Hello – Colossus 224

Since the ancient times of the Greeks, owls have been perceived as being wise.

Athena, The Greek goddess of wisdom is often depicted with an owl perched on her head or on one of her shoulders, symbolising knowledge and scholarship. Athena and her ‘Little Owl’ appear on opposite sides of ancient Athenian coinage. The Latin name for Little Owl, Athene noctua translates to ‘Athena’s Night’ or ‘Athena of the Night’.

In Hindu Mythology, the Goddess of Wealth, Lakshmi has an owl as her vehicle. In Bengal she is worshipped on the brightest night of the year. It is believed that on this night she, along with the great white owl, descends to Earth and takes away the darkness of poverty, stagnation, anger and laziness from our lives.  In early Indian folklore, owls represent wisdom and helpfulness and have powers of prophecy.

Owls are also popular figures in literature. They pop up in Shakespeare’s works as well as in Aesop’s fables where animals go to wise old owls for advice. A.A. Milne’s owl in Winnie-the-Pooh has ‘the gift of brains’ and offers advice, anecdotes and opinions to the residents of the 100 Acre Wood. In J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter series, the wizards each own an owl for carrying messages, packages and brooms.

The nursery rhyme ‘A Wise Old Owl’ refers to the traditional image of owls as the symbol of wisdom:

A wise old owl lived
in an oak
The more he saw
the less he spoke
The less he spoke
the more he heard.
Why can’t we all be
like that wise old bird?

Today, a person who appears wise or serious is said to be owlish or have owl-like characteristics. Owls are popular logos for institutions of learning and are included in the crest of arms of many universities. An owl is the unofficial mascot of the high-IQ society Mensa. Collective nouns for owls include ‘a parliament of owls’ or ‘a wisdom of owls’.
The truth is, research shows that a bird’s intellect is tied to how big its brain is compared to its body, which means owls in their own right aren’t particularly clever.

In fact, a goose has a larger brain than an owl, although I can’t imagine ‘as wise as a goose’ catching on.
Can you?

Happy puzzling!

Colossus Winners (Issue 224)

BAFFLER No 224
5 x £50 Prize Cheques
R Bramwell, Ferryhill; H Harding, Reading; M White, Nunthorpe; Joanne Whitelaw, Irvine; Pauline Wilkinson, Rayleigh.

GIANT CRYPTIC No 224
2 x Lovatts Engraved Glass Decanter Sets
C Morrison, Stornoway; Carmen Screen, Barry.

2 x Bradford’s Crossword Solver’s Dictionaries
G Burch, Beckenham; May Hamilton, Stevenston.

2 x Lovatts Thermo Mugs
Valerie McCrudden, Galgate; Margaret Smith, Beverley.

CASHWORDS No 224
£300 Winner
A Bell, Carshalton.

5 x £40
J Clements, Brighton; Carole Harris, Lancaster; Brian Jones, Herne Bay; Sandra Stoodley, Bulgaria; Keith Taylor, Witham.

STINKER No 224
1 x Philips Micro Music System
Diana Ball, Lymington.

2 x Lovatts Engraved Weather Stations
Muriel Barker, Richmond; C Shaw, Yelverton.

3 x Lovatts Home Prize Pack
Carole Harris, Lancaster; P Hudson, Broadstairs; M Taylor, Horsham.

THE KNOWLEDGE No 224
2 x Analogue Projection Clocks
Thomas Laverick, Sunderland; John Wilkinson, Ilford.

Puzzle Collection Winners (Issue 69)

COLLECTION CONTEST No 69
2 x £100
Margaret Day, Somerset; Jo Quarcoopome, Lancing.

6 x £50
K Bates, Rushden; H Brooks, Oakhampton; K Hill, Bloxwich; J Kelly, Okehampton;
J Stonell, Lancaster; M Tiniakou, Harwich.

Double Monster Drawer No 69
2 x £100
Ruth Carson, Manchester; J Moss, Southminster.

Monster Colossus Winner No 69
1 x £50
Anne Winter, Middlesbrough.

Monster Colossus Runners-Up No 69
4 x £25
B Crummett, Bury; Glynis Kerr, Bourne; Shiobhan Morrissey, Hemel Hempstead; Coralie Stokes, Birchington.

Monster Starhunt Winner No 69
1 x £50
Marilyn Grimble, Marlieux France.

