Comments on: Guardian 25,571 – Araucaria

By: Mr Beaver

Mr Beaver — Wed, 29 Feb 2012 21:15:26 +0000

I particularly liked 12a

By: Derek Lazenby

Derek Lazenby — Wed, 29 Feb 2012 20:11:25 +0000

Hard work, but got there, with the odd bit of gadgetting.

sidey, shouldn’t you do a proper job and say which browsers show the clue as intended and which settings affect it? A lot of people on here don’t like messing with settings so tend not to know about them, hence they would appreciate being told properly. I’d do it for you, but I have a poker game just starting!

By: tupu

tupu — Wed, 29 Feb 2012 20:03:31 +0000

Hi Andrew
I am wondering if I missed something @14 re Shallot (small onion)/Shalott (the lady)?

By: Davy

Davy — Wed, 29 Feb 2012 19:52:33 +0000

Thanks Andrew,

I enjoyed this very much and always seem to be more on A’s wavelength than any other compiler. The only wordplay that I didn’t understand was ONION so thanks for that. I always seem to fall for the number reference that doesn’t refer to a clue but that’s what cryptic clues are about.
I do, however, remain vigilant for the number (nummer) anaesthetic reference.

Lots of good clues today of which I’ll select STRAY, REFUSAL (my COD), ERYNGO, SHALLOT and RELISH,
as favourites. Thanks Arry for a great puzzle.

By: RCWhiting

RCWhiting — Wed, 29 Feb 2012 18:18:32 +0000

David
25d is indicated by ‘from’ and the container isn’t spelled out.
Keep going you will find that you improve with age (unlike in most other things).

By: David Travis

David Travis — Wed, 29 Feb 2012 17:27:38 +0000

Mitz @29: Many thanks, I was reading ‘cured’ as in ‘cured meat’ so thought ‘treated’ was the definition. You’ve made it lot clearer so thanks. But ‘of’ seems a weak hidden indicator (or maybe it’s just me who’s weak!)

By: Mitz

Mitz — Wed, 29 Feb 2012 17:20:49 +0000

David @28: ‘treated’ doesn’t necessarily mean ‘cured’ on its own – only the addition of ‘successfully’ shows that the doctor did the business. In 19d, the indicator that there is a hidden word is ‘of’.

By: David Travis

David Travis — Wed, 29 Feb 2012 17:18:02 +0000

My heart sinks when I see it’s an Araucaria puzzle as I know I’ll struggle. This one certainly met my expectations, so many thanks for these explanations Andrew, or I’d never finish. Just a couple of questions: what’s ‘successfully’ doing in 13a (other than serving to confuse)? And doesn’t 19d need an indicator to show it’s hidden?

By: RCWhiting

RCWhiting — Wed, 29 Feb 2012 14:20:43 +0000

Thanks all
I guess you themists must be delighted. Especially those from Yorkshire.

By: KayOz

KayOz — Wed, 29 Feb 2012 14:00:56 +0000

Thank you to Araucaria and Andrew.

A very enjoyable outing. Unlike most people I start anywhere in the puzzle. First in was 11a Orpen (guessed, not heard of before), then 2d Tulip, then 1d Bulbous. That led to a lot of the other answers.

I see the ‘in there’ clues straight away. It annoys the shit out of my partner. He can see anagrams from 50 paces and give you all the options. Yesterday, I ‘relish’ed the inclusion of ‘extremity’ in a sentence. I thought it was pretty clever because it is a devilishly difficult word to fit into anything.

I am in awe of most crossword setters.

I hadn’t heard of a CATBOAT 28a before but it was easy enough to work out. I mistakenly worked a while with lethargic instead of Lassitude. I liked 22a A long haul – heehe. You gotta love the old master.