Comments on: Financial Times 13,936 by Loroso

By: shuchi

shuchi — Sat, 25 Feb 2012 06:38:26 +0000

Thanks for the explanation, Gaufrid.

Getting to learn new words/expressions is a welcome corollary of solving crosswords for me, as long as I can get most of the answers. No apology needed, anax . Thank you for the entertaining puzzle.

By: anax

anax — Fri, 24 Feb 2012 23:14:14 +0000

Hi folks
A delay in coming by to say thanks to Jed for the blog and to all for your comments – I’m actually watching the Gerry Rafferty tribute concert on the BBC, didn’t realise how late it is!
Hope you enjoyed this latest offering, and apologies to overseas solvers who weren’t familiar with hum = ming. Sometimes I can’t resist these British colloquialisms.

By: mike04

mike04 — Fri, 24 Feb 2012 23:07:01 +0000

Hi Ernie

The expression ‘I am OK’ could be used to mean ‘I have survived’.
So ‘am OK’ in the grid as a replacement for ‘have survived’ in the clue
seems quite fair to me.

By: Ernie

Ernie — Fri, 24 Feb 2012 20:40:45 +0000

Re 20A

As ‘am’ represents the first person present form of the verb ‘to be’ should there not have been an ‘I’ in the definition part of the clue?

By: Gaufrid

Gaufrid — Fri, 24 Feb 2012 17:03:26 +0000

Hi shuchi
I hope you’re enjoying your sabbatical.

Re 8ac: ming=hum=smell (eg BO) and if you ‘get the hump’ you are sulking.

By: shuchi

shuchi — Fri, 24 Feb 2012 16:27:27 +0000

Loroso is such fun to solve. What unexpected synonyms – bent/talent, curry/groom, set/hell-bent! I loved the “penny dropping” feeling of 28a, 16d, 18d. Also enjoyed the slick surfaces of the easier clues like 12a, 22d.

Agree with mike04 on the definition in 21d.

8a: Dummy time. I still can’t understand this. Is hum = ming, hump=sulks?

By: mike04

mike04 — Fri, 24 Feb 2012 16:07:18 +0000

Thanks Jed. I thoroughly enjoyed this, and it was my best time for a Loroso!

In 21dn I think the definition is ‘Use’.
Under ‘mileage’ Chambers gives use, benefit (fig. coll.).

Thanks L for another great puzzle.

By: Lenny

Lenny — Fri, 24 Feb 2012 15:56:08 +0000

I always enjoy a Loroso, particularly when I can finish it like today. I did not get all the wordplay though. Thanks to Jed for sorting out Femininity and Wanderer for Courthouse. My favourite was the succinct clue to Hell-bent. I was a bit surprised by the And in the question and answer to And so forth. I wonder if this was an oversight.

Not many comments today. Maybe everyone is stuck on the Nimrod.

By: Wanderer

Wanderer — Fri, 24 Feb 2012 13:44:16 +0000

Difficult but fun.

I had a slightly different reading of COURTHOUSE, as THOU (you) imprisoned in COURSE (procedure).

Thanks to Jed and Loroso.

By: crypticsue

crypticsue — Fri, 24 Feb 2012 12:35:10 +0000

Last time we had a Loroso puzzle, I made, what turns out now to be, a mistake of saying that I thought Loroso was ‘user-friendly’ Anax, or words to that effect. He obviously took note as this one put up more of a fight than usual! I did enjoy myself – Jed’s summary at the top of the blog is spot on. Thanks to him and Loroso too.