Comments on: Guardian 25,480 – Pasquale

By: Huw Powell

Huw Powell — Thu, 17 Nov 2011 23:54:43 +0000

Ah, I see, thanks Eileen! Today for the first time I looked at “recent posts”, realizing that since I am always posting a day or two or ten after the puzzles and blogs come out I should look for posts on older puzzles since they might be replies to me – and was rewarded for the effort on the first go.

See you all over the rest of the blogs!

By: Eileen

Eileen — Wed, 16 Nov 2011 21:28:27 +0000

Hi Huw, if you’re still there.

I think you didn’t read Dave Ellison’s link @17

By: Huw Powell

Huw Powell — Wed, 16 Nov 2011 21:05:38 +0000

Enjoyed this puzzle, it was a hard one-word-every-half-hour slog (or so it seemed), but an amusing ride. I don’t tend to notice surfaces much, but after reading the interview with Rufus yesterday and the attention he pays to making them smooth, I did notice some really nice ones here today. 1 and 26 spring to mind.

Had to use every trick in the book to finish this, 9 was last to go in. Got 1 from one checked letter (the R), then was saddened to not be able to use a single one of the checked letters it gave me for ages!

Had a few I couldn’t parse, so thanks for the blog Uncle Yap – one minor quibble, I found NOI at 24 to be “An English term for Snazzy or Groovy.” and was fine with that meaning “top bod”, though I agree “No. 1″ works well too.

Eileen at 19, I think you’ll want to visit the church on the equinox, not the solstice, for a due East sunrise. In July (! should be June anyway) the sunrise will be far South of East.

Sil at 31, yes, I noticed the “paired” clues, seemed like there were quite a few more. You mentioned nurses, cycles, and rogues… I thought that BACON and the essayist in 17 count; a couple of churches; stars/celebs; there may be more.

And thanks for the puzzle and dropping in on the blog, Pasquale!

By: PeeDee

PeeDee — Wed, 16 Nov 2011 11:08:22 +0000

Hi Sil,

the way I read it was Shakespearean is ‘by playwright, Joycean would be ‘by novelist’, so Elian would be ‘by essayist’.

By: RCWhiting

RCWhiting — Wed, 16 Nov 2011 01:56:09 +0000

Allan_C
I am also an (ex) chemist and I had exactly the same thought about ‘titre’.
Thanks sundry folk for confirming my thought on ‘eastwards’.

By: nusquam

nusquam — Wed, 16 Nov 2011 01:09:42 +0000

Sil @31

I got interested in the question you addressed to Eileen, and I hope neither of you will mind if I reply.

basilicus,-a, -um is a Latin adjective derived from Greek, and means ‘royal’. The ‘basilica’ building type which was adapted for church use implies an underlying feminine noun like ‘oikia’ or ‘stoa’ – a ‘royal’ house or portico. The herb on the other hand is a specification of the Greek neuter word for basil ‘ocimum’, so we are dealing with ‘royal’ basil. ‘Ocimum’ survives in the scientific name for ‘basil’, which is ‘Ocimum basilicum’.

By: Sil van den Hoek

Sil van den Hoek — Tue, 15 Nov 2011 23:50:20 +0000

Thank you, PeeDee, for your ‘help’.
‘Banal piece’ meaning CORN is fine by me, but ELIAN for ‘by essayist’ is not something on/at my wavelength.
Your explanation is clear enough, though.
Thanks.

By: Allan_C

Allan_C — Tue, 15 Nov 2011 23:46:00 +0000

As a chemist I was going to quibble about TITRE which I’ve always used only in the sense of the quantity of reagent required to complete the reaction in a titration. But I find that it can also mean the concentration or strength of a solution. Oh well!

By: PeeDee

PeeDee — Tue, 15 Nov 2011 23:38:14 +0000

Hi Sil, ‘banal piece’=corn, i.e. something corny, and ‘Elian’ meaning ‘of Elia’ or ‘by essayist’ Elia being the pseudonym of essayist Charles Lamb, author of ‘Essays of Elia’.

By: Sil van den Hoek

Sil van den Hoek — Tue, 15 Nov 2011 23:14:56 +0000

A good puzzle by Pasquale [normally we say 'scrupulously fair'] that did not match his previous crossword which was really sparkling, but so what?

Today we had RANKINE (just seen him somewhere else), TUNNELLED (with one L – Hi Boatman ), OUNCE (can we, please, give this animal to Emma who lives in Ur?), one more THE/FT and BERLINERS (which Pasquale used a while ago with a similar construction – I know exactly where I was when we had that clue then).

Anyone noticed that there were a few couples today?
Two nurses (10ac,26ac), two cycles/cyclists (11ac, 22d), two rogues (26ac, 21d).

The weakest link? 18ac (so agree, RCW). Didn’t like 25ac either.

Of course, I know that BASILICAS here in the UK is the plural of BASILICA, so no problem with 16ac.
Yet, I can inform you that in Holland ‘basilicum’ is the name of a herb that you all know as ‘basil’. Since BASILICA might be the Latin plural form of ‘basilicum’, BASILICAS sounds odd to me.
Can you help me Eileen (out of my dreams?).

Thank you, UY (for the blog) and Pasquale (for the puzzle).
Oh, and I would appreciate it when someone comes up with the ultimate explanation of CORNELIAN, because I still do not get it at the moment.
It could be the wine, though .