Let's play a game...

[Justanotherbiblophile]

You should spoiler your guess for #18

I feel like I should know #21, but I'm drawing a blank, how about (view spoiler)[The Warrior of World’s End (hide spoiler)]?

[Justanotherbiblophile]

Cumbling Michael wrote: "22 sounds a lot like (view spoiler)[Homer's Odyssey (hide spoiler)]
"

You are correct. *le sigh* I'd hoped it would be less transparent.

[Cumbling Michael]

Justanotherbiblophile wrote: "You should spoiler your guess for #18

Done

I feel like I should know #21, but I'm drawing a blank, how about [spoilers removed]?"

As before, think outside the box. Think crosswords. Not all words mean what you think they mean.

Michael

[Cumbling Michael]

OK, the 21 clue is perhaps a bit too obscure. So, the crucial word is "lineman". Outside of current American telephone / power culture, what might that mean?

[Justanotherbiblophile]

Obvs, stick figure. But I know no robot birds :P

[Cumbling Michael]

Cumbling Michael wrote: "OK, the 21 clue is perhaps a bit too obscure. So, the crucial word is "lineman". Outside of current American telephone / power culture, what might that mean?"

All right, change perspective. Think of men and a line.

[Cynthia]

Just a shot in the dark but is 21 (view spoiler)[ A Walk in the Woods: Rediscovering America on the Appalachian Trail (hide spoiler)]?

[Cynthia]

Also all the above guesses for #18 are incorrect, but very good guesses.

[Cumbling Michael]

Cynthia wrote: "Just a shot in the dark but is 21 [spoilers removed]?"

No, sorry. Sort of on the right track, though. Think of an earlier period, and more scientific.

Michael

[Cumbling Michael]

22. Wealthy capitalist discovers benefits of seasonal redistribution to proletariat

[Cumbling Michael]

23. I gave you my heart. You gave me Napoleon's chicken. Trust me...

[Justanotherbiblophile]

You need to renumber those, you correctly guessed 22 already :D

[Justanotherbiblophile]

[no longer current]

[Justanotherbiblophile]

So, 23 is a (view spoiler)[Santa story (hide spoiler)], but I don't know which one I should pick... :P

[Sophie]

"Linemen" just brings football to mind, but I can't think of any football players harassed by robot birds. :P

[Sophie]

I don't know if anyone here has read this, but it was a favorite of mine as a child:

25) Single mom gets job in male-dominated field, is chosen for a special assignment.

[Cumbling Michael]

Justanotherbiblophile wrote: "So, 23 is a [spoilers removed], but I don't know which one I should pick... :P"

Sort of. Getting close.

[Cumbling Michael]

Sophie wrote: ""Linemen" just brings football to mind, but I can't think of any football players harassed by robot birds. :P"

Way off. "Linemen" is deliberately obscure. Think of men and lines.

[Cumbling Michael]

Sophie wrote: "I don't know if anyone here has read this, but it was a favorite of mine as a child:

25) Single mom gets job in male-dominated field, is chosen for a special assignment."

(view spoiler)[The Bible? (hide spoiler)]

[Justanotherbiblophile]

Man, I think we should house-rule out the Bible as something you can use as a stumper, and as an answer. There are so many stories in the Bible, most descriptions can be made to fit *something* in it.

[Cumbling Michael]

Justanotherbiblophile wrote: "Man, I think we should house-rule out the Bible as something you can use as a stumper, and as an answer. There are so many stories in the Bible, most descriptions can be made to fit *something* in..."

I know. My reply was more humorous than serious. But it -does- fit.

[Bargle]

23. (view spoiler)[A Christmas Carol (hide spoiler)]?

[Gerd]

Not sure if she's a single mother, but is 25. (view spoiler)[ One for the Money (hide spoiler)]?

[Juels]

#18 (view spoiler)[ The Princess and the Goblin (hide spoiler)] ??

[Juels]

#23 (view spoiler)[ Robin Hood (hide spoiler)] ??

[Cynthia]

Juels wrote: "#18 [spoilers removed] ??"

No, that is incorrect.

[Cumbling Michael]

Bargle wrote: "23. [spoilers removed]?"

You are correct. 5 stars awarded *****

[Cumbling Michael]

Juels wrote: "#23 [spoilers removed] ??"

Nope. Sorry. Bargle got it right. The clincher was "seasonal"

[Justanotherbiblophile]

[no longer current]

[Cumbling Michael]

OK, further clue time.

For 21, 'Way down South in Dixie.

For 24, Not Oranges.

[Sophie]

No, 25 is not the Bible, ha. Nor is it Gerd's suggestion.

I don't think any of the Bible ones are going to top Lobstergirl's "Powerful dad unable to stop beloved son's execution."

[Cumbling Michael]

Sophie wrote: "No, 25 is not the Bible, ha. Nor is it Gerd's suggestion.

