Comments on: Guardian 24600 / Rufus

By: Allan_C

Allan_C — Tue, 20 Jan 2009 22:28:05 +0000

Another reasonably useful word finder is the spellcheck facility of WordPerfect 6 (later versions aren’t so helpful). I keep it on an old computer for that reason.

By: Rufus

Rufus — Tue, 20 Jan 2009 10:47:23 +0000

Thanks for the suggestions, much appreciated! I do have most of the help on my web favourites, but at the time I was about to leave the office (well, a tiny room put on the end of the garage; tiny, but with splendid views over the Ironbridge Gorge) and took the first word I found. I shall know better next time.
Forgot to assure mhl that I was trying to mislead by mixing golf and traffic signals; but don’t think I’ll use “green” for golf course again!

By: Derek Lazenby

Derek Lazenby — Mon, 19 Jan 2009 20:52:39 +0000

Last resort for solvers yes, but we have varying recall abilities!

But I see no reason why a setter can’t have it to hand in situations such as Rufus was talking about.

By: Dave Ellison

Dave Ellison — Mon, 19 Jan 2009 20:12:56 +0000

Another go: Dictionary, Rhyming, Crossword Puzzle, Scrabble, Quotations, Thesaurus, Anagrams & Pig Latin You wouldn't believe I teach this stuff, would you.

By: Dave Ellison

Dave Ellison — Mon, 19 Jan 2009 20:03:57 +0000

I usually find I can whizz (relatively speaking) through just over half of Rufus, and have a tougher time with the other part. I failed on 5ac, half believing it was WOUNDS. I wasn't happy with it, but couldn't see the correct solution to 7d to help. Derek, I often use , which is free on line (but, of course, only as a last resort!)

By: Derek Lazenby

Derek Lazenby — Mon, 19 Jan 2009 19:14:19 +0000

Rufus, if you want to make last minute changes easier to find, there is always the tool I use, Word Finder. It doesn’t have the world’s largest lexicon, but it is free software.

I can’t remember where I found it, but the Help facility lists http://www.wordfinder.co.uk

It gives 15 possibilities for D?E?E? !!!!

By: Ian Stark

Ian Stark — Mon, 19 Jan 2009 18:47:27 +0000

Ha! It was DEEPEN! As in ‘shade of red’, as in ‘my face’.

By: Ian Stark

Ian Stark — Mon, 19 Jan 2009 18:39:20 +0000

How about NO ECONOMY and DEEPEN (as in crisis)? Sorry, just been watching the news. Now further depressed . . .

Many happy returns for next month and thanks for today’s relief from the gloom!

By: Rufus

Rufus — Mon, 19 Jan 2009 18:20:53 +0000

Ian is quite right – I started filling the grid with the two longest across solutions, which left 15 down with a 9-letter word starting N?E??????. Having used NEEDINESS and NEEDLE-GUN recently, NIETZSCHE looked awkward to clue, but remained the best bet.
When I was moving from setting the syndicated evening paper crosswords to the better-paid nationals in 1979 I was recommended to buy The Rodale Synonym Finder as the best for the job. In it, under GREEN, it does include “golf-course”, as does an old Chambers (but, now I check, not in the later editions).
Nick is correct, I am not a golfer. I found it like snooker – you bring off a superb shot and get all big-headed only to execute exactly the same shot which turns out to be rubbish. I filled in with football, cricket, swimming and squash – only swimming remains now as I approach 77 next month.
DEEPEN was a last minute change to something D?E?E? when the editor contacted me to say my original DIESEL was a solution used too recently in someone else’s puzzle. Not the easiest word for which to find an original clue at short notice!
Thanks to everyone keeping me on my toes!

By: Ian Stark

Ian Stark — Mon, 19 Jan 2009 15:57:31 +0000

And there was me hesitating to mention the Star Trek reference!

I also thought FREUDIAN SLIP was lovely. Hastily put in BLOCKADE but realised my error thirty seconds later – still, I hate messy grids. Couple of clues left me a little cold, of which 23a hasn’t been mentioned yet. I was writing in the answer before I got to the end of the first line of the clue, even without NIETZSCHE’s Z (are we to assume that 15d was in the grid before 23a?!).