Codenames 41

[shallow_thought]

Definitely not BELL. Probably not TRACK - although I can think of other ways in which a track stabilises things (e.g. trains going round bends).

BAND looks strong, but after that I'm lost. Back to SCALE I guess. And then, PILOT after all?

[JR4]

Okay, so we definitely want to avoid BELL. 

I think that PILOT looks like the best for both the other team and for us. The clue was stabilises, not stabilised or something similar. I think that it skews heavily to PILOT as in someone doing something actively. So, my top choice is PILOT, (though it`s admittedly dangerous). 

What does TRACK have in common with Stabilises? I could be talked into either of the remaining words we`ve discussed but this doesn`t make sense to me. 

We`re probably looking at at least one of SCALE or BAND. I slightly prefer BAND. And just to make a case for HEAD: Lifeguards take care of possible spinal injuries to patients by stabilising their HEADs. 

My preference is PILOT - HEAD - BAND - SCALE.

[shallow_thought]

What does TRACK have in common with Stabilises? I could be talked into either of the remaining words we`ve discussed but this doesn`t make sense to me. 

Having something moving on tracks keeps it constrained, and can be part of keeping it upright, and so the tracks "stabilise" the thing, keeping it "on TRACK". You see the opposite when something jumps the TRACK. It's not a super-strong link.

[JR4]

Fair enough. TRACK makes some sense, just as well as all the other words we`ve discussed. This must be one of the hardest boards to clue in a long time.

[El Grillo]

I do think Door 0 was only meant to rule out BELL, not also TRACK, but it’s a tough call. But first I think we all liked BAND for Stabilizes so let’s throw that out there.

Point to BAND.

[DaveV]

I do think Door 0 was only meant to rule out BELL, not also TRACK

I respectfully disagree. I have shower doors that run on a track, closet doors that run on a track, minivan doors that run on a track, and a sliding door to my back yard that runs on a track.

Edit: and they all get very unstable if they jump the track.

Second edit: actually, I guess they get more stable, since they don't move at all.

Bottom line: I, personally, closely associate door and track. Whether our spymaster has the same association is anyone's guess.

[El Grillo]

That's a fair point, it's tricky to know if the 0 clue is trying to warn us away from one or more words. If we want to leave that choice for later, I guess the next word we have a consensus on is one of SCALE or HEAD?

[shallow_thought]

That's a fair point, it's tricky to know if the 0 clue is trying to warn us away from one or more words. If we want to leave that choice for later, I guess the next word we have a consensus on is one of SCALE or HEAD?

We need to pick two of SCALE, HEAD, PILOT I think?

I'd go SCALE next, but have no useful opinion left about the other two - I think both DaveV and JR4 had SCALE listed, so I'd go for it unless you've a very strong dislike. And bluntly, pick one of the others and put this round out of it's misery (more or less). I certainly won't complain about the outcome, whatever it is.

[El Grillo]

Yeah, I had SCALE as a possible Buoyant word and I still don't think we've hit all 4 of those yet.

Point to SCALE.

[El Grillo]

It's pretty close to a coin flip between TRACK and HEAD for me, and I'll accept the premise that Door 0 meant to exclude both BELL and TRACK.

Point to HEAD.