Comments on: Independent 8063 / Phi

By: Bertandjoyce

Bertandjoyce — Sat, 18 Aug 2012 07:15:55 +0000

Thanks Phi – no apology required as we have had a great deal of amusement along the way! However, thanks for the explanation, we have missed some of your themes when blogging (and solving!) in the past but don’t like to miss your puzzles.

By: Phi

Phi — Sat, 18 Aug 2012 03:58:54 +0000

Ah, that appears to be my fault – for some reason I thought the ‘French Horn’ song was ‘Sounding Brass’ – but you’re quite right it’s ‘Ill Wind’, so I gave the wrong hint…

‘Slow Train’ is one of my favourite F&S songs, though I have been on trains that stopped at at least two of the closed stations enumerated therein. I did want to get ARMADILLO in – a less well known song, but one where an initial comic impulse turns suddenly poignant. Still, plenty of material for another try at the theme in due course.

By: allan_c

allan_c — Fri, 17 Aug 2012 22:05:14 +0000

Thomas99 @24, and all. Apologies for not making myself clear. As you say, “Ill Wind” doesn’t feature in this crossword and I was trying to make the point that I think some people may have confused it, title-wise, with “Sounding Brass”. I added the info about the other songs for completeness.

By: Bertandjoyce

Bertandjoyce — Fri, 17 Aug 2012 21:28:29 +0000

We were looking for cryptic references as we couldn’t find Ill Wind anywhere in the grid. Came up with Off-colour for ‘ill’ but we couldn’t find a reference for wind. That’s where the ‘bottom’ reference came from!!

We are still no further on and hoping that someone can help or Phi drops by again!

By: Thomas99

Thomas99 — Fri, 17 Aug 2012 21:09:38 +0000

Ill Wind, the French Horn song is familiar enough, but where are people finding it in this crossword? allan_c – you gave the longest account. Which clue were you thinking of?

By: allan_c

allan_c — Fri, 17 Aug 2012 20:18:32 +0000

Sorry, Dormouse. You posted while I was still typing.

By: allan_c

allan_c — Fri, 17 Aug 2012 20:16:49 +0000

The French Horn (“or German Horn, as the French call it, not to be confused with the Cor Anglais”) features in the F&S song “Ill Wind”, from “At the Drop of Another Hat”. The song “Sounding Brass” (from the same show) is all about one-upmanship. “Slow Train” is also from AtDoAH. “Misalliance” and “The Gnu” were in the original “At the Drop of a Hat”. “Mud” (aka “The Hippopotamus”) featured in both shows.

By: Dormouse

Dormouse — Fri, 17 Aug 2012 20:06:04 +0000

I don’t believe it! I’m a Gnu was one of my favourite songs when I was a kid, I liked Mud, I knew Misalliance, the Slow Train is a lovely song, Flanders and Swann appear in the grid, and I totally missed the theme!

But I solved it all without any aid, not even the dictionary, I think. I’m also a baseball fan and got 17dn without seeing how it worked. But, quite fun.

By: flashling

flashling — Fri, 17 Aug 2012 19:26:16 +0000

Ta BJ/Phi theme went whoosh over the head but easily completed despite that (not to say it was necessarily easy). As for Phi@6 well that’s also got me as I’ve heard of Flanders and Swann but know nowt of their works, philistine that I am.

By: Al Dente

Al Dente — Fri, 17 Aug 2012 17:42:18 +0000

Cheers PB.