Comments on: Guardian 25,551 – Rufus

By: RobG

RobG — Tue, 28 Feb 2012 20:29:58 +0000

Got horribly bogged down in SE corner. Had BARB at 21ac which is both a hook and a small freshwater fish, and ESCAPE at 20dn being E (England’s first) + SCAPE (slip according to Chamber’s) with ESCAPE meaning run out, in my head, at least!

By: Cowshill

Cowshill — Fri, 17 Feb 2012 17:08:07 +0000

Just throwing in a comment 10 days late… 7d – “Work hard on an advertising jingle,” caused me initially to enter strive as I had the initial s and could “jingle” strive out of adVERTISing.

By: sidey

sidey — Tue, 07 Feb 2012 02:36:39 +0000

Robi @ 24

It would have been polite if you had left it for others to discover.

By: g larsen

g larsen — Mon, 06 Feb 2012 23:11:54 +0000

Thanks Andrew and Rufus. I thought this was a good puzzle, and not as distinctively Rufous as the Monday offerings usually are.

Kayoz @2 and NeilW @3 discussed whether it is right to refer to ‘gentry’ as middle class. Those of us who studied history in the 60s remember the celebrated and wonderfully vitriolic academic dispute about the ‘rise of the gentry’ in the 16th and 17th centuries and the part it allegedly played in causing the English Civil War. The gentry there were certainly not the upper class. Since Rufus is of a similar vintage to me, it may be that that was what he had in mind.

By: RCWhiting

RCWhiting — Mon, 06 Feb 2012 22:20:48 +0000

Paul,you seem to be stalking me recently and attempting to interpret my thoughts. Best not to bother, they are in areas quite alien to yourself.

By: Paul B

Paul B — Mon, 06 Feb 2012 22:10:27 +0000

Thanks Robi. I’m trying to work out whether he means that the puzzle is crap, or that the issues raised are so incredibly superficial as to be worthless (it’s that irritating ambiguity around ‘so little’, you see). But certainly he dismisses the greater portion of the comment thread as ‘niggling’ – that’s quite clear. Good, constructive stuff, and not for the first time.

By: Robi

Robi — Mon, 06 Feb 2012 20:59:09 +0000

RCW @23; perhaps you should try the Quiptic – it’s got a nice NINA.

By: RCWhiting

RCWhiting — Mon, 06 Feb 2012 20:14:46 +0000

Thanks all
So many niggles over so little.

By: Giovanna

Giovanna — Mon, 06 Feb 2012 19:29:12 +0000

Thanks Rufus and Andrew,

Derek Lazenby @19 and apiarist@21, bluebottle reminded me of my father, who delighted in collecting odd English words and expressions.

Loved 6ac.Neat shouts cattle and it is a super clue.

Giovanna x

By: apiarist

apiarist — Mon, 06 Feb 2012 17:43:48 +0000

I chuckled at “bluebottle”. It’s donkey’s years since I have heard a policeman referred to as this.