HYRAX means --

a) the fleas that live on jackrabbits

b) the foramen in the sphenoid bone through which passes the motor portion of the trigeminal nerve; it is formed by ossification of a ligament below and lateral to the foramen ovale

c) an insect with the ability to seek and detect water with its antennae, tongue or legs. The lowly cockroach is a hyrax.

d) a hoofed vegetarian rodent from the African veldt; a dassle

e) the neck (Greek; above the thorax and below the cephalos [head])

f) any one of a number of chemical compounds which take part in predominantly exothermic (heat generating) chemical reactions

g) a newly-coined legal term to describe plagiarism in cartoon form. The "Hyrax" was a creature which a Boston judge last month decided was "too Seuss-like" in appearance and speech pattern in a judgement for the Dr. Seuss estate following their lawsuit to prevent further publication, sale and distribution of "Whooo is the Hyrax?"

h) a prescription drug, best known for being banned by the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) because of its muscle-building effect.

i) a species of holly tree, native to Ireland

entries submitted by Jerry Thomas, KHC, Kalleh, haberdasher, CJStrolin, Bob Hale, Arnie


Choose your favorite!

This message has been edited. Last edited by: haberdasher,

Hab,
It would help if you numbered them...

Put I vote for "vegetarian rodent".

How right you are! Done.

So far - that's one vote for d.

Well, I really like a, but somehow it doesn't sound like that name of a flea.

So, I am going for i. I may be sorry, though!

I sorta like "a" too, but I'm voting for "d."

P.S. You don't have to have submitted a definition to vote for your favorite candidate!

Here's a strange thing. I read the definitions and can't remember which one I submitted.

I'll go for d) as well please.

As Grover says on Sesame Street, "Oh, I am SO-O-O embarrassed!" I left out one definition entirely. And it looks similar to another submission....
After agonizing briefly I decided to start over, including everything. (Can't make it any worse, can I?) Now everybody gets to choose again. You may want to modify your selection. Then again, you may not...


HYRAX means --

a) the fleas that live on jackrabbits

b) the foramen in the sphenoid bone through which passes the motor portion of the trigeminal nerve; it is formed by ossification of a ligament below and lateral to the foramen ovale

c) an insect with the ability to seek and detect water with its antennae, tongue or legs. The lowly cockroach is a hyrax.

d) a hoofed vegetarian rodent from the African veldt; a dassle

e) the neck (Greek; above the thorax and below the cephalos [head])

f) any one of a number of chemical compounds which take part in predominantly exothermic (heat generating) chemical reactions

g) a newly-coined legal term to describe plagiarism in cartoon form. The "Hyrax" was a creature which a Boston judge last month decided was "too Seuss-like" in appearance and speech pattern in a judgement for the Dr. Seuss estate following their lawsuit to prevent further publication, sale and distribution of "Whooo is the Hyrax?"

h) a prescription drug, best known for being banned by the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) because of its muscle-building effect.

i) a species of holly tree, native to Ireland

j) an endangered African antelope, Hyrax praecox, similar to its better known cousin, the eland, but much smaller and with straight, rather than spirally twisted, horns. It is estimated there are fewer than 500 left in the wild.

Choose your favorite!


entries submitted by Jerry Thomas, KHC, Kalleh, haberdasher, CJStrolin, Bob Hale, Arnie, and Inadvertently-Omitted-the-First-Time

(edited to correct typographical eorrr)

This message has been edited. Last edited by: haberdasher,

Aha, some kind of double bluff going on maybe. Leave out the real one and then submit it later !

I'll stick as I am though and assume no such Machiavellian antics are going on.

So still d).

I hate "A" & "D." Choice "C" sounds too technical so that if it is correct, it shouldn't be. "G" has a certain appeal especially considering Hab lives in Worcester MA about an hour's drive from Boston but for reasons totally unrelated to astrology, mathematics, and man's inhumanity to ducks, I'll just have to say There but for the grace of God go "I."

quote:

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...an hour's drive from Boston...and man's inhumanity to ducks...

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Now just a dog-bone minute there, this is also the home of Jack, Kack, Lack, Mack, Nack, Ouack, and Quack, as in Robert McCloskey's Make Way for Ducklings! Unrelate me no unrelateds !

This message has been edited. Last edited by: haberdasher,

Make Way for Ducklings.... ! One of my favorite all time children's books. I have a 1941 edition...when it won the Caldecott Medal..

I have never visited Boston, but I know Mr. and Mrs. Mallard are there...

I'm still voting for "D" even though CJ hates it...

Make Way for Ducklings.... ! One of my favorite all time children's books. I have a 1941 edition...when it won the Caldecott Medal..
Same here!....though I don't have a 1941 edition (darn!).

