Hmmm... so since I've never done this, let's see if I can at least get it started off correctly.

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

_ _ _

_ _ _ _ _ _:

_ _ _ _ _ ,

_ _ _ _

_ _ _

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

_ _

_ _ _

_ _ _ _ _ _ _

_ _ _ _ _

Feel free to correct me if I've done it wrong

Chuir údar na teachtaireachta in eagar í, Samh 5, 2009, 2:19pm.

Goodness me! What a lot of letters. Might a T be among them?

isn't bigger always better?
a few T's for you...

_ _ _ _ _ _ T _ _

_ _ _

_ _ T _ _ _:

_ _ _ _ _ ,

_ _ _ _

_ _ _

_ _ _ _ T _ _ _

_ _

T _ _

_ _ _ _ _ _ T

_ _ _ _ _

N?

S please?

E please?

_ _ E _ _ _ T _ _

_ N _

_ N T _ N _:

_ _ _ E _ ,

_ _ _ E

_ N _

_ _ _ _ T _ _ S

_ N

T _ E

_ N _ _ E _ T

_ _ _ _ _

Big IS beautiful! What about H?

Only one H....

_ _ E _ _ _ T _ _

_ N _

_ N T _ N _:

_ _ _ E _ ,

_ _ _ E

_ N _

_ _ _ _ T _ _ S

_ N

T H E

_ N _ _ E _ T

_ _ _ _ _

A?

Cleopatra and Antony: Power, Love, and Politics in the Ancient World? I do not know why the third word shouted "Antony" at me and the rest just fell into place. I read some very positive reviews of this book when it was published about six months ago but passed it over.

Theo -- you are correct. That was quick! I guess bigger wasn't necessarily better.... I've read good reviews of it, too. Just got it from the library but haven't started it yet.

You're up - have fun-

_ _ _ _

_ _ _ _ _ _

_ _

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

N?

Just the one:

_ _ _ _

_ _ _ _ _ _

_ _

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ N _ _

M?

Bad luck! No M this time.

R?

Two Rs:

_ _ _ _

_ R _ _ _ _

_ _

_ _ _ _ _ _ R N _ _

No M.

L?

One L:

_ _ _ _

_ R _ _ _ _

_ _

_ _ L _ _ _ R N _ _

No M.

A?

Two As:

_ _ _ _

_ R _ _ _ _

_ _

_ A L _ _ _ R N _ A

No M.

C?

One C:

_ _ _ _

_ R _ _ _ _

_ _

C A L _ _ _ R N _ A

No M.

F?

Two Fs:

_ _ _ _

_ R _ _ _ _

_ F

C A L _ F _ R N _ A

No M.

P?

One P:

_ _ _ _

P R _ _ _ _

_ F

C A L _ F _ R N _ A

No M.

O?

Two O:

_ _ _ _

P R _ _ _ _

O F

C A L _ F O R N _ A

No M.

I imagine that we all know the last word now so the next poster should feel free to guess two letters.

H?

Good call, sqdancer. Two H:

H _ _ H

P R _ _ _ _

O F

C A L _ F O R N _ A

S?

One S:

H _ _ H

P R _ _ S _

O F

C A L _ F O R N _ A

No M.

I'll take those I's now. :)

Four eyes!:

H I _ H

P R I _ S _

O F

C A L I F O R N I A

No M.

High Priest of California ?

Hurrah!!! eabell wins! Time for you to set the next puzzle.

I read High Priest of California this week and found it very interesting.

here we go...

_ _ _

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

_ _

_

_ _ _

_ _ _ _ _ _ _

_ _ _ _

_ _ _

_ _ _ _ _

Ooo, another biggie! I think that we should with the I that was so profitable n my puzzle.

