A Quote Game: thread #13

Welcome to the new thread! The Game continues...

"The Demon Drink stared back at her, rather smugly in her view. Go on, it seem to say, impress me.

That sounds like Maskerade.

Equal Rites?

Unseen Academicals?

Witches Abroad? This one seems very witchy.

None of the above, thank you very much.

The Truth?

No!

It is Thud.

Guessing wildly now - Monstrous Regiment?

Cheery, as far as I can remember. Yes?

You are all glaringly abroad!

Its not Cheery?! Nooo!

Hmm...could it possibly be Soul Music? I have no idea.

Far, far asea!

Hahaha, you are enjoying this too much!

Okay, last one for tonight -- ? I'm sure I'm still wrong.

I'm changing my guess!

Asea? Jingo?

Roni, you are a tricky trickster. There are plenty of male pissheads on the Disc, but other than Nanny, not that many females who imbide so thoroughly ... hang on, are we talking really early? The Light Fantastic, with whatshername, the Henna Haired Harridan?

Okay, is it Thief of Time? I just realized it might be Myria LeJean trying water (or tea) for the first time?

Had to tear the collection apart (not literally) to find this one - it's in Nation.

Hmmm - Nation is not a discworld book; does it qualify? Anyone know?

I think it should. Spiritually, it feels like a Discworld book even if it isn't set there.

I thought all Pratchett books were fair game...

All Pratchett books are fair game (sorry, some of you newcomers may not have realized that!) and it is indeed Nation. Good work, spaceowl--it's your turn.

We have even had a few quotes from The Bromeliad Trilogy but I don't think we've had any from the Johnny Maxwell books--mostly from the newer non-Discworld books. Have to throw one in every once in a while to keep you all honest!

Hooray! The three hours I spent tracking it down can't be classed as wasted!

Now the quote:

'The sergeant put on the poker face that had been handed down from NCO to NCO ever since one protoamphibian told another lower-ranking protoamphibian to muster a squad of newts and Take That Beach.'

Small Gods?

No, there's only one newt in Small Gods (although he's quite an important one).

Yeah, I realized pretty quick it wasn't. Lol, its the newts that threw me off! I was just going to check my copy of The Last Hero when I realised it was in India. It is really hard to play this game by memory alone. :(

Anyway, I am now going with Jingo. Yes? No? In another space-time continuum?

And I'll guess Monstrous Regiment.

anatwork.k; Right universe, wrong book. It isn't Monstrous Regiment either.

However, it IS Discworld.

Lol. Maybe Feet of Clay? And yes, I am going to work my way through all of the watch books.

Close, but no golem. Not Feet of Clay

Dam***t, I feel like its not a watch book for some reason. Eric just so it is out there.

BTW, is it weird that its just you and I (and ronincats) interacting on this thread so far?

It is Eric, I’m pretty certain. It’s when they meet Lavaeolus, and sneak in to the castle to ‘rescue’ Ellenor, if I remember correctly.

#33 I cheated so I'm out of this one. Maybe next time and the next quote

anatwork.k gets in slightly ahead of joannasephine, so over to you, anatwork.k.

(And yes, apart from the four of us, where is everyone?)

#35 Hahaha.

I knew it was the Ephebians and Tsorteans. I should've gone with Eric earlier.

Alright, here we go:

The Monks of Cool, whose tiny and exclusive monastery is hidden in a really cool and laid-back valley in the lower Ramtops, have a passing-out test for a novice. He is taken into a room full of all types of clothing and asked: Yo, my son, which of these is the most stylish thing to wear? And the correct answer is: ...

Bonus points for whoever can provide the correct answer!

Thief of Time is the obvious answer but is probably too easy to be correct.

The correct answer to the passing-out test is words to the effect of "Yo, whatever I choose to wear!"

I suspect Thief of Time as well.

justjim is close about the correct answer.

However, you are both incorrect about Thief of Time. Keep guessing. :)

Small Gods?

Still no.

Reaper Man?

Still no!

Lords and Ladies?

And Artur has it. :) Its in a footnote about the Elves' style...

