hildebrand here: many thanks to Joe, Ernest, and Wilfried for your help. i thought it might be something like that, but the references i'd found were unclear. i found the verb "kueren", and "kuer" as a combining form, but not as a noun. i'm very pleased to see - as i suspected - that it has a special application in certain types of competition, and to learn exactly what that means. i hadn't come across the leo dictionary, and i think it will be useful in further puzzle-solving. all the best. hildebrand