Comments on: Guardian 25169 Orlando – As Merry As A Grig

By: maarvarq

maarvarq — Wed, 01 Dec 2010 07:02:29 +0000

OK, it's not just me, Orlando's puzzles have become harder.

By: crosser

crosser — Wed, 17 Nov 2010 14:04:02 +0000

Thanks, UY
@ Carrots
27a is TAKES ON = recruits, and TAKEN (caught out) round SO (like this)

By: Daniel Miller

Daniel Miller — Wed, 17 Nov 2010 01:01:36 +0000

One or two tough ones I thought, thanks for the blog.

I liked Withstand and Surface – but I now appreciate the wit in Organiser – yes it was a good clue.

By: Gerry

Gerry — Tue, 16 Nov 2010 22:23:52 +0000

I had to check for a couple, like ‘agrigento’ and ‘ricardo’, but having read the above realise that I got 27Ac wrong…I had ‘Takes In’, rather than ‘on’. How very annoying.

By: FumbleFingers

FumbleFingers — Tue, 16 Nov 2010 18:47:11 +0000

Thanks Uncle Yap.

Me & my fellow-solver today both agree with John @23. We think cretin is as much a medical term as spastic. Both words may be loosely used in private conversation as insults – but they are potentially offensive well beyond that context, and probably shouldn’t be used with the derogatory sense in something like the Guardian crossword.

Other than that, I liked this puzzle – even though general ignorance prevented me seeing 25a & 16d.

By: Carrots

Carrots — Tue, 16 Nov 2010 18:03:10 +0000

A welcome lunchtime diversion. It`s a bit unnerving trying to enjoy an al fresco lunch when the Dubrovnik harbour wall behind one is sprayed with bullet holes (from only 15 to 18 years ago!)
Orlando provided some clever clues and surfaces, but I think TAKES ON should really be TAKES IN.
ORION I guessed, but still don`t understand. Ditto WITHSTAND and CLAY CROSS. I don`t get the “WITH” part, or the “CLAY” part. I accept Tupu`s explanation, but it`s below the belt. We sailed past AGRIGENTO a couple of days ago, but I still had to look it up in the library.

I miss my lunchtime “Spit & Sawdust”.

By: John

John — Tue, 16 Nov 2010 18:02:34 +0000

An impractical person may lack common sense, but if I were to call him “cretinous” I would deserve the punch in the mouth I would undoubtedly get. I’m surprised everyone seems to accept these loose synonyms without comment.

By: rrc

rrc — Tue, 16 Nov 2010 17:58:00 +0000

far too much of a slog with few smiles

By: Median

Median — Tue, 16 Nov 2010 14:50:32 +0000

Got there in the end, but needed to use the gadgetry far too much for it to be satisfying.

By: Stella

Stella — Tue, 16 Nov 2010 14:43:51 +0000

Thanks Uncle Yap.

I found this tough going, not being a scientist, and never having heard of a grig, in any expression.

I resorted to Wiki, looking for a map of Sicily, but this wasn’t straightforward, either. I eventually found a link to a railway map, and there it was, staring at me

There were some good clues, though. I liked 19ac, with its reference to the fairy tale.