The "correct answer" is "Hey, whatever I select" which was of course almost exactly what justjim said.

Over to you Artur.

Thanks, anatwork.k. Let's try this one-

"The brain has far less control over the body than the body does over the brain. And adolescence is not a good time. Nor is old age, for that matter, but at least the spots have cleared up, some of the more troublesome glands have settled down and you're allowed to take a nap in the afternoons and twinkle at young women."

Eric?

I don't think this is Discworld at all! Johnny and the Dead perhaps?

The Last Continent perhaps?

Equal Rites?

I think it's something with wizards. Moving Pictures?

edrandrew has it. It's The Last Continent, a reflection the Dean is having. Your turn, edrandrew.

It was like a plate full of continents. A coin tossed into the air by an indecisive god.

I don't know that one...Sounds early though. Sourcery ?

Yeah it could be any of them. I'll go with The Last Hero.

I'll guess at The Colour of Magic

Jingo?

None of those.

Small Gods?

Ooh I know! It's that sci fi one! Ummmmmmmmmm... *attacks bookshelf*

Strata?

You have it bada, I thought that one would have lasted a bit longer.

Woohoo!

"Of course, it is very important to be sober when you take an exam. Many worthwhile careers in the street- cleansing, fruit-picking and subway-guitar-playing industries have been founded on a lack of understanding of this simple fact."

Moving Pictures, I think. But that might be too easy.

Pyramids?

Lol anatwork.k got it first go!

Thanks bada. Alright, lets try this one:

He walked over to shut the gate and then pulled out his sword in one fluid movement.

Carrot, about to demonstrate why you should always prefer to be held by a bad man than a good, and why you don't look for the king in the dude who pulls the sword out of he stone, but the guy who shoves it in there in the first time? Men at Arms?

I would guess The Fifth Elephant.

Guards! Guards! ?

All no. Keep going. :)

Or on a different tack completely, how about Eric?

Or The Light Fantastic?

Still no.

Obviously one of the night watch series - Night Watch?

And pinkozcat has it. Night Watch it is -- Sam Vimes just before he is picked up by the Agony Aunts to go meet Madame Roberta.

Here goes then. an easy one:

"And I am sure I don't have to remind you what happened when the late Mr Hong chose to open his Three Jolly Luck Take-Away Fish Bar in Dagon Street during the lunar eclipse."

The Truth; Lord Vetinari to William de Worde. One of my favorite quotes in Pratchett's entire oeuvre comes just after - 'I wish this enterprise to stay within the bounds of the cult, the canny and the scrutable'.

Love Lord Vetinari.

Great - over to you, spaceowl

In a hurry, so an easy one:

'Just below the dome, staring down from their niches, were statues of the virtues: Patience, Chastity, Silence, Hope, Tubso, Bissonomy and Fortitude.'

Going Postal? Definitely Moist von Lipwig, I'm just not sure of which book.

See? Far too easy :)

Over to you, ArmyAngel.

"Chap with a whip got as far as the big sharp spikes last week."

Feet of Clay?

Nope

Sorcery?

Reaper Man, Death collecting a huge diamond to be friends with Miss Flitworth?

Thief of Time?

Joannasephine got it!

Woohoo!

This one is a bit obscure, so hopefully it’ll last a little while:

‘You can’t get any wetter than you are now. Anyway, you walk wrong for rain. … You should – well, move between the drops.’

Hmmm that one is obscure.

Thief of Time as my set default?

Is that a Tiffany Aching? Wintersmith, maybe?

That's an early one, I'm sure - Equal Rites?

It certainly sounds witchy. I'll go for Wyrd Sisters?

Perhaps A Hat Full of Sky?

Ooh, Spaceowl, you're good! It was indeed Equal Rites.

No, just lucky. It was a guess ;)

Here goes:

'Lovely to look at
Nice to hold
If you drop it
You get torn apart by wild horses'

Sourcery?

Lords and Ladies?

This feels earlier. The Light Fantastic? Where Rincewind and Cohen and Twoflower were in the traveling shop?

No to all three - but I know where you're coming from, K.

