Comments on: Guardian 24377/Chifonie

By: Colin Blackburn

Colin Blackburn — Fri, 06 Jun 2008 12:06:22 +0000

If, within the fifteensquared stable, you want to keep more current than the Guardian Weekly allows you could either subscribe to the Guardian online service or use the free online puzzle at the Independent. Both of these would allow you to solve and read blogs on pretty much the same day.

By: Ach

Ach — Fri, 06 Jun 2008 08:55:58 +0000

Hi Colin,

Thanks a lot – what a good system.

As you can probably tell I’m just getting into cryptics, so thanks for the help. I started out on a compendium of the New Yorker puzzles, but they seemed a lot more straightforward than the Guardian ones, even though I’m from the UK. Just my imagination?

Thanks again.

By: Colin Blackburn

Colin Blackburn — Thu, 05 Jun 2008 10:16:54 +0000

Hi Ach,

Yes DI is short for Diana and often shortened names are clued using ‘little girl’ or ‘little boy’. DI is also often clued by ‘princess’ for obvious reasons.

As the original blogger I get emails telling me someone has commented, so even the latest of comments should noticed by the blogger.

By: Ach

Ach — Thu, 05 Jun 2008 08:47:57 +0000

Curses – just realised 24,377 was first published on May 1st, not June 1st. Seems the Weekly gets the crosswords later than I thought. Probably also means no one will ever reply to this. Such is life.

By: Ach

Ach — Thu, 05 Jun 2008 07:33:19 +0000

(Sorry this is a few days late – I live abroad so I’m doing it through the Weekly)

2d I’m pretty sure the answer’s RIDING (right?), and I see where the circus comes in (RING) but I don’t get the “Little Girl” part of the clue – maybe DI as a child’s name for “Diana”?

By: Paul B

Paul B — Mon, 05 May 2008 01:15:16 +0000

I think the argument is that the correct part of speech should be used to define the answer.

Adjectives, adverbs etc don’t equate to nouns except in The Guardian, where the practice – more’s the pity – is common. From that POV, of course, Chifonie is not out of order.

By: John Dryburgh

John Dryburgh — Fri, 02 May 2008 16:41:27 +0000

If you’ve ever watched sanderlings, on the beach, running up and down in front of the waves you would have thought that by the shore was a fine definition

By: Colin Blackburn

Colin Blackburn — Fri, 02 May 2008 04:23:25 +0000

3d The gripe isn’t that Lakeland is used rather than Lake District but that ‘in Lakeland’ does not define a place. An acceptable definition for Windermere would be, say, ‘spot in Lakeland’, or, ‘Lakeland location’.

By: George Foot

George Foot — Thu, 01 May 2008 20:21:52 +0000

3D. Lakeland is a term often used for the Lake District. Windermere is in the Lake District. I see no problem withe ‘ in Lakeland’ for the definition

By: muck

muck — Thu, 01 May 2008 16:19:10 +0000

11ac: SANDERLING. Thanks for this. With all the crossing letters, I was trying to get ‘Sunderland’ to fit! It is by the shore.