Comments on: Independent 7,438/Dac

By: Scarpia

Scarpia — Wed, 18 Aug 2010 22:24:39 +0000

Thanks Ali.
Usual spot on puzzle from Dac(Mr. Consistent!).I even spotted it was a pangram(unusual for me).
I often find Dac’s puzzles lead me on to further investigate some of the answers,which can often lead to some interesting finds.I knew of BOMBARDON as a kind of tuba but now know a bit more of it’s history
http://factoidz.com/serpent-ophicleide-and-bombardon-ancestors-of-the-tuba/
Myrvin re. 1 down – Have you never eaten Coquille(s)St.Jacques?
Is Dac a geography teacher? His puzzles always seem to feature some geographical answers.

By: flashling

flashling — Wed, 18 Aug 2010 21:04:56 +0000

Not come across cotoneaster before but guessed from the clue. NMS never heard of a hornywenk either

Unlike some didn’t have much problem with top half except for lack of knowledge of Joan Miro.

At least this gave us a chance to finish it, so tomorrow do we get the usual thursday nightmare?

By: nmsindy

nmsindy — Wed, 18 Aug 2010 15:27:16 +0000

At least it’s not a HORNYW*NK.

By: Kathryn's Dad

Kathryn's Dad — Wed, 18 Aug 2010 15:17:07 +0000

Thank you, Ali. I had a bit of a moan about a few clues in last week’s Dac, but the boy done good with this one, for sure. The only one I couldn’t see was RUNYON (for no good reason). INCURIOUS and HIPPO were brilliant (even if they have been done before, I’ve never seen them), but it’s the overall standard of the clueing that is a joy.

I got GREEN PLOVER but then thought I’d look him up and found that it’s another name for the Lapwing, or Peewit. There are also a number of dialect words for the little fellow, including, somewhat alarmingly, HORNYWINK (Devon). Punk, where art thou?

By: nmsindy

nmsindy — Wed, 18 Aug 2010 15:09:02 +0000

Yes, tip-top puzzle, particularly liked how the wordplay was more straightforward for the new words (to me anyway) eg COTTA, BOMBARDON.
Did not find it too difficult, favourite clues QUARTER PAST, CHABLIS.

By: Duggie

Duggie — Wed, 18 Aug 2010 14:41:53 +0000

Another perfect puzzle from Dac. Every single surface smooth, elegant, unforced, economic and not a doubtful answer anywhere. Plus the bonus of a pangram to help! What more could anyone ask?

By: Myrvin

Myrvin — Wed, 18 Aug 2010 14:17:21 +0000

I suppose you all know, but BOMBARDON is an old tuba.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bombardon

By: Myrvin

Myrvin — Wed, 18 Aug 2010 13:59:38 +0000

Thank you for several explanations Ali.
I had trouble spelling 12.
For 11, I put in IOUS from debt, and added the rest ‘cos it fitted. Of course it’s INCUR.
For 23. ‘stored’ seems to be extra to the hidden.
Not heard of 1d, 4, and 22 I think.

By: beermagnet

beermagnet — Wed, 18 Aug 2010 13:49:24 +0000

My usual lack of blinking before submitting….

But I will add that the pangram helped me, when I was looking for an “F” in one of my last few answers, but when I got FAR NORTH (which made me realise I had 19A COTTA wrong – DATED? Well, it’s a bit retro and there’s DD there, errr…) I ran out of aid for the few in the NW corner I didn’t get (like most people it seems).
Enjoyed this a lot more than the G this morning.
Thanks to Dac & Ali and also to Jake for the
http://www.crosswordsolver.info/
link yesterday which makes getting it on paper when you haven’t the actual newspaper so much easier.

By: beermagnet

beermagnet — Wed, 18 Aug 2010 13:41:09 +0000

11A is INCUR (get into) I.O.U.s (debts)

I declare sighting of a pangram!