The Glossary was an ideal venue for our brand of humor. Any one-off joke or obscure reference we could think of made its way into the glossary, along with some genuine information and some stuff that we really intended to use for clues (none of which ever actually made it into the game.) Of course all the entries are jumbled up, since we sorted them alphabetically, but there were a few general categories which these definitions fall into.
ale
A term that encompasses a whole variety of beer styles with widely
varying characteristics. Technically, ale differes from lager in
that it is made with a strain of yeast that rises to the top of the fermentation
vessel, and ale is not cold-stored or aged before consumption.
alektorophobia
An unexplained and unreasoning fear of chickens
altitude
In astronomy, the vertical angular distance of a celestial body above
the horizon.
altocumulus
A medium cloud, about 12,000 ft. in altitude, and consiting of groups,
lines, or waves of while globules
altostratus
A stratiform veil 6,000 to 20,000 ft. up with an ice-crystal content
of variable thickness (giving it a mottled appearance) but usually allowing
the Sun or Moon to be seen
Archidamus
A character from Shakespeare's play A Winter's Tale
ASS
1. Altitude sensing system; 2. Airlock support subsytem;
3. Air Signallers' School (RAF); 4. Anti-shelter submunition;
5. Aviation support ship.
Atropos
in Greek mythology, one of the three Fates; she cuts the thread of
life.
azimuth
The horizontal angular distance measured from a reference direction
(usually north) to the point where a vertical circle through a celestial
body would intersect the horizon.
ball cock
A self-regulating device controlling water supply in a tank, cistern,
or toilet by means of a float connected to a valve that opens of closes
with a change in water level.
ball screwjack
Screwjack in which friction is reduced by a system of recirculating
bearing balls interposed between fixed and rotating members.
band
Come on, guys. Y'all should know this one.
baritone
A bass intrument of the brass family, weighing around 5 1/2 pounds,
consisting of 3 or four valves, a small (8-9") bell, and a typically small
bore. Commonly used in the U.K., but rarely used in the U.S.
You have probably never seen one. see euphonium.
beef
It's whats for dinner.
beer
Any fermented drink made primarily from malted grain and seasoned with
hops. Lagers, ales, stouts, and other styles are all beers, though
some ignorant people associate the term "Beer" only with light colored
lagers.
Belshazar
Son of Nebuchadnezzar the Second and last king of Babylon, referenced
in the bible. He was warned of his doom by some indecipherable handwriting
on a wall that was later interpreted by the prophet Daniel. (the
handwriting, that is, not the wall)
Bertram
A character for Shakespeare's play All's Well That Ends Well.
bitter
A British style dry ale, most often found on draft. Bitter is
a sociable drink, and should be enjoyed by the pint with friends in a pub.
blucher
A shoe suitable for yachting
Bob Holt
The Lawn-Dart
bock
A strong lager often served as a warming beer in late autumn, winter,
or early spring, depending on what part of the world you're in. Bock
varies in color and strength, though it is most often darker and more alcoholic
than a normal lager.
boomstick
"Alright you primative screwheads, listen up. See this?
This is my boomstick! It's a twelve guage double barreled Remington,
S-Mart's top-of-the-line. You can find this in the sporting goods
department. That's right, this sweet baby was made in Grand Rapids,
Michigan. Retails for about $109.95. Its got a walnut stock,
cobalt blut steel and a hair trigger. That's right, shop smart, shop
S-Mart. Ya got that?! Now I swear, the next one of you primates
even touches me..."
Boreas
in Greek mythology, the personification of the north wind.
bribe
An offering of food, beer, money, etc., meant to sway Game Control
to adjust the game's outcome in your favor. Bribery is both allowed,
and encouraged -- but it will not be effective.
Burton on Trent
A borough of west-central England, near Derby
bushtit
Either of two small long-tailed birds (Psaltriparus minimus or Psaltriparus
melanotis) native to the western U.S. and having predominately gray plumage
Calliope
Muse of Epic Poetry, and nominal leader of the nine Muses
camber
a slightly arched surface, as of a road or a snow ski
Cassandra
a character from Shakespeare's play Troilus and Cressida
Chocolate Frosted Frosty Krusty Flakes
One of Bart Simpson's cereals of choice. "Only Sugar Has More
Sugar!"
cirro-cumulus
A layer of globular cloud masses at about 6000m / 20,000 ft.
