Crosswords

[SusanDoris]

Hi Susan,

Yup, spot on. The clue gives you the initial "A". The military alliance is "NATO". A film is a "MIST". Put them together and you have a person who deals with bodies.

Many thanks!  Couple more later ....

[bluehillside Retd.]

Susan,

Many thanks!  Couple more later ....

No problem. I suspect that when you saw why it was correct you thought "of course!" or similar 

[SusanDoris]

Susan,

No problem. I suspect that when you saw why it was correct you thought "of course!" or similar 

Actually, no I didn't immediately - and I paused to think about why. The answer is that I cannot ever see the word as a whole.   I can only really focus (peripherally) on one letter at a time, but I can see the pattern around - and know what the letters are, because I wrote them in! Also of course, I think visually.

I was quite pleased with getting: Mozart work aunt was playing with octet around France(4,3,5) COSIFANTUTTE
On the CCTV the squares are about 3 cm across and the letters  just a bit smaller. I'm just so lucky that I can do what I do.

But now I must put away Tesco shopping. Tesco always provide me with a sensible assistant for an Assisted Shop and the taxi drivers bring it all into the house for me, but I can't ask them to put it all away! I asked the chap at the fresh fish counter if they do halibut - since you were saying its boneless - but they didn't have any.

[bluehillside Retd.]

Susan,

Actually, no I didn't immediately - and I paused to think about why. The answer is that I cannot ever see the word as a whole.   I can only really focus (peripherally) on one letter at a time, but I can see the pattern around - and know what the letters are, because I wrote them in! Also of course, I think visually.

I was quite pleased with getting: Mozart work aunt was playing with octet around France(4,3,5) COSIFANTUTTE
On the CCTV the squares are about 3 cm across and the letters  just a bit smaller. I'm just so lucky that I can do what I do.

But now I must put away Tesco shopping. Tesco always provide me with a sensible assistant for an Assisted Shop and the taxi drivers bring it all into the house for me, but I can't ask them to put it all away! I asked the chap at the fresh fish counter if they do halibut - since you were saying its boneless - but they didn't have any.

Ooh nice one re the Mozart clue. Yup, put that shopping away asap  Just to be clear re the halibut, there's a singe bone down the centre of the fillet but there are no rib bones that many fish have. If you're a Waitrose person and you have one of their loyalty cards they often have it and you get 20% off on Fridays (it's quite expensive). Careful you don't over cook though: pre-heat your oven to very hot (230c normal/210c fan). Take your 5oz halibut steak (skin removed), put it in a lightly buttered tin, squeeze some lemon juice on it and season. Add a drop of white wine if you have it and dab some butter on top. Cook for 6 minutes - do NOT cook for any longer or it will dry out. When you serve it pour the tin juices over the fish. Goes well at this time of the year with a few new potatoes and some wilted spinach or maybe some broccoli 

[SusanDoris]

Susan,

Ooh nice one re the Mozart clue. Yup, put that shopping away asap  Just to be clear re the halibut, there's a singe bone down the centre of the fillet but there are no rib bones that many fish have. If you're a Waitrose person and you have one of their loyalty cards they often have it and you get 20% off on Fridays (it's quite expensive). Careful you don't over cook though: pre-heat your oven to very hot (230c normal/210c fan). Take your 5oz halibut steak (skin removed), put it in a lightly buttered tin, squeeze some lemon juice on it and season. Add a drop of white wine if you have it and dab some butter on top. Cook for 6 minutes - do NOT cook for any longer or it will dry out. When you serve it pour the tin juices over the fish. Goes well at this time of the year with a few new potatoes and some wilted spinach or maybe some broccoli 

Sounds good - unfortunately, Waitrose is in Lymington. There's a Morrison's here
 with, people say, a good fish counter so I will ask there.

Opening note penned by German composer (6) blank R Blank  blank blank H I think it is BREACH. Is this right, please? If so, it will give me one more letter to a clue which eludes me: Mark a point with sharp beaks (10) but I don't want to know the answer yet!

ETA to add an a between mark and point

[bluehillside Retd.]

Hi Susan,

Sounds good - unfortunately, Waitrose is in Lymington. There's a Morrison's here
 with, people say, a good fish counter so I will ask there.

OK – keep me posted won’t you 

Opening note penned by German composer (6) blank R Blank  blank blank H I think it is BREACH. Is this right, please?

Yup. A BREACH is an opening. The German composer is Bach, who “pens” (ie, contains) the note "RE" as in "doh, re, me" etc.     

If so, it will give me one more letter to a clue which eludes me: Mark a point with sharp beaks (10) but I don't want to know the answer yet!

ETA to add an a between mark and point

Hmmm…not obvious this one but I think I’d start with that “beaks” meaning judges and similar…

[SusanDoris]

Hi Susan,

OK – keep me posted won’t you 

Yup. A BREACH is an opening. The German composer is Bach, who “pens” (ie, contains) the note "RE" as in "doh, re, me" etc.     

Hmmm…not obvious this one but I think I’d start with that “beaks” meaning judges and similar…

Yes, I was running through letter combinations in my head and since the first four letters are blank  A blank I, I thought MAGI sounded like a promising start. The others are: blank T blank A blank Y. The Y might be wrong, but I don't think so. But still no answer yet, please!

