Comments on: Guardian 25,569 / Rufus

By: Kjbsoton

Kjbsoton — Wed, 29 Feb 2012 00:04:08 +0000

I can normally finish the Monday puzzle but failed this week – am loving this comment zone and am learning lots, etiquette of posting too! I love it !

By: RCWhiting

RCWhiting — Mon, 27 Feb 2012 23:56:19 +0000

Oh dear!
I think Dave Tarn’s comments are not particularly valid but please don’t call posters idiots,please don’t try to ban or delete comments which you happen not to agree with.
After all you wouldn’t want to justify anybody who might decide to call you arrogant, would you?

By: Greyboy

Greyboy — Mon, 27 Feb 2012 22:55:55 +0000

I can’t be doing with anagrams that treat the Spanish “enyay” (n with a tilde) as if it were the same letter as English n. Spanish has two distinct letters, one with the tilde, one without, and only the one without is equivalent to the English n.

So online is not really an anagram of el nino. Unless you pronounce it “onliny”.

By: MikeC

MikeC — Mon, 27 Feb 2012 22:11:07 +0000

Thanks Gaufrid. A “classic” Rufus, in many ways – lots of witty, fairly straightforward clues; the odd twister; the occasional rather sub-cryptic. Lots to enjoy, in any case (etui?).

By: PeeDee

PeeDee — Mon, 27 Feb 2012 22:00:17 +0000

Thanks Gaufrid.

I would say it was easy, except I for the fact couldn’t actually finish it. I don’t mind failing on ETUI as there is no possible way to deduce it if you din’t know the word already. I should have got DOUBLET though, a clever clue and I am still kicking myself.

By: FranTom Menace

FranTom Menace — Mon, 27 Feb 2012 21:30:38 +0000

Some smiles reading the comments! Anyway, we weren’t too taxed today, but did get stuck on ‘etui’ would you believe! there were the usual more than a fair few really nice clues from Rufus. We did get slightly legged up on 17a when we put in ‘drysuit’ straight away. Only realised this was wrong after looking at 6d!

I’ve said this before a few times – some people are quite dismissive and sometimes downright rude when talking about Rufus, saying that his puzzles aren’t a challenge. I like his clear Ximenean cluing, his best wordplay and surfaces are every bit as good as in the ‘more difficult’ compilers’ clues. When I say ‘fair’, I mean I’ve never seen Rufus use devices like ‘some machinery’ in a long charade to get the letter ‘c’, for example. Without clear, fair and (sometimes) more obvious answers in a crossword I don’t think I’d have ever got into cryptics, and I’m sure that there are others who could say the same.

Thanks Rufus and Gaufrid. I’ve had my two penneth and am off to hang up my drysuit.

By: morpheus

morpheus — Mon, 27 Feb 2012 20:55:26 +0000

Dave Tarn: Tavern ad. I rest my case…

By: cholecyst

cholecyst — Mon, 27 Feb 2012 20:42:59 +0000

Why don’t we all just agree to ignore totally comments from people like Dave Tarn @15?

By: Badger

Badger — Mon, 27 Feb 2012 18:00:37 +0000

As a normally silent watcher I feel obliged to add my four-pennyworth.
The comment from Tarn seems totally unjustified and I find it clashes with the normally polite and reasoned character of this blog.

By: Matt

Matt — Mon, 27 Feb 2012 17:58:30 +0000

Gaufrid, thanks for the blog (stepping in, for the umpteenth time)

Rufus, thanks for the crossword.

Dave Tarn (or ‘av ranted?) thanks for making me laugh.