Comments on: Guardian Prize Puzzle 25,796 by Araucaria

By: PeeDee

PeeDee — Tue, 27 Nov 2012 15:56:38 +0000

Brendan, the chart is not meant to be taken very seriously. It gets pretty dull writing the same thing week after week.

By: RCWhiting

RCWhiting — Tue, 27 Nov 2012 14:39:14 +0000

I think MHO coincides, Brendan.

By: Brendan (not that one)

Brendan (not that one) — Sun, 25 Nov 2012 22:00:15 +0000

Nice Saturday puzzle. Reassuringly difficult as the last couple of Araucaria’s prize offerings were a little too easy.

No problem with the River Ob as I expect not to know all the references for a prize crossword.(That’s where the cryptic cluing and Google comes in ) the fact that it is the xth longest river in the world is totally meaningless to me as I don’t wish to know such facts!!!!)

Thanks to PeeDee and thw big A.

P.S. Found the chart a little bit of flummery. Surely there was no obvious theme here. All puzzles have similar connections between clues due to the compiler having to fill in the blank grid before deciding upon the clues. This naturally leads to subconscious connections between the words. They are always apparent but not necessarily intended. JMHO!

By: RCWhiting

RCWhiting — Sat, 24 Nov 2012 15:13:46 +0000

A piece of chalk, a likely candidate for over 7 measure.
(7? obscene not!)

By: PeeDee

PeeDee — Sat, 24 Nov 2012 14:52:33 +0000

So – while chalk might not be a very good example of an alkali, a ‘piece of chalk’ is certainly a very good cryptic definition for one. Hats off to A!

By: RCWhiting

RCWhiting — Sat, 24 Nov 2012 14:40:47 +0000

Thanks all
I rated this a good Saturday puzzle.
Plenty to think about.
Favourite was 1d.
Last in was ‘alkali’. Just because something is weakly alkaline does not make it acid or neutral, therefore it is alkaline!
I think A’s thinking is clear: A+L+KALI but since alk. is an abbreviation for alkali he dropped in a secondary cryptic hint. That is why he is so good.

By: liz

liz — Sat, 24 Nov 2012 14:12:29 +0000

Thanks for the blog, PeeDee. I love the chart Excellent diagram of the setter’s (and solver’s) thinking!

By: tupu

tupu — Sat, 24 Nov 2012 10:12:04 +0000

ps Thanks PeeDee by the way for your excellent chart.
NB there seems to be a typo in your spelling of ‘fissiparous’. I think I have come across this word used outside biology more or less as a synonym of ‘fissive’ without clear reference to ‘reproduction’.

By: tupu

tupu — Sat, 24 Nov 2012 09:45:23 +0000

Thanks PeeDee and Araucaria

I enjoyed this one. The word I had misconceptions about was ‘protean’ which I somehow thought of as ‘ancient’ rather than ‘changeful’ but it had to be that and a dictionary check put me right.

I took P and Litt simply as abbreviations but like the P.Litt (cf B. Litt) idea.

With Alkali I started as NeilW but changed my mind as soon as I saw the Kali connection. Its almost as If A could not decide which clue he wanted. On the other hand I am not sure I agree with PeeDee @6 re A’s ‘science’. I remember a clue about anteaters and edentates in which he had clearly and remarkably taken on board modern reclassifications of the creatures concerned.

Lots of good cluing. I liked 9,18, 26a,1d, 2d, 18,23, and 20d.

By: PeeDee

PeeDee — Sat, 24 Nov 2012 09:42:04 +0000

One could also link chalk to chunnel as the channel tunnel is driven through chalk.