Comments on: Financial Times 13,560 by Cinephile

By: Wil Ransome

Wil Ransome — Sat, 15 Jan 2011 22:04:19 +0000

Pete you must be becoming rather tired of my constant carping at Cinephile’s crosswords, but it seems to me that there are even more things than usual in this crossword that require comment:
a) the second ‘to’ in 1ac can only be there for the surface. For how on earth can ‘return to Havana, say’ be an indication to return ‘cigar’?
b) In 5ac the ‘for’ is again only there for the surface. ‘for’ cannot be a juxtaposition indicator, surely.
c) What is the anagram indicator in 14ac? ‘desired’? How utterly feeble.
d) In 4dn we are asked to equate ‘chrysalis’ and ‘dormant’. Perhaps ‘chrysalis’ can be used as an adjective, but if not then surely this is no good.
e) 17dn needs to be ‘Tea china, attractive?’, which is of course no good. How is ‘Char’ placed before or above ‘ming’?

By: Jan

Jan — Fri, 17 Dec 2010 23:53:15 +0000

dwindle, verb (dwindled, dwindling) intrans to shrink in size, number or intensity.
ETYMOLOGY: Anglo-Saxon dwinan to fade.

(Chambers)

Perhaps not, Sil, I don’t imagine either of us fading – nice one Pete – I’m sure Gaufrid will allow a little frivolity, it’s Crimbo. Talking of which, has anyone else printed Loroso/Anax’s ‘i’ puzzle which he linked to elsewhere?

http://anaxcrosswords.wordpress.com/2010/12/02/ft-today-i-tomorrow/#comment-89

I’ve really struggled but can’t parse some of the solutions and still have 3 clues unsolved. I did see his neat twist eventually.

By: Pete Maclean

Pete Maclean — Fri, 17 Dec 2010 01:16:39 +0000

Dwindle, dwindle little star
How I’d wonder what you are
In twenty down or one across
Like a giant albatross

By: Sil van den Hoek

Sil van den Hoek — Fri, 17 Dec 2010 00:55:31 +0000

Jan, what about you and I doing some dwindling?

[sorry, Gaufrid]

Btw, I have no idea what ‘dwindling’ means.
:0

By: Jan

Jan — Fri, 17 Dec 2010 00:11:19 +0000

Gosh, Sil, I must have worded my response badly. I wasn’t doubting Pete, just commenting that I was floundering around trying to parse 8 – I didn’t see dwindling.

By: Sil van den Hoek

Sil van den Hoek — Fri, 17 Dec 2010 00:02:38 +0000

Jan, no doubt about 8d, Pete’s parsing is right [as all his parsings were right].
What I don’t like about it is that a word in the clue (‘win’) is also part of the solution.
And didn’t like the Spoonerism in 25ac either, btw.

By: Jan

Jan — Thu, 16 Dec 2010 23:37:10 +0000

Thanks, Pete. I can’t quite believe that I’m here first – I usually tag on at the end when everybody’s gone home.

I didn’t see dwindled for DWIND in 8 – I thought the D could come from ‘somewhat reDuceD’ with ‘musicians’ providing wind and the definition. It would have been very clumsy and un-Cinephilic, if so.