Hello – Colossus 223

Does your name come with a description?  History has given forenames many a soubriquet which makes us curious about their origins.

Some are easy to work out. Doubting Thomas came from the dubious apostle who did not believe that Jesus had arisen from the dead until he saw him with this own eyes. Plain Jane probably comes from Charlotte Bronte’s classic novel Jane Eyre, in which Jane attends a school that enforces plainness among its students.

When the revolving server became popular, it was known as a Lazy Susan, Susan being a generic name for a servant, while Simple Simon, meaning a gullible person, comes from the popular nursery rhyme.

Peeping Tom, meaning a voyeur, comes from the legend of Lady Godiva. To persuade her husband the Earl of Mercia to abolish the crippling taxes of the people of Coventry, she rode naked through the streets of town, first ordering everyone to stay indoors and shut their windows. Only Tom the tailor disobeyed – he looked at her and was struck blind (but the Earl of Mercia DID abolish the taxes).

A Smart Alec is a person considered irritating by their know-all attitude, and possibly comes from a resourceful 19th century thief called Alex Hoag who outsmarted himself in the end and got caught. A similar character is a Clever Dick, also irritatingly knowledgeable, and possibly comes from Dick Whittington, a British folk hero, although Dick was a common name so it could have been any number of people.

Australian boxer Larry Foley never lost a fight and retired at 32, collecting a purse of £1,000 for his final fight, so no wonder we say Happy as Larry.

Old Nick, another name for the devil, possibly came from the name Nickel, a perfidious mountain demon in German folklore.

Some say that Jolly Roger, the pirate flag, comes from the French words jolie rouge meaning ‘pretty red’ but in the Elizabethan era, Roger was a slang term for vagrants. There’s another theory that Jolly Roger is a corruption of the name of a Tamil pirate Ali Raja.

Big Bertha was the nickname given to a heavy mortar-like howitzer used by Germany during WWI. It was named after the owner of the Krupp industrial empire Bertha Krupp.

There are many other names, whose origins are lost in the mists of time, such as Proper Charlie – a fool and a Sloppy Joe, a loose-fitting pullover. A recent arrival is called a Johnny-Come-Lately and an excessively timid person is known as a Nervous Nellie.

Happy Puzzling!

Colossus Winners (Issue 222)

BAFFLER No 222
5 x £50 Prize Cheques
Roger Amis, Cupar; H Avenell, Stapleton; Jill Gilbert, Peterborough; Claire Kipling, Newark; Ian Wright, Crayford.

GIANT CRYPTIC No 222
2 x Binatone Twin Cordless Telephones
Mrs Day, Huntingdon; K MacDonald, Wokingham.

2 x Cookbooks – Rachel Allen Home Cooking
P Batty, Tarvin; P Portlock, Doncaster.

2 x Lovatts Thermo Mugs
P Eakin, Portrush; K Sherman, Southport.

CASHWORDS No 222
£300 Winner
S Bishop, Clacton-On-Sea.

5 x £40
George Connor, Dublin; M Holmes, Briston; D Johnson, Saltburn; A Martin, Loughton;
D Richardson, Todmorden.

Stinker No 222
1 x Morphy Richards Silver Easi-Tronic Microwave with Grill
Ann Kershaw, Freeland.

2 x Lovatts Notepad & Pen Set & Lovatts Tea Towel
G Mikulic, London; D Redhead, Copmanthorpe.

3 x Lovatts Shopping Bag & Trolley Token Key Ring
P Kingston, Rickmansworth; Sue Sinfield, Maidstone; Coralie Stokes, Birchington.

Puzzle Collection Winners (Issue 78)

COLLECTION CONTEST No 68
2 x £100
S Addlesee, Dunstable; Pat Gannon-Leary, Tavira, Portugal.

6 x £50
Wendy Blackburn, Crete, Greece; P Chilvers, Crawley; Pamela Fairman, Diss; J Pauley, Linlithgow; M Spinks, Exeter; Susan Walker, Alnwick.

Double Monster Drawer No 68
2 x £100
E Buswell, Loughborough; Marjorie MacIntosh, Coventry.

Monster Colossus Winner No 68
1 x £50
M Frater, Glasgow.