Three I's:

_ _ _

_ _ _ _ I _ _ _ _

I _

_

_ _ _

_ _ _ _ _ _ _

_ _ _ _

_ _ _

_ _ I _ _

N to make IN?

nope, it doesn't make "in" but there are some N's -

_ _ _

_ _ _ _ I _ _ N _

I _

_

_ _ _

_ _ _ _ _ _ _

_ _ _ N

_ _ _

_ _ I N _

S for "is"?

yes, an "S" makes "IS" (and also fills in a few more blanks)

_ _ _

_ _ _ S I _ _ N _

I S

_

_ _ _

S _ _ _ _ _ _

_ _ _ N

_ _ _

_ _ I N _

Chuir údar na teachtaireachta in eagar í, Samh 8, 2009, 5:05pm.

G?

no G :-(

_ _ _

_ _ _ S I _ _ N _

I S

_

_ _ _

S _ _ _ _ _ _

_ _ _ N

_ _ _

_ _ I N _

any Ts?

Any As?

R?

T _ _

_ R _ S I _ _ N T

I S

A

_ _ T

S _ A R T _ R

T _ A N

_ _ _

T _ I N _

No G

The president Is a Lot Smarter than You Think?

sorry for the delay, long day..

but yes, you are right!

have fun with the next one

_

_ _ _ _

_ _ _

_ _ _ _ _ _ _

N?

A?

A

_ _ N _

_ _ _

A _ _ _ N N _

s?

T?

k?

A

S _ N _

_ _ _

A _ _ _ N N _

no T, K

O? (I posit "A Song For A...")

well posited, Theo. I'm feeling generous, so I filled in all the instances of those letters. Not much left...

A

S O N G

F O R

A R _ O N N _

no T, K

AR_ONN_? You're 'avin' a larf! How about E?

L

Oooo!!! That sqdancer is clever!

That's it, sqdancer. Your turn.

> 68 Don't ya just love those Canadian SF authors with their wacky titles. ;)

.

_ _ _ _ _

_ _ _ _ _

.

E?

R?

M ?

A?

Sorry, no M

A _ _ A _

_ R A _ E

.

V?

Sorry, no V

A _ _ A _

_ R A _ E

.
No V or M

D?

Sorry, no D

A _ _ A _

_ R A _ E

.
No D, V or M

G?

C?

Wake up, sqdancer, I am agog!

Agog? I thought you were Theo. Unless that's an alias of course.

At this point I may as well make a guess at Alias Grace?

Alias? What insight! I was trying to think of a Canadian book Atlas _ra_e.

and did I not mention that Theo is my cognomen because Agog is just too difficult for people to master? They keep calling me Gog or Magog, which is offensive to someone of my height.

Okay, okay Theo (I mean Agog), I'm awake!

AHS-Wolfy, you are correct. :)

Thank you sqdancer. Next puzzle will be:

_ _ _ _ _

_ _ _ _ _

T?

Is it Alias Grace, Dave?

No, silly, he's taking your earlier idea. It's Cloud Atlas.

There will be some heavy duty pouting if you are right, Jim.

No to all 3 of you.

_ _ _ _ _

_ _ _ _ _

No T's

Are you addressing Gog, Magog, and Theo?

How about an A then?

Are you addressing Gog, Magog, and Theo?

Is that the unholy trinity?

You can have an A.

_ A _ _ _

_ _ _ _ _

M?

Sorry eabell, no M either.

_ A _ _ _

_ _ _ _ _

No T's or M's

since I'm 0 for 2 now, I have keep trying...

E?

Third time's a charm:

_ A _ E _

_ _ _ _ _

No T's or M's

L ?

A big pointer I think:

_ A _ E _

L _ _ _ _

No T's or M's

P?

Sorry Jim, no P's on the dinner table tonight:

_ A _ E _

L _ _ _ _

No T's, M's or P's

G?

No G's for eabell either. Perhaps this one's tougher than I thought:

_ A _ E _

L _ _ _ _

No T's, M's, P's or G's

B?

mayhaps an R?

If you're all going for the record of most letters not in the title then you're doing a good job. No B's or R's:

_ A _ E _

L _ _ _ _

No T's, M's, P's, G's, B's or R's

N?