Monster Starhunt Runners-Up No 69
4 x £25
Shirley Draper, Swineshead; Kay Perry, Stroud; Sylvia Ward, Leeds; D Young, Christchurch.

STINKER No 69
2 x Collins Speaking English Dictionary & Thesaurus
J Lee, Brandon; M McCarthy, Plymouth.

3 x Franklin Pocket Spellers
J Little, Beattock; Ina Osborn, Benfleet; D Richardson, Todmorden.

GIANT CRYPTIC No 69
2 x Lovatts Glass Decanter Sets
D Cole, Ipswich; M Kendall, Sturminster Newton.

3 x Lovatts Prize Packs
Julie Bruce, Lincoln; P Fox, Cardiff; C Smith, Grimsby.

COLLECTION CONTEST COUPON No 69
Chain Letters – P53
Solution: Miscalculated
3 x Collins Gem Books & Correction Pens
A Bell, Marske; M Bull, Stoke-on-Trent; Garry Cross, Aberdeen.

Spirogram – P59
Solution: Tortoise
3 x Lovatts Coffee Mugs & Trolley Token Key Rings
June Feasby, Linton-on-Ouse; Paul Frost, Haywards Heath; Eileen Scott, Sinclairshill.

Pop Words – P60
Solution: Johnny Rotten
3 x The Rat Pack 3 CD Box Sets
P Bryant, Devizes; Joyce Sherry, Norwich; Winsome Stack, Trearddur Bay.

Findaword – P64
Solution: Amethyst
3 x Lovatts Shopping Bags & Trolley Token Key Rings
Violet Clarke, Great Yarmouth; Betty Steel, Hemel Hempstead; J Woodward, Watford.

Starcross – P65
Solution: Karate Kid
3 x Lovatts Coffee Mugs & Trolley Token Key Rings
Phil Bennett, Salisbury; W Michael, Southampton; Rose White, Waltham Cross.

Cluedunnit – P70
Solution: Meryl Streep
3 x Collins Pocket English Dictionaries
Raymond Jones, Bargoed; R Pratt, Coventry; Carole Rabone, Bebington.

Retroflex – P71
Solution: Rooster
3 x Bradford’s Pocket Crossword Solver’s Dictionaries
G Andrew, Preston; Kevan Bollons, Peterborough; Elizabeth Fern, Motherwell.

Who Am I? – P72
Solution: George Clooney
3 x Lovatts Rain Jackets & Coffee Mugs
Babs Carter, Mansfield; P Charles, Penllergaer; Norah Griffin, Gort.

Cryptic Crosswords Winners (Issue 02)

Cryptic Arrow Contest
Solution – PRESENT
1 x 22 inch HD Ready LCD TV & DVD Combo
Andrew Stone, Teignmouth.

5 x Lovatts Prize Packs
Louise Burney, Hawick; Peggy Cox, March; Sara Forfar, Southport; Hazel Shaughnessy, Stoke-on-Trent; Dennis Shepherd, Rochdale.

Cryptic Contest
Solution – ABSENT
1 x £200
F Harris, Bridgend.

5 x Collins Dictionary & Thesaurus & Times Mini Atlas of the World
Dani Bowhill, Bexley Heath; M Coster, Middleton; Pat Dunbar, Scunthorpe; S Hoblyn, Uckfield; Elizabeth Neil, Thornhill.

MEGA Winners (Issue 07)

Mighty Mega
1 x £200
Linda Newman, Cardigan.

3 x Lovatts Notepad & Pen Set
Barbara Gent, Murcia, Spain; Lyn Hancock, Frinton-on-Sea; P Phillips, High Wycombe.

Mega Mix
1 x £100
Kelvin Hood, Harleston.

3 x Lovatts Rain Jacket & Trolley Token Keyring
E Collins, Lincoln; K Kirby, Doncaster; S Neeve, Great Yarmouth.

Mega Stinker
1 x Vivitar Waterproof Digital Camera
A Milne, London.

2 x Bradford’s Crossword Solver Dictionaries
M Ling, Colchester; Jackie Measures, Bradford.

3 x Lovatts Shopping Bags & Trolley Token Key Rings
Pat Pearson, Knott End; Rita Tuck, Leyland; Helen Tullio, London.

