| Author | Message | ||
| Simon Downham (Beroean)
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The waiter wheeled the meal to the table on a platter covered with a silver dome. Suddenly he realised he'd made a mistake. What was the dish that he'd brought to the table? | ||
| Lynne (Lynne)
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My first thought was the head of John the Baptist but that would be in awfully bad taste, wouldn't it? Good to see you again, Simon! | ||
| Simon Downham (Beroean)
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Hi and thanks Lynne My first thought was the head of John the Baptist but that would be in awfully bad taste, wouldn't it? Yes Was the utterance of "bad taste" an intended pun? | ||
| David Burn (Woubit)
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Salome Could not be described as homey. Her menu for a feast Was Tête Baptitse. Was what he had brought to the table actually edible? Was it what had been ordered? | ||
| John Morahan (Wunderland)
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Fawlty Towers relevant? Waiter=he=he=he? meal=dish? Was the mistake that he had brought the wrong dish? Did he remove the dome before realising his mistake? Did he see something? hear something? smell something? feel something? taste something? which caused him to realise his mistake? Was he acting in his capacity as a waiter at the time? in a restaurant? Is the table a dinner table? in the place where he works? | ||
| Simon Downham (Beroean)
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David Was what he had brought to the table actually edible? Yes Was it what had been ordered? No John Fawlty Towers relevant? Not exactly but it did trigger associations in my memory of a couple of sketches in Fawlty Towers (hence the puzzle title). Can you guess which sketches I have in mind? Waiter=he=he=he? Yes meal=dish? Yes Was the mistake that he had brought the wrong dish? Yes Did he remove the dome before realising his mistake? No! Did he see something? Yes hear something? smell something? feel something? taste something? which caused him to realise his mistake? No to these Was he acting in his capacity as a waiter at the time? Yes in a restaurant? Yes Is the table a dinner table? Yes in the place where he works? Yes, it's the restaurant where he works as a waiter | ||
| Lynne (Lynne)
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Did he mention the war? | ||
| Simon Downham (Beroean)
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Did he mention the war? If he did, nobody heard him so I think he got away with it alright ;-) | ||
| John Morahan (Wunderland)
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Well, I haven't seen them in a good while. I was thinking of the one with the rat. Was the thing that he saw the dish that he should have brought? | ||
| Simon Downham (Beroean)
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Well, I haven't seen them in a good while. I was thinking of the one with the rat. My word, I'd forgotten about that. I was thinking of the occasion where he accidentally served a raw mullet to the posh woman and when she nearly choked from the distasteful experience, he responded in defensive innocence, "oh, would you prefer a cooked one?" And the other occasion when he tore open the trifle with his bare hands looking for the dish that he thought should have been exactly where the trifle was sitting Was the thing that he saw the dish that he should have brought? No | ||
| Mosquito (Mosquito)
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Was it something on the cart? Like condensation on the outside of the dome, which should not have been there because the dish that had been ordered was cold? | ||
| Simon Downham (Beroean)
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Was it something on the cart? Yes Like condensation on the outside of the dome, which should not have been there because the dish that had been ordered was cold? No but you are thinking along the right lines | ||
| Jens Weber (Sundowner)
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Was the thing that made him realize his mistake.. .. something strange about the plate? .. something strange about the dome? .. something strange about the cart? .. the fact that the dish was under a dome? .. something else? Did he realize his mistake before leaving the kitchen? afterwards? if afterwards: would it have been possible to make the same observation in the kitchen? Do we need to find out what he brought to the table? what was ordered? Was it a special type of restaurant? (national cuisine? vegetarian? kosher?) | ||
| Simon Downham (Beroean)
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Was the thing that made him realize his mistake.. .. something strange about the plate? no .. something strange about the dome? yope .. something strange about the cart? no .. the fact that the dish was under a dome? no .. something else? yes Did he realize his mistake before leaving the kitchen? no afterwards? Yes if afterwards: would it have been possible to make the same observation in the kitchen? quite possibly Do we need to find out what he brought to the table? yes what was ordered? Yes but not as important. Was it a special type of restaurant? (national cuisine? vegetarian? kosher?) It was a Chinese Restaurant | ||
| Tim A. Dowd (Bodo)
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Was the dome a standard food-covering dome (that is, something intended for that purpose)? | ||
| Simon Downham (Beroean)
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Was the dome a standard food-covering dome (that is, something intended for that purpose)? Yes | ||
| Haenlomal (Haenlomal)
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The fact that it was a Chinese restaurant relevant? Was the dish he brought out not on the menu? Was the person being served not Chinese? | ||
| Simon Downham (Beroean)
