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dylan

23rd June 2018, 06:25
Like last week's, this was a nice topical and relatively straight-forward puzzle, which has revived my confidence, after some previous very demanding challenges. However, I can't make sense of 4d - there is an obvious answer which fits, but it;s hardly a juice, and doesn't seem to relate to "herbal".

Also, I'm not too sure of the relevance of the title of the puzzle, apart from a vague link to the Work. Am I missing something?
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casanova

23rd June 2018, 07:59
Hello Dylan - 4d is the first part of a word for a wort and it does have an entry in chambers under the word for that plant.

I think that the title refers to the play within the play; Pyramus and Thisbe and the wall which is featured therein.
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samphire

23rd June 2018, 09:20
Nearly all done, except that the wordplay and checkers for 14a seems to very clearly lead to a word that does not exist. Have I missed something
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jazzlover42

23rd June 2018, 09:59
Had that as lal: (Hal-lal).
Got nearly everything done, but can't get 41ac myself.
Around 31.4 North this (and nine others) could be triangulated
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samphire

23rd June 2018, 10:04
I have 'lal' too, but I cannot find it in Chambers. For 41a, think about what 31.4 is approximately a multiple of, and when you might put ten things in a triangular formation.
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jazzlover42

23rd June 2018, 10:15
Thanks, Samphire. Easy now I see it, as these things are.
But I had the wrong Hebrew letter, which is what blinded me.
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barista

23rd June 2018, 10:18
Google "lal" and the definition pops up. I guess it is probably somewhere in Chambers under an alternative spelling but the sun is shining so I'm not going to look for it!
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murky

23rd June 2018, 10:28
LAL is in the Chambers names index, with the meaning given in the clue.
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murky

23rd June 2018, 10:52
I hate to be a grumpy old so-and-so but I think the grid is awful, and I don't think its weaknesses are justified by the theme. The grid is virtually bisected into two parts by the bars separating columns 7 and 8, so there only three points of connectivity. Two unchecked cells in five is not uncommon, so that's acceptable, but this has, in addition, three unchecked cells in a seven-letter entry and four in a nine-letter entry. Almost half of the 50 entries are only three or four letters long. All this in an asymmetrical grid which is much easier construct than a symmetrical one, so I should have thought that some of the above weaknesses could have been avoided.

When I printed the puzzle my first reaction was that we must be in for some fantastically intricate theme, but it wasn't to be. Satisfying, but not enough to justify those weaknesses.

Although generally easy to solve, some of the clues redeemed the puzzle in my eyes, and I liked the thematic use made of the name, , but I think the grid needed a lot more work. Sorry, Encota, especially if you put a lot of hours into it anyway.
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jazzlover42

23rd June 2018, 10:56
I was delighted with the timely theme, the witty idea, and that it was so accessible, since the Inquisitor isn't for me this morning.
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