Comments on: Guardian Cryptic N° 25,713 by Rufus

By: nametab

nametab — Tue, 14 Aug 2012 18:06:58 +0000

I don’t normally time a solution, but this was 12 minutes’ worth of pleasant solving. 6d was weak, but the vast majority of Rufus’ compilation each week is admirable

By: grumpo

grumpo — Tue, 14 Aug 2012 09:11:11 +0000

A most enjoyable romp, especially as I had no success at all with Saturday’s prize crossword! Best described as simple and elegant, I suppose – I thought 21 A was very neatly clued, with absolutely no waste of words.

Very nice – thank you, Rufus.

grumpo

By: tupu

tupu — Tue, 14 Aug 2012 06:43:50 +0000

Thjanks PeterO

An enjoyable puzzle with some clever clues. I liked 10a, 2d, 13d, and 18d.

By: RCWhiting

RCWhiting — Mon, 13 Aug 2012 23:43:11 +0000

Thanks all
I would like to protest on behalf of 6d.
It is no worse than all the others.

By: stiofain

stiofain — Mon, 13 Aug 2012 23:07:45 +0000

well done PeterO – usual Rufus fare – it has its place

By: PeterO

PeterO — Mon, 13 Aug 2012 23:06:17 +0000

chas

I respond with or without a capital. For some reason, the anagram for UNWELCOME did not come tripping off my tongue.

The suggestion of gold medal for GM was just my whimsy.

By: chas

chas — Mon, 13 Aug 2012 22:54:05 +0000

Apologies: I intended to type PeterO with capital P but failed

By: chas

chas — Mon, 13 Aug 2012 22:52:57 +0000

Thanks to peterO for the blog. I was getting seriously worried that it was never going to appear.

I found this an unusually easy puzzle: several of the anagrams leapt to my eye then just needed a brief check. Usually when I say ‘this must be an anagram of words xxx, yyy and zzz’ it then takes me a long time of shuffling letters around to get the answer.

On 11a I spent some time trying to make ‘belle’ fit in as this is commonly used for ‘lovely girl’. It would not go, so I had to think again.

I was disappointed in 6d: very weak.

By: Miche

Miche — Mon, 13 Aug 2012 22:31:44 +0000

Thanks, PeterO.

No posers, but quite a fun trot.

I don’t know what it says about me that I read “smashing opportunity” for LOB in the context of a brick and a jeweller’s window, rather than tennis. (I blame Sidney James in Hancock’s Half Hour).

Elegant double duty at 1d. Inelegant at 4d.

6d is, I suppose, meant to make us think of Sir Francis Bacon, but I don’t think the misdirection works.

12a: Chambers (other authorities are available) has GM for George Medal but not for the more topical gold medal.

The seamless joining of the dual definitions in 22a is very fine.

By: rrc

rrc — Mon, 13 Aug 2012 22:23:31 +0000

a very enjoyable crossword