Comments on: Everyman No. 3357 (30th January)

By: Tom Willis

Tom Willis — Sun, 06 Feb 2011 20:02:57 +0000

Glad I looked on here and spotted the error – would have caused much headscratching otherwise!
We too have found the last few crosswords far more difficult than previously (always enjoyable though)

By: Sil van den Hoek

Sil van den Hoek — Sun, 06 Feb 2011 18:30:50 +0000

Welcome, Menno, and what a surprise!
BTW, I agree with you too

By: Menno Rooseboom

Menno Rooseboom — Sun, 06 Feb 2011 16:43:13 +0000

I quite agree with Sil Van den Hoek @7.

By: Robi

Robi — Sun, 06 Feb 2011 13:10:59 +0000

P.S. I agree with Bryan @10

By: Robi

Robi — Sun, 06 Feb 2011 12:58:17 +0000

BTW, the clue for 21 in today’s crossword has already been used this week

By: Bryan

Bryan — Sun, 06 Feb 2011 12:27:00 +0000

Tokyo Colin @ 9

Everyman has corrected the only 2 errors that I identified.

I don’t know of any others.

By: Tokyo Colin

Tokyo Colin — Sun, 06 Feb 2011 12:09:10 +0000

Well I wouldn’t usually comment on today’s puzzle but since Everyman kindly dropped in to respond to Bryan, it seems fair game.

The online version I solved had (8,8,8,8). I appreciate the correction. Like Bryan I think there is one more error but I am happy to wait until next Sunday to make sure.

By: Robi

Robi — Sun, 06 Feb 2011 11:10:26 +0000

Thanks Everyman for this and today’s correction – before I start it!

Thanks Nick for the good blog. I thought this was a well-balanced and well-clued puzzle, although I had to look up SHAKEDOWN and MOOSE JAW. I didn’t know that POPE could be used for parish priest (in the Greek Orthodox Church) and, like you, was a bit stumped by the ‘central’ in 26, but I think AJK @3 has probably nailed it. Didn’t know the BRUTUS wig either.

Re. 19, I don’t see why E cannot be clued as ‘vowel,’ after all nobody seems to object to ‘key’ being used for A,B,C,D,E,F,G (and H, apparently.)

By: Sil van den Hoek

Sil van den Hoek — Sun, 06 Feb 2011 11:07:57 +0000

Nice puzzle, and the only valid reason I can think of to give WEETABIX a place in it, is that W?E?A?I? nor W?E?A??? leads to anything sensible.

Having said that, I don’t like it.
It seems to be a trend nowadays to use brand names in solutions, at least in the Guardian (and now in the related Observer).
What’s next? NESCAFE, DANONE, FAMOUS GROUSE, McCAIN’S …..

By: Kathryn's Dad

Kathryn's Dad — Sun, 06 Feb 2011 10:57:42 +0000

Thanks, Nick.

I agree with AJK – this year there have been some tougher Everyman puzzles. Some more intricate wordplay, perhaps, or some particularly unusual words or definitions. I too had to flirt online to finish this one.

MOOSE JAW, for example, is fair, but it’s not exactly as well known as Quebec, and JAW is a pretty distant synonym for ‘lecture’, I think. So even with crossing letters I was struggling. I thought DREAR was fine and was also okay with E for ‘vowel’.

I was quite surprised to see WEETABIX as an answer, since it’s a company and a trade mark and I wasn’t sure what the house rules were on that. Can’t recall seeing anything similar before.

I’m not sure trainspotters would welcome being called anoraks! (Not that I personally am one, of course). It’s defined as ‘a socially inept or obsessive person with unfashionable and largely solitary interests’. As Nick says, that’s us lot then …

Colin @ no 1: I don’t know where it comes from, but I do remember that trainspotters used to wear anoraks a lot …

Thanks as always to Everyman for the Sunday morning solve.