Comments on: Guardian 25,365 / Rufus

By: RCWhiting

RCWhiting — Mon, 04 Jul 2011 22:49:47 +0000

Thankyou Robi and tupu
I guess you are right but it is all a little unconvincing.
Dear old Azed does usually indicate when he is using obsolete meanings!

By: Mr Beaver

Mr Beaver — Mon, 04 Jul 2011 20:27:38 +0000

“‘Scandinavian’ = FINN is uncharacteristically sloppy for Rufus” ?

- well, I didn’t have any problems with 17d: if it’s incorrect usage, I hadn’t realised.
As others have said, I found this uncharacteristically un-sloppy – the constructions were good, there were no non-cryptic cds, and far more wit than I usually find.
More in the same vein, please!

By: Geoff

Geoff — Mon, 04 Jul 2011 18:58:08 +0000

Thanks Eileen

Came very late to this today. I found it largely very easy, although I was held up for a little while in the SW corner. Elegantly clued, as ever.

Like others, I had AXLE briefly at 21a.

‘Scandinavian’ = FINN is uncharacteristically sloppy for Rufus. Despite what Collins may say (and the other dictionaries pointedly don’t) no Scandinavian would employ this usage – Nordic is the umbrella term, as tupu points out. It’s analogous to calling a Scot ‘English’, or (in Soviet days) a Ukranian ‘Russian’ – loose terminology which is common outside the territories themselves. Far from being a ‘cultural usage’ it is actually (albeit mildly) culturally insensitive.

By: tupu

tupu — Mon, 04 Jul 2011 17:45:28 +0000

HI Robi and RCWhiting
I have just been delving into OED and come up with the same answer as Robi. Axis was used for an axle until the early C19, and axle there is defined as a pin etc.

By: Robi

Robi — Mon, 04 Jul 2011 17:42:59 +0000

RCWhiting @27; good point. The only explanation I can come up with is that Chambers gives AXIS as an obsolete variation of axle. The latter is defined as: ‘the pin or rod in the nave of a wheel on or by means of which the wheel turns.’ That is probably why I tried ‘axle’ as the answer at first.

By: RCWhiting

RCWhiting — Mon, 04 Jul 2011 17:19:10 +0000

Can someone explain ‘axis’please.
I get the revolver although, at least in theoretical maths an axis is invariable and therefoe doesn’t revolve. It is the pin which I don’t get – I chose (with no conviction) ‘afix’.

By: Jim morton

Jim morton — Mon, 04 Jul 2011 16:59:16 +0000

6 across
Independence Day in USA

By: Jim morton

Jim morton — Mon, 04 Jul 2011 16:57:55 +0000

6 across
Independence Dat in USA

By: chas

chas — Mon, 04 Jul 2011 15:10:02 +0000

Robi @21 I looked at your link. To my eyes there seemed to be several different styles illustrated there. I guess that women still use the style but the name is not talked about as much as it used to be.

By: Andrew

Andrew — Mon, 04 Jul 2011 14:15:03 +0000

Thanks for the blog Eileen. Rather surprisingly (to me, anyway), "Where Did You Get That Hat?" was first published as early as 1888. According to this page, "the melody is based partly on a leitmotiv from Wagner's Lohengrin", but I'm not enough of a Wagnerian to verify this.