Comments on: Guardian 24510/Arachne

By: Duncan

Duncan — Sun, 05 Oct 2008 21:41:00 +0000

Ignorant of Nigella the genus, having worked out the answer, I accepted that Nigella the chef might equally well bake bloomers (a type of loaf)

By: don

don — Sun, 05 Oct 2008 02:00:44 +0000

A misbegot major nono crossword set by a stupid humourless sadist with a thirst for unecht definitions that did sweet f. a. for me. This hacksawed wrick of a ‘near ache’ should be secured by being drown in a life-sized dariole with quick-setting polyester or the speaker et al., Tom, Dick and Harry, me and my mate and my mother and father (i.e. we) should hope he becomes an anchorite and ‘My husband and I’ (i.e. we) should veto any further contributions. Perhaps I’m just off colour, but I’d be the first stoner, given half a chance.

By: John

John — Sat, 04 Oct 2008 14:45:16 +0000

I believe “the Speaker et al” is ok. A person speaking about him/herself (not the Speaker of the House, the capital is there to mislead) and others, would use the pronoun “we”.
Thanks for “stoner” Andrew. We evidently move in different circles.
Still not happy about “cult” as an adj. Cult figure, film, following, what have you, to me is a kind of double noun, as e.g. group member.

By: mark

mark — Sat, 04 Oct 2008 14:20:58 +0000

totally agree with you Bridgesong

By: bridgesong

bridgesong — Fri, 03 Oct 2008 19:26:38 +0000

I’m another who found it difficult, and didn’t finish it before I got home this evening.

I thought both 1 ac and 23 down were well hidden, but I wasn’t entirely happy about “The Speaker et al” to mean “we” in 20 down. Is there a reference I’m missing?

By: Will

Will — Fri, 03 Oct 2008 17:41:37 +0000

Well, I found that very difficult. But I finished it in the end. Which hasn’t yet happened to today’s Times.

By: Andrew

Andrew — Fri, 03 Oct 2008 17:24:54 +0000

Tom – Whacks=Tries, so “Whacks cutting top off” is HACKS, which is then followed by A W(ide) to give a “bladed tool”. I don’t like the hyphen-abuse, but apart from that it seems sound. (And W=wide is a standard abbreviation in cricket.)

John – “Cult” is often used as an adjective (supported by Chambers, which defines it as “very fashionable”) in expressions such as “cult film”. C also gives “monstrous” as a definition of misbegot(ten).

By: Tom Hutton

Tom Hutton — Fri, 03 Oct 2008 16:58:38 +0000

I thought that “hacks” by itself might mean to try and cut the top of something. I don’t see that “whacks” is to try to cut. To me whack just mean to hit and not cut. …and what was the “…or” doing at the start of 21ac?

I agree with mhl on the abbreviations. Sometimes it seems that almost any word can be used for a handy abbreviation.

By: Tom Hutton

Tom Hutton — Fri, 03 Oct 2008 16:52:26 +0000

Stoner is a common term for one consistently using pot.

By: Shirley

Shirley — Fri, 03 Oct 2008 16:40:13 +0000

16AC Sergeant Cuff was the detective in “The Moonstone” Is this a double definition of copper?