Comments on: Guardian 25,161 (Sat 6 Nov)/Paul – Forsyth Saga

By: Ell

Ell — Sun, 14 Nov 2010 06:38:34 +0000

Dynamic #17

“…..Paul’s playful use of ‘syrup’ was a laugh out loud moment for me.”

My biggest laugh out loud moment was seeing 1d Bruce Forsyth crossed with 19ac Troupe whose clue referred to toupee/syrup of figs/wigs.
I wondered if Paul considered cross-referencing these clues and then thought the better ot it ~ probably(?) not.

By: Dynamic

Dynamic — Sat, 13 Nov 2010 23:46:18 +0000

Don’t worry Sil, it was me who revealed an etymological clue in a now-deleted comment. I apologise & thank the moderators for spotting it, yet letting my very oblique earlier reference pass. My last word on the subject, I promise!

On topic, Paul’s playful use of ‘syrup’ was a laugh out loud moment for me.

By: Sil van den Hoek

Sil van den Hoek — Sat, 13 Nov 2010 22:50:06 +0000

Yes, rightback, you’re right about that, but I couldn’t resist it.
My answer to Dynamic, though, was so specific and non-revealing that I thought I could tell him.

More important, another Big Thank You for the blog.
Liked your MotD [but it could have been Curved Air, who made (in 1972) an album called 'Phantasmagoria'].

By: rightback

rightback — Sat, 13 Nov 2010 22:38:06 +0000

Thanks to all commenters (and especially for ‘vrijbuiter’!) – but please, no more references to live puzzles and certainly not to specific clues therein.

By: grandpuzzler

grandpuzzler — Sat, 13 Nov 2010 21:02:41 +0000

Thanks to Paul and rightback. I entered LISTLESS at 4A until I saw the light. This caused my solving time to be 9′ plus three days.

Cheers…

By: Sil van den Hoek

Sil van den Hoek — Sat, 13 Nov 2010 20:44:47 +0000

Dynamic, it should be about Paul here, yet I just want to tell you [being off-topic and being at risk of gauufrid warning me (and probably rightly so)] that – after what you said about today’s puzzle – your I-entry cannot be right.

By: Dynamic

Dynamic — Sat, 13 Nov 2010 17:34:06 +0000

Thanks rightback (don’t know how you do them so quickly!) and Paul for a very enjoyable puzzle and some words like Freeboot that I wasn’t aware of.

Bruce Forsyth and Mayo were also highlights for me, with Bonkbuster and Emoticon also enjoyable. I’m willing to accept that a NE Pen could be a Gateshead (more specific) writer (less specific) for the enjoyable misdirection around the typical Gateshead=G. I think people jokingly say “he’s not bald, he’s just thin on top” by way of humorous understatement. Yes, I thought, “as thin on top as a coot!”.

While not thin on top, I’m thick around the middle. It’s my metabolism, don’t you know! [tongue-in-cheek] :^d

What a treat to relive this today having also completed today’s excellent Araucaria prize puzzle with an interesting twist, though I’ll have to wait til next Sat to confirm the one ending in I that I can’t find in an English dictionary and fully understand the wordplay on another.

By: PeterO

PeterO — Sat, 13 Nov 2010 17:32:00 +0000

Thanks Rightback.

Definitely an enjoyable puzzle. I guessed 19A TROUPE, but never got around to finding out why. In 8A, unmentionables ‘something rather ruder’? Back when this word was used, one would not even consider unmentioning them.

By: Sil van den Hoek

Sil van den Hoek — Sat, 13 Nov 2010 13:02:57 +0000

This was top-notch Paul.

A lot of smiling clues – including some for which we all appreciate him so much (8ac, 5+11d and the use of ‘wind-up’ in 1ac).
We especially liked the sound effects of KERCHING and TWEET.

Yet, a few quibbles.
NE for Gateshead is, we thought, a bit cheapish.
And THIN ON TOP isn’t really ‘Bald’.
The last one for us to go in was FREEBOOT, and although the wordplay was clear enough (with Paul jumping over the question mark), the definition was a bit loose (is it just “don’t pay”? – or is the clue as a whole an allusion to the answer?). Funny to see that FREEBOOT is not in Chambers, the origin of this verb coming from the Dutch word “vrijbuiter” – someone who roves about in a lawless way.

But this is all of non-importance when there are so many great clues around to compensate, like BRUCE FORSYTH and the invaluable MAYO [probably our Clue of the Day].

Excellent crossword by John Halpern, who BTW is currently working on giving his Cryptica site a rebirth.

By: Stella Heath

Stella Heath — Sat, 13 Nov 2010 11:07:18 +0000

Thanks, Rightback and Paul. I fully agree with the comments above.

My last in was 5/11, which was evidently invented by Ms. Limb after I left England, and my brain was tired by then after working out wierd things like 21ac., which doesn’t come in my Chambers, but seemed an acceptable onomatopoeia; so I didn’t actually finish until this morning . when I took one look at the clue (very funny image) and thought “it can only be that.”

My idea of ‘unmentionables’ was the same as yours

Thanks for the explanation of ‘syrup’. I hadn’t heard that one.