BIG Winners (Issue 213)

BIGCASH No 213
£300 Winner
J Fisher, Canterbury.

5 x £40 Winners
John Busbridge, Bude; N Lewis, Pontardulais; N Lintott, Gloucester; E Smale, St Peter Port; Pat Wall, Great Barr.

Goliathon No 213
1 x Antler Expandable 4 Piece Luggage Set
Christine Casey, Arundel.

2 x Lovatts Engraved Glass Decanter Sets
Gladys Anderson, Castle Douglas; Jean Davies, Brecon.

2 x Crossword Solver’s Dictionaries
Reg Fletcher, Shepshed; P Stracey, Bude.

DEMON No 213
1 x Olympus X43 14 MP Digital Camera
Trevor Carpenter, Clacton-on-Sea.

2 x Lovatts Engraved Weather Station
P Evans, Maghull; N Gayton, Rotherham.

2 x Collins Pocket Spellers
Robert Edwards, Harlow; H Walker,Thurlstone.

BONANZA No 213
Big Easy – P4
Solution: Connoisseur
3 x Collins Gem Prize Packs
Raymond Bithell, Wrexham; Steven Bowler, Tysoe; D Weal, Leatherhead.

Ninesies – P8
Solution: Longest
3 x Lovatts Puzzler’s Packs
Jean Saville, Mansfield; Tina Skeet, Waltham Abbey; J Wills, Bearsden.

Wheel Words – P10
Solution: Nutrition
3 x £10 WHSmith Tokens
Shirley Dudfield, Leamington Spa; L Myatt, Walsall; F Sanders, Chorley.

Elevenses – P14
Solution: Carousel
3 x Lovatts Kitchen Prize Packs
John Edwards, Poole; L Pownall, Broadstairs; Kathleen Smith, Rochdale.

Do Your Block – P36
Solution: Minute
3 x Lovatts Out & About Prize Packs
Dawn Aiton, Hayes; M Bailey, Hawkwell; B Woodford, Oxford.

Wiz Words – P37
Solution: Casserole
3 x Collins Electronic Crossword Solvers
J Lee, Anglesey; George Newman, Isleworth; J Williams, Louth.

Starhunt 5 – P40
Solution: Robert Downey Jr
3 x Collins Gem Prize Packs
R Bardsley, Teignmouth; K Greenway, Redruth; Evelyn Wallis, Hampton.

Starhunt 7 – P41
Solution: Thora Birch
3 x Gardener’s Packs
H Jackson, Great Barr; J Punton, Edinburgh; J Thomas, Redditch.

FindaWord – P75
Solution: Sweet and Sour
3 x Cookbooks
Mary Anderson, Huntly; Dorothy Dalton, Sheffield; K Humphriss, Wolverhampton.

Irish BIG Winners (Issue 213)

