dt 25,775

[rotti]

I think the answer to 15d is PARSEC but I can't wrk out how it fits in with the clue. Can anyone help because it's dribing me round the bend!

Thanx

[ladyalex]

The clue is :
Describe word grammatically concerning astronomical distance (6)
Parsec is an astronomical distance.
To PARSE is to describe grammatically.....
and that's as far as I can go in terms of the explanation.
Maybe someone else will fit the last 'c' in . :-))

[sarumite]

That's well described ladyalex ... the final letter "C" simply relates to C(oncerning)!

[ladyalex]

Hi sarumite...I knew someone would come up trumps!
Hope you're well ?

[sarumite]

I'm fine thanks ladyalex ... just back from club quiz evening ... it appears the "C" must come from concerning, although I'm not at all sure it's a recognised abbreviation!

[ladyalex]

Did you win the quiz ? Or is it like our local one with far too many pictures of pop stars and soap actors, none of which I know ?
I didn't think that 'c' was an abbreviation or indication of 'concerning' either..but I'm sure the answer is PARSEC as nothing else fits and the other two parts of the word fit the clue.

[ladyalex]

I think I meant that the other two parts of the clue fit the word .....Senior moment.....(again)

[sarumite]

Yes ... I also have Parsec as the answer ladyalex, so hopefully it's right.

Would you believe we were initially declared winners of the quiz with a score of 44 from 60, beating the runners up by one point. They then queried the marking of their entry and fiished up with 47, pushing us into second place!! Ah well c'est la vie ... we enjoyed the evening. :O)

[ladyalex]

Oh dear, your victory cruelly ripped from you !
Was there a second prize ?
The technique at our local pub, if you can pull it off, is to come second in the quiz. First prize is always a 2l bottle of Liebfraumilch...not the preferred tipple of either mself or lordalex. Second prize, however, is usally taken from the raffle and is often a very decent bottle.

Nice to chat to you...apologies to rotti for hijacking the thread.
:-))

[sarumite]

Yes apologies rotti ... will leave your in-box in peace now!

ladyalex ... each quizzer pays �1 entry fee, and there are then small cash prizes for the winners and runners up. We received the princely sum of �13.00 to be divided between four!!
Thanks for the chat and good night. (S) :O)

[rotti]

Hijack away my friends!

You sorted me out and I am extremely grateful:o)
It was one of those clues that would keep me up all night trying to work it out, and as you can see from my dreadful spelling, it was starting to get to me! LOL
Didn't like the 'C' at all...

Many thanks

[ladyalex]

Happy to help and thanks again for letting us chat.
I didn't like the 'c' at all...poor show for the Telegraph !
:-))

[Lie-in King]

I had it (very loosely) as - c(irca) = about = concerning...

...Sorry to jump in!

[r.antioch]

To continue the OT comments
lie-in king has it - though his trail was a bit shorter than mine.
I fear that this type of obfuscation in cryptics is becoming more common, as others feel, through a path of obscure links and synonyms.
But having said that, it is nice to be able to say - you didnt beat me this time you barsteward:-)
I doubt 'Ximenes' would have approved - 'you must be fair to the solver'. Well, there are more than a dozen well recognised solutions to 'C'
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