Blanko!

[ginny]

i

                                       

Welcome to our newest brain teaser: BLANKO

The rules are simple:

The Challenger posts  either a title or the name of an author, but not both.

Ex:

Title of Book: three words, a prize winning novel:

   ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ T    __ ___   ___ ___ ___ ___


What is it?


The Contestants guess the title or author (if it's a challenge on an author's name)  and post their answer.  If they can, the solve the entire answer. If not, they  can also suggest one of the title words or  a letter to fill in one of the blanks. One guess per "day" (between appearances of the Challenger) for each contestant.

At  the end of the day if the puzzle is not solved, the Challenger will then add only  one of the suggested letters the Contestants have suggested, everywhere it appears.

The winner becomes the new Challenger.  

Good Luck !!

List of Winners and Book Titles or Authors:

1. Pat H for Rabbit Run  Post #27
2. Ginny for Hound of the Baskervilles Post #45
3. Joan P for The Winter of our Discontent # 51
4. Ginny for Aesop's Fables # 54
5. Frybabe for The Caine Mutiny # 68
6. Ginny for Seven Pillars of Wisdom #75
7. Gumtree for Lost in America #100
8  Frybabe for King Solomon's Mines #138

[ginny]

Ah! Gotcha! Yesterday was the absolute Day From Hell, everywhere I posted I messed up, but today..er.. well.

How about an M?

This is a hard one, it seems to have no letters, hahaha

[Gumtree]

A hard one Ginny?  Nah!
Not many letters for me to choose from -here they are:
               E ...I...O...M 
I'll take pity on you and select a vowel - the E

Book Title - 3 words

You all know the book and the author.

___ ___ ___ ___

___ ___ L ___ ___ ___ ___ ___

___ ___ ___ E ___

The book was an instant best seller and several films have been made of it.

Now if that doesn't give you the title I don't know what will 

[Mippy]

R   ?    Looks like the last word ends  er

[JoanK]

The more letters we guess the less we learn -- there's bound to be one that isn't in the title for "it" to choose.

[ginny]

That's the truth, Joan.

I'll try M again.

[Frybabe]

N


Instant best seller made int several movies? That should be a big clue - I haven't one.

[Gumtree]

H'mmm - more letters for It to choose...

On the table today - I ...O ...M (twice), ...R ...N

I'll take the R but have to tell you there is no R in the title.
Think again, Mippy, think again.

 BOOK TITLE  3 words

___ ___ ___ ___

___ ___ L ___ ___ ___ ___ ___

___ ___ ___ E ___

Book was an instant best seller and several films were made of it.

Just how hard can it be -

[Mippy]

      thinking

[ginny]

Ok let's be systematic about this!


 BOOK TITLE  3 words

___ ___ ___ ___

___ ___ L ___ ___ ___ ___ ___

___ ___ ___ E ___

There is no rat in this one:

There is no R A T or W.

I'd like an M please.  It has to be M or D.

So the IOU remains vowel wise.

[pedln]

How about an S ?

[Gumtree]

So Ginny's getting systematic - wonder what that means? And she wants M...  again! And was D also suggested or not? I see Pedln wants an S so -

On the table today: I ...O ...M (thrice) ...N ...S

You all know this author and the book

BOOK TITLE - 3 words.

___ I ___  ___

___ ___ L ___ ___ ___ ___ ___

___ I ___  E ___

The book was an instant best seller and several films were made of it.

Now it's a dead giveaway.

[pedln]

Can we assume that there are no more E's and L's ?

Again, I will beg for an S

[Gumtree]

Pedln - You assume correctly - there are no more E's or Ls in the title.

[Frybabe]

O

[Mippy]

no guess ... guess the less guesses the more chance we have to see if there is an S   

[pedln]

The only vowels left are O and U

The first word cannot end in E, T, or R, which are common 4-letter word endings.

Possible endings for the 3rd word -- ES,  ED, EY, EN

Please, Gum, how about an S.

I showed this to friends at the bridge table yesterday and one of them suggested "miss."  She's going to go crazy until this is solved.  Are you there, Gail?

S    

[Gumtree]

Pedln - So far no one has actually requested the U.

No one has asked for anything new so we still have the same letters:          O ...M... N... S

 - Can't have Pedln's bridge friend getting stressed so let's try the S

BOOK TITLE - 3 words

___ I ___ ___

S ___ L ___ ___ ___  ___ S

___ I ___ E  S


That should get me off the hook pretty quickly now. 

[Frybabe]

Oh good heavens!

