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 Forum index » Diversions » Perplex City Puzzle Cards » PXC Puzzle Cards - Questions, Meta and Sub-puzzles
Puzzle with silver prizes
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UKver2.0
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Joined: 09 Feb 2006
Posts: 270

 		This was my list for my second attempt for which I got an 11. Unfortunately I didn't know which were right and which were wrong so I just added some names to fill the gaps for my final attempt. So that's pretty much an 11 for me.

1 ) Aristophanes
2 ) Clytemnestra
3 ) Athena
4 ) Nessus
5 ) Hadrian
6 ) Bacchus
7 ) Rubicon
8 ) Rome
9 ) Euphorbos
10) Ovid
11) Roxana
12) Icarus
13)
14)
15) Quinqueremes
16) Actium
17)
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Naomi: We did joke that we’d end up have to go round to your houses with shovels, drive you to the location and tell you to dig.
Andrea: Paint a little X on the ground with spray paint..
Naomi: and then you’d try to anagram 'shovels'

PostPosted: Mon Aug 21, 2006 8:24 am
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Gibbet
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Joined: 07 Aug 2005
Posts: 121

 		I feel like Penelope waiting for Odysseus!
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"And I would have got away with it if it wasn't for those pesky cards!"

The OK13DTFC is but one of the things i'm ashamed of being associated with!

PostPosted: Mon Aug 21, 2006 8:31 am
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badbarry
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Joined: 10 Mar 2006
Posts: 140
Location: London

 		Ok guys and gals, there are going to be a few posts here. Firstly the answers, then the winners and then the prize list.

Thank you everyone who entered, 44 in all, it was great fun seeing what you made of it!

These were the answers with an explanation of why and how many people got them right - hope they make sense and that you don't think something you had was better.


1. Inventor of nephelokokkygia

Spoiler (Rollover to View):
Answer: Aristophanes. This one would have been harder if you'd had to translate from the Greek, but as it was, an easy google away. Everyone got this. Aristophanes invented cloud cuckoo land in his play The Birds, a place where everything was perfect and the birds went to live. Clearly this is impossible, hence the phrase "you're living in cloud cuckoo land" Percentage correct - 100%.
.

2. Hatched a plot against her husband.

Spoiler (Rollover to View):
Answer: Clytemnestra. There were a lot of wicked Greek women (and men of course!), so this one could have been ambiguous. However, the clue was in "hatched". Myth tells that lecherous Zeus fancied a bit of Leda, Clytemnestra's mother, so he turned himself in to a swan and pretended to be under attack from an eagle. Leda naturally comforted the poor swan and in this moment the old goat had his wicked way and 9 months later Leda produced 2 eggs. From one egg came Pollux and Helen (of Troy), and from the other Castor and Clytemnestra – the two boys being the immortal products and the girls the mortals. As for Clytemnestra herself, she was wife of Agamemnon and while he was away winning the Trojan War, she got herself a fancy man, and when Agamemnon returned in triumph, they butchered him in his bath – nice. Percentage correct - 80%.


3. Wise Greek judged not to be the fairest.

Spoiler (Rollover to View):
Answer: Athene. This one was about the judgement of Paris. At the wedding of Peleus and Thetis, Paris was asked to judge a beauty contest between Athene, Hera and Venus. Each goddess tried to bribe him, Hera with a kingdom, Athene with military glory and Venus with the sauciest bit of skirt currently walking the planet. Well, that was a bit of a no-brainer eh boys, so Venus duly won. Venus made Helen of Troy fall in love with Paris and thus started the Trojan War. Clues here were "Greek", so Athene not Minerva (her Latin name) and "wise" – Athene was particularly known for her wisdom, hence her and not Hera was the loser I was after. Percentage correct - 80%.


