Comments on: Guardian prize 25,574 / Bonxie

By: Keeper

Keeper — Sun, 25 Mar 2012 10:26:58 +0000

Mikeymike, I empathize with your comments. I had set this one aside, hoping for some inspiration, but I finally had to throw in the towel with only about 6 answers filled in. I came up with BALINESE for 17d: BASE straddling LINE (equator); referring to the “lively” Balinese dance. The presence of GAMELAN at 8ac, which was one of the few I actually got, convinced me that BALINESE was right and sent me looking for other Indonesian-themed answers. I never recovered from that mistake.

I was familiar with pinochle (my grandfather used to play it all the time), but not the PINOCLE spelling.

By: mikeymike

mikeymike — Fri, 23 Mar 2012 21:45:29 +0000

After three weeks, and only managing to get about 5 solutions, I caved in and came here for the answers. I’m relatively new to cryptics, but manage to solve about 90% of most puzzles. This one was just terrible. I thought maybe I was being particularly dense, but looking at the answers I think the clues and answers were just too obscure and there was no way I could ever have come close to solving it. Where Araucaria is, in entertainment terms, like a long soak in a warm bath, this Bonxie was like taking a freezing cold shower. I shall be avoiding him/her – or at least approaching with some trepidation – in the future.

By: PeeDee

PeeDee — Tue, 13 Mar 2012 09:37:05 +0000

Thanks Eileen,

I thought this was very hard, a real slog all the way. By the end I had used so many ‘aids’ that I can’t realy have claimed to have solved it. I’m not complaining though, this is my failing, not a fault with the crossword.

I had no problem with either all-out or budget. I’m with tupu and RCW’s here, definitions don’t have to be an exact match, this is what cryptics are all about.

By: drago

drago — Mon, 12 Mar 2012 00:54:24 +0000

Thanks Eileen and Bonxie.
I agree with Eileen: ‘comprehensive’ means of broad scope or content, ‘all out’ implies effort.
A ‘comprehensive attack’ would be on many fronts, but might not be ‘all out’. I don’t think I’ve ever heard the phrase ‘comprehensive war’ either (except perhaps in the Daily Mail).
I do think ‘allot’ for ‘budget’ is ok though ‘I have alloted/budgeted £5′.
I didn’t finish this puzzle – tomalley was totally new and I’ve been under the misapprehension that a gamelan was an instrument, not an entire orchestra.

By: Sil van den Hoek

Sil van den Hoek — Sun, 11 Mar 2012 21:38:49 +0000

As to this puzzle, we did try it, but not fully solved it.
[while I agree with what you say about definitions, Paul B, to which post are you referring?]

The worrying thing of this puzzle was that, after we filled in a great deal of the East that Saturday at our favourite spot in Cambridge Town, we couldn’t be bothered to pick up the pieces again a day later or so.

Unfortunately, not the first time this happened with a Bonxie.
We are just not at his wavelength (which doesn’t mean he isn’t a good setter, I hasten to say).

By: Paul B

Paul B — Sun, 11 Mar 2012 17:39:40 +0000

Beg to differ: definitions should either be directly synonymous, phrasally so, or a CD-style version of either to be fair. Being in the right part of speech helps enormously, too (though for some papers it doesn’t appear to be essential).

As to this puzzle, I didn’t solve it. Or try.

By: Bullhassocks

Bullhassocks — Sun, 11 Mar 2012 06:49:24 +0000

Thanks for the welcome Eileen. Not posted before: a long-time lurker, but always appreciative of your solutions and insights.

By: RCWhiting

RCWhiting — Sat, 10 Mar 2012 21:08:41 +0000

Eileen, you sound a little irritated,I hope not. My comment was meant to be light-hearted.
I do have a sense of humour,just not with crosswords.

By: Eileen

Eileen — Sat, 10 Mar 2012 20:28:33 +0000

Rather belatedly …

Hi Bullhassocks and Kjbsoton

I don’t recognise either of your names: please forgive me if you have posted before – welcome and hope to hear from you again!

By: Eileen

Eileen — Sat, 10 Mar 2012 20:14:49 +0000

RCW

I refer you to my comment 6 yesterday and I have absolutely nothing left to say.