Comments on: Independent 8,143 by Raich

By: Rorschach

Rorschach — Tue, 20 Nov 2012 10:37:10 +0000

Love that some people missed the theme! Surely one of the hardest themes to miss with Super Trouper running across the top line?

Thanks for the fun Raich and the parsings flashling.

By: Bertandjoyce

Bertandjoyce — Tue, 20 Nov 2012 00:35:54 +0000

Thanks flashling for the blog! As you said, a gentle start to the week – more than can be said for the traffic where we are!

We did wonder whether we had spelt fluoresce correctly as we couldn’t work out 19ac – our last one in. We did manage to spot the theme though.

Thanks Raich – good to meet you recently in Derby even if we hadn’t figured out your other aliases at the time!

By: Wil Ransome

Wil Ransome — Mon, 19 Nov 2012 23:39:19 +0000

Good crossword as usual from Raich I thought; this one was perhaps a bit harder than usual. The theme completely passed me by even though I had Mamma Mia — the only Abba song I know is Waterloo and so I didn’t twig. It didn’t help that I didn’t understand why 15ac was ABBE, thinking that ‘senior monk’ was the definition, but that is the best sort of theme, which doesn’t delay you at all in the solving.

Slight quibble with the <50% checking in four clues, but perhaps that's excusable when there's a Nina.

Many thanks to Niall for all he has done. I hope we hear from him occasionally.

By: Lenny

Lenny — Mon, 19 Nov 2012 20:03:59 +0000

Hugely enjoyable but Flashling is right: I’ve been humming the tune of Ski Shoplifter all afternoon.

By: nmsindy

nmsindy — Mon, 19 Nov 2012 19:12:55 +0000

Many thanks, flashling, for the blog and to those who commented. Yes, I have decided to withdraw from blogging individual puzzles but intend to continue with the annual report on Indy solving times, usually posted on 31 Dec, and may carry out further comparisons with other UK crossword series as in the “Which cryptic is the hardest?” exercise posted on 22 May 2012.

Yes, I was involved in this site from its very start and have written more blogs (465) than anyone else tho at much lesser frequency in recent times. It is gratifying to see how the site has developed over the few years to a position where every puzzle is blogged every day by enthusiasts.

NMSindy/Raich/Gurney

By: Kathryn's Dad

Kathryn's Dad — Mon, 19 Nov 2012 14:44:10 +0000

I’m another one who missed the theme completely, but it didn’t matter. A well-crafted puzzle, just right for a busy Monday morning. PROSPERO was the only one I really struggled with; otherwise it all came together nicely.

I too would like to thank nms for all his blogging – when I first started coming to Fifteensquared three or so years ago, he was a regular on the Indy thread and his clear explanations and encouragement were a big help to me back then.

Thanks to flashling for today’s blog.

By: flashling

flashling — Mon, 19 Nov 2012 13:54:24 +0000

@Pelham #7 You’re right re shoplifter, thanks

By: Pelham Barton

Pelham Barton — Mon, 19 Nov 2012 13:48:23 +0000

Thanks Raich for a puzzle which I enjoyed, and to flashling for the blog. I managed to solve the puzzle fairly smoothly without noticing the theme at all until I got to this page.

10ac: I think this must be SH + (TO PILFER)*.

5dn: As always, I have no quarrel with those who reason along the lines “this is a down clue, so ‘up’ is an appropriate reversal indicator”. However, I would prefer “back” to “up” here, because to my mind the reversal comes in the clue not on the grid.

By: allan_c

allan_c — Mon, 19 Nov 2012 13:44:04 +0000

Missed the theme completely (again!). But totally solvable without, so no problem.
23a held me up momentarily, not being familiar with a certain game, though the answer was obvious. But ‘Torres … from Spain’ brought to mind a different association – with some great wines enjoyed over the years in Spain and at home.
Thanks, Raich and flashling.

By: rowland

rowland — Mon, 19 Nov 2012 13:39:19 +0000

I will miss Raich’s fair and accurate blogs. His puzzles are the same I think and I enjoyed this one. What a great band they were too!!

Many thanls
Rowly.