Or have we entered the world of Boffo? Wintersmith?

Back to my default answer then. Unseen Academicals?

One of you is SOOOO close - but still no.

I think this sounds like Tiffany Aching too, so I'm going to try A Hat Full of Sky again.

OK - I'll opt for The Wee Free Men.

Artur is right. I couldn't resist yesterday and I looked up the quote. :)

Artur is indeed right. It's a sign in the House of Boffo in Ankh-Morpork.

Over to you, Artur.

OK, how about this-

"Throughout the history of the Disc most high priests have been serious, pious and conscientious men who have done their best to interpret the wishes of the gods, sometimes disembowelling or flaying alive hundreds of people in a day in order to make sure they're getting it absolutely right."

I'm going to go with Eric.

I'll make a guess at the obvious. Small Gods?

And the other obvious, Pyramids?

I think Interesting Times.

ronincats has it; it's Pyramids. Your turn...

"Music, landscape gardening, architecture--there was no start to his talents."

Hogfather?

It's a description of B.S. Johnson - I think Feet of Clay

Ah, I was hoping there would be more confusion as to WHICH book B. S. Johnson was discussed in--pinkozcat has it in one.

Ah - I thought that it might have been the description of the Patrician's trout pond but couldn't remember which book it was in so I went for the easier option.

He started down the long spiral staircase. After a while he smiled, a thin, tight smile.

Carpe Jugulum?

moving pictures?

No and no. Sorry ...

Hogfather again? Sounds like Teatime.

Guards! Guards! ?

No - none of those

Hmmm, 'long spiral* staircase' implies a tall building. What about Sourcery?

*They're actually a helix, not a spiral, but this isn't Pedants' Corner!

Sorry, jim, it isn't Sourcery either

What about the tall building that was the death of poor Lance-Constable Cuddy in Men at Arms? I can't remember its name, but I think it had an internal staircase.

Not Men at Arms either.

How about Small Gods?

Sorry - not Small Gods

How about Jingo and the Patrician's success at getting the donkey down the stairs backwards?

LOL - but not Jingo

Alright, I'll go for the tallest building in AM, the Tower of Art, and I'll go very early in the canon, The Light Fantastic? I suspect that the 'he' is Trymon

Yes, yes, yes! It is The Light Fantastic and it is just after the Luggage has swallowed the Dean of Liberal Studies.

Ah, the Dean of Liberal Studies. Never heard from, or about, since.

brb

Alright, let us return to B.S. Johnson, my favourite character never to have been in a Discworld® book.

…Usually the major flaw was that the designer was Bloody Stupid Johnson. Flaw, you might say, was part of the whole thing. Actually, to be fair, a lot of the things he designed worked quite well. It was just that they didn't do the job they were supposed to.

Bring on your best, non-Googled*, guesses!

*Sorry, but it had to be said. There has been a non-disc-bearing elephant in the room for a while now.

Hard to call with B.S. Johnson. He pops up everywhere. That one is recent, though, I'm sure. I'll go with Going Postal.

I agree that it is about B S Johnson; and i've seen it somewhere quite recently. I'll try for The Truth.

Well, it is, as I told you at the start, pinkozcat, about BS Johnson, but the spaceowl picked the actual appearance. It was in Going Postal, just as, if I've kept track of his promotions, Probationary Senior Postman Groat was explaining the theatre organ/sorting machine.

Bring it on, Rob!

Ah - I'm still fixated on the patrician's trout pond.

Perhaps I had better go back to my default answer next time.

Gosh, sorry about the delay, chaps. I was away overnight and didn't check LT.

So: 'YES, IT IS A BIT HARD TO UNDERSTAND, ISN'T IT? APPARENTLY THERE'S THIS THING CALLED THE TROUSERS OF TIME, WHICH IS QUITE ODD, BECAUSE TIME CERTAINLY DOESN'T-'

And OK, it's no sort of a clue, caps are deliberate.

Thud!? I seem to recall DEATH having this conversation with Vimes.

If not there, possibly night watch?

