EV 892

[MatydaLover]

Anyone else think a few units might help with this week's EV?

[turnerjmw]

Quite so, MatydaLover. Column three certainly had me reaching for my tantalus. I spent an absurdly long time there. A familiar theme, but the grid misprints were a novel twist and made it much more entertaining. By the way, am I wrong to think that 30dn doesn't quite work: it would need "middle" to read "first half". I've probably missed something, though

[novalis]

Hi!

Yes, it was a nice one this week and the grape is now flowing to celebrate a successful ( typed he hopefully ) completion. Agree about 30d.

After really struggling with last week's ( finally finished on Friday!! ) I'd lost confidence but now back on track.

Cheers to everybody!!!

[DocHH]

If I am not mistaken, some years ago there was a hostelry in central Manchester that had the same name as the disguised title of this week's EV!! Have not ventured there for years, so no idea if it still exists! It was quite close to the Manchester office of BSI.

[novalis]

Hi DocHH!

Hope you enjoyed your sojourn in Egypt. Will check on the name of the hostelry the next time I venture into our local metropolis.

[MatydaLover]

I fretted awhile too on 30D, but it turns out that PO is an abbreviation for POLE so it is ok after all.

[devadolly]

Hello everyone, welcome back DocHH- good time? There certainly was a said hostelry in M/c but I can't remember if it was its actual name or just the local term for it!!
As you regulars will know my heart sank at the name on the top of the page, but at least he is not in one of his mathematical moods, or have I lost the plot as usual? Have done about 1/3 so the DC is well & truly open as I am not seeing any daylight despite a rather good apple martini to hand (an excellent new drink to add to my list (sic) thanks to the good auspices of a couple of Texans we met whilst traversing the perils of the S Atlantic).
The only (tenuous) reference I can connect with is in column 9 as am assuming it is the tempranillo and not the tempo that is the essence here????

[DocHH]

Hello Novalis,
Thank you we had a good holiday in Egypt, weather much better than in the UK, it did rain, but I blinked and missed it! Have now got to diet to prepare for Xmas overindulgence! The intended trips to Jerusalem and Petra were thwarted by long coach jouney schedules, no point in turning a holiday into a chore. Reports of 4 hour waits to cross borders were also sufficient to deters us!
The barmen at the Intercontinental mixed a mean, vodka, tomato juice, lemon, worcester sauce, pepper and salt! A superb preluncheon drink, which the first word of this cocktail would get this post deleted! I convinced myself that the tomato juice was one of the five! The local whisky not too unacceptable, as was the brandy! It took a while to get them used to measures that were not just a wet glass!

[dr b]

Hi all, welcome back Doc HH.

I've been getting this done in bits & pieces and have just one word left to highlight. Can someone confirm (only) that a thematic word begins in the square containing the "7" and is 6 letters long? If not, I need to radically rethink the rest of the grid.

[DocHH]

I understood that a University was a fountain of knowledge, which was where students went to learn to drink! Obviously to excess in some instances!

[turnerjmw]

Evening all. dr b, I can confirm that. MatydaLover, thanks for that on 30dn. You're quite right. A new abbreviation on me

[Christiana]

Hello all. I am back in Portugal where outside is sunny and fairly warm but inside is freezing cold. Portuguese houses tend to be made of concrete with no carpeting (too hot in the summer), no central heating and walls that retain moisture. You take your cardigan off when you go out!
Am getting on quite well with this week's offering, three quarters through and have cracked the theme, though it was enough to send me reeling. One query. 30a Is there a biblical reference in there? If so surely his wife would have been more apt? Or have I got the wrong word? I have the vegetable.

[dr b]

C: Don't think of salt as the seasoning, but rather as another sort of salt found frequently in crossword puzzles. The word you formed is not a basket (though it is a game played with a sort of basket).

[Christiana]

Thanks Dr. b. Yes, I knew it was the game, but thought perhaps the clue was rather weak. Will now take another look.

[dr b]

Finally got back to 7d - for some reason I'm stumped. Doc, was that supposed to be a hint? If so, it went right over my head. Easier hints appreciated.

I need to get to work writing my final exams. I'm always torn between giving the students a rigorous test of their accumulated knowledge, or just doing something that will be really easy to grade. Decisions, decisions.....

[dr b]

I knew that as soon as I posted the above, it would come to me. Of course, it did! Weird.

[novalis]

Hi Dr B!

How about giving them a rigorous test of what they've learnt and something easy to grade at the same time. Not always the easiest thing to do, I know. Have been there, done that and got the T-shirt on many occasions.

[devadolly]

Make it really hard dr b - that will sort the wheat from the chaff and make assessments really easy!!!
Naturally DocHH why else would we be there?
None of you will believe this but I have almost DONE MR O'S crossword!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Wheeeeeeeeeeeeeee! A nice Hendrick's & Tonic I think.......

[novalis]

Enjoy the drink Devadolly.....but don't get over-thematic!!

[devadolly]

Oh! Novalis, have you no faith?

[dr b]

DD, Novalis, of course the wheat is already separated from the chaff, which makes it hard to get geared up for the final. Not sure how UK universities do it, but the final is not a huge portion of the final grade here (30% in one of my classes, 40% in the other) so I already know who the good students are; the A students will get As on the final, and the C students will get Cs. The die is cast! Oh well, I'll do the right thing and write a hard final, but I will grade it with a meat cleaver rather than a scalpel.

Hey, my daughter was accepted into the study abroad program for London for Spring 2010! Anything you all can do to get the pound to depreciate vs the dollar between now and January will help greatly.