Guardian 24012

[Aperio]

Be off from dance when at Newmarket (7)? Guineas
Main follower in France with projector (5)? Tenon

Can anyone explain why "be off from dance" leads to guineas and "main follower in France" leads to tenon.

Many thanks , Aperio

[Quizmonster]

A beguine is a dance, so take the 'be' off and you're left with 'guine', then add 'as' for 'when'...guineas.

[Quizmonkey]

Maintenon is a town in France.

[kettledrum]

? Madame de Maintenon ? Mistress of Louis XIV

[Christiana]

This seems a bit obscure but aton is a word for tfashion - he follows the ton and en is French for in.

[Christiana]

sorry, should read a ton.

[Quizmonkey]

For goodness sake! The definition is 'projector' ie something that projects or sticks out, ie a TENON. If this were to follow Main (to give Maintenon) it would be in France, ie. the town Maintenon in France. That simple!

[Murielmci]

quizzmonkey - are you getting grumpy with us? Some of us are not so quick with particular compilers yet can be devastatingly quick with others that not all find easy! Perhaps I have misread your post as post have no "body language" and what was posted is not always what is read!
Guineas I got, and also tenon I was 3/4 ways too but was happy to have confirmation of the forst and an explanation of the second.

[Aperio]

Sometimes there are several ways of justifing a clue, but I think in this case Quizmonster is correct.

Many thanks everyone. Aperio

[Quizmonkey]

Well, slightly grumpy: I consider that my first answer (I'm Monkey by the way not Monster) for Maintenon totally answered the query. The fact that some way-off 'guesses' followed miffed me slightly.

There is rarely anything 'obscure' or questionable about clues appearing in reputable puzzles (eg, Guardian) - and Aperio, I'm sorry but even rarer are 'several ways of justifying a clue' - that's just an excuse for not understanding the compiler's intentions.

[Aperio]

Quizmonster,

I could not bring to mind other instances of multiple justifications. However, here is an example where the solution, rather than the justification, is ambiguous. I am sure you remember it!

Best wishes
Aperio

I opted for 'dame' on the basis that 'dame' is a word often used, especially in the USA, for a woman generally and for a titled one in Britain. A 'dame school' was one run by a solitary woman and such a school, of course, also had a 'form'!
As far as I can see, my answer is just as good as 'hare', as it fits all the elements in just the same way.

[Aperio]

PS Sorry about the confusion in your name. The first entry in this thread starts as Quizmonster then reverts to
QuizMonkey. A.