[bluehillside Retd.]

Hi again Susan,

Yes, I was running through letter combinations in my head and since the first four letters are blank  A blank I, I thought MAGI sounded like a promising start. The others are: blank T blank A blank Y. The Y might be wrong, but I don't think so. But still no answer yet, please!

I admit it took me a while (and I didn't have any letters either!). But yes - you're on the right track.

[SusanDoris]

Hi again Susan,

I admit it took me a while (and I didn't have any letters either!). But yes - you're on the right track.

MAGISTRACY- again, a word of infrequent use maybe! The grid is looking far less empty now, so I feel I can happily ask for answers to the two following, please.
14 down: Cowboy comfortable coming up with delay (10)
---S-I-H-R
15 across: Dicky  heading off from Bedfordshire town (
:  Fifth letter A and first letter = second letter of 14 down

There are two other clues which require actual knowledge … …
And then some other blank squares here and there... ...

Since NS told me about the Proxy server, I have been able to use that whenever R&E drops out, but today Tech chap is coming here to fix my list of 'computer corrections' and will download the latest version 17 SuperNova and this has been made compatible with Google Chrome, which, in turn as far as I know, is the better way to access R&E. We'll see.

ETA: Word in e-mail regularly seen in plain language (7)
P-O-I-E  The O might be wrong. The P comes from the word SPED which is answer to:A person on foot took off (4). The D is definitely right. Since none of the gaps affects any other word, I will feel justified in leaving them blank if necessary!

[bluehillside Retd.]

Hi Susan,

MAGISTRACY- again, a word of infrequent use maybe! The grid is looking far less empty now, so I feel I can happily ask for answers to the two following, please.

Well done!

14 down: Cowboy comfortable coming up with delay (10)
---S-I-H-R

I think the "H" is wrong because the "cowboy" is GUNSLINGER. “Comfortable coming up" (ie, reversed) is “SNUG” backwards, and “delay” is LINGER.   

15 across: Dicky  heading off from Bedfordshire town (
:  Fifth letter A and first letter = second letter of 14 down

Don’t like it much but I guess it must be UNSTABLE. It’s Dunstable with the “heading” (ie, the D) missing. “Dicky” must be the synonym, but I think of that word more as meaning “unwell” than “unstable”. 

There are two other clues which require actual knowledge … …
And then some other blank squares here and there... ...

Try me if you’d like me to have a go!

Since NS told me about the Proxy server, I have been able to use that whenever R&E drops out, but today Tech chap is coming here to fix my list of 'computer corrections' and will download the latest version 17 SuperNova and this has been made compatible with Google Chrome, which, in turn as far as I know, is the better way to access R&E. We'll see.

Good luck. I seem only to be able to log on using the proxy server these days, though maybe one in 20 times it works normally. When someone posts a link though (say to a YouTube clip) I can’t access it if I’m using the proxy address.

[SusanDoris]

Hi Susan,

Well done!

I think the "H" is wrong because the "cowboy" is GUNSLINGER. “Comfortable coming up" (ie, reversed) is “SNUG” backwards, and “delay” is LINGER.   

Don’t like it much but I guess it must be UNSTABLE. It’s Dunstable with the “heading” (ie, the D) missing. “Dicky” must be the synonym, but I think of that word more as meaning “unwell” than “unstable”. 

Try me if you’d like me to have a go!

Thank you – much appreciated. I would never have got those answers. It is so much more interesting to have a person to consult. 
And, yes  please! Last remaining few are:
Follower of post-punk style obtained heroin initially (4) So now G-T- so I've no idea!
Major port in south-east America (7) Begins and ends with S – The middle’s a muddle! And that’s because 9 across  is: Try on manoeuvres adopted by superior gold-digger (5-5)  F---Y---E-  FANCY fits into first half, but not sure why…
Yes, there are a few other letters missing from down clues, but I’ll pursue those for a bit longer.

[bluehillside Retd.]

Hi Susan,

Thank you – much appreciated. I would never have got those answers. It is so much more interesting to have a person to consult.

No problem Susan, and I’m sure you would 
 

And, yes  please! Last remaining few are:
Follower of post-punk style obtained heroin initially (4) So now G-T- so I've no idea!

GOTH. The “obtained” is GOT, and heroin is H. Goth is a “post punk style”.

Major port in south-east America (7) Begins and ends with S – The middle’s a muddle!

Quite clever that because it misleads you into looking for a “major port in south-east America”. It’s SERIOUS. The “major port” is RIO, which is “in” SE (south-east) and US (America). As a rule by the way the Torygraph, Times etc cryptic crosswords don't have general knowledge clues so you know straight away that the answer can't just be the name of a port.   

And that’s because 9 across  is: Try on manoeuvres adopted by superior gold-digger (5-5)  F---Y---E-  FANCY fits into first half, but not sure why…

The “on manoeuvres” tells you there’s an anagram somewhere, and the (5-5) is helpful because we know it’s hyphenated. A “gold-digger” is also a gold miner, which gives the synonym FORTY-NINER. The anagram of “try on” is ORTYN, which is “adopted by” (ie, inside) FINER – which is the “superior” bit.     