4. This composite beast, wild and inhospitable, after a snatch job, died on an arrow poisoned with snake venom.

Spoiler (Rollover to View):
Answer: Nessus. A multi-part google here. Firstly composite beast meant half one thing half another, like the card Hybridisation. "Wild and inhospitable" is in the wiki describing centaurs. But you had to find which centaur and Nessus was the one who snatched away Deianeira, wife of Hercules, with lustful intent! Hercules caught him and shot him with a arrow dipped in the Hydra's poisonous blood (which he got when killing the Hydra, one of his 12 labours). Had a lot of Pholus answers, but he was one of the civilised centaurs and had no references to a snatch job. Not so easy this one. Percentage correct - 59%.



5. Emperor whose literary informer was rocked by Mozart?

Spoiler (Rollover to View):
Answer: Vespasian. This one was about the hero of Lindsey Davis' books, Marcus Didius Falco. He was a (fictitious) private investigator, or "informer" in the time of Vespasian. Clues were in the timeless classic Rock Me Amadeus by the much loved Austrian rocker, Falco and literary meaning this was book. Percentage correct - 64%.



6. This wily character's home was rocky and sea-girt (Latin version).

Spoiler (Rollover to View):
Answer: Ulysses. These are all stock epithets used to describe Odysseus or his home Ithaca, in Homer's The Odyssey. The answer is Ulysses (see bracketed clue) as I needed a U! A few had Odysseus, but the clue was clear, latin version. Percentage correct - 66%.



7. X it, you might remark "alea iacta est".

Spoiler (Rollover to View):
Answer: Rubicon. "Alea jacta est" is what Julius Caesar famously said when he crossed the river Rubicon in north Italy on his march on Rome in 49BC. It effectively signalled his intent to seize power and turn Rome into a dictatorship from a republic. The words mean "the die is cast", symbolising no turning back. The X was an attempt to make it harder which I ditched with the second hint. Percentage correct - 93%.


8. Latin city.

Spoiler (Rollover to View):
Answer: Urbs. The clue was ambiguous, though thinking logically there wasn't enough information to guess at any specific city, so it can't have been that. The second hint of 4, just meant Latin for city, hence "urbs" from which we derive the word urban etc. A few people got this though many ploughed on with Rome. Percentage correct - 34%.


9. He inflicted the penultimate wound on the Nereids' finest son's best mate.

Spoiler (Rollover to View):
Answer: Euphorbus. Another multi part google here. First you had to work out that the Nereids' finest son was Achilles (child of Thetis, a Nereid or sea nymph/goddess). Then Achilles' best mate was Patroclus who went out to fight in Achilles' armour after Achilles went off in a huff over some slave wench – I'm sure you all saw the film Troy and the horrendous butchering of the plot that ruined the whole thing? Famously Hector slew Patroclus, thus incurring Achilles' wrath, but the penultimate wound was made by an obscure Trojan called Euphorbus. Surprisingly a lot of you got this, so I'm guessing it was googlable and you didn't all read The Iliad from cover to cover –book 16 if you're interested? Percentage correct - 84%.



10. Nosey poet.

Spoiler (Rollover to View):
Answer: Ovid. No great tricks here. His full name was Publius Ovidius Naso, which means nose in Latin. Great poet though, I recommend the Amores for you lovers out there and the Metamorphoses for the myth buffs. Percentage correct - 70%.



11. A great first wife?

Spoiler (Rollover to View):
Answer: Roxane. Lots of confusion here and many went for Hera or Metis, wives of Zeus. It was possibly ambiguous and I didn't give any other clue but the key was in the word great. Roxane was the first wife of Alexander the Great. Percentage correct - 41%.


12. Let down by hot wax.

Spoiler (Rollover to View):
Answer: Icarus. Difficult to google I imagine but a fairly well known Greek myth. Icarus, son of Daedalus who designed the labyrinth, was made a pair of wings by his father with which they both flew away from Crete, fleeing king Minos. The wings were held together with wax, and when Icarus flew too close to the sun, the wax melted and the wings fell apart. Icarus plunged into the sea and drowned – served him right for his hubris. Percentage correct - 89%.



