Comments on: Independent 7254/Phi

By: nmsindy

nmsindy — Sat, 16 Jan 2010 11:42:26 +0000

I think the ‘cast’ = die is part of the wordplay with ‘not major’ the definition ie an Indie label rather than one of the major record companies. r = recipe (take) from Latin is a crossword usage from way back tho seen less perhaps today.

By: Fyveashe

Fyveashe — Sat, 16 Jan 2010 09:47:35 +0000

I rate myself as an average solver and much enjoy the guilty pleasure of visiting Fifteensquared for help with the stickier clues and reading the blogs. On seeing the answers the clues usually fall into place and the light bulb flashes on! However, I am completely stumped by the explanation to 24d – why should ‘not major in cast’ refer to a record label, ie Indy (I understand that ‘cast’ = ‘die’ but the rest is a complete blank) and why ‘r’ = ‘take’ in 17d is a mystery!

By: NealH

NealH — Fri, 15 Jan 2010 14:06:01 +0000

Less of an epic than yesterday’s but still tough in places. I must admit the “petty” joke passed me by entirely – I just interpreted it as petty in the sense of spiteful, which is equally valid since miaow can mean to make a spiteful remark.

I thought it was quite brave to put volcano and weather in twice. It certainly helped with getting the longer entries, which I would probably otherwise have struggled with. Lemma was my last entry, which I dimly remembered from my days as a maths undergraduate.

By: nmsindy

nmsindy — Fri, 15 Jan 2010 11:25:22 +0000

Thanks for the blog, John. 1d was my favourite, too. Quite a tough puzzle by Phi standards. Was mystified at first by WEATHER appearing twice, then light dawned, and that helped me to finish the puzzle.

By: Kathryn's Dad

Kathryn's Dad — Fri, 15 Jan 2010 09:41:41 +0000

Thank you, John – a late night solve for you!

I did get there finally, but it was a struggle, particularly with 10ac, which is hardly a common phrase, and 26ac, which is a novel I’ve never heard of. I suppose if I’d got 11ac and 25ac beforehand it would have made a bit more sense.

Moles for piers and joss for luck are new to me as well, so it’s pretty obvious why I didn’t whizz through this one …

But 1d, my last to go in, was delightful and funny, so thanks to Phi for that one in particular.