Comments on: Independent 6629/Virgilius – Marginally wrong

By: nmsindy

nmsindy — Fri, 18 Jan 2008 12:57:21 +0000

I think you’re right about siege of Troy = investment – that’s how I saw it (though not immediately of course) when solving.

By: Testy

Testy — Fri, 18 Jan 2008 11:30:12 +0000

Thank’s Fletch. That is high praise indeed considering how much I weigh! I actually feel a bit of a fraud because I cheat mercilessly on crosswords. I rarely finish them without resorting to the internet but I’m like a dog with a bone and am not satisfied with an answer until I understand exactly how it works.

Apologies to Pete and ABW for the testiness. I guess sometimes I try too hard to live up to my pseudonym.

By: Fletch

Fletch — Fri, 18 Jan 2008 01:39:48 +0000

I think testy is worth his weight in gold as a solid solver.

Good on you testy, I haven’t been around much lately but I feel we’re kindred spirits!

By: petebiddlecombe

petebiddlecombe — Wed, 16 Jan 2008 12:30:31 +0000

Abw: I think Testy is (a bit testily) pointing out that the 'investment=siege' link is much stronger than the possible connection between a diamond-weighing system and investment, which might be in diamonds rather than stocks and shares but then again might be in many other things.

The diagram made it almost certain that there was a theme to find, but like others I didn't get 7/32 for quite a while, so solved most of the puzzle without seeing it, though I used boo-boo and heresy to get a couple of extra checking letters at the end. And also missed the significance of 'sideslips'. Time was about 50% slower than 'Virgilius par'.

By: Testy

Testy — Wed, 16 Jan 2008 11:03:51 +0000

So?

By: abw

abw — Tue, 15 Jan 2008 23:04:07 +0000

30 across – gold is measured in troy ounces by jewellers

By: eimi

eimi — Tue, 15 Jan 2008 15:42:55 +0000

15 Down was my favourite clue of the year so far, but has been surpassed by one in a forthcoming Bannsider.

By: Jon

Jon — Tue, 15 Jan 2008 13:53:19 +0000

Two weeks in a row I’ve failed to finish the Tuesday puzzle! Most of it was easy enough, but couldn’t get about four or five, not helped by my inability to get 7/32ac, which I thought was very difficult. 17d I thought was a nice clue – with both ‘doctor’ and ‘order’ providing enough indirection to fool me for a bit.

By: nmsindy

nmsindy — Tue, 15 Jan 2008 12:38:15 +0000

IDLE Collins gives ‘vain’ under IDLE – I’ve certainly heard them used interchangeably but practice may of course vary.

By: Testy

Testy — Tue, 15 Jan 2008 12:04:50 +0000

Vain also appears under IDLE in Chambers thesaurus and under definition 7 for IDLE in Dictionary.com although it’s not a meaning I’m familiar or particularly at ease with.