Comments on: Guardian Cryptic N° 25,884 by Pasquale

By: Paul B

Paul B — Sun, 03 Mar 2013 17:49:58 +0000

Re 41 so does mine actually, so many thanks to Betty. At 0206, after libations have been made, I am wont to forget that the online thingy I use is Chambers 21st, and not the proper one.

By: Samui Pete

Samui Pete — Sun, 03 Mar 2013 06:02:37 +0000

Martin P..so did I! Thoroughy enjoyed this on the beach. (sorry)

By: rhotician

rhotician — Sun, 03 Mar 2013 03:22:58 +0000

My Chambers 11th has back garden or (Scot) back green.

By: Paul B

Paul B — Sun, 03 Mar 2013 02:06:05 +0000

BACK GREEN, but not BACK GARDEN, is found in Collins. Chambers has neither, so it is a very modern inclusion for The Don – regardless of the uber-hip clueing technique deployed.

By: brucew_aus

brucew_aus — Fri, 01 Mar 2013 21:14:54 +0000

Thanks Pasquale and PeterO

Enjoyable puzzle today after the struggle with A yesterday (still 2 to get!). Many neat clues as expected from this setter with the exceptionally clever BACK GARDEN and the only slightly lesser ahas with 4d, 22d and 23d.

Last in was SEXIST and admired it for its simplicity in construction but non-simplicity in working it out. Liked the surface of UNBOSOM and the coincidence of COMMODORE appearing with similar constructs within days.

Now back to A !!!

By: Eileen

Eileen — Fri, 01 Mar 2013 21:14:42 +0000

Hi Giovanna @35

I’ve never thought of diplomacy as being my thing – more like chickening out, on this occasion, I think!

By: Martin P

Martin P — Fri, 01 Mar 2013 20:41:08 +0000

Oh fecit. I put “facet”…

By: Martin P

Martin P — Fri, 01 Mar 2013 20:36:43 +0000

Sue and I usually find Pasquale a braingrinder, but this was a delight to do over a St. David’s day pint of Dark Star.

Thanks setter and all.

By: Giovanna

Giovanna — Fri, 01 Mar 2013 18:10:32 +0000

Gervase- perfetto!

Wondered what Eileen would have to say – very diplomatic, I thought.

Giovanna x

By: Gervase

Gervase — Fri, 01 Mar 2013 17:25:08 +0000

Further to the pronunciation of FECIT: It is reasonably certain that ‘c’ in Latin was originally pronounced ‘hard’ in all positions, as it still is in Sardinian, the most conservative of the Romance languages. (This is probably because Sardinia was conquered very early by the Romans but then became a backwater, isolated from the changes in the speech of the rest of the Roman world). But all of the other derived languages show the evidence of palatalisation before front vowels, although this is realised in different ways: ‘s’ in French and Portuguese, ‘ch’ in Italian and Romanian, ‘th’ in Castilian. This does suggest that some form of ‘soft c’ was widespread, at least in colloquial speech, well before the break up of the Roman Empire. So, if I encountered the word in the writings of Julius Caesar, I would pronounce it ‘fake it’, but scrawled on a Renaissance artwork it would assuredly be ‘fay-chit’ for me.