Friday Foxer #56

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”, “The Spanish Armada”, “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: police (defoxed by Aergistal)

a) Spodek, Katowice (COP venue) (Aergistal)
b) Earl’s Court tube station (police box location) (Hydrogene)
c) Baton Rouge, Louisiana (Aergistal)
d) Peel Castle, Isle of Man (Aergistal)
e) Tokyo police museum (Aergistal)
f) ‘Hill Street’ police station, Chicago (Aergistal)
g) House of Terror, Budapest (secret police HQ) (gusdownnup)
h) Greene King Brewery, Bury St Edmunds (copper in foreground) (Aergistal)
i) Constable’s The Cornfield, National Gallery, London (Zwack23)
j) LAPD HQ (Aergistal)
k) Somerfield supermarket, Wells (Hot Fuzz location) (gusdownnup)
l) Pearse Street Garda station, Dublin (Viscount)

67 Comments

    • CHImera, CHImp, CHIos ?

      ETA: A1 features the Christian chi-rho symbol flanked by two pomegranates.

      A1. CHI-RHO
      A2. CHIMERA
      B2. ?
      C2. Ham the Space CHIMP
      C3. CHIOS

  21. Attempt at a link

    C3 – Derek Hatton was a Trotskist Militant – TROT
    E1 – MEDICINE
    E3 – Blair PEACH

    Esio TROT, George’s Marvellous MEDICINE, James and the Giant PEACH – last words in Roald Dahl book titles?

  22. E2 is US Marine badges, but I don’t know if a particular set.

    (Not US Marine badgers. That would be something different.)

  28. Which if the CHIs are right seems to leave A3/A4/A5/B4/B5 as a cluster, and B1/C1/D1/E1 and C4/D3/D4/E3 together, with D2 and E2 to split between them.

    • Featuring another robbery committed with the help of a tunnel, like Baker Street and Hatton Gardens – so C2 is not a CHI

    • B1 – Le Sac, the name of the leather goods shop where they started digging the tunnel, and that means either C1 Hatton or D3 have to be in the same cluster.

  35. Been in meetings after lunch so where are we at?

    Looks like:

    A1, A2, A3, B3, C3 = Begin with CHI
    B5, C5, D5, E4, E5 = Ships from Around the World in 80 Days
    B1, B2, C2, D2 = Baker Street Robbery/Tunnel robberies inspired by Red Headed League.
    E1, E2, E3, = Last word of Roald Dahl books
    A4, A5, B4, C4, D4 = ????

    C1 could go in either the tunnel group (Hatton Garden robbery) or Roald Dahl (Trot)
    D1 is unsolved but must be in Roald Dahl group
    D3 unsolved and is either Robbery or Roald Dahl

    That seem right?

  37. Cluster 1 – CHI- words
    A1 CHI-rho mosaic, Hinton St Mary
    A2 Aermacchi CHIMERA
    A3 Eternity memorial complex, CHISINAU
    B3 CHICAGO 19030
    C3 Massacre at CHIOS

    Cluster 2 – Baker Street robbery
    B1 – Le Sac (shop tunnelled from)
    B2 – Sherlock Holmes Red Headed League (inspiration)
    C2 – Ham (listened in)
    D2 – 185 Baker Street (location)
    D3 – James GAVIN (surname of burglar)

    Cluster 3 – ships from Around the World in 80 Days
    B5 – HENRIETTA Biggle
    C5 – Flag of MONGOLIA
    D5 – Short S.8/8 RANGOON
    E4 – Figurehead of HMS CARNATIC
    E5 – GENERAL GRANT tree

    Cluster 4 – Roald Dahl book titles
    C1 – TROT Derek Hatton
    D1
    E1 – MEDICINE by Gustav Klimt
    E2 – Wesley FOX
    E3 – Funeral of Blair PEACH

    Cluster 5 – unknown
    A4 – The Hangover/Toulouse Lautrec/Suzanne Valadon
    A5 – Kozo Okamoto
    B4 – Sly Stone
    C4 – Wake up and Die
    D4 – Joe Louis

  38. Final group – violin cases
    Sly Stone “carried a violin case filled with illegal drugs wherever he went” (per Wiki)
    Luciano Lutring, on whose life Wake Up and Die was based, was known as the machine gun soloist because he carried his gun in a violin case
    The Hangover is a portrait of Toulouse Lautrec’s lover Suzanne Valadon, who herself painted The Violin Case ( https://www.meisterdrucke.uk/fine-art-prints/Marie-Clementine-(Suzanne)-Valadon/138770/The-Violin-Case,-1923-.html )
    Joe Louis carried his boxing gloves in a violin case ( https://medium.com/illumination/boxing-gloves-inside-the-violin-case-5970f32c49c1 )
    Kozo Okamoto and the other Lod Airport killers hid their assault rifles in violin cases

  39. Final group – violin cases
    Sly Stone “carried a violin case filled with illegal drugs wherever he went” (per Wiki)
    Luciano Lutring, on whose life Wake Up and Die was based, was known as the machine gun soloist because he carried his gun in a violin case
    The Hangover is a portrait of Toulouse Lautrec’s lover Suzanne Valadon, who herself painted The Violin Case
    Joe Louis carried his boxing gloves in a violin case
    Kozo Okamoto and the other Lod Airport killers hid their assault rifles in violin cases

    (my links are in moderation so copied without them)

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