Irish Crossword
Page 2
Solution: Gaelach
1 x €100
William West, Labra

2 x Lovatts Puzzler’s Prize Packs
Rose Hickey, Limerick City; Mary Warde, Tuam

Colossus 224 Judge Sums Up

Pharaohs & Jaguars
Some words are just hard to spell. For some reason our minds don’t find the logic or make the historical connections. One such word (and I admit I often have to check it in the dictionary) is pharaoh or is that pharoah? Why is it we confuse this, but not boat or gaol?
Know you are not alone if you have trouble with the spelling of this word. It fits into a list with others such as restaurateur, fuchsia, sergeant and jodhpurs as just being tricky. Perhaps you have a list of your own.
We need a way to lock it into our brains so it doesn’t cause any further irritation (and incorrect crossword entries). One way is to try and pronounce it differently. Try ‘faira-oh’ instead of ‘fairo’. Or remember it has a silent ‘a’. I’d be interested to know if anyone has a method for this.
In our Cashwords it caught out quite a few of you at 89ac. This was crossed at 84dn by ‘American wild cats’ and if you had the incorrect PHAROAH then JAG­UARS didn’t’ fit, however COUGARS did and so
you weren’t alerted to your misspelling of PHARAOH.
Some also tried to fit BOBCATS.
Another commonly misspelled word popped up at 103dn. ‘Divide’ was SEPARATE not SEPERATE. 103ac ‘Insignia (ring)’ was SIGNET not SYGNET. This fitted in with EMPTIER not EMPTYER at 82dn.
A word that trapped a couple of you was FOULER (not FOWLER) for ‘Dirtier’ at 196ac and at 235dn ‘Barbed remark’ was GIBE, GYBE is a sailing term.
At 219dn we accepted either GALOSHES or GOLOSHES for ‘Angler’s boots’. The boots got their name from the Latin for ‘Gallic shoe’, so named because the conquering Romans adopted the style of boots worn by the
Gauls (French).
A couple of things to note from the Baffler. The ‘Old Iranian realm’ was SHAHDOM and not SHAHROM or SHAHTOM, the ‘Mythical lost continent’ was ATLANTIS not ATLANTAS and you needed not MIA, but ‘VIA dolorosa’, meaning painful path.
“Water, water, everywhere, Nor any drop to drink” comes from Samuel Taylor Coleridge’s The RIME Of The Ancient Mariner (Stinker 4dn). A couple of you
put RYME.
At 38ac ‘Chunky’ was BOXY and not BONY which really means the opposite. The ‘Birch relatives’ at 51dn were ALDERS not ASPENS, which messed up lots of cross­ing words and 79ac ‘Weepy’ was LACHRYMOSE not LACHRIMOSE or LACKRYMOSE. No tears please!
To cheer you up, at 154ac for ‘Male gypsies’ we accepted both ROMA and ROMS.
At 217ac a few entries had CEPHALAPOD instead of the correct CEPHALOPOD. This word has two parts cephalo from the Greek for head + poda or ‘foot’. These animals such as the octopus and squid are all heads and feet!
The ‘Watery wisps from cloud’ (277ac) are VIRGA not VIRIA. You can observe these as streaks in the sky that evaporate before reaching the ground.
Paraphasia is the uttering of unintended words, making speech unintelligible. This is the result of brain damage. PARAPRAXIS was the answer needed at 290ac. It is a slip of the tongue revealing the unconscious mind, or ‘Freudian slip’.
Finally, we all might yearn wistfully for some ‘Golden (past)’ days, but give some thought to the kingfisher, fabled to be able to calm the wild wind and waves, and in so doing, gave its name to peaceful times. It is a HALCYON (295ac) not HELCYON and if an ancient mariner saw one, it was an omen of calm seas ahead.

Colossus 223 Judge Sums Up

Showing plenty
of nous
Stinker lovers should pride themselves on their intellects. The recalling of words and ideas sometimes hidden deep in the memory banks and then the ability to know where to hunt for the unknown answers truly demonstrates noetic skill.
As proof of this, NOETIC was at 25ac in our Stinker and most rose to the challenge. A couple of you not quite on the ball opted for NOOTIC or NOATIC.
Noetic comes from the Greek ‘to think’ and is related to nous.
“Roamin’ in the Gloamin’” is a traditional Scottish song about courting in the evening light but I wonder if some red-blooded lovers were confused by this at 52ac when HAEMOGLOMIN appeared a couple of time instead of the correct HAEMOGLOBIN for ‘Red blood factor’. This made 54dn incorrect as well. ‘Defunct young offenders institution’ was BORSTAL, named after the village in Kent where the first youth prison was set up in 1902.
‘Cezanne’s … And The Swan’ at 61ac was a reference to Cezanne’s painting of the Greek myth in which Zeus visits LEDA in the form of a swan and seduces her. One of their children was Helen of Troy. BEDA and SEDA appeared a few times.
OBLATE and not OVLATE was ‘Flattened (sphere)’ at 78ac and BURL not BIRL was ‘Knot in wool’ at 108ac.
If you have a family member or friend who likes to throw around four-letter words and you wish they would stop, perhaps you could suggest they desist from using tetragrams in your presence. TETRAGRAM was the answer to 125ac, not TETTAGRAM or TETRUGRAM. A ‘U’ here made 104dn incorrect. ‘At right angles to keel’ was ABEAM not ABOUT.
At 58dn ‘Dais’ was ESTRADE not ESTRADA. This word comes from the Spanish for carpeted floor.
At 243dn ‘Variable’ was PROTEAN, a word that comes from the Greek myth about the sea god Proteus, who could change his shape to avoid answering questions. The Protea flowers of South Africa and Australia are also named after this god because they have so many different forms.
Those who followed the Tour de France in July would have got MAILLOT for ‘Cyclist’s jersey’ in the Baffler. The maillot jaune is worn by the overall leader, whereas the sprinter’s jersey is the
maillot vert.
‘Bell rope grip’ was no problem for campanologists but a few of you took a guess. SALLY was the answer, thought not to be from the girl’s name but from the meaning ‘leap forward’.
At the bottom of the Baffler, ‘Incense’ was JOSS sticks not BOSS sticks or GODS sticks.
In the Giant Cryptic ‘They may cheat on the deal’ at 5ac was CARDSHARPS and not CARDSHARKS. At 23dn ‘Injured (HURT) before the French (LE) charge’ was HURTLE not HUSTLE or RUSTLE.
35ac took some thinking out. ‘Others (REST) showed the way (LED) after centre forward (W) struggled’. This gave you WRESTLED because of the
word ‘after’.
In the Cashwords contest at 19dn we accepted both SLIT and SLOT for ‘Narrow incision’. For ‘All-important’ at 235ac we expected VITAL but a few entries had FINAL and on consideration we allowed that too. Final can mean authoritative or decisive and that sounds all-important, and after all “the judge’s decision
is final”.

