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.
Below is a list of ‘33 things wot you might find on, in, at, or attached to a desk’ (‘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 sealing wax was present it might appear as SLN GWX. Receptionist would be RCPTNST.
*Hyphens are treated as spaces. Apostrophes are ignored.
1. CLTDT CTVS PCL
2. BRDRS R
3. GTHCH RST
4. NMT NDSC
5. SPN GDMPR
6. DNLD THSHDMR GN
7. BRSSS PTFR
8. PNPS HR
9. C BLHL
10. RML
11. RN SNTC HTP
12. MNT BLNCMSTRSTCK
13. TTR Y
14. PW DRPSTBTL
15. KNHL
16. GSFT HR
17. CNCLDMCR PHN
18. TMCNTRB RY
19. MDS TYPNL
20. LBT SBR GSDV NCDPTNM KNG
21. NWTNSC RDL
22. BL LNDC L WFT
23. PN CPT
24. DSNDP HN
25. FM LYPHT
26. CRNRCH MDS
27. BBCR TCHT
28. TRS RYTG
29. SCTCHN
30. CC NTBRN GRSCMS SG
31. DRN KNGBRD
32. LVT TLT TR
33. RQTSN FRSTR CTRFC NCLM NTDC PTNN DNTM DTN
* * *
SOLUTIONS
Last week’s cluster foxer:
Things beginning with ‘chi‘ (defoxed by Colonel_K)
a1. Chi Ro (Nutfield)
a2. chimera (Aergistal)
a3. Chisnau (Aergistal)
b3. Chicago (Aergistal)
c3. Chios (Mrs Nutfield, Aergistal)
1971 Baker Street heist (defoxed by Colonel_K)
b1. Le Sac (Colonel_K)
b2. The Red-Headed League (Aergistal)
c2. Radio ham (Colonel_K, Aergistal, ylla)
d2. Lloyds Bank, Baker Street (Aergistal)
d3. Anthony Gavin (Aergistal)
Last words of Roald Dahl book titles (defoxed by Viscount)
c1. Trot (Viscount)
d1. Elevator (Colonel_K)
e1. Medicine (Nutfield)
e2. Fox (Electric Dragon)
e3. Peach (Colonel_K, Nutfield)
Violin cases (defoxed by Electric Dragon)
a4. Suzanne Valadon (Electric Dragon, ylla)
b4. Sly Stone (Aergistal)
c4. Luciano Lutring (Aergistal)
d4. Joe Louis (Aergistal)
a5. Kōzō Okamoto (Aergistal)
Ships/boats in ‘Around the World in Eighty Days’ (defoxed by ylla)
e4. Carnatic (Nutfield, Aergistal)
b5. Henrietta (Electric Dragon, Nutfield)
c5. Mongolia (ylla)
d5. Rangoon (Aergistal)
e5. General Grant (ylla)
8. PEN PUSHER
10. ORMOLU
12. MONTBLANC MEISTERSTUCK
21. NEWTON’S CRADLE
Colonel K is out of his depth – he ain’t no desk-jockey.
ETA: 25. FAMILY PHOTO
27 BOB CRATCHIT
31 DRINKING BIRD
25 FAMILY PHOTO
22. BALL AND CLAW FEET
5 – SPONGE DAMPER
8 – PEN PUSHER
12 – MONT BLANC MEISTERSTÜCK
12 MONT BLANC MEISTERSTUCK
18. TIM CANTERBURY
1) COLT DETECTIVE SPECIAL? (why a desk?)
This is surprisingly hard…
Hard-boiled Private Eyes, next to the bottle of whisky?
7. BRASS SPITFIRE
17. CONCEALED MICROPHONE
ETA: 16. GOOSE FEATHER
14. POWDERPOST BEETLE
30. COCONUT BEARING RESCUE MESSAGE!
https://www.jfklibrary.org/asset-viewer/coconut-bearing-rescue-message-mo-634852
28 . TREASURY TAG
3. AGATHA CHRISTIE (Not a GOTH CHRIST)
Ahahaha – one of my open tabs is, of course a google search for Goth Christ.
I just closed mine 🙂
29 ESCUTCHEON
9. CABLE HOLE
26. ACORN ARCHIMEDES
33 – IRAQ ITS INFRASTRUCTURE OF CONCEALMENT DECEPTION AND INTIMIDATION – the dodgy dossier
An uninspiring, but accurate…
9. CABLE HOLE
13. TEA TRAY
I was thinking OUT TRAY
Both correct i’d say 🙂
19. MODESTY PANEL
32. OLIVETTI LETTERA 22 – popular portable typewriter
23. POUNCE POT
31. DRINKING BIRD
15. KNEEHOLE (Just in front of the MODESTY PANEL)
20. LIBATIUS BORAGE’S ADVANCED POTION MAKING
11. RONSON TOUCH TIP
4. ANIMATION DISC
Ok, i’m done… 3 left:
2. Something RISER (As in a desk riser?)
6. Something, something MARGIN?
24. Something PHONE?
2 BOARD ERASER? Usually on the shelf of the board, I would have thought.
24. EDISON EDIPHONE
I keep wanting 6 to be Donald the Something, which of course it can’t.
I keep seeing deathshead in the middle and now can’t see anything else.
You aren’t wrong.
6. DANIEL DEATHSHEAD MORGAN
https://britishcomics.fandom.com/wiki/Deathshead_Danny
Dammit – spent too much time thinking ‘is there a special kind of margin on writing paper called something deathshead margin?’