Comments on: Guardian 24,909 (Sat 16 Jan)/Araucaria – Last chance saloon

By: Ian

Ian — Wed, 27 Jan 2010 10:26:52 +0000

Thanks rightback.

Arguably the easiest Araucaria for years and I’m not complaining!!

By: Eileen

Eileen — Mon, 25 Jan 2010 22:04:23 +0000

Profuse apologies, Neil. I don’t know where that came from. Of course I meant you. Glad you’re still there!

By: Neil

Neil — Mon, 25 Jan 2010 21:47:10 +0000

Thank you gdh! That’s gone a long way towards restoring a fellow pedant’s appreciation of truly informed pedantry rather than irritation at mere fussiness. So maybe I’ll stay in touch to enjoy such gems; albeit lagging my day or two behind.

Sorry to all about the rant. I must have been feeling far more irritable than my usual sunny self. And thanks to Sil and Eileen for words of encouragement.

(I take it, Eileen that, for Ian I should read Neil? It’s a common error, strangely, and I’ve never worked out why).

By: gdh

gdh — Mon, 25 Jan 2010 12:14:22 +0000

I enjoyed this puzzle but as a Whitehall-wonk there was disappointment that Araucaria placed “State Opening of Parliament” after a recess. State Opening follows either a prorogation (end of a Parliamentary session) or dissolution (General Election) but not a recess.

Goes back to solitary pedantry.

By: sidey

sidey — Sat, 23 Jan 2010 22:49:00 +0000

Gosh, just gosh.

By: Eileen

Eileen — Sat, 23 Jan 2010 22:23:21 +0000

Ian, to answer your question quite literally, I’ve been out all day. Please stick with us – I value your comments!

By: Sil van den Hoek

Sil van den Hoek — Sat, 23 Jan 2010 20:28:47 +0000

Neil, you shouldn’t overdramatise all this.
I think all of us (at least in the above posts, and surely I myself) enjoyed solving this crossword, which was not too hard and contained many good clues. As I enjoy solving crosswords anyway. But if there is something that looks like a mistake (as in 15d, my only real reservation), then there’s nothing wrong in expressing that. I don’t see myself as a nitpicker, as you call it, and it is certainly not the same as ‘not enjoying crosswords’, or even worse, ‘burning down the setter’.
This site is indeed about sharing the love for cryptics, but also about trying to understand why clues are as they are – that is, at least, for me the value added.
Therefore I would say: welcome back, Neil!

By: Neil

Neil — Sat, 23 Jan 2010 20:10:16 +0000

Thank you rightback, but I can’t agree with any of your reservations about the clueing. Maybe taking a little more time would help to make things clearer?

This was a perfectly fair and accurately clued crossword puzzle. I don’t get it how so many of you can pick so many trivial and irrelevant nits, whilst so often missing the point. If you don’t enjoy doing crossword puzzles except to (mis)identify tiny inconsistencies (which is part of their joy) why not just apply for jobs as crossword editor on your local parish magazine and leave proper crosswords to grown ups?

Eileen, where were you with your far more diplomatic way of expressing such thoughts. Goodbye all. This has stopped being fun.

By: CGK

CGK — Sat, 23 Jan 2010 19:20:54 +0000

Best to say this after an easy one, to avoid the charge of sour grapes: Araucaria’s pre-eminent reputation is surely not well served by editing that allows the likes of 15d and 16d. How do you explain his greatness to a novice who has to solve those?

By: sandra

sandra — Sat, 23 Jan 2010 13:20:56 +0000

found this very easy for an araucaria and finished it in 25 minutes. i am not usually up to that standard. rarely, in fact for araucaria. however, i got scheme, in 8d, without understanding where the sc came from. i looked in chambers which told me it meant “namely” from scilicet, among other things.
was a bit disappointed, but suggested it to a friend, who doesn’t even attempt araucaria – too hard, he says, being quite new to cryptics – and he was delighted to finish it.