pages tagged chaliceanoteshttp://christophe.rhodes.io/notes/tag/chalicea/notesikiwiki2014-03-21T22:11:12Zinquisitor 1324http://christophe.rhodes.io/notes/blog/posts/2014/inquisitor_1324/2014-03-21T22:11:12Z2014-03-21T22:11:12Z
<p>An enjoyable puzzle. I didn't know the
<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gone_with_the_Wind">Gone With the Wind</a>
quote, but I had enough letters to guess “childbirth”, and it happened
to be the top Google hit for me for “childbirth quote”. As for the
other... more on that a bit later.</p>
<blockquote><p>The three unclued rows contain two part-quotations. A superfluous
letter is yielded by the wordplay in each clue. Read in order,
these letters complete the first quotation. The surname of the
author of the second one should be highlighted in the grid.</p></blockquote>
<ul>
<li><strong>T</strong> 10ac: <strong>ACCESSORY</strong>: <u>Additional</u> trial involving
difficult company cases: not entirely sure about the wordplay here;
maybe TRY around *(CO CASES)?</li>
<li><strong>H</strong> 13ac: <strong>ORCA</strong>: <u>Tolkein's ogre</u> finally got away from
old enclosed fruit garden: ORCHA(t); I think the definition is
wrong, sadly.</li>
<li><strong>E</strong> 14ac: <strong>SPOOM</strong>: US elks retreating gathering power, <u>scud
before the wind</u>: MOOSE (US elks) reversed around P(ower)</li>
<li><strong>R</strong> 15ac: <strong>SENNA</strong>: Nurse slipped back <u>laxative drug</u>: SEN
(ref. <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Licensed_Practical_Nurse">State Enrolled Nurse</a>) + RAN (= slipped)</li>
<li><strong>E</strong> 17ac: <strong>LAPSANG</strong>: <u>Variety of tea</u>, unlimited range
after falling away: LAPSE (= falling away) + (r)ANG(e);
ref. <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lapsang_souchong">Lapsang souchong</a></li>
<li><strong>S</strong> 19ac: <strong>LIER</strong>: More secretive <u>one who is incumbent</u>:
Double Definition (SLIER = more secretive; LIER = one who lies
down)</li>
<li><strong>N</strong> 20ac: <strong>LOOK YOU</strong>: <u>Welsh observe</u> liberal sex with
African fellow: L(iberal) + NOOKY + OU (South African slang for
man)</li>
<li><strong>E</strong> 21ac: <strong>EATING</strong>: <u>Consumption</u> surprisingly negative,
lacking value initially: *(NEGATIVE - V(alue))</li>
<li><strong>V</strong> 27ac: <strong>CACOON</strong>: Decrepit van with rotten coco <u>seed</u>:
*(VAN COCO)</li>
<li><strong>E</strong> 29ac: <strong>PLAYERS</strong>: <u>Actors</u>' appeal not accepted in very
long time: PLEA + YEARS - A(ccepted)</li>
<li><strong>R</strong> 32ac: <strong>TRON</strong>: Bishop among people who are in Lanark
<u>market place</u>: RR (bishop) in TON (dial. people)</li>
<li><strong>A</strong> 35ac: <strong>BUFFOON</strong>: Wrongly making fun of Abo <u>comic</u>:
*(FUN OF ABO)</li>
<li><strong>N</strong> 36ac: <strong>ALIST</strong>: Stalin perversely <u>belonging to top star
group</u>: *(STALIN)</li>
<li><strong>Y</strong> 37ac: <strong>ROTOR</strong>: <u>Revolving constituent</u> operations
research returned Conservative: O(perations) R(esearch) reversed
+ TORY</li>
<li><strong>C</strong> 38ac: <strong>GAEA</strong>: Fixed cage about <u>divinity</u>: *(CAGE) +
A(bout)</li>
<li><strong>O</strong> 39ac: <strong>SEPTUPLET</strong>: <u>Group of notes</u> curiously spelt out
<em>en passant</em>: *(SPELT OUT E(n) P(assant))</li>
<li><strong>N</strong> 1dn: <strong>DAMSEL</strong>: <u>Old unmarried woman</u> to censure Scots
individual: DAMN (censure) + SEL (Scot. self)</li>
<li><strong>V</strong> 2dn: <strong>ECHELON</strong>: Mostly authentic half-speed (loosely)
pursued by new <u>ranked arrangement of troops</u>: ECH(t)
(authentic) + VELO(city) (speed, loosely) + N(ew)</li>
<li><strong>E</strong> 3dn: <strong>TERNE</strong>: Unchangeable <u>old alloy</u>: Double
Definition (ETERNE = unchangeable)</li>
<li><strong>N</strong> 4dn: <strong>AS ALSO</strong>: Concerning nose bone turned round
<u>too</u>: NASAL (concerning nose) + OS (bone) reversed</li>
<li><strong>I</strong> 5dn: <strong>NOGAKU</strong>: <u>Drama</u> organised in August briefly OK:
*(IN AUG OK)</li>
<li><strong>E</strong> 6dn: <strong>DRIPFED</strong>: <u>Supplied food through tube</u>,
irregularly predefined, flustered nurse away: *(PREDEFINED -
E(nrolled) N(urse)); isn't it great that there are so many kinds
of nurse?</li>
<li><strong>N</strong> 7dn: <strong>APPALTI</strong>: Italian turns up supporting mate chasing
cloth <u>contracts in Rome</u>: NAP (cloth) + PAL (mate) on IT
(Italian) reversed</li>
<li><strong>T</strong> 8dn: <strong>EXOGEN</strong>: <u>Old plant</u> export not originally
convincing: EX(port) + (c)OGENT (convincing)</li>
<li><strong>T</strong> 9dn: <strong>SIMURGH</strong>: Rising fog by old city with bodiless
ghoulish <u>monstrous bird</u>: MIST reversed + UR (old city) +
G(houlis)H; ref. <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Simurgh">Simurgh</a>.
