Comments on: Guardian Cryptic N° 25,717 by Araucaria

By: brucew_aus

brucew_aus — Fri, 31 Aug 2012 13:00:15 +0000

Thanks Araucaria and PeterO
This had been in the to-do pile until Wednesday and what a pleasure to do. Whilst getting it all out and being able to research some of the hard ones – including the innovative BEEF. Hadnt seen MEGAPHONE DIPLOMACY before and clearly not the OPEN WEEKEND session that sounded fun. All good fun from a setter that rarely let’s us down.

By: Huw Powell

Huw Powell — Sat, 25 Aug 2012 01:46:43 +0000

For me, the hardest part of working an Araucaria puzzle are the easier clues. Unless I get lucky and happen to look at them first, the harder ones fill my brain with such nonsense that I expect far worse from the easy ones – like, say 11, 1a, 17, etc. Heck, half this puzzle was actually quite easy, but made so much harder by expecting more deviousness than was present.

Of course, the other half was suitably devious and inventive to justify this grand form of obfuscation.

Managed to finish it all, after researching the dog and plant as many did, except for entering BEES when I should have got the BEEF. Brilliant clue, using a part of a poem as the cryptic part of the clue!

Guessed at the possibility of OPEN WEEKEND, and though it might refer to the upcoming Open House Weekend(s), expect for the timing…

MARTINA seems overdone to me, if it just read “Trouble in a tram from [or for] girl” it would be a complete clue. This idea of putting the definition anywhere in the clue sounds a bit dangerous to me Although I suppose I don’t mind adding it to the arsenal of possibilities if there is still a “rule” – it is preceded and followed by cryptics.

Thanks to PeterO for the blog and to the Rev for a very interesting puzzle. I’m surprised I got so far with it!

By: PeeDee

PeeDee — Sat, 18 Aug 2012 09:13:48 +0000

Thanks PeterO for clearing up some of the more obscure references for me in a super blog. What a feast for the brain!

By: Derek Lazenby

Derek Lazenby — Fri, 17 Aug 2012 18:49:21 +0000

AH. TA.

Rather begs the question of where everybody else was looking! Oh well.

By: PeterO

PeterO — Fri, 17 Aug 2012 17:53:43 +0000

Derek @24

The problem was that I had omitted to categorize the blog as belonging to the Guardian thread; now corrected. Thank you for pointing out the omission.

By: Derek Lazenby

Derek Lazenby — Fri, 17 Aug 2012 16:55:40 +0000

Hard work but can’t have been that hard as I finished it!

What really puzzles me is why I can’t see this blog via the usual link which is still showing Brendan as being the most recent! Fortunately I have a news aggregator which also monitors this site so I got here via that tool.

So this http://fifteensquared.net/category/guardian/ shows the list of blogs with Brendan showing. Going into that one the url is http://fifteensquared.net/2012/08/16/guardian-25716-brendan/ the url from my aggregator is http://fifteensquared.net/2012/08/17/guardian-cryptic-n-25717-by-araucaria/#comment-201853

there seems to be an extra “cryptic-n-” and an extra “by-” in there.

Over to Mr. Gaufrid methinks!

By: RCWhiting

RCWhiting — Fri, 17 Aug 2012 16:17:38 +0000

Well the blogger ignored it and I have waited patiently until late afternoon and none of you have remarked how 19d had brought back such pleasant memories of your visits to the Queen of The Downs and King of Steam.
Birthplace of Diana Dors AND Melinda Messenger, my pride overflows.
And our football club was promoted last season!
So, there I’ve said it.

By: grumpo

grumpo — Fri, 17 Aug 2012 15:38:27 +0000

Another great puzzle from the inimitable master! A delight from start to finish, and it also added SCHIPPERKE to my vocabulary! The chance to use it – as in ‘Learn and use a new word every day’ is probably remote, however.

By: MikeC

MikeC — Fri, 17 Aug 2012 15:00:46 +0000

Thanks PeterO and A. Another good one!

By: Trailman

Trailman — Fri, 17 Aug 2012 14:38:29 +0000

At Lords, seeking to solve in between the regular sound.of falling England wickets. Perhaps that is why I found it a tougher Rev than usual. The dog and the plant were new to me, but at least I could parse the latter: thanks PeterO for help with 22.