Comments on: Financial Times 13,613 by Cinephile

By: Scarpia

Scarpia — Thu, 10 Feb 2011 00:08:34 +0000

Thanks PeeDee.
“How he continues to turn crosswords out at the rate he does and still keeps them fresh and original never ceases to amaze me.” – I couldn’t agree more!
When he’s on top form,like here,I don’t think anyone does it better.
The only one I had real difficulty with was LABRADOR,I knew that must be the answer but my knowledge of Spanish doesn’t stretch that far.
SPONGE FINGERS was brilliant.

By: Sil van den Hoek

Sil van den Hoek — Wed, 09 Feb 2011 21:47:19 +0000

Thank you, PeeDee for your excellent blog.
I think Cinephile was on top form today, with some very nice touches like LABRADOR, SPONGE FINGERS, DIGITALIS and, indeed, the easy but oh so effective AIRMAN.

I needed the blog to understand the Taff part of FALSTAFF, although I could have looked it up somewhere.
And DORMICE was clear to me, but ‘dormie’ wasn’t. Sounds like a Sleeping Beauty …..
For the second day in a row I was caught out by the same device. Yesterday Puck beat me with his “love for English”, today I didn’t parse “hydrogen for power” (part of the also splendid NORTH STAR clue).

Just wonder what the anagram indicator in 2d (TOURIST) is, or do we have two? ‘Beaten’ and/or ‘turns to’?

A very very enjoyable crossword!

By: Nestorius

Nestorius — Wed, 09 Feb 2011 17:58:12 +0000

Got stuck on 19a/20d and had to resort to PeeDee’s help.

Some beauties here: 23d, 25a, 5d.

Cinephile often checkmates me but I am learning.

Thanks, setter & blogger!

By: bamberger

bamberger — Wed, 09 Feb 2011 16:52:33 +0000

Found this really difficult and tooks ages to get started until I saw 25a.

1a Eventually had enough checking letters to get Matthew in 1a but I could have sat until doomsday trying to guess the surname as I had never heard of any poet with a first name of Matthew and had no checking letters.
9a If you didn’t know this and you don’t have checking letters you are stuck,
12a Another never heard of.
13a Ditto
15a Ditto
17a Hadn’t come across reb=confederate
19a Didn’t know this
22a Ditto
23a Ditto
So 12a-23a was wiped out and I only got oriel because it has appeared in other crosswords. I hadn’t heard of orel.

1d Got “may your” but couldn’t get the rest
3d Got this from the checking letters but hadn’t heard of him
16d I had heard of falstaff but didn’t know he was a knight.
20d I don’t think the clue is correct. If you are dormie 2, you are on the 17th tee and two holes up, so can’t lose. If you are on the 7th tee and two holes up , then you are ahead and you are about to play but you aren’t dormie anything.

Really impressed by those who had the necessary knowledge to solve this.

By: Tom_I

Tom_I — Wed, 09 Feb 2011 16:40:49 +0000

If anyone is wondering, as I did, about REB in 17a, apparently Johnny Reb was a name used to personify a Confederate soldier in the American Civil War. Political cartoonists in the 1860s used Johnny Reb and his Union counterpart Billy Yank to symbolize the combatants in the War. Apologies if this is common knowledge, but I didn’t know it until I looked it up.

By: smiffy

smiffy — Wed, 09 Feb 2011 16:01:49 +0000

Yes, a tricky but not unfair puzzle. And well blogged.
I was unfamiliar with 1D/10D. Although the first half came readily enough from checking letters, I was hesitant on the “grow less” ending which served made the SE corner trickier still.
(And I still prefer the Scottish equivalent “Lang may yer lum reek!”).

Couldn’t figure out the wordplay for 20D either, before coming here. Count me as another ignoramus on Dormie. Clue of the day for me is, unusually, the under-engineered pun at 25A; no subsidiary wordplay required.

By: Tony Welsh

Tony Welsh — Wed, 09 Feb 2011 16:01:30 +0000

Thanks, PeeDee. My last two solved were LABRADOR and DORMICE and I had no idea why in either case, so thanks for the explanations. I too had never heard of the saying in 1,10 down. Nor had I heard of OREL, but managed to complete the puzzle anyway. Interestingly, SPONGE FINGERS was one of the first ones I got. (After REGROUP and FALSTAFF that is.) Don’t think I have seen a sponge finger or a (dessert) fool for 50 years!

By: Bryan

Bryan — Wed, 09 Feb 2011 12:42:05 +0000

Many thanks PeeDee and Gaufrid

I have played golf but I couldn’t work out DORMICE – even though I had assumed that it was correct.

And a Big Thank You Cinephile for yet another excellent puzzle.

Also a Very Happy Birthday for the upcoming event.

May Your Talent Never Grow Less!

By: PeeDee

PeeDee — Wed, 09 Feb 2011 11:55:07 +0000

Thanks Gaufrid. Never played golf in my life, and it shows!

By: Gaufrid

Gaufrid — Wed, 09 Feb 2011 11:46:17 +0000

Hi PeeDee
I’ve got my pedant’s hat on today

In 20dn, if you had a lead that was greater than the number of holes left to play you would already have won the match. Dormie is where you are as many holes ahead as there are still to play, ie you cannot lose the match.