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Triple Slartifer, Part 10


Slarti

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"My names," Slartibus said to the Demon, "are like the former components of the United Kingdom. Please help me." The Demon replied:

 

"SLARTIFER!!! SLARTIFER!!! SLARTIFER!!!1!!!!!!1!!!!!"

 

 

It's time to banish some more PDNs! In the post below, you will find a list of 41 PDNs (chronological) and 41 crossword-style clues (alphabetical).

 

Your task is to correctly identify which PDN is described by each clue. You will receive 2 OR MORE points per reference correctly identified. The standard value is 2, but clever explanations will increase it. Points will accumulate going forward; and yes, there will be another prize at the end for the highest point totals.

 

As an experiment, this time, EACH PLAYER IS LIMITED TO SIX GUESSES PER DAY. I will be enforcing "day" only roughly, so if it's been 15 or 20 hours since your last set of guesses, and that's when you have time to post, that's fine, so long as your sets of guesses are about a day apart overall.

 

I will update the list periodically to remove PDNs and clues that have been successfully guessed. You are welcome to use Google (or any other resource) to try and figure things out. Some will be easier than others. Good luck! And watch out for Great Justice and Great Vengeance points, which may make a return appearance.

 

Note: When making a guess, please make everyone's life easier by pasting the entire PDN (with number), as well as the clue. Please do not retype it from memory as this tends to introduce errors which confuse people. For example:

 

1. Dame Annals -- Murasaki nickname

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412. Imaginary Solutions

414. Ungraspable Offensive Nature

423. Whirlwind deliver them!

426. Obake Opaka

431. Indrawn Eidolon

437. Heal-thy?

438. Dilemming

444. Abriel

448. Depletion Counting

 

 

An African goddess speaks with Elizabethan prosody in the 90's

Canonical form of a problematic behavior

Divine magic at the heart of an underground storm

Got a nice ring to it!

Ironically solipsist

Living, and ceasing to live

Recovering as slowly as a timberline ridge

Savior dies for your sins over and over again

What you get when an alien baby is forced to attack distant, psychic relatives of its foster mother

 

 

---

 

411. Breastless Pilgrims and Tragic Views - They're too important to be lies, according to Shah Zaman, according to John Barth

413. Hermeneutikos - Of or for interpreting

415. Doublegarmonbozia Palace -- Pain and suffering and financial difficulties

416. Unpacted Pedanting - Practice of librarians beyond the stone wall?

417. Between Good and Evil -- Thus Spoke Mordenkainen

418. Threnodious Funk - A contradictory artist, maybe

419. Aodaria - Creates a herd of beautiful wild (but not rogue) ponies running free across the plains?

420. Terras Astraea Reliquit -- Sith there's no justice in earth nor hell

421. Deus Ex Maskina - Sudden appearance of a sailor's savior

422. Boba Spray! - Overpowered recipe for a mercurial chef

424. To make a long story short-- - The butler did it

425. Youse Yōkai - Address for spirits

427. Mylar Maiar - Archived angels

428. Escher Esper -- Beast that contradicts the laws of magic

429. Nitid Marid - Genius of the storm

430. Moiré Foxfire - A phosphorescent tapestry

432. Epigene Genie - Lives on his back, loves chimney stacks, rises up from his point of origin

433. Magic Bean Counter - One who attempts to quantify existential moments

434. Gynting Hall - Royal, lonely, underground place of procrastination and avoidance

435. Some Great Reward - Synthpop Job accuses God of laughing

436. Grill of Chattering Thwomps - Super Flava Flav, maybe

439. Digger Lemma - Lexicographer who doesn't want to see the light

440. Good Looks and Grace and Quiet Dignity - Epitomized by tigers

441. Annal Bug - What a dame duplicates when she wants to be surrounded by history

442. Draugr Queen - Master of undead illusion, maybe

443. Wallhouse - Abode for an obscure witch of Hyrule

445. Brock Bottom - Gym leader fails to save his mindless charges

446. Phonological Awareness Campaign -- Segmenting words into excessive administrative overhead

447. Read Sonia -- Course of action when my barbarian hero does not agree with her elders

449. Dis - Lord of dark affixes

450. Rough Breathing Helium - Essential part of speaking Greek.

451. Huis Ouvert - David Cameron and Nigel Farage are trapped in an elevator

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447. Read Sonia -- Course of action when my barbarian hero does not agree with her elders

