Because, Forgive Me, The Idea Is I Don't Want To Give You My Money.

[rionaleonhart]

I tell my parents that when the year comes to an end, I'm not going to university. I think I've found a sort of vocation in comedy. I love the underworld, I love the screwed-up people, I finally fit in and I am happy. I'm not going to give it up to study T.S. Eliot and The Wife's Lament. I can't bear to re-enter the misery of my school years. And I sense that I'd never go back to comedy if I stopped to be a student for three years. I'd lose my nerve, and I can't risk that. Something finally feels right to me. I'm on my yellow brick road. So, I'm going to write to the admissions tutor at Oxford and say thank you very much, but they should give my place to somebody else.

Then I look at my father's face. I love him more than anyone in the world.

'It's okay,' I say. 'I was only joking.'


I'm only twenty pages into For Richer, For Poorer, Victoria Coren's poker memoirs, and I have already found myself on the verge of tears multiple times. My poker knowledge is patchy, but I'm really enjoying it so far.

Speaking of Victoria Coren: the brilliant but evil elfwhistletree posted her own Only Connect wall yesterday, and it inspired me to have a crack at making one myself. Mine isn't as elegant or as packed with ingenious red herrings as hers, but let's see how it goes.


Petrelli, Normal, Chain, Grant
Pond, Lock, Barley, Shed
Helmet, Smith, Fan, Mow
Heat, Young, Noble, Explosion

For anyone unfamiliar with Only Connect: there are four groups of four words in here, mixed up largely at random. The words in each group are held together by a connection. Your aim is to untangle the four groups and find the connections. For example, the answers to Wall 65 on the Only Connect website:

Adze, Gouge, Plane, Rasp - hand tools used in woodworking
Dion, Logan, Martin, Shaw - Eurovision Song Contest winners
Diaper, Plug, Pool, Straw - form valid words when read backwards
Blue, Boysen, Goose, Huckle - can be followed by 'berry'

Some of these fall into multiple categories - for example, 'straw' can also be followed by 'berry' - but ultimately there's only one perfect solution.

If you give me a list of four words from the centred wall and your guess at their connection, I'll tell you whether you're right or wrong! You're also welcome to think aloud and confer with others in the comments, of course.

This may well not work at all, but let's give it a try. (And I encourage other people to come up with their own walls, because this game is incredibly frustrating and I'm a masochist.)

(EDIT: doyle_sb4 has identified the first group! This puzzle probably is too easy, but at least I've included the link to the Only Connect website, which will provide more than enough annoyance when my attempt at a wall proves inadequate.)

(EDIT AGAIN: The wall has been completed! Correct guesses:

doyle_sb4: Smith, Grant, Pond, Noble - Doctor Who companions
derryderrydown: Petrelli, Barley, Young, Explosion - characters called Nathan
elfwhistletree: Chain, Helmet, Shed, Lock - can be preceded by 'bike'
zarla: Normal, Fan, Mow, Heat - forms of Rotom (well, of course one of them was going to be about Pokémon)

Thank you to everyone who played!)

Comments

[doyle_sb4.livejournal.com]

Okay, going for the obvious: Smith, Grant, Pond and Noble are Doctor Who companions?

[rionaleonhart]

Yes! (I thought that one might be a bit too obvious. I'm not very good at making Only Connect walls.)

[derryderrydown.livejournal.com]

Petrelli, Barley, Young, Explosion - Nathans

[rionaleonhart]

Correct!

Ultimately, I think my attempt at a wall is flawed because too much of it is easy if you have the required knowledge, as opposed to elfwhistletree's, which required some lovely leaps of logic. Not that I mean to belittle your achievement in spotting the group! I'm just annoyed with myself for not creating a better puzzle.

[derryderrydown.livejournal.com]

I've been staring at the ones that are left, COMPLETELY BEMUSED, so I think you've actually done pretty well!

[doyle_sb4.livejournal.com]

Bugger! I was googling like hell trying to get the fourth Nathan (Nathan Explosion...?)

