Colossus Winners (Issue 225)

BAFFLER No 225
5 x £50 Prize Cheques
Lynn Burton, Huntingdon; Christabel Davies, Telford; E Fenwick, Darlington; N Krajewska, Tunbridge Wells; J Liddle, Prudhoe

GIANT CRYPTIC No 225
2 x Lovatts Engraved Glass Decanter Sets
Hattie Ison, Maryland, USA; Ian Singer, Blyth

2 x Bradford’s Crossword Solver’s Dictionaries
Mrs Day, Ramsey; Alexander Grant, Waterloo

2 x Lovatts Thermo Mugs
D Brooks, Forest Row; Patricia Hall, Farnworth

CASHWORDS No 225
£300 Winner
D Ellis, Accrington

5 x £40
Joyce Andrew, Teignmouth; John Darlington, Nuneaton; J Murrells, Ipswich; Julie Reed, Abergavenny; Carmel Whitehead, Lichfield

STINKER No 225
1 x Philips Micro Music System
M Burke, Barrow-In-Furness

2 x Lovatts Engraved Weather Stations
S Carman, Ripley; F Murdey, Woodbridge

3 x Lovatts Home Prize Pack
Janette Fulton, Crosshill; Julie Rodger, Girvan; E Scott, Selkirk

THE KNOWLEDGE No 225
2 x Analogue Projection Clocks
Hilda Terry, Pocklington; G Thomas, Risca

Cryptic Crosswords Winners (Issue 03)

Cryptic Arrow Contest
Solution – PARTIES
1 x 22 inch HD Ready LCD TV & DVD Combo
J Fisher, Canterbury

5 x Lovatts Prize Packs
Gwen Dovey, Yate; May Quigley, Paisley; Jane Raby, Bispham; C Thomson, Lewannick; P Woolmore, London

Cryptic Contest
Solution – DANCES
1 x £200
J Scully, St Albans

5 x Collins Dictionary & Thesaurus & Times Mini Atlas of the World
J Cleland, Netherton; R Cowley, Birmingham; B Montgomery, Edingburgh; B Sutters, Rayleigh; S Yeardly, Spalding

MEGA Winners (Issue 08)

Mighty Mega
1 x £200
Ann Kearns, Tyldesley

3 x Lovatts Notepad & Pen Set
Brian Morris, Middleton; M Sullivan, Bridport; Ian Wallace, Tividale

Mega Mix
1 x £100
K Sherman, Southport

3 x Lovatts Rain Jacket & Trolley Token Keyring
R Watwick, Ballymena; A Wells, Polegate; Joyce Woolley, Northwich

Mega Stinker
1 x Vivitar Waterproof Digital Camera
Jean Dewhirst, Port Erin

2 x Bradford’s Crossword Solver’s Dictionaries
C Fuller, Colchester; Nora Robinson, East Riding

3 x Lovatts Shopping Bags & Trolley Token Key Rings
S Beresford, Audray; Jackie Measures, Bradford; I Mitchell, Kings Lynn

Irish BIG Winners (Issue 214)

Irish Crossword
Page 2
Solution: Donegal

1 x €100
Mary Grace, Drumcondra

2 x Lovatts Puzzler’s Prize Packs
Michael Moroney, Drogheda; C O’Dwyer, County Tipperary

BIG Winners (Issue 214)

BIGCASH
£300 Winner
I Morrill, Wakefield

5 x £40 Winners
Robert Day, Dorchester; Maureen Duffin, London; J Gilham, Bedfont; E Scottt-Strupczewska, Swaffham; Margaret Stanworth, Burnley

Goliathon
1 x Antler Expandable 4 Piece Luggage Set
Barbara Godfrey, Kingsteington

2 x Lovatts Engraved Glass Decanter Sets
Mary Browne, Derry; John Eglinton, Redditch

2 x Crossword Solver’s Dictionaries
Ken Barry, Cleveleys; Lesley Stone, Bedford

DEMON
1 x Olympus X43 14 MP Digital Camera
Deborah Heritage, Derby

2 x Lovatts Engraved Weather Station
Ina Osborn, Benfleet; Joan Parker, Brentwood