Also known as mackerel sky.
cirro-stratus
A high milky-white or gray sheet clout, 7000m / 23,000 ft. in altitude
circumstantial evidence
A phrase you should memorize for use later.
cirrus
A high white cloud; appearing detached, fibrous, and/or silky, at 7500-12,000m
/ 25,000-40,000 ft. up
Clio
Muse of History
Clotho
in Greek mythology, on of the three Fates; she weaves the thread of
life.
clue
An object, cipher, puzzle, diagram, or paragraph that must be solved
or interpreted to find the next clue site. Clues are usually designed
such that they are portable and can be removed from the clue site and taken
with you.
clue site
A place with a collection of envelops with different clues for each
team
concrete
A mixture of water, cement, fine aggregate (sand), and coarse aggregate
(rock, gravel, slag, and/or Jimmy Hoffa) that when it is dried and cured
forms a hard, durable construction material.
cream ale
The alcoholic type, anyway, is a very mild, sweetish, golden style
of ale invented and brewed in the United States
cumulo-nimbus
Extremely large cumuliform clouds whose tops reach the stratosphere
and spread in the form of a fibrous ice-crystal anvil
cumulus
Dense white clouds with almost horizontal bases and large vertical
development and domeshaped tops (very cauliflower-like) showing growth
in strong upcurrents
cumulus mammatus
Cumuliform clouds having pendulous protuberances on the underside
currency
see bribe
Daedalus
A legendary artist and inventor, who among other things built the Labyrinth.
davenport
a large sofa
Dromio
A character from Shakespeare's play A Comedy of Errors
drupaceous
resembling, relating to, or consisting of a drupe.
dunkel
A German word meaning "dark", and used to refer to dark malty lagers
from Bavaria and other regions.
Emily Eaton
The Brains
eponymous
self-titled
Erato
Muse of Love Poetry
euphemism
a mild, indirect, vague, or innocuous word or phrase substituted for
a harsh, blunt, or offensive one. i.e. saying "drop the chalupa"
instead of the less colorful "taking a dump", though both are still euphemisms
for that particular act.
euphonium
a bass instrument of the brass family, weighing over 10 pounds, consisting
of 3 or 4 valves, a large (around 11") bell, and a typically large, conical
bore. Commonly, but incorectly, referred to in the U.S. as a baritone.
Euphronius
A character from Shakespeare's play Anthony and Cleopatra
Eurus
in Greek mythology, the personification of the east wind.
Euterpe
Muse of Lyric Poetry
EVA
Extra-vehicular activity.
Evans
A character from Shakespeare's play Merry Wives of Windsor
export
A term used by German brewers to denote a pale, dry lager of slightly
higher strength but with lower hop bitterness. In recent years, however,
the term has more often been used as a marketing gimmick for so called
"premium" beer.
eye chart
ferrule
a metal ring used to reinforce a Shaft
Fitzwater
a character from Shakespeare's play King Richard the Second
fnord
Frederick
A character from Shakespeare's play As You Like It
frigorific
Yes, it's a real word; according to Webster, "chilling or causing coldness"
F region
the highest layer of the ionosphere, extending at night from 120 to
250 miles and during the day from 90 to 250 miles above the Earth's surface.
Froth
A character from Shakespeare's play Measure for Measure
Funkentelechy vs. the Placebo System
The fifth studio album of the 70's funk band Parliament, led
by noted funkmaster and musical genius George Clinton, mad memorable because
this album features the all-time classic some "Flashlight." note.
Game Control
Maniacal, mean-spririted people who manage to plan and run Get-a-Clue
using only thier free time and while on a shoestring budget.
geisha
According to Webster, "A woman in Japan trained from girlhood in converstaion,
dancing, and singing in order to lend an atmosphere of gaiety to professional
or social gatherings of men." In more contemporary slang, it is used
to denote a person of either gender who had rather egregiously been taken
advantage of, been abused, or in general treated poorly.
