Friday Foxer #197

This week’s handmade co-op puzzle won’t defox itself. If you’re a dab hand at quizzes, lateral thinking, and search engine sleuthing, why not help out.

Roman, THC’s Chief Foxer Setter, is old enough to remember the days when there were Cheryls and Paulas in most classrooms, and highwaymen still plied their trade along the A3. He also recalls the time when all Friday Foxers were collage foxers.

(To complete the defox, identify the hidden theme and explain how each component relates to it)

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Last week’s ‘33 Things Wot You Might Find In Paraguay’ missing vowels foxer:

1. NNDT – NANDUTI (Jimbob)
2. SMFS HR – SAM FISHER (Colonel_K)
3. LXPR GRNSS – ILEX PARAGUARIENSIS
4. PRTDCL RD – PARTIDO COLORADO (Colonel_K)
5. Q MPPL – QOM PEOPLE (Zwack23)
6. L ZL CLYNCH – ELIZA ALICIA LYNCH
7. PLTT T – PELOTA TATA
8. BRN GSBLL – BRANGUS BULL (Colonel_K)
9. THGB RLT RFS THM RC – THE GIBRALTAR OF SOUTH AMERICA (Phlebas)
10. LSTR NT – EL STRONATO
11. TR PCFCP RCRN – TROPIC OF CAPRICORN

12. CHP – CHIPA (Zwack23)
13. F RWM BLW – FREE WOMB LAW (Colonel_K)
14. THQD BN – THE AQUIDABAN
15. RTTRN SCHC – RUTA TRANSCHACO
16. TRN GLRGRFZ PPLNSTM P – TRIANGULAR GRAF ZEPPELIN STAMP (copperbottom)
17. CNQSTDR – CONQUISTADOR (copperbottom)
18. F NSFT HNN TNT HSPR SDNT – FANS OF THE NINETEENTH US PRESIDENT (Colonel_K, Zwack23)
19. BNT NLDMS – BINATIONAL DAMS
20. BT TLDNC – BOTTLE DANCE
21. TR NBN DFRPS DS -TRAIN BOUND FOR POSADAS
22. KDN PPDFR MRVCP RSDNT – KIDNAPPED FORMER VICE PRESIDENT (copperbottom)

23. PMBR – POMBERO (Colonel_K)
24. TRNLC HR – TREN LECHERO
25. MNLBLG RN – MANUEL BELGRANO (Phlebas)
26. MNNNT – MENNONITE
27. KSRV – KOSERAVA (Phlebas)
28. NDJL N – INDIA JULIANA
29. T HNG LFDT H – THE ANGEL OF DEATH (Phlebas)
30. MST RTST L LNSR VC – M3 STUART STILL IN SERVICE (Phlebas)
31. ZRSSCPC HN – AZARAS’S CAPUCHIN (Colonel_K)
32. NN DFT HFR NDS HPB RDG – ONE END OF THE FRIENDSHIP BRIDGE (Phlebas)
33. GLKPRWHSCRDGHTNTRNTNLGLS – GOALKEEPER WHO SCORED EIGHT INTERNATIONAL GOALS (Colonel_K)

15 Comments

  1. Cartoon character, lower middle: I think is WART (future King Arthur) from Disney’s older version of Sword in the Stone.

    Equation calculating lambda is for WAVELENGTH (velocity divided by frequency)

    • Michel Becker publish a new edition of On The Trail Of The Golden Owl in December 2019, called The Secret Notebooks (4th edition 2019). In 2021, he became the official organiser of the treasure hunt.

  6. Top left corner is “Lingot d’Art 1876”. This museum is currently closed. It could be the home of the Golden Owl, which have been recently found. The “Golden Owl” could be our theme.

    From wikipedia:
    On The Trail Of The Golden Owl (French: Sur la trace de la chouette d’or) is a French armchair treasure hunt book created by communications expert Régis Hauser under the pseudonym “Max Valentin” and illustrated by artist Michel Becker. Launched in 1993, the statue was discovered on October 3, 2024, making it the second longest treasure hunt ever organized (after The Secret). The Chouette d’Or was the longest running treasure hunt with a single prize, while 3 of the Secret’s 12 prizes have been found.

    Here: https://www.google.com/maps/@45.9416361,-0.9628757,3a,60.1y,97.03h,87.68t/data=!3m7!1e1!3m5!1snc4OY1CLhHU1b9PrskM5FA!2e0!6shttps:%2F%2Fstreetviewpixels-pa.googleapis.com%2Fv1%2Fthumbnail%3Fcb_client%3Dmaps_sv.tactile%26w%3D900%26h%3D600%26pitch%3D-2.6784996907208836%26panoid%3Dnc4OY1CLhHU1b9PrskM5FA%26yaw%3D88.23054671690693!7i16384!8i8192?coh=205409&entry=ttu&g_ep=EgoyMDI0MTAwOS4wIKXMDSoASAFQAw%3D%3D

  8. Bottom right corner is Karl Valentin fountain in Munich.

    Max Valentin was the pseudonym of Régis Hauser, creator of “On the Trail of the Golden Owl”

    Here: https://www.google.com/maps/@48.1348858,11.5753983,3a,75y,47.7h,81.38t/data=!3m7!1e1!3m5!1s6hHYy6XOe4meznEKVdO02g!2e0!6shttps:%2F%2Fstreetviewpixels-pa.googleapis.com%2Fv1%2Fthumbnail%3Fcb_client%3Dmaps_sv.tactile%26w%3D900%26h%3D600%26pitch%3D8.620000000000005%26panoid%3D6hHYy6XOe4meznEKVdO02g%26yaw%3D47.7!7i16384!8i8192?coh=205410&entry=ttu&g_ep=EgoyMDI0MTAwOS4wIKXMDSoASAFQAw%3D%3D

  9. Re: Top Left
    The website I’m trawling through (goldenowlhunt (dot) com) has, on the page An Additional Clue, the text ‘Musée de la Chouette d’Or in Rochefort’ with a weblink to lingotdart = Lingot d’Art

    Re: Wart
    The image for Wavelength 470 is of a sword in a stone (presumed to be Roland’s sword Durandal)

    The uppermost thing that looks to have runes etched in it is the Praeneste fibula (the “brooch of Palestrina”) with an Old Latin inscription. It’s mentioned in the clue to Wavelength 600.

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