Is wordplay involved?
Yes, if by wordplay you mean a playful use of words.
So are we looking for two separate things, one a food and one a weapon? And there is a wordplay relationship between the names?
**Yes… sort of… **
Is the weapon a bow (long / short / cross / whatever)?
Is the weapon a sling?
Is the weapon a catapult?
Is the weapon an atlatl?
If it’s experts who think differently, is the Latin name of the food relevant?
No to everything.
I am off to work now, but can answer questions tonight if someone doesn’t get it first.
Homophone? Homonym?
No.
I don’t really like the term “wordplay” here as it conjure up ideas of palindromes, anagrams, hidden words and similar tricks. Any wordplay in this mystery consists merely of playful wording, nothing particularly sneaky. And the wording of my poser is honest. These words say what you think they say. I would not want to lead the solver too far off the track. Fair’s fair.
Is there any language other than English in which this puzzle could have been posed?
Could this puzzle have been posed in an arbitrary human language?
reply to Chronos
Is there any language other than English in which this puzzle could have been posed? Yes. But I doubt it would work as well.
Could this puzzle have been posed in an arbitrary human language? No, not and have it work as a fair puzzle.
One more hint: a quick search and I find that discussion over whether it is a food, weapon or something else has occurred before on the SDMB. Not likely many debates/discussions we have not had!
So it’s projectile food. Would it be bullet-shaped, like ladyfingers?
No to projectile food… though I suppose you can toss any food.
To be clear: The food and the weapon are two different items. One would not eat the thing that is used as a weapon, and one would not use the food violently. But there is something about the English-language names of these two items that connects them. And possibly also in some other languages, but to a lesser degree. And the connection isn’t as simple as them having the same name, because we’ve already gotten a “no” to “homonym?”.
Is this all correct?
reply to Chronos
To be clear: The food and the weapon are two different items. Yes One would not eat the thing that is used as a weapon, and one would not use the food violently. Yes But there is something about the English-language names of these two items that connects them. No, not exactly. And possibly also in some other languages, but to a lesser degree.See previous And the connection isn’t as simple as them having the same name, because we’ve already gotten a “no” to “homonym?”. See previous. No homonym.
** The connection is that most people think it is a food, but a few experts would say no to that. They would say * instead* it is a weapon or perhaps even something else. The connection between the food and the weapon is this controversy and the puzzle solution.**
Are the experts food experts?
Are the experts weapon experts?
Are the experts experts in a third category that is more relevant to the solution than the other two?
**reply to Folly **
Are the experts food experts? **No **
Are the experts weapon experts? **No **
Are the experts experts in a third category that is more relevant to the solution than the other two? **Yes **
Is the food a natural, single ingredient item such as a banana or an egg?
Is the food made from several different ingredients combined?
Is the food made from a single ingredient processed in some way? (Such as turning cream into butter)
Is the food generally eaten raw?
Is the food generally eaten cooked?
Is the food generally eaten chilled?
Is the food generally eaten at room temperature?
Is the food generally eaten hot?