Comments on: Independent 6,925/Radian

By: Wil Ransome

Wil Ransome — Sat, 27 Dec 2008 22:50:57 +0000

Geoff: Yes I did read your comments 1 and 3 and do understand why LEG appears all over the place, but my point was that I felt that perhaps there was a little more to it than that. Evidently not.

By: Fletch

Fletch — Sat, 27 Dec 2008 10:53:22 +0000

I’d be unhappy if the Indy were to dumb down and make themes more explicit. Like Nimrod’s ‘eve’ puzzle, I prefer themes left unstated to be deduced by the solver as the clues are worked through.

By: C.G. Rishikesh

C.G. Rishikesh — Sat, 27 Dec 2008 01:15:56 +0000

7 Command Act 2 needs to be restructured (8)

The above, for whatever it’s worth, was a clue of mine that stumped my solvers, at least momentarily.

2 here was a reference to the answer in that slot. Though this is quite a well-known device, many solvers just could not turn away from the term “Act 2″ (in the dramatic sense).

Of course, if I had had two slots with the number 2 this would not have worked. But luckily in that particular grid I had only one slot with the number 2.

The other clue was

2 Fur? Um… it belongs to me (6)

We may not plan everything this way but sometimes as we are writing clues one after the other an idea like this might occur.

By: Radian

Radian — Fri, 26 Dec 2008 22:22:59 +0000

Have just returned from a day out on the best beach in NI at the foot of the Mourne Mountains, working off some excess.
Ta to you all for fretting over a pretty cheesy pun and 10 legs (2 broken), 3 pegs and a tibia. Ironically, I suggested that perhaps a more explicit reference to an otherwise opaquish theme would help, knowing this one was coming up. But my attempt in 5D (with extra refs to IA (One) has still bewildered. Sorry, must try better next time. (Baffling Geoff caused a smug grin, but only for about 20 mins.)

By: Geoff Moss

Geoff Moss — Fri, 26 Dec 2008 21:51:30 +0000

Wil
Did you not read my comment #1 (and #3 for what it’s worth).

By: nmsindy

nmsindy — Fri, 26 Dec 2008 20:19:53 +0000

I think the idea was that 1 across “One” was A LEG UP which in cryptic parlance is an anagram of “a leg” This was then used in 19 across, 21 across and 13 down for example.

By: Wil Ransome

Wil Ransome — Fri, 26 Dec 2008 19:32:21 +0000

I sort of get the Nina, but feel that I haven’t got the whole thing. LEG appears quite often, as does PEG a bit.

Also, 13dn bewilders me: it seems that Ali hasn’t quite explained it although I can’t do any better: he hasn’t mentioned the A (is this ‘abroad’?), and where’s the definition? Don’t understand 26ac or 19ac (OK it’s ‘gale’ and that sounds like ‘gael’, but how does it really fit together?).

By: Fletch

Fletch — Fri, 26 Dec 2008 12:24:01 +0000

Nice puzzle. I thought 5a was particularly neat.

By: Geoff Moss

Geoff Moss — Fri, 26 Dec 2008 12:18:20 +0000

5d After further consideration I can only conclude that the ‘cryptically distributed here’ refers to the fact that ‘leg’ (another stocking filler) appears in various places in the grid as part of eight answers.

By: Eileen

Eileen — Fri, 26 Dec 2008 12:12:15 +0000

Hi both

Too much Christmas pudding? Isn’t a leg a stocking filler?

Happy Boxing Day!