Comments on: Guardian Prize Puzzle 25,262 by Araucaria

By: Huw Powell

Huw Powell — Tue, 15 Mar 2011 19:09:03 +0000

Another nice gift to beginners I think. And still plenty of fun for the older hands. I had printed this on Sat., but was probably still wrestling with something from earlier in the week, so I “noticed” it was an Araubetical and thought “well, that will keep me busy all week”.

Then Sun. I sat down and took a glance and realized there were two “double letters” or “top left corners” and that they were four different word counts. Having JUMPING JACKS fall into place made for a steady pace.

Usually with these I make a separate list by word length – so many 4s, 5s, 7s, etc., and fill them in there as I get them. That way I can look for “a 7 with third letter E” etc. easily. While solving this puzzle by the time I was half done, filling in that list was actually slowing me down, since everything kept fitting into place.

Certainly not as hard as the one or two of these I have done in the past, but still the extra dimension the jigsaw brings is so pleasing.

Someone mentioned Q,W, and X often being gimmes, I’d swear the last alphasaw I did used Yttrium as well. How can a rare earth beginning with Y be anything but a gimme? You just have to cue up a copy of the Element Song and listen for the one beginning with Y!

By: Eileen

Eileen — Mon, 14 Mar 2011 23:36:18 +0000

Thanks, Vin.

It seems my English reading is rather lacking!

I talked about the onomatopoeia. This doesn’t really apply in English where the pronunciation of the Us appears to be as in ‘tune’, which does not have the same effect as the Latin: ‘oo loo lant’.

By: Vin

Vin — Mon, 14 Mar 2011 21:19:26 +0000

Eileen: re “ululate”, I first encountered it in “War of the Worlds” and never forgot it. Chapter 15: “The shells flashed all round him, and he was seen to advance a few paces, stagger, and go down. Everybody yelled together, and the guns were reloaded in frantic haste. The overthrown Martian set up a prolonged ululation, and immediately a second glittering giant, answering him, appeared over the trees to the south. It would seem that a leg of the tripod had been smashed by one of the shells. The whole of the second volley flew wide of the Martian on the ground, and, simultaneously, both his companions brought their Heat- Rays to bear on the battery. The ammunition blew up, the pine trees all about the guns flashed into fire, and only one or two of the men who were already running over the crest of the hill escaped.”

By: Eileen

Eileen — Mon, 14 Mar 2011 18:00:44 +0000

Thanks, Robi.

By: Robi

Robi — Mon, 14 Mar 2011 17:50:28 +0000

Too late by far, but if Eileen is still there re. 23:
He had often dreamed of his grieving family visiting his grave, ululating as only the relatives of martyrs may.
– Edward Shirley, Know Thine Enemy: A Spy’s Journey into Revolutionary Iran
She wanted to be on the tarmac, to ululate and raise her hands to the heavens.
– Deborah Sontag, “Palestinian Airport Opens to Jubilation”, New York Times , November 25, 1998
She used harrowing, penetrating nasal tones and a rasp that approached Janis Joplin’s double-stops; she made notes break and ululate .
– Jon Pareles, “On the Third Day There Was Whooping and There Was Moshing”, New York Times , August 18, 1998

By: Eileen

Eileen — Mon, 14 Mar 2011 12:59:08 +0000

Quite.

By: PeeDee

PeeDee — Mon, 14 Mar 2011 12:33:17 +0000

Given the suspicion attached to her evidence in the perjury trial, I wonder what the judge thought she smelled of?

By: Eileen

Eileen — Mon, 14 Mar 2011 12:01:26 +0000

Chas @12

In reply to your comment on today’s Rufus puzzle:

My question was rhetorical, or ‘tongue-in-cheek’: the Guardian link I gave refers, in paragraph 9] to the Archer libel case.

By: Eileen

Eileen — Mon, 14 Mar 2011 11:44:13 +0000

Hi PeeDee

It’s long enough after the publication of the blog for a little off-topic comment, I think.

It’s the onomatopoeia of ‘ululate’ that I particularly like. ['Usufruct' is lovely, too, for the reason you mention].

I don’t think I’ve ever seen it in English [except in crosswords]. I first came across it in its Latin root, ‘ululare’, which Virgil uses several times, eg in Aeneid II 487-8:

‘ … penitusque cavae plangoribus aedes
femineis ululant; ferit aurea sidera clamor’

describing the lamentation of the women of Troy at its fall

and in Aeneid VI 257

‘siluarum, uisaeque canes ululare per umbram
aduentante dea.’

describing the howling of dogs.

By: PeeDee

PeeDee — Mon, 14 Mar 2011 09:48:44 +0000

Paul @21 – indeed, ‘police’ is also an adjective, thank you Paul, I have updated the blog. I didn’t see this as particularly american usage though.

Eileen@7 – ULULATE is a lovely word, my favourite word is USUFRUCT, there must be something about the repeated U sound that makes them so pleasing.

I was disappointed when the letter count for A turned out to be a mistake, I was hoping for some ingenious device where the solution(s) fitted into the grid twice.