If the caps are a deliberate attempt to deceive then I'll opt for Lords and Ladies.

No, no and surprisingly, no. And I thought it would be an easy one.

And the caps aren't an attempt to deceive, it's Death of course.

How about Reaper Man then?

Or is it Death talking to Moist? Going Postal?

Sadly no in both cases. You have straddled the target though.

Hi all, I'm back.

It's got to be after Thief of Time because the joke there is Time is a woman so the trousers...

I'll go for Monstrous Regiment even though I don't remember the exact circumstances of this conversation. I feel like it is Death talking to a secondary or minor character as opposed to Vimes.

That is a BIG straddle. Night Watch?

Lol, it is a big straddle isn't it pinkozcat? BTW, I think edrandrew already mentioned Night Watch in 145.

Eric?

Or perhaps "Sourcery"? I think I was reading "Hawkings" at the time :)

#153 ah - too early in the morning for me.

Carpe Jugulum?

Falling all around the target, but amazingly still no.

How about The Last Continent

The Last Hero?

Fifth Elephant perhaps?

We have a winner!

The trousers Vimes was wearing at the time, were of course, the dismal and pointless ones of Uncle Vanya.

Over to you, edrandrew!

Damn...I *thought* it was TFE then changed it! :-)

... was a humble woodcutter. He wasn't humble because he was a woodcutter. He would still have been quite humble if he'd owned five logging mills. He was just naturally humble.

the hogfather?

The Amazing Maurice?

I will go with Equal Rites.

No, no and no.

Wyrd Sisters?

Lords and Ladies?

Witches Abroad?

No, no and, again, no. The Uriah Heep in question goes by the name of Cando Cutoff, although I accept that this probably doesn't help much.

The Wee Free Men?

The Fifth Elephant because you are tricksy? ;)

Again, no and no. Possibly a bit more usefully, we encounter Cando as a source of travel planning information.

The colour of Magic?

Sourcery?

Carpe Jugulum? I'm sure he's an Uberwaldian, whoever he is.

Still no joy. A near miss with Uberwaldian though, as he is Lancrastrian - at least that's a fair guess. He also overheard the prize conversation that went thus...

'Yes. Have you got any special low terms for witches?'
'Yeah, how about "meddling, interfering old baggages"?'

That would be Maskerade then? En route to save Agnes, and fill Nanny’s knickers?
(If I’m right, someone else take my go.)

Someone else! It's your go!

Maybe you should nominate someone, edrandrew. But not me, please; it is more fun guessing.

(picks up abandoned gauntlet)
If no one minds?
'She turned. A young man of godlike* proportions was standing in the doorway

*The better class of gods, anyway. Not the ones with the tentacles, obviously.'

Isn't that Angua meeting Carrot in Men at Arms?

Or maybe the first time Sally sees Carrot in Thud!?

*Sigh* Artur got it straight away! You're turn Artur

"People'd live for ages side by side, nodding at one another amicably on their way to work every day, and then some trivial thing would happen and someone would be having a garden fork removed from their ear."

Tricky. Sounds Guards-ish though. Jingo?

Got it right out of the gate! Over to you, spaceowl.

Sorry about that - a complete guess as well!

Let's try:

'It was not a happy turnip. It was blotchy. It was bouncing gently from one side of the jar to another, occasionally turning over.'

The Truth? That is probably too obvious, though

Making Money, the ill-fated attempt at cheering up an artist.

Lets take it to the witches with A Hat Full of Sky.

It was indeed the pioneering man-turnip personality transfer experiment in Making Money. Over to you, AA.

Sorry for the delay.

Nanny Ogg looked under her bed in case there was a man there. Well, you never knew your luck.

Witches Abroad but I think MrsLee had it. :)

Sorry, neither. :)

I'll try Lords and Ladies - a wildish guess

Yep, you got it!

Me?? Hmmm ...

There have been Capability Brown, Sagacity Smith, Intuition De Vere Slade-Gore ... In Ank-Morpork, there was Bloody Stupid Johnson.

Feet of Clay ?

No, not Feet of Clay.

Night Watch? This quote seems later.

