Comments on: Guardian 25,011 (Sat 15 May)/Brummie – Comic relief

By: claire

claire — Wed, 02 Jun 2010 20:51:28 +0000

@fumblefingers
I totally agree with you. I am ashamed that I didn’t get the theme even though I solved all the clues (took about an hour) but now that I see it it’s obvious. I really enjoy the cross-generational and cross-cultural stuff and if you don’t know some of the theme answers, then you learn something. I enjoyed that snookery one the other day.

By: Barry

Barry — Mon, 24 May 2010 11:11:23 +0000

I had “Brass” for 20a – BRA + skimpy dreSS, and meaning ‘just the top’ ( as in “top brass”). So I didn’t think it was part of the theme! And it messed up 6,16.. *sigh*

By: FumbleFingers

FumbleFingers — Mon, 24 May 2010 01:29:10 +0000

@Tokyo Colin et al
Whilst I sympathise with your irritation at having to deal with what you consider “parochial particulars”, I think you should remember that The Guardian is, after all, a BRITISH newspaper.

I don’t know what editor Hugh Stephenson would think, or whether it’s appropriate for these type of crosswords to promote any specific culture. But if t’were to be done at all, t’were best done in the British style, not the historic anglophonic!

I’m not actually a big fan of “dead” culture such as Shakespeare, and don’t care a jot for the looseness of the pseudo-quotation above. I’m certainly happy to assume Russell rather than Jo Brand – I like them both, but he’s definitely more current.

By: Huw Powell

Huw Powell — Sun, 23 May 2010 23:45:28 +0000

Blah, I gave up today after getting the last two of the half of the clues I solved. Oh well. And seeing the theme (I only had one theme clue, and it is only penciled, and amusingly it actually reminded me of Jo Brand because I’ve been watching a lot of QI on the utubes lately!) I would *never* have been able to finish this.

Amusingly, I finished 25,017 yesterday in a couple of hours, taking random breaks to make coffee and such. See you all next week to discuss that!

Thanks Rightback, and *ten minutes*? Phew. I got bored with conventional xwords (Boston Globe/NYT Sundays) when I could solve them as fast as I could fill in letters!

By: scarpia

scarpia — Sun, 23 May 2010 22:35:42 +0000

I am another who solved this without getting the theme.Totally agree with Tokyo Colin at 10(see my rant on post for Independent 7,361).What next, a bl***y Simpsons themed puzzle?
Did mostly enjoy the puzzle though.
Once you get over Brummie’s verbosity there are some gems lurking amongst the clues.

By: Martin H

Martin H — Sat, 22 May 2010 18:06:09 +0000

A straightforward solve, with the theme becoming evident after Wood, French and Hill made their appearance, in fact easier than might be expected for a Saturday.

As Sil found, all the solutions were available without getting the theme, but I sympathise with Colin. At least the theme used only the names of the comedians. It’s when the setter demands more detail that it becomes really unfair.

Shame you didn’t pick some Cage for your music of the day, rb. Not all of his work is concerned with silence, or ‘sounds not intended’ as he defined the word. Try ‘Sonatas and Interludes for Prepared Piano’, written in the 1950′s as music for dance – highly original, inventive and engaging ‘stuff’.

By: Bill Taylor

Bill Taylor — Sat, 22 May 2010 15:38:33 +0000

Too many Brand names for my liking, Wirricow!

By: mike04

mike04 — Sat, 22 May 2010 15:17:27 +0000

I live in the UK, but not in England. I’d agree with many of the comments in posts 10 and 11.
However, I watch British television and occasionally I enjoy some contemporary British pop-culture.

By: Wirricow

Wirricow — Sat, 22 May 2010 15:15:15 +0000

Re. Bill Taylor #11. It could refer to Russell Brand rather than Jo Brand, even more contemporary!

By: Bill Taylor

Bill Taylor — Sat, 22 May 2010 13:47:41 +0000

You do the crossword on an iPhone, Colin? Wow! I really do have to trade in my BlackBerry.

I know what you mean about feeling disappointed and cheated, though I myself really enjoyed this puzzle. It took me a while to figure out the theme (it took me almost two days to do the crossword) and Jo Brand was the only one I didn’t know. But, yeah, sometimes the themes are a little too esoteric for anyone not steeped in contemporary English pop-culture to comfortably figure out. There’s nothing more frustrating that reaching a solution but not quite knowing WHY it’s correct.

All in all, though, this has been a decent week, starting with Brummie last Saturday and winding up with Araucaria today. A fun but pretty easy Araucaria. I imagine it took rightback about 30 seconds…..