I don't think any of the Bible ones are going to top Michele's "Powerful dad unable to stop beloved son's execution.""

But I prefer Justanotherbiblophile's "unwilling".

Michael

[Sophie]

"Dad, you're such a dick." - Jesus, probably

[Cumbling Michael]

Sophie wrote: ""Dad, you're such a dick." - Jesus, probably"

That would be "Oh Lord, why hast thou forsaken me? You're such a dick".

[Justanotherbiblophile]

Cumbling Michael wrote: "Sophie wrote: ""Dad, you're such a dick." - Jesus, probably"

That would be "Oh Lord, why hast thou forsaken me? You're such a dick"."

Totally OT; but I suspect that the virile representation of manhood didn't have negative connotations back in the day... Making sure the tribe had enough people to continue as a vibrant, not-to-be-overwhelmed-by-hostile-neighbors (or just die/age out) was of particular concern; which is why a lot of non-reproductive sex was frowned upon, as you needed to be doing the reproductive stuff, or your tribe was snuffed out.

So, I suspect insults were along some other lines...

[Cumbling Michael]

Justanotherbiblophile wrote: "...So, I suspect insults were along some other lines...
"

On the other hand, I suspect that coarse humour and the puncturing of pompous religiosity are as old as the human race. Have you read Petronius Arbiter?

[Bargle]

Cumbling Michael wrote: "Bargle wrote: "23. [spoilers removed]?"

You are correct. 5 stars awarded *****"

Yay! I'll try to come up with something now. Something that isn't too obscure. ;-)

[Bargle]

26. A quadruped crossbreed causes problems for very advanced mathematicians.

[Justanotherbiblophile]

Cumbling Michael wrote: "On the other hand, I suspect that coarse humour and the puncturing of pompous religiosity are as old as the..."

Nope. But I suspect it was only when times were secular enough that you could get away with it. I doubt Egyptians were doing it (except very, very quietly, in their own heads) when priests of the God-king controlled the writing, the water, tax collection, the army, and food distribution...

[Juels]

#26 (view spoiler)[ Tally Cat Keeps Track ha ha ha... Too literal? (hide spoiler)]

[Cumbling Michael]

Justanotherbiblophile wrote: "Nope. But I suspect it was only when times were secular enough that you could get away with it. I doubt Egyptians were doing it (except very, very quietly, in their own heads) when priests of the God-king controlled the writing, the water, tax collection, the army, and food distribution..."

Mostly agreed. Whilst there were elaborate water management systems, They didn't -really- control the water - the Nile floods every spring and waters the fields, regardless of what the Gods may think.

But it's precisely because only the temple scribes could write that we have such a one-sided view of Egyptian society. If you want to know what the common people were thinking, you have to look at things like tavern ballads, scurrilous pamphlets, and court cases. And because almost all the written Egyptian sources that survive are either state-related or funerary, we get a very biased picture.

It's a bit like looking at the official output of the Soviet Union. We now know that there was massive dissent - but you wouldn't know that from approved sources.

[Bargle]

Juels wrote: "#26 [spoilers removed]"

Nope, not that one.

[Lobstergirl, au gratin]

Is #24 (view spoiler)[ Napoleon and the Chicken Farmer (hide spoiler)]?

[Justanotherbiblophile]

But, unlike USSR, there weren't any non-official sources. Writing was sacred, and only taught to the scribes (priests). Nile only floods what it can reach - the irrigation systems (ditches, surveying, topographical calculations) allowed much more land to be reached, along with check dams, etc. Which is why you get more than some limited villages next to a river, and get an Empire. Having the army allows you to control the areas that're naturally done by seasonal flooding, and the rest exist at your whim.

Blah, blah, blah. Not a novel, nor a stumper. :P

[Valerie]

26 (view spoiler)[ The Foundation Trilogy (hide spoiler)]

[Justanotherbiblophile]

Man Valerie, that's twisted. The *name* is a quadruped... and I think that would be cheating :P

I'd say it should've been "A character (named after/known by the name of) a crossbred quadruped..." to be legit.

And also, it's only in the second book that that character comes into play.

Also, your guess hits just about every other aspect of that stumper.

I was working my way thru Schrodinger's cat variations and the like...

[Justanotherbiblophile]

27) Tripedal monsters destroy the human economy, because of baleful astronomical influences.

28) Former student takes over school in order to thwart evil-doers.

[Justanotherbiblophile]

[no longer current]

[Bargle]

Valerie wrote: "26 [spoilers removed]"

Ding! Ding! Ding! Valerie is correct! I would also have accepted the 2nd book in the series alone.

[Valerie]

Yay, yay, I got one! (Is this where I confess that I haven't read the book, but I guessed 'mule' from the clue and then spent some time googling mules and mathematicians?)

It does look interesting, I think I'll have to read it.