Red Sonja was a barbarian hero and Reading is a course of action

YES +2 -- the other reference here is to Sonia Sotomayor, who, as a justice, writes opinions when she disagrees with her colleagues (who usually have seniority over her, since only Kagan was appointed after her). This name was prompted specifically by her dissent in _Utah_ (which I'm guessing Edgwyn and I have very different opinions about).

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430. Moiré Foxfire - A phosphorescent tapestry

Foxfire is a type of phosphorescence in mushrooms. Moire/moiré is a textile.

 

445. Brock Bottom - Gym leader fails to save his mindless charges

A pun on rock bottom. Brock is a character from Pokemon: a gym leader who specializes in rock-type Pokemon.

 

Dikiyoba.

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413. Hermeneutikos - An essential part of speaking Greek.

Hermeneutics is the branch of study dealing with interpretation, and thus would be very necessary for anyone trying to speak Greek.

 

411. Breastless Pilgrims and Tragic Views - They're too important to be lies, according to Shah Zaman, according to John Barth

An excerpt from John Barth's Chimera, where Shah Zaman describes the eponymous story as "too important to be lies - fictions, maybe, but truer than fact."

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417. Between Good and Evil -- Thus Spoke Mordenkainen

Couple things going on here. Beyond Good and Evil and Thus Spake Zarathustra are books by Friedrich Nietzsche. But then Mordenkainen is a Dungeons and Dragon character who works to keep Good and Evil from gaining the upper hand on one another -- so he's between Good and Evil.

 

415. Doublegarmonbozia Palace -- Pain and suffering and financial difficulties

Buffy the Vampire Slayer meets Twin Peaks! Doublemeat Palace is the restaurant Buffy gets a job in season 6 -- because she has no money ('financial difficulties) after her mum dies, and after she dies and after all goes to pot. During the episode, Buffy thinks there's people in the burgers at the DMPalace, but it's actually revealed to plant extract, or corn, or something. MEANWHILE, in Twin Peaks, Garmobozia is negative energy ('pain and suffering') that just so happens to take the form of corn. This one was my favourite for how well they worked together.

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427. Mylar Maiar - Archived angels

 

​Maiar are the angelic beings from J. R. R. Tolkein's Silmarillion and Mylar is used to protect some collectables for archival purposes since their value declines out of their packages.

YES +4 - maiar are often described as parallel to minor angels in his cosmology, though 'angelic' is maybe a stretch given the connotations there; mylar is also used heavily in libraries, which fits the linguistic specificity of Tolkien's work.

449. Dis - Lord of dark affixes

Dis is another and more obscure name for Pluto the Roman god of the Underworld and a common affix used in English to change the meaning of words. Thus disposing and disrespecting this contest with my discontent.

YES +4

430. Moiré Foxfire - A phosphorescent tapestry

Foxfire is a type of phosphorescence in mushrooms. Moire/moiré is a textile.

 

445. Brock Bottom - Gym leader fails to save his mindless charges

A pun on rock bottom. Brock is a character from Pokemon: a gym leader who specializes in rock-type Pokemon.

430 - YES +2 - you got the basic idea; foxfire is also sometimes used to name or describe spirits (hence its inclusion in that cycle of PDNs); moiré also describes a visual pattern in which one repeating pattern is overlaid on another, which speaks to the spiritual/material contrast of the cycle.