[derryderrydown.livejournal.com]

Metalocalypse. *g*

[rionaleonhart]

A CONFESSION: I know absolutely nothing about Metalocalypse, the source of Mr Explosion. I just decided to be a git and use as many Nathans with nouns for surnames as I could find.

[elfwhistletree.livejournal.com]

Petrelli Young Barley Explosion : Nathan

I've got the advantage of a bit of previous context here :-)

[rionaleonhart]

You are correct! And also, I have realised, much better at creating these than I am; I couldn't come up with anything as elegant as the tree-names connection. Make another.

[elfwhistletree.livejournal.com]

Normal Chain Helmet Heat - Pokemon jargon?

[rionaleonhart]

Hee! It's a good guess, but not quite.

[elfwhistletree.livejournal.com]

Bike: Chain, Helmet, Shed, Lock *head desk*

[rionaleonhart]

Yes! Well done!

[elfwhistletree.livejournal.com]

And the other connection is "Something to with Pokemon"???

[rionaleonhart]

I think we all knew one of these was inevitably going to be Pokémon-related. zarla has it right: they're forms that the Pokémon Rotom can take.

[elfwhistletree.livejournal.com]

I beg to differ - your wall is just fine ♥

But I did have the idea to make a wall several weeks ago, and then spent several showers and bike journeys thinking of ways to make it more complicated = I think a certain amount of slow is helpful to lateral thinking.

I wish I had Captain Haddock instead of Captain Kirk, though ;-)

I'll think about it - it may take a while!

[elfwhistletree.livejournal.com]

And a different person got each category - that must be a good sign.

[zarla.livejournal.com]

NORMAL FAN MOW HEAT - POKEMON TYPES? or forms that rotom can be in?

[rionaleonhart]

AH, YES, ALL THOSE MANY POKÉMON OF THE 'MOW' TYPE. STRONG AGAINST GRASS, I BELIEVE.

Forms of Rotom is correct!

[zarla.livejournal.com]

YOU KNOW, THE TYPES THAT AREN'T ACTUALLY TYPES, LIKE HOW SQUIRTLE IS A TINYTURTLE TYPE POKEMON, OR MEOWTH IS A SCRATCHCAT TYPE, AND WOW IF I'M RIGHT ON THOSE GOING PURELY FROM MEMORY THEN THAT'S PRETTY DORKY OF ME

[rionaleonhart]

Whoops, I'd forgotten about those! I retract my mockery and advance new mockery, because you are in fact right and that is in fact pretty dorky.

I've memorised the Pokédex numbers of the first hundred or so Pokémon in National Pokédex Order, though, so I can't talk.

[zarla.livejournal.com]

Although I think I'd still be wrong anyway since I don't think Rotom's type changes with its form, just the movesets or whatever but I can't quite remember it perfectly YOU'D THINK I'D KNOW THIS SINCE I HAVE AN ICE ROTOM IN PLATINUM BUT AAAA

[elfwhistletree.livejournal.com]

Speaking of Victoria Coren: the brilliant but evil elfwhistletree...

This is a phrase that makes me very happy :-)

[amy-wolf.livejournal.com]

Okay, who is Nathan Explosion, and what do I need to read or watch to find him?

[rionaleonhart]

He is from something called Metalocalypse, which is apparently an animated series about a death metal band. I've never watched it myself; I was just looking for a Nathan to complete the set, and when I found out that there was a Nathan Explosion I knew it had to be him.

[amy-wolf.livejournal.com]

I may have to look into that. And possibly cross it over with Top Gear. Because Nathan Explosion!

[fuzzywezzy.livejournal.com]

aww the wall is already filled :(
well I'll just have dance now (wait self you don't like dance)..or I'll just leave and give you a box a chocolates

[rionaleonhart]

I've just posted a new one, so you could have a go at that, if you'd like!

[emmarrrrr.livejournal.com]

Nathan Young... WAIT. WAIT A MINUTE. Does this mean you watch Misfits?

[rionaleonhart]

I have watched the first series of Misfits! So far, it has been extremely good. Kelly is my favourite.

[emmarrrrr.livejournal.com]

I blasted through both series in a couple of days, and I love it dearly! I can never pick a favourite, I tend to shift between Nathan, Kelly and Simon a lot.