Comments on: Guardian 25,366 – Araucaria The Master

By: Sil van den Hoek

Sil van den Hoek — Wed, 06 Jul 2011 11:02:43 +0000

Malc @33:
First, let me say that it was nusquam @2 (and not Roger @5 – as I wrongly stated in my post above) who first mentioned 16ac.

The point is this:

The construction is indeed straightforward (coming from: “Sugar following all points”), but normally the second part of the clue would be the definition, being “to present events”. That would suggest that the answer must be a verb. Not here, though.

One has to replace “Sugar following all points” with NEWSCASTER, leading to “NEWSCASTER (is one) to present events”. The solution is kind of part of the definition, if you see what I mean.

But at the end of the day, just like NeilW @20, I can’t be bothered that much.

By: Malc

Malc — Wed, 06 Jul 2011 10:05:13 +0000

I must admit I can’t see why the debate about Newscaster, it seems one of the most straightforward clues to me.

By: gm4hqf

gm4hqf — Wed, 06 Jul 2011 09:35:59 +0000

I was also late in getting to this puzzle but as usual with Araucaria, very enjoyable.

Thanks for the blog Uncle Yap

By: fearsome

fearsome — Wed, 06 Jul 2011 08:10:43 +0000

Very enjoyable, I also liked Jolly Roger, it took me a long time to get signet mainly because I had entered typecast not typeface. Am I being selfish worrying about how Araucaria will get his puzzles to us (crosswords in a bottle!) once he is on the desert island.

By: Martin H

Martin H — Wed, 06 Jul 2011 07:23:38 +0000

Late to this. On this type of theme: it is readily containable, in its entirety, in the puzzle, and its complete content is predictable; so, it doesn’t need a preamble – once you twig the theme you know how many elements it has; and it is structural, in that it provides specific and exhaustible content for the solver to use. In all this it is similar to the unnumbered alphabetical (which takes the same preamble each time, simply because it would look a little odd without it). The inclusion of ‘man’ in an anagram fodder is a nice piece of mischief and takes nothing away from the theme.

Araucaria is of course a master setter. But why call him ‘The Master’? It is at least mildly contentious, as other aficionados might grant the title, if they felt that doing so wasn’t just spurious, to, say, Rufus or Pasquale. I for one don’t understand the need to do this – particularly as the headline to an otherwise excellent commentary – and find it distasteful.

Less taxing than many of Araucaria’s, but expertly clued as usual. Favourites CONSECRATE and FOOT.

By: NeilW

NeilW — Wed, 06 Jul 2011 02:01:18 +0000

Stella

I’m not sure you will read this: I meant mediocre for A, not setters in general. No intention to sound pretentious at all.

By: Martin P

Martin P — Tue, 05 Jul 2011 22:14:05 +0000

Hi UY:

Thanks for the drole summary of Stoppard’s play, sounds like one to see.

I did enjoy this accomplished and craftsmanlike crossword. The setter achieved a number of difficult objectives I think. The clues were more or less equally challenging (rather than exasperating. I know some would say easy) but the solutions quite satisfying and witty. However, I was left with no excuse to adjourn to the pub to complete it. But if only Bunthorne were still here to learn…

By: Stella Heath

Stella Heath — Tue, 05 Jul 2011 21:36:23 +0000

Hi Sil,

I think we all know that the Reverend “bends the rules” on occasion, and that sometimes his puzzles are on the light side, but for me that is the mark of a great setter. Where would art be nowadays without a Rembrandt or a Dali?

‘I think you are very kind to call him “the master” on the strength of this puzzle which was mediocre, at best.’ sounds pretentious to me. I’m sorry, NeilW.

By: Davy

Davy — Tue, 05 Jul 2011 21:08:05 +0000

I meant CONTRARIWISE but you all knew that anyway.

By: Davy

Davy — Tue, 05 Jul 2011 19:57:13 +0000

Thanks UY,

I found this most enjoyable even though it was not that difficult. It kept me occupied for a couple of hours anyway. Favourite clues were CONTRARINESS (clever anagram), PREDICTION (liked ‘turned into’) and WHAM.

I thought this was a good, entertaining puzzle and not at all mediocre. Based on Araucaria’s unsurpassed contribution to crossword compilation, I would most definitely describe him as the master.

Thanks Arry.