Comments on: Inquisitor 1248: Second, Third and Fourth by Nudd

By: Nudd

Nudd — Wed, 03 Oct 2012 22:13:04 +0000

Many thanks to HolyGhost and other posters here – your feedback is much appreciated.
When I was doing my O level History approaching 50 years ago, it seemed that America (and a few other places too) did not have any. Recently trying to bridge a few gaps, I unearthed the delightful coincidences of July 4th 1826 – and soon thereafter discovered the amusing ODQ version of John Adams’s last words. Given all of that, I was clearly obliged to try and represent it in a crossword … after all, ODQ had even suggested how many letters to tamper with in each affected clue!
I’m pleased that the result met with some favour, and look forward to entertaining you all another day.
Thanks again
Nudd

By: Chris Jones

Chris Jones — Wed, 03 Oct 2012 19:15:05 +0000

I was on hols too, but had my Seiko electronic dictionary (shame it wasn’t a Frnaklin’s) but hardly needed it, even for checking. It was a straightforward puzzle, though have to confess that I was aided by having watched the TV series John Adams on DVD all the way through only a few weeks ago.

An enjoyable puzzle and rather satisfying.

Thanks Nudd.

By: regalize

regalize — Wed, 03 Oct 2012 11:23:11 +0000

A rare IQ for me in that I completed it on a Spanish beach with no dictionary or thingummies (for clarification purposes, you understand). When I realised that IVES was missing, I spent (wasted) a lot of time looking for that other ‘father’, Big Daddy (Burl Ives).
A great puzzle, so thanks, Nudd and HG.

By: Hi of hihoba

Hi of hihoba — Wed, 03 Oct 2012 08:09:57 +0000

Thanks HolyGhost and Nudd. Always nice to have a learning experience while solving.

I was a bit surprised by the lack of IVES at the end of the quote being used to “literally indicate” the treatment of the 10 answers, especially as, like HG (and most others I suspect), that I had come to the conclusion about the removal of IVES before discovering the quote. I was expecting something a bit more obscure!

I wish I could keep the ante cibum abbreviation in mind. It always escapes me, so thanks for the explanation of 10D.

Nice references and fun researching 2,3 and 4.

By: John Lowe

John Lowe — Wed, 03 Oct 2012 07:08:45 +0000

Thanks to HG for a comprehensive blog.

At 24a Chambers would appear to support Nudd in using essives as grammatical relations:

essive n the essive case.

case n (any of the specific types of) grammatical relation of a noun, pronoun, or (in some languages) adjective to another word in the sentence, and/or its variation in form to express that relation.

Thanks also to Nudd for an enjoyable puzzle with a fascinating denouement.