 

445 - YES +3 - the other reference is to Lemmings: if you fail to save enough of your mindless charges, you receive a level rating of "rock bottom."

413. Hermeneutikos - An essential part of speaking Greek.

Hermeneutics is the branch of study dealing with interpretation, and thus would be very necessary for anyone trying to speak Greek.

 

411. Breastless Pilgrims and Tragic Views - They're too important to be lies, according to Shah Zaman, according to John Barth

An excerpt from John Barth's Chimera, where Shah Zaman describes the eponymous story as "too important to be lies - fictions, maybe, but truer than fact."

413 - NO

 

411 - YES +3 - I think you mean 'above-named' or something rather than 'eponymous'; also, from Shah Zaman's point of view, they aren't stories so much as an event he was peripherally involved in and a perspective that was explained to him. I suppose the Barth part works as you wrote it, though.

417. Between Good and Evil -- Thus Spoke Mordenkainen

Couple things going on here. Beyond Good and Evil and Thus Spake Zarathustra are books by Friedrich Nietzsche. But then Mordenkainen is a Dungeons and Dragon character who works to keep Good and Evil from gaining the upper hand on one another -- so he's between Good and Evil.

 

415. Doublegarmonbozia Palace -- Pain and suffering and financial difficulties

Buffy the Vampire Slayer meets Twin Peaks! Doublemeat Palace is the restaurant Buffy gets a job in season 6 -- because she has no money ('financial difficulties) after her mum dies, and after she dies and after all goes to pot. During the episode, Buffy thinks there's people in the burgers at the DMPalace, but it's actually revealed to plant extract, or corn, or something. MEANWHILE, in Twin Peaks, Garmobozia is negative energy ('pain and suffering') that just so happens to take the form of corn. This one was my favourite for how well they worked together.

417 - YES +4 - specifically, in _Beyond Good and Evil_ Nietzsche advocated a moral approach that transcends typical concepts of good and evil, whereas True Neutral accepts the existence of those concepts at face value but rejects their value as goals.

 

415 - YES +5 - it was a great match on concepts, yeah, though it was a bit lacking in wordly poetry

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420. Terras Astraea Reliquit -- Sith there's no justice in earth nor hell

Titus Andronicus -- 'Terras Astraea Reliquit' means something like 'the Goddess of Justice has left the world', while the second part is a direct quote:

 

And, sith there's no justice in earth nor hell,

We will solicit heaven and move the gods

To send down Justice for to wreak our wrongs.

 

(plus 'Sith' and revenege, and in the play Titus has his hand cut off and presented to the Emperor, and it's all very Star Wars-y)

 

428. Escher Esper -- Beast that contradicts the laws of magic

M.C. Escher's works famously contradict the laws of physics through illusion (and I actually thought this was paired with another clue before...), while Espers are magical beasts in the Final Fantasy series of games. In FF6, if you beat an esper it taught you magic, while in other games they can be summoned as allies.

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420. Terras Astraea Reliquit -- Sith there's no justice in earth nor hell

Titus Andronicus -- 'Terras Astraea Reliquit' means something like 'the Goddess of Justice has left the world', while the second part is a direct quote:

 

428. Escher Esper -- Beast that contradicts the laws of magic

M.C. Escher's works famously contradict the laws of physics through illusion (and I actually thought this was paired with another clue before...), while Espers are magical beasts in the Final Fantasy series of games. In FF6, if you beat an esper it taught you magic, while in other games they can be summoned as allies.

420 - YES +4 - actually, Terras Astraea Reliquit is a direct quote from the same play as well. 'The goddess of justice has left the earth' is both a more direct translation and a more fitting one in context; Titus declares that at the beginning of the scene, before sending missives to other areas (e.g., 'Pluto's region') to see if she's there.

