D Tel GK Crossword

[twosearch]

Regarding previous postings, I googled "12 sheaves of corn" and the first entry states that a shock is usually 12 sheaves.
Hope that helps someone.

[sarumite]

Thanks twosearch, but would you believe that in chambers it shows " Shock .. a stook or propped up group of sheaves;
three score, sixty". However, I reckon shock is probably what is required.

[twosearch]

You're right sarumite. It was just that the google part was the first reference to, specifically, 12 sheaves.

[bricro]

Thank you " quite a shock" !!

[fordward]

so why not stook --- My TEA crosword helper has

Stook, n. [Scot. stook, stouk; cf. LG. stuke a heap, bundle, G. stauche a truss, bundle of flax.] (Agric.) A small collection of sheaves set up in the field; a shock; in England, twelve sheaves.

[Lancsquiz]

I think the answer is that a stook refers to "a group of sheaves" whereas a shock specifically refers to twelve sheaves, according to both Chambers and the Oxford dictionaries.

Funny, I'd never heard of shock in this sense before.

[Nigse]

A lot of dictionaries give Stook as having the same meaning as shook & shock with very few mentions of the quantity of sheaves involved. The compact Oxford English at ask oxford.com (http://www.askoxford.com/concise_oed/stook?vie w=uk & http://www.askoxford.com/concise_oed/shock_2?v iew=uk), as Lancsquiz has just mentioned, does differentiate by only giving the infamous "twelve sheaves" in its definition of Shock not in Stook. It's an odd thing but its big brother, the full Oxford English Dictionary, gives no mention of "twelve sheaves" in any of its definitions!

My Dent Dictionary of Measurement gives no mention of stook at all, nor shock in connection with sheaves but does say that its a word like dozen or gross referring to a specific number of units with 1 shock = 60 (units). It the goes on to say that in relation to boards or staves that make up a cask 4 shocks = 1 ring. the entry concludes by saying that it was originally used for specific units of imported merchandise but was then applied to a heap or bundle of identical objects.

It shouldn't really be necessary to think of the connections that are likely to appear in the Herculis puzzle in order to complete this puzzle correctly (?) but, as has already been stated in a previous thread by gardenknowin, on that basis Shock would appear to be the logical (?) choice.