Comments on: Azed 1884/AE AE AE

By: Robin Gilbert

Robin Gilbert — Mon, 14 Jul 2008 17:44:14 +0000

9 down. It’s true that a search for “Sydney” with a ‘y’ in the web version of the Oxford DNB throws up all the Sidneys (except, strangely, Sir Philip) with a statement in brackets, in each case, that he or she is “also known as [x or y] Sydney”, but the articles themselves (including that on Sir Philip) make no mention of this and, where at least Sir Philip is concerned, the standard spelling is, surely, Sidney with an ‘i’. (At such a date, one can’t, of course, talk sensibly about a CORRECT spelling of anything.) It seems to me to a bit naughty of Azed to use the non-standard spelling with a ‘y’, simply in order, presumably, to mislead solvers into chasing an Australian hare. (Can we perhaps expect Dun for Donne on the ground that some Elizabethan Donnes also used the alternative spelling?) Personally, I can’t in fact claim that it misled me, since, as soon as I read the clue, Astrophel & Stella popped into my head, without at first my even noticing the spelling of Sydney. However, I didn’t write it in for ages, because it took those ages for the penny to drop why STELLA had anything to do with “It’s out of order”!

22 dn may have been difficult, but, in my book, it was also superb. No complaints about the surface there!

By: bridgesong

bridgesong — Sun, 13 Jul 2008 21:12:10 +0000

Sorry, Andrew, found it now: it’s the index page which hasn’t been updated which misled me.

By: bridgesong

bridgesong — Sun, 13 Jul 2008 21:09:40 +0000

Andrew, well, on my computer it still shows as the July 6 puzzle on the index page, and it’s 1884 on the interactive and the pdf, not 1885, so I’m puzzled, to put it mildly.

By: Andrew

Andrew — Sun, 13 Jul 2008 19:06:54 +0000

Bridgesong, that must have been a temporary glitch with today’s Azed – it was on the website this morning and I can still see it there now.

By: bridgesong

bridgesong — Sun, 13 Jul 2008 17:56:06 +0000

I found this one tough as well, and am grateful for some of the explanations. 3 down was impossible to solve without the checking letters as there are two other spellings (skere, skear) which would fit.

It’s annoying that this week’s Azed isn’t yet on the website (although today’s Everyman is, for some reason). Has it appeared in the paper, can anyone tell me?