2 x Collins Pocket Spellers
B Heatley, Torpoint; D Richardson, Todmorden

BONANZA
Big Easy – P4
Solution: Marshmallow

3 x Collins Gem Prize Packs
Linda Howard, Thatcham; L Robertson, Forfar; A Wells, Polegate

Ninesies – P8
Solution: Oyster
3 x Lovatts Puzzler’s Packs
Lynne Brodie, Enfield; Mary Hartley, Halifax; M Simpson, Faringdon

Wheel Words – P10
Solution: Marmalade
3 x £10 WHSmith Tokens
Tracy Clark, Romford; E Neil, Ayr; Rachel Savage, Birmingham

Elevenses – P14
Solution: Precise
3 x Lovatts Kitchen Prize Packs
Jane Day, Bonsall; Mona Peake, Dagenham; Tony Zapp, Etchinghill

Do Your Block – P36
Solution: Memories
3 x Lovatts Out & About Prize Packs
Rita Evans, Holyhead; Jenny Longhurst, Doncaster; E Maskell, Colwyn Bay

Wiz Words – P37
Solution: Tortoise
3 x Collins Electronic Crossword Solvers
Philip Bartram, Ilkeston; Hazel Currie, Hebburn; S Grainger, Chesterfield

Starhunt 5 – P40
Solution: Mariah Carey
3 x Collins Gem Prize Packs
Thelma Connolly, Newton Abbey; D Dowd, Blackfield; Christopher Rose, Shanklin

Starhunt 7 – P41
Solution: Pamela Anderson
3 x Gardener’s Packs
Helen Bainbridge, Belfast; Beryl Mills, Hemel Hempstead; Joan Parker, Brentwood

FindaWord – P75
Solution: Long Distance Running
3 x Cookbooks
B Close, Cambridge; M Frost, North Humberside; Jean Nash, Oldham

Colossus 225 Judge Sums Up

Switched on
with Nora
In Woody Allen’s Oscar-winning film Hannah and Her Sisters, a film about the rocky paths in relationships and marriage, Hannah is congratulated by her family on her performance in A Doll’s House. Her mother says, “I played Nora , I hate to tell you what year….. and it’s difficult ….. I think that Ibsen would have been damn proud of our Hannah”.
In our Baffler ‘Ibsen’s A Doll’s House heroine’ needed the answer NORA not NINA, as some entries had. This, Ibsen’s best-known play, opened the doors on domestic life looking at the roles of men and women in marriage. At the time it was first performed in 1879 it caused quite a scandal.
Further down in the Baffler was the ‘Flash lamp element’ which has the chemical symbol Xe for XENON not ZENON. ‘Fetid air’ was FUG not FOG, which is mist or haze but not stale and musty.
Dr Robert Moog (pronounced to rhyme with ‘rogue’) was a pioneer of electronic music and changed the way popular music sounded forever. When Switched-on Bach was recorded in 1968 listeners were amazed at this futuristic sound and the instrument was taken up by many musicians – techno was born! Baffler clue ‘First name in synthesisers’ was MOOG not MORG or MONG.
In the Stinker the ‘Loopy lace pattern’ at 21ac was PICOT not PIVOT and at 24ac ‘Pathogenic’ wanted MORBIFIC not MORTIFIC.
In Italian, polite forms of address include Signor, Signorina and SIGNORA, which was the answer to ‘Italian Mrs’ at 48ac – not SINNORA.
A circlet is a simple crown without arches or a cap covering the top. At 65ac the ‘Consort’s crown’ was a CIRCLET not CIRCLES or CERCLET. If you put the latter then you also had 38dn incorrect. The ‘Explorer, … Vespucci’ was AMERIGO not AMEREGO. A couple of answer also had the incorrect AMERICO. The Americas are thought to have been named in honour of this Italian adventurer.
For 97ac, ‘Grim’, you needed DOUR not DOOR or DOAR. ‘Wrinkle’ was RUCK not RICK at 126ac and the ‘Clergyman’s land grant’ should have been GLEBE at 190ac not GREBE, which is a diving bird.
If at 215ac for the clue ‘Beijing’s … Square’ you put TIANAMMEN instead of the correct TIANANMEN you also had 218dn incorrect as MEMESES – ‘Agents of fate’ should be NEMESES, the plural of nemesis. Nemesis was the Greek goddess of retribution and vengeance. She avenged crimes and punished arrogance before the gods. She was the one you couldn’t escape from, which is perhaps how nemesis came to mean an archenemy; one who is opposite to you but somehow familiar at the same time.
There is an old tale about a monkey who persuades a cat to pull chestnuts out of the fire using its paw. The cat gets burnt paws and the monkey gets a delicious fill of hot chestnuts. It is from this tale that the meaning of ‘Cat’s-paw’ for clue 266ac derives. The answer was DUPE not DOPE.
NUMMULAR means ‘Coin-shaped’ and was the answer to 269ac (not NUMNULAR) and at 200dn GIOCONDA not GIACONDA was needed for ‘Da Vinci’s La …’.
We have had lots of positive comments on the addition of The Knowledge to Colossus, but this time a couple of entries had PARADISE LEST for the mystery answer, which should have been PARADISE LOST. This came about from confusion over the spelling of the answer to 39ac. AOTEAROA is ‘New Zealand’s name translated as ‘the land of the long white cloud’’ – not AETEAROA.

