Comments on: Guardian Quiptic 654 / Pan

By: David Travis

David Travis — Sat, 02 Jun 2012 09:21:15 +0000

I enjoyed this and thought it was just the right level for a quiptic (ie I could just about finish it without needing to come here). Thanks for the blog which explained the one I couldn’t get (27a).

By: Big Dave

Big Dave — Mon, 28 May 2012 20:03:24 +0000

Not a dictionary that I ever use, but thanks for the info.

By: Gaufrid

Gaufrid — Mon, 28 May 2012 17:40:33 +0000

Hi Big Dave
“It’s not in Chambers XWD – a Dictionary of Crossword Abbreviations, Chambers Dictionary – 12th Edition, the Oxford Dictionary of English or the Shorter Oxford English Dictionary.”

That may well be the case but r. = rare is in Collins, one of the recognised crossword references.

By: Big Dave

Big Dave — Mon, 28 May 2012 17:23:29 +0000

I personally would not accept "It's been in the Guardian crossword before" as provenance for R = Rare. Nor would I accept someone somewhere using it on their website. It's not in Chambers XWD - a Dictionary of Crossword Abbreviations, Chambers Dictionary - 12th Edition, the Oxford Dictionary of English or the Shorter Oxford English Dictionary.

By: Kathryn's Dad

Kathryn's Dad — Mon, 28 May 2012 15:06:38 +0000

Thanks Dave and Pan.

I too put in R for ‘rare’ without really thinking about it, having assumed (it turns out rightly) that I’d come across it before. Agree about RESUMES. But not a bad Quiptic, I thought, with ENSCONCED my favourite clue today.

By: Robi

Robi — Mon, 28 May 2012 12:04:15 +0000

Sorry, wrong link for ‘or here’ above; it defaults to the wrong ‘R’ – you have to put R. [R{dot}] into the search window in the link!

By: Robi

Robi — Mon, 28 May 2012 11:52:12 +0000

Thanks Dave; I didn’t think this was too bad and about the right level for a Quiptic. Obviously, the East in RESUMES is incorrect. No doubt it was a clue written before shoehorning into a down space by mistake. I liked your NIGHTIE picture.

As PeterO says, r=rare has been used quite a lot in Guardian clues; here are a couple of web references:
here; or here. The consensus did seem to be the reference to steaks, but I think it is also applied to coins, which I think is a better provenance [e.g. see here.]

I liked GREMLIN and TOFF.

By: PeterO

PeterO — Mon, 28 May 2012 10:03:22 +0000

Dave
Thanks for the blog. 5D is a rather startling slip, particularly as ‘from the east’ does not contribute much to the clue’s surface. R for rare (22A) has come up before, and it seems that the likely provenance is a waiter’s chit on the way to the kitchen, or the little flag stuck in the steak in the way back