 

428 - YES +3 - in FF6, espers are human-magic hybrids whose very existence is tied to the laws of magic (i.e., the goddess statues). The last sentence you wrote is not really accurate at all: "if you beat an esper it taught you magic" applies to FF3-5, but not so much FF6; to the degree that it applies to FF6, it also applies to most later games; also, they can be summoned in FF6, just the same as in other games from FF3-9.

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418. Threnodious Funk - Lexicographer who doesn't want to see the light

Funk & Wagnalls is a defunct publisher of reference books, such as dictionaries. A lexicographer works on creating dictionaries. Being in a funk means being sad or depressed. A threnody is a song or poem of mourning. (Edit: Funk is also a genre of music.)

 

441. Annal Bug - What a dame duplicates when she wants to be surrounded by history

Annals are historical records. The name and clue together reference Dame Annals: Slarty's best nickname of all time. A software bug might let you do all sorts of things, including duplicating items (in this case, annals).

 

Dikiyoba.

Edited by Dikiyoba
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444. Abriel - Master of undead illusion, maybe

Guessing this is a reference to Sabriel the Abhorsen, a master of the undead.

 

413. Hermeneutikos - Of or for interpreting

It's an adjectival modification of hermeneutics.

444 - NO

413 - YES +2 - not exactly; this is the ancient Greek that long precedes it (and it wouldn't be an adjective in either language).

418. Threnodious Funk - Lexicographer who doesn't want to see the light

Funk & Wagnalls is a defunct publisher of reference books, such as dictionaries. A lexicographer works on creating dictionaries. Being in a funk means being sad or depressed. A threnody is a song or poem of mourning. (Edit: Funk is also a genre of music.)

 

441. Annal Bug - What a dame duplicates when she wants to be surrounded by history

Annals are historical records. The name and clue together reference Dame Annals: Slarty's best nickname of all time. A software bug might let you do all sorts of things, including duplicating items (in this case, annals).

418 - NO - but awesome

441 - YES +3 - the other reference is to the Null Bug, which surrounds itself with antimagic fields, and was easily one of the best simulacrums in Exile II.

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YES +2 -- the other reference here is to Sonia Sotomayor, who, as a justice, writes opinions when she disagrees with her colleagues (who usually have seniority over her, since only Kagan was appointed after her). This name was prompted specifically by her dissent in _Utah_ (which I'm guessing Edgwyn and I have very different opinions about).

 

You are correct, I do not particularly like her dissent, but you might be surprised to know that I dissent from the court majority's position in this case also.

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450. Rough Breathing Helium - Essential part of speaking Greek.

The rough breathing mark is the diacritical mark that indicates an H sound in ancient Greek words.

YES +2 - ancient Greek words, of which Helium is one; also, it's an element, i.e., an essential part. And if you inhale it, it sure changes the way you produce rough breathing sounds.

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419. Aodaria - Creates a herd of beautiful wild (but not rogue) ponies running free across the plains?

Aodare, the Shaper loyalist from Geneforge 2 + Daria from the show Daria. The clue is a quote from the first episode of the show (slightly modified to reflect Aodare's firm beliefs).

YES +4

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432. Epigene Genie - Lives on his back, loves chimney stacks, rises up from his point of origin

The song Jean Genie by David Bowie (the first bit of the clue is lyrics from the song) + epigean, maybe, the way a plant germinates and thrusts the first leaves up out of the soil. (It's a bit of a stretch, but better than nothing.)

 

This is Dikiyoba's sixth guess of the day, until the new day starts in 3 hours.

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426. Obake Opaka - What you get when an alien baby is forced to attack distant, psychic relatives of its foster mother

 

An obake is a Japanese changeling, and the Opaka is the spiritual leader of the Bajoran people, who serves as their conduit to their Prophets. The Changelings in Star Trek sent out one hundred of their young into the universe to gather information. Thus, an Obake Opaka would be a Changeling Opaka; one who is forced by their adoptive, foster "mother," Bajor, to wage war on the Dominion, ruled by the psychically-linked Founders.

 

3/6

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It's a new day!

