Comments on: Independent 7,347/Math

By: Allan_C

Allan_C — Wed, 05 May 2010 07:49:25 +0000

Re comment 5 etc – so that’s why we got Virgilius a day early!

By: eimi

eimi — Wed, 05 May 2010 07:14:50 +0000

In 13 Across, the ‘once’ indicates that ‘hereto’ is flagged as an obsolete word for ‘hitherto’ in Collins. In the surface the idea was that three nil was a rare result which had reoccurred.

By: Paul B

Paul B — Wed, 05 May 2010 06:54:45 +0000

To be fair, it’s not an ‘anniversary reference’. ‘May the FOURTH be with you’ is an old gag reference.

By: Kathryn's Dad

Kathryn's Dad — Wed, 05 May 2010 06:51:27 +0000

Your knowledge of North-Eastern fashion habits is impeccable, jetdoc! Newcastle FC fans also have an unpleasant habit of stripping to the waist in sub-zero conditions just to show how hard (or, imho, stupid) they are. Not usually a pretty sight.

By: jetdoc

jetdoc — Wed, 05 May 2010 06:38:06 +0000

I can’t really see the point of ‘once’ in 13a, either. In 8d, the reference is to the reputation (deserved or not) that Geordies have for going out in all weathers without warm clothing. There’s some joke about the easiest job in the world being ‘cloakroom attendant in a Geordie nightclub’.

I found this puzzle very entertaining, though — not being a Star Wars fan — I too missed the anniversary reference.

By: Wil Ransome

Wil Ransome — Tue, 04 May 2010 23:37:18 +0000

When I finish a crossword and make lots of marks by the clues, that tends to mean that the clues are less than excellent. Not necessarily I suppose, it could be me, but I never make all these marks with Virgilius or Dac.

I made seven marks here, and in two of them it was my incompetence. In some of the others, well OK, but I wouldn’t have set such a clue. In 13ac what on earth is the point of ‘once’? The surface makes little sense with or without it. In 6dn is it that ‘Rig A’ is one’s first choice of equipment for sailing? If so then shouldn’t there be a question mark? Hardly a standard phrase. And in 8dn how do Geordies come into it?

By: NealH

NealH — Tue, 04 May 2010 18:14:32 +0000

Fair enough – I’d never heard the quote.

By: jp

jp — Tue, 04 May 2010 18:01:46 +0000

Isn’t 1 across referring to FDR’s quote that “We have nothing to fear but fear itself”?

By: Eileen

Eileen — Tue, 04 May 2010 17:27:43 +0000

… or ‘I can resist everything but temptation’!

By: NealH

NealH — Tue, 04 May 2010 17:19:21 +0000

Another minor and slightly pedantic criticism. The definition in 1 across seems to be “thing that scared him” and the answer is fear. Surely fear is the state of being scared rather than the cause. It’s a bit too tautological: it’s like saying “he was ill because he had an illness”.