Monster Colossus Runners-Up No 68
4 x £25
P Batty, Tarvin; John Cutting, Colchester; E Down, Laira; D Richardson, Todmorden.

Monster Starhunt Winner No 68
1 x £50
June Black, Aberdeen.

Monster Starhunt Runners-Up No 68
4 x £25
F Drayton, Berkshire; Jean Hibbert, Spalding; Rachel Porter, Hemel Hempstead; G Sparkes, London.

STINKER No 68
2 x Collins Speaking English Dictionary & Thesaurus
Pam King, Newport; Heather Twidle, Ware.

3 x Franklin Pocket Spellers
Lynda Birt, Smethwick; Yvonne Leach, Shipley; Celia Wilkins, Meare.

GIANT CRYPTIC No 68
2 x Lovatts Glass Decanter Set
David Speller, Stoke-On-Trent; M Spinks, Exeter.

3 x Lovatts Prize Packs
Christine Cunliffe, Bolton; Stuart McMeod, Fife; I Riggs, Telford.

COLLECTION CONTEST COUPON No 68
Chain Letters – P53
Solution: Rearrangement

3 x Collins Gem Books & Correction Pens
Irene Paris, Dundee; Margaret Thexton, Bolton; D Thwaite, Newark.

Spirogram – P59
Solution: Namibia
3 x Lovatts Coffee Mugs & Trolley Token Key Rings
Rona Murray, Thatcham; J Patterson, Huddersfield; Carol Richards, Barnsley.

Pop Words – P60
Solution: Doris Day
3 x The Rat Pack 3 CD Box Sets
Christine Cunliffe, Bolton; Michelle Tyler, Bletchley; M Verity, Garforth.

Findaword – P64
Solution: Grand Master
3 x Lovatts Shopping Bags & Trolley Token Key Rings
Tony Barritt, Norwich; Barbara Heaney, Clyde Bank; W Peters, Newton-Le-Willows.

Starcross – P65
Solution: Robin Hood
3 x Lovatts Thermo Travel Mugs
B Fisher, Ravensthorpe; R Horsfall, Bexhill-On-Sea; Barbara Maguire, Walton.

Cluedunnit – P70
Solution: Scarlett Johansson
3 x Collins Pocket English Dictionaries
H Avenell, Stapleton; Margaret Darling, Rochdale; Don Stoneley, Yeadon.

Retroflex – P71
Solution: Streamers
3 x Bradford’s Pocket Crossword Solver’s Dictionaries
Mona Corrigan, Ely; D Dowd, Blackfield; B Toull, Sleaford.

Who Am I? – P72
Solution: Michelle Pfeiffer
3 x Lovatts Rain Jackets & Coffee Mugs
Elaine Carnell, Lincoln; D Gamble, Kenilworth; P Marner, Wem.

