Difference between revisions of "Raw Material for Stupid Puns"

Latest revision as of 12:50, 14 December 2008

Hal is a jerk, and he loves puns, often in latin. However, since it is kind of cheating to use puns and not give us the latin meaning, he sprinkles clues about in texts and other places. Here's a list of words he knows we know. Use for riddles and such, and add anything you think will help.

Current pun to figure out: Place name, likely a country. Land of the small coins, or new bronze coins. My guess is that coin is indeed oblus, but small? new bronze?

Kerry: Nope, I was wrong above. Not oblus, but rather dinarius. The Dinaric Alps are the moutains of the small/new bronze coin. They cover Slovenia, Bosnia, and Albania. I'd guess Albaina may be the place to look for info, but who knows.

Noah: Dammit, I knew about the Dinaric Mountains from when I was going over Albanian topography and still couldn't put two and two together. Dammit, dammit, dammit. Ok. I believe that this covered a portion of Epirus, so that's something. We are looking for some kind of personage from pre-Roman times who originated from this area? Clearly you are working from texts I haven't got... don't suppose you could be convinced to send those our way?

Kerry: Harald is in Spain, and coming to Chrysopolis by boat soon. He'll be delivering a giant sack of texts, hopefully around Christmas. I want that we should have a real-life sitdown for the occasion, and we can puzzle over puzzles and try to figure stuff out.

Noah: That's fine, although it would help of course if I could read through stuff in advance of meeting. Also, you guys are awfully far ahead of us calendar-wise, especially because we have to go back in time a bit to play out the Celalalt and (one presumes) hack the City of Blood. I should think that Chrysopolis will still be standing, but it also means that we may end up with more info by the time our calendar syncs up than I actually have at the time we meet. It's unavoidable, I guess. By all means though, come to Chrysopolis. You'll love what we've done with the place.

• Os means both a kiss and a bone,
• liberi means both books and children
• obolus means both a coin and a spit
• anus means both a crone and a ring
• bridge-builders [pontifices]
• filth [pontifaeces]
• magics [artes magicus]
• hot-tongue (?) [calidolingus]
• the adventure of the seventy women and the half-a-son [de mulieribus septuaginta semifilioque]
• Ursus Maior [called here serra, i.e. the Wain]
• any river or chasm [flumen lacunamque]
• the crucial sign of the faith [an attempt to render the pun of instantia crux fide, lit. signpost of the faith, sc. a cross]
• Thus your faith [Sic fides tua]
• seven oxen [septem triones, a reference to the seven stars of the Wain]
• all invaders [pervasores omnes]
• blood from his nose [narium earum sanguine]
• nearby anvil [yncudem opportunam]
• his manhood [membrum virile]
• stone [sword?] into the stone (saxum in saxum)
• tarn[?] [grumululaco]
• damp Nerthus [?] [nerthus uda]
• third one [tertium quid]
• in the deeps [in profundis]
• Phalakra ("Bald Mountain," feminine)
• the sea (Thetis)
• nothoi [Gk: bastards]
• "our olive" is nos hostos
• nostos [Gk: homecoming]
• epi- being the prefix for "among"
• damnos meaning, in Latin, "the lost."
• "hairless altar" is ara mina
• "lake rushes" are scirpi lacus
• "the wilderness" is rus
• spear [dorapion]
• ichneumon = hunter, also the animal
• Annophontes? Slayer of years?
• plate, i.e. “pan,”
• gourd, i.e. “gos,”
• Kallikrates (Beautiful in Strength)
• Tisisthene (the Mighty Avenger)