Comments on: Independent 7636 by Monk

By: Paul B

Paul B — Fri, 08 Apr 2011 00:53:17 +0000

Bert & Joyce: the clue has already been explained by Scchua. OUTSIDE is an anagram of TEDIOUS, and that’s what Monk’s exploiting here.

By: Scarpia

Scarpia — Thu, 07 Apr 2011 23:00:27 +0000

Thanks flashling..
and Monk for a super puzzle.
Some unusual vocabulary but all fairly clued.I was held up by my own misspelling in 3 across,I thought it was double K,probably due to half remembering the old Coasters song.
I suppose the Lama in 19 down could be the hidden monk!

By: BertandJoyce

BertandJoyce — Thu, 07 Apr 2011 22:30:57 +0000

Could 16d be broad cast(anagram) = board, sounds like bored = tedious?

A struggle to finish but it IS Thursday! There were a few too many unusual words which took some puzzling out but we did manage to finish it tonight rather than leave it until the morning like last Thursday!

Thanks Monk and flashling.

By: nmsindy

nmsindy — Thu, 07 Apr 2011 16:02:26 +0000

Great to see Monk back in various outlets, after something of a break, with his very distinctive, yes hard, but always fair clues with wordplay often leading successfully to a less familiar word. My favourite today was SUNSPOT. Thanks, Monk, and flashling for the blog.

By: spb

spb — Thu, 07 Apr 2011 15:12:50 +0000

I really enjoyed this puzzle and especially liked 25d. 20a, 26a and 21d were all new to me but all solvable from the clues which is the mark of a good setter.

By: walruss

walruss — Thu, 07 Apr 2011 13:59:53 +0000

Good puzzle from Monk, who we don’t see a lot. I know it isn’t PC but I did like the BAG one!! Ans anyway, I’m fed up with PC.

By: Monk

Monk — Thu, 07 Apr 2011 11:50:04 +0000

Thanks to all for the review and comments above. Without Flashling's email address, I have no alternative but to use this blog to ask where (I can't find it!) on my website does it say that Monk "always hides his name in the grid"? I did it a few times many years ago, so I need to delete that defunct information. But it might be true that I still use a seed/Nina to start filling a grid ... (No problem, Flashling, in getting back to me outside 15^2 via the email address on my site. Many thanks.) Edit by flashling: Apologies just remembering what it used to say.

By: scchua

scchua — Thu, 07 Apr 2011 10:30:47 +0000

Second, thanks to Monk for a puzzle, difficult in parts but, as with most of his puzzles, I felt sure I could complete it given reasonable time and a bit of research (YESHIVA, ONDRATA).

Favourites were 17A AIR, liked the “progressive” device, 3A YACKETY-YACK, spent some time thinking science, and 14D MORE AND MORE, coincidentally that same homonym as yesterday’s.

PS. Comforting (sort of) to see even setters (unwittingly) lapse into Americanese, not on a daily basis, but on an occasional basis (oops!) cf.18A

By: scchua

scchua — Thu, 07 Apr 2011 10:17:19 +0000

Thanks flashling for the blog.

First, 16D BROADCAST I think it’s one of those answers which is an anagram indicator. “Outside” broadcast becomes “tedious”. Also refers to an “outside broadcast programme”. Thus when substituted, the clue reads “Outside broadcast, it could be tedious.”

By: Derrick Knight

Derrick Knight — Thu, 07 Apr 2011 10:16:34 +0000

Great to see MONK back on board with his usual elegant, witty clueing.