Comments on: Independent 7699/Klingsor

By: Klingsor

Klingsor — Mon, 20 Jun 2011 22:34:18 +0000

Thanks Pierre for the nice blog and to those who made such encouraging comments. Thomas99 got the parsing of LIGNITE right at comment 5 and NMSindy is correct that the reference to Neanderthals was that they had a low/protruding forehead rather than anything else. Interesting that Pierre mentions the stag yobs in Prague – after living there for 6 years I am pleased to say that they are no longer a problem here (Neanderthals and amoebas are both far more intelligent than most of them) but as I understand it, they inflict themselves on the Baltic capitals these days. Condolences to the locals in Tallinn, Riga and Vilnius.

Again many thanks

Klingsor

By: flashling

flashling — Mon, 20 Jun 2011 21:16:22 +0000

TY pierre had 2 goes at this got loads then stuck on RHS, second time around it fell out – the french bits worked out well for you.
Thanks of course to Klingsor for another fine puzzle

By: Sil van den Hoek

Sil van den Hoek — Mon, 20 Jun 2011 20:24:01 +0000

Thanks Pierre for your blog of another nice Klingsor puzzle.
His trademarks are all there, especially in 18d (where you have to separate Judas and Priest – right up my street), 13d (same thing with ‘nous’ and the rest) and in 1ac and 7d (both in which ‘names’ were used for the sake of improving the surface).

Other favourites: 16ac’s Bratwurst, 19ac (Slake), 26ac (those awful Etonians – who rule the country) and the fine 3d (Abstain).

Sometimes I think that Klingsor goes a bit over the top, like in the overconstructed ‘Sick as a parrot’.

Funny, Pierre, that you mention ‘Prague’ in you explanation of ‘Lowdown’ (which I didn’t like that much, btw). Deliberately?
In 24d Klingsor uses the name Jana, which is typical Czech.
He has settled in rather quickly there, I guess.

By: NealH

NealH — Mon, 20 Jun 2011 12:28:17 +0000

I thought there were some brilliant clues here, although 22 was a bit difficult to fathom. It was good to see peculate not clued as the obvious [s]peculate (even though it would have been nice to see financial speculators bashed as crooks). Claque was my last answer and I only got it after trying out other options like clique etc. 13 and 19d were my favourite clues.

By: nmsindy

nmsindy — Mon, 20 Jun 2011 11:33:04 +0000

This was an excellent puzzle, thanks, Klingsor and Pierre. Pretty hard in places. Esp liked BRATWURST, SHERRY, KISS, ETONIANS, LOWBROW (which as it splits in two is not I think casting any aspersion on the Neanderthals just saying that they are small ie have a low brow). And it would be hard to dispute today that an Irishman could well be known as Rory…

By: Pierre

Pierre — Mon, 20 Jun 2011 09:40:59 +0000

Thank you, Eileen, for once again riding to my rescue at 11dn. I always thought it was men who were supposed to turn up on white horses to rescue women, but perhaps I read too many fairy tales when I was little. Thanks also to Gaufrid for the (more plausible) parsing of 15ac – I was obviously stuck in French mode.

By: Thomas99

Thomas99 — Mon, 20 Jun 2011 09:15:46 +0000

On second thoughts I think 22 is an &lit in imperative form: Make lignite fire, i.e. get rid of, the first letter in light (with the whole thing the definition). That seems less tortured than my gangster theory.

By: scchua

scchua — Mon, 20 Jun 2011 09:14:22 +0000

Thanks Pierre and Klingsor for a really enjoyable puzzle.

I liked the multi-country tour, for in addition to France, we’ve visited the US, England, Ireland, Germany, Estonia and Italy. Favourite clues were 19D SOJOURN, 7D QUARTERBACK and 4D MORTARBOARDS (I have the same interpretation as Eileen, as I think it’s meant be read as “the Royal Society”, which is also known as the RS, and its learned fellows must very well wear or at least have mortarboards).

By: Thomas99

Thomas99 — Mon, 20 Jun 2011 09:09:02 +0000

22a – I read it that lignite was “light” of i.e. lacked its first letter. I think gangsters in films sometimes riffle the protection money by their ear and say something like “Hey! This is light twenty bucks!”

4d – Like Eileen I read “assuming” in the sartorial sense – “[s]tarboard” is assuming, i.e. putting on, RS.

Klingsor is on record as having shifted his musical tastes from Pink Floyd to Wagner and Mahler, with Judas Priest and Tosca perhaps somewhere along the way?

I always enjoy his puzzles and this was no exception. And I promise I’m not part of a claque!

By: Gaufrid

Gaufrid — Mon, 20 Jun 2011 09:03:37 +0000

Thanks Pierre
In 15ac I thought the ‘interminable book’ was more likely to be ROMAN[s], the sixth book in the New Testament, though ROMAN[ce] also works.