Guardian 24,448 – placeholder

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(From Neildubya: I’m not sure if today’s blogger is available today so here’s your placeholder for you to start discussing the puzzle. 

Diagacht: if you’ve written your post you can edit this entry and replace this text with your blog.)

20 comments on “Guardian 24,448 – placeholder”

  1. muck
    #1 - Wed 23rd Jul 08, 15:18

    “!!”?

  2. mhl
    #2 - Wed 23rd Jul 08, 15:32

    “!!”?

    🙂

    In 5 down, can anyone explain where the C comes from? I assumed that ‘”0-0 at half-time”‘ is NIL+O+TI, but I’m not sure how you get the C from “sent in radio report”.

  3. David
    #3 - Wed 23rd Jul 08, 15:32

    Not sure if you’re asking for help, Muck; but if so…
    (CAN A MOLE (E)XIST)*

  4. David
    #4 - Wed 23rd Jul 08, 15:39

    Mhl, I assumed it to be C= cent, homophone of SENT

  5. mhl
    #5 - Wed 23rd Jul 08, 15:41

    Ah! Thanks, David.

  6. beermagnet
    #6 - Wed 23rd Jul 08, 15:45

    I can’t help with that 5D MHL, but I will ask about 23A:
    Fix return of best pan (7)
    I’ve put in STEWPOT from “pan” but can’t properly parse it.

    Talk about a grid of two halves – I was sailing away with the left hand side, then had to grind out the right hand side due to tricky answers such as 5D, 6D, 12A, 15A, 23A and in particular 16D. I think I’ve got there in the end (with crossed-fingers on 23A).

  7. David
    #7 - Wed 23rd Jul 08, 15:51

    Beermagnet, STEW = fix (in a fix, stewing, etc) and pot = rev of top

  8. Peter Chambers
    #8 - Wed 23rd Jul 08, 15:52

    My guess is that Muck isn’t asking for help.

    Beermagnet: Fix = Stew, Return of best = top

  9. beermagnet
    #9 - Wed 23rd Jul 08, 15:59

    Thanks, it was the Fix/Stew relationship I just couldn’t see.

  10. Tom Hutton
    #10 - Wed 23rd Jul 08, 16:23

    Can anyone give me a helping suggestion on 16dn? I’m completely baffled. Just a hint in the right direction would do.

  11. Andrew
    #11 - Wed 23rd Jul 08, 16:24

    Tom, it’s a mangled French phrase..

  12. muck
    #12 - Wed 23rd Jul 08, 16:25

    “?”!!

  13. beermagnet
    #13 - Wed 23rd Jul 08, 16:25

    Tom: Inky-Pinky

  14. Tom Hutton
    #14 - Wed 23rd Jul 08, 16:26

    Grateful thanks. It was driving me mad.

  15. Tom Hutton
    #15 - Wed 23rd Jul 08, 16:28

    I take it that “during sex” indicates putting f for feminine in the anagram. Is during a fair indicator?

  16. Andrew
    #16 - Wed 23rd Jul 08, 16:46

    I think “on the contrary” means you have to reverse the sense of the preceding bit – i.e. “sex? during undies off”.

  17. Dave Ellison
    #17 - Wed 23rd Jul 08, 17:08

    I’ve got them all ‘cept 6 down. Can’t get the sense of it; any hints?

  18. beermagnet
    #18 - Wed 23rd Jul 08, 17:17

    6D Type of mayo(nnaise)

  19. Andrew
    #19 - Wed 23rd Jul 08, 17:36

    I think the wordplay is slightly unsound – “visitor” should be “visitors” (which of course would mess up the surface reading).

  20. Dave Ellison
    #20 - Wed 23rd Jul 08, 18:10

    Thanks, Beermagnet and Andrew, got there at last with a bit of googling. I struggled earlier with “regular” letters starting in Mayo, to find a visitor, clearly without success. County Mayo, Simon Mayo and the Mayo Clinic didn’t help, either.

    I liked 1d. Having got that the other long ones followed quickly.

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