Comments on: Guardian 25,854 / Arachne http://www.fifteensquared.net/2013/01/25/guardian-25854-arachne/ Never knowingly undersolved. Wed, 19 Jun 2013 16:57:58 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.5.1 By: mikewglospur http://www.fifteensquared.net/2013/01/25/guardian-25854-arachne/#comment-219763 mikewglospur Wed, 30 Jan 2013 14:03:14 +0000 http://www.fifteensquared.net/?p=54545#comment-219763 Hi Eileen

Thanks for coming back to me @ 47, and for the trouble you’ve taken to provide an explanation………………

Ah! Now I see! Unlike all the other kinds of clue where you have to understand the clue in order to get the answer, for reverse anagrams you have to get the answer, then spot the anagram indicator in it, before you can understand the clue. All very Lewis Carroll to me, I’m afraid!

But hey! I’m shrugging my shoulders right now. I get little enough sleep as it is, without losing any more by worrying over this!

ps I enjoyed the challenge of the puzzle apart from this!

]]> By: brucew_aus http://www.fifteensquared.net/2013/01/25/guardian-25854-arachne/#comment-219727 brucew_aus Tue, 29 Jan 2013 21:46:58 +0000 http://www.fifteensquared.net/?p=54545#comment-219727 Thanks Arachne and Eileen

Agree that the solving part of this puzzle was a bit easier than normal – the parsing certainly wasn’t ! Struggled to justify NEAP for ages and couldn’t – challenged the answer and finally saw DEEP instead (tide can equal a stream or flow of water – so at a stretch may also equate to pee!)

Needed the blog to see correct parsing of 1a, 21a, 5d and 20d.

Last in was PIVOTS which I thought was very clever.

]]> By: Eileen http://www.fifteensquared.net/2013/01/25/guardian-25854-arachne/#comment-219591 Eileen Mon, 28 Jan 2013 10:44:30 +0000 http://www.fifteensquared.net/?p=54545#comment-219591 Hi mikewglospur

The blogger never deserts the thread!

I’m sorry this has been causing you such problems. It’s an example of a reverse anagram and ‘foreign’ is the anagram indicator [as in 20ac in today's Indy Raich puzzle].

Perhaps you missed my link http://www.crosswordunclued.com/2010/06/reverse-anagrams.html @Comment 22: I really don’t think I can explain reverse anagrams better than shuchi does!

]]> By: mikewglospur http://www.fifteensquared.net/2013/01/25/guardian-25854-arachne/#comment-219589 mikewglospur Mon, 28 Jan 2013 10:34:48 +0000 http://www.fifteensquared.net/?p=54545#comment-219589 I’m afraid I remain completely baffled by 13A. I got the answer OK, but was looking forward to the blog to lighten my darkness. I get the “I’d a” > “Aid”; and I get the overall definition “way to help poorer countries” = “foreign aid”. Pretty straightforward. But where does the word “foreign” come from? There doesn’t seem to me to be anything in the cryptic dimension of the clue to justify the inclusion of that word in the answer. It doesn’t feel to me as if it follows the rules! I’ve been cruciverbalising in the Guardian for some years now (admittedly not every day – I usually don’t complete a puzzle until at least the next day), but don’t ever recall a clue like this. Honest.

And I’m not Victor Meldrewing about it, by the way. Just mystified. Can anyone help – preferably in simple language? I’m hoping not everyone has departed this thread by now.

]]> By: Tom Willis http://www.fifteensquared.net/2013/01/25/guardian-25854-arachne/#comment-219582 Tom Willis Mon, 28 Jan 2013 09:36:56 +0000 http://www.fifteensquared.net/?p=54545#comment-219582 Simon @40

Thanks for clarifying – I guess I’d never really thought about who Spooner might be / the origins of that wordplay. Thanks.

]]> By: john McCartney http://www.fifteensquared.net/2013/01/25/guardian-25854-arachne/#comment-219535 john McCartney Sat, 26 Jan 2013 08:34:37 +0000 http://www.fifteensquared.net/?p=54545#comment-219535 Ah, Arachne, I knew you and I had an unusual empathy! My Grandfather was on the halls too. He played the banjo in a black-face minstrel band, though. (Lovely puzzle BTW – thanks! )

]]> By: michelle http://www.fifteensquared.net/2013/01/25/guardian-25854-arachne/#comment-219527 michelle Sat, 26 Jan 2013 03:02:47 +0000 http://www.fifteensquared.net/?p=54545#comment-219527 Thanks to Eileen for your blog and Arachne for the puzzle.

I enjoyed this puzzle and found the bottom half easier than the top half, and for some reason I fond the NE section the most difficult. Last in were 10a, 24a and 22d.

My favouites were 21a, 12d and 2d when I had found out what a trichologist is (new word for me).

I also enjoyed learning another new word – FRANGIBLE

]]> By: Brendan (not that one) http://www.fifteensquared.net/2013/01/25/guardian-25854-arachne/#comment-219521 Brendan (not that one) Fri, 25 Jan 2013 23:21:12 +0000 http://www.fifteensquared.net/?p=54545#comment-219521 Another lovely crossword from the “Spider Woman”.

Favourite clue was 12d.

I agree with everything’s that’s already been said. (Except of course for those made by the several Victor Meldrews who seem to have manifested today.

Did nobody else parse 21a as “GROWTH IN DUST” (waste ground) next to RY (railway). It worked for me :-)

]]> By: Mitz http://www.fifteensquared.net/2013/01/25/guardian-25854-arachne/#comment-219518 Mitz Fri, 25 Jan 2013 22:54:13 +0000 http://www.fifteensquared.net/?p=54545#comment-219518 Thanks so much for dropping by Arachne – always a pleasure to hear from the setter.

“Playful in an aimless way” (which of course I knew without having to look it up, ahem): please rest assured: your puzzles are always ludic, in the best possible way, but never ludicrous.

]]> By: Simon S http://www.fifteensquared.net/2013/01/25/guardian-25854-arachne/#comment-219514 Simon S Fri, 25 Jan 2013 19:42:02 +0000 http://www.fifteensquared.net/?p=54545#comment-219514 Tom @ 38

Given that Spooner was male, it seems fair to me that the friend is a lady and Spooner is doing double duty in the clue.

Simon ô¿ô

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