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 someone’s head or shoulders’ (‘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 ‘raspberry beret’ was present it might appear as RSP BRRYBRT. Dandruff would be DNDRFF.
*Hyphens are treated as spaces. Apostrophes are ignored.
1. CM BVR
2. TFLLN
3. BNDL
4. SND
5. R LBL NDCD
6. CP TNFLNT
7. PLTT
8. MKRTL
9. THW GH TFT HWR LD
10. BSSDR N
11. KNG HTNGSWRD
12. CBN
13. DL YBBBR
14. DGHNT
15. VN GRNDBR WNPP R
16. CPRT
17. BP LYH XHDPHNS
18. PDCLCD
19. VL
20. PLDRN
21. ST CHLSTRP
22. SGT TLSTR
23. PTK
24. BN DTR
25. CRLGS TFRC LLS SRFL
26. LLKLL
27. LR LLVVDR MLNGT HSW NDRWT R
28. RMR DHDCRB
29. TRCT NLPC
30. THF TFC ST LL R
31. G PRHR
32. TNC RP
33. LCTRNC PHLGRPHYLCTRD
* * *
SOLUTIONS
Raccoons
a1. rascal the raccoon (Nutfield)
a2. raccoon city pd (Aergistal)
a3. roni the raccoon (Electric Dragon, Nutfield, Zwack23)
b3. barbados raccoon (Phlebas)
a4. rebecca the raccoon (Nutfield)
Tony Blair (defoxed by Electric Dragon)
b1. granita pact (Electric Dragon)
c1. cherie booth (gusdownnup)
d1. a journey (Colonel_K)
e1. kosovo (gusdownnup)
e2. dodgy dossier (Phlebas)
Characters in Hilary Mantel novels (defoxed by Zwack23)
b2. thomas cromwell (Colonel_K)
c2. the axons (Nutfield, Electric Dragon)
d2. charles byrne (Zwack23)
c3. georges danton (gusdownnup)
c4. fludd (captaincabinets)
Tupelov Tu-144 (defoxed by Colonel_K)
d3. buran space shuttle (AbyssUK)
e3. canard (Nutfield)
d4. kuznetsov turbofans (AbyssUK)
e4. almaty (captaincabinets)
e5. mig-21i analog (Nutfield)
Calculators (defoxed by ylla)
b4. elka (Colonel_K)
a5. sid sackson’s calculate
b5. kraftwerk (Electric Dragon)
c5. curta (Colonel_K)
d5. pascal (Electric Dragon)
1 – COMB OVER (though I’ve always thought of that as one word)
6 – CAPTAIN FLINT (the one on John Silver’s shoulder)
21 – SATCHEL STRAP
7 – EPAULETTE
25 – CARL GUSTAF RECOILLESS RIFLE – https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carl_Gustaf_8.4_cm_recoilless_rifle
9 – THE WEIGHT OF THE WORLD
14 – DOUGHNUT, which I assume refers to this – https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bagel_head
Maybe just https://www.boots.com/boots-brown-doughnut-small-10271258
11 – KNIGHTING SWORD
15 – VINEGAR AND BROWN PAPER – is this something to do with getting rid of nits?
It’s what they mended Jack’s head with in ‘Jack and Jill went up the hill”!
Thanks ghostbusters!
33. ELECTRENCEPHALOGRAPHY ELECTRODE
32. TEENIE CRAP… yeah I know…. I just liked this answer
I think it’s ETON CROP.
4. SNOOD ? — too easy ?
12. CUBAN ?
19. VEIL
I would spell 13 DEELY BOPPER, but apparently you can have BOBBER too…
3. BINDLE
23. PATKA
2 – TEFILLIN – Jewish prayer boxes worn round the neck
8 – MOKOROTLO – national hat of Lesotho
12 – CAUBEEN – Irish military beret
28. ARMO(U)RED HEADCRAB – from Half-Life : Alyx
22. SAGITTAL SUTURE – https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sagittal_suture
20. PAULDRON
20. PAULDRON – shoulder protection in plate armour
beaten
17. seems to end Headphones
and 29. start with Traction
The Fate of Castle…
17. (Bang & Olufsen) BEOPLAY HX HEADPHONES
Roman has expensive tastes!
29. TRACTION ALOPECIA – losing hair that’s pulled on too much
18. PEDICULICIDE – substance for killing headlice
16. CAPIROTE – a tall conical hat worn by confraternities of Catholic penitents and American white supremacists.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Capirote
10 BASS DRONE? I keep forgetting it’s shoulders too.
27 L’OREAL ELVIVE DREAM LENGTHS WONDER WATER
By my reckoning, that leaves:
5- R LBL NDCD
24- BN DTR
26- LLKLL
30- THF TFC ST LL R
31- G PRHR
Hard to believe that 31 doesn’t end in HAIR.
30. THE FEET OF A CASTELLER (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Castell)
There’s something called a GOPRO HERO, but do you put it on your head?
If in doubt, throw some vowels at it:
26. L L I K L L A – small cape worn by Quechua women
I’d tried throwing too many vowels at it, apparently!