Comments on: Financial Times 13,643 by Dogberry

By: Sil van den Hoek

Sil van den Hoek — Wed, 16 Mar 2011 20:07:58 +0000

Thank you, PeeDee.
As far as I can see in my ‘archive’, this is the first Dogberry puzzle since July 21th last year. His rentree was not as tricky as I had hoped for, but there is still a lot to admire – good variety in devices.
I would call this crossword ‘deceptively easy’ for a Biggle – many words in Round 1, a much slower Round 2 and a final Round in which I had to ask my PinC (for the SW (PUNISH and the splendid HERALDRY).

I have the puzzle right in front of me at the moment, and looking at the clues again, I have to say that the clu(e)ing is so even (and faultless) that it’s hard to select a Clue of the Day. Although VINTAGE (21ac) and MAENAD (9d) come quite near.

I liked it.

By: Eileen

Eileen — Wed, 16 Mar 2011 19:54:04 +0000

Hi again, PeeDee @8 – and Robi @10

Yes, I see what you mean – but ‘finery’, in itself, has always, to me, sounded artificial [and I've just looked up Chambers, which gives 'showy adornments']. I have to admit to having been beguiled by a bit of bling myself – it can be fun, especially at my age!

Re your comment 9, PeeDee: that’s interesting – I do like to know! . I find it fascinating how all [I think] of the setters who supply puzzles for more than one publication covered by this site manage to present a slightly different persona for each. ‘New’ compilers appear, only to be revealed as old favourites, eg, most recently, Redshank, who burst onto this thread a couple of months ago and was outed as our old friend Crucible / Radian!

And, of course, it was great to be able to put actual faces to eleven of them at our January get-together in Derby!

By: gnomethang

gnomethang — Wed, 16 Mar 2011 19:45:50 +0000

Excellent puzzle where the last four clues kept me going for a good while before the copper fell.
Thanks Dogberry and PeeDee. Nice to see MAENAD and GAGA turning up in the same puzzle – perhaps she would approve.

By: Robi

Robi — Wed, 16 Mar 2011 19:15:05 +0000

From mysterious Robi; I’m afraid I didn’t do this puzzle – just interested in the discussion. I always think of bling as fairly rubbishy jewelry, so thought I would comment.

By: PeeDee

PeeDee — Wed, 16 Mar 2011 19:13:01 +0000

Correct Robi@8, false finery = bling was the line I set off down on this clue, before backtracking and realising ‘false’ really stood in for ‘sham’. The first idea didn’t get properly erased from my brain and sort of leaked out again as I was writing the blog.

By: PeeDee

PeeDee — Wed, 16 Mar 2011 19:06:36 +0000

Re identifying pseudonyms with the real people, I quite like not knowing too much about who does what puzzle. It preserves an air of mystery about the whole process.

By: Robi

Robi — Wed, 16 Mar 2011 19:01:46 +0000

Eileen, re. 17; I assume it might be because ‘bling’ could be synonymous with ‘false finery.’

By: PeeDee

PeeDee — Wed, 16 Mar 2011 19:00:08 +0000

Eileen, quite right, the sham comment is nonesense, I’ll delete it. Thanks for pointing this out.

By: Eileen

Eileen — Wed, 16 Mar 2011 17:49:53 +0000

Thanks, PeeDee, for a good blog of an enjoyable puzzle – as you say, perhaps rather gentler than John Young with his Shed hat on. [See Crossword Who's Who in 'Best for Puzzles' under 'Links', above.]

I liked 29ac, too – and also thought 21ac had a very nice surface.

Re 17ac: I’m puzzled by your ‘sham’ does double duty in this clue’?

By: PeeDee

PeeDee — Wed, 16 Mar 2011 14:07:54 +0000

Hi bamberger,

A Virago is an assertive loud domineering woman, so I guess the Maenads’ behaviour of drunken carousing, sexualy proclivity and eating raw flesh of animals (supposedly including men and children) could qualify them as Viragos.

Apparently chantage come from the french ‘to sing’ (if I don’t get paid to keep my mouth shut). Not a word I hear used often in our neck of the woods.