 

424. To make a long story short-- - The butler did it

The butler always does it. End of story.

 

439. Digger Lemma - Lexicographer who doesn't want to see the light

Diggers are a class of lemmings from the game Lemmings (which dig down, as their name suggests). A lemma (among other things) is the form of a word that the definition is under in a dictionary. A lexicographer works on dictionaries, and one who doesn't want to see the light would want a digger lemma.

 

Dikiyoba.

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442. Draugr Queen - Master of undead illusion, maybe : Potema Septim, the Wolf Queen. The maybe part is if you decide to stop her or not in the game of Skyrim.

 

443. Wallhouse - The butler did it : A riddle involving asking who was murdered at a party. The butler gives the alibi of sweeping the corners, but this house in the beginning of the riddle is told to be circular, therefore invalidating his alibi and making him the murderer.

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432. Epigene Genie - Lives on his back, loves chimney stacks, rises up from his point of origin

The song Jean Genie by David Bowie (the first bit of the clue is lyrics from the song) + epigean, maybe, the way a plant germinates and thrusts the first leaves up out of the soil. (It's a bit of a stretch, but better than nothing.)

YES +3 - epigene is a closely related word in its own right; the conceit here is that genies are normally depicted flying above the surface of the earth, so it's a bit of a reversal for one to originate there, as epigene suggests -- with the song lyrics suggesting a reversal and rising smoke, respectively.

440. Good Looks and Grace and Quiet Dignity - Epitomized by tigers

Calvin and Hobbes said so.

YES +2

 

For some reason, the image of this strip doesn't appear to be online anywhere. Per usual, Hobbes is forcing Calvin to recite the ode to tigers before he'll let him up the rope ladder to their tree fort; Calvin is interrupted by Susie (his intended water balloon target) while singing, with a result something like

 

"Tigers are perfect

The E-pit-o-me

Of good looks and grace

And quiet... uh, uhm... dignity..."

 

442. Draugr Queen - Master of undead illusion, maybe

A drag queen is man who dresses up like a woman (creating an illusion). A draugr is a kind of undead. A draugr queen, then, is someone who appears to be a master of undead but isn't really (i.e. illusion).

YES +3 - typically, yes, if a bit narrow, on the first definition. Draugr are also sometimes depicted as having the ability to shapeshift.

 

426. Obake Opaka - What you get when an alien baby is forced to attack distant, psychic relatives of its foster mother

 

An obake is a Japanese changeling, and the Opaka is the spiritual leader of the Bajoran people, who serves as their conduit to their Prophets. The Changelings in Star Trek sent out one hundred of their young into the universe to gather information. Thus, an Obake Opaka would be a Changeling Opaka; one who is forced by their adoptive, foster "mother," Bajor, to wage war on the Dominion, ruled by the psychically-linked Founders.

NO - an interesting connection though that I did not anticipate

424. To make a long story short-- - The butler did it

The butler always does it. End of story.

 

439. Digger Lemma - Lexicographer who doesn't want to see the light

Diggers are a class of lemmings from the game Lemmings (which dig down, as their name suggests). A lemma (among other things) is the form of a word that the definition is under in a dictionary. A lexicographer works on dictionaries, and one who doesn't want to see the light would want a digger lemma.

424 - YES +1

This is specifically a reference to the movie _Clue_ and to Wadsworth's repeated use of the phrase "to make a long story short" which is met with "TOO LATE!" (If you haven't watched this movie, go do it. Now. Seriously.)

439 - YES +5

442. Draugr Queen - Master of undead illusion, maybe : Potema Septim, the Wolf Queen. The maybe part is if you decide to stop her or not in the game of Skyrim.

 

443. Wallhouse - The butler did it : A riddle involving asking who was murdered at a party. The butler gives the alibi of sweeping the corners, but this house in the beginning of the riddle is told to be circular, therefore invalidating his alibi and making him the murderer.