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The fact that it was a Chinese restaurant relevant? Yes Was the dish he brought out not on the menu? No, it was on the menu Was the person being served not Chinese? Not relevant | ||
| Haenlomal (Haenlomal)
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Would the dish being brought out be considered typical fare found in Chinese restaurants? Or was it a more 'exotic' dish? | ||
| Lynne (Lynne)
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Did they order a number 66 and he brought a 99? | ||
| Simon Downham (Beroean)
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Haenlomal Would the dish being brought out be considered typical fare found in Chinese restaurants? Yes Or was it a more 'exotic' dish? and Yes Lynne Did they order a number 66 and he brought a 99? No but an excellent idea! | ||
| Haenlomal (Haenlomal)
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Is it some sort of dim-sum? Is the dish spicy? Served hot? Served cold? Is it a veggie dish? A meat dish? Fungi? Seafood? A mix of veggies and meat? If yes to the last question, was it predominantly veggies? predominantly meat? | ||
| Simon Downham (Beroean)
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Is it some sort of dim-sum? Ummm, I don't know Is the dish spicy? Served hot? Served cold? Is it a veggie dish? A meat dish? Fungi? Seafood? A mix of veggies and meat? If yes to the last question, was it predominantly veggies? predominantly meat? It's a meat dish and although I know the name of it I don't know much more about it. Of course, it is just as important to discover not just what the dish was but also how he knew what the dish was. In short, it would be good to discover: 1. The dish that was ordered (of lesser importance) 2. The dish that was served 3. How the waiter identified the dish that was served. | ||
| Tom Waddell (Tsoram1970)
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Simon, please check email? | ||
| Simon Downham (Beroean)
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Simon, please check email? Hi Tom, I've checked and you are absolutely correct - well done | ||
| Valiko Mizandari (Mimino)
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Is there a specific reason why the waiter not only realized what dish he was bringing, but also that it must be the wrong one? (other than he knew what was ordered) Would it be helpful to identify the animal(s) from which the meat was? (if so: pig? cow? chicken? duck? fish? shellfish? snake? frog? someone else?) Is the shape of the dome relevant? Was there something written on the dome? on the plate? | ||
| Mosquito (Mosquito)
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Was the dish that was brought some sort of sizzling thing? Was the thing that was noticed seen escaping from or rising from the plate or dome? | ||
| Barbara Johannessen Bailey (Rabrab)
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It was both typical and exotic, hmmm? Was it a dish that is typical of one region? type? of Chinese cuisine? being served in another region? in a restaurant that specialized in another type of cuisine? Is who it was being served to relevant? a chinese person? a non-chinese person? Was it chicken feet? insects of some sort? | ||
| Simon Downham (Beroean)
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Hello Valiko! Is there a specific reason why the waiter not only realized what dish he was bringing, but also that it must be the wrong one? (other than he knew what was ordered) Yes Would it be helpful to identify the animal(s) from which the meat was? (if so: pig? cow? chicken? duck? fish? shellfish? snake? frog? someone else?) The ordered dish was chicken and the dish on the trolley was duck Is the shape of the dome relevant? No Was there something written on the dome? No on the plate? No Hello Mosquito! Was the dish that was brought some sort of sizzling thing? Not relevant Was the thing that was noticed seen escaping from or rising from the plate or dome? Yes | ||
| Simon Downham (Beroean)
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Hi Barbara It was both typical and exotic, hmmm? Was it a dish that is typical of one region? type? of Chinese cuisine? being served in another region? in a restaurant that specialized in another type of cuisine? It is a common dish served in chinese restraunts in England and would appear to emenate from a specific region but there is an "exotic" element that needs exploring here. Beware, although 100% relevant, it could be misleading. Is who it was being served to relevant? a chinese person? a non-chinese person? No Was it chicken feet? insects of some sort? Neither | ||
| David Burn (Woubit)
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Was this duck actually alive? | ||
| Lynne (Lynne)
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Were the customers from the north of england who said 'Hey up duck' and the waiter, not listening properly, thought that was their order? | ||
| Simon Downham (Beroean)
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David Was this duck actually alive? Apparently so! | ||
| Simon Downham (Beroean)
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Lynne Were the customers from the north of england who said 'Hey up duck' and the waiter, not listening properly, thought that was their order? LOL  | ||
| Simon Downham (Beroean)
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 Well done David for achieving the lateral leap. ******************** SPOILER ******************** The young couple in the Chinese restaurant ordered “Chicken Surprise” but as the waiter wheeled the dish to the table, he noticed the domed lid rise from the plate and two beady little eyes peer out at him from underneath the lid. Instantly he realised that he’d made a mistake. Instead of the “Chicken Surprise” he was about to serve “Peking Duck”! * For those that may not be so familiar with the vernacular, “Peking Duck” is a renowned Chinese dish and “Peking” is pronounced as “peeking”. This is a variation on an old joke that Tom spotted – hence his correct emailed solution. |
