Baseball Toaster: Humbug Journal : Humbugardy: Same School for 400

Humbugardy: Same School for 400

2005-08-27 11:04

by Score Bard

This is Humbugardy. I'm your host, Alex Scorebard.

Though Eckstein and Ellis
Don't hit many taters,
They shared this team's infield...

Bravery	Haiku Trades	Same School	"Tools" of Ignorance	Literary Baseball	Ballpark Franks
100	Derek Smart	Jen	Baby Maddux	Humma Kavula	metfaninalaska
Baby Maddux	200	200	Cliff Corcoran	Next...	MattPat11
Dan Lucero	300	Joe	For The Turnstiles	Ryan Wilkins	300
400	Jacob L	T J	Bob Timmerman	Bob Timmerman	400
500	500	Philip Michaels	Shaun P	500	500

Note: Using the web to search is cheating...you gotta know (or guess) off the top of your head.

Comments

2005-08-27 11:14:16

1. Bob Timmermann

Who are the Florida Gators?

2005-08-27 11:52:47

2. Shaun P

Nice job, Bob - you've got the 400 point questions down!

2005-08-27 13:51:20

3. T J

The meter doesn't fit right with Florida in the answer, does it? I'll try "Who are the Gators?"

2005-08-27 14:33:35

4. sasquatch

Actually, I think "The Florida Gators" has the right number of syllables. "Who are the Gators" only has 5, which doesn't work unless you read "infield" really fast.

2005-08-28 09:42:52

5. graciebarn

But this is Humbugardy, which means the "Who Are" is necessary.

2005-08-28 18:46:27

6. T J

I'm on pins and needles. Or is it tenterhooks?

2005-08-28 21:04:54

7. Bob Timmermann

Man, if I lose it on syllables, I'm going to protest to the International Humbugardy Commission in The Hague!

2005-08-28 21:25:03

8. sasquatch

Yeah, I realized the Who Are thing after I posted. there's not a really good way to fit Florida Gators and Who Are into the line . . .

They're Florida Gators fits, but still, not in the form of a question.

Who are the Gators fits better than Who are the Florida Gators, but we'll see what Scorebard thinks of it I suppose.

2005-08-28 21:26:58

9. sasquatch

Just in case none of the above are acceptable -
Who are U F's Gators?

2005-08-29 10:21:00

10. nickb

I'm gonna go with "With the Florida Gators."

2005-08-29 15:33:36

11. Score Bard

OK, nobody's figured out a perfect answer, but I'm gonna give this one to T J. Bob is losing this one, not because of the number of syllables, but because of the number of stressed syllables.

Lemme explain:

The meter for the first three lines of this poem are wSwwSw (w=weakly stressed syllable, S=strong).

Ordinarily, you'd want a question with the exact same meter. Nobody has provided one, like "So, who are the Gators?" or "What team are the Gators?"

But there exist poetic forms (such as the limerick) which have optional weak stresses at the beginning of their lines. "Who are the Gators?" while having only five syllables, has the correct sequence and number of weak and stressed syllables, omitting an optional weak syllable at the beginning of the line.

"Who are the Florida Gators?" has three stressed syllables, and that just doesn't work.

2005-08-29 16:27:12

12. Bob Timmermann

This is the greatest injustice since the 1972 Men's Olympic Basketball Final!

I refuse to accept my silver medal!

2005-08-29 18:53:54

13. T J

Sorry, Bob. I never win anything, though, so I'm taking this one. It's cheap, but it counts.

Literary Baseball for 200, Alex.

2005-08-30 12:47:31

14. Shaun P

I could have done what TJ did, just a couple hours in advance - and then have gotten this one!

D'oh.

Congrats, TJ - I'll never concede that easily again.

2005-08-30 20:31:35

15. T J

In the immortal words of Jimmy V (and I'm a Tar Heel fan), "Don't give up. Don't ever give up."