Comments on: Everyman No. 3373 (22nd May)

By: Bryan

Bryan — Sun, 29 May 2011 18:35:06 +0000

Many thanks PeterO @9 but I don’t drink alcohol: I get my kicks out of doing crosswords.

I did have Quiche for lunch and it was delicious. Many thanks Lorraine for giving me the idea.

By: PeterO

PeterO — Sun, 29 May 2011 11:33:00 +0000

Bryan, how about some Chambertin with your quiche? Maybe a red wine is not the best match for a quiche. Chambertin is the name of a vineyard, one of the most famous in Burgundy; the village of Gevrey, like many villages in the area, hyphenates its name with its most illustrious vineyard, a deliberately deceptive practice. Stella, you are right that Kinder Scout hardly qualifies as a peak, although it is the highest point in Derbyshire; it is more an upland plateau, covered with a thick layer of peat which has eroded into a weird landscape of hummocks and gullies. Lorraine - Icarus' wings were the usual feathery sort, held on by wax. They were invented by his father Daedalus for them to escape from Crete, but Icarus flew too near the sun, and the wax melted. There is a wonderful painting by Pieter Bruegel the Elder called Landscape with the fall of Icarus, in which it is easy to overlook Icarus, who appears only as a pair of legs splashing down in the in the bottom right corner.

By: Stella Heath

Stella Heath — Sun, 29 May 2011 10:35:59 +0000

Thanks Lorraine. There were several unknown answers here, whether they be facts, places or unfamiliar juxtapositions. I had resource to Wiki for the Burgundy, as I couldn’t think how to follow “CHAMBER”. I’d never heard of 1d or the peak (which in the photo I saw looks more like a mound ). And I didn’t know that meaning for ROOST, what instrument Mr Basie played or what sea Icarus drowned in.

In conclusion, this was a crossword where I was considerably more knowledgeable once I’d finished it. Many thanks for the lesson, Everyman.

Mystogre@1, it is now policy to omit apostrophes in the word count, as they were too much of a giveaway, as I read in one of Hugh Stepenson’s newsletters some months ago. I think the discussion there was whether to enumerate initials, such as the NHS for example, as (1,1,1) or (3).

By: Kathryn's Dad

Kathryn's Dad — Sun, 29 May 2011 09:32:32 +0000

Many thanks, Lorraine. Your blog reminded me of how I, too, found this tougher than your average Everyman.

ROOST was clever; I had to confirm the definition in the dictionary, which is no bad thing. And like Bryan, KINDER SCOUT went straight in, since I live on the edge of the beautiful Peak District.

By: Bryan

Bryan — Sun, 29 May 2011 08:19:05 +0000

Good Morning Lorraine and Many Thanks!

I was wondering what to get for lunch and now, suitably inspired, I shall settle for a Quiche.

This was a delightful puzzle and I consider ICARUS particularly good although I was unaware that he took a dip in the Aegean.

I did meet COUNT BASIE in a hotel lift in Australia many years ago.

Knowing the Peak District, KINDER SCOUT was easy for me but it may have proved less than kind to other solvers.

Many thanks Everyman!

By: Mystogre

Mystogre — Sun, 29 May 2011 08:14:01 +0000

For Bamberger@2, The maiden performance is the first one as in fresh, original or new [Chambers].

By: Robi

Robi — Sun, 29 May 2011 08:02:11 +0000

Bamberger @2; Chambertin is an ‘Appellation d’origine contrôlée’ region producing high quality red wine, of which Gevrey-Chambertin is one of the more famous. Try some, if you can afford the high price!

By: Robi

Robi — Sun, 29 May 2011 07:58:19 +0000

Thanks, Lorraine; I, too, found this a bit more difficult than usual. TWEENIE was a complicated clue with an unusual answer - more here. It is apparently distinct from 'tweenager.' Enjoyable puzzle; I particularly liked ICARUS and APROPOS.

By: Bamberger

Bamberger — Sun, 29 May 2011 07:56:02 +0000

Found this heavy going and couldn’t get 23a nor the second part of 13d.
Needed a solver to get 5d C?a?b?r?i? . I’m not a wine drinker -is this a commonplace wine or an obscure one?
Thanks for the blog

By: Mystogre

Mystogre — Sun, 29 May 2011 07:42:13 +0000

Many thanks Lorraine. I found this one to be as enjoyable as most from Everyman. A nice Sunday lunch solve in other words.

The last one I got was 23ac, which I just plain didn’t see for a long time. Silly that. But my gripe is 6d, where I would have thought an apostrophe was called for in the clue information. Or don’t people worry about that any more?

1d fitted but it was not a term I knew. Enjoyed 18d though.