Comments on: Guardian Prize 25,502 / Araucaria

By: Debbie

Debbie — Thu, 22 Dec 2011 11:03:28 +0000

Hmm – I’m unhappy. An otter is not a carnivore (2D). It’s a piscivore. I never expected Araucaria to indulge in inaccurate clueing, so I dismissed “lottery” as a possible solution.

By: r_c_a_d

r_c_a_d — Sat, 17 Dec 2011 19:22:42 +0000

Thanks Eileen. I must get a better dictionary: it is on my Christmas list

By: Robi

Robi — Sat, 17 Dec 2011 16:33:31 +0000

Thanks, Eileen; I was another babbler.

Re 21, there are not many words (I think) meaning ‘indian groom,’ so I found it quickly, although I didn’t know it. I enjoyed this because I could do it in a reasonable time – I understand it was not hard enough for some, though, as a Prize.

By: cholecyst

cholecyst — Sat, 17 Dec 2011 14:10:41 +0000

Thanks, Eileen. Re HIST. Don’t know why but was reminded of the chorus to the Lambton Worm:
“Whisht! Lads, haad yor gobs,
An Aa’ll tell ye’s aall an aaful story
Whisht! Lads, haad yor gobs,
An’ Aa’ll tell ye ‘boot the worm”

By: PeeDee

PeeDee — Sat, 17 Dec 2011 13:45:48 +0000

I think it is misleading to describe ECDYSIS as ‘naughty’. It is a fair clue, just more difficult than the rest here.

One can’t complain both about the crossword being too easy and the clues too hard.

By: Wolfie

Wolfie — Sat, 17 Dec 2011 13:45:11 +0000

Thanks Eileen for the excellent blog as always.

I find myself agreeing for once with RCWhiting. ‘Ecdysis’ was my first one in – a word familiar to me from my degree studies in biology. I didn’t know ‘syce’, but it was pretty obvious from the word-play. Overall, a fairly straightforward solve, with some nice moments. As a Liverpudlian, I enjoyed 18d!

By: Eileen

Eileen — Sat, 17 Dec 2011 12:11:56 +0000

Hi r_c_a_d

Collins:’hist: an exclamation used to attract attention or as a warning to be silent’. My SOED says it’s now poetic – I thought it always was!

By: r_c_a_d

r_c_a_d — Sat, 17 Dec 2011 12:01:07 +0000

Thanks for the blog. I enjoyed this, partly because I didn’t have to keep reaching for the dictionary every 5 minutes as is the norm for me with A. It seemed to be average difficulty for a prize puzzle.

I didn’t get ECDYSIS until the end; and only because it was the only word that fit. I agree that using an obscure word to point to another obscure word is naughty. But I also concede that some master solvers consider many words common that I think obscure. I only average about one crossword per week.

I didn’t grasp why “don’t talk” was HIST… and still don’t. Any more elaboration?

By: MaryEllen

MaryEllen — Sat, 17 Dec 2011 11:49:17 +0000

Even after recently reading all of Barbara Cleverly’s crime novels set in 1920s India, I still forgot SYCE!

By: Davy

Davy — Sat, 17 Dec 2011 09:50:48 +0000

Thanks Eileen,

I seemed to enjoy this puzzle more than most of you but there again I’m not a fast solver. Admittedly, there were quite a few easy clues but I still enjoyed it. I have ticked a selection of clues and liked ENTRY, ATTRACT (I know it’s easy but a good surface anyway) ,HAMSTER and CLOTHES PRESS which was very misleading. I too was a ‘babbler’ until corrected and ECDYSIS was the last in. I initially looked up ECDISYS and was immediately pointed to the correct word. This is one of the benefits of an online dictionary.

Thanks Arry and looking forward to your Christmas puzzle already