Comments on: Independent 6515/Mordred

By: Derrick Knight

Derrick Knight — Tue, 04 Sep 2007 12:03:10 +0000

PS. ‘A’ for ‘about at first’ was an effort to reduce Listener-type wordplay. In a Listener puzzle I would have used ‘about’ on its own as an abbreviation

By: Derrick Knight

Derrick Knight — Tue, 04 Sep 2007 11:48:05 +0000

Many thanks for the comments. Had to check Paul Ince’s position in the field with my son who knows much more about football. He was in fact Manchester United’s prime midfielder as well as England’s. LOUISA loved it. She’s buying today’s copy for the solution.

By: Colin Blackburn

Colin Blackburn — Tue, 04 Sep 2007 10:22:14 +0000

Just checked Collins (last edition) and it has REDUCER defined as a photographic term and begins, ‘Chemical solution used to…’ I noticed in wasn’t in Chambers but when Richard queried the clue last night I used TEA and it had the Collins definition.

By: nmsindy

nmsindy — Tue, 04 Sep 2007 10:14:43 +0000

REDUCE(r) did worry me a bit and dicts did not seem to help too much. So I’d a quick look in Bradford and there it was under solution so I probed no more. My reading of the wordplay was as Colin says.

By: Colin Blackburn

Colin Blackburn — Tue, 04 Sep 2007 10:04:44 +0000

Richard, I no longer have the clue with me but I think 18d was sound. The R removed from REDUCER was the final letter of photographer. REDUCER = ‘chemical solution.

By: Richard Palmer

Richard Palmer — Tue, 04 Sep 2007 07:55:56 +0000

I agree with your point about reduce and reducer being from the same root. Also there seems to be a word missing in the clue. REDUCER = ‘chemical solution photographer used’ would be OK. I think photographer has to be a person, not a chemical.

By: Colin Blackburn

Colin Blackburn — Mon, 03 Sep 2007 22:52:46 +0000

Thanks for 8d. 18d is REDUCER – R. I didn’t think this one was very good as REDUCE and REDUCER (a chemical agent) are from the same root.

By: Richard Palmer

Richard Palmer — Mon, 03 Sep 2007 22:43:12 +0000

8D NO SIDE is the end of a Rugby game.
I didn’t understand 18D, presumably it’s REDUCE but I can’t see the wordplay

By: Colin Blackburn

Colin Blackburn — Mon, 03 Sep 2007 21:51:54 +0000

Ha, just checked an RI is in Chambers. I’m sure I checked it earlier in the day in an older edition and it wasn’t. Thanks Niall.

I missed LOUISA altogether, it didn’t help that I’d misspelt TURPITUDE as TERPITUDE and so that square is a bit of a mess.

By: nmsindy

nmsindy — Mon, 03 Sep 2007 20:50:16 +0000

Very good puzzle. Hope LOUISA liked it. MERIT, I think is desert with RI, King and Emperor, in MET as you say. In SWASTIKA, I read A as about at first.