Comments on: Independent 8150 / Mordred

By: allan_c

allan_c — Tue, 27 Nov 2012 22:38:10 +0000

B&J @ 4: I thought as you did that some of the clues were a bit weak. 18ac for one, also 7ac, 1dn and 5dn, though I must admit for 5dn I was only thinking of killed = wasted in relation to time. But a worthy puzzle nevertheless and one that could be solved without any knowledge of the theme (which I missed).

Thanks, Mordred and Eileen

By: Wil Ransome

Wil Ransome — Tue, 27 Nov 2012 22:02:36 +0000

A couple of clues seem to me to have two possible answers: 2dn could perfectly well be CAPPED — I had this and couldn’t immediately get 9ac. 3dn could be CAST (Cas{s}+t, Cass short for Cassandra) although the correct clue is obviously better; Cass seems a pretty tenuous name to me but it is in Chambers 2007. Don’t like this sort of thing, but the rest of it was good.

By: Eileen

Eileen — Tue, 27 Nov 2012 17:01:39 +0000

Hi K’s D

I don’t know about the dark side [that's what Andrew said when I started blogging] – but it’s jolly quiet over here, isn’t it?

“I think you have misparsed OPACITIES. It’s (CAPOTE IS)* around I for current.” That’s odd: that’s what I had to begin with and [too] hastily changed it as I did the final check and AC jumped out at me. I’ll change it now.

Thanks for the ‘wasted’ – I knew it as slang for ‘drunk’, but not ‘killed’.

By: Kathryn's Dad

Kathryn's Dad — Tue, 27 Nov 2012 16:53:10 +0000

Oh, and ‘wasted’ is slang for KILLED in 5dn. I’ll get off your blog now.

By: Kathryn's Dad

Kathryn's Dad — Tue, 27 Nov 2012 16:50:19 +0000

Thanks, Eileen, and welcome to the dark side …

I did enjoy this puzzle: as you say, nothing to frighten the horses too much, although I failed on JANE (not the most solver-friendly clue with ?A?E). But plenty of good stuff elsewhere. I didn’t spot the nina: my philosophy is that if I get to the end of the crossword without realising what’s cracking off, then I don’t spend a lot of time looking for something hidden.

I think you have misparsed OPACITIES. It’s (CAPOTE IS)* around I for current.

Nice to see Mordred back with a reasonably regular slot in the Indy; thank you to him too.

By: Bertandjoyce

Bertandjoyce — Tue, 27 Nov 2012 15:46:43 +0000

Thanks Eileen for standing in. We’re not sure that we would have spotted the ghost theme if we’d been blogging so well done! Given that it was Mordred we did have a look but it’s now getting late so reverted to 225 fairly quickly – well that’s our excuse anyway!

We thought that some of the clues were a bit weak too, not really as we would expect from Mordred but once you had explained all the intricacies we could see how clever the whole picture was.

Thanks to Mordred and Eileen.

By: dialrib

dialrib — Tue, 27 Nov 2012 13:23:44 +0000

The theme went over my head, too. But I found it fascinating to look back and consider what may be connected. Is Henry’s love of hunting referenced in 10A? Is it a Tudor rose in 13D? Is 21A referencing the annulment? Or am I looking too hard?

All 6 wives are indicated – as well as JANE, ARAGONESE, HOWARD and PARR there is SECOND (22D, Anne Boleyn) and GERMANIC (17D, Anne of Cleves).

By: crypticsue

crypticsue — Tue, 27 Nov 2012 12:56:36 +0000

One of those where you need to solve a bit and then return later when the grey matter has worked on it without you noticing. I did notice the theme (which makes a change for me) and thoroughly enjoyed myself.

Thanks to Mordred and Eileen too.

By: Thomas99

Thomas99 — Tue, 27 Nov 2012 11:10:10 +0000

Well you’re less rubbish at spotting ninas etc. than I am! Well done. I hadn’t noticed the subtle theme at all. I had a similar experience to you on 1a. I couldn’t see what it could be and in the end stuck in my girlfriend’s name in desperation. The online “Congratulations!” came up and the wordplay was pretty clear, but I didn’t understand what was American about it. As a whole I found it cleverly and tightly clued though, and really enjoyed finally cracking NEAP TIDE, a satisfyingly weird &lit. I’m no sailor/fisherman, but I suppose it works, because the inlet won’t fill up as much as during a big high tide