Comments on: Financial Times no.13,805 by SLEUTH

By: Pelham Barton

Pelham Barton — Fri, 23 Sep 2011 13:18:43 +0000

Thanks Sleuth for clarifying the homophones. Of course you are right about PALTRY/POULTRY having the approval of Chambers – something I could (and therefore should) have checked myself before commenting.

By: Scarpia

Scarpia — Thu, 22 Sep 2011 22:17:18 +0000

Thanks Ringo.
Good puzzle from Sleuth and I must agree with his comment above.
I feel where a ‘homophone’ is indicated, solvers should think of it as ‘sounds similar to’.I often find corny/dodgy ‘homophones’ to be the most amusing parts of a puzzle(little things/little minds perhaps…).
Keep ‘em coming,I say!

By: Sleuth

Sleuth — Thu, 22 Sep 2011 21:29:23 +0000

Apologies- the above should be by Sleuth

By: Hypnos

Hypnos — Thu, 22 Sep 2011 21:27:08 +0000

Thanks to Ringo for the blog and all for comments.

That cocktail sounds as if it packs quite a punch! The alcoholic theme was in fact quite
unintentional so maybe next time I’ll have to try to introduce a mellower coffee house theme.

Re the homophones, Korea was certainly the reference (not Caria). Korea/career brings to mind
the classic Grauniad solecism “Korea diplomat”. If it’s good enough for the Grauniad, it’s good
enough…. Chambers gives two phonetic spellings for paltry and poultry, one of which is identical,
so I think the homophone is valid. I recognise that homophones tend to be contentious given regional
variations and personal preferences in speech but I think it would be a shame if setters became
inhibited from using them.

Anyway, on to my nightcap of Bovzilla….

By: Ringo

Ringo — Thu, 22 Sep 2011 20:35:07 +0000

Or Bovzilla?…

By: Lenny

Lenny — Thu, 22 Sep 2011 20:16:35 +0000

Can anyone suggest a name for a Bovril/Ouzo/Tequila/Vodka cocktail. Bazooka perhaps?

By: Pelham Barton

Pelham Barton — Thu, 22 Sep 2011 19:54:03 +0000

James @8: Apart from grounds of obscurity, I can agree that Caria might be better than Korea for the old country.

That is of course a separate issue from whether the homophone is good enough for the way the clue is worded. I would pronouce Caria or Korea almost identically, with three clear syllables, while Career only has two.

By: Ringo

Ringo — Thu, 22 Sep 2011 19:33:12 +0000

James – you’re a more learned man than me! Had to Wikipedia it (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caria), but you could well be right there.

Lenny – you wouldn’t want to serve Bovril through an optic, it’d be hell to clean…

And the eternal homophone debate continues… Have to admit, PALTRY/POULTRY sounds very dicey to my ear. No real problem with CAREER/KOREA/CARIA, though.

By: James

James — Thu, 22 Sep 2011 19:16:29 +0000

I wonder if the homophone for 10ac. might be Caria which is more properly an “old country” than Korea.

By: Pelham Barton

Pelham Barton — Thu, 22 Sep 2011 19:12:34 +0000

Lenny @6: I think we are basically in agreement: it is more a question of terminology than substance.

I also agree with your comment @4 about the imperfect homophones. One could argue that a clue with wording such as “sounds like” would allow this type of imperfect homophone, and at least 22dn has a question mark. However, the wording actually used by Sleuth in 10ac (“by the sound of it”) seems to me to require a more exact homophone.