S?

sqdancer breaks the run of poor choices. Unfortunately, Jim starts it anew:

N A _ E _

L _ N _ _

No T's, M's, P's, G's, B's, R's or S's

Naked Lunch?

Correct! I was thinking of giving salad without dressing as a clue but I'm glad it's not necessary.

That's a relief. I thought we might get hanged that time. In keeping with the trend of two words of equal length, here's the next one:

_ _ _ _

_ _ _ _

E ?

sorry, no Es

_ _ _ _

_ _ _ _

no E,

T ?

_ _ _ _

_ _ _ _

no E, T

R?

yes!

_ R _ _

_ _ _ _

no E, T

S ?

O?

A?

D?

_ R O _

_ O _ _

no E, T, S, A, D,

M?

N?

_ R O N

_ O _ N

no E, T, S, A, D, M

I'm feeling narcissistic so will plum for I?

j?

Iron John by Robert Bly ?

Yes to the I and the J, and to Roland for the title.

* __ __ __

__ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __

__ __ __ __ __ __ __ __

*n.b. I simplified this title a little by converting one word from the British spelling of my edition,
to American spelling

T for The?

O? (the most likely simplification is ou->o so let's see if that's the case)

yes, ou> o is the case.

1 t , and only one - for "the"

T H __

__ __ __ __ __ __ O __ __ __

__ __ __ __ __ __ O __

Chuir údar na teachtaireachta in eagar í, Samh 12, 2009, 4:27pm.

So, H might be a possibility?

Only 1 H
where you might expect. SEE 134

N?

T H __

__ __ __ __ __ __ O N __ __

__ __ __ __ N __ O __

How about a C?

R?

A dogged E?

D?

T H __

__ __ __ R__ __ O N E D

__ __ __ E N D O R

S?

Well, if the third letter isn't an E, is it a Y?

M?

P?

Taking up Jim's thought, I have been trying to think of a book entitled Thy ________ Splendor but nothing comes to mind.

ETA tag closure

Chuir údar na teachtaireachta in eagar í, Samh 13, 2009, 3:27am.

Me too, Theo. I wanted "Caparisoned" but it's one letter too long. I guess we'll have to wait for Roland to fill in the letters to confirm "Splendor" and see more of the second word.

I know I shouldn't have another bite, but how about Imprisoned Splendour or 'Splendor' for you USAns? Touchstones says there's such a book.

Chuir údar na teachtaireachta in eagar í, Samh 13, 2009, 5:27pm.

RIGHT, Thrin !

and sorry I was away for so long. adn sorry I missed putting in the E of "THE".

The Imprisoned Splendour by R.C. Johnson

Please start one

Oh good..... haven't been around for a while. How about

_ _ _
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
_ _
_ _ _ _ _
_ _ _ _

N?

Two Ns

_ _ _

_ _ N _ _ _ _ _ _

_ _

N _ _ _ _

_ _ _ _

Chuir údar na teachtaireachta in eagar í, Samh 14, 2009, 12:58am.

R?

One R

_ _ _

_ _ N _ _ _ _ _ _

_ _

N _ _ R _

_ _ _ _

A?

I?

Two 'A's, but no 'I', I'm afraid...

_ _ _

_ _ N _ _ _ A _ _

_ _

N _ _ R _

_ A _ _

O?

G?

Two 'O's but no 'G'

_ _ _

_ _ N _ _ _ A _ _

O _

NO _ R _

_ A _ _

I'm off to bed soon. Need to be up early tomorrow - Sunday. Perhaps I should go to church. By the way, not all the words in this book title are English.

Chuir údar na teachtaireachta in eagar í, Samh 14, 2009, 6:45am.

D?

One D

_ _ _

_ _ N _ _ _ A _ _

O _

NO _ R _

DA _ _

No I or G

Chuir údar na teachtaireachta in eagar í, Samh 14, 2009, 7:19am.

"The Hunchback of Notre Dame" ? *

*original title: Notre Dame de Paris

Well done, Roland! Even if you prove to be wrong (which I greatly doubt).

