Comments on: Guardian Cryptic N° 25,368 by Gordius

By: Brendan Quinn

Brendan Quinn — Sun, 17 Jul 2011 11:40:17 +0000

Thanks very much for the solution and explanation to 14 down – the Monica clue. After quite a long break from cryptic crosswords I enjoyed this one but was completely stuck till now on 14d even though had all the other clues right quite quickly. Actually I’m a bit annoyed as this is a pretty obscure reference to a little used word (Moniker) and the “homophone” does not work at all for those of us who pronounce all the ‘r’s in words – Irish, Scots, West Country, Americans …

By: otter

otter — Mon, 11 Jul 2011 12:50:11 +0000

Well, I was born many years after the days of the bobby-soxers, and it’s a term I’m familiar with. It took some time to dredge it out of the murk of my memory, but that’s partly what crosswords are for, isn’t it?

By: Paul B

Paul B — Fri, 08 Jul 2011 21:42:50 +0000

Yes Davy, between ‘necessarily’ and ‘a’ there should be a ‘be’. I thought you were celebrating the fact that Gordius hadn’t managed to annoy anyone on grounds of taste, on this occasion.

Clearly not everyone here knows the term, but perhaps you could clarify why you think it might not be suitable for inclusion in a daily crossword puzzle: too obscure perhaps? Obscured in the mists of time?

By: otter

otter — Fri, 08 Jul 2011 12:04:30 +0000

I agree with Speckled Jim that neither 16a nor 25a are good clues. Both eminently gettable, but for me not testing enough – and 25a is too vague – ‘something which wouldn’t be worn out [of the house]‘ – to be satisfying. (Although there has been plenty of tabloid hand-wringing of late over mothers dropping off their children at school in their pyjamas…)

By: Ann Kittenplan

Ann Kittenplan — Fri, 08 Jul 2011 09:30:04 +0000

Macbeth meets the Witches for the first time (I think)

Macbeth: Speak, if you can: what are you?
First Witch: All hail, Macbeth! hail to thee, Thane of Glamis!
Second Witch: All hail, Macbeth, hail to thee, Thane of Cawdor!
Third Witch: All hail, Macbeth, thou shalt be king hereafter!

By: Speckled Jim

Speckled Jim — Thu, 07 Jul 2011 22:41:21 +0000

Thank you, RCWhiting, yes I’m aware of how crosswords work, but you have to be able to get some letters in the grid before other letters “cross check” – therefore, every clue should be solvable in isolation, and this one wasn’t.

Still very surprised at how much love 16a is getting. Given that an “income tax return” is a form that you fill in, not money that you do/don’t pay, I can’t see how this is a well-worded clue…

By: RCWhiting

RCWhiting — Thu, 07 Jul 2011 21:52:11 +0000

Bobby Soxers far predate 1985. When Sinatra was barely more than a teenager himself he developed a new form of following: very young girls who screamed loudly and wore white ankle socks (or as the Americans have it, sox).
Nightgown = underwear except that no letter cross checks which is why they are called crosswords.

By: Kathryn's Dad

Kathryn's Dad — Thu, 07 Jul 2011 20:22:10 +0000

Yes, fair play to Gordius, this was an enjoyable puzzle with some fine clues. Ones I liked today were ISLET, ADIEU and INCOME TAX RETURN.

Thanks for blogging, Peter.

By: Sil van den Hoek

Sil van den Hoek — Thu, 07 Jul 2011 20:07:48 +0000

I had never heard of BOBBY-SOXER either, but I got the solution right away because I had to think of 1985's Eurovision Song Contest winners: The Bobbysocks [from Norway, remember "La det swinge"?].

By: Speckled Jim

Speckled Jim — Thu, 07 Jul 2011 18:15:36 +0000

Found this at the harder end of Guardian crosswords. Must be a style thing. Never heard of bobby-soxers. I dread to put it into Google for fear of what might turn up.

Big dislike to clues 16a and 25a. The latter could have been all sorts of things, including ‘underwear’ – more specificity in clue, please!

14d is a good one; although I spotted the Monica homophone, I’d never have got it.

I never would have expected to see either nitrates or iodates in a (non chemistry) crossword, and I’m a chemist by trade!