Comments on: Independent 8,019 / Crosophile

By: RatkojaRiku

RatkojaRiku — Thu, 28 Jun 2012 12:19:58 +0000

I didn’t spot the Nina either, which is par for the course for me – I don’t tend to look unless prompted to do so, or unless they follow the perimeter of the puzzle and thus “jump out” at me.

@Dormouse: I wondered about the lower case v upper case letters here too; thanks for clarifying that such details are all-important.

By: flashling

flashling — Wed, 27 Jun 2012 22:00:50 +0000

Cheers Charybdis/Crosophile for a crossword I could do, thought for a while they’d all be write ins but there were a few to need the brain. Didn’t parse candelabrum as I thought CD expanded was C AND A and couldn’t see the EL bit, oh well. Ta RR for explaining that.

By: Charybdis

Charybdis — Wed, 27 Jun 2012 21:02:50 +0000

Thanks for all the kind comments and for the blog. The nina, if you can call it that, of ‘live and let live’ appealed to me simply because of the symmetry with which it could be entered with correct spacing. I must get round to doing some more ‘proper’ ninas…

By: pennes

pennes — Wed, 27 Jun 2012 19:14:46 +0000

I seem to have struggled rather with Crosophile’s puzzles, but found this easier than his usual and rather good too, noting 2dn ratio and 4 dn legerdemain. I thought only a few clues betrayed the fact that it wasn’t a Dac puzzle as the clues were so neat and clear.

By: Bertandjoyce

Bertandjoyce — Wed, 27 Jun 2012 19:11:05 +0000

Candelabrum was our last one in and we didn’t bother to parse it properly after getting the ‘brum’ bit. At least that is our excuse but maybe it’s the time of night here in Greece, the balmy (or should it be barmy?) atmosphere. Certainly nothing to do with ouzo, local wine and sundowners!

An enjoyable puzzle, better than yesterday’s offering which was cleverly constructed but a bit overconvoluted for our liking.

Thanks Crosophile – we didn’t know it was your puzzle until we accessed 225 and also to RR for making us realise that we needed to be more awake at the end!

Thanks also to MaleficOpus for spotting the Nina, even if we don’t understand why!

By: Dormouse

Dormouse — Wed, 27 Jun 2012 18:52:15 +0000

Also completed it without help, except using a dictionary to remind myself how to spell “candelabrum”, and even then I couldn’t see why it was that. I have heard of the candela (and the farad) but didn’t know CD was its abbreviation, and I see technically it’s cd. Case is important when using abbreviations for units. L is a lambert, but l is a litre, for example. (Anyway, that’s my excuse for not understanding the answer.)

By: nmsindy

nmsindy — Wed, 27 Jun 2012 14:12:13 +0000

Many thanks, RR, and Crosophile. I enjoyed this too – seeing the Nina only when I’d the grid completed. About average in difficulty – my favourite clues were MANIFESTO and HINDSIGHT.

By: MaleficOpus

MaleficOpus — Wed, 27 Jun 2012 09:40:04 +0000

Agreed. Very nice, I liked TANNERIES.

Vanilla it may be, but there is a nina – LIVE AND LET LIVE – although I can’t say if there’s a specific reason for it.

Many thanks to RatkojaRiku and Crosophile.

By: Kathryn's Dad

Kathryn's Dad — Wed, 27 Jun 2012 07:43:04 +0000

Thanks, RatkojaRiku.

I really enjoyed this one – we’re certainly never short of a themed puzzle in the Indy, but this shows that vanilla can be tasty too. I liked CHRYSALIS and my other favourite was ANDROGYNY, but it was all good.

SCULLIONS was one of those words that was lurking in my passive vocabulary and finally came out to play once I had some crossing letters. SCALLY is a mostly North-Western term for ‘rogue’, but I don’t know if the two are related.

Fine crossword, thank you to Crosophile.