Yes, well done. It's all yours Roland. Perhaps it would have been less tricky if I'd used the original title. Or would it?

__ __ __ __ __

__ __ __

__ __ __ __ __ __ __

Not too long or even too short, but it does lack certain fairly common letters.

R?

2 Rs

__ __ __ __R__

__ __ __

__ __ __ R __ __ __

Y?

D?

Q?

Sorry, NO Y, D, or Q

Let us go to the other extreme then... E?

N?

S?

_ _ _ E R __

__ __ __

__ __ __ R __ __ __

No N or S

K?

sorry no K

B?

no B

Hint: I said no S, and there isnʻt, but there are two S sounds, so phonetically there are 2 S s;
they come in a proper name.

First word: Cicero?

"1st word: Cicero"

Are we allowed to reveal one word at a time?

Well, ok; my hint led to that
Yes, "Cicero"; but doesnʻt mean there are or arenʻt other C s I s and/or O s
C I C E R O

__ __ E

__ __ __ R __ __ __

Hmmm... Cicero the ... what? Not orator, philosopher, lawyer, writer, politician, or consul, so let us start tidying up:

C?

"Cicero the. . .what?"

The noun youʻre looking for is a common English word, not used much before the 18th c. And I canʻt think of any way to say it in Latin without cir circumlocution. The Romans seemed to take being this for granted, not to talk about it, if you were one of their own. In Ciceroʻs time it sure didnʻt preclude participating in a civil war.

no Cʻs after the two of "Cicero"

Still tidying up, I will ask for an I on the basis that it might be Cicero the somethingist.

not an "-ist" but there is one i after "CIcero"

(The Romans did use the suffix -ista. borrowed from Greek -istes, but not in the abstract way of modern languages)

C I C E R O

T H E

__ __ __ R I __ __

I don't understand what we do and don't know at this point. Are there any more Ts?

Or Os? (which only leaves further Hs as a mystery)

My current theory is that the noun ends RIAN but I am still tidying up.

"ends in RIAN" #192

It does end in a suffix but one much rarer than
RIAN In fact outside of proper adjectives I canʻt think of another that ends in this suffixʻ and this
is a common noun .

I conceded the E H and T of "THE" , Thatʻs the only E, but not necessarily the only H or T.

But one other O

C I C E R O

THE

__ __ __ R I O __

"ends in RIAN" #192

It does end in a suffix but one much rarer than
RIAN In fact outside of proper adjectives I canʻt think of another that ends in this suffixʻ and this
is a common noun .

I conceded the E H and T of "THE" , Thatʻs the only E, but not necessarily the only H or T.

But one other O

C I C E R O

THE

__ __ __ R I O __

T?

Cicero the Patriot? Never heard of it!! It looks like fun.

RIGHT, TheoClarke:

Cicero the Patriot by Rose Wiliams

I had not herd of it either, or of the author, before buying it in one of this islandʻs few remaining stores that has 2nd han d books.

It crossed my mind that "patriot" was not a designation that the Romans themselves would have used, even if favorable to Cicero (as not all of them were.) One was OF COURSE what todayʻs languages call a patriot, and it didnʻt have to be expressed.
Another word not expressible in classical Greek or Latin is "paganism". In modern languages, it is derived from "paganus", a rustic a "Country" person, because pre-Christian religious practices survived the longest out in the country. Gore Vidal, in his novel Julian is rig, I think, to give "Philosophy" as the antonym of "Christianity" for the period of Julianʻs life -- the mid-4th century. Even though Iʻm not a fan of the "pagan"/philosophic culture as Vidal is and as Edward Gibbon was, I think he is linguistically right in this instance, because "Philosophy" still meant the classical, mainly Greek, philosophy of pre-Christian times; a clearcut Christian philosophy did not begin until St. Augustineʻs time later in the century.

Anyway, take it over, Theo, and sorry about the imbroglios, due to the lump concession of "Cicero" and "the", on whether or not a letter has been suggested

# 197 'sorry about the imbroglios....'

It's surely I who should be mea culpa-ing.