Georgia State Law Section 40-6-181
The law against speeding. This is the citation the friendly officer
write in the appropriate blank of your speeding ticket. note.
get-a-clue
A game that is a combination road rally, puzzle, contest, and bonding
experience. I said BONDING, you sick bastards.
Get-a-Clue 2000
A Briefcase Full of Clues
Glendower
A character from Shakespeare's play King Henry the Fourth, part
1
GNU
a recursive acronym used by the Free Software Foundation. GNU
stands for "GNU is Not Unix"
Godthab
the capital of Greenland
Goneril
A character from Shakespeare's play King Lear
Grape and Grain (a toast)
"God gave man the grape, and I think that's just fine,
'cause some smart man, he took that grape, and made it into wine.
God also gave man grain, which some fools make into bread,
but I thank God most every day that we make beer instead."
Grendel
A man-eating monster who terrorizes the Danes until killed by Beowulf
grok
A word from the Martian language with multiple meanings, though the
two strongest of those would be "to drink" and "to understand completely,
such as if the object of understanding is now and always has been a part
of one's self"
Guildford
A character from Shakespeare's play King Henry the Eighth
Guinness
Black gold. Also, an acceptable form of currency for Game Control.
see bribe
GUT
Grand Unified Theory
hacksaw
An item we thought was required for last year's get-a-clue, and which
we purchased at the last minute at considerable effort and no small expense,
and which Tim is now bound and determined to incorporate into this year's
game.
Harcourt
A character from Shakespeare's play King Henry the Fourth, part
2
hefeweizen
A wheat beer with the yeast still held in suspension, not iltered out,
giving the beer a cloudy appearance and distinctive flavor.
Hegel
German philosopher Gerg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel. Propounded the
use of the dialectic of thesis, antithesis, and synthesis as an analytical
tool.
helles
a German word meaning "light", as in light colored, and used to refer
to the light, dry, golden lagers of Bavaria and elsewhere.
hosehead
he's a dog, eh.
Hubert
A character from Shakespeare's play King John
I-25
An interstate highway running through New Mexico, Colorado, and Wyoming
Iago
The most evil character Shakespeare ever wrote, from his play Othello
IAS
indicated air speed
I-beam
a standard type of steel joist or girder with short flanges, with a
cross section in the shape of th letter "I"
ibid.
abbreviation of the Latin word ibidem, which means "in the same spot";
notation used in footnores and bibliographies for articles taken from the
same source listed above it
Imogen
A character from Shakespeare's play Cymbeline
India pale ale
Once I.P.A. was an archaic style of beer that was not often produced,
even in England (its country of origin). Then all these pesky American
microbreweries popped up and needed a name to lend legitamacy to various
batches of super-bitter slug bait they came up with.
Matt and the slugs like these bitter beers, but your average beer consumer
does not. An English IPA is a hopped-up, bitter, super premium ale.
Some American versions of the style are even more bitter than the original.
Jaquenetta
A character from Shakespeare's play Love's Labour's Lost
Jato
Jet Assisted Take Off. Not for use with the family car.
Joel Eaton
The Joel
John Securda
The Goon
joke
One day on a nearby course, a golfer sliced a ball driving off the
seventh tee and was stuck out in the rough. After looking for more
than 30 minutes for his ball, he finally found it deep within a bed of
buttercups. Not being a particularly good golfer, he hacked and swung
at the ball with his club, but only succeeded in ripping up whole chunks
of buttercups. A distressed Mother Nature popped up then, concerned
for her flowers, and said, "Please, kind sir, stop! If you but leave
my buttercups alone, then I will make sure you have no want of butter for
the rest of your life." The golfer just stared at her a moment, lost
in thought. Then, to Mother Nature's horror, the golfer attacked
the flowers with even more vehemence. Mother Nature, puzzled, asked
the man, "Why do you continue to attack my poor buttercups? Did you
not hear my offer?" The golfer, still obviously angry, turned and
countered...
