h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Neither of those Mr D, see my previous post breaking down the clues a bit further.

Also to ease things along here is the rest of the title clue.

"Happily violence is short-lived, only for a very little while do even the gentlest persons ....."

Do what?

Trying to impress the Abbot? He's the 'big' guy in a monastery.


Geggs

Nope.

If it's not a mistake, is something being intentionally removed from the Phoenician letter in order to change its meaning, and the meaning of the word in which it appears? An alteration which was approved by the Church?

I had thought that the monks were under strict instructions to copy their texts exactly. Any variation, however slight, would mean that they had to start again. Is the copying job a punishment itself?


Geggs

>>something being intentionally removed from the Phoenician letter in order to change its meaning, and the meaning of the word in which it appears? <<

Mmm not quite - all the right words not quite in the right order.

Switch around "something" and "The Phoenician letter" and you have it.

>>I had thought that the monks were under strict instructions to copy their texts exactly. Any variation, however slight, would mean that they had to start again. Is the copying job a punishment itself?<<

Well scribes historically tended to be pretty liberal when it came to spelling, accuracy only really comes in with movable type.

Howver the change it spelling let me re-emphasise is part of *my clue* towards naming the item with is the solution to this QI. It is not something the monks would do routinely but just imagine if you had a monk "looking to score big" who had a 'something' and you make this change to to that word you will have the real something's name that he would have used and you will also "invite (or invoke) great anger."

Right, so they would change the spelling of a specific word, removing a single letter to alter the meaning?

Do we need to know which word, or could it be any word?

Do the removed letters make up a code? So you would have to know the original text exactly in order to work out the message?

I do tend to phrase everything as a question, don't I?


Geggs

probably wrong but were they using some oxide of Iron
if you dehydrate perhaps rusty becomes dusty.

"Ooh! A score is twenty, so changing the number of something..."

Nope.

>>Do we need to know which word, or could it be any word?<<

Not it couldn't - and that's all part of the clue no-one yet attempted to solve.


No codes.

>>probably wrong but were they using some oxide of Iron<<

Not wrong, correct DGI +1

But I want it's name - and nobody dare google.

If I get this right the issue is
So the Phoenician Letter being removed from something in order to change its meaning.
Do we need to know which letter was removed?
And who and what is that "something"

Iron pyrites aka fool's gold?

>>So the Phoenician Letter being removed from something is in order to change its meaning?<<

Yes.

You can work out the letter to be removed (and I'll be generous with clues)

and

The something / word from which it should be removed is the solution to

"who had nothing to lose."

and that word 'happily' still puzzles me.

Re #172 - I've made mistake. It *is* and oxide but *NOT* and oxide of iron. Shagbark's DGI stays but I need to make that clear.

"That word happily still confuses me."

See post #162

Looking at the quote it would appear that happily refers to the author being happy that violence doesn't last long (hah!)

indeed. but what do the people who are angry 'do'?

I've left that part out so you'll need to guess.