_ _ _ _

_ _ _ _ _ _

_ _

_ _ _ _ _

W?

N?

A?

I?

One N and one A.
_ _ _ _

_ N _ _ _ _

_ _

_ _ _ A _

No I or W.

F?

O?

R?

G?

Four Os, one R and two Gs but no F.

G O O _

_ N O _ G _

_ O

_ R _ A _

No F, I or W.

Good Enough to Dream ?

Good Enough to Dream is correct, Roland. Back to you...

__ __ __ __ __

__ __ __ __ __

__ __ __ __

__ __ __ __ __ __ __ __

S ?

__ __ __ __ __

__ __ __ __ S

__ __ __ __

__ __ __ __ __ S __ __

R?

A?

__ __ R __ __

__ __ A R S

__ __ __ __

__ __ R __ __ S __ __

I?

B for Bears?

1 I

a very significant B

__ __ R __ __

__ __ A R S

__ I __ __

B __ R __ __ S __ __

T for Tears?

2 T s

__ __ R T __

__ __ A R S

W I T H

B__R__ __S__ __

Chuir údar na teachtaireachta in eagar í, Samh 17, 2009, 8:42am.

W for With?

Yes, and only for "With"

See #222

looks as if we need an H or two.

Again, only for "With"

SEE #222

Any Ys hidden there?

__ __ R T Y

Y __ A R S

W I T H

B __ R __ __ S __ __

P?

Forty Years with the Berenstain Bears

N?

F?

Chuir údar na teachtaireachta in eagar í, Samh 17, 2009, 1:50pm.

Sorry, Jim: "Berenstain doesnʻt fit as the last word, and then thereʻs no space for "Bears".

1 F 2 Ns

F __R T Y

Y E A R S

W I T H

B __ R __ N S __ N

RIGHT, AnnieMod!

Forty Years with Berenson, by Nicky Mariano

Please take it over.

(I own it; have never read it all the way through.)

_ _ _ _ _ _

_ _ _ _ ,

_ _ _

_ _ _ _ _ _

T?

_ _ _ _ _ _

_ _ _ T ,

_ _ _

_ _ T _ _ _

A for And?

_ _ _ _ _ _

_ A _ T ,

_ _ _

_ _ T _ _ _

F ?

So, no "and" then. E for East?

_ _ _ _ E _

_ A _ T ,

_ E _

F _ T _ _ E

L ?

_ _ L _ E _

_ A _ T ,

_ E _

F _ T _ _ E

N?

_ _ L _ E N

_ A _ T ,

_ E _

F _ T _ _ E

PS: Off to bed so I will update with the next posted letters in the morning.

Golden Past, Red Future? Are you a fan?

Yes and yes (and it was the book that was on my desk when I was posting the question).

Your turn.

_ _ _

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

_ _ _

_ _ _

_ _ _

_ _ _ _

_ _ _ _

Is there a W?

A?

Must be close to T time by now?

There is one W, two As and it is so close to T time that I am giving you four of them:

_ _ _

T _ A _ T _ _ _

A _ _

T _ _

_ _ _

W _ _

_ _ _ _

T _ _ _

And you also added a bonus word compared to the initial puzzle. Unfortunately the word does not seem to be "cookie" :)

Any Rs?

Well, it's not H time, whatever that might be, but I'm hoping for at least three of them.

Sharp-eyed Annie is rewarded with two Rs. Jim gets his three Hs:

_ _ _

T R A _ T _ R _

A _ _

T H _

_ _ _

W H _

_ _ _ _

T H _ _

M?

N?

Two Ms and two Ns

_ _ _

T R A _ T _ R _

A N _

T H _

M _ N

W H _

_ _ _ _

T H _ M

L ?

O?

D?

S?

What huge success: Two Ls, four Os, two Ds, and one S:

O L D

T R A _ T O R S

A N D

T H _

M _ N

W H O

L O _ _

T H _ M

C?

Good thinking, Annie. One C.