13. To elude him, pacify his mother?

Spoiler (Rollover to View):
Answer: Minotaur. Extraordinarily, nobody got this right. It was tricky in the beginning but after the second hint I thought everyone would get it. It's a simple crossword trick. The Minotaur's mother was called Pasiphae (pacify..?), - you'd elude him in his labyrinth. Percentage correct - 0%.



14. Member of family Corvus getting direction. He did get his vengeance! (Cognomen).

Spoiler (Rollover to View):
Answer: Meridius. Surprised also that very few people got this one as it has modern allusions. The family corvus is the crow family (plus a few magpies, jays etc), so adding a direction (East) to Crow, you get Crowe as in the Russell variety. Not blatant I grant you, but standard crossword puzzling. The vengeance reference is to the legendary speech he made in the Colosseum : "My name is Maximus Decimus Meridius, commander of the armies of the North, general of the Felix legions, loyal servant to the true emperor Marcus Aurelius, father to a murdered son, husband to a murdered wife, and I will have my vengeance, in this life or the next". Cognomen means last name, so not Maximus – some fell into this trap. Percentage correct - 36%.



15. First appeared in Athenian naval lists in 325/4 BC.

Spoiler (Rollover to View):
Answer: Quinquereme. A right b**tard this one. Totally ungooglable I reckon, and believe me I've tried. Respect goes to the few of you who got this right, through brilliance I'm sure rather than a guess. The first record of these ships appearing in the Athenian list of ships was in 325/4 BC, according to my classical dictionary. Sorry about this one, but needed the Q. Percentage correct - 11%.


16. During this pivotal battle, one force was afflicted with malaria and the winner took the title Princeps.

Spoiler (Rollover to View):
Answer: Actium. Legendary sea battle found in 31BC between Octavian (soon to become Augustus) and Mark Antony and Cleopatra off the West coast of Greece. Octavian won, and later became the first emperor of Rome. Percentage correct - 98%.



17. Sum?

Spoiler (Rollover to View):
Answer: ? . Nobody got this, though many made the connection that the question is in Latin and means "who am I"?

You've got the letters: ACANVURUEORIMMQA

A lot of respect, but no prizes, to the first to crack this, and explain why! If nobody does, I'll give you the answer tomorrow.



Hopefully from this you can work out your score. The prize order will appear in the next post.

PostPosted: Mon Aug 21, 2006 8:47 am
Last edited by badbarry on Sat Aug 26, 2006 10:37 pm; edited 3 times in total
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Kradlum
Boot


Joined: 01 Aug 2006
Posts: 69
Location: London

 		Well, I think I got 13 then, thanks to putting in Urbs at the last minute.

The Quinquireme one was definitely the most difficult, simply because I found so many things that changed in 325/4 BC - earliest surviving Greek Papyrus, various generals of Alexander doing things with the Athenaian navy, Thule being "discovered" (sometime between 330 and 320BC), the equator being named (I think). I threw out Quinquireme simply because putting in a Q meant I thought I needed an extra U (which I got in the end anyway when I put in Urbs).

The minotaur question comes second, but only in as much as I didn't have a clue where to start, so spent a lot less time thinking about it.

PostPosted: Mon Aug 21, 2006 9:14 am
Last edited by Kradlum on Mon Aug 21, 2006 9:24 am; edited 1 time in total
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Asa
Boot

Joined: 23 Mar 2006
Posts: 17
Location: Preston, Lancashire

 		Argh, thought i had number 13 correct!
Antaeus was my guess... He drew his strength from his mother (the earth) and the only way for Hercules to beat him was to lift him off the ground. 'To elude him, pacify his mother'. Seemed to fit quite well, oh well Rolling Eyes good quiz anyway!

PostPosted: Mon Aug 21, 2006 9:15 am
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badbarry
Veteran

Joined: 10 Mar 2006
Posts: 140
Location: London

 		Here are the winners - well you all won really, but this is the prize order. The top 3 all got 14 right so I had to draw them out of a hat. After that the order in which you can select your prize is decided by number right and then by luck of the draw. I haven't given scores below the top but you can work them out for yourself.

