Comments on: Guardian Genius 96 / Araucaria – A Masochist’s Delight

By: Katherine

Katherine — Sat, 09 Jul 2011 17:39:21 +0000

I don’t understand how this could be considered a cryptic crossword. A puzzle, yes; A crossword grid, yes. Clues, yes. That is about all that resembles a normal cryptic crossword. I don’t understand why the Guardian would produce this sort of puzzle.
It was unsatisfying to do [I manged 6 'clues'] and unenjoyable. Araucaria should stick to what he is best at.

By: mhl

mhl — Tue, 05 Jul 2011 14:23:22 +0000

Congratulations, Gaufrid, on finishing this fiendish puzzle and an excellent post. I gave up after getting about 6 answers, since the time it was taking was quite extraordinary for me as well. I think sidey’s point about how much more difficult it is to do a Printer’s Devilry puzzle in a blocked rather than barred grid is very well made – I don’t remember any of Azed’s PD puzzles being nearly this hard.

That, said, the clues here are exceptionally good, I think – fantastic stuff from Araucaria. Looking down the answers in your post is a real pleasure; with such cunning insertions and rewriting, no wonder I found it hard…

By: Jan

Jan — Mon, 04 Jul 2011 22:22:25 +0000

Well done, Gaufrid, and anybody else who completed this fiendish thing on their own.

I looked at it on and off for a week – during which time I only saw the King Lear passage. I actually read the storm scene three times – to no avail.

I gave in and turned to the Crossword Solver help forum where a very lively hintfest was taking place between a handful of solvers. Using their hints I did complete the durned thing but I didn’t really enjoy it and couldn’t possibly submit it.

Thanks for the warning, Thomas99, I won’t even bother printing this week’s Azed.

By: fearsome

fearsome — Mon, 04 Jul 2011 12:37:29 +0000

This puzzle wasted a lot of my time last month. I managed to finish with only a few days to go. Having spent so much time on this I felt I have to finish it. It was a real slog, but perhaps I was the slowest to complete it!

By: Tom_I

Tom_I — Mon, 04 Jul 2011 12:19:12 +0000

I also take my hat off to anyone who could finish this in four days. After two days I still had an empty grid, but the breakthrough came with the Scottish towns.

I did eventually submit an entry, but it took me over a week to complete the puzzle. I should add that I wasn’t working on it continuously.

By: stumper

stumper — Sun, 03 Jul 2011 13:54:07 +0000

Thanks to Araucaria for a marvellous puzzle and to Gaufrid for an excellent blog. Difficult yes, but such satisfaction when pennies dropped! A relative and I put in the last two answers on Friday evening, I WISH and SMOTHERED (though like Norman L we couldn’t parse the latter).

CHORISTER was brilliant (though its topicality might be difficult for any future solvers), HORDES cleverly misleading (nothing to do with music), and CONCH devilish. Many others were merely splendid.

A few minor qubbles: “is better” in 22ac is unnecessarily vague; “blue” in 26ac is misleading, because people do not enter to get a blue, they are selected; and in 19 ac “on my patch” is usually metaphorical whereas “erase” is usually concrete, so the sentence doesn’t really make sense. Given the obscurity of Rimington (Stella or a place?) it would have helped to have been told in the instructions how many solutions were proper nouns. But none of that spoiled the enjoyment in any way.

Has there been any other Printer’s Devilry in the Genius series?

By: sidey

sidey — Sun, 03 Jul 2011 13:25:26 +0000

I have a feeling that the PD clue was invented for barred puzzles, I’m not sure a blocked puzzle is the place for them.

Gaufrid, your dedication to the cause is admirable.

By: Norman L in France

Norman L in France — Sun, 03 Jul 2011 13:17:48 +0000

A bit surprised to see this posted today and not tomorrow, but since it’s up…
I submitted my entry after several days of brain-racking for Smothered: not being familiar with Last of the Summer Wine I knew it couldn’t be anything else but didn’t know why. I was underwhelmed by the quality of several clues which just seemed a bit lazy, before and after the devilry, and even shared a moan with HUGH. It will indeed be interesting to see how many (correct) entries there were. Just printed Azed off and will get to it as soon as possible.

By: Thomas99

Thomas99 — Sun, 03 Jul 2011 10:32:05 +0000

…and have you seen the latest Azed?! I’m not sure a month is enough time to recover from this and do another one! This one took me four days too, but the relief at finishing it was almost ecstatic. I’ve never done a Printer’s Devilry before but I do think he managed to inject an amazing amount of wit and imagination into it. 10-1 (23d) was obviously naughty, but the Last of the Summer Wine one (3d)(I had to google Pegden) was inspired. And of course Spacey (19d) has just opened in possibly Olivier’s most famous role, at the theatre he made legendary, the Old Vic which adds a nice context to that one. Most extraordinary was the Scottish football one (16d), even if the starting surface is a little strained – generating 3 Scottish towns out of a hairdrier!

By: Mr Beaver

Mr Beaver — Sun, 03 Jul 2011 07:59:48 +0000

Gaufrid – I take my hat off to you for finishing this thing – and in only 4 days !
I don’t know how many hours over the month we spent in frustrated head-scratching.
Our final tally was only 9 answers, one of them wrong (4d – MERISSA – old timer is sat in the pub – well, it could have been a name…)

It would have been hard enough without the uncertainty of the 5 ‘misprints’.

We spent ages thinking about 2d having spotted the King Lear connection, but I still don’t see how it makes much sense.

Likewise with 20d – felt quite smug to see ‘redesignated a male’ but who would have guessed it was a cadaver ? (Well, you did, obviously )

Bah!

I wonder how many successful entries were sent in ?