Comments on: Independent 7,473 by Raich

By: Allan_C

Allan_C — Wed, 29 Sep 2010 08:05:48 +0000

I must have been a bit thick; I saw the theme as lower garments (Knickers, Slacks, Shorts, Trousers) and never spotted the nina till Ian pointed it out. But if I may add an aside to the pair of steps discussion, in English as spoken in South Wales (and possibly elsewhere) things that come in pairs are often referred to as singular, e.g. ‘a trousers’, ‘a scissors’ and ‘a steps’. This usage probably derives from the equivalent in Welsh but I won’t bore you with the explanation.

By: Wil Ransome

Wil Ransome — Tue, 28 Sep 2010 22:55:57 +0000

Very nice crossword, easy but perfectly sound so far as I could see and the only nitpick I have is (not the tense of TROUSERS, as has been explained perfectly well by Eileen @5) the 40% checking in two of the answers: was this necessary to get the Nina in?

By: flashling

flashling — Tue, 28 Sep 2010 21:12:28 +0000

Found this very easy, just must have been on Raich’s wavelength, although missed the pairs bit, just thought the link was clothing. Vince Cable (or his wife) does certainly appear a lot recently. Wednesday tomorrow, bad day for me so posting will probably be rather late, but it’ll turn up. Gaufrid, I have very little chance to do blogs on Wednesdays at present, can you change the calendar please if possible?

By: Raich

Raich — Tue, 28 Sep 2010 21:01:40 +0000

Many thanks, Simon, for the blog and to everyone for their comments which are much appreciated.

Yes, PAIR OF STEPS is perhaps a little less familiar than the others, but dicts confirm it as a stepladder (or should that be ‘them’?).

By: walruss

walruss — Tue, 28 Sep 2010 16:00:38 +0000

A pair of steps has two parts, the bit with the ladder and the bit that supports, with some kind of joining in-between. It’s those twp arts, I suppose, that justify the plural. Anyway, what a lovely puzzle from Raich/The Independent.

By: sidey

sidey — Tue, 28 Sep 2010 15:34:59 +0000

Quick answer, yes, the ones I linked to are really a pair of steps.

By: Kathryn's Dad

Kathryn's Dad — Tue, 28 Sep 2010 11:40:34 +0000

So do I, sidey, which is why crosswords fascinate me. Like Eileen, I too can just about remember ‘a pair of steps’. But at the risk of all this becoming arcane and frightening off lurkers, why did I ask my neighbour the other day: ‘Can I borrow your step-ladders?’ Are they plural ‘cos there’s two of them, one on each side?

I really need to get out more.

By: sidey

sidey — Tue, 28 Sep 2010 11:10:49 +0000

An aside: A tradesman will use a pair of steps or more often just steps, however if he wants some new ones he will have to buy a step-ladder. I love English usage.

By: Ali

Ali — Tue, 28 Sep 2010 11:02:48 +0000

Yet another theme goes sailing over my head.

This was definitely the easiest Raich daily puzzle I’ve done. And there was definitely nowt wrong with it!

By: Fish

Fish — Tue, 28 Sep 2010 10:45:37 +0000

About to have professional cleaners in my house in my first time, so it was nice that “CLEANER” was the first clue I got.

Or would be, if the second wasn’t “KNICKERS”.