Comments on: Genius 81 by Paul

By: chuck

chuck — Sun, 11 Apr 2010 17:19:26 +0000

Genius #81 was a real tough nut to crack, I did get there in the end after about two weeks of confusion. If you didn’t get the link word, (herd) you were sunk.

By: ben

ben — Tue, 06 Apr 2010 23:12:30 +0000

I loved this crossword- the way one possible definitive solution set you scuttling off to look for subsidiary support elsewhere. Brilliant fun. I’m struggling with April’s however despite solving the link clue.

By: Jan

Jan — Mon, 05 Apr 2010 12:51:26 +0000

Sorry, I forgot to thank Sidey, re. DEAD SET. I looked for it as a term referring to the set of a saw but found no reference and thus came to the same conclusion as Duncan, i.e. the position taken when a setter sees (saw) the game.

By: Jan

Jan — Mon, 05 Apr 2010 12:46:14 +0000

Thank you, Duncan and thank you, Paul. I loved it.

By: Mr Beaver

Mr Beaver — Mon, 05 Apr 2010 07:45:55 +0000

I am impressed by anyone who started this, never mind finishing it!
Stared at it blankly for a couple of days before giving up without having entered a single answer.
It would be interesting to know how many correct solutions were sent in.

By: liz

liz — Sun, 04 Apr 2010 19:37:01 +0000

Thanks, Duncan. Definitely one of the harder Genius puzzles. Can’t remember exactly, but I think it took me about 10 days (off and on! I do have other things to do!). I guessed that E and R would be two of the letters early on and the first clue I got was REGIMENTAL. Then I got the D and finally H. The one I was unsure of was REWINDS, because I couldn’t find any ref to Mah-jong points or tiles that made sense of the wordplay.

By: bridgesong

bridgesong — Sun, 04 Apr 2010 14:22:48 +0000

Yes, this defeated me too, although I see that I did correctly guess one or two answers, but without being able to find the wordplay. Leaving out the first letter really made it difficult. I just hope that July’s puzzle is a little easier, as I have to blog that one!

By: sidey

sidey — Sun, 04 Apr 2010 04:19:40 +0000

Congratulations Duncan, to be honest I gave up very quickly.

Dead set I’m sure refers to the cutting implements, set, or bending the teeth out so they clear a space for the rest of the blade. If memory serves, dead set is when the teeth are not bent so the saw won’t actually work.