Comments on: Independent Crossword 6664 by Mordred

By: Paul B

Paul B — Tue, 26 Feb 2008 14:21:48 +0000

‘Accompanied by’ for TO is given, quite prominently, in Collins, the dictionary Indy setters like to refer to. Believe me I did try very hard to fault that &lit, but it seems just fine.

By: eimi

eimi — Tue, 26 Feb 2008 10:22:47 +0000

No change of policy. The system relies on someone in the online department putting the crossword in on the correct date. They seem to have sorted it out now.

By: Testy

Testy — Tue, 26 Feb 2008 09:38:52 +0000

Yes I’m not happy about TO either. I can just about construct a sentence where they might be interchangeable (he sang to the sounds of his friend’s guitar) but I wouldn’t say that makes them synonymous.

By: Richard Palmer

Richard Palmer — Tue, 26 Feb 2008 09:02:13 +0000

As well as t = the, o = of mentioned above, un = one or a (in 19A) as a dialect word given in Chambers is usually found only in advanced crosswords.

24A is an & lit clue. I’m happy with all the constituent parts except accompanied by = to which I can’t see is justified by any of the dictionary definitions of to.

By: Jon

Jon — Tue, 26 Feb 2008 08:36:07 +0000

I notice also that the crosswords on-line seem to be somewhat out of date… Has there been a change of policy as regards publishing that day’s crossword, or just a technical hitch?

By: rightback

rightback — Mon, 25 Feb 2008 20:32:08 +0000

3dn (SLIGHT): This is LIGHTS (= ‘the lungs of an animal’) with the last letter ‘heaved up’ to the top. (But like you I spent a good while wondering why ‘light’ should equal ‘heaved up’!)

T for ‘the’, O for ‘of’ etc are fine in barred puzzles but I’m not sure they’re appropriate for daily cryptics. When beginners ask how clues work, this is the sort of thing that (understandably) baffles them into not asking again.

By: Paul B

Paul B — Mon, 25 Feb 2008 17:53:19 +0000

24 is an &lit shurely: T/ R/ ANS/ IS/ TO/ R seems absolutely sound, whilst also happening – although devious Mordred may have had something to do with it – to define the req’d word.

By: nmsindy

nmsindy — Mon, 25 Feb 2008 17:34:33 +0000

T is an abbreviation for ‘The’, used more in ‘advanced’ crosswords than the daily cryptics. Similarly o’ for ‘of’ in AMOEBA.

By: NealH

NealH — Mon, 25 Feb 2008 17:22:35 +0000

So it’s meant to be t + r + ans + is + to + r (first letter of radio) ? I’m still not convinced by the wordplay. Unless “t” is an accepted abbreviation for “the”, the “primarily” then seems to be indicating the first letter of both “the” and “radio”. In that case why doesn’t it also then apply to “is” and “to” ?

By: nmsindy

nmsindy — Mon, 25 Feb 2008 17:15:39 +0000

Jon, I think TO = ‘accompanied by’