Comments on: Financial Times 13,746 / Bradman

By: Steve

Steve — Fri, 15 Jul 2011 17:49:58 +0000

Thanks shuchi and Bradman.

Re 12 across, the second definition is that a halt, in railway parlance, is a small railway station, usually unstaffed and with few or no facilities: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Train_station#Halt

By: Bamberger

Bamberger — Fri, 15 Jul 2011 16:34:42 +0000

I got a fair way with this and enjoyed it much more than yesterdays offering.
12a Anyone who regularly travels on East Coast mainline would not agree that an express does not grind to a halt.
11d I knew it was an anagram of calbanallure (though whether to remove a or i from caliban was only settled because I had ?a?r?? ???a?l). However if I made up lauren bacall I wouldn’t have put in -never ever heard of her and looking on google, I think you’d have to be a film buff to have heard of her-she’s 87.
Similar comment for 13d -the only bing I’ve come across is a search engine. Turns out that Bing Crosby (my mother says she liked him)has been dead for 34 years.
A tad naughty to have those two clues I think.

By: Pelham Barton

Pelham Barton — Fri, 15 Jul 2011 15:26:46 +0000

jmac (@12) and shuchi (@13): Glad we agree. I could not see what the mistake had been.

I should like to take this opportunity of saying that I think it is a great strength of this site that bloggers are willing to correct their answers.

By: shuchi

shuchi — Fri, 15 Jul 2011 15:18:06 +0000

@Pelham Barton: I had missed “IS” in the blog earlier and added it after reading jmac’s comment. I agree with your parsing of the clue.

By: jmac

jmac — Fri, 15 Jul 2011 15:16:47 +0000

Hi Pelham, you’re absolutely right. I was just giving the letters used in order to correct Shuchi’s typo.

By: Pelham Barton

Pelham Barton — Fri, 15 Jul 2011 15:08:42 +0000

jmac @9: Although the answer to 1ac could be found as an anagram of IS TEASHOP C, I think the clue is better read as IS in POSTHAE (anagram of TEASHOP) with C also inserted, which is how the blog reads as I am typing this. How else do you justify the words “ploughing into” and “trapped” in the clue?

By: shuchi

shuchi — Fri, 15 Jul 2011 15:02:33 +0000

Oops, thanks for correcting that jmac.

By: jmac

jmac — Fri, 15 Jul 2011 14:47:51 +0000

Hi Shuchi, Thanks for the blog. 1 across is an anagram of IS TEASHOP and C.

Enjoyable puzzle, Thank you Bradman.

By: Wookie

Wookie — Fri, 15 Jul 2011 14:42:04 +0000

12a – Had “Bring to a Halt”, both would work, but “Grind to a halt” is the most common I suppose

By: scchua

scchua — Fri, 15 Jul 2011 11:58:24 +0000

Thanks shuchi and Bradman.

Enjoyable clueing and answers. Favourites were 15A BLIND SPOT, 27A FLOODLIGHT and 19A CAP IN HAND. Somewhat different view from Pelham Barton@3 about the dash in 14A. To me it added misdirection, as I kept thinking “better” applied to “someone”, rather than to “grand”. Probably would have got it earlier otherwise (it was my last but one in).