Comments on: Independent 8,110 / Nestor

By: flashling

flashling — Thu, 11 Oct 2012 21:48:32 +0000

Late starting today, I found it very hard but I usually do with Nestor, all my minor quibbles have been answered, so just to thank RR who got Nestor yet again & setter.

By: Rorschach

Rorschach — Thu, 11 Oct 2012 21:40:37 +0000

Ah! Thanks mate!

By: yvains

yvains — Thu, 11 Oct 2012 18:22:59 +0000

@12 Rorschach – I think you’ve sort-of answered your own question: ‘Being spread too thin’ is surely (as I see it) being used gerundially, so one could imagine textual equivalence in, for example, “His relationship failed because of his overcommitment” / “His relationship failed because of his being spread too thin.”

By: Rorschach

Rorschach — Thu, 11 Oct 2012 17:30:48 +0000

Right but overcommitment is a noun? and being spread too thin is verbal no?

By: RatkojaRiku

RatkojaRiku — Thu, 11 Oct 2012 16:34:27 +0000

Many thanks to crypticsue et al. for explaining the wordplay at 2.

I am also pleased to read that other solvers’ reactions to this puzzle tallied with my own.

By: Dormouse

Dormouse — Thu, 11 Oct 2012 16:15:21 +0000

Just about right for me today. Only answer I couldn’t get without a word search was 1dn – turned out I thought “teat” was spelled “teet” otherwise I might have got it sooner. And the only answer I couldn’t parse was 20dn, so thanks for putting me out of my misery.

By: yvains

yvains — Thu, 11 Oct 2012 15:45:42 +0000

@Rorschach – maybe I’m the one being slow: If you’re over-committed, i.e. too many irons in the fire, you’re commonly said to be ‘spread too thin’, no?

I agree CHAMPS is very good

By: Rorschach

Rorschach — Thu, 11 Oct 2012 15:15:55 +0000

Am I being very slow or does OVERCOMMITMENT not equal “being spread too thin”?

Some lovely clues in here – CHAMPS probably pips it for me.

Thanks both!

By: nmsindy

nmsindy — Thu, 11 Oct 2012 11:43:56 +0000

PS Forgot to thank RR for the great, comprehensive, blog as always.

By: nmsindy

nmsindy — Thu, 11 Oct 2012 11:42:13 +0000

My experience was similar to others with this – excellent puzzle as always from Nestor, in this instance a good deal easier that usual.
While I can’t argue with Fowler, the definition used here for ILK (class) is in Collins. I too had trouble parsing COMPLEXION but that meaning of COMP (which was new to me) is in the Concise OED with, as someone mentioned above, a North American origin indicated. Favourite clues CHAMPS, HUNTER-GATHERERS, BREAK NEW GROUND, and I thought DYED was a well-concealed ‘hidden’.