King Solomon's Mines

I have an old volume of R. H. Haggard's works because I want to reread this and She. I still prefer the Stewart Granger version of Mines. Does anyone remember the old, old movie She?

[JoanK]

FRY: you're brilliant!

[ginny]

Yes  you are! I would never ever have gotten that in a million years! Congratulations!!

[PatH]

Wow, Frybabe!  Indeed I remember the 1935 version of "She", which I rewatched recently.  "She" was played by Helen Gahagan Douglas, later a member of congress.

[Gumtree]

YOU'VE GOT IT FRYBABE

King Solomon's Mines  was published in 1885 and Wikipedia tells that 'it is the first English fictional adventure novel set in Africa and is considered to be the genesis of the 'Lost World' literary genre.

Haggard wrote the novel as a result of a wager with his brother, namely, whether he could write a novel half as good as R.L Stevenson's 'Treasure Island' ...

The book became the year's best seller, the only problem was how to print copies fast enough.

The novel has been adapted to film at least six times - I think I only ever saw two- the Stewart Grainger and the Richard Chamberlain versions.

The author was Sir Henry Rider Haggard. - he was knighted in 1912 as Knight Bachelor and then Knight Commander in 1919 - he died in 1925.

Thanks for participating everyone - it was fun -  in the end every letter on the table made it obvious in one way or another.

[Frybabe]

Isn't it amazing the fantastic stories that came out of the writers of the late 1800s and early 1900s.

Ok, here's the next quiz.

This book inspired several classical compositions.


__ __ __ __

__ __ __ __ C __

__ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __

[Maryemm]

Hi, Everyone. Can't resist this game. Used to play something like it under the desks at school when we should have been listening to the teacher!

Gumtree: . I have sold many of my old books in the past and one was bought by a gentleman who telephoned to say how pleased he was with his copy of a Rider Haggard book. His wife, he said, had never known the identity of her father. All she had was a box labelled  H.R H. It was widely believed that these letters stood for "His Royal Highness" and it wasn't until late in his wife's life that an ancient Aunt revealed that the letters were Rider Haggard's initials.

Maybe not a lot of people know that......................as Michael Caine supposedly said!

                                              ...................................

May I suggest the letter    E

[Gumtree]

Maryemm How interesting about H.R.H - he actually had three daughters with his wife so the gentleman's wife could have been one of those - but then why the apparent secrecy as to her father's identity?  -perhaps there was an extra marital affair we don't know about. Haggard died in 1925 so I'm wondering how old would the gentleman's wife have been when she discovered the identity - and when this occurred - such a puzzle.

[Gumtree]

I take it that 'several classical compositions' refers to musical compositions.

May I have the letter A

[Maryemm]

 Gumtree : This was a one-off telephone convesation but I recall his saying that his wife was illegitimate at a time when to be so was considered scandalous. I did not ask for family details but his wife was a married woman when she was finally told about H.R.H.

[Frybabe]

Sorry, yes - musical compositions.

Hi MaryEmm!!!!  I hope to be back in Latin in the fall - if I can afford it that is. I got laid off work last month.

Interesting comments about HRH.

[Maryemm]

Sorry to hear news regarding work. Think positive!

You are always welcome in the Classics Lounge!

[JoanK]

Mmmmm. My mind is blank, as usual. Is it ok if I pose the puzzle in The Classical Corner over in Seniors and Friends?

[Frybabe]

Sounds good to me JoanK. Don would probably appreciate someone else putting up a puzzle today.

[pedln]

Maryemm, it's great to see  you here.  And what an interesting story about Henry Rider Haggard.

[Frybabe]

I have only E and A to choose from this morning. I think I will choose E. There are no Es in the name.


This book inspired several classical compositions.


__ __ __ __

__ __ __ __ C __

__ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __

[Mippy]

Way to go on the puzzle, Margie/Frybabe, but so sorry to read you're laid off.

Just a note:  if there are no e's, then the letter after the c must be ...  

My new strategy is not to guess anew, but to echo the former guess:  A

[pedln]

That second word could end in CH, CK, CT, less likely one of the other vowels.

How about a T ?

[Maryemm]

Greetings, Pedln/Ann. Congratulations on the exam result!

[Maryemm]

Frybabe: I take it there are no more  C's in the puzzle? (This is a general enquiry, not a guess!!!)   

[Frybabe]

correct Maryemm, no more Cs.

[Frybabe]

Oops! Kind of neglected this today. I have a choice of T or A today. I choose the T.



This book inspired several classical compositions.


__ __ __ __

__ __ __ __ C __

__ __ __ __ T __ __ __ T __ __