Comments on: Guardian 24,924 – Araucaria

By: Colin Wood

Colin Wood — Thu, 04 Feb 2010 12:16:32 +0000

Re #12,15
It’s not leat’er but ox’ide

By: Andy Russell

Andy Russell — Thu, 04 Feb 2010 10:06:29 +0000

Calling Dave Ellison! Did you by any chance attend Sussex University?
Many many apologies to all other keen solvers but I’ve been trying to track him down for about 20 years . . .

By: Neil

Neil — Thu, 04 Feb 2010 01:08:35 +0000

I have the magically rhythmic ‘Cotopaxi’ (and ‘Popocatapetl’ too) still etched somewhere within my brain by an enthusiastic teacher from many years ago. Such a disaster that independent, imaginative enthusiam was excised from schools by the stupidly ill-judged National Curriculum. I speak as a once professional educationalist, persuaded then that if I couldn’t beat them, I most certainly wasn’t going to join them, and sought my living elsewhere. It’s not about Cotopaxi or such facts. Its about curiousity, and a critical appreciation, and learning how to learn (and how to look stuff up). It’s CRYPTIC CROSSWORD PUZZLES!

By: squidlet

squidlet — Thu, 04 Feb 2010 00:25:12 +0000

Hi – first time poster though long(ish) time browser, but thought I’d join in on the occasion of my first ever (solo) completed Araucaria. I have rejoined the Grauniad crossword fraternity / sorority late having vaguely worried at the puzzles for years – possibly spurred on by the fact that my now teenage daughters are getting better than me at them.

Like Bracoman (#21) my biggest groan / delight moment was on 17ac where I also read it as BE plus anagram of WITH C, with ‘raving’ doing the business – appalling and delightful at the same time but probably me trying to be too clever by half.

By: Brian Harris

Brian Harris — Thu, 04 Feb 2010 00:07:55 +0000

@Rob – thanks for the poem. Such golden nuggets are why I love this site. I meant “who knew?” as a kind of rhetorical question. In my head I was grinning when asking this, but it’s hard to convey tone online. I’ve now learned all about a volcano (and a poem) today, so I’d say that’s pretty good. The construction of the clue was so solid – COT + O + PAX + I that my colleague and I were convinced of the correctness of Cotopaxi without either of us having heard of it before. We’ve made similar guesses in the past and occasionally been embarrassed, so we do quite enjoy these situations.

@Sil – it didn’t occur to me that “love and peace” as O + PAX was quite so clever at the time, but now you’ve pointed it out, yes, that’s rather good.

I don’t mind a crossword where say 90% is “tubible” and the odd one or two require a reference book or the internet. It’s how I expand my vocabulary and general knowledge.

Night all.

By: Sil van den Hoek

Sil van den Hoek — Wed, 03 Feb 2010 22:58:44 +0000

Re #31;
Didn’t say that you didn’t say it wasn’t a fine clue.
I was just trying to get inside a (The) setter’s mind.
But then , talking about “the ease others got it”, well, that how we got it – by construction, not by knowledge.
In a Rover or a Gordius this would have been an obscure clue (*&^%$#@),
but – let’s face it – even if you don’t know the Mountain (like me), the answer is perfectly guessible.
IMHO, not every answer needs to be “tubible”(= “can be found, while travelling on the London Underground”)
[sorry Mr Chambers]

By: sandra

sandra — Wed, 03 Feb 2010 22:30:50 +0000

hi derek

i don’t think anyone lays down rules for anyone else – if they do, they’re wrong. each to his own. my recall isn’t great either, and i don’t do as well as i used to.

By: Derek Lazenby

Derek Lazenby — Wed, 03 Feb 2010 22:30:04 +0000

Sil, I didn’t say it wasn’t a fine clue, I was more surprised at the ease others got it. But you’re right we really should pay more attention to that part of the world. Especially when it comes to the big things!

By: Sil van den Hoek

Sil van den Hoek — Wed, 03 Feb 2010 22:22:29 +0000

Re #25 (Brian Harris, “COTOPAXI is a stratovolcano in Ecuador. Who knew?” and # 29 Derek Lazenby, “I needed a gadget to get the volcano, not having a gazateer of volcanos in my head. I mean, why would you?”.

I sympathise with you both, as I wasn’t familiar with that Evil Mountain either (although my PinC had something in the back of her mind).
But then, surfing, it turned out to be the world’s largest active volcano. Wow!
Obscure? I don’t think so, we just don’t know enough of the Other World.
But it could also be like this:
I’m a setter, and “love” and “peace” are just a great combination for a clue’.
Let’s see: O + PAX. Is there a word with OPAX in it? Yep, COTOPAXI.
And not even thát obscure. Therefore, in a way, it is a fine clue.
That is, from a setter’s point of view, which is not always the solver’s point of view.
But I could be wrong.
Araucaria knows quite a lot of trivia, ye know.

Nice crossword (gentle Araucaria, but certainly Araucarian, and indeed not fiendish).
And did You All Out There notice that there was just ONE real anagram (26ac)?
Quite remarkable nowadays, isn’t it?
BTW, some posts referred to the PAPER of 9ac (“Gosh, thát was long ago – what’s my age?”), but it was a bit of a poor clue, hardly cryptic, we thought.

Still, a fine crossword, and so un-exciting that you would almost forget that there are SPLENDID clues as well (e.g 8ac, 3d, 7d and 18d).

By: Derek Lazenby

Derek Lazenby — Wed, 03 Feb 2010 21:45:13 +0000

Ee by gum, I don’t drop Hs like that either!

As one who has struggled with these, I was not surprised to have to hand it to the other half at just over halfway through. Not that I haven’t managed the full monty, having 4 Araucaria’s to my credit in the recent paat. So given the evidence that I can finish these on occasion, it would seem that these are not getting easier.

Niggles as above, plus I needed a gadget to get the volcano, not having a gazateer of volcanos in my head. I mean, why would you? There are some wierd people on here. No doubt the feeling is mutual, grin.

And yes, I used the gadget on some others to provide a list of words ‘cos my recall isn’t wonderful. It would be nice if expert purists made allowance for that problem before saying one shouldn’t.