BIG 214 Judge Sums Up

Scavenging for words
Our Demon is always full of wonderful words and that is why “His Devilishness” is so well loved. The Demon embraces the English language, which has always gathered words from many different places, scavenging as need arose. Crosswords are a terrific place to see the scope of these acquisitions. Here are a few words that some of you had trouble finding or spelling.
At 12dn ‘Bay window’ was ORIEL. Such windows were popular in late medieval and Renaissance architecture, projecting out from an upper storey. The word comes from the Old French for gallery.
Sea cows are known as sirens, apparently because sailors, after many lonely weeks at sea, mistook them for mermaids. Sirens were sea nymphs from Greek mythology that lured sailors with their singing. The mariners distracted from their work were more likely to encounter shipwreck. SIRENIA is the scientific name for this order of mammals and the answer to clue 24ac ‘Dugongs or manatees’.
The Demon may seem a little sinister at times in his attempts to catch you out. Sinister comes from the Latin for
left-hand and, as this side was considered by augurs to be unlucky, the word gained its evil connotation. The opposite was dexter meaning
right-hand. This gives us words like dextrous and dexterity and also DEXTRAL (Demon 35ac ‘Right-handed’).
TOCSIN was the answer to 37dn ‘Alarm bell’. This is one of many French loan words and means ‘strike bell’. The word is also used in a metaphorical sense of ‘a warning’, such as “melting ice caps are a tocsin for climate change”.
At 46ac TAM-TAM was needed for ‘Orchestra gong’. A tom-tom on the other hand is a small drum. Tam-tams have a long history in Asia, often used for religious or official ceremonies, but have also become part of the instruments that make up a western symphony orchestra.
The Latin ebullire means to boil, bubble or be boisterous. From this we get ebullition; the process of boiling, ebulliometer; a device to measure boiling point and EBULLIENT; overflowing with enthusiasm or ‘Exuberant’ 56dn.
Our clue at 59dn ‘Putsch’ was a German borrowing and the answer, coming from French, COUP D’ ÉTAT. We had a letter suggesting our apostrophe was in the wrong place and should be DE’TAT, but ÉTAT means state and the D’ indicates a missing E from DE. Coup d’état literally means ‘stroke of the state’.
BRUIT (63ac) started off in English as a noun, coming from the French for noise. It meant a rumour. The word is still used as a noun, but in the medical sense of an abnormal body sound, such as a heart murmur. Otherwise it is used as a verb in the sense of broadcasting, or bruiting, a rumour.
Clue 97dn was difficult if you could not get 97ac. HTML is the ‘Web-page language‘. It is an abbreviation of hypertext markup language. HAWSER is a strong rope used in mooring a ship. The word comes from the French haucier ‘to hoist’, from the Latin altus ‘high’.
After Roman Britain and before the Norman Conquest of 1066, England was divided up into Anglo-Saxon kingdoms. One of these was MERCIA (114ac) and Offa was Mercia’s most powerful king, taking control over much of southern England. Much of today’s border between England and Wales follows the line of Offa’s Dyke, a massive earthwork structure, which kept apart the Mercians and the people of Powys. A couple of entries had MERCIO because you put HAROLD instead of HARALD for Norway’s king at 102dn.