Comments on: Independent 7,390/Dac

By: Scarpia

Scarpia — Wed, 23 Jun 2010 20:38:11 +0000

Thanks Ali.
A very enjoyable puzzle,with some super clues.1 and 5 down were excellent, as you say, and I also liked 4 down.
Didn’t spot the Nina,but then I very rarely do!

By: Kathryn's Dad

Kathryn's Dad — Wed, 23 Jun 2010 16:28:55 +0000

Stella at no 7: as nms says, a Nina is some kind of hidden message in the puzzle – usually around the perimeter, but sometimes across a diagonal – that has some reference to the theme of the crossword, or something else topical. Sometimes the grid gives you a clue to this, if it’s set out like today, where the pattern suggests that words could be hidden around the outside.

Personally, I’m rubbish at them – I’m so focused on getting the clues that I never think to look for help in the outside bits until it’s all over (and it is now).

Enjoying your contributions Stella – and it won’t be footie dominated every day, honest.

By: Derrick Knight

Derrick Knight — Wed, 23 Jun 2010 16:16:33 +0000

I believe the term Nina was coined by Roger Philips (Kea) after the American cartoonist Al Herschfield’s practice of hiding his daughter’s name in each of his beautiful line drawings. Well, we just about did it!

By: nmsindy

nmsindy — Wed, 23 Jun 2010 14:51:10 +0000

Yes, you’ve found it, Stella. A Nina does not have to be a phrase. As mentioned above Dac’s pseudonym is Cad reversed and so are (synonyms) the four words in the perimeter rows and columns. And it’s looking better for England…

By: Stella Heath

Stella Heath — Wed, 23 Jun 2010 14:31:50 +0000

I’ve just returned to the puzzle to see if I could work out what you people mean by a Nina, and found four words written backwards around the edge, referring to disreputable types. I was expecting some sort of phrase. Can anyone enlighten me further?

By: Kathryn's Dad

Kathryn's Dad — Wed, 23 Jun 2010 13:43:00 +0000

This was chuffing hard. However, with – in the final death throes – some serious on-line help, I managed it. But it was, as Ali said, all fairly clued and I liked DIVINEST and the surface of 16ac particularly.

To help with future examples of 23ac, I must make a list of three-letter fishes one of these days, and I can’t even see Ninas when they’re the right way round. Anyway, as eimi commented, since Dac has provided us with something we don’t see very often, perhaps England will have managed the same by five o’clock. I was going to start a discussion following yesterday’s blog about PORTER being a bit obscure as a character for inclusion in a daily cryptic, but by the time everyone’s back here we’ll all be too elated or rat-arsed to care.

By: eimi

eimi — Wed, 23 Jun 2010 12:26:11 +0000

A Nina from Dac? Whatever next? Liberals supporting the dismantling of the welfare state? England winning a football match?

By: nmsindy

nmsindy — Wed, 23 Jun 2010 11:27:40 +0000

Thanks for the blog, Ali. Maybe I was lucky but I found this was easy enough. I suspected a Nina from the start from the shape of the grid and esp as some answers had less than 50% checking. However I saw it only near the very end and it helped me to finish – did not think of the DAC reversed connection so thanks RayFolwell for that. Like you, Ali, my favourite clue was ROMP HOME, also esp liked PRECAST.

By: Derrick Knight

Derrick Knight — Wed, 23 Jun 2010 11:05:45 +0000

Usual first rate work from Dac. I,too, found it harder than usual for this setter, but no complaints about that. The Nina was a great help.

By: RayFolwell

RayFolwell — Wed, 23 Jun 2010 11:03:06 +0000

28A was DIE in (Albert) SPEER - I also guessed at PEE at first 15D - I think this is Jimmy PORTER in "Look back in anger" There is a NINA here reading the border squares right to left and bottom to top, A reference to Dac (rev) presumably.