The mechanism will be that the first person selects their prize, I will update the list of available prizes and the next can then make their selection until we are finished. You can choose either silvers or blacks, depending on what you need and what is left, but 1 silver is worth 2 blacks, so if you have won 1 silver you can have that or 2 blacks. If you have won 5 silvers you could have 4 silvers and 2 blacks - you get my drift. Any questions then let me know.

If you can PM me with your selection and address, I will post off asap.

The winners are:

1st Sjbuknewc 7 silvers
2nd lah1966 5 silvers
3rd Gibbet 3 silvers

The following all get 2 silvers

4. mac_monkey
5. skenmy
6. Cabbage
7. Hunting4Treasure
8. shaun78
9. kradlum
10. xorsyst
11. FranG

The rest get 1 silver each, though I think the silvers will all go before we reach the bottom so you may be left with blacks:


12. Walther
13. Talon
14. Austin
15. buzman
16. Ramsfan
17. puzzlebot
18. MommaCat
19. uhtoff
20. Arkai
21. Milkman
22. UKver2.0
23. Curlytek
24. GuyIncognito
25. Fretty
26. Steven.barnes
27. themandotcom
28. 6sidedsquare
29. Asa
30. Dark Human
31. Lysithea
32. mr_plowed
33. Adam G.
34. reprobate
35. beglee
36. Sophiecat & Kigi
37. Scribe
38. Jon79
39. Geist
40. Poozle
41. epr18
42. bonz
43. mqpippin
44. gobuu

PostPosted: Mon Aug 21, 2006 9:16 am
Last edited by badbarry on Mon Aug 21, 2006 11:55 am; edited 2 times in total
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badbarry
Veteran

Joined: 10 Mar 2006
Posts: 140
Location: London

 		And the prize list is as follows - card and number available:

193 Three Thousand Words 1
194 Confounding Cube 1
195 Road Trip 1
196 RGB 1
197 Linguini Junction 1
198 Headrush 1
199 Three 2
200 A Dream of Babel 1
201 Smoke And Mirrors 1
202 Mother Tongue 1
203 Ecliptic 1 scatched
204 Script 2
205 Whipsmart Hot Fudge[strike] 2
206 Mexid Message 1
207 Huey Teocalli 3 1
208 Freak Word 3
209 Little Pigley Farm 3
210 New Notation 1
211 Molecular 2 1
212 Whipsmart Birthday 1
213 We Be Rational Pirates! Arrr! 4
214 Traces 1
215 Harmony 1
216 Formal Logic 1
217 Tower of Cubes 1
218 The World 2
219 The Master of Secrets 3 1
220 Precision 3
221 Destination 2
222 Instigator 2
223 Secret Location 3
224 Once Upon A Time 1 scratched
225 Broadside 1
226 Instruction 1
227 Nand 1
228 Primer 2
229 Ball Night 1
230 Eternally Grateful 1
231 Cast Adrift 2 1
232 Water Music 1
233 The Earth's Destiny 1
234 Mosaically Challenged 1
235 Circuitous scratched
236 Swarms 1
237 Roaming Identity 1
238 Riemann 1
239 Persian 1
240 Elucidate 3
241 T-L-P 2
242 Cyphers of History 1
243 Shuffled 2
244 Syzygy Cube 2
245 Relativity 2
246 Homage in Glass 2
247 Polar 2
248 Differently Lethal 3
249 The Angel's Key 1
250 Manoeuvres 1
251 Thirteenth Labour 2
252 C.237.85, F.460.13 1
253 Sightseeing 1
254 Escape 1
255 Clinical Explanation 1 scratched
256 Billion to One 2


Current go: All done! Woo Hoo! Very Happy

PostPosted: Mon Aug 21, 2006 9:22 am
Last edited by badbarry on Tue Sep 05, 2006 6:31 pm; edited 41 times in total
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Arkai
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Joined: 04 Mar 2006
Posts: 74
Location: London

 		One thing: who was the 44th person?

