Comments on: Financial Times 13,579 / Armonie

By: Scarpia

Scarpia — Wed, 29 Dec 2010 23:37:37 +0000

Thanks Gaufrid.
Not the best Armonie I’ve solved,1 across should definitely have been 2 words and I wasn’t too impressed with T for car – even though Wiki does give it.
DETAIL,I thought was a bit iffy,I don’t think detective and tail are synonymous.
I also thought 11 across was DEEP,but WELL is O.K.
I did like 13 down,the anagram at 5 and,particularly,23 down.

By: nmsindy

nmsindy — Wed, 29 Dec 2010 17:19:34 +0000

I’d have regarded from ‘real life’ that detail and respect meant the same (tho of course they have other meanings too) and I did not think twice about it when solving. Looking in dicts now, both Collins and Concise OED give ‘detail’ as one of the definitions under the heading ‘respect’ which is the definition in the clue here so I think it’s entirely OK.

By: Tony Welsh

Tony Welsh — Wed, 29 Dec 2010 16:38:56 +0000

Thanks, Gaufrid. I won’t argue with Chambers but I think a report could be accurate “in every detail” but not “in every respect” which to me means more like “from every point of view.” i.e. the report could get the details right but miss the big picture. The MacMillan online dictionary offers “The two stories differ in fundamental respects” as an example of this sense of respect, which I think would be different from “The two stories differ in fundamental details”. Actually I am not sure a detail can be fundamental!

A minor quibble, however, since I solved the clue anyway.

By: Gaufrid

Gaufrid — Wed, 29 Dec 2010 13:41:51 +0000

Hi bamberger
The on-line Chambers Word Wizard would have given you ‘weimaraner’.

Hi Tony
“But why is “detail” defined by “respect” in 9a?”

The Chambers Thesaurus gives ‘detail’ and ‘respect’ as synonyms. Try the sentence ‘My report was accurate in every detail/respect’.

By: Tony Welsh

Tony Welsh — Wed, 29 Dec 2010 13:14:15 +0000

I found it hard too. Did not get 1a, due to the incorrect enumeration. Also had trouble with lower right. Thought of apnea (sic) but we spell it without the o in the US. Never heard of arete but got it from the wordplay. I got waimaraner early on but for a long time had it spelled wrongly!

But why is “detail” defined by “respect” in 9a?

By: bamberger

bamberger — Wed, 29 Dec 2010 13:00:17 +0000

Having spent loads of time over the holidays doing cryptics, I was very disappointed only to solve 18a,21a, 22a, 23d & 25d. Made more progress with today’s Times than with this. I did guess cos but couldn’t see the wordplay so didn’t write it in.
Even my trusty anagram solver (which I only turn to when I have abandoned all hope of unaided progress) couldn’t get Weimaraner, a breed I have never heard of.

Thanks for the blog-makes it look easier than I found it.

By: Dreadnought

Dreadnought — Wed, 29 Dec 2010 11:34:31 +0000

Thank you for the blog Gaufrid. I never got 1a, so I failed on this one. Tried mega, giga, Tera, mili, and pico watt in desperate attempt to avoid the k…

By: NathanJ

NathanJ — Wed, 29 Dec 2010 10:21:19 +0000

I found this tough. First Armonie puzzle that I’ve failed to complete in a long time. I found it much harder than the Chifonie puzzle in Tuesday’s Guardian which I completed without a problem.