Gotta go for d)...

a) the fleas that live on jackrabbits submitted by Jerry Thomas; fooled no one

b) the foramen in the sphenoid bone through which passes the motor portion of the trigeminal nerve; it is formed by ossification of a ligament below and lateral to the foramen ovale submitted by Kalleh; fooled no one

c) an insect with the ability to seek and detect water with its antennae, tongue or legs. The lowly cockroach is a hyrax. submitted by KHC; fooled no one

d) a hoofed vegetarian rodent from the African veldt; a dassle the correct answer! and correctly identified by Arnie, Bob Hale, KHC, Jerry Thomas, and by Tinman who graciously abstained

e) the neck (Greek; above the thorax and below the cephalos [head]) Red Herring #1; fooled no one

f) any one of a number of chemical compounds which take part in predominantly exothermic (heat generating) chemical reactions submitted by Bob Hale; fooled no one

g) a newly-coined legal term to describe plagiarism in cartoon form. The "Hyrax" was a creature which a Boston judge last month decided was "too Seuss-like" in appearance and speech pattern in a judgement for the Dr. Seuss estate following their lawsuit to prevent further publication, sale and distribution of "Whooo is the Hyrax?" submitted by CJStrolin; fooled no one

h) a prescription drug, best known for being banned by the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) because of its muscle-building effect. submitted by Arnie; fooled no one

i) a species of holly tree, native to Ireland Red Herring # 2; fooled CJStrolin and Kalleh

j) an endangered African antelope, Hyrax praecox, similar to its better known cousin, the eland, but much smaller and with straight, rather than spirally twisted, horns. It is estimated there are fewer than 500 left in the wild. submitted by Tinman; fooled no one


Afternotes:

b) My favorite, if I'd been voting. After all, anatomy is so full of analogous names: larynx, syrinx, thorax -- why not "hyrax"?

g) ...a combination of Horton Hears a Who and The Lorax ?

i) Not a bad red herring, as it turns out. The genus of holly is Ilex.

I'm a little surprised no one called me on listing ten definitions but only eight contributors.

Once again apologies to Tinman, whose answer was so close to the real thing I must have thought it was already included! I propose he get an extra point for my omission. I'd give him one of mine but I don't think I net any.

Interesting question now regarding the scoring. Perhaps there should be a point deducted for choosing a word guessed correctly by more than half the guessers. On the other hand, the only answers that got any votes at all were from the Wordmaster hizzelf. On the other hand, there's nothing in the rules that permits Red Herring answers. (Something fishy going on here, no doubt about it...) On the other hand, there's nothing in the rules that specifically excludes it either, so mebbe on Constitutional grounds...

See what happens when you choose a word that's too well-known? (EDIT: Maybe I should have used "dassle" as the target word instead of "hyrax"! - 6/11/2004)

This message has been edited. Last edited by: haberdasher,

If you look on the rules that I posted recently per Asa's request, I added the rule that each wordmaster can add up to 2 red herings when posting the definitions. Hab didn't recommend the next wordmaster. Asa, my dear, could you please do the next word?

Here is the score, and I am a bit miffed because I got no points!

arnie - 36
Kalleh - 24
Asa - 24
CJ - 21.5
Bob - 18
KHC - 17.5
Jerry - 15
Shu - 6
Hab - 5
WinterBranch - 4
Tinman - 3
Wordnerd - 3
jheem - 3

This message has been edited. Last edited by: Kalleh,

quote:

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Originally posted by haberdasher:
d) a hoofed vegetarian rodent from the African veldt; a dassle http://helios.bto.ed.ac.uk/icapb/collection/museum/SF-MUS97/text/hyracoidea.html and correctly identified by Arnie, Bob Hale, KHC, Jerry Thomas, and by Tinman who graciously abstained

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This is not exactly true. I wasn't sure what a hyrax was, though I vaguely remembered the word and thought it was some type of animal. I decided to coin a definition and immediately thought of African antelopes. I surfed the internet to find a plausible-sounding scientific name and inadvertantently stumbled across the real definition. That is why I abstained, not because I already knew the answer. My definition fooled no one. Therefore I should get no points. That's the rules. If you're going to make rules, play by them.

Tinman

Hab, you did a great job! I love this game.

Tinman, you are a gentleman scholar.

Kalleh, you are mathematician extraordinaire for keeping track of points.

Asa, please be the next Bluffmaster... before I have to go on vacation..

That's the rules. If you're going to make rules, play by them.
Tinman, I am sorry. I thought I was playing by them, though. In the last game KHC posted the correct definition, and I gave her the 2 points for getting it correct. I thought you had done the same thing. Thanks for being so honest, and I have taken away your 2 points. I completely agree with you that we should play by the rules.

I e-mailed Asa about posting the next word.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: Kalleh,

Well, rats! Or hyraxes, I didn't even realize that another round was taking place, since this thread isn't labeled "Bluff Game." Like most of you, I knew what a hyrax was. Oh, well... Still haven't gotten this damned computer to allow me to start new threads, so will post a new word here this afternoon.

The next word is FORMEL

Kalleh, would you please move this to a heading that clearly indicates that it's the next ord in the Bluffing Game?

Sure, Asa. Hopefully you will soon have the ability to start discussions on this site!