Comments on: Guardian 25,680 – Enigmatist

By: Smoz

Smoz — Tue, 10 Jul 2012 07:51:41 +0000

Got there at last! Icke – tee-hee!

By: Tramp

Tramp — Fri, 06 Jul 2012 08:28:25 +0000

I loved this. Some amazing clues here; RENT-A-CAR was my favourite for the very neat definition!

By: rhotician

rhotician — Fri, 06 Jul 2012 00:43:56 +0000

An afterthought. A Strict Ximenean (sorry) would say that all this confusion is proof that the clue is “unfair”. To “correct” the clue ‘boy has in pocket’ should be ‘pocket in boy’. This, of course, wrecks the surface. Aforesaid SX would say that nice surfaces are to be welcomed but the purity of the cryptic parsing is paramount.

I would disagree. I got to the solution, not too easily. I also got the parsing, eventually. I enjoyed the whole process.

By: rhotician

rhotician — Fri, 06 Jul 2012 00:10:56 +0000

Thanks.

My first thought was that it contained an error. I hoped the blog would enlighten me. Then it was clear that manehi was having trouble as well. Then I looked more closely and came, eventually, to the same conclusion as you.

By: RCWhiting

RCWhiting — Thu, 05 Jul 2012 23:52:26 +0000

Reluctance because I have complained about others’ quibbling for days over one clue (hypocrite).

By: RCWhiting

RCWhiting — Thu, 05 Jul 2012 23:50:51 +0000

Because when I solved it my first thought was that it contained an error; this made me look more closely until I realised that the above explanation made it totally valid. I then noticed that manehi had used the same parsing as my initial thought.

By: rhotician

rhotician — Thu, 05 Jul 2012 21:39:41 +0000

RCW. No need to apologize. I agree with your analysis. I was very tempted to make the same observation. I have no problem with being pernickety. Au contraire. I refrained because I couldn’t express my own thoughts so concisely.

What interests me is what prompted you to analyze the clue so deeply. And what prompted you to comment, albeit so reluctantly.

By: RCWhiting

RCWhiting — Thu, 05 Jul 2012 18:17:22 +0000

I cannot believe I am making this over-pedantic and pernickety observation but……
In 10ac it is not ‘pot = in pocket’.
‘pot’ and ‘pocket’ are verbs.
So it is ‘boy has in(side him)’ ‘pocket = pot’ to give s(pot)on.
Sorry.

By: jvh

jvh — Thu, 05 Jul 2012 18:14:57 +0000

Thanks, manehi.

I have always liked the delightful definition of “Sloane Ranger” in my old (1993) Chambers.

By: RCWhiting

RCWhiting — Thu, 05 Jul 2012 16:32:00 +0000

see @20
Yes,it is in Chambers but not in that sense.