Comments on: Guardian 25,788 / Araucaria

By: john mcc

john mcc — Sun, 11 Nov 2012 08:07:30 +0000

Have been away and Graunless so just catching up. Did this without any aids, amazingly for me. Must’ve had the same sort of education as the Rev!

By: Paul B

Paul B — Fri, 09 Nov 2012 19:39:32 +0000

I saw AUGUST A as pleading for ‘August’s A’, i.e. ‘first of the month’, so def plus def plus AUGUST/ A. There may be the more allusive nod that Galeraman asks for, but it’s neither here nor there.

By: RCWhiting

RCWhiting — Fri, 09 Nov 2012 16:39:56 +0000

Double definition girl= Augusta (name) golfer’s place = course in the USA
There are thousands of golf courses and of girls’ names but only twelve months!

By: rowland

rowland — Fri, 09 Nov 2012 13:34:31 +0000

Didn’t make much sense to me!

Cheers
Rowly.

By: RCWhiting

RCWhiting — Fri, 09 Nov 2012 12:55:30 +0000

8d
Although I agree with Eileen’s comment: “I don’t see the need for this rather odd piece of wordplay” it did make it a very much easier clue to solve.

By: JollySwagman

JollySwagman — Fri, 09 Nov 2012 03:01:51 +0000

Thanks E & A.

Certainly one of Big A’s most interesting for while and for my money one of the best both for amusement and solving satisfaction.

8d – I thought the wordplay possibilities were just misdirection and that maybe it was more of DD, thinking that the Masters Tournament started on the first of the month – it doesn’t – it’s the first full week in April – but I like Galeraman’s explanation at #11 – that’s the one I’m gonna buy – but it’s still great to see clues with different possibilities floating around in them.

By: muffin

muffin — Thu, 08 Nov 2012 21:12:36 +0000

Thanks, eileen
I think I would agree with your first link!

By: Eileen

Eileen — Thu, 08 Nov 2012 20:44:17 +0000

Derek @34 and muffin @35 re the brandy-bearing St Bernards:

These are two of the links that I messed up when I was posting the blog this morning

http://www.null-hypothesis.co.uk/science//item/top_inventions_st_bernard_brandy

http://www.independent.co.uk/travel/travel-true-or-false-the-brandy-barrel-carried-by-st-bernards-in-the-alps-is-a-myth-1274270.html

By: muffin

muffin — Thu, 08 Nov 2012 19:26:29 +0000

Well, giving brandy to someone suffering from exposure is one of the worst treatments possible (discounting shooting him, of course – “does anyone remember “First, make sure that he’s dead”?)

By: Derek Lazenby

Derek Lazenby — Thu, 08 Nov 2012 19:13:20 +0000

Well the class dummy finished eventually. Put me down with the one’s suggesting it was a) more of a Saturday puzzle; b) needed the reference books and/or the web.

I seem to remember hearing somewhere (on QI?) that the brandy thing is a myth.