No - not Night Watch.

Hmmm, then Carrot giving Angua an Ankh-Morpork tour in Men at Arms? :)

Yes, it is Men at Arms but it is actually a description of the patrician's garden. Capability Brown was the clue in the quote.

Your turn, anatwork.k

Oh that is right. Which is why it was giving me vague feelings of being about a country house.

Alright here's the quote:

There was always paperwork. It is well known that any drive to reduce paperwork only results in extra paperwork.

Guess away!

I tnink that is Vimes' desk in Thud prior to the hiring of A.E. Pessimal.

Although it could be The Fifth Elephant and the abortive use of the Sgt Colon approach.

Neither!

Have you gotten all cunning and used a quote from the newest possible? Snuff?

Hahaha, not cunning enough. Your go, joannasephine! :)

I don’t think I’ve used this one before:

“You mean pink, square and dumpy? You really know how to talk to a girl, my boy”

Hmm...is this Guards! Guards! when Carrot first comes to the city?

No and no.
;-)

Pyramids?

I have a feeling this one will go on for a while.

I don't recognise that one at all, so I'll guess Interesting Times on the basis that that is the one Discworld book I don't own.

Still no!

It could be Nigel (?) in Sourcery. It has been years and years since I read some of the earlier Pratchett's so I may not be as familiar with them. The one thing this game has taught me is that I *must* reread all my discworld books once I get home. I have a winter break project. :)

And still no!
This has to be a record for me.

Mort?

And we have a winner. Yes, it was Mort. Take it away pinkozcat!

I should have got it sooner - it was the "boy" which finally triggered my memory.

Here is an easy one:

Rincewind had eaten in many countries on the disc, and sometimes he'd been able to complete an entire meal before having to run away.

Ahh, Mort! Albert talking to mort?

As for Pinkozcat's quote: Interesting Times? :)

No not Interesting Times and it was Ysabel talking to Mort, I think.

Hard to tell with Rincewind. Eric?

No - not Eric

Is this where Rincewind 'invents' Vegemite, aka yeasty vegetable soup, in The Last Continent?

justjim has it. The invention of vegemite in The Last Continent.

I'm glad that you have put in a link to vegemite for all our American friends here.

Yes, I thought that link might be required.

Completely OT, how are the skies in the west? Are you going to be able to see the eclipse tonight? It's horizon-to-horizon cloud and raining here. Boo, hiss!

Anyhoo...

Mr ... then got a job in a pet shop in Pellicool Steps, but left after three days because the way the kittens stared at him gave him nightmares. The world can be very cruel to some people.

Yes! Poor Mr Scattering.

You know Pinky is going to be annoyed at us, don't you? Me for setting from her default guess and you for getting it right before she noticed!

Well done anyway. Keep calm and carry on.

Do you think she can be bribed? With cookies?

"Oh, well, if you prefer, I can recognize handwriting. I'm quite advanced. ... Yep, that's handwriting, sure enough. Curly bits, spiky bits, all joined together. Yep. Handwriting. I'd recognize it anywhere."

The sky in the west? I can see one star. It has been humid, downright wet on Tuesday and rather warm. Not at all what I am used to so close to Christmas; it should be hot and dry. I might as well be living in Sydney ...

I don't think that I'll sit up and wait for the eclipse - not even sure where the moon will be tonight but I suspect that I'd have to go and sit by the pool on the other side of the building.

I don't know the latest quote so I'll have to guess again; Snuff.

Sorry, no

I didn't think that it would be correct. Interesting Times?

Sounds more like a Disorganiser. That would mean Vimes, but where... Thud?

No, that's a Guards quote, I'm almost sure. Feet of Clay?

Spaceowl has it!

Sorry about the delay - I really ought to check in more often.
Anyway, an easy one because it's nearly christmas.

"Can't say I've seen that much of Death" said Ridcully. "But in so far as I have seen he's tended to be, well, he, to start with. And a good deal thinner...?"

No idea, so Unseen Academicals?

Try the obvious one - Hogfather.

Soul Music? Where Susan takes over for Death.

