Comments on: Independent 7,258 by Mass

By: Allan_C

Allan_C — Thu, 21 Jan 2010 23:17:13 +0000

If anyone’s still reading this, late on Thursday, it took me ages to twig the theme and then to find the variations on ‘do’. I went wrong on 18dn, deciding it was ‘service’ IC in SERVE (to ‘do’ a dish for a meal could be said to serve it) so then all I could fit for 21ac was ‘scrabble’ – a game OK, but no wonder I couldn’t make sense of the rest of the clue.

By: Richard

Richard — Wed, 20 Jan 2010 19:39:17 +0000

I found this hard, but managed (after a very slow start) to complete it without recourse to reference books after a good deal of thought. I think it would perhaps have been better to have used it as a Saturday puzzle.

By: nmsindy

nmsindy — Wed, 20 Jan 2010 18:35:56 +0000

Mass puzzles tend to be very tough and he is a master at employing the various meanings of words. 14 had to be hard, I’d say, or the puzzle might have yielded too quickly. I too read SUFFICE as IC in SUFFE(r). I was mystified by parties and swindles appearing until 14 was solved and light dawned.

By: Ali

Ali — Wed, 20 Jan 2010 18:14:17 +0000

Well, this one was certainly easier than the borderline-impossible Tyrus clubs puzzle, but it got the better of me.

I solved a few of the related clues before I managed to solve 14 itself, but with so many synonyms of ‘do’ and an inability to get any of the left hand side filled, I just couldn’t break the back of it. I should be having another crack at it now of course, but the prospect of going back to it isn’t hugely appealing

I too have often mixed feelings about these kind of puzzles, but no complaints about this particular one. It was just very tough that’s all.

By: sidey

sidey — Wed, 20 Jan 2010 16:08:33 +0000

I think tire is in the sense of to attire. Tire v3 in OED.

By: NealH

NealH — Wed, 20 Jan 2010 15:42:14 +0000

I’m not a big fan of this type of puzzle. The minute you see all the clues referencing back to 14 you know it’s going to be extremely hard work to get going unless you can solve 14 straight away (which I couldn’t). Even after I’d worked out the theme, it was still difficult to finish because there were so many possible words that mean do in some context or other that it was really no help at all.

I’m still a bit mystified by tire meaning do (perhaps in the sense of “I’m done in”). Sell as do also seems a bit of a stretch and I wasn’t keen on busy as an anagram indicator. Surprised Mass didn’t manage to work in do in the murder sense anywhere.

By: Kathryn's Dad

Kathryn's Dad — Wed, 20 Jan 2010 15:34:45 +0000

Thank you, Simon.

I wasn’t going to comment on this one, since I couldn’t even get started with it, but I usually like to check the answers to learn where I could improve, and having done so would like to constructively offer the following, with apologies to those who don’t like split infinitives.

As an average but (I hope) improving solver, I’m not a big fan of puzzles where you have to solve one clue to access lots of others (there’s probably a term for that, but I don’t know it). In this instance, 14ac was beyond me (king=best?) so that meant I couldn’t really get going.

Agree with Simon that ‘do’ is an odd and potentially tiresome choice for a theme, and even reading the blog I’m still unsure on a couple (for instance, when I DO a crossword that doesn’t mean I SOLVE it).

BILK and CELLARET are pretty obscure, I would say. And TWIST and SERVE as synonyms for ‘do’, if I understand the clueing well, aren’t great. ‘That will serve, that will do’, I suppose.

So while I appreciate that there will be puzzles that at the minute will be over my horizon, I just thought this was a bit too inaccessible for a daily.

I think this is my first ever serious whinge, on this site anyway. Am I turning into Grumpy Kathryn’s Dad?

By: Emrys

Emrys — Wed, 20 Jan 2010 15:26:48 +0000

This was fun to show all the different meanings of “do”, and I did manage to solve – or guess – all but 1d. Can someone explain 18d, suffice? It does mean “do”, but how to get there from the clue is beyond me.

In 16d, cellaret, how does “sell” relate to “do”?

By: Welsh pete

Welsh pete — Wed, 20 Jan 2010 14:46:15 +0000

When you do a crossword you solve it