BIG 216 Judge Sums Up

A nut feast on
St Philibert’s Day
The Demon was a bit ‘Shadowy’ at 20ac. Well done if you filled in TENEBROUS – a few entries had TENEVROUS or TENETROUS. This obscure word for gloomy or dark also has the meaning of obscure.
The Frankish abbot, St Philibert, or Philbert, gave his name to the ‘Hazelnut’ and so the answer to 54ac was FILBERT not FIBBERT. The nuts are ready for eating in England around St Philibert’s feast day of August 20, hence the nut has his name.
With not many letters crossed from other words to help, 76ac proved tricky for some. The ‘Clay oven’ we needed was a TANDOOR.
One clue on at 77ac, the ‘Ballet tights’ were MAILLOT, but again a few misspellings appeared here. Not surprisingly this word, like many ballet words, comes from French. Maillot is also used for a ladies swimsuit and a jersey in cycle racing – you may have heard it during the annual Tour de France, where the maillot jaune or yellow jersey, is worn by the overall race leader.
A little further on at 90ac there was another cycling term. The ‘main pack of race cyclists’ is known as the PELOTON not PELATON.
Most of you got COTE for 102ac ‘Dove shelter’ but did you know that this word is closely related to cottage? A dovecote is a small cottage for doves.
The ‘Lunar trench’ at 110ac needed RILLE. This comes from the same German word from which we get the word ‘rill’ for a small stream.
A letter Q was needed at the crossing of 136ac and 122dn – a couple of entries had a C here. The ‘Region of SW France is AQUITAINE and the ‘Chef’s hat’ is a TOQUE.
At 123dn was a clue for those who have kept horses on other people’s land. AGIST was the answer required.
You may have heard of the colour name EAU DE NIL but did you know that it means literally ‘water of the Nile’? It is a pale yellowish green colour and the answer to 140ac. It sounds like something you might find on a sheet of paint colours along with Gumleaf, Asparagus and Sea Dream!
Karl Gauss was a German mathematician who had a unit of magnetic induction named after him – DEGAUSS was the answer to ‘Demagnetise’ at 14dn.
The ‘Indian starling’, a huge pest in many parts of Australia, was MYNAH not MINAH at 15dn. First brought into Australia to control insects they are now often called ‘flying rats’ and are second only to cane toads as the most hated feral animal.
At 35dn the composer we were looking for was Sir Edward ELGAR not EDGAR. Elgar, the son of a piano tuner from Worcester, is best known for his Pomp and Circumstance Marches, particularly No 1, from which Land of Hope and Glory comes. King Edward IV found the music stirring and Elgar asked AC Benson to write some lyrics. It was first performed in 1902 and is now often sung at sporting matches as well as the Last Night of the BBC Proms.
Finally for The Demon I am happy to say that at 48ac for ‘Chair wheels’ we took both CASTER and CASTOR.
In the Goliathon the ‘Spine part’ (44dn) was a DISC not DISK and the answer to ‘Not binding’ (55dn) was NULL not NILL. At 166dn ‘Thickly’ was DENSELY and not DENSLLY or DENSILY.
Not much to mention in the Bigcash – a couple of entries had EMOTE for 8dn but you needed EVOKE and at 109dn ‘Liveliness’ was PEP not ZEP. Pep apparently comes from the word pepper.

