Comments on: Financial Times 13,955 by Mudd

By: Bamberger

Bamberger — Fri, 30 Mar 2012 17:11:03 +0000

Huge gaps even with solvers -just too tough for me.In fact this was the hardest Mudd I can remember. I get the impression that the Saturday FT is getting harder.
Winnebago was one of the few I got simply because I’d seen it before.

By: Sil van den Hoek

Sil van den Hoek — Thu, 29 Mar 2012 22:00:44 +0000

Thanks Pete.
I certainly do not agree with the “couple of people” you correspond with.
Just like you I think this was an excellent Mudd, although I do not believe that he is getting better and better.
John Halpern is more some kind of constant factor in Crosswordland.
What I especially liked about this crossword (according to my notes) was the fact that some definitions were very well hidden by the surfaces, like for example “Stand in” in 1d and “Brave” in 2d.
I’ve noticed that Mr Halpern recently used similar things in puzzles published in various disguises.
Only a couple of weeks ago Mudd used “I suspect” in a clue – he did the same thing in a recent Paul and in a recent Punk.
As Mr Halpern is not a setter to copy himself, I was rather surprised to find BRALESS (here at 20d) in his recent Guardian Prize Crossword.

That said, I liked this crossword very much.
12 Across (TEEM) is my CoD.

By: Pete Maclean

Pete Maclean — Thu, 29 Mar 2012 14:01:41 +0000

Wanderer, Thanks for straightening me out on 1D — I have corrected the explanation. WINNEBAGO was the hardest for me as well. I think it is a tough clue in many ways. Fortunately the first and last letters are checked and there are not too many words starting with W and ending with O.

By: Wanderer

Wanderer — Thu, 29 Mar 2012 13:46:45 +0000

Thoroughly enjoyed this. Agree with you entirely about MUGGY/BUGGY/PARKY/SARKY — struck me as Mudd at his most playful and wittiest. Also had a big tick for BEACH BUM. Hardest for me was WINNEBAGO. I only know this word as a US motor home and had no idea of its original meaning, so that was something new for me.

I have a slightly different reading of DEPUTISE — I think ‘Stand in’ is the definition, and the word play is SIT UP (exercise) reversed in DEE.

Many thanks to Pete and Mudd.