Comments on: Guardian Prize 25,790 / Enigmatist

By: Mary

Mary — Wed, 21 Nov 2012 19:08:08 +0000

Good crossword as there were so many clever clues; egs 23ac (so simple but clever), 2d (ditto), 1d (tower not obviously a puller), etc, etc. However, it is very annoying that Google can put the solutions in the headings, ie before opening them. I was looking to see what the Weatherfield Gazette was (not a watcher of Coronation Street) and was greeted with “Word on the Street” in the heading before I could avoid it. This is not a rare occurence. I lost interest after that.

By: Bodgel

Bodgel — Mon, 19 Nov 2012 22:01:29 +0000

Thanks all. I was able to finish this but it took an awful long time. Some answers I put in without understanding fully how they fit the clue. In the case of 9,10a I have to admit it was fair but hard. Spruce for smug is borderline – when was the last time anyone used it in that sense? But as others have noted:
12a Erlking is properly one word, not two and not hyphenated. I didn’t find any mention of a beard or a giant.
24,25a “In one” cannot mean either mutual or working together.
15d “Set forward” does not mean recommend.
In my book, that’s three fails out of twenty-six clues, and so I can’t say I thought it was a great crossword. Hard but unsatisfying in the end.

By: RCWhiting

RCWhiting — Sun, 18 Nov 2012 15:45:34 +0000

Ah! I see now. But that makes Liz’s comment even more obscure in view of Eileen’s original answer.

By: Galeraman

Galeraman — Sun, 18 Nov 2012 10:31:52 +0000

Thanks sidey @ 27 I did not know that!!

By: sidey

sidey — Sat, 17 Nov 2012 23:55:41 +0000

Big Red Book aka Chambers. Smug meaning spruce or neat etc is older than the usual meaning these days says the OED. It’s a verb too.

By: Galeraman

Galeraman — Sat, 17 Nov 2012 23:21:28 +0000

Yes RCW what is BRB?? I thought it meant be right back!

By: RCWhiting

RCWhiting — Sat, 17 Nov 2012 22:49:53 +0000

Liz @24
“I needed convincing” and, like Eileen, I was convinced by Chambers.
I am sure I could have been convinced by other sources like BRB (except that I do not know what BRB stands for!).
Should I check in Chambers?!

By: Liz Geear

Liz Geear — Sat, 17 Nov 2012 20:54:02 +0000

RCWhiting@22 – BRB gives smug=spruce quite clearly.
Jan@17 – ‘Wilfully perverse’ sums up this setter perfectly. A straightforward Enigmatist? I hope this never happens.
Thanks Eileen. I think most of us were truly flummoxed with the parsing of 9,10ac.
And thanks Enigmatist for the Saturday treat.

By: Brendan (not that one)

Brendan (not that one) — Sat, 17 Nov 2012 19:54:48 +0000

Another toughie.

Took me three sittings though. The main problem was the NE corner and 15d.

As Eileen said SET FORWARD matched the word play better while PUT FORWARD better matched the defintion. SO either a weak def or weak word play? I’d plumped for the PUT so naturally struggled with the “CROAT”.

Once I’d learned to live with SET everything fell into place.

Eventually.

All Prize puzzles should be like this! Thanks to the two Es.

By: RCWhiting

RCWhiting — Sat, 17 Nov 2012 16:01:49 +0000

Thanks all
When I completed this (last one 21d had to wait until Sunday morning) I wrote next to it, in capitals, the single word ‘TOUGH’. A real compliment for a real Saturday treat.
I marked 24,25 with ??,and still do not get it all.
I agree with Miche on the phrase’s meaning,nothing mutual about it.
I held myself up by writing in ‘talk on the street’ (also by thinking it was Emmerdale Farm,I am not a soap fan, except TA).
I liked 14ac, 5d, 23,4 but especially 6d.
I thought the extraneous addition of ‘one pulling teeth’ was amusing and probably irresistable to the setter.
Like Eileen I needed convincing that ‘smug’ = ‘spruce’.