Comments on: Independent 7852 by Anarche

By: flashling

flashling — Thu, 15 Dec 2011 23:32:07 +0000

Thanks to Thomas99 for clearing up HEIGHTEN spent ages on that but Anarche had me beat by a similar trick she played on my last blog of hers. Anyway thank you Anarche/Arachne, I know punctuation is generally to be ignored, but the comma in 20 implies the right way as Niall said.

Getting a hidden clue out of 13 was truly astonishing.

By: Bertandjoyce

Bertandjoyce — Thu, 15 Dec 2011 23:21:46 +0000

Later than usual start due to stuffing Christmas cards and other such festive nonsense!
Suddenly realised that it was a Thursday. However, we started out rapidly and then ground to a halt with 13a and 20a. Can’t believe that we didn’t spot the hidden answer at 13 and thought it was annan but had no idea why. Now all is explained, it’s a clever Thursday clue! Was convinced at one point that a ring lover was someone who liked Tolkien but it wouldn’t fit! COD was either 19d or 26a.

Thanks flashling and Anarche.

By: Arachne

Arachne — Thu, 15 Dec 2011 17:17:42 +0000

Evening all! Thank you , flashling, for your excellent blog, and to everyone for comments.

Whoops, she did it again: sorry, K’s D and everyone who was discomfited, for the ambiguity at 20ac. I don’t know why I still do this: I agree it’s unfair, and annoying, and I don’t like it when I come across it as a solver, so – D’oh!

15dn is correctly parsed by thomas99 and Eileen above – thanks.

Just in case I don’t manage to drop in again in the next week or two, I’d like to wish all at 15 Squared a peaceful, happy, cosy Christmas, and a spectacularly wonderful 2012

Love and hugs,
Anarche/Arachne

By: nmsindy

nmsindy — Thu, 15 Dec 2011 17:10:06 +0000

Thanks, Anarche, and flashling. V imaginative and inventive puzzle, quite hard with a great flow to the surfaces all through. My favourite was ENIGMA. In 20A, the comma I think pushes it towards ANNAN – I never thought of looking at it the other way, until I came here. Hiding (never was the word more appropriate!) that French philosopher was very impressive too.

By: Allan_C

Allan_C — Thu, 15 Dec 2011 13:32:54 +0000

Some fairly challenging clues here needing a little help, but got there in the end. Had never heard of Merleau-Ponty – he must have been hidden somewhere else all this time. For the curious, you can find more at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maurice_Merleau-Ponty

Difficult to pick favourites but HEATH ROBINSON raised a smile.

By: MikeC

MikeC — Thu, 15 Dec 2011 13:09:00 +0000

Another excellent puzzle, and blog. Thanks Anarche and flashling. I agree with K’s D re 20 – I was lucky that I had already got ENIGMA and “guessed” ENHANCERS. Otherwise, a variety of interesting clues and answers. After yesterday’s science theme by Arachne, 14 was the most technical yet – new to me in this sense.

By: Uncle Yap

Uncle Yap — Thu, 15 Dec 2011 12:27:48 +0000

I just had to come here today to express my thanks for 20A. Ban predecessor, indeed! What a superb def, Spider Lady!

By: Wanderer

Wanderer — Thu, 15 Dec 2011 12:26:22 +0000

Wonderful. A great treat to get Anarche a day after Arachne. Last two were WAGNERIAN, where I was looking for a double definition, and FATWAS, which I took as a brilliant &lit. I think one can surely read the whole clue as the definition! Hiding MERLEAU-PONTY is quite an achievement. I liked the definition of PERCUSSIONIST. I was misled by banger into thinking “sausage” and when I wrote the letters down I was convinced I was looking for a word along the lines of PROSCIUTTO or some such Italian delicacy which I couldn’t find….

Many thanks to flashling and Anarche.

By: Kathryn's Dad

Kathryn's Dad — Thu, 15 Dec 2011 11:48:06 +0000

Hi Thomas, the other problem (which I meant to mention in my original comment) is that if you only have the N in the middle from ENIGMA, which I did, both answers are still possible.

By: Thomas99

Thomas99 — Thu, 15 Dec 2011 11:39:21 +0000

K’s Dad-
Re 20a, I hadn’t noticed that, probably because I solved it fairly late and must have had the crossers. I still think it’s a great clue, but I know some people don’t like that kind of ambiguity.