Colossus 211 Judge Sums Up

Of monsters
and men
Let’s start with the Giant Cryptic this month, always full of teasers to tickle your brain cells.
Clue 1dn required a bit of thinking. ‘Good man’ = Saint (ST) and if that is ‘included in’ an anagram of ‘sermon’ (’about’ being the trigger word) you get MONSTERS or ‘cruel people’. A few blanks and guesses appeared here including MANAGERS and MINSTERS.
For 9dn ‘Gem on lid could be a real money-spinner (4,4)’ most of you got the first part GOLD but not everyone unravelled the rest of the clue. The answer, GOLD MINE, was hidden in an anagram of the first three words. A few entries had GOLD HUNT or GOLD FIND.
At 56dn ANCESTOR was spelled incorrectly by some as ANCESTER. If you take a look at the clue ‘No traces, sadly, of distant relative’, you will notice the answer is an anagram of the first two words.
In the Cashwords men were
being muddled. ‘Anglo-Saxon chaps’ (24ac) had to be ENGLISHMEN not the singular ENGLISHMAN. And near the bottom of the grid at 293ac ‘Grahame Green novel, Our … In Havana’ was MAN and not MEN.
At 11dn ‘Scrape’ was ABRADE. A couple of you were a bit hasty and ABRAZE was spotted by our judges – perhaps a portmanteau of ABRADE and GRAZE?
62dn ‘For each, per …’ needed CAPITA but we spotted some mixed-up consonants, with CATIPA appearing in a few entries.
Other misspellings were noted for 130dn ‘Spiritless’ which was INANIMATE and for 137dn ‘Patchwork picture’ which was COLLAGE.
In the Stinker the first place to slip up was 18ac where ‘In the manner of (1,2)’ was A LA and not AKA – think of a la carte or a la mode.
At 38dn ‘Censured’ needed SLATED and not SLAKED. Censured means criticised severely and according to Oxford this is also an informal meaning
for slated.
An INFANTA is a ‘Spanish princess’ (89ac). This is the feminine form of Infante, the son of a Spanish king, not heir to the throne. Current Infantas include the daughters of King Juan Carlos, Infanta Elena and Infanta Cristina. A couple of entries had INFANTE, making 85dn incorrect also. ‘Supersonic speed measurement’ is MACH
not MECH.
At 155dn ‘Assumptions’ was PREMISES. A number of entries had PROMISES. A premise is a proposition on which a conclusion is based. I’m sure many of you think of premises as being more about land and buildings. I tried to find out the connection here, but it seems this is misted over by history. It comes from a legal use of the Latin root word, praemissa in the Middle Ages.
A very tricky word with lots of vowels that could be muddled was the answer to 160dn ‘Literary assistant’. AMANUENSIS is a Latin word meaning ‘manual labourer’. Originally a slave who performed any required duty, its meaning narrowed to a slave who undertook writing duties. In English it means someone who takes dictation or copies a manuscript. In the days of email, mobile phones, scanners etc. this is perhaps a dying art.
A RIPOSTE is a quick often witty or cutting retort, coming from the Latin word for ‘answer’ or ‘respond’ but was also the answer to ‘Fencing stroke’ at 220ac. You can imagine the connection between a sharp jab with a sword and the sharp jab of an acerbic tongue. REPASTE and REPOSTE were incorrect.
The ‘Tiller’ is the lever used to steer a boat and so the answer to 241ac was HELM and not BEAM or TEAM.

Colossus 219 Judge Sums UP

Silly as a goose
From all reports, Stinker 219 was very stinky indeed, so let’s get some of the trickier words out of the way.
Clue 94ac ‘Disc-shaped’ was NUMMULAR, which makes more sense when you think of the study of coins, or numismatics. Nummular comes from the Latin for ‘small coin’.
Many scientific instruments were named after their inventors and ABBE is one of those. The ‘Microscope condenser’ at 162ac was named after physicist Ernst Karl Abbe.
The ‘Spider’s abdomen’ (116dn) was OPISTHOSOMA, not a word I can imagine dropping into a dinner conversation. Like many scientific words, its parts are easier to understand opisthen is Greek for behind and soma Greek for body. The prosoma
(pro = before) is the section in front of the opisthosoma.
(1) four pairs of legs
(2) prosoma
(3) opisthosoma
Our judges always consider alternative spellings and answers and there were quite a few in
this Stinker.
Stinker clue 147ac was ‘Warrior queen’ and most knew that this was the famous leader of the Iceni people, BOUDICCA. Back in AD60 spelling was not a big issue and historians have over the centuries spelt her name various ways. While BOUDICCA is the most widely accepted modern spelling, we accepted BOUDICEA and BOADICEA as well.
Another spot where alternative answers were spotted was 59dn for ‘Crop-beating machine’.
We had THRESHER but also allowed THRASHER.
At 90ac a few entries had a completely different answer to ours. For ‘Flashiest’ we expected GAUDIEST but had to agree that DANDIEST could also work
Most entries had INSURER for 130dn ‘Underwriter’ making 129ac DINT for ‘Hollow’ but those who filled in DENT ended up with ENSURER. Again we agreed that both sets of answers
were acceptable.
Down at 179ac you may think us a little hard, but we accepted only SEREIN and not SERAIN. Our dictionaries list only serein as the English for the ‘Misty rain at sunset’, saying it comes from French serain ‘dusk’, from Latin serus ‘late’.
Geese fea­ture in a few English idioms including wild goose chase (a pointless hunt), cook someone’s goose (ruin them), can’t say boo to a goose (shy & quiet) and silly as a goose. Part of the reason for the popularity of these phrases is the feel and sound of the word ‘goose’. ANSERINE is not nearly as silly-sounding a word but means ‘Gooselike’ (276ac) and can also be used to mean ridiculous. Don’t feel too silly if you couldn’t find this answer. It’s one to remember for the future.
The Baffler was a little less troublesome this time. A couple of you had ISSAY instead of ISLAY for ‘Laphroaig island’ and KAZZAI instead of KARZAI for ‘Kabul leader’ but nearly everyone got OBBY correct for ‘Padstow’s … ’Oss festival’ which celebrates the ancient Celtic festival of Beltane or May Day.
Our judges had no trouble finding winners in the Giant Cryptic, showing that our cryptic clues are just the right level for some fun lateral thinking. Christine’s cryptic clues are not meant to cause frustration and if you enjoyed this puzzle you are sure to love our new magazine, Christine’s Cryptic Crosswords. There’s a new one on sale every two months.
The main error in the Cash­words contest was at 72dn where ‘National’ was STATEWIDE not STATESIDE. ‘Fret’ at 197ac needed PINE but this connection was not easily made by some of you and various answers appeared including POLE, PILE and PULE.
For ‘Slap’ at 190ac we accepted both SMACK and SPANK. Finally, a few of you were tripped up at 130dn. ‘Vehement’ was INTENSE not INCENSE.