Reaper Man?

SockMonkeyGirl got it! Over to you.

No response from SMG. Anybody else want to get the ball rolling again?

One quick and easy then to get moving again.

"Can I help you ladies? said a voice. Its tone suggested very clearly that it wasn`t anticipating offering any kind of help whatsoever, except out into the street at speed."

Witches Abroad?

I'd guess Thief of Time.

I'll try Maskerade

Rats. edrandrew beat me to it. It's the dressmaker's assistant approaching Granny Weatherwax and Nanny Ogg in Maskerade. :) One of my favorite bits.

Yes Maskerade it is! edrandrew is next.

For the really up-to-the-epoch occultist, who could afford the version bound in spider skin, there was even an insert showing the London Underground with three stations they never dare show on the public maps.

Johnny and the Dead?

The Science of Discworld?

No, no, no, it's Good Omens, of course. Surely. I hope?

No to all three - even to ronincats, though it may have been recycled there, that's not where I found it.

I'll stay with Johny at this stage. Johnny and the Bomb?

This ideal seasonal gift for the occultist in you life didn't come from there either.

The Dark Side of the Sun?

Sourcery. I remember the reference to the London Underground being a bit jarring in the context of a Discworld book.

Bingo! Spaceowl has it.

'Fire was always the terror in those parts of the city where wood and thatch predominated. That was why everyone had been so dead set against any form of fire brigade, reasoning - with impeccable Ankh-Morpork logic - that any bunch of men that were paid to put out fires would naturally see to it that there was a plentiful supply of fires to put out.'

Feet of Clay?

Thud?

Guards! Guards!

The Colour of Magic perhaps - much of the city burnt down then.

All no, I'm afraid.

Truth?

Well, THE Truth if I was going to be pedantic, whch I'm not because it's Christmas.
Over to you, Cat!

I beg your pardon - THE Truth :)

"Be a duck for too long and a duck you'll stay. A bright duck, maybe, with some odd memories, but still a duck."

Big hint - I have NOT gone seasonal.

Equal Rites?

No - not Equal Rites.

Wyrd Sisters?

Not seasonal, eh? Let's try Hat full of Sky.

No and no. Sorry!

Wintersmith?

Not Wintersmith

It's got to be the witches, so how about Witches Abroad?

No - not Witches Abroad

Lords and Ladies?

Not Lords and Ladies.

Do you want a hint - this one is a bit unexpected.

Wyrd Sisters?

No, not Wyrd Sisters.

Is it maybe a Rincewind situation rather than a witches situation?

Yes - it is not a witches situation.

I cannot think of any Rincewind situation like this (doesn't mean it doesn't exist). Is this maybe referring to the duck man and is The Fifth Elephant?

No - not The Fifth Elephant either.

Not witches? I felt for sure that it was about borrowing. Only witches do that, don't they? A wizard, almost by definition, wouldn't be able to do it.

No guess, just thinking out loud to see if it would help me. It didn't!

I've already offered to give a hint but haven't yet been taken up on it.

Stubborn, aren't we?

*grin* It is fun guessing ...

It just HAS to be about borrowing and only witches do that. Unless you've gone off-cannon, but I can't think of anything even remotely similar in the Nomes, Johnny or Carpet People.

It occurs to me that Lu-Tze and Lobsang steal a broom from a witches cottage on the way to AM in Thief of Time so I'm going to guess that.

Edit: Crap! I just found the pages where they pinched the broom from the eaves, and no mention of borrowing.

Yes - you are correct. Susan is telling Lobsang about borrowing.

Your turn now, Jim.

What? Where? That can't be right. I don't want it to be right!

Edit: (after calming down) Anyway, we're nearly at 300 posts. I'll start a new game in a new thread shortly.

In my paperback version it is on page 305.

"We, er, stole the broomstick of one of them to get here," said Lobsang.

"Really? Bit of luck for you that the world's ended then", said Susan. "Anyway, some of the best witches have this trick they call borrowing. They can get into the mind of an animal. Very useful But the trick is to know when to pull out. Be a duck for too long ... etc"