Comments on: Independent 6975 by Virgilius

By: Mick h

Mick h — Mon, 23 Feb 2009 17:25:40 +0000

Wot no Slumdog Millionaire clue? Even if Virgilius failed to pick the winner, surely Mike could have slipped a late 3am clue change past the Indy subs?
Nice puzzle anyway. Thanks to those above for clearing up my queries too, though I eventually got READER, being unwilling to settle for LEADER.

By: Richard Heald

Richard Heald — Mon, 23 Feb 2009 14:18:50 +0000

To misquote Sally Field, I liked this one, I really liked it. I too wondered about the defn at 1Dn, but Chambers defines 'come to' as a nautical term meaning 'to stop' (maybe a 'perhaps' after 'Titanic' would have been advisable here?).

By: Geoff Moss

Geoff Moss — Mon, 23 Feb 2009 13:51:18 +0000

Ali
Re 14d. Chambers defines ‘acid test’ as ‘a test for gold by acid’ and the Oscar statuettes are gold-plated.

By: Ali

Ali — Mon, 23 Feb 2009 13:46:06 +0000

Good to see I’m not the only one. To be honest, I think LEADER is a better answer. ‘Title role’ as a definition for READER is fair enough given that it’s an Oscars-themed puzzle (it would work equally well for the WRESTLER clue as well I guess), but as that first letter is unchecked, I’m calling this one a score draw!

By: Richard

Richard — Mon, 23 Feb 2009 13:41:35 +0000

I had “leader” too, for 23A.

By: Ali

Ali — Mon, 23 Feb 2009 13:39:43 +0000

Sorry, just checked online, it is READER.

By: Ali

Ali — Mon, 23 Feb 2009 13:38:15 +0000

Fabulous stuff, with not only a film reference in every clue, but loads in the actual grid. Very impressive as ever from Virgilius

Couple of things though:

- I’ve got LEADER (double definition) at 23A
- What’s the Oscar material relevance with 14D? I’m sure there is one, but I can’t see it!