Comments on: Guardian 24,999 (Sat 1 May)/Crucible – Potty

By: Ian

Ian — Mon, 10 May 2010 09:28:49 +0000

This was a smashing puzzle from Crucible.

The varied use of the ‘Potter’ theme though easy to unscramble was, nevertheless, a delight.

By: Huw Powell

Huw Powell — Mon, 10 May 2010 01:08:20 +0000

Hi all.

Had a rough ride with this one, only got about half-finished and haven’t added a word in days.

It doesn’t help that I had no idea about the snooker theme (I have POTTER, figured out SPODE easily enough and DELFTWARE then got HARRY and thought “how fun, I bet BEATRIX is in here somewhere” so I checked all the seven letter words), I thought we were chasing ceramics and people named potter.

I suppose if I’d known enough about snooker to make the connection to potting I might have also known who some of these obscure people are, too. Oh well. The parts I solved, I liked. That seems to be a recurring theme for me.

By: crosser

crosser — Sun, 09 May 2010 17:47:54 +0000

Hi Gaufrid
Thanks very much, it’s perfectly clear now. I don’t think I’ll attempt Azed yet!

By: Gaufrid

Gaufrid — Sun, 09 May 2010 17:30:56 +0000

Hi crosser
It isn’t particularly clear, is it? As rightback said in his blog, this type of clue is more common in barred-grid puzzles and even there it would be normal for the clue to say “These trinkets cannot possibly produce a junction box”.

This is an indirect way of saying that the answer (defined by trinkets) plus ‘cannot’ is an anagram (‘possibly produce’) of ‘a junction box’. Therefore you need to remove the letters of ‘cannot’ from ‘a junction box’ to leave the anagram fodder.

Those who solve Azed regularly should have had no problems with this clue as it is a device that he often uses but it would have been rather tricky if one had not seen this type of clue before.

By: crosser

crosser — Sun, 09 May 2010 16:58:01 +0000

Thank you to everyone who gave such helpful explanations. There’s just one thing I don’t understand, and I don’t think it has been explained above – forgive me if it has. In 8d, how were we to know that we had to take the letters of “cannot” out of “a junction box” before working out the anagram?

By: rrc

rrc — Sun, 09 May 2010 14:04:10 +0000

I enjoyed most of this crossword but had great difficulty with 4a. Having got the answer I could see why it was so clued and logic tells me the clueing was fine. The problem I have I would never have got that answer from that clue. Im not convinced that a fellow actor is necessarily a co star and I dislike the use of single letters. My own feeling is that if compilers end up with a single letter then perhaps they should rework the clue. For me this clue ruined this crossword!

By: Will Mc

Will Mc — Sun, 09 May 2010 01:14:47 +0000

rightback, I suspect the only person interested in how fast you finish the Saturday crossword is you.

By: tupu

tupu — Sat, 08 May 2010 21:58:32 +0000

Many thanks also to Crucible for taking the trouble to confirm Gaufrid’s analysis.

By: Eileen

Eileen — Sat, 08 May 2010 18:12:54 +0000

Gosh, doesn’t time fly! Sorry, Crucible. I looked in the archive to get the number of the puzzle, in case people wanted to try it, but didn’t notice the dates.

I knew Crucible puzzles were a rare treat but didn’t realise there have been only six in TWO years! [and we’ve had two – prize ones, at that, in the last couple of months. An encouraging sign, I hope!

By: Crucible

Crucible — Sat, 08 May 2010 17:59:20 +0000

Gaufrid’s forensic analysis of ‘outturn’ and ‘breathe’ is spot on. That use of ‘breathe’ is, if I may coin a word, a slight ‘deliberty’. There will no doubt be more, but I trust all in the cause of permissible misdirection (permisdirection?).

Eileen: well remembered! My first puzzle was indeed about the snooker final in Sheffield, hence the pseudonym. Since I was given to understand it would be a one-off, I didn’t have much time to think up anything more inventive and it’s stuck. It was actually in 2008, and I note that the rightback reviewed it then too, taking 6 seconds longer than this one!

Stiofain: good point about the ‘overseas’ winners. As an Ulsterman, I lay claim to Taylor and Higgins. You, by the look of your name, must have a little sympathy for the fading talents of Hendry, Maguire and Davis. But you can be proud of Ken – now a very accomplished and entertaining commentator.