Comments on: Independent 7964/Anax

By: Lancastrian Bluenose

Lancastrian Bluenose — Sat, 05 May 2012 13:17:17 +0000

Still tough to solve your crosswords Anax, but I’m getting closer !

By: Mick H

Mick H — Wed, 25 Apr 2012 13:07:35 +0000

And then there’s a Nina-type theme, where a hidden message appears that may or may not be hinted at in other clues/answers. I enjoy solving fully thematic puzzles in the Listener etc, but I think in the dailies it’s better when the theme’s an added extra, and the puzzle can be solved without it, or at least without requiring detailed knowledge or research – thought clues will sometimes fall more easily if you get the references!
Great puzzle anyway, I loved the ‘Black Dog’ anagram.

By: flashling

flashling — Tue, 24 Apr 2012 22:58:55 +0000

Enjoyed this and finished it quite quickly last night on line after it appeared on the Indy website, perhaps I’m just getting used to Anax’s style and his rather ingenious anagrinds and definitions. A thematic puzzle that has no theme, hmmm. I found Mordred harder yesterday, horses for courses I suppose.

Thanks John and Anax for keeping the grey cells working.

By: Dormouse

Dormouse — Tue, 24 Apr 2012 20:33:19 +0000

I found this exceedingly hard, couldn’t solve it without doing anagram searches online for the long answers, and a lot of answers I pencilled in lightly because I just wasn’t sure I’d got the right answer – such as 7d. Although I’m surprised I didn’t see the hidden reverse in 6d even after I guessed the answer.

By: Bertandjoyce

Bertandjoyce — Tue, 24 Apr 2012 17:22:23 +0000

Started it at lunchtime but then had to break before finishing it later! Really enjoyable and enjoyed puzzling out why certain answers were correct!
COD was perhaps 4d but there were a number running a close second.
Not sure whether in the present circumstances you could describe ‘administration of Government’ as 20a but …… all good fun!
Thanks Anax and John.

By: Kathryn's Dad

Kathryn's Dad — Tue, 24 Apr 2012 16:30:56 +0000

Thanks, anax. I think I’ll just carry on enjoying the solving bit and not worry too much about getting spooked by themes …

By: anax

anax — Tue, 24 Apr 2012 15:44:30 +0000

Thanks to John for a great blog and to all for your comments. Just a quick note on the subject of theme types:

THEMATIC – Think Listener, Inquisitor, EV etc. The theme of the puzzle generally needs to be discovered and can be cryptically defined in (or cryptically affect) clues as well as answers.
THEMED – This is where a number of answers have something in common. Their link often appears as an answer in itself, and definitions point to the numerical position of that answer rather than give a dictionary definition. Otherwise you may find that some/all clues contain a specific form of wording that points to the theme (in)directly.
GHOST THEME – A number of answers have something in common but this is not indicated anywhere in clues, and knowledge of the subject (while potentially helpful) is by no means necessary. Last year I set a tribute puzzle featuring a number of one-word titles of songs by Level 42, but there was no mention of this fact anywhere, either as preamble or within clues. That’s a ghost theme.
PSEUDO-THEME – This puzzle has a pseudo-theme and, for ‘pseudo-theme’, read ‘no theme at all’. The solver is led to believe there is a theme because of repeated references in clues, but those are restricted entirely to wordplay. There is in fact no theme! Even the clue for LESTRADE is non-thematic; the clue offers a straightforward definition requiring a small amount of GK, but it only appears to link to a theme because other clues are worded to make the solver create that thematic link.

PS: ‘Pseudo-theme’ is my own invention. I’m sure there’s a better way of describing a theme that isn’t.

By: nmsindy

nmsindy — Tue, 24 Apr 2012 15:27:01 +0000

I thought of it as a theme you did not need to find to solve the puzzle eg some answers were connected to each other (but only someone familiar with the theme would know this).

Whereas here pretty much everything is giving to the solver from the start in the clues. But it’s fairly new terminology perhaps and I’m certainly not saying I’m right about it all for sure.

By: Kathryn's Dad

Kathryn's Dad — Tue, 24 Apr 2012 14:54:08 +0000

Maybe I’ve always misunderstood what a ghost theme is, then. Thought it was one like this where the subject matter came and went in the clueing/answers but where it wasn’t entirely central to solving the puzzle (ie, no gateway clue and references to it)?

By: nmsindy

nmsindy — Tue, 24 Apr 2012 13:50:06 +0000

Yes, this was excellent – not sure, K’s D, that I’d call it a ghost theme. As someone remarked you could work all the clues out from the wordplay even if one is not at all familiar with the works – I’m not. The only exception was perhaps LESTRADE but I’d heard of him, possibly from a SH themed crossword somewhere. Quite hard, as Anax usually is, but totally fair and some great misdirection. My favourites were WHEELMAN, DUST COVER, and EXTRACTOR. Many thanks, Anax, and John for the excellent blog.