Farmers Guardian

[plowboy]

quiz no 2057 12 ac numberof sheep with head lopped off e?h?r , this could be wrong , thanks in advance regards plowboy

[brainiac]

(t) ether - number/anaesthetic

[JJ109]

Ether (numb -er) = (belw)ether (sheep)

[brainiac]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yan_Tan_Tethera

[dannyk13]

(w)ether
https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/wether

[Mamyalynne]

Brainiac has it for me - Tether is Three in Sheep counting parlance.

[dannyk13]

Ta Lynne, something else learned, every day's a school day :-)

[Mamyalynne]

We used to sing it as children , it's Brainiac who deserves the thanks.

[brainiac]

No idea how I knew about this, but it was a question not long ago on University Challenge and I was shouting at the screen - Jeremy P made a disparaging remark along the lines of "how would anyone know that"!

[dannyk13]

I think number is the definition and with that in mind I also think (w)ether fits the definition.

[shoota]

'Hey Dad, I've brung thee three castrated sheep.'
'Ta, lad, but ah meant t'other wether tether.'

[JJ109]

Whichever way it is parsed, ETHER is the answer!

[dannyk13]

No matter which parse they give the same answer-ether.

[dannyk13]

jj, please don't shout, italics is better.

[Mamyalynne]

I think 'number' is doing double duty but as said the answer remains.