The Lemon Fool

This is a little quiz/puzzle to mark the 50th anniversary of the introduction of decimal currency. Just a bit of fun, far from the cerebral tasks set by cinelli! Probably helps if you are of a certain age. No originality claimed, this was sent to me.

The answer to each clue is in £ s d. The total adds up to £32 17s 9 1/2d

1 A stone

2 A bicycle

3 A boy's name

4 A girl's name

5 A kind of pig?

6 Part of a gorilla's leg

7 A leather worker

8 A singer

9 Hit repeatedly

10 The Sun, the Moon and Venus

11 50% of a pair of panties

12 Royal headgear

13 Unwell sea creature

I can get all but one of these, but assuming my guess for the one I can't figure out is correct my total is 10s out from yours:


1 A stone
1 stone = 14 lbs - £14

2 A bicycle
Penny-farthing – 1.25d

3 A boy's name
Bob - 1s

4 A girl's name
Penny - 1d

5 A kind of pig?
Guinea - 21s

6 Part of a gorilla's leg
Ape knee – 0.5d

7 A leather worker
Tanner - 6d

8 A singer
Tenor - £10

9 Hit repeatedly
Pound - £1

10 The Sun, the Moon and Venus
No idea - but given the total this must be three farthings somehow - 0.75d

11 50% of a pair of panties
Half a pair of knickers is one knicker/nicker - £1

12 Royal headgear
Crown - 5s

13 Unwell sea creature
Sick squid - £6

Total £33 7s 9.5d - unless 11 is supposed to be half a nicker (10s), but that would be 75% off a pair of knickers.

D'oh! I've just figured out the one I couldn't get! Obvious when I think about it:


The Sun, The Moon and Venus
Three far things - 0.75d

SteelCamel wrote:I can get all but one of these, but assuming my guess for the one I can't figure out is correct my total is 10s out from yours:

You know, I had thought of "sick squid" but had rejected it due to its outrageousness.

I suspect that you are right there is some confusion over half a pair there.

My dad used to always refer to "two and sixpence" as "half a dollar", presumably a throwback to fixed currency rates and the pound being worth 4 US dollars for decades.

10. Yes, of course.

GrahamPlatt wrote:10 three far things.

Except that the farthing has not been legal tender for 60 years and the puzzle states it is from 50 years ago.

Lootman wrote:

GrahamPlatt wrote:10 three far things.

Except that the farthing has not been legal tender for 60 years and the puzzle states it is from 50 years ago.

No the quiz says it "to mark the 50th anniversary of the introduction of the decimal currency". Nowhere is it claimed it is from 50 years ago.

Glad to have provided a little amusement!

SteelCamel wrote:I can get all but one of these, but assuming my guess for the one I can't figure out is correct my total is 10s out from yours:

Total £33 7s 9.5d - unless 11 is supposed to be half a nicker (10s), but that would be 75% off a pair of knickers.

You are quite right, I was dubious about 11 and did think of changing the wording. In the end I decided to leave it as I received it.


The bigger puzzle of course is how we managed to be using pounds, shillings and pence as late as 1971. The florin (two shilling piece) was introduced in 1849 as a first step towards decimalisation, but it took a further 122 years before a decimal currency was introduced.

And now with brexit we're free to go back to LSD[1].

[1] Yes I know, but compare it to other things we're free to go back to. Even those that are real like pocket-busting hard passports.

dealtn wrote:

Lootman wrote:

GrahamPlatt wrote:10 three far things.

Except that the farthing has not been legal tender for 60 years and the puzzle states it is from 50 years ago.

No the quiz says it "to mark the 50th anniversary of the introduction of the decimal currency". Nowhere is it claimed it is from 50 years ago.

However, it does falsely claim that the answers are all in LSD. That gave cognitive dissonance as soon as I saw the bike. Never having seen an actual farthing I didn't know what they were worth in LSD terms, and I CBA to look it up.

UncleEbenezer wrote:
However, it does falsely claim that the answers are all in LSD. That gave cognitive dissonance as soon as I saw the bike. Never having seen an actual farthing I didn't know what they were worth in LSD terms, and I CBA to look it up.

Not sure what you mean by "falsely claim". A farthing is/was a quarter of a penny, £0 0s 1/4d, how is that not Lsd?

Although they were withdrawn in 1961, they were obsolete a while before that. I was born in 1948 and never remember seeing one except as a curiosity. It was rather an attractive little coin, similar in size to a current 1p, with a wren on the tails side.

UncleEbenezer wrote:However, it does falsely claim that the answers are all in LSD. That gave cognitive dissonance as soon as I saw the bike. Never having seen an actual farthing I didn't know what they were worth in LSD terms, and I CBA to look it up.

And there was me thinking that everyone knew that a farthing was 1/4d.

A type of pig, a girl's name and three distant objects could be written as £1/1/1¾.


Julian F. G. W.

A quickie,

Which coins increased in face value when we decimalised?


Julian F. G. W.

Spoiler

Maundy money?

Correct answer Malkymoo.


Julian F. G. W.

A related question...

If I have 29p in current (post-decimal) UK legal tender coins, what's the smallest number of coins I could have?

"Four" is not the correct answer...

SteelCamel wrote:A related question...

If I have 29p in current (post-decimal) UK legal tender coins, what's the smallest number of coins I could have?

"Four" is not the correct answer...

You did say "current"? Although a 25p, post decimal, crown is still valid, the current crown is £5 I believe.

Scott.

Yes, crowns (25p) are still legal tender so they count. The five pound coin seems to be described as a different coin to the crown, even though they're the same size and material.

25p, 2p, 2p is a solution in three coins. Can you do better?

SteelCamel wrote:Yes, crowns (25p) are still legal tender so they count. The five pound coin seems to be described as a different coin to the crown, even though they're the same size and material.

25p, 2p, 2p is a solution in three coins. Can you do better?

Yes, it can be done in two. There is a clue not far away.


Julian F. G. W.

Maundy money again.

Two coins, crown (25p) plus 4p Maundy money.