Comments on: Guardian 25654 – Bonxie

By: brucew_aus

brucew_aus — Mon, 18 Jun 2012 14:32:05 +0000

Thanks Bonxie and UY

Late again to do this one … and it was pretty tough going. Like many others there were new words for me at 19, 23a,7 and 8.

Seemed to have parsed all of the tough ones OK, but didn’t work out how DESPERADO was constructed apart from the REPS bit.

Nice puzzle Bonxie … thanks.

By: RCWhiting

RCWhiting — Wed, 06 Jun 2012 17:34:19 +0000

Thanks all
Very good puzzle which held me up for quite a time in the SW corner. I couldn’t parse ‘mare’s nest’ but it was a neat clue. I liked ‘dunnock’but ‘band brake’ was obvious but unknown to me.
I am a day late with Azed and this one because I enjoyed a big family 70th birthday party on Sunday when I was presented with the 2011 Chambers signed by everybody.I baptised it with Azed of the 4th.
At a risk of repetition, has it been pointed out that the 2011 Chambers contains a spelling mistake?

By: tupu

tupu — Wed, 06 Jun 2012 04:01:49 +0000

Thanks UY and Bonxie
Got to this late last night and left comment till now hoping I would see the logic of Mare’s Nest (I’m up at this time to see visitors off). Thanks Freddie – nice clue.

Otherwise liked 5a, 23a,1d, 8d, 24d in an enjoyable puzzle that felt a bit easier than some Bonxies.

By: nametab

nametab — Tue, 05 Jun 2012 19:58:10 +0000

Ditto Red Kev @21. I too had pelican at 27ac. And it does almost work exactly, except that the two misssing (eviscerated) letters t and h aren’t quite in the middle of the anagrind. Oh well.
I once solved a clue that read ‘mangled dialect of the river mouth’ as ‘deltaic’, but the actual answer was ‘estuary’ (as in Estuary English).

By: RedKev

RedKev — Tue, 05 Jun 2012 19:21:38 +0000

Completely thrown by coming up , not implausibly, with “pelican” for 27a

By: Alan Moore

Alan Moore — Tue, 05 Jun 2012 19:16:03 +0000

Thank you for the blog. Once again I needed it to understand a few answers. The one I was most annoyed at not understanding was 22d. I just couldn’t get GRESIN or RESING to mean LEAVE. Once I read the blog it was so obvious.

By: Innocent Abroad

Innocent Abroad — Tue, 05 Jun 2012 18:57:53 +0000

Only got six to-day including “girns” which I dislike – I’ve always seen it spelled with a “u” up to now.

By: Mr Beaver

Mr Beaver — Tue, 05 Jun 2012 17:25:29 +0000

Like Gervase, I hadn’t realised GIRN was an alternative to GURN, though it obviously fits the wordplay better.

Robi@12 – I think FORFEND may be of those fossil words like ‘Mortal coil’ – I’ve only ever heard it in ‘Heaven forfend!’ as in ‘God forbid!’ – presumably it was once more common.

By: muck

muck — Tue, 05 Jun 2012 16:38:56 +0000

Thanks UY and Bonxie. It wasn’t easy, with some new words (AFTERWORD, BAND BRAKE) and some which I needed parsing (MARES NEST, ALTER). Enjoyable nevertheless.

By: chas

chas — Tue, 05 Jun 2012 13:49:28 +0000

Thanks to UY for the blog. I needed you to explain why I had the right answer with MARES NEST.

I have never heard of a guitarist named SLASH but it could be nothing else once I had the crossing letters. I have heard of the group called Guns n Roses but I have never heard their sound.