Comments on: Financial Times 13,802 – Falcon

By: Sil van den Hoek

Sil van den Hoek — Sat, 01 Oct 2011 11:45:44 +0000

Well, Bamberger, Wikipedia starts its story on Montrose with “Montrose (Scottish Gaelic: Monadh Rois) is a Scottish coastal resort town and former royal burgh in Angus”.

And Shakespearean references? As one from abroad, Shakespeare wasn’t part of my education. But my journeys in Crosswordland have made clear that in the UK for many he was/is. That said, a crossword relying heavily on Shakespeare can still not let my heart beat faster. I guess that will never change. However I accept that, at least in Crosswordland, I need to have some minimal knowledge of WS. But only minimal …

By: Bamberger

Bamberger — Fri, 30 Sep 2011 19:39:47 +0000

Got stuck in the SW. I do not like clues such as 26a which rely on Shakespearean knowledge. Is Montrose really a resort?

By: Sil van den Hoek

Sil van den Hoek — Thu, 29 Sep 2011 21:57:32 +0000

Many thanks, JN and PB, for your comments.
A special ‘ta’ to Pelham Barton for answering John Newman’s questions (which normally I should have done …. ).

John, there are indeed quite a few abbreviations in this puzzle, but it didn’t seem to be ‘excessive’ to me. Many of them were very familiar. That said MM (decoration) was one that I hadn’t encountered before.

Pelham Barton, thanks for your views on ACE and the now even more fabulous THERM.

By: Pelham Barton

Pelham Barton — Thu, 29 Sep 2011 13:20:07 +0000

John @1: I wrote my previous comment wihout having seen yours, but hope I have answered your question about 13dn.

In 11ac, O for Oscar is the NATO phonetic alphabet, (Alpha, Bravo, etc.)

In 15dn, W for with has the authority of Chambers. Incidentally the Latin is “cum”, preserved in English in place names like Chorlton-cum-Hardy, although it changes to “con-” as a prefix.

By: Pelham Barton

Pelham Barton — Thu, 29 Sep 2011 13:08:02 +0000

Thanks Falcon for a pleasant crossword and Sil for the blog. This looks to be fairly standard Monday lunchtime fare – perhaps we should expect a bit more of a challenge for a prize crossword, but as a rule I will not criticise a crossword for being too easy, as long as all the clues are genuinely cryptic.

25ac: I found the clash between the THE as the first word of the answer and the THE given as “Article” in the clue to be a nice piece of misdirection.

6dn: I think you can take “element of heat” = “first letter of heat” = H, in which case the clue is a complete “& lit”.

13dn: I think this is actually a triple definition, although all three meanings are under the same headword in Chambers 1998, albeit noun (One) + noun (unit) + adjective (of highest quality).

My one grumble with this crossword is that the long answer at 14, 18 completely divides the rest of the crossword into two halves. I prefer my crosswords more fully interlocked, but I realise this is purely a matter of personal preference.

By: John Newman

John Newman — Thu, 29 Sep 2011 12:54:35 +0000

Thanks Sil. While I filled all the squares I don’t think I had a puzzle with so many “why”‘s written next to my answers. So am happy to get your solutions. Part of the trouble I now see is the excessive use of one letters standing for words. Not a very clever setting practice, surely?

I had written “Take In” for 11 across. A pretty good answer except for Oscar. How do you get “O” for Oscar?

And “w” for with? (I remember using c when note taking from teachers’ lectures at school. Can’t remember why. Probably con = with in latin as well as Italian)

I agree with you about Eddie Shah. Never heard of him either. But then I do not live in England. The Age was easier for me.

Finally can you explain 13 D for me? Highest quality, yes. One, yes. But which definition does “unit” apply to?

cheers

John