Comments on: Enigmatic Variations No. 925 – Gwent’s Tall Yew by Kruger

By: mc_rapper67

mc_rapper67 — Tue, 10 Aug 2010 20:26:05 +0000

Doh! Thanks Simon – not too pedantic at all – I did say it was a bit rushed…

And glad to have been of help with your lower half!

By: Simon Harris

Simon Harris — Mon, 09 Aug 2010 21:58:21 +0000

For the sake of (rather pedantic, and entirely unimportant) exactness, the grid was 15 * 14 = 210 letters.

Apologies for that, and thanks for the blog, which greatly helped in clearing up the few in the lower half that I didn’t quite manage.

By: mc_rapper67

mc_rapper67 — Mon, 09 Aug 2010 20:37:53 +0000

Nice work Mike – cut out the middleman, and go straight to the horse’s mouth! Nice to see Dave H’s logic confirmed. And, after a recent comment about the title of EV 922 (Works) being ‘dull and uninspired’, I guess this was the other end of the spectrum…

Coincidentally, the first crossword I picked up, after an entire week of cold turkey on holiday, was…Inquisitor 1137, Cryptogram, by Kruger! Only 169 letters this time, and generally less strenuous than Gwent’s Tall Yew, but very enjoyable, nonetheless.

By: Mike Laws

Mike Laws — Mon, 09 Aug 2010 00:20:18 +0000

I emailed Kruger, and Dave H is right.

“The title is intended to be a cryptic representation of the verse .. “In every mess I finds a friend in every port a wife” i.e. W in GENT (sometimes spelt as GHENT) and ALLY in STEW. Sorry if that is too painful!!”

Nothing to do with the recent nuptials, though, just a coincidence.

Looking forward to comments on Kruger’s latest IQ – yet another coincidence of timing!

By: mc_rapper67

mc_rapper67 — Sat, 07 Aug 2010 13:42:31 +0000

Thanks for the assistance, Dave H & Gaufrid – now you mention them, they seem quite obvious, given the theme…!

By: Gaufrid

Gaufrid — Sat, 07 Aug 2010 12:13:50 +0000

Hi Dave
There’s no problem with Ghent (Gent) being a port, see:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Port_of_Ghent

By: Dave Hennings

Dave Hennings — Sat, 07 Aug 2010 10:57:04 +0000

This puzzle had a similar theme (ie port) to EV 871 Needs by Charybdis only a year ago, but was nonetheless enjoyable. As for the title, I can see ALLY in STEW, but W (wife) in GENT (a Belgian town only 10 miles from the sea) seems a bit more dubious.
Dave.