Comments on: Independent 7142 (Sat 5 Sep) Bannsider

By: eimi

eimi — Fri, 11 Sep 2009 16:37:04 +0000

I thought 1 Down particularly good as West Indies were the victims of a farcical defeat in which they miscalculated the Duckworth-Lewis figures. No such problem on Saturday. If there was an Indy cricket team, Radian and Tyrus would be opening the batting on last week’s evidence.

By: Duggie

Duggie — Fri, 11 Sep 2009 16:02:22 +0000

Another remarkable feature of the Coleraine Cluemaster: his choice of words. When was the last time you saw David Miliband, Duck whatsisname and Friedrich Dilbert getting jiggered (not to say schmaltzier) over a hogshead, all in the same studio? And I think he’s only one letter short of a pangram. (I know that sounds like I’m questioning his sanity, but maybe that’s what makes him pretty well unique.)

That’ll be another tenner please – oh, and another for not turning up and leaving the NI team one short. We’ll never beat the WI again with that sort of indiscipline!

By: Bannsider

Bannsider — Fri, 11 Sep 2009 14:42:11 +0000

Careful Duggie, people will suspect a Norn Iron conspiracy

Anax, I think I owe you more than a tenner for that.
I’m only sorry I had to miss the gathering last week. If it had been a month later …
But I did have a laugh watching the cricket highlights on YouTube!

By: anax

anax — Fri, 11 Sep 2009 14:36:48 +0000

Additional…

I only mention this because the name appeared in a similar context a couple of weeks ago, and it’s a sentiment I fully agree with. The next name to look out for is Alberich of the FT. A recent addition to their team, he’s a setter who consistently marries wit, challenge and originality, and I for one believe he deserves a bigger audience.

That’ll be £10 please Alberich.

By: anax

anax — Fri, 11 Sep 2009 14:30:37 +0000

Happy memories! This was solved in the pub last Saturday prior to our gathering’s interesting attempt at cricket in Hyde Park.

This puzzle epitomises the Bannsider style; brilliantly inventive, challenging and full of humour. Well said Duggie! To call one setter “better than all the others” would be wrong, as every setter has devotees and … well, not detractors – just solvers for whom their style doesn’t have special appeal. But Bannsider is the ultimate setter in my book and I readily confess that in writing clues I often ask myself “How would Bannsider approach it?”.

Pure genius.

By: Eileen

Eileen — Fri, 11 Sep 2009 13:07:59 +0000

Hear, hear, Duggie!

Hi beermagnet – thanks for a great blog of a great puzzle.

Re 6dn: “Is an Avenger the personification of Fury?” It’s the other way round: the Furies [also given the propitiatory title Eumenides [Kindly ones] were the avenging deities of Greek and Roman mythology.

By: Gaufrid

Gaufrid — Fri, 11 Sep 2009 13:01:08 +0000

Regarding 1a, military does not mean ‘fighting’ but militant does so it’s MILI[tant].

By: Duggie

Duggie — Fri, 11 Sep 2009 12:37:07 +0000

I’m surprised no one has commented on the general brilliance of Bannsider’s clues. With hardly an anagram in sight, he reaches his final flourish – Yang. That clue alone is worth all the rest: it tells a funny story, conjuring up an image of PS dispensing her wise counsel while flaunting her best bits, as BC stands by, banjo at the ready (yes my imagination is fertile). Nearly all the clues are like this, miniature essays painting entertainingly deceptive pictures, often with a punch line, and not a word out of place. Oh, if only …

By: nmsindy

nmsindy — Fri, 11 Sep 2009 12:19:51 +0000

This was a brilliant puzzle, I thought. Very hard but satisfying to finish and great misdirection all through. In 1 across, I think it may be MILItary “to banish right wing” ie the second half of the word.

By: beermagnet

beermagnet — Fri, 11 Sep 2009 05:21:43 +0000

Thanks for the early comment Don. I never considered a straight charade thinking the out must be a container indicator (clearly not an anagrind).
[I'm away till next week now.]