BIG 215 Judge Sums Up

A Demonful of words
Another month down and another batch of BIG contests in the bag! Well done to everyone who ventured forth into the puzzling pool and congratulations if you were clever enough to answer all the clues.
Our judges noticed a few errors in Demon entries but as always, we were impressed by your efforts.
First up, JACKAL not JACKEL was the answer to 4ac ‘Wild African canine’. Next up at 17ac ‘Bugle farewell’ needed TAPS, not TAPE. Tape came about if you put PINE at 2dn for ‘While away’. You needed PASS here, which also gave you the S at the beginning of SALUBRIOUS for ‘Wholesome’ at 13ac. Salubrious come from the Latin salubris ‘health’.
Sir Francis Drake’s ship, the Golden HIND, appeared at 56ac and most of you had this correct. Sir Francis was a favourite of Queen Elizabeth I but was also a successful pirate. The Golden Hind was sent on a voyage around the globe and plundered and destroyed Spanish ships met along the way. Francis made himself and his queen very rich and earned himself a knighthood and a place in history.
The Golden Hind was originally called the Pelican, but renamed by Drake. It sailed from Plymouth in December 1577, circumnavigated the globe and returned to Plymouth in September 1580. It is true that the galleon is also spelled as Golden Hinde, but only HIND would fit in our crossword.
At 10ac, an EFFIGY not EFFEGY is a ‘Sculptured likeness’. In English folklore, effigies were often made of disliked people and then often burnt. The most famous effigy is the guy, which is paraded and burnt on November 5th to commemorate the failed attempt by Guy Fawkes to blow up the Parliament in 1605.
Clue 21ac needed the past tense SPAT for ‘Expectorated’ and not SPIT, which is present tense and was also the answer to 126dn ‘Elongated strip of sand’.
Helios was Greek for sun and at 22dn PERIHELION was the answer to ‘Planet’s orbit point closest to the sun’.
Speaking of the sun, at 34dn we had the young man who, to his peril, flew too close to the sun. ‘Daedalus’ son’, ICARUS had artificial wings made for him by his father so he could escape from Crete, but not heeding the warnings, he soared towards the sun, the wax melted on the wings and Icarus plun­ged into the Aegean Sea.
At 37ac DIRGE not DURGE was the answer to ‘Funeral song’ and the ‘Nihilistic art movement’ was DADA not RADA 91ac.
Clue 35dn brought to my mind the saying, “It’ll either cure you or kill you”. A NOSTRUM is an unproven elixir or medication and was the answer to ‘Favourite remedy’. A couple of entries had NOSTRUN making 68ac also incorrect. ‘Afghanistan border river’ is the AMU Darya.
The answer to 20dn eluded a few of you. ‘Crushed coffee beans’ are NIBS (not NOBS or NAGS or NUTS). Well done if you tracked this down. Nibs might be included in chocolate bars or desserts for a coffee flavour and caffeine hit.
The AGA KHAN was at 77dn, but a couple of you had this as AGA KAAN. This came about if at 100ac for ‘Pasture grass’ you put ACREAGE. You needed HERBAGE.
BANDEROLES and not BANNERROLLS are ‘Coffin flags’ (74dn) and the ‘Indigestion symptom’ (118dn) was REFLUX not REFLEX. 109dn ‘Coerce’ was DRAGOON not DRAGONN or DRAGOWN.
Dragoon started life as a noun, a cavalry musket, the weapon of 16th century cavalrymen. The word came to also mean the soldier and then became a verb meaning force someone to do something against their will.