The Crossword Database
Crossword Details
Crossword 4 of 12 in List
Go to crossword: First | Previous | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | Next | Last | Return to List
Title Bugs
Setter Arcturus
Series The Listener
Number 3458
Date 18/04/1998
Grid 13×13 barred grid with 180° symmetry. There is a square missing in the centre of the top and bottom rows.
Preamble All but six answers must have a letter removed, wherever it occurs, to form the grid entry; these letters comprise part of a quotation which explains the state of affairs. The remaining answers undergo a different transformation to suit their location; solvers should fill in the four unclued grid entries to complete the picture.
Solution Notes
(Hide Solution)		The letters omitted from answers read: "two countries divided by a common language", descriptive of the differences between American and British English. The wording given is attributed to George Bernard Shaw in Oxford Dictionary of Quotations; the epigram has also been ascribed to Oscar Wilde and Dylan Thomas, and appears in different forms. The diagram is approximately cartographical, with "America" to the west and "Britain" to the east, separated by "English, mid-Atlantic (having a linguistic as well as cartographical significance) running down the centre. The six differently treated a are ones on the "wrong" side of the diagram under this scheme: bowler, sweets and biscuit become the American equivalents derby, candy and cookie, while trunk, diaper and attorney become the British equivalents boot, nappy and lawyer. The title of the puzzle is an anagram of US and GB.
Keywordstwo countries divided by a common language American British English George Bernard Shaw GBS Oscar Wilde Dylan Thomas
Acknowledgements Preamble and solution notes © 2022 The Times. Reproduced with permission.
Links The Times Online (subscription required)
Listen With Others blog
The Listener Crossword
Gregson Reviews
Go to crossword: First | Previous | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | Next | Last | Return to List