Comments on: Guardian 25,714 – Picaroon

By: Paul B

Paul B — Thu, 16 Aug 2012 00:51:11 +0000

Where is Rhotician’s home? Where is his home? Waters murmur across the meads: pinewoods rustle upon the cliff-rocks, bloom of spring shines in the orchard, Paradise on Earth to see! And that is the beautiful land.

By: Picaroon

Picaroon — Wed, 15 Aug 2012 19:59:45 +0000

Hi Rhotician,

Thanks for your comments – very decent of you. No harm done, I reckon.

Happy solving!

By: rhotician

rhotician — Wed, 15 Aug 2012 18:52:45 +0000

Picaroon, I already have a dictionary, The Chambers Dictionary. I don’t understand why you think my grasp of the concept of irony is wanting.

Having said that I apologise for offending you. It was not my intention.

For what it’s worth I found your puzzle challenging and enjoyable. I even learned a thing or two. As good as anything I’ve done this year.

Thanks.

By: Picaroon

Picaroon — Wed, 15 Aug 2012 15:21:37 +0000

All comments made here have been reasonable and constructive (so thanks to everyone and to UY for the very thorough blog) with one glaring exception.

Rhotician – Since you’re such a stickler for good manners, why don’t you reread your own post? Then, get yourself a dictionary and look up the word “irony”.

By: Sil van den Hoek

Sil van den Hoek — Wed, 15 Aug 2012 14:53:07 +0000

Indeed, Uncle Yap.

What I said about 2d was just what sprang to mind when solving the puzzle. It reminded me of Arachne’s habit to use women where most setters choose men. Nothing more, nothing less.

“Why can’t we all just enjoy a lovely puzzle for what it is”.
Well, I can – and a lovely puzzle it was indeed!

By contrast, one should perhaps take a look at the Indy blog of yesterday’s Nimrod to see something quite different from the peaceful atmosphere over here.

By: Uncle Yap

Uncle Yap — Wed, 15 Aug 2012 14:16:40 +0000

Why can’t we all just enjoy a lovely puzzle for what it is, instead of trying to find fault, real or imaginary?

By: rhotician

rhotician — Wed, 15 Aug 2012 12:59:29 +0000

Is the clue an example of male chauvinism or just bad manners? In either case could ‘a bit of a pig’ be applied to the setter?

By: RCWhiting

RCWhiting — Wed, 15 Aug 2012 10:45:31 +0000

I have never heard the expression ‘a bit of a cow’ applied to a man (French or otherwise).

By: Picaroon

Picaroon — Tue, 14 Aug 2012 22:53:28 +0000

Hmmm, I must say this didn’t seem really hard when I wrote it. I can see, though, that there are quite a few references (literature, geography, economics etc.) which might take it up a notch. Duly noted, although plenty of comments here and on the Guardian site suggest that some non-masochists may also have participated without undue suffering.

Dave Ellison and Alex M are quite right that “foregoing” in the surface reading of 10/9 is a reference to MF’s rejection of Keynesianism, whilst in the cryptic reading “foregoing” refers to the position of Milton relative to Keynes in the place name. The “famed in Republican manoeuvring” is also very applicable for the egregious MF.

I actually intended the wordplay in 12 to be read not as CAPITAL/GAINS but more cryptically as “GAIN in CAPITALS” (perhaps leaving it in that crepuscular hinterland between the high Azeddian seriousness of the & lit. and the tomfoolery of the dingbat…)

(Sil – thanks for your remarks, as ever. As for your questions, Paradise Lost opens with the fall of the rebel angel Satan, hence “How Milton’s Paradise Lost starts” = Angel falls.
Agreed that 2dn isn’t flattering, but I can assure you I had no specific Frenchwoman in mind!)

By: Sil van den Hoek

Sil van den Hoek — Tue, 14 Aug 2012 22:19:24 +0000

From the obvious (12ac, first in) to the less obvious (13d, last in) this was a great crossword.
Picaroon is a real find and his puzzle today his most challenging thus far.

The surface of 16d (WHALER) is just so misleadingly brilliant (Think Coffee), while BEDDABLE (3d) is worth the Paulian Award of the Day.

But, there are a couple of buts.
Many solvers like feminising clues in the Arachne way, but when indeed Picaroon gives us a Frenchwoman instead of a Frenchman in 2d, it was not really flattering.
And our last entry (ANGEL FALLS), well, nobody so far has given the ultimate explanation. How ‘Paradise Lost’ starts? Abrupt?

Apart from that, I think, the setter’s name should be written like the clue at 12ac!!