Comments on: Guardian 25,881 – Paul

By: Huw Powell

Huw Powell — Thu, 28 Feb 2013 01:08:59 +0000

Just a painfully half-finished struggle for me, I’m afraid, since I had never heard of any of these sweets (possible exception, PEAR DROP). Couldn’t find uses for any that I consumed in the 60s in Wales, and was never sure if desserts, or afters, might also come into play, or if at least one use of “sweet” would not be the definition.

Some nice non-themed clues here and there, but otherwise a lost cause, for me at least.

Thanks for the effort, Paul (and you recent 100th anniversary blog!) and the blog, UY and the rest of you.

PS, Michelle, methinks you do protest your “beginnership” too much!

By: Paul B

Paul B — Wed, 27 Feb 2013 19:54:47 +0000

If I may interject, DBE is, I assume, ‘definition by example’, a practice frowned at by people like me.

But EAR SAW, as a fanciful pseudo-phrase Paul spots (plus his qualifying ‘possibly’), is very harshly labelled thus, I fear. OTOH Cassius for CLAY probably is DBE, since there are many Cassiuses to choose from. So about half right there, Rowly old bean, in my opinion anyway.

PS I’d have had ‘claiming’ rather than ‘claims’ here, as I’ve become a pedant for cryptic grammar.

By: brucew_aus

brucew_aus — Wed, 27 Feb 2013 00:17:57 +0000

Thanks Paul and UY

This was tough going for me – and although familiar with the actual sweets, they have different names down here – think we used to refer Space Dust as Whizz Fizz and that we just called BOOTLACES licorice straps.

Still found most of the clues fun – came unstuck with TURBOJET having justified TURNOVER as work (output) with RUT, OVER (being in a plane ) and was still working out how strange was N!

By: Brendan (not that one)

Brendan (not that one) — Tue, 26 Feb 2013 23:00:10 +0000

Enjoyable crossword I thought and I didn’t find the clues painful!

I knew all the sweets although the “cola bottle” and “space dust” were a little after my “sweet eating days”.

Last in was EGOIST.

P.S. What is DBE Rowland @23?

By: Matt

Matt — Tue, 26 Feb 2013 22:19:20 +0000

Not particularly tough, but I very much enjoyed the nostalgia trip. Racking my brains for the sweets I used to eat was a lot of fun, and I swore I could taste the fizz as the answers dropped in.

A proper Proustian rush.

By: Mike M

Mike M — Tue, 26 Feb 2013 20:51:35 +0000

A good puzzle overall, but let down a bit by EGOIST, which was clued in a very cumbersome & clunky way just to try and make an &lit. Oh well, still infinitely better than yesterday’s offering… and THE BACKS was rather good…

By: Mitz

Mitz — Tue, 26 Feb 2013 16:51:32 +0000

Thanks Paul and Uncle Yap.

Bunged in BOOTLACE with my eyes closed and thought this might be a doddle. I was wrong. Been pretty busy today and only able to get into it in fits and starts, but completing the solve was a somewhat gradual process.

The sweets were all good fun. Loved FLYING SAUCER and considered Angel, Fairy and Pixie before finally remembering SPACE DUST (and then only when I had the crossing ‘a’ from CLEARS AWAY.

Once again I am mystified by Rowland’s objection @23. Isn’t playful imagery, as with the Van Gogh reference, the essence of a fun but challenging crossword? Ian Payn @9 – sorry the puzzle didn’t do anything to alleviate the unpleasant tedium of your journey.

THE BACKS was very nice, but COD for me was FEEBLE – even though I knew what I was looking for it still took a while for me to say “aha!”

By: Kathryn's Dad

Kathryn's Dad — Tue, 26 Feb 2013 16:37:41 +0000

Spookily, Alan C had an image of 10,9 across in his blog last week. If memory serves well. It’s here:

http://www.guardian.co.uk/crosswords/crossword-blog/2013/feb/18/valentines-day

By: Otia

Otia — Tue, 26 Feb 2013 16:07:08 +0000

Thanks to Paul for the puzzle and Uncle Yap for the blog. I still grapple, very often unsuccessfully, with Paul’s puzzles and this one was yet to break that mould. 1 down was the first in for me and I then thought I would be looking at sweets I’m the desert (quelle horreur when I found out otherwise)

By: Trailman

Trailman — Tue, 26 Feb 2013 15:32:15 +0000

Finally got there, having been held up on EGOIST and the not particularly difficult MODESTY. The sweets helped, indeed were completed before much of the rest, for it was often my duty to bring a selection back from the sweet shop to the bus home from school. It’s not often remarked on, but Paul is a past master at linking clues ie in this puzzle 22,12 and 10,9 and 25,24; these are a great help at giving lights in quarters where one can’t otherwise get a start.