfield, Phlebas, Electric Dragon)
f. shugsborough inscription (Aergistal)
g. beale cipher (Aergistal)
h. hut 6 at bletchley park (Viscount)
i. claude shannon (Nutfield, ylla)
j. bomba (copperbottom)
k. alberti cipher (Phlebas, Electric Dragon)
l. playfair cipher (Aergistal)

41 Comments

  4. B2 – Roman probably wants more than this but that’s literally just red things (Captain Scarlet, strawberries, Christian Louboutin heels, London bus etc)

  6. Link – names of colours in different languages

    D2 – Benoit Blanc (White in French)
    E2 – John Dee (from Du, Black in Welsh)

  17. D5. Dirk Bogarde on poster for ‘Ill Met by Moonlight’ (1957)

    ETA: which I think is part of a quotation from A Midsummernight’s Dream, said by Oberon:
    “Ill met by moonlight, proud Titania”.

    • I think it’s Shitala / Sheetala (meaning coolness in Sanskrit) riding on a donkey.
      She carries a small fan, a broom, a bowl (effectively a dustbin), and medicinal water. Seems she cures diseases of the skin.

  23. I am on a roll today

    Link – The Book of Daniel

    C2 – Chapter 13 – Susanna and the Elders
    B3 – Chapter 3 – the Fiery Furnace
    C3 – Chapter 6 – Daniel in the Lion’s Den
    E3 – Chapter 2 – Nebuchadnezzar’s Dream

  24. Link – Chester
    D1 – Roman name Deva
    E2 – on the River Dee
    D2 – birthplace of Daniel Craig

    • C1. cover of ‘The GOBLIN TOWER’ by L Sprague de Camp – as it has it on the one I’ve seen: “Co-author of the best-selling CONAN stories”.
      An older term for one of the towers on the city walls, now known as Pemberton’s Parlour.

  25. Link – Smallpox

    B1 – Esther Summerson contracts it in Bleak House
    A3 – Sheetala cures diseases and is especially linked with smallpox
    B2 – Known as the Red Plague

  26. So we’re missing:

    E1 – something to do with Chester
    D3 – linked to the Book of Daniel
    A5 – connected to kidnapping (which I have now learned to spell properly)

  29. A5 – The Death of Captain James Cook painting by Johann Zoffany. Cook attempted to kidnap the ruling chief of the island of Hawaiʻi, Kalaniʻōpuʻu.

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