Comments on: Guardian Prize 25,670 / Puck

By: Tramp

Tramp — Wed, 04 Jul 2012 09:39:37 +0000

Excellent puzzle. Smashing blog, Eileen.

By: Eileen

Eileen — Mon, 02 Jul 2012 18:21:32 +0000

Hi Mary

Welcome to the site if you’re new, as I suspect. Your question comes up practically every week and is answered under FAQ at the top of this page, better than I could do it!

By: Mary

Mary — Mon, 02 Jul 2012 17:38:44 +0000

What does ‘nina’ mean?

Took me ages but loved every minute.

By: nametab

nametab — Sat, 30 Jun 2012 20:25:38 +0000

Many thanks to Puck for a delightful puzzle – a lovely follow-up to the previous ‘armadillo’. I, too, never saw LANGUAGE on the bottom line, and was slow to discern COMPUTER, but saw it when I realised that that was what ‘topline’ was referring to.
And thank you too Eileen for an excellent blog

By: liz

liz — Sat, 30 Jun 2012 17:57:16 +0000

[Thanks Eileen and Jan!]

By: Jan

Jan — Sat, 30 Jun 2012 16:59:36 +0000

[Hi, Liz, - it also got a very nice review in the (don't all scream at once!) Daily Mail. It sounds like a fascinating book. Well done.]

Thanks for the excellent blog, Eileen. And thanks to Puck for a super, very enjoyable puzzle.

I was watching the ‘topline’ from quite early on so with a few letters in I guessed computer and that helped enormously.

By: Eileen

Eileen — Sat, 30 Jun 2012 14:34:56 +0000

Liz – you dark horse!

I read the review and never made the ‘Elizabeth’ connection – a bit like ‘nina-blindness’. I’m about to log on to Amazon!

By: liz

liz — Sat, 30 Jun 2012 14:16:57 +0000

Thanks for the blog, Eileen. This was really challenging and great fun. Last Saturday’s Google doodle rather gave the game away re the centenary, but there was plenty to get your teeth into in this puzzle.

Taco_Belly @11 If there is medication for nina-blindness, I need a double dose. Completely missed the topline/bottom line thing which left me unable to decide between MISC or RISC at 8dn.

[Shameless self-promotion follows -- please don't send me to the naughty step, Gaufrid -- my novel Ashenden got a lovely review in the Guardian today. There are crossword clues in it...]

By: RCWhiting

RCWhiting — Sat, 30 Jun 2012 10:34:44 +0000

Thanks all
Nothing to add, it was great fun, challenging and clever.

By: aztobesed

aztobesed — Sat, 30 Jun 2012 10:22:39 +0000

I thought I might have made a dog’s dinner out of 19a.

With the absence of any ‘topline’ reference I had ‘Pan’ – Pun with a change of heart, ‘what boatman essentially wants’ being a full version of ‘sampan’ – Sam being the missing man. That ‘essentially’ should have given me more pause but I reasoned it would otherwise surely have been flagged with a ‘topline’. Tough. Very tough.