Yes, there are a few other letters missing from down clues, but I’ll pursue those for a bit longer.

OK – good luck!

[SusanDoris]

Thank youfor the answers and the explanations. I'll add manoeuvres to the mental list of words and phrases indicating anagrams.
Bites uppish friend in the back ( S-I-A-L-  Wwith no effect on other words. If it's SPINAL-, what would the last letter be? If it's SPIRALS, then SPIR is RIPS, and perhaps pAL comes into it? Hmmm
Anyway, I can discard that one now!! I have already done some of today's Quick, but haven't looked at the Cryptic yet. I will not attempt to look at solution, available tomorrow, too quickly though.

[bluehillside Retd.]

Susan,

Bites uppish friend in the back (S-I-A-L-  Wwith no effect on other words. If it's SPINAL-, what would the last letter be? If it's SPIRALS, then SPIR is RIPS, and perhaps pAL comes into it?

SPINALLY. “Bites uppish” is “nips” backwards – ie, SPIN – (presumably it’s a down clue) and “friend” is the ALLY part, the whole thing being a synonym for “in the back”. “Friend” by the way almost always gives you “ALLY”, “PAL”, “MATE” etc.

[SusanDoris]

Susan,

SPINALLY. “Bites uppish” is “nips” backwards – ie, SPIN – (presumably it’s a down clue) and “friend” is the ALLY part, the whole thing being a synonym for “in the back”. “Friend” by the way almost always gives you “ALLY”, “PAL”, “MATE” etc.

Ah, yes, of corse, I should have realised!   thank you. Right, on to today's cryptic...

[SusanDoris]

bluehillside

25 across on Tuesday:Member of the clergy made a confession, to some extent(6)
I looked up the answer: DEACON
I had the C . CON = start of confession, and DEA is part of 'made', but I just wondered if you could please fill in the details? Thank you. No rush.

[Nearly Sane]

bluehillside

25 across on Tuesday:Member of the clergy made a confession, to some extent(6)
I looked up the answer: DEACON
I had the C . CON = start of confession, and DEA is part of 'made', but I just wondered if you could please fill in the details? Thank you. No rush.

Member of the clergy made a confession, to some extent(6)

Deacon is the last 2 letters of made, the a of a, the con from confession are consecutive in the clue.

[SusanDoris]

Member of the clergy made a confession, to some extent(6)

Deacon is the last 2 letters of made, the a of a, the con from confession are consecutive in the clue.

Ah, yes, I see! Many thanks.

[bluehillside Retd.]

Hi Susan,

MADE A CONFESSION

[bluehillside Retd.]

Oops - NS got there before me I see. Sorry.

[SusanDoris]

Oops - NS got there before me I see. Sorry.

Thank you!
In fact, the clue was on two lines splitting at a, so I then have to move the magnified words back to second line and could not see the connection.
Must remember to look for that sort of answer.

[bluehillside Retd.]

Susan et al,

As an adjunct to the discussion on the politics of breastfeeding, how’s this for crossword clue perfection (an old one from, I think, The Guardian):

Inflammation primarily found in maternal breasts ( 8 )



Answer to follow…

[bluehillside Retd.]

If anyone’s interested, the answer to “Inflammation primarily found in maternal breasts ( 8 )” is MASTITIS.

It’s beautiful because the answer works perfectly on two different levels. The clue is a coherent sentence to which the answer MASTITIS makes sense. You can also deconstruct it though as follows:

The “primarily” after “inflammation” gives you the first letter of that word, ie “i”.

The “found in” tells you that the “i” will be inside something else.

The “maternal breasts” gives you “Ma’s tits”.

Put the “i” inside “Ma’s tits” and you get…

…MASTITIS!

Now I ask you – how good is that?

[SusanDoris]

If anyone’s interested, the answer to “Inflammation primarily found in maternal breasts ( 8 )” is MASTITIS.

It’s beautiful because the answer works perfectly on two different levels. The clue is a coherent sentence to which the answer MASTITIS makes sense. You can also deconstruct it though as follows:

The “primarily” after “inflammation” gives you the first letter of that word, ie “i”.

The “found in” tells you that the “i” will be inside something else.

The “maternal breasts” gives you “Ma’s tits”.

Put the “i” inside “Ma’s tits” and you get…

…MASTITIS!

Now I ask you – how good is that?

Well I knew the answer straight away after reading clue, but would never have thought of that deconstruction!

[SusanDoris]

Well, I'm quite pleased - I have already done  about 13 of yesterday's Cryptic crossword answers. The Quick was not easy, so I had to look up several answers this morning!

The following is first Down clue, and I would be grateful for a helpful hint. 'Order Diana' would seem to mean using letters of Diana, but that's 5 and there aren't another 3 handy. Hmmm.

Order Diana to go to hospital department to be disciplined ( First letter O

I had an MRI scan of my heart on Friday, and since they didn't gasp with horror or send me to the Cardiac Department, I am assuming I still have a few years in which to become a crossword expert!