Comments on: Independent 7,611 / Dac

By: Scarpia

Scarpia — Thu, 10 Mar 2011 00:02:12 +0000

Thanks RatkojaRiku.
I found this harder than usual but as sound a puzzle as you come to expect from Dac.
Thought SOMELLIER and BENEDICTINE were brilliant.
Lucky for us Ms.Middleton’s name is not spelt CATE.

By: RatkojaRiku

RatkojaRiku — Thu, 10 Mar 2011 00:00:10 +0000

@ nmsindy – thanks for pointing out my slightly off parsing of 5 – you are, of course, right and I have corrected the blog accordingly.

By: flashling

flashling — Wed, 09 Mar 2011 19:24:55 +0000

Not much to add, usual Dac high standard and agreeing with K’sD about the thankfully lessened usage of Di, I hope our fine setters will eradicate the reference. Only soured for me by overcrowding on train making reading the clues next to impossible! Thanks R & Dac.

By: NealH

NealH — Wed, 09 Mar 2011 18:42:18 +0000

I really struggled with the SW corner of this. Part of the problem was that I was utterly convinced that 15 down must be r???? pink on the grounds that that was the only word I could think of that was ?ink that made any sense. I thought maybe it had something to do with the colour of old photographs. Like Ele, I was expecting something mythological for 18 down and the “‘s” after journalist in 21 sent me away from the charade idea completely and I was looking for a word for wish reversed in a carriage.

By: ele

ele — Wed, 09 Mar 2011 17:21:29 +0000

Thanks to Dac for a lovely puzzle – even got rinky-dink without looking it up altho’ I never knew before what it meant – thought it just mean OK or something like that. Only had to look up portuguese towns to get 18d and not sure Sinatra is exactly a ‘legendary singer’ – first thoughts on seeing that clue turned rather to Orpheus, or perhaps I’m mixing up mythical with legendary. And thanks to RatkojaRiku for the blog.

By: nmsindy

nmsindy — Wed, 09 Mar 2011 13:42:39 +0000

I found this harder than usual from Dac, just as good as always and, like RatkojaRiku (tks for the blog), SW corner was the most difficult. V minor point – in MOBSTER, I think just ROME is anagrammed with B ST going into that. Re scchua’s point at 2, I think k = 1000 is used mainly (though, I agree, not exclusively) in the world of accounting and finance to mean a thousand pounds (or other currency) so I think Dac is right. Favourite clues today DEBATER, HACKNEY, EXIST, BAYONET, THREAT. Thanks, Dac, for the puzzle.

By: scchua

scchua — Wed, 09 Mar 2011 10:16:13 +0000

PS Sorry, it’s a tune, not a song.

By: scchua

scchua — Wed, 09 Mar 2011 10:11:00 +0000

Thanks for the blog, RatkojaRiku, and Dac for another satisfying puzzle.

Favourites were 9A SOMMELIER, a nice surface, 14A WINDSOR CASTLE, perhaps a bit difficult for the latest generation of solvers, and 6D BAYONET, an &lit. I wonder if “pounds” in 10A YIKES is not superfluous, K = thousand anyway.

Btw, K’sD, I remember an instrumental song called Rinky Dink in the 60s; here’s one version by Dave “Baby” Cortez
http://www.nutsie.com/song/Rinky%20Dink/7340000?artist_id=1003943&album_id=7340001
and there was another version by Booker T and the MGs.

By: Kathryn's Dad

Kathryn's Dad — Wed, 09 Mar 2011 09:26:35 +0000

RatkojaRiku, thank you for another comprehensive blog.

Beautifully constructed as always from Dac – as John (I think) said a couple of weeks ago in his blog, it’s vanilla, but tasty vanilla. It’s often hard to pick out special clues with Dac because they’re all good, but THREAT and WINDSOR CASTLE were my favourites today.

Haven’t heard RINKY-DINK for ages. I convinced myself that it was in a 1960s’ pop song title, but I think I may be confusing it with HONKY-TONK (woman). That’s what age does for you.

The blanket, inane, lowest common denominator, fawning media coverage of the forthcoming nuptial is doing my head in, so I will take this opportunity to add my name to the growing list of requests to let Diana Spencer rest in peace in Crosswordland. Please. The only positive thing I can think of to say about the wedding is that at least Kate is much less useful to setters.

Fine puzzle (apart from Lady Di).