Comments on: Guardian Cryptic N° 25,819 by Audreus

By: Sil van den Hoek

Sil van den Hoek — Sun, 16 Dec 2012 18:33:17 +0000

Yes, Robi, I’m still there.
Thanks for explaining.
But a bit obscure for me – 1611, it’s so long ago …..
Wikipedia tells me that it was even 1605/1606. Unfortunately, its article on Volpone does not mention a parrot called Pol.
Still not sure, Audreus really meant Pol (instead of Polly) – perhaps she did.

By: Robi

Robi — Sun, 16 Dec 2012 17:33:56 +0000

If you’re still there Sil @30: ‘This is first attested by the 1611 play Volpone by Ben Johnson, in which he wrote of a parrot named Pol. And because, at the time, parrots were a new thing in the world to anyone but Incans and Mayans, as was the decision on proper names. And so begins the trend of naming parrots Pol, Poll, Polly, or Polly-O.’

So, no double duty needed for ‘starting.’

By: Paul B

Paul B — Sun, 16 Dec 2012 17:01:57 +0000

Rho is Betty.

By: RCWhiting

RCWhiting — Sat, 15 Dec 2012 21:17:08 +0000

rho @27
Thankyou. I thought he was referring to the crossword clue, not the blog. I don’t always read the whole blog, I usually find the postings more interesting (especially yours).

By: Sil van den Hoek

Sil van den Hoek — Sat, 15 Dec 2012 16:12:17 +0000

Thanks Peter (and of course for your blog, too).
I expected to get this answer.
Unfortunately, I find ‘starting’ doing double duty in this particular case hardly acceptable.

By: PeterO

PeterO — Sat, 15 Dec 2012 16:09:23 +0000

Sil

Good point. Unless someone has a better idea, it looks as if ‘starting’ is doing double duty.

By: Sil van den Hoek

Sil van den Hoek — Sat, 15 Dec 2012 14:53:02 +0000

Can someone explain to me why 1ac is: POL[ly] + ICY, I mean how should I know that POL comes first?

By: rhotician

rhotician — Sat, 15 Dec 2012 01:56:57 +0000

RCW @15: DunsScotus is saying, politely and correctly, that 26 refers not to Windsor Castle, as PeterO suggests, but to the House of Windsor.

By: muffin

muffin — Fri, 14 Dec 2012 21:55:26 +0000

That’s good news, PeterO. Thanks for producing the blog on what must have been a more tense day than usual.

By: PeterO

PeterO — Fri, 14 Dec 2012 21:45:42 +0000

Slipstream @21

A Charlie (often a right Charlie), is a credulous person, hence a mug.

Thanks all for the good wishes – the haemorrhoidectomy seems to have gone very well.