Bob Greenwade wrote on Tue, Feb 6, 2024 06:07 PM UTC:
203. Humbug. One of my early entries in Piece of the Daywas the Gerfod; my recent work on Unnecessarily Complicated Chess led me to wonder what its rotary counterpart would be. The Rook part of the Gerfod (R) would obviously become a Bishop (B), and the Tripper part (G) would become a Threeleaper (H). As for the Forward Dabbaba (fD), that would turn into a Backward Alfil (bA). A bit of shuffling around, and an XBetza code came up that suggested the name Humbug. (BbAH)
The hard part was coming up with a physical model. In the context well known from A Christmas Carol, the word means nonsense or drivel*; but it also refers to a certain kind of peppermint-flavored candy, pictures of which whoed only oblong striped lozenges. I decided to lean into that, adding a nod to Scrooge via a top hat.
It probably doesn't read anything like the intent, but at least it's recognizable once you know what it is.
*Irrelevant trivium: The word is also used in The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, under another meaning of a willfully false, insincere, or deceptive person.
203. Humbug. One of my early entries in Piece of the Day was the Gerfod; my recent work on Unnecessarily Complicated Chess led me to wonder what its rotary counterpart would be. The Rook part of the Gerfod (R) would obviously become a Bishop (B), and the Tripper part (G) would become a Threeleaper (H). As for the Forward Dabbaba (fD), that would turn into a Backward Alfil (bA). A bit of shuffling around, and an XBetza code came up that suggested the name Humbug. (BbAH)
The hard part was coming up with a physical model. In the context well known from A Christmas Carol, the word means nonsense or drivel*; but it also refers to a certain kind of peppermint-flavored candy, pictures of which whoed only oblong striped lozenges. I decided to lean into that, adding a nod to Scrooge via a top hat.
It probably doesn't read anything like the intent, but at least it's recognizable once you know what it is.
*Irrelevant trivium: The word is also used in The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, under another meaning of a willfully false, insincere, or deceptive person.