442 - this answer was given 3 hours earlier, I'm afraid

443 - NO

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446. Phonological Awareness Campaign -- Segmenting words into excessive administrative overhead

Phonological Awareness involves breaking up words into individual sounds or segments. Any campaign involves excessive administrative overhead. There have been various campaigns in education to push phonological awareness

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446. Phonological Awareness Campaign -- Segmenting words into excessive administrative overhead

Phonological Awareness involves breaking up words into individual sounds or segments. Any campaign involves excessive administrative overhead. There have been various campaigns in education to push phonological awareness

YES +2

Indeed, phonological awareness is an understanding of the fact that words are composed of smaller phonological elements, like speech sounds. For the campaigns, I was thinking specifically of "____ awareness campaigns" which have come under fire (recently, in some quasi-mainstream circles; since forever, from me) both for not accomplishing anything meaningful, and for using up most donations in administrative overhead. (For the record, phonological awareness is extremely meaningful -- I'm not classing it with those.)

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So... when do we get to turn Slarty into a rug? :p

 

---

 

422. Boba Spray! - Overpowered recipe for a mercurial chef

Boba Fett of Star Wars + Bobby Flay the celebrity chef ( + plus a spell name that ends in spray that I'm missing. Let's go with lightning spray.)

 

444. Abriel - Got a nice ring to it!

Sabriel the Abhorsen (and all Abhorsen), of the Old Kingdom/Abhorsen series, uses the tolling of seven bells to control the dead.

 

443. Wallhouse - Practice of librarians beyond the stone wall?

Another Abhorsen reference? There's the Wall that divides the Old Kingdom (where magic exists) from Ancelstierre (where it doesn't), the Great Library of the Clayr (in the Old Kingdom), and the Abhorsen's House.

 

Dikiyoba.

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418. Threnodious Funk - A contradictory artist, maybe

A play on Thelonious Monk; a funk threnody would be contradictory

 

423. Whirlwind deliver them! - Synthpop Job accuses God of laughing

God appears to the biblical Job in a whirlwind, but I don't know what the synthpop reference is.

 

451. Huis Ouvert - David Cameron and Nigel Farage are trapped in an elevator

French for open door. Cameron would obviously want to get out of the trapped elevator

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Guess six of six:

 

434. Gynting Hall - Royal, lonely, underground place of procrastination and avoidance

A hall for Peer Gynt from the play Peer Gynt (from which the music "In the Hall of the Mountain King" comes from). The PDN combines the Mountain Hall with Peer Gynt's avoidant behavior.

 

(Assuming this guess is correct, give one of the points to Excalibur for tipping Dikiyoba off to the name of the play.)

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422. Boba Spray! - Overpowered recipe for a mercurial chef

Boba Fett of Star Wars + Bobby Flay the celebrity chef ( + plus a spell name that ends in spray that I'm missing. Let's go with lightning spray.)

 

444. Abriel - Got a nice ring to it!

Sabriel the Abhorsen (and all Abhorsen), of the Old Kingdom/Abhorsen series, uses the tolling of seven bells to control the dead.

 

443. Wallhouse - Practice of librarians beyond the stone wall?

Another Abhorsen reference? There's the Wall that divides the Old Kingdom (where magic exists) from Ancelstierre (where it doesn't), the Great Library of the Clayr (in the Old Kingdom), and the Abhorsen's House.

422 - YES +2 - although I appreciate the connections made, they are unfortunately quite different from the actual reference, which is to

 

https://www.youtube....h?v=nW6_1imoET8

 

It's quite an overpowered attack, at least so far -- as it seems to singlehandedly ruin the opposition's offense, as well as set up a deathblow from an ally. Boba is just because, well, you know, I'm a huge fan of bubble tea.

 

I never expected to appreciate this particular franchise, but it turns out I do. A lot. Per usual, blame Lilith.

