Comments on: I’m Confused About DA’s Last in Jan, 2010

By: Ian

Ian — Mon, 01 Feb 2010 05:26:47 +0000

Ah, but in The Sound of Music, in the song So Long, Farewell, they sing:
“Adieu, adieu, to yer and yer and yer.”

By: RB

RB — Mon, 01 Feb 2010 04:07:37 +0000

JG, at first, I was a bit doubtful too about “fitting=due” but I think we’ve had it (or something similar) before; and I’ve found support in a couple of dictionaries (due=proper, appropriate, fitting)

By: JG

JG — Mon, 01 Feb 2010 03:59:16 +0000

Thanks RB, I thought it might be that but I regarded “fitting = due” as very suss. I don’t have a problem with the sound, but then I was brought up on songs like “There is a tavern in the town”:
Adieu, adieu, kind friends adieu, adieu, adieu,
I can no longer stay with you, stay with you,

By: RB

RB — Mon, 01 Feb 2010 03:05:04 +0000

JG, 9A goes like this:
Cheers = ADIEU
article = A
fitting = due
And it seems the anglicised pronunciation (that’s the “in ear” bit) of ADIEU is “a due”

By: Ash

Ash — Mon, 01 Feb 2010 03:02:43 +0000

Hi JG, The answer is adieu.

Cheers,

Ash

By: JG

JG — Mon, 01 Feb 2010 02:23:47 +0000

mic, you are too kind to DA with megapixel’, 1., I don’t reckon anyone has ever referred to a photo as a megapixel, and 2., most online photos are considerably smaller than a megapixel.
NS had another definition for ‘adumbrate’ (7D) in Thursday’s crossword, which I prefer: “Foreshadow a stupid charge per unit”.
Can we have a definitive answer for 9A, rather than just hints, please?

By: TT

TT — Mon, 01 Feb 2010 02:01:35 +0000

5D: “Do they live for cold ones?”

If you “live” you “be”, which means those who live are “be-ers. The “?” says it’s a pun, not to be taken literally. (Or in code “Gets DA out of jail.”)

BEERS (VB, Crownies, XXXX, etc) are colloquially “cold ones”.

By: CL

CL — Mon, 01 Feb 2010 01:54:03 +0000

Well this was a useful website to find! Thanks folks – I’ve now completed my first DA…. with help.

I actually knew both SERE and UZI (one of the few clues I worked out for myself before going online), but I never heard of a Pea Jacket, or the definitions of Adumbrate or Simpatico, which slows things down….

And while I cringe at ADIEU meant to sound like AUDIO, at least I now understand the logic behind everything, except 5D.

Can someone please explain the cryptic component to 5D?
Thanks

By: Peter

Peter — Sun, 31 Jan 2010 19:54:44 +0000

8D: Look at last letter of Barnum, + guide or AIDE climbing, and you get a ‘type’ of circus
28A: large = L and dashing = DARING

By: Oster

Oster — Sun, 31 Jan 2010 16:02:54 +0000

Seriously, “Runner jogging dry enough” ??? Was the wordplay really good enough to justify such a dull expression with minimal surface reading. Off the top of my head “Hungry doe trampled runner”…