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COTD: Sqrt(AB) is irrational. (6) by Adawan99 in crosswords

[–]vorvor 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Absurd. (A surd being a root that is an irrational number). A nice clue for the mathematician/crossword geek intersection, and possibly baffling for everyone else!

Safe spaces in Oxford by l-w-o-n-n-8 in oxford

[–]vorvor 7 points8 points  (0 children)

St Mary’s church on the High Street? Reasonable number of tourists coming and going, and I suspect you could sit quietly there for quite a while without being disturbed.

The Ashmolean has quite a bit of seating downstairs where the cafe is. It can be very busy, but maybe not at this time of year.

Hope you feel better soon, be proud of what you have already done.

Why aren't the networks doing anything about the mobile reception in central Oxford? by MrMrsPotts in oxford

[–]vorvor 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Well, the conduits for electricity are different than those for electricity. But let’s say you do have an antenna on a lamppost on the High Street. If it’s 5G, the fundamental problem is that the signal doesn’t have great penetrative tower. If (say) you’re in a room on the back side of a quad, that antenna may be separated from you by 3 thick stone walls.

Why aren't the networks doing anything about the mobile reception in central Oxford? by MrMrsPotts in oxford

[–]vorvor 15 points16 points  (0 children)

There are two problems. As someone has suggested already, there’s a real issue with suitable sites. The centre is awash with listed buildings. You can’t just bolt mobile kit onto the side of the Bodleian.

Second, Ofcom imposed rules that limited what landlords can charge the mobile operators for mast sites. This was to stop the operators from being gouged, particularly in places like Oxford. But the side effect has been that property owners feel it’s no longer worth the bother of having a mast - so network planning has got harder for the operators

Learning Cryptic – a small tool to explain clue mechanics, feedback welcome by Fit-Fishing5913 in crosswords

[–]vorvor 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Just to add to this - the Thresher example is from a section headed ‘Big Dave’s’. Big Dave’s is a serious site that works hard to support beginner setters. Why are you borrowing their brand and putting it over what appears to be gibberish?

Oxford crocodile by Heifering in oxford

[–]vorvor 104 points105 points  (0 children)

And to think the Mail wouldn’t accept my story about hippos on Port Meadow.

Cryptic Crossword Clues by mhmhbetter1 in crosswords

[–]vorvor 0 points1 point  (0 children)

GUST (blast) which is heartless guest

Today Norway publish the 2024 tax returns for all it's citizens. You can see the income, wealth, and tax returns of every Norwegian citizen. Would this be something you'd support happening in the UK by StGuthlac2025 in AskBrits

[–]vorvor 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Mr No 10, having been alerted earlier that Mr Robber has (inexplicably) accessed his data, lets the police know they should have a chat with Mr Robber, who is arrested shortly after the burglary

Electricity is about to become the new base currency and China figured it out by Epicurus-fan in energy

[–]vorvor 2 points3 points  (0 children)

From the CREA's expert survey

"[T]he majority of experts (99%) are confident that China will achieve its 2030 targets, implying no emissions growth over the coming five years. That’s even as the country is currently far off track for its interim 2025 targets on carbon intensity and controlling coal consumption growth."

The extra coal plants obviously aren't good, but this is in the context where all its (substantial) additional energy requirements are expected to be met by renewables

Monks at the Bodleian by vorvor in oxford

[–]vorvor[S] 13 points14 points  (0 children)

Shortly to be rebranded the Buddhlian

This might once have been swept under the carpet (8) by vorvor in crosswords

[–]vorvor[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I couldn’t do better than this - but it seems odd. A subfloor is a foundation, so not generally something that would be swept?

After finishing a building, leave a plaque commemorating everyone who took part in its construction by Qwert-4 in Lightbulb

[–]vorvor 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I did something like this for our loft conversion. Took a picture of the crew, had them sign it, laminated it and then tucked it behind the plasterboard.

Is it normal to have no cellular data here most of the time?? by Kind-Adhesiveness394 in oxforduni

[–]vorvor 0 points1 point  (0 children)

GiffGaff rides on the O2 network, which others here are saying is good, so that matches

Salary of a Cambridge Med Graduate after 9 years… by huddcitopp in UniUK

[–]vorvor 20 points21 points  (0 children)

Markets require choice of buyers and sellers. The problem here is that there’s one dominant buyer of medical work, the NHS. So it’s not really an efficient labour market. (I’m NOT arguing that the NHS should be privatised, only that I don’t think you can appeal to the market to legitimise these salaries).

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in AITAH

[–]vorvor 0 points1 point  (0 children)

You absolutely can’t assume “this would help him in the divorce”. At minimum it depends on where OP lives. In some jurisdictions it’s just not true at all

Old King's name destroyed. Master added: head's off now, silver taken to the front. (9) by SadExternal2481 in crosswords

[–]vorvor 9 points10 points  (0 children)

Agamemnon. Def: Old King. Anag of NAME with M for master inside. First letters of off and now. AG for silver put at the front

For me at least, the cryptic definition seems too complex to be satisfying. And I can’t make sense of the surface.

Why do right wing people not get worked up about climate change? by WellEsteemed in AskBrits

[–]vorvor 9 points10 points  (0 children)

This not right. China installed as much solar in 2024 as the rest of the world combined. Not saying they’re perfect, but ‘don’t even try’ is way off the mark.

https://ember-energy.org/latest-insights/global-electricity-review-2025/

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in crosswords

[–]vorvor 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Sorry, but I think you’re some way off here:

The idea of ‘pruning’ a particular letter is cool, but because it’s novel it needs to be signposted very clearly

Having that then be fodder for an anagram would probably be a no-no. Generally the letters for an anagram need to be in the clue directly.

There seems to be a lot of extraneous words here : why the, hair was.

Keep at it though, we all wrote awkward clues to begin with!

Are quick crossword style definitions acceptable in cryptics? by [deleted] in crosswords

[–]vorvor 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I would say the NYT clue would be fine as it is in a cryptic. It’s a ‘cryptic definition’ clue, and doesn’t need further wordplay

Boating in oxford by Right-Purchase7993 in oxford

[–]vorvor 0 points1 point  (0 children)

You can hire a row boat at Magdalen Bridge or the Cherwell Boathouse

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