Inquisitor 1348: Reset by Shark

15 comments on “Inquisitor 1348: Reset by Shark”

1. Well, sticks/stones broke the bones.
   Yet we didn’t actually have to ‘reset’ them in any way in terms of entry. Did we?
   And the bar in ‘sticks’ was a bit distracting. Or was there a significance?
   Being very gormless, it was a long while before I connected sticks/stones with the names that were fairly quickly showing up.
   From memory, I think SPATES/STAPES was the only clue with unchecked letters that could be swapped to make a real word.
   That was my way in.
   At the end, I liked the way that the yellow column formed a spine for all the other bones.
   Although, strictly speaking, not in an anatomical sense
   As the old song says – “Your backbone’s connected to your rib bone . . . etc”.
   But, only distantly connected by marriage on the wife’s side to the incus.
   Puzzle was good fun, with some challengingly obscure words.
   Thank you Shark.
   We needed a bit of a break from the recent cruel streak. But this was by no means an easy home fixture.
   And of course, thanks to HG for the blog.

2. I agree this was a bit easier than recent weeks but I still didn’t understand the thematic references. This was because the adage that I am familiar with ends with “but words will never harm me”. I don’t remember coming across the “names” variant before. I also didn’t recognise SOL as being a name. However, this didn’t get in the way of completing the grid

   Thanks to Shark and HG

3. Like Howard L, I sailed through fairly happily but didn’t think of “names” because I too was brought up on a “words” version of the saw (“words will never hurt me”). Would an utter purist consider it a flaw that one can get the whole thing right — which I think I did — without fully understanding the theme? Well, I’m not an utter purist and and am grateful to Shark for a puzzle I could cope with while feeling unwell!

4. We quite enjoyed this one. We couldn’t parse 3d for a while until we checked MOR in the dictionary.

   We also thought of the expression but we were divided on whether it was NAMES or WORDS.

   Thanks to Shark and HolyGhost.

5. Like everyone so far, I grew up with the ‘words’ version of the saying.
   Even as a kid I thought it was a bit banal and untrue. Words/names far more hurtful.
   Sorry, I know this is not a chat forum. Apologies.

6. Not having ever heard the WORDS variation, I’m afraid I may have let some solvers down editorially, as I confess I never checked for alternative versions.

   Is it a north-south thing, maybe? If so, this Cornish exile is probably about to find out…

   John

7. Being from the West Riding, it was always ‘words’ for me. Hence I didn’t make the mental connection to ‘names’.

   Howard@2: Famous SOL ? : Sol Campbell, ex-England footballer.

   I also liked the bones ‘broken’ by the the “Sticks and Stones”.

   I did enjoy the puzzle, so thanks to Shark and to HG for the blog, but, like one or two others, have noted, I wonder we could have had a more taxing solve for the long weekend ?

8. I’m another one that grew up with the ‘names’ version, although it took me a stupidly long amount of time to see the names emerging. I enjoyed this puzzle a great deal so thanks to Shark and HolyGhost for the blog.

9. I also wondered if it was a regional thing. I’m in NW and grew up with ‘words’.

10. I am from the south (dorset/hampshire) and never heard of the words variant, but as it was on the easier side (perhaps unusual for a Shark) I don’t think many would have failed with this one. Glad you enjoyed and thanks for the blog. Shark

11. Well, I’m also from the NW (Wigan, actually) and I grew up with the NAMES version.

    I seem to remember that, when I was writing up the blog, I checked my ODQ and that had WORDS; so I looked on the web and found both
        “Sticks and stones will break my bones
        But words will never harm me.”
    &
        “Sticks and stones may break my bones
        But names will never hurt me.”

    I recall thinking at the time that the alternative version might cause some people to scratch their heads.

12. South Manchester here. Quick poll of friends and family, all go for: ‘ . . . but words will never hurt me.’
    Though it didn’t require a giant leap to get to ‘names’ version when doing the puzzle.

13. I managed to just about complete the grid without understanding the “names” element of the puzzle. I was brought up in West London and Oxford and only knew the “…. but words will never hurt me” variant.
    I enjoyed the puzzle anyway, and was encouraged by how far I got with it. I really liked the broken bones element!

14. As a Midlander who has lived in the south but is now a denizen of the north, it was also “words” for me. ODQ is my guide for quotations, nursery rhymes, etc, and this confirms “words”. It never dawned in me that there might be a “proper” alternative, but I imagined that Shark must have simply extrapolated “words” to come up with “names”. If I had one moan, it was that being called HONOUR, KEN or SUE, for example, didn’t seem to be in keeping with the name-calling of the theme. Perhaps these were serious insults where Shark was brought up, though, so I’ll say little more. I would have liked to see some (non-sweary) insulting names in there!

15. I am a Southerner, now living in the North-East, and I was brought up on “names” rather than “words”. So I asked my better half, born and bred in the NE, for her version and she surprised me with “but calling will not hurt me”. Has anyone else met this one?

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