Comments on: Guardian 25,642 / Paul

By: flashling

flashling — Tue, 22 May 2012 21:06:06 +0000

Many thanks Eileen for being the sub’s sub – I found this harder than the Indy from the same setter, fell into the hew trap for The Who as well, alas you’ll get me as blogger next week as I should have been today.

By: Paul B

Paul B — Tue, 22 May 2012 18:47:16 +0000

‘Being filthy, son needs a w-wash’: is that where you’re going? You can do the definition.

By: Trebor

Trebor — Tue, 22 May 2012 16:42:26 +0000

Found this very easy being a big fan of the band but still enjoyed it. Got me thinking about clueing other bands and think there must be some sort of mileage in “needs a w-wash” as a part of a clue for Black Sabbath. Led Zeppelin writes itself! Cheers Paul.

By: gm4hqf

gm4hqf — Tue, 22 May 2012 16:23:41 +0000

Thanks Eileen and Paul

Considering that I wouldn’t know The Who from The What I had to use Google to solve almost half of this puzzle.

I don’t like doing this but it is one of the hazards of themed puzzles. One day we might get a theme I know something about!

By: Mikes

Mikes — Tue, 22 May 2012 16:00:24 +0000

Theme?

Maybe Paul or the editor knew that our blogger today would be a “substitute for our Uncle Y”

By: Wolfie

Wolfie — Tue, 22 May 2012 15:45:32 +0000

Paul B – I enjoy the wide range of difficulty of Guardian cryptics. But I have got used to an easy start to my solving week!

By: Paul B

Paul B — Tue, 22 May 2012 15:14:18 +0000

Ape @ 25 presumably means the cryptic content, but in all seriousness, ’twas ever thus, and I after a while I found I preferred puzzles to be that way: nothing hones your solving skills quite like a bland series of digits and some (often crazy) SI.

None of my business, I know, but there seems to be some confusion among Guardianistas as to whether they want puzzles to be slightly more, or slightly less of a challenge. Or is this now a sectarian affair?

By: Wolfie

Wolfie — Tue, 22 May 2012 14:50:21 +0000

Thanks Eileen

In 9ac I think the apparently superfluous ‘- was it?’ must refer to the fact that ‘eolithic’ is a formerly fashionable, but now discredited, term for a period prior to the Palaeolithic, long before the appearance in Europe of Neanderthal people (about whom it should be said that there is no evidence that they were less intelligent than H. sapiens).

This was a much easier solve than yesterday’s from Brendan. In future I hope that Paul will act as substitute for Rufus when a Monday setter is required. I enjoyed the references to The Who, one of my favourite bands in my adolescent years.

By: RCWhiting

RCWhiting — Tue, 22 May 2012 14:00:17 +0000

Thanks all
A shelf of reference books used to do the trick (Guiness book of hit singles, recommended for today).
Last in ‘precursory’.
A misjudged theme, I think.
There was no late kick in the teeth like Brendan supplied yesterday.

By: Ape

Ape — Tue, 22 May 2012 13:35:33 +0000

If you can’t do the themed clues you can’t solve the crossword, same as not knowing any of the other answers. Sometimes you can get them from the cryptic definition and the crossing letters. I’d say that’s the case with everything here. Perhaps not so with CECI N’EST PAS UNE PIPE a couple of weeks ago, or the Macbeth themed crossword which didn’t have cryptic definitions just themed ones.