Comments on: Guardian 23946/Rufus – silly goose

By:

tymeworpp — Thu, 14 Dec 2006 00:08:28 +0000

Sorry, I mean 15 down of course.

By:

tymeworpp — Thu, 14 Dec 2006 00:06:54 +0000

In mitigation – I found 15 across very straightforward (start work = appear at the beginning of a book).

By:

tymeworpp — Wed, 13 Dec 2006 23:50:59 +0000

Oh dear, I really am a bit slow (spotted it after I posted, but thanks for confirming!)

By:

ilancaron — Wed, 13 Dec 2006 23:38:19 +0000

HU(MAN)E

By:

tymeworpp — Wed, 13 Dec 2006 22:29:27 +0000

I assume that 7 down was humane, but I cannot make any sense of ‘put in the shade’ in the clue. What am I missing here?

By:

ilancaron — Mon, 11 Dec 2006 13:56:35 +0000

Thanks for clarifying the cackling geese meaning: what I’ve found is: “”In 390 BC the besieging Gauls of Brennus were attempting to scale the Capitoline Hill, he [Marcus Manlius Capitolinus] was roused by the cackling of the sacred geese, rushed to the spot and threw down the foremost assailants (Livy v. 47; Plutarch, Camilus, 27).”

ref: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marcus_Manlius

Given that Capitol Hill is in the capital Rome, the use of capital is acceptable since after all it was Rome itself that was saved from the marauding Gauls.

Oddly enough, I’m writing this from Capitol Hill myself… in Seattle.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Capitol_Hill%2C_Seattle%2C_Washington

By:

linxit — Mon, 11 Dec 2006 12:42:04 +0000

9a MATE (i.e. checkmate) in ROOMS.

4d Double definition – a boiled shirt is one of those white dress shirts that have studs instead of buttons.

By:

BenIngton — Mon, 11 Dec 2006 11:38:39 +0000

Forgot to add: Got 9a (ROOMMATES) and 4 d (STUD) from definitions but could not work out the cryptic part – any ideas?

By:

BenIngton — Mon, 11 Dec 2006 11:27:30 +0000

Usual enjoyable Rufus, one of my favourite setters. Only quibble is about use of CAPITAL instead of CAPITOL (which is a specific building) noted above. ‘Shakespearian’ is accepted as an alternative spelling of ‘Shakespearean’ as far as I am aware.

By:

Dennis MacKinnon — Mon, 11 Dec 2006 07:59:12 +0000

Geese, by cackling, warned Romans of Gauls attacking the Capitol – or so Pliny the Elder tells us. Not at all obscure for a daily, but then GEESE is a hard word to split up. I’m also not sure whether ‘Capitol’ can legitimately be altered to ‘capital’ for this sense, but if it can, please say.