20 Questions Game 409

[Aristocrat]

Someone should go ahead and ask Q19 (I would, but since I asked the last one I’d be frozen out of guessing if I also did Q19)

[Pepijn]

What other notable things are there about that question, that no one has mentioned yet?

It is a statement, not a questions, so a ‘pass’ could be warranted on that ground, but a ‘+1’ a hidden confirmation. I am clutching at straws here…

[Pepijn]

Was the character first introduced after 1910?

[Aristocrat]

What other notable things are there about that question, that no one has mentioned yet?

It is a statement, not a questions, so a ‘pass’ could be warranted on that ground, but a ‘+1’ a hidden confirmation. I am clutching at straws here…

That was my guess too

[Hominidae]

You still have not figured out the notable thing about that question.

Was the character first introduced after 1910?

Yes.

[han-shahanshah]

I’m thinking that what we’re looking for might not be a single individual character, but instead a sort of archetype that has been presented in a variety of ways. Perhaps it’s only human some of the time.

[han-shahanshah]

Did the author ever publish in the The Strand Magazine?

By my counting this is question number 18.

Pass.

In particular I’d like to call attention to this, which seems to suggest indeterminate or multiple authorship.

[Aristocrat]

I’m thinking that what we’re looking for might not be a single individual character, but instead a sort of archetype that has been presented in a variety of ways. Perhaps it’s only human some of the time.

This was my guess (that the answer is something like “the narrator” or “the every person”) but I can’t find anything that fits.

[Pepijn]

Did the author ever publish in the The Strand Magazine?

By my counting this is question number 18.

Pass.

In particular I’d like to call attention to this, which seems to suggest indeterminate or multiple authorship.

Maybe, yes,I have not thought about it in this way!

Truth to be told, I thought it would almost be impossible to reply to this question with a 'No'. If the authors is not known to have published in the magazine, it would be very difficult to determine whether they definitely have not.

[Pepijn]

I’m thinking that what we’re looking for might not be a single individual character, but instead a sort of archetype that has been presented in a variety of ways. Perhaps it’s only human some of the time.

This was my guess (that the answer is something like “the narrator” or “the every person”) but I can’t find anything that fits.

The good thing is that in trying to find the answer, we all probably have found interesting entities to guess for future rounds!

[Spartaculous]

Free guess: The Piltdown Man.

[Hominidae]

Free guess: The Piltdown Man.

You are correct!

This entity is properly described as fictitious rather than fictional.

[Nemo215]

Congratulations to Spartaculous for figuring out a round which had stumped us all for days!

As a non-native speaker of English, what would be the difference between "fictitious" and "fictional"?

[Hominidae]

Congratulations to Spartaculous for figuring out a round which had stumped us all for days!

As a non-native speaker of English, what would be the difference between "fictitious" and "fictional"?

In practice they're used interchangeably a lot of the time, and I wouldn't expect all native speakers to know the difference, but "officially", "fictional" means made up for a story that the audience is expected to know is not real, whereas "fictitious" means made up as part of a lie, with the intention of convincing people to believe it.

The Piltdown Man was created with the intention of deceiving people into believing that it was real, and was only discovered to be a hoax years later.

Congratulations indeed to Spartaculous, and thank you all for playing. This was a fun round to QM. As Pepijn said, hopefully you have found some inspiration for future rounds.

[Spartaculous]

Free guess: The Piltdown Man.

You are correct!

This entity is properly described as fictitious rather than fictional.

That was quite the round. You don't want to know how many blind alleys I went down - both before and after I figured out the "fictitious" part.

I'll get a round up once I figure out which direction I want to go.

[CharlesDeCouilles]

Free guess: The Piltdown Man.

You are correct!

This entity is properly described as fictitious rather than fictional.

That was a wild one! I don't envy the anxiety you must have had trying to properly answer the questions, especially as it became more and more clear that we were all (except Sparty) very much on the wrong track.

[Pepijn]

Yes, congratulations! I was not thinking along these lines at all.

[DreamTrawler]

Great round and great guess! I think way back in Round 350 (Lucy the Australopithecus) I had guessed The Piltdown Man, but he slipped my mind this time.