Comments on: Financial Times 13,395 / Cinephile

By: Sil van den Hoek

Sil van den Hoek — Thu, 27 May 2010 20:16:38 +0000

Indeed, a good Cinephile, but as I could finish it without any help from outside [I have my opinions, but I am a 'slow' solver], it must have been rather easy.
Or was it because of the Cambridge colleges [which are around the corner] that I had no real problem?
In Guardian terms, I would call this crossword an Araucaria Lite.
Which doesn’t mean I didn’t like it [see my comment #47, Guardian 25,010], far from that!
Even if the College theme has been done before [I remember 'OC' for Oxford Colleges, months or one or two years ago].
Talking about Oxford, I found the Oxford reference in 20d unnecessarily ‘misleading’. In this clue are two separate constructions for the same college (HOMERTON) – so there’s no need for the Oxford link.

By: Scarpia

Scarpia — Wed, 26 May 2010 18:18:48 +0000

Another fun puzzle from Cinephile.As usual a couple of ‘chancy’ clues and a couple of corkers.Particularly liked 26 down.
As nms says, a tenace in bridge is a holding of two non-cosecutive honours.

By: smiffy

smiffy — Wed, 26 May 2010 17:02:21 +0000

Fun, and solvable without recourse to references (contrary to my initial fears on identifying the theme) – the asterisked clue were pretty generous. Like Eileen, I’m still reeling from the
literal reading of 30A!

I think this particular “Balkanized” grid, is one of the last such that remains in regular use. Can’t think of another barred-format where the 3-letter answers feature two consecutive checkers. But kudos to Cinephile for giving those four lights a sense of cohesion today.

By: nmsindy

nmsindy — Wed, 26 May 2010 16:51:19 +0000

TENACE, not personally familiar with this at all, but it seems wider than a ten and an ace according to dicts, a combination of cards one above and one below a high card held by the other side so it does seems a conventional two-part cryptic clue.

By: Eileen

Eileen — Wed, 26 May 2010 16:47:25 +0000

Mine too, Ferret – in Bristol!

By: Ferret

Ferret — Wed, 26 May 2010 16:45:26 +0000

Thanks Eileen, my uni days were spent a little further west than Oxbridge!

By: Eileen

Eileen — Wed, 26 May 2010 16:09:53 +0000

Hi Ferret

Corpus Christi is widely known as Corpus as on its own website:

http://www.corpus.cam.ac.uk/about-corpus

[and University Challenge! ]

By: Gaufrid

Gaufrid — Wed, 26 May 2010 16:06:08 +0000

Thanks Ferret, typo corrected.

By: Ferret

Ferret — Wed, 26 May 2010 15:58:47 +0000

Your entry for 25D is missing an R

I’m not familiar with tenace – however if it merely describes a hand consisiting of a ten and and ace (as in pontoon) then it ia weak clue.

Also a gripe with Corpus…..never heard it without Christi. You wouldn’t describe St Catherines as St….although possible as Cats, so maybe I’m being picky?

By: nmsindy

nmsindy — Wed, 26 May 2010 15:00:26 +0000

I think as the blog says that TEN ACE is the wordplay part, which just happen to be two cards.