Comments on: Guardian Cryptic crossword No 25,429, by Brendan

By: Huw Powell

Huw Powell — Sat, 17 Sep 2011 22:48:45 +0000

I ignored 16a for a while, since clues like that just make my head hurt until I have some meat to work with. Along with some of the easier normal clues crossing important places, I had figured out PULSAR and (oops) PLIEADES (which made STEER a little slow to drop!) by the time I gridded out the way all the clues 16 refers to. Oh, and STREEP and WEST (loved that clue!), with STREEP making it immediately obvious that this wouldn’t some sort of sentence. That was just enough to make STARS clear – and help me solve PECK and BURTON, I like how the theme wrapped both ways in a sense once I got it – and I had beaten my way into PRIESTS AND SPRIEST. Very nicely constructed. I danced all around PIECE without getting it, making it so OPERATOR never came in. Not sure if looking at a map would have helped me get CELEBS, but I am familiar with the island, due to the rainbowfish that hails from those parts.

Thanks for parsing those out for me, Stella, along with the stellar blog of this star-themed puzzle (feel free to groan), thanks to Brendan for another wonderful workout.

By: rival

rival — Sat, 17 Sep 2011 16:52:06 +0000

First time poster, but no one has mention this. Anthus is a Latin (and possibly Greek) term for a flowers, so ‘anthology’ could be read (literary) as ‘collection of flowers’ or garland.

By: tupu

tupu — Fri, 16 Sep 2011 20:22:44 +0000

Thanks Stella and Brendan

A very good puzzle with nicely interlocking parts around the theme. I guessed stars and stripes early on, but the description of it in the clue only became clear towards the end of solving.

Much of the pleasure was in understanding the individual answers as part of the whole contsruction. I ticked the non-theme 6d and 14d individually as I went along.

By: gm4hqf

gm4hqf — Fri, 16 Sep 2011 16:26:18 +0000

Thanks Stella and BrigC for the solution to 7D CELEBES which was the one I couldn’t work out even though I had heard of the Island group.

By: RCWhiting

RCWhiting — Fri, 16 Sep 2011 16:12:49 +0000

Thanks for all those attempts to explain to me.

By: Stella

Stella — Fri, 16 Sep 2011 16:11:05 +0000

Whoops! Thanks Robi, now corrected.

By: Gaufrid

Gaufrid — Fri, 16 Sep 2011 16:02:10 +0000

RCW et al
I have just checked on my pc and the 15² cookie is set to expire one year after it was last modified.

However, your name and email address used when adding comments are not stored in the cookie. Your browser stores them (in IE9 it is listed as ‘form data’) and, unless steps are taken to prevent it, the information will be lost if the browsing history is deleted (also known as clearing the cache).

By: John Doe

John Doe — Fri, 16 Sep 2011 15:43:37 +0000

@chas & RCW

*All* cookies have an expiry date: it’s really a question of how long the web programmer/225 policy allows the cookie to exist

It probably disappeared after a short absence from blogging on this site.

HTH

By: Robi

Robi — Fri, 16 Sep 2011 15:42:39 +0000

Good puzzle, Brendan. I didn’t know AWN(ER) or the anthology use of GARLAND.

Thanks, Stella; didn’t get the ‘C’ in CASPIAN. I guess in 21d you mean *PESTER. I thought I would come here for the explanation of CELEBS – thanks, BrigC.

RCW @12; it may be that some Windows or Explorer updates wipe the cookies. Otherwise maybe you have some automatic wipe set to remove them? (I’m no computer expert, so maybe others have better ideas.)

By: chas

chas — Fri, 16 Sep 2011 14:54:50 +0000

RCW @12 I have noticed the same thing happening occasionally. I have never taken note of the dates where it happens but I wonder if there is an expiry date on the cookie? Maybe Gaufrid can explain.