Comments on: Azed 2078/ochkpaatr

By: PeterM

PeterM — Sat, 14 Apr 2012 14:23:26 +0000

Jan, I interpreted 25dn the same way: although that meaning of ‘boxed’ is unknown to the OED, I remember using it from my earliest days of family games, in the thirties.

By: Pelham Barton

Pelham Barton — Wed, 11 Apr 2012 08:43:11 +0000

sidey @10: I think you are right on this – except of course that Azed would have used (6, 2 words) if RED EAR were the intended grid entry at 25dn.

By: sidey

sidey — Mon, 09 Apr 2012 13:37:54 +0000

I think that 25d confirms that April Fool was what Azed intended as it is (6) not (3,3).

By: RCWhiting

RCWhiting — Mon, 09 Apr 2012 10:09:29 +0000

Obviouly I do sometimes think that my occasional clue entry is better than the winner’s!
This is less disturbing (actually not at all) because I frequently disagree with the ordering of the three winners.
I feel that there is an over-emphasis on topicality.
None of this (including the obvious dining clique) lessens my pleasure in solving the puzzle.

By: Wil Ransome

Wil Ransome — Mon, 09 Apr 2012 00:06:46 +0000

There are two things: completing the crossword and composing a winning clue. The first is necessary for the second (i.e. if you’ve made a mistake in the crossword your entry is null and void), but I can’t see that it’s desperately important whether or not you’ve had help to jump through the initial hoop: the monthly competition is all about setting clues.

Now the concern about the same old names always being successful is another argument. Yes the same old names are generally successful, but that is because their clues are, for various reasons, nearly always better than those of the others.

Just in case anyone suspects that the remarks above suggest that I cheat, according to some standards, I never have any help with the solution of the crossword (or indeed the setting of the clue) and make a point never to solicit it.

By: Norman L in France

Norman L in France — Sun, 08 Apr 2012 19:25:55 +0000

Re which letters to leave in or out, it was no big deal, surely, despite the ambiguity. I would have thought if you’d spotted the trick a simple note beside the solution would have shown AZED you’d understood, and provided you put in one set or the other things would be fine.
Trafites @4
I can see where you’re coming from with the comment about a clique and standing no chance – I’ve thought the same myself sometimes when seeing names and some of the winning entries – but I don’t think it’s entirely fair. The people who submit answers and clues are used to the style and conventions and so are much more likely to win if they’ve been entering for years. I haven’t been visited by the muse for a long while so obviously stand no chance if don’t enter, but a few years ago I did submit clues (no more than 6 in all, as far as I recall) and was lucky to come second once, so no clique there.

By: Jan

Jan — Sun, 08 Apr 2012 18:17:31 +0000

Thanks for the blog, ilancaron. There were a few clues which I couldn’t fully parse.

25d – I had a different take. I’ve always known the situation of a deck of cards being ‘boxed’, i.e. some cards facing the wrong way. This is only discovered when the cards are being dealt so a REDEAL is needed. However, I can’t find any reference to this definition of ‘boxed’. Is it me?

By: ilancaron

ilancaron — Sun, 08 Apr 2012 17:40:38 +0000

“Additional help” is ill-defined though.

Clearly using a dictionary is acceptable (after all why would the setter indicate which one he/she chose?).

I also suspect that using Google is perfectly acceptable — in fact, I’m fairly sure that setters assume this given the (what appear to me) rather esoteric themes of late e.g. in The Listener.

If I ask a friend at work or at home for their opinion, I suppose that still’s acceptable.

I can continue this gradient of “additional help” until at some point it becomes obvious to the reasonable juror that some line of egregiousness has been crossed.

But I have no doubt that reasonable people will agree that this line isn’t absolutely and unequivocally defined. So we have to agree to disagree.

Don Manley’s comment on http://www.crosswordclub.co.uk falls in the non-egregious category. To me. But not to you. I think reasonable people would agree that the very fact that you and I disagree is proof that his “disclosure” isn’t beyond the pale.

By: The Trafites

The Trafites — Sun, 08 Apr 2012 16:19:41 +0000

To me it was pretty obvious that APRIL FOOL had to be left in, otherwise why use the other clashing letters on the 1st April?

You only needed the across clashes letters as down clues are just repetitive doublets.

As to your question at 12ac, no I didn’t bother – it is quite rewarding to solve these competition type crosswords, but when you see addition help from other areas to enable other solvers to complete the crossword, it just isn’t cricket, frankly.

I will still blog Azed, but I doubt I will bother to enter Azed any more due to knowing it is not me versus Azed, but me versus a clique (of which I will never win).

I guess it was by telephone before the Internet age.

Nick

By: Don Manley

Don Manley — Sun, 08 Apr 2012 05:44:38 +0000

I can confirm that AZED will accept either interpretation of the APRIL FOOL theme — i.e. you can take it or leave it! Happy Easter, all.