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May 9, 2023·edited May 13, 2023Pinned

Nightmare! Despite checking this about six times I just spotted an error. I have now replaced the word 'brickwork ' with 'a vertical section of the house'. That may provide a massive clue. So sorry!

Update: here is a clue. Solution on the morrow.

It is right to provide one more clue. Solutions are better appreciated when they are hard-won, but occasionally a little latitude is in order. Of course, my clue is in itself an Oulipian subterfuge, cloaking the answer in plain sight. Got to keep people on their toes! Reading between the lines won't help you, I'm afraid. And don't even think about attempting to bribe me to reveal the answer early: I am impervious. Master the quality of patience, and we will all benefit!

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OH FLIPPING HECK, TERRY. I can't believe that I was looking at your POST for your latest hidden clue - and now that I have spent ten minutes looking and looking and looking again through the post - and commented accordingly - I have finally re-read your pinned comment.

SO YES, I think I've got it, by Thunder!

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Still no idea.. 😅

On the edge of my seat to hear what this mysterious technique is called

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I'm thinking of revealing earlier than next Sunday because you lot are making me feel guilty

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Okay.

Imperatives?

Passive voice?

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author

I am surrounded by people who are unworthy of my genius

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No you're not. At least one of us has strode off in a huff, remember? 😉

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😂

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Or should that be 'stridden'...?

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Just looked it up. It is indeed stridden 😁

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Hmm. Dunno 🤔

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HA! I've spotted something of interest - it might not be THE thing, but it is A thing.

Are you alternating vagueness and specificness? Specificity? Whatever the word is.

That even explains 'brickwork' (vague) with 'a vertical section of the house' (very specific).

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author

No.

😂😂

But I hadn't spotted that myself

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WHAAAAAAAAAT??? But it's right there!

*strides off in huff*

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author

You are looking too deeply into matters

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Now, is that another clue, or just a comment about my propensity for overthinking...? 🤣

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Terry, this is ingenious! I'm stumped - it's full of 'not quites' in some form of another, BUT your use of two very definite phrases: 'with purpose' and 'complete (lack of light)' has shown me that it must be rather more complicated than that.

I'm looking forward to the big reveal! 😁

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Also stumped...

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author

Read my pinned comment!

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I think perhaps I should give people a clue, as I am feeling slightly magnanimous.

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May 8, 2023Liked by Terry Freedman

Is it putting phrases into Google translate and then translating them back into English??

It feels something like that. Something beyond merely using a thesaurus for certain words/phrases.

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Read my pinned comment!

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I'm still too stupid ... :-|

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Nonsense. You're probably over-thinking it, like Rebecca. Or I've overlooked another mistake 😱

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Gee thanks, Terry! 🤣 Overthinking is better than NOT thinking, surely?

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That sounds interesting! I just tried it, and the process yielded a few minor variations to the original. However, it has not the technique I used. <evil laugh>

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May 8, 2023Liked by Terry Freedman

Ahh, well, I guess the algorithms are too good now. It used to be quite amusing. I remember there being a quiz on a radio station about song titles or film titles that were put through that process.

I look forward to whatever the answer is! 😅

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Used to be???😱😱😱 Look at the bottom of my latest Start the Week for a clue.

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May 8, 2023Liked by Terry Freedman

Haha. I meant the translation process of back and forth used to yield utterly baffling translations.

I just reread your previous comment before too. ... something about that wording. "it has not the technique ..."

Will go read shortly. Just woken up. Seeking coffee.

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author

Ok, I'll let you off this time 😂

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May 8, 2023Liked by Terry Freedman

Phew 😅

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Not quite at home in deliberate 'techniques', more of a 'feel' writer, who then later learns he had been using technique x all this time without realising it.

Few more things I noticed were that many words were replaced by 'not quite synonyms', more like vague descriptors of what the things are than actual synonyms. (What is a wall but brickwork, and what is nausea but your head spinning round) As a result, the story feels more 'distant' from me as a reader, almost as if someone is describing what happened to the protagonist as opposed to the protagonist themselves describing it.

If all that is a technique, I'd be interested in learning its name.

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Read my pinned comment!

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I definitely had to find near synonyms, but that was the knock on effect of the technique rather than the technique itself.I will reveal all in due course 👺

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The second piece feels 'slower' and more 'meticulous'. Maybe even more old-fashioned, but that's a result of the 'less smooth' style I think (we're all used to short, to the point, flashy text now, after all). The rhythm and tempo of the story is what stands out most to me. The former reads easier and could work for an article / blog post, whereas the latter could work in a book, or other format in which you're really taking the time to tell a story, if you catch my drift. Anyway, that's my first impression. Interesting result either way!

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Interesting. Cheers, Robert, I think you're right. Have you spotted the technique I used? 😈

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