Comments on: Independent 7,674 by Anax (Saturday Prize Puzzle, 21/05/11)

By: theminx

theminx — Mon, 30 May 2011 07:34:38 +0000

he he he….Superb puzzle.

By: One other setter

One other setter — Sun, 29 May 2011 08:46:47 +0000

Yes, it’s not technophobia so much as alcoholism.

By: anax

anax — Sat, 28 May 2011 22:02:55 +0000

Hello friends

Wow! This is a better response than I expected, to be honest. Using setter names in clues can look a bit incestuous, but I was attracted to the idea of fitting in as many as I could in as many different ways as I could; I must thank some of my colleagues for having definable pseudonyms!

1a wasn’t designed to be in any way offensive, but I’m saddened that the clue is erroneous – or rather the enumeration is. It should have been (3,3) but Crossword Compiler has a funny way of ignoring amended punctuation. It’s something I should have spotted and I’m very grateful it didn’t spoil anyone’s fun.

My visit to Wikipedia to look for some background info for 12a was spurred by one of my WordWeb dictionaries showing ‘Barry’ as a definition; it puzzled me (thought it might have been a mistake) but I was surprised to see how strongly that name is associated with the brandy-toting pooch. Apparently, Barry is even an alternative name for the breed itself. Well, if a TV channel can be called Dave, why not?

Huge thanks to all of you for your very kind comments and to Simon for a super blog. I really do hope bloggers (and commenters) know that us on the other side of the process really do appreciate the efforts you put in, even if some of us don’t make a habit of coming online to say so.

By: Simon Harris

Simon Harris — Sat, 28 May 2011 21:12:44 +0000

Hah, yes, that’s a fair point, Lenny. I was minded to mention the “Welsh” thing, but decided against it, as surely Anax meant no ill and really it’s just an old-fashioned term like any other.

Thanks for all the comments everyone. It’s very telling how much affection an Anax puzzle tends to bring out in readers. I think he’s a very generous setter, in that he works very hard both to challenge and to entertain us, and solvers seem to respond well to that – kind of like the way football fans respond to a venerable manager or heroic center back that you know supports your team deep in his blood. Bravo.

By: lenny

lenny — Sat, 28 May 2011 20:03:12 +0000

I normally do these puzzles in about 30 minutes but I was quite happy to be detained for 1h 40 by this delightful offering from Anax. Anax is a self-confessed Xim and it certainly showed in this puzzle. Although it was incredibly difficult, at the end I had no quibbles and I understood all the wordplay. On the way I learnt that Barry was a St Bernards and that Rag–fair is slang for a kit inspection. I imagine everyone enjoyed this except, perhaps, a few of my Welsh friends.

By: Tees

Tees — Sat, 28 May 2011 18:14:51 +0000

Oh god I feel like that Muttley with a medal from that Dick Dastardly. OMG thanks Anax! And in such a good puzzle!

And now, for the Champions League Fin … ahh, no, sod it: iPlayer for a re-run of The Shadow Line, episode four. Gatehouse. Mmm.

By: scchua

scchua — Sat, 28 May 2011 17:32:01 +0000

Thanks Simon and Anax.
This was easier than I first feared upon seeing “Anax”. Nice to have included all those setter pseudonyms in. Favourites were 1A RIP OFF, vg misleading defn, 14A TRANSFORM and 2D PROXIMA CENTAURI.

By: Wanderer

Wanderer — Sat, 28 May 2011 14:33:46 +0000

Thanks Simon for the blog, and Anax for the crossword. Unlike you I did not find this “perhaps relatively straightforward compared to some Anaxes that we’ve seen” — on the contrary, I found it one of the most difficult puzzles I’ve ever attempted! It took me forever, and I loved every second of it. Very challenging, beautiful use of the setters in the clues, and a delight to complete.

By: Allan_C

Allan_C — Sat, 28 May 2011 13:48:51 +0000

Simon, re 24a, I suppose ‘please’ added to the end of a request could indicate desire but, like you, I found the clue a bit tenuous. But a great puzzle from Anax and I liked the variety of ways in which the setters’ names were worked in, particularly with ‘Morph’ as a definition.
19a held me up for some time, thinking it must begin ‘Theo….’ Also 11a until I found it in Chambers with the annotation “mil. slang”.

By: nmsindy

nmsindy — Sat, 28 May 2011 13:18:52 +0000

Yes, this was excellent from Anax. ELGAR was particularly good with great misdirection as Nimrod is of course one of the Indy setters. I thought the SETTER clue involving Tees was brilliant as were REPOSITION and ECONOMISER. Thanks for the blog, Simon, and Anax for the puzzle.