Comments on: Independent 7,952 / Anax

By: Graham Pellen

Graham Pellen — Wed, 02 May 2012 04:11:53 +0000

M_Oz, one can always type in the keywords eg “Independent”, “7952″, “fifteensquared” in Google and it will bring up “7952 by Anax” or some such, without giving away any of the answers.

(Graham Pellen, Adelaide)

By: M_Oz

M_Oz — Tue, 01 May 2012 08:31:21 +0000

For some reason the Adelaide Advertiser (Australia) which publishes these crosswords 3 weeks behind the originals, does not include the name of the author (I have asked). It is a bit of a pity because we miss an aspect of the Indy cryptic which all contributors above obviously enjoy. Nearly got there with this one despite the anglo-specific “secondary modern” but was thankful for the blog for explaining several of the anwers. The euphemism “wardrobe malfunction” is a wonderful addition to the language (courtesy of Janet J. and an “outraged” US public … those poor children) … Sir Humphrey would have been impressed.

By: RatkojaRiku

RatkojaRiku — Wed, 11 Apr 2012 06:59:58 +0000

Thanks to Gaufrid for the explanation of 13 – it’s not the first time that I have failed to spot “or” for “yellow” when blogging a puzzle.

I am pleased to see that I was not the only one that thoroughly enjoyed this puzzle.

By: gnomethang

gnomethang — Tue, 10 Apr 2012 20:25:57 +0000

Superb stuff Anax – I have missed a few of yours recently and this, whislt being a struggle, was very rewarding – articularly the 23/25 and then 5d/18d which were superb. I got it all the wrong way round by parsing SWI(g) (IMUST)* correctly which only added to the enjoyment. Thanks for the blog RR to vlear up a couple of them (13 and 26 across).

By: anax

anax — Tue, 10 Apr 2012 19:59:37 +0000

Good evening all. Terrific blog, RR, and many thanks to all for your lovely comments.

And it was pretty much an accidental theme that started with the vague notion of ‘a change of clothes’ which got me thinking about items of clothing which could be anagrammed to incorporate other items of clothing. That idea came to nothing but in the process my eyes had fixed on BODY-WARMER and noticed WARDROBE was in there; hence WARDROBE ‘MALFUNCTION’ and the (better) basis for a theme. Happens to me a lot, does that – start with one idea and, in the process of its failure, something else comes along.

K’s D unknowingly highlights a memory (or trivia) failing on my part. For some reason, thinking about the event which brought the key phrase into existence, Whitney Houston’s name popped into my head – so the 15a clue felt like an added bonus. It was of course JJ who popped the pap, and thank goodness I hadn’t tried to work more Whitney refs in. That would have been embarrassing.

By: Mick H

Mick H — Tue, 10 Apr 2012 18:04:35 +0000

Er, I mean Bristol City of course! Sorry, not feeling well today.

By: Mick H

Mick H — Tue, 10 Apr 2012 17:48:18 +0000

Excellent – and not a Bristol Rovers supporter in sight!

By: Wanderer

Wanderer — Tue, 10 Apr 2012 14:59:21 +0000

Terrific. Nothing to add to the above, I enjoyed it as much as I always enjoy a puzzle by Anax.

Thanks RR for explanation of SYSTEMATISING which I couldn’t parse, and to Gaufrid for IRONED, which also eluded me.

By: Eileen

Eileen — Tue, 10 Apr 2012 13:49:38 +0000

Agree with crypticsue – superbly brilliant! And hugely enjoyable.

23/25 dawned sooner than it might otherwise have done, as Puck used it and the incident mentioned by Kathryn’s Dad as the theme of his Guardian puzzle just a couple of weeks ago:

http://fifteensquared.net/2012/03/27/guardian-25594-puck/

but I loved the treatment here, with the two stunning anagrams, and the link between 5 and 18. And the two Garbo clues … I could go on but, as Tramp says, there’s not a bad clue in sight.

Many thanks Anax – and RatkojaRiku for a great blog.

By: crypticsue

crypticsue — Tue, 10 Apr 2012 13:32:19 +0000

Superbly brilliant – really glad that I had another day off from work in order as I then was able to do a few clues, leave it to cogitate for a a bit and then return to finish off. Thanks to Anax for a great crossword and to RR for the blog.