Crossword Help Forum
Forum Rules

malone

Interesting that our favourite novels, She and Emma, featured in the sequences round of Only Connect tonight

Thanks, Grunger. Yes, I saw that - just a pity that there was no room for Miss Jean Brodie, but maybe 'modern' literature will feature in another episode?

malone

yes lets hope so, and I am fed up with old detectives, cooks, actors etc in the Times, together with the daily dose of SA/it stuff.

Grunger

I see on another thread that you have problems with the grammar relating to certain verbs. The best way to avoid this is to refrain from using slang such as text and 86 as verbs.

I hope you enjoyed the old authors in the Times in the last few days.

Jigjag, Grunger
I sympathise where the problems of modern words are concerned. I have got used to, though I don't particularly like phrases such as 'I texted him last night'. I don't think I'll ever be able to say 'I PMed him last night.' (No, I wasn't conducting a post mortem, I sent someone a Private Message.)

Still, some of the old/older words can also be irksome. 'Pass', as in make overtures, try to chat up etc was involved in a clue last week. I have not heard this word used for possibly decades and certainly not by anyone younger than 50.

I was irritated by a clue in this week's Spectator. (A 'live' puzzle, so perhaps better not to mention the answer?) It is -
Arouse footballer with one run (6).

'Footballer', just 'footballer'? This is for someone who's been dead for a pretty long time - and let's face it, there are literally hundreds of 'footballers' anyway.

Jigjag

It is hard to avoid using modern words and phrases, as Malone says. Surely you have "one-four-seven-oned a phone"?

Malone

Yes I saw the "pass" clue. I have never been passed, passed at, or whatever the expression is, or done any passing, except when I played football. I solved your football clue, I suppose as he was famous it is OK. The times this week was full of old authors, cooks etc, yet had lots of modern stuff. I thought today's was hard but a very good one.

Grunger

I have never had the pleasure of onefoursevenoneing anything, presumabley this is something you do with your mobile phone, though I havent got one.

I enjoyed the Times puzzles this week. I knew Beeton and Kingsley, but I think the memorial for the Coronation Street actor who died recently was unfair.

Ah, I didn't get the Coronation Street connection with Bradley. I knew it had to be headstone, but a quick Google afterwards brought up Bradley Stone, a young boxer who died after a bout in 1994. That would have been unfortunate so I am glad of the actual explanation.

I didn't much like ERR yesterday (Mistake taking rook with queen), as I couldn't think of a sentence in which mistake and err were interchangeable. However, Chambers does say mistake can be an intransitive verb.

Paul

I had forgotten about Bradley Stone and his tragic death. I remember the Alan Bradley death when Coronation Street was an excellent programme.

I agree with you re ERR. Mistake may well be an intransitive verb, but, if I am not mistaken, I am mistaken does not equal any part of ERR.

Grunger,

I am glad to hear 'pass' was a bit of a fail. Yes, the footballer WAS famous, but so were Keegan, Gazza, Pele, Messi, Guulit, Moore, Zidane, Cruyff...