Comments on: Financial Times 13,937 by Mudd

By: Pete Maclean

Pete Maclean — Fri, 09 Mar 2012 02:18:19 +0000

Ah, I looked up ‘gross’ and I should have looked up ‘ton’. I had not known that it can mean a score of 100.

By: Sil van den Hoek

Sil van den Hoek — Fri, 09 Mar 2012 00:45:51 +0000

A while ago I had complaints about Mudd using too much DOUBLE definitions.

By: Sil van den Hoek

Sil van den Hoek — Fri, 09 Mar 2012 00:45:12 +0000

Thanks Pete.
A while ago I had complaints about Mudd using too much definitions.
And guess what?
In this puzzle I found that some of the very best were double definitions …
I ticked JERSEY, REFRAIN and CRACKING.
I also liked 25d (PRONG) – great surface.

I think 7d should be seen as GROSS being ‘repulsive’ and a ‘figure well over a ton’ (a gross is 144).

By: Pete Maclean

Pete Maclean — Thu, 08 Mar 2012 23:02:02 +0000

Bamberger, I am unclear how ‘well over a ton’ works in 7D. I wondered about it as I was working on the puzzle and thought maybe I should look it up but then never did. Can someone enlighten us?

I do think ‘tooth’ is an okay clue for ‘prong’. Gear teeth can be much like prongs.

By: Bamberger

Bamberger — Thu, 08 Mar 2012 19:16:52 +0000

My problems were in the SE though I also couldn’t get 7d.
I can see why gross=ugly but how does well over a ton =gross? 144 is larger that 100 but well over?

25d Not sure about tooth =prong. I have a thing to fish pickled onions out of a jar which I call a prong but I don’t think I’d call it a tooth.

Glad you managed to finish it.

By: Pete Maclean

Pete Maclean — Thu, 08 Mar 2012 15:12:30 +0000

Thanks, Steve. I have corrected the typos which came from rushing out the blog and, maybe also, from being a bit fuzzy-headed with a cold. It had occurred to me that ‘pudding’ might be intended to do double duty in 27A; could be although, it seems to me, the clue still does not work well.

By: Steve

Steve — Thu, 08 Mar 2012 15:02:14 +0000

Also – there are a couple of minor typos: 4D is QUIFF in SY and 6D is LEAF MOULD

By: Steve

Steve — Thu, 08 Mar 2012 14:44:36 +0000

Thanks Pete – re 27A, could ‘Pudding’ be doing double duty as both the definition and anagram indicator? One definition of pudding is a mixture…