Comments on: Azed 2065

By: Thomas99

Thomas99 — Mon, 09 Jan 2012 10:55:10 +0000

I’m sure Bob Sharkey is right @11 that the italics are there for the surface; and John is of course equally right @10 that “must” doesn’t require italics to convey necessity.

Re 35a – FWIW “Half” meaning “term” originated, I believe, not at Eton but at Winchester, where the Autumn Term is still called Short Half and the former “Long Half” is now divided into Common Time (the spring term) and Cloister Time (the summer term).

By: Bob Sharkey

Bob Sharkey — Mon, 09 Jan 2012 07:07:40 +0000

John, In the case of the definition of HOLIST, the reading addressed in my first comment, there’s no ‘may’ about it, surely. I’m rather taken aback by your question, to be frank. But let’s consider the surface reading by way of a counter argument. Imagine a person stuck in a lift. His immediate response is to regard his imprisonment as being a fact for the (now very short) remainder of his life. From a psychological perspective, is that a likely reaction? I’d say no, very rare indeed – he simply must believe that systems are in place to ensure his rescue, and that nothing has been left to chance.

On the general question of the punctuation of clues, I have long been an advocate of its use to render surface readings as intelligent pieces of prose. Azed is amongst the very best setters in this regard.

By: John

John — Sun, 08 Jan 2012 22:49:31 +0000

Bob Sharkey@1: yes you’re probably right that this was why Azed italicised ‘must’. But what is the meaning of ‘must’, as opposed to ‘may’, in this context? It indicates necessity, so there is no need for the italics.

People may remember that Richard Whiteley used to refer to the thirds of the programme Countdown as halves. Silly perhaps, but not without justification.

By: Jan

Jan — Sun, 08 Jan 2012 17:50:36 +0000

Thanks, Andrew. I would never have thought to check ‘half’ in the dictionary but, as you say, there it is: ‘term’. Well I never!

By: sidey

sidey — Sun, 08 Jan 2012 16:49:35 +0000

I agree with Jan, candlesticks are altar decoration too.

By: Andrew

Andrew — Sun, 08 Jan 2012 12:49:59 +0000

Jan - "half" is the name of what most people call a term at Eton (and perhaps also elsewhere). Yes, they have three halves in a year...

By: Jan

Jan — Sun, 08 Jan 2012 12:46:59 +0000

Chris @4, I, too, wondered, then decided that one could say, “The altar decoration was flowers.”

By: Jan

Jan — Sun, 08 Jan 2012 12:42:00 +0000

Thanks, John. After 25 years of using the 1983 edition of Chambers, Santa dropped the new edition down the chimney. The hearth may never recover – what a weight! But I finished the puzzle much more quickly. I didn’t have to go a-googlin’ to confirm definitions of words not included in my old faithful.

35a – I’m still not sure where ‘half’ = ‘term’ comes from. Am I being dim (probably) or is it a reference to half-term?

By: Chris

Chris — Sun, 08 Jan 2012 12:38:58 +0000

8dn: GRADINI is plural. I would have expected the definition to be "Altar decorations.

By: Andrew

Andrew — Sun, 08 Jan 2012 09:31:52 +0000

Thanks Azed and John. I notice that this week’s puzzle (2066) is back to recommending Chambers 2008, at least in the PDF version – presumably just a mistake? (I haven’t done the puzzle yet to check whether there are any 2011-only words in it.)