Has everyone read
<a href="http://parahumans.wordpress.com/table-of-contents/">Worm</a> yet?
Budget some spare time, then go read it.</li>
<li><strong>I</strong> 11dn: <strong>CON-ROD</strong>: <u>Short linking device</u> working within
raised type of Greek pillar: ON (working) in DORIC (Greek pillar)
reversed</li>
<li><strong>M</strong> 12dn: <strong>NONI</strong>: <u>Plant</u> found in overblown omnipresence:
overblowN OMNIpresence</li>
<li><strong>E</strong> 16dn: <strong>ANYHOW</strong>: Maltreated husband one way <u>at least</u>:
*(H ONE WAY)</li>
<li><strong>F</strong> 18dn: <strong>KABAYA</strong>: Indeed getting into spirit securing
excellent <u>short tunic</u>: AY (indeed) inside KA (spirit)
outside FAB (excellent)</li>
<li><strong>O</strong> 22dn: <strong>ACT DROP</strong>: Advanced mode of cutting including one's
own <u>curtain</u>: A(dvanced) + CROP (cutting) around TOD (own)</li>
<li><strong>R</strong> 23dn: <strong>CONFORM</strong>: <u>Adapt</u> grain species: CORN (grain) +
FORM (species)</li>
<li><strong>A</strong> 24dn: <strong>INWOVEN</strong>: <u>Complicated</u> hotel, hosting without
formal greeting: INN (hotel) around WO (without) + AVE (formal
greeting)</li>
<li><strong>N</strong> 25dn: <strong>RETIAL</strong>: <u>Of a network of nerves</u> connected with
light sensitive tissue: Double Definition (RETINAL = regarding the
retina)</li>
<li><strong>Y</strong> 26dn: <strong>TRESSEL</strong>: Very French cunning accepting English
<u>support</u>: TRES (Fr. very) + SLY (cunning) around E(nglish)</li>
<li><strong>O</strong> 28dn: <strong>ARBOUR</strong>: Furiously roar about cropped <u>bower of
trees</u>: *(ROA(r) ABOU(t))</li>
<li><strong>F</strong> 29dn: <strong>PROMPT</strong>: Don associated with politician to primarily
<u>help with words</u>: PROF (university don) + MP (politician) +
T(o)</li>
<li><strong>T</strong> 30dn: <strong>LENGTH</strong>: <u>Stretch</u> temporarily provided great
height: LENT (temporarily provided) + GT (great) + H(eight)</li>
<li><strong>H</strong> 31dn: <strong>SHTETL</strong>: <u>Jewish village</u> hotel regularly
supporting troubled Esth: H(o)T(e)L under *(ESTH)</li>
<li><strong>E</strong> 33dn: <strong>OUTS</strong>: Excels, abandoning party, <u>reveals sexual
orientation</u>: OUTDOES (excels) - DO (party)</li>
<li><strong>M</strong> 34dn: <strong>ALEPH</strong>: Heartless paragraph at end of masculine
<u>letter</u>: P(aragrap)H after MALE (masculine)</li>
</ul>
<p>So the extra words complete the quotation in 1ac and 22ac, which read
(after filling in the blanks) “Death and taxes and childbirth”. The
bottom line read PR?M?NTH?H?LL, and after a little bit of meandering –
“prom on the hill”? – the obvious “pram in the hall” came to mind, and
indeed <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cyril_Connolly">Connolly</a> is
visible down the main diagonal.</p>
<p>That gives me an opportunity to mention (relatively safely, since
surely no-one reads these crossword blogs) another aspect of my
productivity. Like
<a href="http://www.theguardian.com/world/2003/mar/17/gender.uk">some</a>, I
don't think that a pram in the hall is necessarily the ultimate
“sombre enemy of good art”, but I think it is true that having
children can change priorities: in BC days, it was perfectly possible
and reasonably common for me to stay at work late, or work in the
evenings or weekends in addition to a more-than-full working week.
This is not to say that this doesn't happen at all any more, but it's
certainly much less routine, and to an extent the evening and weekend
work is now necessary to get my working time up to a full working
week, given the need to do school runs or hospital appointments. And
one thing that successful work in academia might share with art is its
vulnerability to distraction: in academia, prestige and progression
come from high-profile <em>research</em>, which both needs focus and tends to
be what is achieved after all the other things have been dealt with:
teaching, certainly, and any substantial administrative
responsibilities. It's perfectly possible to do useful amounts of
administration in the 20-minute block of time when a child is
entertaining themselves; deep thought, as with programming “flow”,
takes time to achieve.</p>
<p>And maybe the moral is that it comes back: in retrospect, it might not
have been sensible to move house, start
<a href="http://www.teclo.net/">a company</a> and have a child within the space
of one year. I suspect there's no good time to do any of those
things, let alone all three, and some of the lack of motivation and
energy was down to, well, <em>tiredness</em>: but it feels like I am
substantially more productive than I was two years ago, and that is a
good feeling.</p>