O L D

T R A C T O R S

A N D

T H _

M _ N

W H O

L O _ _

T H _ M

V?

Old Tractors and the Men Who Love Them? sounds like a great coffee table book.

Well done, Jim. I found it when I was looking for Christmas gifts for some of my friends (who are men that love old tractors, natch!). We are not called the Tractor Boys out here for nothing.

So, over to you...

okie dokie, artichokie, here we go...

_ _ _

_ _ _ _ _

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

_ _

_ _ _ _ _ _

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

A?

N?

We do have some As (potentially a rather revealing letter), but no Ns, I fear.

_ _ _

_ _ _ _ _

_ _ _ _ _ A _ A

_ _

_ A _ _ _ _

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

no N

T?

An "E"

R?

yes to all three:

T _ E

T _ R E E

_ T _ _ _ A T A

_ _

_ A _ _ E R

E _ _ R _ T _ _

no N

H? (too lazy to think of anything else)

F?

Annie, it never hurts to see if there are some besides the obvious ones.

T H E

T H R E E

_ T _ _ _ A T A

_ F

_ A _ _ E R

E _ _ R _ T _ H

no N

C? (yeah, that's the excuse :) )

P?

O?

The Three Stigmata of Palmer Eldritch ?

I guess I won't fill in C3PO since Roland has guessed the title of this phildickian work. Take it away, sir!

One N no L s SEE 287

__ __ __ __ __ __

__ __

__ __ __ __ __ __ __ _N __

Chuir údar na teachtaireachta in eagar í, Samh 19, 2009, 8:01pm.

N?

L?

One N; no L s SEE 287

G?

P?

No G; no P

Hint: 11 of the 17 letters are vowels; with some repeats

A?

E?

3 A s No E

One O
__ __ __ __ __ __
__ O

__ A __ A __ __ A N D

Chuir údar na teachtaireachta in eagar í, Samh 20, 2009, 1:42pm.

O?

Only one O SEE 296

T?

__ __ __ __ __ __

T O

__ _A __ A __ __ A N __

L?

E?

PS: It will be helpful if you can write the letters that had been asked for and said not to be in the title... so people do not need to scroll all the time

No E

NO: E, G, L, P, T (of the asked for letters)

D?

ONE D -- THE final letter. SEE 296

NO E, G, L, P, T

Sorry I previously left out the
penultimate A of the 1st word.

__ __ __ __ __ __

T O

__ A __ A __ __ A N __

No E, G, L, P, T but perhaps an I?

How about a B?

Forget the B, is there a K in the pre-ante-penultimate position?

Chuir údar na teachtaireachta in eagar í, Samh 20, 2009, 1:59pm.

Yes a K in the -- er --where you said

S __ __ __ A__
TO

S A __ A __ K A N D

Chuir údar na teachtaireachta in eagar í, Samh 20, 2009, 2:11pm.

Is there an S or two? And wasn't there a D at the end?

Subway to Samarkand ?

Yes S s SEE 308

and I left out the D of #304, sorry.

How can you imagine that it is Subway to Samarkand, Jim? That would need another A!

Doh! That will teach me to wander away from the keyboard before submitting my post!!

AnnieMod at #310 has it:

Subway to Samarkand by J.R. Humphreys

To Theo:

My last revision of has all the A s,
but I did miss an A, and a D, earlier. Sorry.

OK - Something short for a change :)

_ _ _

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

Can we start a new thread? This is getting a bit big.

I don't know, Theo... Annie might be sulking over being mistaken for me ;-)

Ooops. Sorry - I will move this new one in the new thread.

Jim, naaah:)

Because this will make no sense if I post it in the new thread (http://www.librarything.com/topic/77494), I will just confess to being a smartarse with 312. I was trying to show off that I knew what you were thinking. But the posting delay blew it ... I blame the Children in Need Doctor Who Special.

Well - I saw that Jim asks for an S after I posted the title (need to refresh a bit more often). So I guess we all thought about the same title at the same time :)