Comments on: Guardian 25,701 / Brendan

By: Derek Lazenby

Derek Lazenby — Wed, 01 Aug 2012 01:07:22 +0000

Tony, it’s in the clue for 27, check the blog again. Geddit?

By: Tony

Tony — Wed, 01 Aug 2012 00:56:11 +0000

I completed all but two solutions while completely unaware of the country name anagrams. I ony saw the online puzzle, and I saw no hint of such a theme. Was it in the print edition?
Thanks.

By: jeff w

jeff w — Tue, 31 Jul 2012 16:40:18 +0000

Thanks Eileen, and in particular for the explanation of TOM (it had to be this, but I was fumbling along similar lines to Jezza @37 for the reason why) and for SAN MARINO, the only country anagram I couldn’t spot.

A lovely puzzle from Brendan.

By: Jezza

Jezza — Tue, 31 Jul 2012 14:59:20 +0000

Thanks to Brendan for a most entertaining puzzle, and to Eileen for the explanations.

At 18a, I totally missed the TOM (Dick/Harry) explanation, and stumbled across the right answer thinking incorrectly it was 3 of (trio) the first letters of run (O)f (T)he (M)ill.

By: stanXYZ

stanXYZ — Tue, 31 Jul 2012 13:48:07 +0000

Eileen, Many Thanks to you for explaining “12 other answers”!

I am completeley in awe of the Setter and all those who spotted the theme.

I didn’t podium on this one!

By: rhotician

rhotician — Mon, 30 Jul 2012 22:56:50 +0000

Andrew @5: A well-known Manxman represents Team GB, which really means the UK. Better not dwell on it though.

By: rhotician

rhotician — Mon, 30 Jul 2012 22:38:40 +0000

Innocent @31: Chambers gives reign as “rule, actual or nominal, by a monarch”.

Eileen’s blog explains 15 and 16 precisely.

As for bridge I have heard that there is sometimes competetion between partners to declare a contract. Being dummy is not much fun.

By: rhotician

rhotician — Mon, 30 Jul 2012 22:23:48 +0000

Paul B @30: Chambers 1 is idiot and 2 is the thyroxine stuff. Presumably because the word cretin was in use before the hormone related condition was identified.

Your elucidation of how Brendan’s definition can apply to both senses is both perceptive and amusing.

By: Sil van den Hoek

Sil van den Hoek — Mon, 30 Jul 2012 21:29:41 +0000

Another very nice Brendan.
One knows that there will always be something going on.
Often not just a plain theme but more some kind of value added.

AGNAME (23d) was our last one in, but at that point we were still missing one more country. We completely overlooked Romanians/San Marino, perhaps because the others were relatively short anagrams.

No complains about NEWSED (5d). One can start a discussion on it, but it’s surely only there because of being an anagram of Sweden. And Rick’s [@3] parsing is absolutely spot on.

Just like some others we thought it was slightly unusual/inelegant/avoidable to see Man and Tee appearing twice (although Paul B must be pleased with 28d).
While 28d is a bit unsatisfactory (the setter could easily have chosen a word nót containing Tee), it is also quite clever in its misdirecting use of “originally”.

All in all very entertaining.

Full marks to the simple but oh so elegant double definition in 9ac (APRIL). The same for 1d (RAIN), 3d (ALSO) and some more that were just as smoothly written.

Not very hard, but extremely enjoyable because of that extra layer. And, yes, we couldn’t stand it not to find Country No 12 ….

ps, talking about that, using 10,11 and 12 in 27ac (three consecutive numbers) must have been done deliberately by Brendan – another nice touch

ps2, many thanks Eileen

By: Innocent Abroad

Innocent Abroad — Mon, 30 Jul 2012 20:04:48 +0000

Lots in the top half I couldn’t get – amd even having read all this I’m not totally convinced.

Didn’t see the bridge reference in 5, because they aren’t four competitiors, they’re two pairs competing. Not quite the same thing.

And “reign” isn’t a synonym of “rule”. One is what Betty does, the other’s Cammo’s job. Again, I expect the prepositions in clues to ne directionally accurate – using “over” in an across clue (15) is naughty.

But I am to blame for faiing to see 10 or 11, especially since I got 27 easily enough. Like Eileen, I couldn’t give a full account of certain of my answers (that was one, 16 was another – surely the clue should have been “… for sailor set up”?) and once that happens I start to lose heart in what I can and cannot licence myself to solve. (Andrew has pointed out another example of this.)