Comments on: Guardian 25,301 – Paul

By: Huw Powell

Huw Powell — Sat, 23 Apr 2011 00:32:49 +0000

Oh, and PS:

Having put the puzzle in my pile of paper to use the other side of, I see the day before’s Boatman staring up at with only four words inked in and one very lightly penciled. Two toughies in a row… I must say, due to the mentions of that puzzle here, that I really appreciate that no one let any spoilers slip. So thank you all for that, as well!

By: Huw Powell

Huw Powell — Sat, 23 Apr 2011 00:30:46 +0000

This was one of those interesting puzzles that went very slowly, with virtually every clue making me sweat to crack it. Sat and stared at three answers only for it seemed like hours, but then cracked a couple more in the NE and slowly but surely worked my way clockwise around the grid. Finished it, but didn’t get a handful of the wordplays – which, mostly, were as well done as the many where I slapped my forehead after solving, meaning that once solved they were obvious and fair, but a tangled route to get there for me.

As some mentioned, and has been said before, “getting” Paul’s wavelength is a big key, and often don’t, like with this puzzle. Which can actually make it more fun.

Head slappers – I actually early on thought, “hmmm, Ylper, that’s “reply” backwards” without it clicking. ZODIAC should been obvious, but wasn’t. USE UP was another – I was trying to “slur” “you sup” (which might be a good clue for “‘USH UP”?) and perhaps should have said it out loud.

Many became easier once I had a couple of checked letters, just getting though checking letters went so slowly!

Now on to LATRINE. I was going to straightforwardly add my name to the list of those who quibble with it, but then I was thinking “if Araucaria did this nobody would care” and looked at it harder. I think the key is the word “at”, which is either extra or must have a place. I’ll say I am content with: “Rex” = R, a common abbr, of course. “as it’s written” = LAT, another abbr., giving LAT R. Then comes “at” = IN, and “rear of mobile” = E of course.

Or, R = Rex, and “as it’s written” = “in LATIN” and “at” is not much more than filler. Like I said, the Reverend does this all the time – clues that can’t really be “logically” parsed, but you know how they work in a rather lateral way.

Oh, I take it that “Ylper” is actually a word? For someone who is a member of the Young L. Party? I spent a lot of time with “?????? TEEN” before getting FACELIFT and hammering VIDEOTAPE into place. I told you sometimes I just don’t “get” Paul easily!

So thanks Paul, for the wonderfully challenging puzzle, and manehi (and the rest of you) for the great explanations!

By: Daniel Miller

Daniel Miller — Thu, 21 Apr 2011 11:46:45 +0000

Not my cup of tea I’m afraid.

By: Roger

Roger — Wed, 20 Apr 2011 23:52:59 +0000

Thanks Paul. I found this a lot of fun and tend to agree with NeilW @6 ... it wasn't really that hard (was it ?). Have always had a bit of a soft spot for Hagar and so liked 13a ... also Poohsticks (still play it sometimes !) and answer back. I guess a videotape would need a button of some sort to turn on slo-mo so 10a seems ok to me.

By: Carrots

Carrots — Wed, 20 Apr 2011 22:24:39 +0000

After yesterday`s fiasco I was chuffed to get within four of these infernal solutions. SLO-MO (what the hell is that?) ASTROTURF (I`d vaguely heard of)LATRINE (which I still don`t understand) and BUCKLE UNDER (clever!!) were the ones I didn`t get.

This, somehow, didn`t seem like a PAUL puzzle. No “Ahh!” moments, no ruderies (turning gaufrid`s hair grey), laboured clues and answers which had to be hacked out from the word-play, rather than enticed from it.

At lunchtime (when I do my crosswording), two perfect pintas of Norfolk Wherry provided pleasures which refreshed the parts that Paul`s puzzle could not, on this occasion, reach.

By: Mick H

Mick H — Wed, 20 Apr 2011 21:54:59 +0000

Film=videotape is an interesting one. I think it doesn’t quite work as a definition. ‘Video’ on its own would be OK – “let’s watch a film/video/dvd” are fairly interchangeable. But you wouldn’t sit down to watch a ‘videotape’, so I think the word remains trapped in its technical meaning.
Good puzzle, I found it harder than the average Paul too.

By: gm4hqf

gm4hqf — Wed, 20 Apr 2011 21:48:17 +0000

Thanks Manehi & Paul

Yes much better than yesterday although 17a beat me altogether.

Like grandpuzzler@9 I misread the clue for 19a & could make no sense of it till I realised my mistake. Must get a new pair of reading glasses!

By: Martin P

Martin P — Wed, 20 Apr 2011 21:03:56 +0000

Fairly hard I thought too, but I’m not too bothered about “videotape”. The word has come to mean the modulation on the physical object as much as the latter, just as “film” now means the images, screenplay and plot as much as the acetate. Equally it now also means the machine on which the physical thing is played (like “cassette” does), so can have a slomo button. It’s only a crossword anyway, not a deed.

Thanks for a worthy alternative to the snooker, Paul.

By: Andvari

Andvari — Wed, 20 Apr 2011 20:41:22 +0000

I usually like Paul’s offerings, I wouldn’t say it was overly trickier than some of his (though I still missed a couple). It was good in places, I liked 9 and 21/3 or example, but 10 was awful. I’m pretty sure it’s incorrect (videotape is either the physical film used to record on to, the cassette itself or a verb, none of which have any sort of button on them) and it’s not a great clue in any case (obviously it was one I didn’t get! Even with all the crossing letters…) I like it a lot more than Boatman’s yesterday though, overall.

By: William

William — Wed, 20 Apr 2011 20:36:13 +0000

Grandpuzzler @9 & Geoff @11 – I think it was Terry Thomas who coined the phrase, “an absolute shower” in films like School for Scoundrels and so on in the 50s/60s.

Thank you Manehi – got there eventually but needed your blog for the parsing.