Comments on: Guardian Genius 95 / Lavatch

By: bridgesong

bridgesong — Sat, 11 Jun 2011 06:55:03 +0000

Thanks, mhl, for a very clear blog, and Lavatch for an ingenious puzzle. OBITER is a word familiar to lawyers in the phrase obiter dicta, meaning a passage in a judgment which is not relevant to the point being decided in the case, but which may be cited as authority in a subsequent case. I’ve never come across MORA, however. The word for delay when I was a law student was LACHES.

By: Mr Beaver

Mr Beaver — Tue, 07 Jun 2011 21:27:54 +0000

The hardest thing I found about this was not knowing how the instructions would work until quite near the end. Initially I thought some of the solutions would have to move before they were placed in the grid so one didn't know whether to write in an answer or not. That, and a couple of obscurities (GART ??, MORA ???) meant we didn't get this nailed until nearly the end of the month. But yes, it was clever !

By: mhl

mhl — Tue, 07 Jun 2011 05:09:19 +0000

Jan and Gordon Roy: many thanks for those corrections – I’ve applied them to the post now.

By: Gordon Roy

Gordon Roy — Mon, 06 Jun 2011 23:48:32 +0000

Thank you mhl. I also enjoyed this puzzle a lot, and your blog. Re: point 2 above. Tea Biscuit obviously became Sea Biscuit after the geography was resolved. I’m a bit dubious about Theo also.

Also for anyone else not familiar with this puzzle, you forgot to cross out ‘riled’ from 16A. I’m not familiar with that ‘hit’ record you mention either – I must look it up.

Rispetto was my last word in. It took me five days to find this after I’d done the rest. I didn’t get the TT bit until after I’d found the word [in the encyclopaedia [encyclopedia over here]. Britannica online. It is not in any of the American dictionaries I am forced to use here, neither is it in my new Collins. Clearly I need to buy a Chambers next time I’m back home!

By: Jan

Jan — Mon, 06 Jun 2011 22:46:28 +0000

I’ve only just noticed, mhl, that you have put SEA rather than TEA in the solution for 18. A very understandable slip in a difficult blogging task.

By: Jan

Jan — Mon, 06 Jun 2011 22:38:46 +0000

Thank you, mhl, for a very well set out blog. And thank you Lavatch for yet another intriguing puzzle.

I wondered whether THEO (after the letter swaps) truly counts as a ‘real word’ – I’m being a bit picky, aren’t I? I was happy with SEA BISCUIT because they are both ‘real words’.