Comments on: Enigmatic Variations 994: Choice by Chalicea

By: Dave Hennings

Dave Hennings — Tue, 06 Dec 2011 16:18:06 +0000

Thanks, Ernie. I suspect I got confused when I wrote the blog not having heard of ERISTIC before this puzzle, nor EROTIC as a noun.

By: Ernie

Ernie — Mon, 05 Dec 2011 18:34:56 +0000

Thanks Dave for the blog.

Re 44A

I see eristic (person given to controversy) as the subsidiary clue
with erotic (amatory poem) as the definition part.

By: Chalicea

Chalicea — Mon, 05 Dec 2011 08:33:51 +0000

Many thanks, Dave for that comprehensive and generous blog. Apologies for giving you such a meaty one with so many clues. I promise that future ones will be honed down a little bit. I have been prompted, too, to escape from my over-dependency on Chambers – so watch this space.

Laus Deo was a lucky windfall when I was compiling this one. It was the Henry V (Branagh film) use of Non Nobis Domine as the canon sung at the end of the Battle of Agincourt that prompted me to use this theme (with the equally lucky fact that Not unto us O Lord was also 14 squares long). Of course, the Latin canon translates as ‘Not unto us, O Lord but to thy name give the praise’, thus the Agincourt victors (or the psalmist) were praising God (laus Deo) rather than taking the credit for their victory.

I was delighted to see that the EV Editor had used Ifor’s crossword based on ‘Once more unto the breach’, as the one preceding mine. I suppose the significance of this will escape 99% of solvers.

By: Dave Hennings

Dave Hennings — Sat, 03 Dec 2011 13:39:28 +0000

Thanks, Tony. You are right about 8dn LAUS DEO, which I’ve corrected up top. I have to say that it was really superfluous to the puzzle since we were told by the correct versions of the misprints to PICK LATIN. My knowledge of church services is probably less than yours, so I don’t know how or when any of these phrases are actually used.

By: Tony

Tony — Sat, 03 Dec 2011 12:04:59 +0000

Thank you, Dave.

I hate to nit pick but it’s Laus Deo. However, I don’t see how Laus Deo is an alternative to Non Nobis Domine. They seem to be quite different things to me but then I don’t know much about Latin and church services.