julep
a drink made from simple syrup (sugar), bourbon, fresh mint, and crushed
ice
Juno
A character from Shakespeare's play The Tempest
K2
also known as Mount Goodwin Austen, alternately the highest or second
highest mountain on Earth, depending on the means and accuracy used to
measure it and Everest in any particular year. On recent source puts
its height at 8616.3 meters
Kabul
Capital of Afghanistan
Katharina
A character from Shakespeare's play The Taming of the Shrew
Lachesis
in Greek mythology, one of the three Fates; she measures the thread
of life
lager
A term that takes in a variety of beer styles, though most are pale
t golden in color and are usually served ice cold. Technically, a
lager is a beer where the yeast clumps and settles to the bottom of the
fermentation vessel during brewing, and afterwards the beer is stored at
low temperatures for a period of time, from several weeks to several months.
lagomorph
A "rabbity-thing" like Sam's pal Max. Go
Here Now.
lambic
A style of beer from belgium, which to American palates can only be
described as weird. Lambics are spontaneously fermented, meaning
no yeast is added and the brewer relies on wild strains to achieve fermentation.
Lambic beers come in a variety of sour, sweet-and-sour, and fruit flavored
concoctions, the listing of which is too long to go into here. see
note.
Lavinia
A character from Shakespeare's play Titus Andronicus.
letter frequency
E T A O I N S R H
L D C U M F P G W
Y B V K X J Q Z
light beer
It's like having sex in a canoe...
limacine
of, relating to, or resembling a slug
limiting reagent
the stuff you run out of first, before you run out of everything else
lost
unable to find one's way, like you after clue #7
lyceum
a hall in which public lectures, concerts, recitals, etc. are performed
Lysander
A character from Shakespeare's play A Midsummer Night's Dream.
Macbeth
A character from Shakespeare's play... well duh.
maibock
Traditionally, a bock beer made to celebrate spring.
malt liquor
An American term for a strong, cheaply made lager. It's not very
malty, and it's not liquor either.
Malvolio
A character from Shakespeare's play Twelveth Night.
mantra
"Get-a-Clue will not suck this year, Get-a-Clue will not suck this
year, Get-a-Clue will not suck this year..."
marzen
A medium strength, full-colored, malt accented lager, often eroneously
refered to as an "Octoberfest" beer here in the States. Please note,
in Germany, "Oktoberfest" is a festival held every year in september, and
is not a style of beer.
Matt Blind
The Oracle
Matt McCullough
Thunder
Melpomene
Muse of Tragedy
Mercutio
A character from Shakespeare's play Romeo and Ethel, the Pirate's
Daughter.
mho
a unit of electrical conductance, equal to one seimens and defined
as one ampere per volt.
mild
A term used in England to describe a lightly hopped, low strength,
dark colored ale
mobius
a construct having only one side, just like every arguement I've every
had with any (now ex-) girlfriend
mucopolysaccharide
see glycosaminoglycan
Nerisa
A character from Shakespeare's play The Merchant of Venice.
Newton
was a bastard, and if I had a plane ticket I'd go over there and piss
on his grave right now. note.
nimbostratus
Thick dark blanket of clouds in a low to middle band (2000 - 6000m)
consisting mainly of ice crystals and supercooled water and of large horizontal
extent, usually with rain.
nimbus
A term not normally used as a cloud type but rahter as an adjective
meaning 'rain-producing', as in cumulo-nimbus and nimbostratus.
non-sequitur
"All other things being equal, fat people use more soap"
Notus
in Greek mythology, the personification of the south wind.
Octoberfest
A German festival held each year in September. Why not, then,
call it 'Septemberfest'? For those of you expecting yet another beer
style definition, please refer to "marzen" above
OHDaMN
The Get-a-Clue game manual, whose full name is the Official Handbook,
Documentation, and Materials Notebook.
Old Clifford
A character from Shakespeare's play King Henry the Sixth, part 2.
Ourania
Muse of Astronomy
pain
It's what's in the box
pale ale
A tasty, copper colored type of ale first brewed in England.
It was called "pale" becasue when compared to the dark, cloudy stuff the
English brewed up to the point it was introduced, the stuff is virtually
transparent.
paved roads
The things that you wil be driving on, for the most part.
Pedro
A character from Shakespeare's play Much Ado About Nothing.
