i Prize Cryptic Crossword 1487 by Phi
November 21, 2015
Saturday 14th November 2015
Well this was one of my favourite Phi puzzles for a long time – and also the first for a while with no theme, either hidden or otherwise. Coincidence? I couldn’t possibly comment.
We all like a bit of sauce, so the reversal of ‘in 1 C-cup’ for Puccini brought a chuckle, but for once I’ll go high-brow for my COD:
27a Fateful forest, in which mad woman in pen died (6,4)
The 2011 blog from Fifteensquared with all the answers can be accessed by clicking here.
Rats. I bet myself a mince pie that you’d go for 18d as COD. Splendid puzzle all round, wasn’t it?
It was close, but how were you to know my fondness for Act 5 scene iv of The Scottish Play?
Many years ago Radio 3 broadcast a playlet called Hamlet: Part 2. As you’ll recall there’s something of a power vacuum in the state of Demark by the end of Part 1 … the sequel involved a good deal of casting around for someone to take over other than Fortinbras. Part of the dialogue went a bit like this:
Horatio: What about Macbeth?
Osric: Nope, sorry – he’s dead too. Killed by a forest, strangely enough.
Horatio: Slain by a florist? ‘Tis an ignoble fate!
Ho, ho ho!
It feels like an age ago, but I seem to remember that your COD was the only one I really struggled with. Now this week’s…
Indeedy-deedy…