Comments on: Independent 7602 (Saturday Prize Puzzle by Monk 26-02-2011)

By: Wil Ransome

Wil Ransome — Mon, 07 Mar 2011 13:16:18 +0000

No criticism of the crossword, but I had Monk at the very top of my list of setters, and this wasn’t in my opinion better than simply very competent. Not the amazing high standard he used to set.

By: Scarpia

Scarpia — Sun, 06 Mar 2011 23:44:26 +0000

Thanks twencelas.
I was delighted to see Monk’s name on this puzzle,a setter I have long admired,both in the Indy and the FT.
This puzzle was up to the high standard I remember and I hope we will see more puzzles from him soon.
I found this quite difficult to start with but once I’d made a start things fell into place nicely.
YAKKA was new to me but quite gettable from the wordplay.
Loved the cryptic definition at 4 across.

By: twencelas

twencelas — Sat, 05 Mar 2011 19:59:34 +0000

Good spot Wanderer as to the third column its Finnish “Aiti” – Mae is Portuguese Mor is Swedish. Malka eludes me, origin wise.

By: Wanderer

Wanderer — Sat, 05 Mar 2011 18:43:39 +0000

words for mother. I can see mere (french) in first line down, mutter (german) in third, anya (hungarian, thanks to google) in fourth, and madre (spanish) in eighth. I would guess maes or mae, and mora, and malka probably mean mother in languages unknown to me. Lost in the second line.

By: flashling

flashling — Sat, 05 Mar 2011 18:35:03 +0000

OK not being conversant in most of those languages does anyone care to explain please?

By: Wanderer

Wanderer — Sat, 05 Mar 2011 18:24:32 +0000

Thanks for the tip Eimi — it would certainly have escaped me had you not pointed it out. With a little help from Google translate I can see the tribute in Hungarian (!) as well as French, German and Spanish, but there are others which so far defeat me and Google… Thanks to twencelas and Monk.

By: eimi

eimi — Sat, 05 Mar 2011 16:03:29 +0000

A welcome return for Monk after almost 18 months out of the setting game. There is a Nina in the Downs, which forms a personal tribute from Monk.

By: scchua

scchua — Sat, 05 Mar 2011 15:26:34 +0000

Thanks nmsindy, Allan_C and Gaufrid. All clear now.

By: Allan_C

Allan_C — Sat, 05 Mar 2011 15:17:13 +0000

Sorry, Gaufrid, you got in there while I was still typing!

By: Allan_C

Allan_C — Sat, 05 Mar 2011 15:14:48 +0000

… and Chambers has ‘retrait’ as an obsolete form (hence ‘once’ in the clue) of ‘retreat’; a retreat can be a place of seclusion as well as something you beat hastily in the face of an enemy.