Why are you crying?
per diem
oh boy! money!
petty officer
a noncommissioned naval officer ranking in between the enlisted personnel
and commissioned officers.
phantom
Philotus
A character from Shakespeare's play Timon of Athens.
pilsner
A Pilsner Beer (sometimes referred to as a Pils) is a crisp, super-premium,
pale golden lager with a fragrant hop aroma and a dry finish. This
is what most mass-produced light-colored American lagers aspire to be,
though all of them fall short.
Polymnia
Muse of Sacred Music
porringer
often wore as a badge of office by a sommelier.
porter
A dark, almost black, strong ale. As a practical matter, the
term "porter" can be and is used almost interchangeably with the term "stout"
Proteus
A character from Shakespeare's play Two Gentlemen of Verona.
punch line
"Where were you yesterday when my ball was stuck in the pussywillows?"
quadrangle
an open area surrounded on four sides by buildings
quark
I found two definitions for this one: 1. any of a group of elementary
particles having fractional electric charges and regarded as the constituents
of all hadrons. 2. a soft creamy acid-cured cheese of central Europe
made from whole milk. Protons are made of cheese?
Rosencrantz
A character from Shakespeare's play Hamlet.
route
A complex problem in descrete math as defined by several important
and sometimes conflicting criteria, hopefully with a real solution set
that will ensure a game that is both fair and relatively short. At
least, that's what it is to us. To you, the route is the course you
take from clue site to clue site as you play the game.
rubricate
To arrange, write, or print as a rubric
Rush
rules!
Rutland
A character from Shakespeare's play King Henry the Sixth, part 3.
screaming orgasm
A drink made with equal parts vodka, coffee liqueur, amaretto, and
Irish cream, and served in a rocks glass over ice
secret password
"Open the door you stupid bastard, I don't know your stinking stupid
password, you idiot." This of course is not the real secret password,
merely the cleanest version would could print here.
Sicinius
A character from Shakespeare's play Coriolanus.
sidereal
a four syllable word meaning "of, relating to, or concerned with the
stars and constellations"
Silhouette
An 18th century former French finance minister, who held the post so
briefly his name later became synonymous with the word "shadow"
Simonides
A character from Shakespeare's play Pericles.
slug bait
Any beer that is unfit for human consumption, i.e. it could only be
used as bait for traps for garden slugs. Don't ask me why slugs like
beer.
step
a regualtion 8-to-5 marching step, that is, a single pace exactly 22
1/2 inches in length
stout
An almost black, roasty-flavored ale. English stouts tend to
be sweeter, Irish stouts are typically dry, and Guinness is the worlds
only perfect beverage. In modern usage, the terms 'porter' and 'stout'
can be and are used interchangably.
stratocumulus
A layer of connected cloudlets at low cloud level, often arranged in
aligned rows.
stratus
A uniform layer of low (usually gray) cloud, well clear of the surface
Talbot
A character from Shakespeare's play King Henry the Sixth, part 1.
team
A group of people, not less than four and usually not more than eight,
that play Get-a-Clue
the previous record
...was four
the usual
A #2 Combo -- ordered plain with cheese, Biggie sized and with a Dr.
Pepper -- as can be easily obtained from any Wendy's Old Fashioned Hamburgers.
Q: "Why do I need to know this?" A: Please see the glossary
listing for the term bribe.
Terpsichore
Muse of Dance
Tim Stallings
The Weasel.
Todd Lyman
El Capitan
transitional clue
A short directive at one location that will lead you onward to the
next actual clue site. An actual clue site will have an envelope
with different clues for each team; a transitional clue is the same for
all teams.
Trebonius
A character from Shakespeare's play Julius Ceasar.
Vaughn
A character from Shakespeare's play King Richard the Third.
weisse
A German word meaning "white", used to refer to wheat beer generally,
and also to a particular style of wheat beer common to Berlin.
Wendy McCullough
The Hair
Williams
A character from Shakespeare's play King Henry the Fifth.
Zephyr
in Greek mythology, the personification of the west wind.
...that's all folks.
Back to Index
Copyright 2000
Matthew Blind and
Team Blues: Get-a-Clue 2000 Game Control