Comments on: Independent 7,760 / Scorpion

By: Colin Blackburn

Colin Blackburn — Wed, 31 Aug 2011 08:16:25 +0000

I found this very enjoyable but then I did know all the Doctor’s actors’ names so once the theme was cracked I just filled in all those entries. I was impressed with the grid fill but I think I’d have liked to have seen two separate entries for BAKER – maybe that just wasn’t possible (do setters ever have the same word appear twice?). I filled in APPLET from the definition and thought the clue was fruit-related but just couldn’t see it – MANGO T is very clever but maybe a little too clever for a daily puzzle.

Colin

By: Allan_C

Allan_C — Wed, 31 Aug 2011 06:37:00 +0000

Mostly beyond me, even after looking up the first few answers on the blog though I’d got BAKER and SMITH from the wordplay. Then got the theme from the blog and filled in the other doctors but still couldn’t finish. The clue for APPLET was far too abstruse, with MOORLAND not far behind, and a few others I got without understanding the wordplay.

By: RatkojaRiku

RatkojaRiku — Tue, 30 Aug 2011 22:31:52 +0000

Thanks to one and all for your input on 3 – I am relieved to read that I was not the only one to struggle with this one.

I imagine that Gaufrid has indeed hit the nail on the head and will amend the blog accordingly – not in a million years would I have worked that out for myself! I don’t think I’ve ever come across a “mirroring” clue of this kind before.

By: superkiwigirl

superkiwigirl — Tue, 30 Aug 2011 19:19:57 +0000

Thanks, Gaufrid @ 5: your suggestion is surely right. As usual, once a clue is explained, you think “obvious, isn’t it”, and “why didn’t that occur to me?”

At least now I will (probably) sleep well tonight, without being haunted by the parsing of this clue. But without wanting to seem too serious, I might just be awake in the wee small hours reflecting ruefully that the ability to solve (well) is more a matter of nature than nurture…

By: Lenny

Lenny — Tue, 30 Aug 2011 19:14:14 +0000

This was a grid-filling tour de force. Getting 10 specific names into a grid is very impressive. It must have taken a long time just to find the right grid. I think I have seen something like this before, on the same theme, but a quick search of the archive does not produce any hits. Anyway, there has been a proliferation of Dr Whos in recent years so the last setter who tried it probably only had to fit in seven or eight names.

I solved all this fairly quickly without aids, which makes me despair. I have not watched Dr Who since I was a child and he was William Hartnell. Why is my brain full of this rubbish instead of something more useful?

By: Kathryn's Dad

Kathryn's Dad — Tue, 30 Aug 2011 19:04:08 +0000

RatkojaRiku, thank you for blogging.

This was well beyond me today. Got a few, went down the Formula One track, then had to throw in the towel. I have to say that the gateway clue is far from obvious; I did get a few of the themed clues, but unless you’re a Doctor Who aficionado then the link is unlikely to poke you in the eye.

VI for ‘volleyball team?’ Well, I guess since XI can mean ‘cricket team’ that works, but it gives an indication of the difficulty of the puzzle.

By: redddevil

redddevil — Tue, 30 Aug 2011 19:01:37 +0000

I’m sure this was most worthy but for me was waaaay too soon after last week’s similarly ‘themed’ (i.e. lots of clues referring to one other) effort.
It did bring me some pleasure though – when I tore it up in disgust.

By: beermagnet

beermagnet — Tue, 30 Aug 2011 18:59:51 +0000

I really enjoyed this.

Expecting a rough ride from Scorpion as usual, and seeing the the references to 6 littering the clues, I thought I would get nowhere with this. After getting only six answers on the first pass I thought this prediction would bear out and was tempted to stop. Then I noticed the “dozen” mentioned in clue 13 and thought “Baker” so being a Doctor Who fan the floodgates opened. I was impressed that all Doctors were included, even McGann. With all the doctors in place what remained had enough crossing letters for even me to get the rest – including Applet from the def, though that was one I couldn’t explain either. For my money I think Gaufrid’s just hit the nail on the head – Mango T – great.

Now, for those of you who could do with boning up on Doctor Who lore please check out the fantastic “Doctor Who Tube Map”
http://www.crispian.net/DoctorWho/DrWhoTubeMap.html

Cheers to RR for the blog.

By: Gaufrid

Gaufrid — Tue, 30 Aug 2011 18:22:13 +0000

I didn’t have time to solve this puzzle but I will throw in a suggestion for 3dn. Could the ‘market’ be referring to a fruit and vegetable market? Then MANGO T ‘formulated for a similar market’ could give APPLE T as both fruits would be sold in the same market.

By: superkiwigirl

superkiwigirl — Tue, 30 Aug 2011 17:08:26 +0000

I’m afraid that we crossed, nmsindy – perhaps the Garden of Eden is at the heart of the explanation after all.