Comments on: Independent 8193/Rorschach

By: Rorschach

Rorschach — Fri, 18 Jan 2013 18:12:11 +0000

That was the idea!

By: Paul B

Paul B — Fri, 18 Jan 2013 14:30:53 +0000

I was thinking a jump (or start) on a plane can be a ‘flying start’.

By: Rorschach

Rorschach — Fri, 18 Jan 2013 00:28:28 +0000

I was referring to Parma

By: Donk

Donk — Thu, 17 Jan 2013 23:23:48 +0000

A pretty tough workout from Rorschach but some really good stuff! 11/22 had a beautiful surface with ‘Imagine his output’ an excellent trick. 18d was also a great spot – I bet most of thought it was one of those clues…

Clever idea for a theme. Looking forward to the next puzzle!

By: Sil van den Hoek

Sil van den Hoek — Thu, 17 Jan 2013 21:16:15 +0000

Allan_c, I said that “Saint Paul’s” needed explanation (from the blog), not that I still didn’t get it. But thanks for pointing out anyway.

I also want to emphasise that experiencing this crossword as “not entirely satisfying” does not mean that it wasn’t a good puzzle.

When I referred to the Jekyll & Hyde clue and the splendid 2d (KERBSIDE), I used the words “it is a pity that …”. Not meaning that Rorschach should have done better, but meaning that I fully understood why it was not possible for Rorschach to do something about it.

In fact, I hardly have any criticism on the clueing, having the same favourites as Eileen (including the “bowel version”).
The only reason that I found this crossword slightly less satisfying than his previous one, is that I had to work harder to understand some clues and the fact that the theme passed me by. Therefore I should only point the finger at myself.

Rorschach is a real asset to Crosswordland.
Just like some other New Kids On The Block – Tramp/Jambazi (well, he seems to be around for a long time already) and Donk – his crosswords have a Now (and therefore Wow)-feeling.
I like all these references to the Modern World very much, it makes a crossword more ‘personal’. Even if, I feel, today there were just a bit too many words printed in Italics.

Anyway, Jon, I’ll bear with you!
And keep them coming.

PS, is it Palma or Parma in 23/21? And if it is Palma, where is it in Italy?

By: allan_c

allan_c — Thu, 17 Jan 2013 18:43:51 +0000

Struggled with this but got there in the end. Got JOHN LENNON and GEORGE BEST before the penny dropped and gave me FLYING START. But had to google for a list of airports named after people to get the rest.

I did wonder if there was a nina with the letters round the perimeter being a sequence of 3-letter airport codes, but I guess that would be almost impossible to arrange and in any case 26 isn’t a multiple of 3.

Sil @5: The “Saint Paul’s” reference is to Saint Paul, capital of Minnesota, USA; hence the American spelling as John observes in the blog.

By: Rorschach

Rorschach — Thu, 17 Jan 2013 18:09:29 +0000

FLYING START is simply a double definition with one side being slightly cryptic def. If you “jumped on a plane” you could have been said to have had a “flying start”.

I suppose not many would use the word “Rife” but most people wouldn’t be driving around MK with the added limitations that finding an anagram of “Friedman” gives you… But it reads naturally enough! Next time I am in the concrete jungle I shall hang out of my window and scream those words at the top of my lungs just for you

By: John

John — Thu, 17 Jan 2013 17:55:26 +0000

Thanks K’s D — when I amended the blog I couldn’t remember who had pointed out the thing about Jonathan Ross. Yes 1/8 does almost work with flying = on a plane and start = jump, but how is the fact that these words are in the other order indicated? The Milton Keynes clue is indeed good with its reference to the MK roundabouts, but I stand by what I said: it doesn’t read very naturally. Who would ever say ‘Damn! Rife roundabouts’ as they were driving round MK?

By: Eileen

Eileen — Thu, 17 Jan 2013 17:45:40 +0000

Thanks for the blog, John.

I don’t think I’ve ever completed a puzzle, including the key clue and all those referring to it, and still not had a clue what was going on. Unfortunately, I had to go out before the blog was posted, so it’s been bugging me all day.

GEORGE BEST was the first of the themed answers I entered – and it happens to be the only one I know as an airport – but, even though I got FLYING START quite early, the penny didn’t drop.

But – I enjoyed the puzzle enormously and thought there were some really cracking clues [eg BIG BERTHA, PROPOSAL [bowel motions version], KERBSIDE and FRIEDMAN] as we’ve quickly come to expect from Rorschach.

I hope that’s sufficiently positive : many thanks!

By: Paul B

Paul B — Thu, 17 Jan 2013 17:37:10 +0000

Can I please say I too hate this grid? Thank you. It is horrible, and it was very generous of John Lennon and George Best to come to its rescue. But gah, gaah, gaaah, The Guardian has some absolute shockers.