Beyond categorization

8 down, eight letters

August 3, 2010 9:25 am by Lance Knobel

As much as Berkeleyside tries to get away on vacation, sometimes there’s no escaping.

I sat down this morning to do the crossword in The Guardian during our stay in London. I struggled for a while with 8 down: Wally meets sweetheart beside a line in California (8). I had the first and third letter, but I couldn’t figure out what it could be. When insight came, I felt abashed that it had taken so long. If Berkeleyside readers want to know the answer, I’ve put it below the fold.

The answer is Berkeley. Here’s how it works. A “wally”, at least in England, is a “berk”. The letter “e” is the heart of “sweet” (the middle letter). And “ley” is a line. Put those three elements together and you get berk-e-ley. And, of course, Berkeley is “in California”.

2 Comments

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  • Kim Weisberg

    Tricky tricky!

  • Alan Tobey

    I was clearly thinking too literally for this clever Brit challenge: Wall-E + sweetheart Eve + what California will probably look like someday if things go past the tipping point and over the line. But then I often confuse the movies with real life.