Comments on: Guardian Prize Puzzle 25,352 by Paul

By: Malc

Malc — Mon, 27 Jun 2011 08:46:22 +0000

Hi RCW

Of course, that molishes sense.

By: Davy

Davy — Mon, 27 Jun 2011 08:31:24 +0000

Hi RCW (19),

I asked this very same question on Site Feedback back in January. See comments 10 and 11.

By: RCWhiting

RCWhiting — Sun, 26 Jun 2011 22:42:32 +0000

Does anyone know why, under “Leave a Reply”, one’s name and e-mail sometimes remains in place for several days but then randomly disappears?

By: RCWhiting

RCWhiting — Sun, 26 Jun 2011 22:40:21 +0000

Malcolm
A prize puzzle cannot be blogged on the day it appears since everyone would then know the solution. Hence the Araucaria will be blogged next weekend after the closing date.
This blog is therefore for last Saturday’s (18th).
I hope that clears up things for you.

By: Malcolm

Malcolm — Sun, 26 Jun 2011 21:54:29 +0000

Ummm… may be I’m stupid or something but the online prizepuzzle is by Araucaria and is completley different

By: molonglo

molonglo — Sun, 26 Jun 2011 21:05:16 +0000

Thanks PeeDee. Managed to solve this while out watching a kids’ footie game, hence sans aids. Lucky I’d read 15,16. Lots of good and droll clues, including 13a and 23,18. The two guesses, last two across, were well cued.

By: Biggles A

Biggles A — Sun, 26 Jun 2011 20:43:47 +0000

Thanks tupu,

Points taken and I’m very happy to respect our differences.

By: tupu

tupu — Sun, 26 Jun 2011 14:15:37 +0000

Hi BigglesA

Thanks for getting back – I’ve only just seen your reply.
More figurative uses seem to go back to the 1780s.
I have raised this sort of issue before some time back having been reminded of Chomskey’s ideas of surface and deep structure (nb the use of ‘surface’ too in Xword jargon). There the idea seems to be to get to the underlying structure and meaning of an often ambiguous surface by choosing a structuring of the parts that makes sense. I feel parsing is a fair term for that exercise in ‘disambiguation’ (e.g. ‘time flies like an arrow’ could refer to how you time them) and so by extension for dealing with ‘ambiguities’ in Xword clues, though there we tend to choose the less likely structures.

As I say, I appreciate your getting back – and less prescriptively than you first ‘sounded’ – and I am very happy to agree to differ amicably!

By: Biggles A

Biggles A — Sat, 25 Jun 2011 23:02:43 +0000

Hello tupu,

Having spent my fair share of time in English and Latin grammar classes the word has for me the very specific meaning which you have quoted. I’m unable though to make the leap of logic which applies it to the explanation of crossword clues. It’s pedantic of me I know and I also know that change in the meaning of words is inexorable in a living language. Even so, I still think we lose something when the precise meaning of a word is compromised.

I’m aware of 2 in the OED definition but this is mainly to recognise the decline.

By: Davy

Davy — Sat, 25 Jun 2011 20:19:40 +0000

Thanks PeeDee,

I enjoyed this and like most Paul puzzles, it’s hieroglyphics to begin with and slowly it all begins to make sense.

Favourite clues were ON STAND BY, RECESS and HEXOSE. Last clue in was TITCHY. Paul definitely is a one-off and his clueing style is like no-one else on this planet. Thanks Mr Halpern.