Comments on: Independent 8,062 / Mordred

By: nmsindy

nmsindy — Thu, 16 Aug 2012 22:27:24 +0000

I think that may be a good spot, flashling. Looking back thro the records (esp annual reviews posted 31 Dec each year), Mordred may well be at the 50 mark, having started in 2006. There’s a reason for everything as they say.

By: Bertandjoyce

Bertandjoyce — Thu, 16 Aug 2012 22:26:17 +0000

WeLL – that was LOL!

LuckiLy we Looked carefuLLy at the cLues when we saw the grid pattern and that it was Mordred.

A reaL tour de force! Thanks Mordred. WoL was Joyce’s favourite character in the Pooh taLes – she enjoyed being reminded of them.

Thanks RR foR your bLog.

By: flashling

flashling — Thu, 16 Aug 2012 21:53:50 +0000

Seeing the Ls around the grid starting to appear, I guessed that the perimeter was all Ls (and the central square) and this helped finish this relatively quickly.

So why, to celebrate the 50th Mordred? He’s hardly a learner after all. Thanks Mordred and RR.

By: Dormouse

Dormouse — Thu, 16 Aug 2012 19:54:10 +0000

Not too bad, stumbling only at the final hurdle. Couldn’t quite see 10ac. I decuded it ended -ica, so I had two letters to get – if I’d spotted the Ls before it was pointed out here, it’d be only one letter – and guessed it was “my” as an interjection, but couldn’t think what it could be. And e-search helped.

Never heard of “leal” before, but was able to work it out. I was convinced 23ac was an anagram of “parodies” for a very long time, and even all the crossing letters were found in that. I’m sure this was deliberate.

Lots of fun clues. Didn’t think I was a Starsky and Hutch fan, but I remembered Glaser and Soul from that. Liked 23dn, too. But, despite having trouble with my 9ac last year, I really found that one amusing.

By: nmsindy

nmsindy — Thu, 16 Aug 2012 16:19:04 +0000

I must have been lucky with this because I spotted the Ls after I’d about 5 clues solved and simply raced thro the rest. While I did understand the OWL in LEVEL one, I no idea about AWOL tho it had to be right with only one letter missing and because of the definition. So many thanks for explaining that. Another I got without understanding (the definition this time) was SOUL but Google explained that for me – thanks, Mordred and RR.

By: RatkojaRiku

RatkojaRiku — Thu, 16 Aug 2012 16:09:15 +0000

Thanks, Al Dente, for parsing 11 – I don’t think I would have worked that one out if I’d looked at it for hours. I’ll amend the blog accordingly.

By: rowland

rowland — Thu, 16 Aug 2012 12:28:09 +0000

Great stuff! I really enjoyed this. It seemed to push me out to the far end of my ‘difficulty spectrum’ at first , but after six or seven I suspected we were going to get some help from the edges of the grid. Then, much easier, of course. Clues to inspire today for me were UROGENITAL, but also I found the ‘crazy reason’ in 1 down appealing.

Thanks all, RR and Mordres.

Cheers,
Rowly.

By: crypticsue

crypticsue — Thu, 16 Aug 2012 11:41:04 +0000

LoveLy thank you Mordred. Thanks to RR too.

By: allan_c

allan_c — Thu, 16 Aug 2012 11:07:33 +0000

I’d have got there a lot sooner if I’d spotted the perimeter L’s – how can one miss something so obvious!

LORICA, LEE WAVES and RAPPEL were new to me, too. I only knew the latter as a French word seen on road signs (usually speed limits) to indicate a reminder.

Some nice surfaces to a number of clues. LIMY recalling that limes or lime juice used to be issued to sailors to ward off scurvy, hence ‘Limey’ (with an ‘e’), a slang name for a British sailor. And CUDGEL suggesting not only ‘brain’ but the expression “to cudgel one’s brains” – which one often has to do with Mordred’s puzzles (and others).

By: Kathryn's Dad

Kathryn's Dad — Thu, 16 Aug 2012 08:05:54 +0000

Fine blog, RatkojaRiku, for which thanks. I wouldn’t say I got no clues on the first pass, but certainly only a handful. But I kept chipping away at it and with about half done spotted the L pattern, which was obviously a help. Some obscurities, sure, for good reason, but all clearly clued, so in the end a pleasing puzzle for the Thursday slot (which is in my experience usually the most difficult of the Indy week). Just to flag up that the two solutions forming the cross in the centre of the grid also start with L.

I too smiled at UROGENITAL, but my other favourite was AWOL for reminding me of the ever so slightly self-important character in Winnie-the-Pooh.

Well done, Mordred, on fitting all that in. One L of an achievement.

(And well done, Al Dente, for parsing LOW-LEVEL – I was struggling with that too.)