BIG 212 Judge Sums Up

We love to
borrow words
The Demon in July BIG was quite devilish – especially at 12ac. For ‘Military equipment’ you needed MATERIEL. This word borrowed from French, refers to all materials and equipment but not fixed property or installations. BIG Demonic cheers go out to all who got this one. Many others chose to fill-in MATERIAL.
‘Nouri al-Maliki’s nationality’ at 15dn was a barbecue stopper! It took a while to think who this referred to for some of you. If you opted to put IRANI you were incorrect. This IRAQI politician became the country’s first prime minister after the overthrow of Saddam Hussein.
At 20ac there was a word you might like to slip into conversation. ‘Gloomy’ was TENEBROUS not TENET/N/SROUS. You can talk about a tenebrous atmosphere, or a tenebrous painting, or be in a tenebrous mood.
If you think the sun is bright, well apparently some bits are brighter than others. A ‘Bright patch on the sun’s surface’ (47dn) is a FACULA not MACULA. Facula comes from Latin for ‘small torch’.
For ‘Analysed’ at 74dn we were thinking ASSAYED, a word that mostly applies to metal analysis. Quite a few entries had ESSAYED and when we considered this we realised that essay can mean ‘test the quality of’ and this is pretty close to analyse – we took both answers.
At 78ac, for the clue ‘Bar­bary she­ep’ some of you again found alternative spellings, but only AOUDAD fitted. AUDAD is the French word and one letter too few for our grid.
‘Waif’ at 108ac was another French borrowing; GAMIN not GAMON, which with another M would be smoked ham.
110ac caused some trouble as people turned to their atlases looking for the Greek island of Santorini. We accepted both THERA and THIRA. We often find that dictionaries and atlases disagree on spelling.
‘Lacy neck ruff’ needed RUCHE at 127dn not RICHE. The word has interesting origins com­ing from the French for beehive and from Latin for tree bark. I struggle to see the connection here. Language moves in mysterious ways.
Ruffs were popular in the 16th century so perhaps a person playing a SHAWM (128dn) might have worn one. Shawm was the answer to ‘Renaissance oboe’.
Finally for our Demon, 137ac was ALOPECIA, which originally referred to mange in foxes but now means ‘Hair loss’. A few entries had ALAPECIA.
Bigcash was a bit harder this time from all reports, so well done to all our entrants. Error rates were very low.
A few went for INGENEOUS at 20ac but ‘Inventive’ was INGENIOUS.
‘Entertained lavishly’ at 41ac was FETED, though a few had FATED, SATED or PAYED. These incorrect options made 27dn difficult. ‘Non-reactive’ was INERT not INEPT or INAPT. For those who don’t know this use of ‘fete’, the word is related to feast and as a verb means to honour someone as with a fete or feast.
A few clues on at 44ac ‘Cut of mutton’ was SCRAG (not SCRAP). The word usually refers to the neck and can also refer to a scrawny person or the human neck.
Finally at 69dn the ‘Aromatic burning stick’ was INCENSE and not INCENCE.
Over in the Goliathon we
accepted both
DENTS and DINTS at 25ac
and both DOU­SES and DOW­SES at 76ac. ‘Cone-shaped’ at 34ac was CONICAL not CONECAL and 138dn ‘Woodwind musician’ was OBOIST not OBOEST.
I will leave you with a troublesome clue which was lurking at the bottom of the grid to torment you. ‘Tormented’ was HARASSED not HARRASED!

