Comments on: Quiptic crossword No 585

By: Scarpia

Scarpia — Tue, 01 Feb 2011 00:15:39 +0000

Thanks PeterO.
A very good puzzle from Nutmeg.I agree with other comments that it was probably too difficult for beginners but there were some excellent clues.MISGOVERN,ZEPHYR and NOTWITHSTANDING were my 3 favourites.
I guess LAPLAND is not a country,but as you say,it is a good enough definition for a crossword.
Derek @8 – I wasn’t totally convinced with that definition either,but dictionary does give ‘To try to equal or surpass’ so I think it is o.k.

By: Derek Lazenby

Derek Lazenby — Mon, 31 Jan 2011 21:35:12 +0000

Failed miserably. I may be the class dummy, but I’m not a beginner, so this definitely didn’t fulfil it’s purpose. Never heard that use of RHINO, and can’t see the definition EMULATES and challenges as valid either. Other’s were I didn’t get were fair enough but a little indirect to be used here.

Oh well back to looking at RSS readers.

By: Kathryn's Dad

Kathryn's Dad — Mon, 31 Jan 2011 18:07:37 +0000

Definitely a tricky one, this, so I’m not sure what ‘beginners’ (whoever they are) will have made of it.

I thought ZEPHYR was extremely clever and also liked LONG JUMP for its concise surface. Least favourite was WELLINGTON BOOTS, because I’m not a big fan of clueing a particular place by reference to its country.

Excellent blog as always, Peter, thank you.

By: Stella Heath

Stella Heath — Mon, 31 Jan 2011 15:02:30 +0000

Thanks Peter and Nutmeg.

I came into this with enthusiasm, looking for a quick solve, as I had things to do; and was pleased to see Nutmeg’s pen-name, as I usually find her(?) puzzles entertaining.

I eventually left it half way through, in order to get on with my morning, and have just finished it, not without difficulty, but with a clearer mind once my tasks were done.

I now have ten minutes to look at today’s Rufus. I doubt I’ll get very far with that, either

By: Tokyocolin

Tokyocolin — Mon, 31 Jan 2011 14:18:42 +0000

Thank you PeterO. I don’t think you were leaden, this was not an easy solve. I found it more difficult than the Rufus and Indy I did earlier today. Rhino was a lucky guess for me, but biggest grumble was reserved for 18dn. An emu is an “Aussie” runner. No hint of the homonym in the clue.

There were some good clues, I too liked 8dn. But overall it was too obscure and convoluted for the purported target solvers.

By: crypticsue

crypticsue — Mon, 31 Jan 2011 13:00:41 +0000

I am glad other people found this hard going too – much harder than the usual Quiptic level. Thanks for the puzzle and the review.

By: Robi

Robi — Mon, 31 Jan 2011 12:55:32 +0000

Thanks Nutmeg and PeterO for a superb blog.

I think this was definitely a bit difficult for a Quiptic. I found some problem with the NE corner. I particularly disliked 10 – as previously, if you are going to use an archaic word it might be nice to indicate this with ‘old’ or somesuch.

I guess 7 was OK, once the right word for regularly was found – I read this though as an &lit with other possible solutions such as ‘lies in,’ ‘sits in’ etc.

Maybe I’m just Monday grumpy; though I did like 8 a lot

By: pommers

pommers — Mon, 31 Jan 2011 10:40:15 +0000

Tricky for a Quiptic IMHO! Took about twice as long as normal. First Nutmeg I’ve ever tackled so perhaps I just wasn’t on the right wavelength.

I agree with Andrew about 21d, seems an OK definition to me.

I think 8d is my favourite, I got the answer but took ages to see why. Definate smile when the penny dropped!

Thanks for an excellent review Peter and to Nutmeg for the puzzle.

By: Andrew

Andrew — Mon, 31 Jan 2011 09:19:17 +0000

Thanks Peter – I found this hard going too. I can’t see your problem with 21dn – the definition is “causes anxiety”, which is a good definition of “alarms”.