Listen With Others

Note to self for future reference: JFD favours thespian themes and quotes in French:-).

Fortunately, and surprisingly, I alighted upon “Revenons à nos moutons” reasonably quickly, helped by the French-flavoured hints in the clues which nudged me onto the right track. The extra words were adroitly hidden, and both clues and endgame were ingenious & challenging but not frustratingly so.

My favourite clues are 22ac “Drink delaying start of East-West communication system” (COLA) for its definition of Acol (bridge again!); and 29dn, “Prohibitionist takes on interest-free loan to help with recovery” (DRY OUT) – I loved OU for interest-free loan! I’m still trying to parse 3dn but suspect that will be clever too.

I smiled at Wiki’s description of the exhortation – which I translated in my mind as “Back to Basics” – as a “common English calque”, as if calque were a word in everyday use! Is “No How” itself a calque based on No Comment? Thank you for broadening my horizons by introducing me to this fascinating 15^th century play La Farce de maître Pathelin – now I’m wondering whether it’s performed today?

Erudite and educational, JFD’s puzzles are certainly adding cruciverbal spice to the Listener fare.