Comments on: Financial Times 13,966 by Orense

By: Orense

Orense — Fri, 30 Mar 2012 19:48:58 +0000

Many thanks for comments – PB and nmsindy have correctly interpreted my intention re 5d. In 6d I stand by the “sending back” as a transitive verb with an enclosure.

By: nmsindy

nmsindy — Fri, 30 Mar 2012 17:34:38 +0000

IMHO this is a standard clue with the definition being ‘reward’ = ‘golden handshake’ I would say. The rest then is wordplay, I’d think. What maybe muddied the waters is use of ‘hands’ = workers. My guess is that the setter chose this to create a good and amusing surface which is probably why the clue is the subject of this discussion.

By: jed

jed — Fri, 30 Mar 2012 16:28:02 +0000

I stand very wittily corrected

By: Paul B

Paul B — Fri, 30 Mar 2012 16:18:56 +0000

Reward for workers in yellow fish?

As a newly retiring or redundant employee, I’m sure I’d be hugely pleased to be paid off with a lump of smoked haddock. ‘Reward’ too I’d query, since a golden handshake is a compensatory payment of one kind or another. Thus even with the effects of double duty I’m not sure ‘reward or workers’ does it either! Bah. &lit my eye.

By: Pelham Barton

Pelham Barton — Fri, 30 Mar 2012 15:28:32 +0000

On re-thinking, the question mark on the end of 5dn allows the whole clue to be the definition, so the (partial) “& lit” is justified.

Apologies also for the typing error in my comment on 6dn: “appopriate” should of course read “correct”.

By: Pelham Barton

Pelham Barton — Fri, 30 Mar 2012 15:11:26 +0000

Thanks Orense for a pleasantly straightforward puzzle and Jed for the blog.

5dn: I would not call this even a partial “& lit”. The word “Reward” forms no part of the wordplay, and is a sufficient definition on its own. The definition could be stretched as far as “Reward for workers” but not to the whole clue. Still a good clue.

6dn: Slight grumble with this one. I am not convinced that “sending back” is a sufficient indication for a hidden reversal. “Holding back” would be fine, and would in my view have as good a surface: “back” would be the appopriate reversal indicator, even in a down clue.

By: Steve

Steve — Fri, 30 Mar 2012 13:25:12 +0000

Thanks Jed and Orense – a complete contrast to yesterday’s Loroso in terms of degree of difficulty but still an enjoyable solve. There’s a typo in the parsing of 24d – I think you may have accidentally hit the ‘Y’ key at the same time as the ‘T’.

By: crypticsue

crypticsue — Fri, 30 Mar 2012 12:21:42 +0000

Possibly the most straighforward solve of the day (and I have done the other 5) only needed to check that the result of the very clear wordplay/checking letters of 13a ‘existed’ . Thanks to Orense and Jed.