Guardian 24,472/Logodaedalus
Posted by golgonooza on August 20th, 2008
A fairly enjoyable puzzle. The wording of some of the clues seemed a little odd to me.
Across
7 BANDAGES BAND(AGE)S
9 OPORTO O(PORT)O
10 SKIN S+KIN = HIDE
11 ELEMENTARY cryptic def. “Elementary my dear Watson”
12 BURNEY YEN+RUB rev - Fanny Burney
14 TENDERED TENDER+ED
15 TATTOO dd
17 ODDEST TOES* +DD inside
20 DROWNING DR+OWNING
22 ASKING AS+KING
23 PTARMIGANS MRSTAGPAIN*
24 ARMY (SM)ARMY
Down
1 BANKRUPT BA(NK)R+PUT*
2 ODIN O+DIN “Our Wednesday” because Odin or Woden is the god of that day. A bizarrely worded clue.
3 EGGERY EG+GREY*
4 GOVERNED GO(VERNE)D
5 BOTTLENECK BOTTLE+NECK
6 STARVE AVERTS*
8 SIESTA TESSAI*
13 NOTEWORTHY NOTE+WORTHY
16 ORIGINAL OR(I+GIN)AL
18 TENEMENT TENE(MEN)T
19 AGHAST AG+HAS+T
22 ANSWER ASWREN*
August 20th, 2008 at 9:56 am
21dn RA[TIN]G had me puzzled for ages. I was sure it must begin with RAT [TAR raised] but couldn’t find a word for fund. Nice misdirection - for me, anyway.
August 20th, 2008 at 11:20 am
I can’t seem to work out the wordplay on the last two across clues. I have ‘din’ in treading, but can’t get the rest, and Anthea is a complete mystery to me. Assuming, of course, that these are the right answers! :)
August 20th, 2008 at 11:26 am
ANTHEA is not quite “Antheap”. That one had me confused for a while because it looks as if it could be a composite anagram involving “can’t reach”
I think 26ac may be a reference to the song “With Cat-like Tread” from “The Pirates of Penzance”.
August 20th, 2008 at 11:51 am
25ac: ANTHEA - ‘flowery girl’ from Greek ‘anthos’, flower.
I thought the same as you, Andrew, about 26ac.
August 20th, 2008 at 12:29 pm
I assume the “bizarre wording” in 2D arises from the constraint of having rhyming clues.
August 20th, 2008 at 12:34 pm
Hands up all those who didn’t notice the rhymes.. *puts own hand up sheepishly*
August 20th, 2008 at 12:52 pm
I’m with you again, Andrew!
August 20th, 2008 at 4:22 pm
To Jvh, we must be thick
We didn’t see it. From Frances and Mick !
August 20th, 2008 at 6:15 pm
I didn’t notice till halfway through,
so maybe I am stupid too.
August 20th, 2008 at 6:44 pm
Aha. That would be why some of the wording sounded odd! I noticed the first clue rhymed but didn’t think much more about it!
August 20th, 2008 at 8:08 pm
What is “mound” all about in 3dn?
August 20th, 2008 at 8:30 pm
25 across: try (c)’ant hea(p)
August 20th, 2008 at 8:35 pm
already have…………..sorry!
August 20th, 2008 at 8:52 pm
It’s the “mound” in 3 dn I don’t understand. “Perhaps” is I assume an anagram indicator for “grey”. (Unless it’s a clumsy pointer to “eg”.) But I can’t see “mound”. Anybody?
All in all I found this puzzle irritatingly obscure. You shouldn’t have to be a G&S buff to solve a crossword IMO.
August 20th, 2008 at 9:13 pm
The online version of 3 dn has “mould”, not “mound”, and I thought it was: “perhaps”=EG + “grey mould” = anagram of grey. There really is a mound in 23ac, where a “thrown up mound” is an ANT HEAP, which if you can’t reach it becomes ANTHEA.
August 21st, 2008 at 12:36 am
Like John, I found this puzzle irritating in places. I didn’t notice the rhymes until I read this blog, but looking back at it, I wonder why Logodaedalus bothered - the rhyming couplets don’t link the clues or the answers together as far as I can see; they just seem to have resulted in some very obscure wording of the clues.
August 21st, 2008 at 9:51 am
Also found this an irritating puzzle. The wife and I finished it, but with no sense of satisfaction or pleasure at working out a good clue. Thought he was pushing the boundaries and trying to be too clever by half. Rhyming couplets passed us by too, but it does at least explain some of the very strange wordings.
August 21st, 2008 at 10:05 am
Another numpty who didn’t notice the rhyming
Is here and agrees it was a ‘waste-of-timing’ (!!) :o)
OK, OK, Another Masefield I ain’t!
August 21st, 2008 at 2:24 pm
The fact it was all in iambic pentameter surely made it an incredible achievement
August 21st, 2008 at 3:42 pm
I found it a bit irritating to solve, but it must have been a real effort to create all rhyming clues. Was it worth it?