BIG 211 Judge Sums Up

Tongue-twisting
& brain-baffling
There’s a tongue twister you may know that goes, “I saw Esau sitting on a see-saw;
I saw Esau and he saw me”. Hopefully you all saw Esau in The Demon at 21ac; the answer to our clue ‘Jacob’s biblical twin’.
The S from ESAU was the starting letter to a trickier clue, ‘Lunar science’ at 22dn. The answer to this was SELENOLOGY. Selene was the Greek goddess of the moon, and her Roman name is Luna, so our clue and answer reference both these ancient worlds. Selene was sister to the sun god Helios, whose name is seen in many words relating to the sun, such as heliotrope, a sun-loving flower. His Roman equivalent, Sol, gives us the word ‘solar’.
The U of ESAU was part of GERUND, the answer to 12dn, which started with the G from CANING (‘Corporal punishment’ 10ac). Some had CANNON here and then were in trouble.
A noun formed from a verb is a GERUND (12dn), not GERARD or GROUND. An example in English would be “She was very fond of dancing,” where dancing, usually a verb form, works as a noun.
The N of selenology was part of the answer to 42ac ‘Sceptic’.
The answer was CYNIC but CANNY appeared a couple of times in entries.
Clue 20dn ‘Invalid’ was NULL not NILL and ‘Pack firmly, … down’ at 26dn was TAMP not TAPP.
Those of you who also get our MEGA! Crosswords magazine would remember the clue ‘Amusingly misheard phrase’ from issue no. 4 and explained in issue no. 6. A quick recap for those who struggled with it here at 131ac. A MONDEGREEN is a misheard phrase or lyric. It comes from a mishearing of the lyrics, “And laid him on the green”, by American writer Sylvia Wright in the 1950s.
At 133ac the ‘Author of the Aeneid was VIRGIL not VERGIL. ‘Anaemic’ at 135ac was PALLID not PALLED and 130dn ‘Thin washer’ was SHIM not SHAM.
At 103ac was the evocative clue ‘Mare’s tails clouds’ which had the answer CIRRI, the plural of CIRRUS.
Cloud staring is a popular pastime with both children and adults – the epitome of relaxing is to lie on warm grass and look up at the sky imagining pictures in the clouds. Cirrus comes from Latin for ‘curl’ but the common name of ‘mare’s tails’ I think must come from day dreamers. CIRCI
was incorrect.
Over in the Goliathon and some took a terrible thrashing at 18ac! The answer was WALLOPING and not WALLAPING.
As most of you know, we accept both –ise and –ize as word endings e.g. categorise/ize, organise/ize but at 134ac there was only one spelling and it required a ‘z’. ‘More sordid’ was SLEAZIER and not SLEASIER.
At 144dn ‘Vendetta’ wanted FEUD as its answer. A few incorrect guesses were spotted here including DEED and REND. The word vendetta comes directly from the Latin word for ‘revenge’ and feud is thought to be of Germanic origin and related
to foe.
In the Bigcash, ‘Swallow up’ at 10ac made some of you think of EATING but the answer needed was the slightly trickier meaning of ENGULF, as in “The high tide engulfed/swallowed up the beach.” If you put EATING then you may have tried GLADLY for ‘Lovingly’ at 12dn but this was FONDLY. At 11dn ’Gallivants’ was GADS but with EATING at 10ac you ended up with the confusing answer of TADS or TEDS. Sorry if we caught you out here.
A couple of other spelling slip-ups to note; ‘Nile port’ (22dn) was ALEXANDRIA not ALEXANDREA and ‘Drink (alcohol)’ (34dn) was IMBIBE not INBIBE.

