AZED No. 2,135 Plain COMPETITION PUZZLE

11 comments on “AZED No. 2,135 Plain COMPETITION PUZZLE”

1. 

   Bob Sharkey

   #1 - Sun 12th May 13, 07:35

   
   

   Thanks, Nick. Many congratulations on your clue. It had tip-top misdirection, I thought, one of the best I can remember. Like you I had the same silly problem with JA WOHL, but what escaped me for a long time was the indication of the final ‘L’. I think its a reference to using lower-case ‘L’ to represent a numeral ‘1’ on pre-ASCI type fonts and print. Don’t understand your ‘L(A)’. Other than that I found it fairly easy, sorry to say.

2. 

   Andrew

   #2 - Sun 12th May 13, 07:42

   
   

   Congratulations Nick, and thanks for thye blog. In 1d I thought the L was a short Lecture, referring back to the first word of the clue.

3. 

   Andrew

   #3 - Sun 12th May 13, 07:42

   
   

   2d, that is.

4. 

   The Trafites

   #4 - Sun 12th May 13, 07:43

   
   

   Ref. the ‘L’ – I parsed the clue as ‘how surprising’=OH + a ‘short one[surprise]=L(A) (see LA in Chambers). I could be wrong though.

   Nick

5. 

   Andrew

   #5 - Sun 12th May 13, 07:49

   
   

   I had the same thought as you abut the LEM and the “giant leap”, but I think it’s fair enough, as Armstrong’s (famously bungled) line was “That’s [i.e. getting off the LEM is] one small one step for [a] man, one giant leap for mankind.”

   I was delighted to see NYCTINASTY, as it’s a word I’ve loved ever since hearing about in a biology lesson circa 1967.

   I was also slightly troubled by the double use of Y for “unknown” in 10a and 28a – nothing strictly wrong about it, of course, but a slight flaw, I think.

6. 

   The Trafites

   #6 - Sun 12th May 13, 11:23

   
   

   Andrew #5, I am still not convinced – it was a ‘small step’ to get off the last rung on the ladder from the LEM, but it was ‘mankind’ that involved the ‘giant leap’ (and not the LEM). Obvious what was meant, though.

   Nick

7. 

   Thoma99

   #7 - Sun 12th May 13, 12:16

   
   

   Many congratulations on the instant, as it were. Wasn’t the whole point of what Armstrong said that the small step paradoxically involved – in fact was – a “giant leap”?

8. 

   Pelham Barton

   #8 - Sun 12th May 13, 14:17

   
   

   Thanks Azed for a puzzle which I too found on the difficult end of the spectrum in terms of solving time, and Nick for the excellent blog.

   For 2dn, it could work as “how surprising” = OH LA, and then “short one” means “remove the A”.

9. 

   Wil Ransome

   #9 - Sun 12th May 13, 22:50

   
   

   Very strange how these things work: I didn’t think this was any harder than normal and did it fairly quickly by my standards.

   In Ja wohl I’m sure the ‘one’ refers back to the lecture at the beginning of the clue, so generates an L. But the fact that I’m sure doesn’t mean I’m right.

10. 

    The Trafites

    #10 - Mon 13th May 13, 07:23

    
    

    Ref. 2dn – I am still not convinced that ‘short one’ can indicate L from lecture (incidentally, lecturer=L). To me ‘short one’ indicates ‘LECTUR’ and reading the middle pages of Chambers (the red pages) on page 60 are deletion indicators – and ‘short’ is listed under Tail of word deletion indicators.

    Now, ‘small lecture’ could indicate ‘L’, but (in my mind) not ‘short’.

    So, I dunno what Azed is getting at hear, and alas I expect will we never know as when the solution is published, I bet it just has:

    JAW+HO+L

    Nick

11. 

    The Trafites

    #11 - Mon 13th May 13, 11:29

    
    

    Crickey, I am losing it.

    HERE

    and:

    JAW+OH+L (same typo I put in my original grid!)

    Nick

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