| Author | Message | ||
| Gregoryuconn (Gregoryuconn)
New member Username: Gregoryuconn Post Number: 739 Registered: 9-2010 |
If that's the case, then I'm a spy too. Could be a quickie! | ||
| Balin (Balin)
New member Username: Balin Post Number: 12272 Registered: 4-2010 |
Is the statement spoken sarcastically? "I" = you (Gregory)? Is the statement in response to another statement? An action? | ||
| Shez (Shez)
New member Username: Shez Post Number: 116 Registered: 2-2011 |
is someone else actually a spy? or thinks they are? or others think he/she is? | ||
| Gregoryuconn (Gregoryuconn)
New member Username: Gregoryuconn Post Number: 744 Registered: 9-2010 |
Is the statement spoken sarcastically? I wouldn't exactly call it "sarcastic" as much as witty. But it could be perceived as such. "I" = you (Gregory)? yes Is the statement in response to another statement? Yes An action? Somewhat this too is someone else actually a spy? Assume yes or thinks they are? Presumably he knows it. or others think he/she is? But this is what matters. | ||
| Shez (Shez)
New member Username: Shez Post Number: 121 Registered: 2-2011 |
do others think he's a spy because of his name? his appearance? things he says? something he does? ooh - is it a man? real? fictional? | ||
| Jenburdoo (Jenburdoo)
New member Username: Jenburdoo Post Number: 4673 Registered: 5-2003 |
Yeah, I reckon I know this one. Anything to do with an Isaac Asimov story? A certain incident during WWII? | ||
| Gregoryuconn (Gregoryuconn)
New member Username: Gregoryuconn Post Number: 746 Registered: 9-2010 |
do others think he's a spy because of his name? his appearance? things he says? this, no to rest something he does? ooh - is it a man? yes real? No! fictional? Yes! Yeah, I reckon I know this one. Anything to do with an Isaac Asimov story? A certain incident during WWII? Bingo. Would you like to $poail? | ||
| Gregoryuconn (Gregoryuconn)
New member Username: Gregoryuconn Post Number: 750 Registered: 9-2010 |
Ok, I want to post my next puzzle, and Jenburdoo's got it, so I'm just going to ****SPOILER*** This is based on the Isaac Asimov short story "No Refuge Could Save". In this story, Captain Griswold (central character) explains that in World war II he was questioning a suspected German spy. While playing Word association, he mentions "terror of flight" to which the suspect replied "gloom of the grave". According to Griswold, this proves he was a spy trained up in Americanisms because no real American would have actually heard that line from the third-verse of the star spangled banner "No refuge could save/the hireling and slave/from the terror of flight/to the gloom of the grave" although Griswold does add "except for me because I know everything." Read the Wikipedia article at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/No_Refuge_Could_Save And play my new puzzle | ||
| Jenburdoo (Jenburdoo)
New member Username: Jenburdoo Post Number: 4681 Registered: 5-2003 |
Supposedly, during the Battle of the Bulge when disguised Germans had infiltrated the American lines, a US sergeant really did use this as his challenge when he was unsure who he was facing. "Sing the third verse of the Star Spangled Banner." (Others used questions like "Who won the last World Series?") Trouble was that he was probably the only American in the area who knew the entire anthem, and so confused American troops who had no idea the anthem had a third verse and whom he arrested as possible German scouts. | ||
| Gregoryuconn (Gregoryuconn)
New member Username: Gregoryuconn Post Number: 761 Registered: 9-2010 |
Supposedly, during the Battle of the Bulge when disguised Germans had infiltrated the American lines, a US sergeant really did use this as his challenge when he was unsure who he was facing. "Sing the third verse of the Star Spangled Banner." (Others used questions like "Who won the last World Series?") Trouble was that he was probably the only American in the area who knew the entire anthem, and so confused American troops who had no idea the anthem had a third verse and whom he arrested as possible German scouts. Interesting. Of course, the point of why I'm a spy is that I actually know the national anthem, all four verses of it. So therefore, according to Griswold, I must be a spy. | ||
| Balin (Balin)
New member Username: Balin Post Number: 12298 Registered: 4-2010 |
I had to memorize the entire anthem back in 7th or 8th grade. I've forgotten most of it now. | ||
| Jenburdoo (Jenburdoo)
New member Username: Jenburdoo Post Number: 4683 Registered: 5-2003 |
I know it too, though I'm iffy on the third verse. I actually like the second better than the first - it answers the question of whether the flag is still there, rather than asking it -- and I tend to sing it during public occasions (baseball games, etc). |
