Posted by smiffy on 23rd May 2008
With apologies for the later than usual posting. Nothing desperately troublesome in this puzzle.
Given the grid structure, I was half expecting some sort of Nina message to emerge in the outside columns. That possibility looked promising at first (with IS CLA…) but turned out to be wishful thinking on my part.
Posted in FT | 2 Comments »
Posted by neildubya on 23rd May 2008
| Across | |
|---|---|
| 6 | MA,(HID)* – MAHDI (“Guided one”) was the prophesied redeemer of Islam. MA is the Internation Vehicle Registration (IVR) for Morocco. |
| 9 | (MESSY ST)* – SYSTEMS. |
| 10 | ANDOVER – DNA is “AND over”. |
| 11 | (MAN HURT BY)* – URBAN MYTH |
| 12 | AUNTS – “relations” looks like the definition but I don’t get the wordplay: “Targets for abuse, without friends”. |
| 13 | (DEVIL AT PARTY TO)* – TOTAL DEPRAVITY. |
| 21 | RETAKE in CAR |
| 26 | G,[-?]AY,RIGHT,S – not sure which word is indicated by “guillotined vote” – ?AY. |
| Down | |
| 1 | MOSQUITO – not sure if this is right but it fits the potential definition “high-pitched sound emanates from this”. Don’t understand the rest of the clue though. |
| 2 | LAST,BUT NOT,LE[-wis]A,ST – somewhat convoluted clue but it all fits together smoothly enough. “Ton up rival” is (Jenson) BUTTON (with the last three letters reversed), a F1 racing driver touted as a potential British world champion until Lewis Hamilton came along. |
| 3 | STERN – which is not where a figurehead on a boat would go |
| 4 | STY in (LINE)* – IN STYLE. |
| 5 | (HANGS)*,ER – does the Queen actually breed corgis? I thought she just kept them? |
| 7 | HAVEN,(COURT)*, IT in KWH – HAVE NO TRUCK WITH. |
| 8 | I[-a]NRUSH |
| 14 | (LOVE TYING)* – LONGEVITY. |
| 17 | ETCHING – is this a reference to the euphemistic phrase “come up to see my etchings”? |
| 18 | CURSOR-Y – that’s the mouse on your computer, which can control your cursor. |
| 22 | TUTS,I |
Posted in Independent | 21 Comments »
Posted by Colin Blackburn on 23rd May 2008
I nearly didn’t finish this puzzle. I was a page turn from giving up despite having completed the grid. I had no idea what the theme was and with a couple of ambiguous answers from the misprinted definitions I was uncertain that I had a correct grid. I reasoned that if I understood the theme then I would be able to resolve the ambiguities.
Posted in Inquisitor | 9 Comments »
Posted by tilsit on 23rd May 2008
Solving time: 22 minutes
The usual high-calibre fare we have come to expect from Phi. Lots of clever clues and a smattering of new words. I was interested to see 3 down in Chambers, as I assumed it was one of those dreadful phrases imported from across the Big Pond.
Posted in Independent | 8 Comments »
Posted by ilancaron on 23rd May 2008
The only HELMSLEY I know is the very wealthy NYC socialite Leona who I think recently died and was not well-loved in America. Well, I didn’t actually know her.
Across Read the rest of this entry »
Posted in Guardian | 18 Comments »