Comments on: Financial Times 14,002 by Cincinnus

By: scchua

scchua — Thu, 24 May 2012 16:12:23 +0000

I must confess I’m not the first to use &littish, having seen it somewhere on 15sq though I can’t recall where. You’re right, &lit and semi-&lit very often trigger discussion, though personally I feel it doesn’t really matter how one categorises a clue; just appreciate the ingenuity of the setter. And that’s why also I’ve used WIWD to avoid further debate whether a clue is 100% &lit or only part.

By: Pete Maclean

Pete Maclean — Thu, 24 May 2012 15:55:01 +0000

>> with the last two being superbly &lit/&littish (or wordplay intertwined with definition).

“&littish” I like that! Must remember it. I have heard clues of this type referred to as semi-&lits but there seems to be much disagreement about the term.

By: Pete Maclean

Pete Maclean — Thu, 24 May 2012 15:51:52 +0000

Yes, Bob, after writing the initial blog in which I wondered aloud about ‘once’, it occurred to me what role that played and I amended the entry. Earlier I had thought that Formosa was the name of the island while Taiwan was the name of the country but then I came to suspect I was wrong. I looked it up on Wikipedia which confirmed that Formosa is an obsolete name for Taiwan. (Given that I have visited Taiwan, I perhaps should have known anyway!)

By: Bob Cumbow

Bob Cumbow — Thu, 24 May 2012 15:40:54 +0000

Pete,

In your original post–which appears to have been amended above–you ssaid that in 21a the “once” seemed extraneous.It isn’t, because Formosa was once the name of the island we now call Taiwan. Maybe you figured that out and that’s why the archived post above contains a different comment for 21a. But I thought I’d check in just in case. Thanks for all you do!

By: scchua

scchua — Thu, 24 May 2012 09:58:10 +0000

Thank you Pete and Cincinnus.
Like you I found this an enjoyable prize puzzle, the 2 descriptions not always coming together.
Favourites were WELL I NEVER, FORMOSA and JILL, all with gems (to borrow your word) of a surface, with the last two being superbly &lit/&littish (or wordplay intertwined with definition).