Comments on: Financial Times 13,398 by Cinephile

By: Pete Maclean

Pete Maclean — Mon, 21 Jun 2010 02:36:03 +0000

Richard, Thanks for commenting.

By: Richard

Richard — Wed, 16 Jun 2010 20:30:46 +0000

Thanks for a super blog, Pete.

I enjoyed this one a lot too, and I must say that on both the last two Saturdays I have enjoyed doing the FT more than the Guardian..

By: tupu

tupu — Wed, 16 Jun 2010 07:45:46 +0000

Hi Eileen
Many thanks for that. No, not dim – I was unclear.

By: Eileen

Eileen — Tue, 15 Jun 2010 22:14:22 +0000

Hi tupu

I wasn’t sure where to reply!

I couldn’t believe how long the ‘road rage’ went on – totally off-topic, really! As you say, it did mean that a lot of the rest of the puzzle went almost unnoticed.

I think you’re probably right about Mr Walsh but I’m not sure what you mean by your reference to poor/unfortunate. The only reference to that clue I can see in your comment is, “While the heart of the 18a clue is in the right place for me, it is clear that not everyone sees it that way.” I can’t see any one else’s comments that you might be referring to, either. Did you mean to query them as synonyms and then forget? If so, I read ‘poor’ as used in expressions like ‘Poor old thing’.

I think I’m probably being dim – past my bedtime, perhaps.

By: tupu

tupu — Tue, 15 Jun 2010 21:46:29 +0000

Will have a look. Incidentally, may I ask you to have a look if you will at my comment on today’s Puck piece. Everyone so busy arguing about motorways that my note re Mr Walsh and also about ‘unfortunate’/poor went unremarked. I’d be glad to know if you’ve any ideas on this.

By: Eileen

Eileen — Tue, 15 Jun 2010 21:11:01 +0000

I’m really glad you enjyed it, tupu – now for the Loroso!

http://media.ft.com/cms/d4ec603a-5c89-11df-bb38-00144feab49a.pdf

By: tupu

tupu — Tue, 15 Jun 2010 20:59:30 +0000

Thanks to Cinephile, and also to Eileen and Sil for drawing this brilliant puzzle to my attention in a Guaredian blog! I was too busy solving to notice the anagrams except for the semantic pairing of Dorothea and Theodora. They had said how good it was, and I thought it was quite difficult and they’ve gone a bit OTT – I should have gazed at it hard and long afterwards.

By: Wirricow

Wirricow — Sun, 13 Jun 2010 16:25:57 +0000

Thank you Eileen, especially for the explanation of the root. I was so surprised about the symmetrically paired anagrams, which I hadn’t noticed at all, that I obviously skipped the rest of the preamble.

By: Eileen

Eileen — Sun, 13 Jun 2010 13:51:13 +0000

Hi wiiricow

As Pete said in his preamble, both THEODORA and DOROTHEA mean ‘gift of God’, from the Greek ‘theos’ [god] and ‘doron’ [gift].

By: Wirricow

Wirricow — Sun, 13 Jun 2010 13:13:14 +0000

What a clever puzzle. Thanks for the blog as I could not quite complete it. If anyone sees this could they explain the ‘gift from God’ in 4A & 27A; I got the answers from the wordplay/anagram element but don’t fully understand. Thanks.