 

444 - NO

443 - NO

These do make sense, but I'm afraid I have no familiarity with the Abhorsen.

 

418. Threnodious Funk - A contradictory artist, maybe

A play on Thelonious Monk; a funk threnody would be contradictory

 

423. Whirlwind deliver them! - Synthpop Job accuses God of laughing

God appears to the biblical Job in a whirlwind, but I don't know what the synthpop reference is.

 

451. Huis Ouvert - David Cameron and Nigel Farage are trapped in an elevator

French for open door. Cameron would obviously want to get out of the trapped elevator

418 - YES +4

423 - NO

451 - YES +1

This is a play on Sartre's famous play _Huis Clos_, in which several people are trapped in an elevator. The play is known in English, however, as "No Exit" -- which should hopefully make the Cameron/Farage reference clear to anyone who's been following the, um, fall of the British empire these past few days.

 

434. Gynting Hall - Royal, lonely, underground place of procrastination and avoidance

A hall for Peer Gynt from the play Peer Gynt (from which the music "In the Hall of the Mountain King" comes from). The PDN combines the Mountain Hall with Peer Gynt's avoidant behavior.

 

(Assuming this guess is correct, give one of the points to Excalibur for tipping Dikiyoba off to the name of the play.)

YES +4/+1

 

Kel, if you're still reading, I'm curious if you have the same childhood memories of this song that I do.

 

435. Some Great Reward - Synthpop Job accuses God of laughing

The PDN is the title of an album by the band Depeche Mode; one of the songs on said synthpop album accuses God of laughing when the person dies.

YES +3 -- the song is a Jobian complaint about human suffering and injustice and ultimately concludes "I think that God's got a sick sense of humour"

 

fun fact: there is a sound effect that overlays "slashed her wrists" that still sounds to me exactly like the Remedy/Heal sound effect from FF4. the song predates the game by 7 years, but hey

 

416. Unpacted Pedanting - Practice of librarians beyond the stone wall?

"The Stone Wall Beyond" is one of the core principles of the Pact in the Avadon games; those "beyond the stone wall" are the "unpacted."

YES +2 - and librarians can be pedantic, of course. Probably this one was inspired by me being pedantic about something.

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433. Magic Bean Counter - One who attempts to quantify existential moments

Combines the idea of a bean counter with magic beans, and the fact that a "bean counter" quantifies things.

YES +2 - a bean counter being an insulting term for someone who does rote work rather than dealing with meaningful things

429. Nitid Marid - Genius of the storm

Nitid means shining or bright, a marid is actually a water genie in Dungeons and Dragons (so a being that can control storms), and "genius" puns on genie and on the idea of being "bright" intellectually?

YES +3

What Wikipedia didn't tell you was that the association of marids (as a class of jinn) and water, specifically waterspouts and storms, long predates D&D. This also plays on the remarkable similarity between the ancient Latin/Greek genius and Arabic jinn, which apparently are not actually related.

437. Heal-thy? - Ironically solipsist

Solipsism believes the self is all that can be known to exist, and the PDN alludes to the phrase "Physician, heal thyself." If self is all there is or all that is known, then it is unnecessary to include it in the phrase.

NO

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421. Deus Ex Maskina--Sudden appearance of a Sailor's Savior

Deus Ex Machina is the sudden appearance of something to save a hopeless situation.

YES +2

Specifically, it's a reference to Tuxedo Mask, who consistently -- religiously -- appears just in the nick of time to save Sailor Moon.

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(Another new day)

 

423. Whirlwind deliver them! - Divine magic at the heart of an underground storm

 

436. Grill of Chattering Thwomps - Super Flava Flav, maybe

Grill can refer to teeth, and Flava Flav has a notable golden grill. Thwomps are rectangular stone monsters from Super Mario.

 

This is where Dikiyoba feels the pressure of limited guesses. Is it better to take unreferenced guesses now that there are so few clues left, or to save the guesses for later?

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