Anyway, for info, providing everyone takes all their prizes as silvers, the silvers should go down to 28th place.

Someone suggested to me Quinquireme as well! Agh... oh well... Sad
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Meow? PXC=arkasha

PostPosted: Mon Aug 21, 2006 9:29 am
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badbarry
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Joined: 10 Mar 2006
Posts: 140
Location: London
Arkai wrote:
One thing: who was the 44th person?


Hunting 4 Treasure and shaun78 had got merged up there - now unmerged. First of many administrative errors no doubt - good spot.

PostPosted: Mon Aug 21, 2006 9:41 am
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UKver2.0
Decorated

Joined: 09 Feb 2006
Posts: 270
badbarry wrote:
15... Totally ungooglable I reckon, and believe me I've tried. Respect goes to the few of you who got this right, through brilliance I'm sure rather than a guess....
Well, I used Yahoo! so I suppose it is ungoogle-able Razz but I figured we were looking for a ship so I searched for each ship name from the time and the numbers 324, 325. Comes up right on top.
Asa wrote:
Argh, thought i had number 13 correct!
Antaeus was my guess... He drew his strength from his mother (the earth) and the only way for Hercules to beat him was to lift him off the ground. 'To elude him, pacify his mother'...
I got that as well, but it was more of a best-that-I-could-find and I knew there'd be something more fitting - cause Hercules didn't elude him and the mother didn't really get pacified.

I loved the puzzles, but the thing that amazes me is the fact that badbarry is giving all these cards away. There's well over $1000 US in eBay auctions here. I'm gonna assume he's rich cause I just can't live in a world where someone could be so generous. Smile Thanks.
_________________
Naomi: We did joke that we’d end up have to go round to your houses with shovels, drive you to the location and tell you to dig.
Andrea: Paint a little X on the ground with spray paint..
Naomi: and then you’d try to anagram 'shovels'

PostPosted: Mon Aug 21, 2006 9:51 am
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mac_monkey
Decorated

Joined: 25 Feb 2006
Posts: 250

 		Any chance of posting who's turn it is next to pm?

Great puzzle by the way. This one had me mulling for hours over the weekend.

And the generosity! Amazing!
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Now Playing: Super-8

PostPosted: Mon Aug 21, 2006 10:05 am
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badbarry
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Joined: 10 Mar 2006
Posts: 140
Location: London
mac_monkey wrote:
Any chance of posting who's turn it is next to pm?

Great puzzle by the way. This one had me mulling for hours over the weekend.

And the generosity! Amazing!


Will add that to the post - currently Gibbet's go, then you're up mac!

PostPosted: Mon Aug 21, 2006 10:14 am
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DarkHuman
Unfettered


Joined: 19 Apr 2006
Posts: 640
Location: Florida

 		sorry, are Shuffled, Relativity & both Billion to One(s) gone? the strikes are funny. THx!
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]Playing ->outcast?

PostPosted: Mon Aug 21, 2006 10:39 am
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Kradlum
Boot


Joined: 01 Aug 2006
Posts: 69
Location: London

 		ACANVURUEORIMMQA

I'm trying to pluck an anagram out of this, but so far not much luck. It could be an anagram of a latin quote, which would make it tough. A few obvious words stick out in latin and english, but the remaining letters don't help = QUIVER, QUORUM, QUA, AQUA, AQUAMARINE, MARINE. Of course some of the letters could be roman numerals - MMVI is the one that stands out for me.

PostPosted: Mon Aug 21, 2006 10:43 am
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badbarry
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Joined: 10 Mar 2006
Posts: 140
Location: London
Kradlum wrote:
ACANVURUEORIMMQA

I'm trying to pluck an anagram out of this, but so far not much luck. It could be an anagram of a latin quote, which would make it tough.


You don't think I'd make it easy for you did you!

PostPosted: Mon Aug 21, 2006 10:47 am
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