Comments on: Independent 7891 by Quixote

By: NealH

NealH — Mon, 30 Jan 2012 19:37:00 +0000

Meant 10 rather than 11, although 11 had a nice touch with relay for narrate.

By: NealH

NealH — Mon, 30 Jan 2012 19:35:18 +0000

I didn’t get a chance to look at this at lunch time, but was able to get through it fairly easily tonight (I don’t think I’d have even tried if it had been a Nimrod). There were lots of clues I liked – e.g. 11 across, 19 and 20. 5 down held me up for a bit, when I completely failed to spot the anagram, thinking the last bit was some sort of homophone.

By: Allan_C

Allan_C — Mon, 30 Jan 2012 16:33:21 +0000

A nice one from the Don, raised some smiles and one or two “of course” moments. Certainly no need to invoke the saint referenced in 1a (St Jude – patron of hopeless cases, and of things almost despaired of).

By: Thomas99

Thomas99 — Mon, 30 Jan 2012 16:09:06 +0000

Many thanks. Lots of really elegant clues in this. Has there been a better “hidden answer” clue than 19d? Another &lit, 14a, was also very satisfying. 15d held me up a bit, but by and large it’s a fairly easy puzzle, which is quite an achievement given the sophistication.

By: flashling

flashling — Mon, 30 Jan 2012 14:23:13 +0000

Thanks Q and NMS, I was through this in about the same time as NMS except for 12ac painter, which I spent ten minutes or more looking at until my memory banks shouted BUT HE DID!

By: Bertandjoyce

Bertandjoyce — Mon, 30 Jan 2012 13:46:57 +0000

Like Kathryn’s Dad we also completed a puzzle from ‘AnotherPlace’ today and solved this one over lunch. Likewise we needed to check Loti but knew it had to be Sorbitol. Last one in was 15d which we almost had to ‘cheat’ on.
What a good start to the week, 2 lovely solves and it’s only Monday.
Thanks nms and Quixote.

By: Kathryn's Dad

Kathryn's Dad — Mon, 30 Jan 2012 13:37:08 +0000

Thanks, nms. I did enjoy this one, but (like the puzzle in Another Place today) found bits of it really difficult to fathom, so about three times your solving time today would be about right. Can’t see why I struggled now, since it’s all clearly clued, although like you I didn’t know Monsieur Loti, and not being a fan of Brenda’s lot I didn’t know that Rolf had had the pleasure, so I couldn’t parse 12ac. Brain not in gear probably is the reason for the struggle.

COMPARTMENTS was good and I thought GO THROUGH was a good spot by Quixote.

By: crypticsue

crypticsue — Mon, 30 Jan 2012 13:00:42 +0000

A nice Monday puzzle from Quixote today. My only real holdup was when working backwards up 10d, I didn’t allow for an S at the end of the first word. Thanks to Quixote and nmsindy too.