Here's the crux of what I don't understand:

```
% groovysh
Groovy Shell (1.8.6, JVM: 1.6.0_21)
Type 'help' or '\h' for help.
------------------------------------------------------
groovy:000> class vars {
groovy:001> static int x = 1;
groovy:002> }
===> true
groovy:000> println new vars().x
1
===> null
groovy:000> println vars.x
ERROR groovy.lang.MissingPropertyException:
No such property: vars for class: groovysh_evaluate
Possible solutions: class
        at groovysh_evaluate.run (groovysh_evaluate:2)
        ...

```

If `vars` resolves to something in the expression `new vars().x`, why not also in the expression `vars.x`? It's like a phantom identifier that only actually exists for purposes of instantiation.