Polymath 372

[JJC]

Good morning from Ottawa. It is 8C and hazy. Snow is on the way though! Need help with 3 today: 9D: a large knife for fighting; S_I_K_R_N_E: 15D; relating to a siege; O_S_D_O_A_Y and 23D: concerning appetite: O_E_T_C

Merci!
JJ

[kayakamina]

Appetite....Orectic

[kayakamina]

Siege....Obsidionary

[JoolsTwo]

9d snickersnee

[JJC]

Kayakamina and JimJools, thanks much. My concise Oxford doesn't seem to be doing the trick. Time to invest in a more comprehensive one. Any suggestions?

[kayakamina]

You should try to get Chambers Dictionary. It is very comprehensive and is used as the reference for most of the crossword compilers.

[JoolsTwo]

Definately a Chambers - I just got one and find it invaluable.

Just heard from my daughter in Vancouver - she has 5" of snow in Port Moody.

[Muffet]

There's also Chambers Crossword Solver, which I have as a book. Very useful when you have alternate letters.
e.g. go to the section for 11 letters, look up S-I-K-R-N-E, and lo and behold Snickersnee, as well as any other words with that combination. Alternatively, there now seems to be available Chambers Pocket Version Crossword Dictionary, an electronic gadget. You enter the number of letters, eg 11, fill in the letters that you know , or ? for those you don't know, press ENTER, and up come the possibilities. I don't doubt that it, or Lexibook, which is similar, is well used by many A/Bers. Not a bad thing for someone to give you as a Christmas present.

[JJC]

Thanks Kayakamina, Jimjools and Muffet. I'll get a Chambers. It is pretty bad out west. My son lives on the island and tough weather there. Have a good week all.