Comments on: Everyman No. 3353 (2nd January)

By: Dad'sLad

Dad'sLad — Sun, 09 Jan 2011 21:48:28 +0000

Thanks Lorraine,

No problems with any particular corner. AVOCADO was last in for much the same reason as Stella. Sil, ALGECIRAS would be straightforward for students who had studied the build-up to the First World War, due to the 1906 Conference held there. But quite possibly obscure for others.

By: Sil van den Hoek

Sil van den Hoek — Sun, 09 Jan 2011 21:25:44 +0000

I hardly comment to Everyman’s puzzles.
As Kathryn’s Dad more or less says, they are so evenly clued.
This week my favourite Sunday pastime was almost spoilt by 1ac, the only one I could not find without looking elsewhere.
And when ALGECIRAS popped up, I thought: that would have been qualified as ‘obcsure’ in some crosswords.
Maybe it would, maybe it wouldn’t – but dear me, what a fantastic clue!!

By: Kathryn's Dad

Kathryn's Dad — Sun, 09 Jan 2011 17:00:34 +0000

Thanks, Lorraine.

Very clear clueing from Everyman as always. I got LASSIE, but needed your reference to the railway siding bit. I’m convinced I’ve seen this clued in a different way recently.

It’s sometimes difficult to say that x or y was your favourite clue with Everyman, because everything’s put together so well; so I’ll just comment on the overall enjoyableness of the crossword.

Thanks to blogger and setter.

By: Stella

Stella — Sun, 09 Jan 2011 10:55:05 +0000

Thanks Lorraine. Curiously, I had more difficulty in the NW than the NE, despite the fact the port is the main one between Spain and Morocco – I was looking for an English port, and had never thought of an avocado as an evergreen, or even as a plant, just the fruit.

At 25ac, I’d expected an anagram, but crossing letters precluded this, and then I saw the wordplay – nice.

By: Robi

Robi — Sun, 09 Jan 2011 09:08:51 +0000

Thanks Everyman and Lorraine.

Didn’t get the Cockney rhyming slang in 8 and wasn’t familiar with lie for railway siding, otherwise reasonably straightforward.

Quite liked 9 as well as your favourites.