Comments on: Guardian 25,050 / Araucaria

By: mhl

mhl — Thu, 01 Jul 2010 08:20:47 +0000

Thanks to everyone for your helpful comments.

Mark: E (East) is a quarter of the compass.

tupu: well spotted – I’ve corrected the puzzle number.

I think this had a very Araucarian set of references – all very fair and cultured, but it did make me think of the broader mix in last week’s Enigmatist (and many other puzzles from Paul, Enigmatist, etc.), which I enjoyed rather more. I suspect this may be a generational preference or, less charitably, that as a solver I feel more flattered by the latter. Oh well.

By: Mark

Mark — Thu, 01 Jul 2010 08:06:43 +0000

How does E = quarter?

By: Trebor

Trebor — Thu, 01 Jul 2010 07:58:02 +0000

Thanks to those who cleared up point 25. Was bugging me.

By: FumbleFingers

FumbleFingers — Wed, 30 Jun 2010 23:14:46 +0000

NightOwls @everywhere

I concede! Whatever I may have said before, if a clue enables you to get the answer, it must by definition be OK (that being its raison d’etre). I just got carried away with the possibility of getting one over Araucaria. Which I knew in my heart of hearts was a fool’s errand.

I’m now older, wiser, and hoping to become more chilled out – thanks to sympathetic & considered responses here 8)

By: tupu

tupu — Wed, 30 Jun 2010 22:49:33 +0000

Scarpia (and Pandean)- you are right of course! I noticed forte is missing tuna, and now I see that deer is missing ‘liver’ from deliverer. The rest must be similar. V. clever.

By: tupu

tupu — Wed, 30 Jun 2010 22:41:23 +0000

Has someone already noted that this puzzle should be listed here as 25,050?

By: Scarpia

Scarpia — Wed, 30 Jun 2010 22:34:11 +0000

Thanks mhl.
I thought this was a super puzzle,with some very clever clueing.Had no trouble with the novellists but like most others had never heard of karakul and had to guess Loch Shiel.As Carrots so rightly says all answers were gettable from the excellent clueing.
Favourite clues 12 across and 6 down.
Trebor & 25 – 3 checkout strip stripped (4) checkout strip = barcode. 3down is vegetarian so a vegetarien barcode would be stripped of the cod leaving bare(stripped).

By: Pandean

Pandean — Wed, 30 Jun 2010 22:29:04 +0000

Trebor@25
I don’t remember that particular 2004 puzzle by Paul, but looking at it now… the answer to 3down does suggest the way each of the other clues referring to “3″ (including 6down) need to be worked out. In each case, a different but related word needs to be omitted from one word defined in the clue before arriving at the solution word (also defined) that is to be inserted in the grid. I hope that makes sense, and is some help. If you want more hints, it’s probably best to go to the Chat Room section to ask, since we’re off-topic here (Sorry Gaufrid).

By: tupu

tupu — Wed, 30 Jun 2010 22:13:57 +0000

Hi Eileen and FumbleFingers

It begins to look as if the old wizard has been doing his homework again (cf. the stuff recently on the classification of edentata) at least as far as a distinction between artists and painters (subclass thereof) is concerned.
But we are still left in ignorance about the relevance of this to the defunct status of ARA.
It would be nice (but a bit too ‘academic’) if it turned out that they had to be painters!

By: Carrots

Carrots — Wed, 30 Jun 2010 22:10:35 +0000

One of the “magical” attributes of an Araucaria puzzle for me is that it is nearly always possible to correctly complete it without knowing some of the words (e.g. KARAKUL or FRESHET) and/or key names and works (e.g. SAMUEL RICHARDSON & CLARISSA). I know of no other setter who can regularly do this……which is why he remains, for me at least, a truly great G.O.M.