Comments on: Guardian 25,356 / Gordius

By: Eileen

Eileen — Thu, 23 Jun 2011 21:31:59 +0000

I’m amazed at the number of responses this seemingly anodyne puzzle has generated – but thanks for your comments, everyone.

I’m with you all the way, I think, Sil: see you Saturday – but it’s a shame about your P in C!

By: Sil van den Hoek

Sil van den Hoek — Thu, 23 Jun 2011 20:48:42 +0000

Am I?

By: Paul B

Paul B — Thu, 23 Jun 2011 20:40:52 +0000

Yes, but it’s always fun to make exacting requests of persons for detailed explanations of things that are clearly going to require a lot of explaining. You’re just TOO sensible by half, Sil.

By: Sil van den Hoek

Sil van den Hoek — Thu, 23 Jun 2011 20:04:37 +0000

Why don’t we just simply accept that Gordius means:
1 credit card = 1 plastic, so 2 credit cards = 2 plastics.
Maybe even in the RCWhiting variant of +s = +s.
[don't worry, I know, it's linguistically wrong]

It is just not worth spending so much time on trying to explain it.
Well, that’s what I think .

As we all know, Gordius is a regular visitor of Sloppy & Floppy Land.

Very easy, this puzzle.
But always nice to see at least two fine clues: 1ac and 1d.

Thank you, Eileen, hope to meet you again this Saturday.

By: Paul B

Paul B — Thu, 23 Jun 2011 19:49:42 +0000

I can never understand that film. The Usual Suspects, I mean. The plot has more holes in it than Wentworth.

Perhaps credit cards are a strong temptation, but one might save face (7,7)

Sorry, but I’m struggling very badly to see how that works, either as a whole or in parts. A credit card can be one’s plastic singular, I suppose (even though most of us in the C21st would have more than one card), and credit cards are indeed referred to as ‘plastic’, but certainly never ‘plastics’, as the word fulfils both the singular and the plural case. That leaves, one suspects, either SURGE ON, or S and URGE ON.

To ‘surge on’ would not be to strongly tempt as far as I’m aware, but nor would ‘urge on’: that’s to strongly encourage, isn’t it? Even in Chambers Online Thesaurus (usually most generous, liberal and lavish with the meanings it assigns) ‘tempt’ does not appear under ‘urge’. And S doesn’t stand for strong on its own in any dictionary I possess.

So what then, grammarians? I must say I am not persuaded by your efforts so far.

By: Carrots

Carrots — Thu, 23 Jun 2011 18:40:16 +0000

Got all but SCANSIONS in under half-a-pint, including changing EXHIBITOR for EXPOSITOR as the first one in.

There`s one thing to be said about Gordius….he usually prompts a fire-fight among the usual suspects, which I have a sneaky suspicion he does on purpose.

See y`all in Brummieland.

By: RCWhiting

RCWhiting — Thu, 23 Jun 2011 17:10:31 +0000

……………and even more common…..’US’.

By: Eileen

Eileen — Thu, 23 Jun 2011 16:39:04 +0000

RCWhiting@23 and 35

Your reading of 8dn is what I intended to indicate in the blog. I’m sorry if it wasn’t clear. [Maybe I should have omitted the '+'. ]

Bamberger, it’s worth filing away WE / OUR for Guardian / Guardian’s, as it crops up quite a lot [and FT used in the same way on another thread].

By: Wolfie

Wolfie — Thu, 23 Jun 2011 16:29:52 +0000

Thanks Eileen for the blog.

I am firmly in the camp of those who found this a pleasant and entertaining crossword, and who are puzzled by the tendency in some quarters to criticise Gordius for taking liberties that would be nodded through indulgently from other setters.

I liked 27ac very much. Others have pointed out that the Achilles tendon is a real (not a metaphorical) vulnerability for athletes. I would add that this is particularly the case in chilly weather – hence the importance of stretching and warming up the tendon before exercising when cold. This makes the clue a particularly clever &lit in my opinion.

By: Bamberger

Bamberger — Thu, 23 Jun 2011 16:08:54 +0000

1a & 1d were catch 22 clues. Hard to solve without the checking letters from the answers that they started but harder to get those answers witout the first letters. Failed on
3d -thought it an anagram of “in poor sex” . Had a crossing t from 13a so thought enters must be wrongCouldn’t make a word of out “in poor sex” either.
7d Our=Guardians just didn’t come to mind.
15d Didn’t have enought crossing letters to have a stab.
20d Thought of caravan, tractor but again didn’t have enough crossing letters to have a fair go.
12a I would never have got this. Didn’t know the word and would have thought of scions for offshoots.
14a Brunel =engineer didn;t conme to mind. If I’d had ?r?n?i , I might have got it but with only ????i, not much chance.
24a Again hard with only ????r to go on given the multitude of states and bearing =air isn’t obvious to me.

So Gordius if you are reading this, at least person didn’t think it was trivially easy.