BIG Winners (Issue 211)

BIGCASH No 211
£300 Winner
Alison Burke, Radcliffe.

5 x £40 Winners
Gaynor Armitage, Wirral; Robert Hamlen, Chippenham; Sue Healey, Grantham; Sharon Holtham, Bishop’s Stortford; P Williams, Cheltenham.

Goliathon No 211
1 x Stainless Steel Kitchen Pack
Pamela Lucas, Romford.

1 x Rachel Allen Cookbook
Diana Ball, Lymington.

3 x Lovatts Note Pad & Pen Set
L Duncan, Alyth; Andrew Satterthwaite, Lancaster; Derek Varley, Morley.

DEMON No 211
1 x Atmosphere Illuminated Globe
Bruce Davies, Oxford.

2 x Lovatts Engraved Weather Station
Y Batchelor, Reading; John Otter, Northallerton.

2 x Lovatts Note Pad & Pen Set
P Radburn, Eastleigh; W Stratton, Hitchin.

BONANZA No 211
Wordygig – P8
Solution: 1a, 2b, 3c, 4b
2 x Collins Scrabble Dictionaries
R Morfett, Waltham-Abbey; H Walker, Sheffield.

The Knowledge – P10
Solution: George Clooney
2 x Times Mini Atlases of the World
M McCann, Liverpool; M Smith, Tywyn.

Starhunt 1 – P16
Solution: David Letterman
2 x Lovatts Thermo Mugs
J Clements, Brighton; J Holmes, Bournemouth.

Starhunt 3 – P17
Solution: Gwyneth Paltrow
2 x Lovatts Tea Towels & Trolley Token Key Rings
Carol Perrin, Nailsea; M Ward, Sandwich.

Ninesies – P18
Solution: Android
2 x Lovatts Coffee Mugs & Trolley Token Keyrings
Phil Bennett, Salisbury; D Young, Christchurch.

Pop Words – P20
Solution: The Eagles
2 x Boxed CD Sets – Original Easy Listening
Jean Nash, Royton; B Richards, Enfield.

Elevenses 1 – P22
Solution: Specialists
2 x Lovatts Shopping Bags & Tea Towels
P Sheward, Kidderminster; Laura Youseman, Inverurie.

Wheel Words – P24
Solution: Matriarach
2 x Collins Pocket Dictionaries & Thesauruses
Pauline Carpenter, Eastbourne; Mary Hartley, Halifax.

Memory Lane – P28
Solution: Channel Islands
2 x Lovatts Coffee Mugs & Tea Towels
Christine Burslem, Stone; Rodger Turnbull, Dyce.

Two-Way Teaser – P38
Solution: Against All Odds
2 x Clip On Booklights
Barbara Davis, Flackwell Heath; May Edwards, Ellesmere.

Do Your Block – P42
Solution: Sailors
2 x Crossword Solver’s Pocket Dictionaries
Glenna Davies, Swansea; Hazel Montague, Windsor.

Starhunt 5 – P46
Solution: Freddie Prinze JR
2 x £10 WHSmith Vouchers
Judy Darkins, High Wycombe; J Turner, Chesterfield.

Starhunt 7 – P47
Solution: Mike Myers
2 x Lovatts Shopping Bags & Tea Towels
Zena Hardinge, St Keverne; Len Porter, Blackpool.

Elevenses 2- P52
Solution: Amusement
2 x Collins Gem Books – 5 Minute Memory Workout
V Payne, Skipton; Lynne Turner, Bedwas.

Starhunt 9 – P58
Solution: Eddie Murphy
2 x Lovatts Thermo Mugs
S Alcock, Stoke-On-Trent; Angela Allen, St Lawrence.

Starhunt 11 – P59
Solution: Virginia Madsen
2 x Lovatts Coffee Mugs & Trolley Token Key Rings
K Batham, Stourbridge West; T Foord-Divers, Ashford.

FindaWord – P75
Solution: A Grin Without a Cat
Christopher Rose, Shanklin; Linda Taylor, Bicester.