Comments on: Independent 7,568 / Tyrus – You’re fired!

By: RatkojaRiku

RatkojaRiku — Wed, 19 Jan 2011 20:44:37 +0000

@ pennes: I take your point about “masculinity”, but I would imagine that Tyrus was keen to make sure we recognised Stuart’s quote, hence a little bit of poetic licence in the clueing.

By: Scarpia

Scarpia — Tue, 18 Jan 2011 23:42:25 +0000

Thanks RatkojaRiku.
Great puzzle,awful theme.Saying which I managed to solve(and enjoy) it despite having absolutely no knowledge(or interest) in the theme.Apart from 32,which was easily gettable from wordplay,other references were to the meaning of apprentice rather than the programme itself,so no complaints there.
I guessed there would be a Nina,but didn’t bother looking for it until the grid was complete as I knew it would be meaningless to me.
16 and 17 were new words for me,COD 3 down.

Jack@15 – Airmen murdered?

By: Tyrus

Tyrus — Tue, 18 Jan 2011 23:36:25 +0000

Thanks to RatkojaRiku for the excellent blog and explanations of the thematic references; to everyone who took the trouble to comment; and above all to ‘our hero’ for all the entertainment he provided.

By: Jack Aubrey

Jack Aubrey — Tue, 18 Jan 2011 23:05:39 +0000

This excellent blog has shown me how clever a lot of this was. But I’m afraid I’m in the GOM camp on this one. Most of it succumbed with the post-run coffee but the theme and the references mostly went over my head and it all felt a bit of a 23 ac.

Apropos of absolutely nothing, on the return leg of the run through Leith Docks I passed an oil support vessel with the impenetrable name of “Mermaid Endurer”. The temptation to ask “how many letters?” was quite strong……..

By: flashling

flashling — Tue, 18 Jan 2011 22:04:25 +0000

Thanks PB couldn’t remember the name. Whilst impressed at the setter’s skills I just didn’t really enjoy this.

By: Paul B

Paul B — Tue, 18 Jan 2011 20:38:57 +0000

Al Hirschfeld is the cartoonist in question.

By: pennes

pennes — Tue, 18 Jan 2011 20:20:19 +0000

Shouldn’t 28 ac be “extremes of Masculinity” so as to use both the M and The Y; The surface reading is not as good, but surely an extreme is either M or Y?

By: jetdoc

jetdoc — Tue, 18 Jan 2011 18:39:25 +0000

I didn’t find this too difficult to solve, despite never having heard of this bloke and therefore missing all the thematic allusions. I spotted STUART and sort of assumed it must be about a footballer. No complaints, but also no pleasing penny-drop moment.

By: Kathryn's Dad

Kathryn's Dad — Tue, 18 Jan 2011 18:24:23 +0000

Thank you, RatkojaRiku, for your blog.

Tyrus has kindly offered to join us in ten or so days’ time at our Derby get-together and I’m really looking forward to meeting him; if he does beer I will buy him one.

But I’m still going to have a chunter and give him (and the Editor) a hard time over this puzzle: what the chuff was this all about? Maybe this is the Indy’s attempt to appeal to a younger audience?

The theme was bad enough, but then to have clues related to stuff that some unknown parvenu (hero?) has uttered on supposedly ‘primetime’ television is beyond the pale. I found this hard but stuck at it because I thought it might provide a pleasing dénouement. It didn’t.

Bah, humbug.

On a positive note, I liked ARLOTT.

By: nmsindy

nmsindy — Tue, 18 Jan 2011 18:08:42 +0000

I’d heard of the programme and and of Alan Sugar, mentioned in a clue, but was not familiar with the particular contestant (if that is the right word). The name STUART emerging helped me to finish the puzzle despite this lack of knowledge. I then Googled to confirm and later tested it out on someone else who I found knew all about it. There were some very good clues in this and also as someone else remarked straightforward clues for the unfamiliar words.