Guardian 26,689 – Otterden

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At the risk of repeating myself, I am still not warming to Otterden’s style.

Although there are some nice ideas here, but there are just too many examples where, for me, the cryptic grammar doesn’t work, such as some dodgy ways of indicating initial letters. Even in the theme of words linked to 1a, “following 1” is a strange way of saying “a word that can follow ELEPHANT”. Ah, well, I hope others enjoyed it more than I did!

 
 
 
 
 
 
Across
1. ELEPHANT Animal found by watering hole caught in tangled 2 net (8)
PH (public house) in (LEA NET)* – it seems a bit unfair that this includes an anagram of an intersecting word, especially when the clue to LEA is itself less than totally helpful
6. SPEEDO It provides only limited cover for what a driver needs (6)
Double definition – skimpy swimwear and a car’s speedometer
9. CASTLE Players found in gainful employment following 1 (6)
CAST (players) + LE – because it occurs in gainfuL Employment? It “follows 1” in Elephant and Castle
10. FRAGRANT Sweet old relative involved in facing frantic race against time (8)
GRAN in first letters (facing – a poor indication) of Frantic Race Against Time
11. DOLOMITES Suffice to see very small amounts in range (9)
DO (suffice) + LO (see!) + MITES
13. SHREW Speech containing nothing sounding like regret for following 1 (5)
S[peec]H + homophone of “rue”
15. IMPURE A single representative Yorkshire river to be polluted (6)
1 MP + URE (Yorkshire river)
17. BELIED Contradicted the falsehood implicated in plot (6)
LIE in BED – I really dislike this kind of clue, where a crucial part of the wordplay (LIE) is also the main component of the meaning of the answer
18. ERRATA Mistakes discovered by 21 in time (6)
RAT (=grass, someone who betrays or tells on someone) in ERA
19. ITSELF Criminal is left alone (6)
(IS LEFT)*
21. GRASS German writer sadly no longer following 1 (5)
Double definition – Günter Grass died earlier this year, hence “sadly no longer”; there are various pants called Elephant Grass
22. RED CARPET Special treatment for setter perhaps, prior to reprimand (3,6)
RED (Setter) + CARPET (reprimand)
25. ON STRIKE Out only when facing the bowling (2,6)
Double definition. “Only” seems redundant here
26. IGUANA Reptile in empty state swallowing a whole game bird (6)
I guess this is GUAN in I[ow]A
28. WHACKO Eccentric journalist went to extremes to cover up (6)
HACK in (the extremes of) W[ent t]O
29. OFFSHORE Said to be averse to GBS abroad (8)
If you’re averse to GBS then, homophonically, you’re “Off Shaw”
Down
2. LEA It runs schools, so the yarn goes (3)
Double definition – a Local Education Authority, and (rather obscurely?) “a measure of yarn”
3. POTTO It typically hangs onto its West African branches to put by accumulated cash (5)
POT (accumulated cash) + TO. The Potto is a primate found in parts of West Africa
4. AMELIORATE A tame role I resolve to improve (10)
(A TAME ROLE I)*
5. TOFFEE He is distinctly superior — heads off everyone else from Everton? (6)
TOFF + E[veryone] E[lse]. Everton Toffees are (or were?) a brand or type of sweets
6. SEAL Finally heads are gonna roll following 1 (4)
Last letters of headS arE gonnA rolL
7. EARTH WIRE No shock having this world’s eventual finish on track (5,4)
EARTH (world) + WIRE (“A wire stretched over or across the starting and finishing line on a racetrack, hence esp the finishing line itself (orig US)”)
8. DANIEL DEFOE English author has deadline subverted by deadly rival (6,5)
DEADLINE* + FOE
12. OLIVE BRANCH Berlin havoc got round with offer of reconciliation (5,6)
(BERLIN HAVOC)*
14. HEATHCLIFF Facelift very hard to engineer for tortured romantic hero (10)
Anagram of FACELIFT + HH (very hard, as on pencils)
16. PARASITIC Exploiting equal like one totally left in charge (9)
PAR (equal) + AS (like) + I + T[otally] + IC
20. HETERO Straight used car improperly disposed of from converted terraced house (6)
Anagram of TERRACED HOUSE less USED CAR – subtractive anagrams like this are common in Otterden’s puzzles. There are two anagram indicators (“improperly” and “converted”) to show that the removed letters are not in the same order in the main fodder. Some people care a lot about this, but I am not among them – it seems to me that you can shuffle TERRACED HOUSE to get HETERO USED CAR, and then remove USED CAR.
23. ROUGH Crude first remark to finish with an exclamation of disgust (5)
R[emark] + [t]O + UGH
24. LIDO Left at the altar saying, in Venice: … (4)
L + I DO (a “saying” at the altar, though as I never tire of saying the traditional vows are “I will”). And “in Venice” is not a definition of LIDO…
27. NOR … “And not an abnormal occurrence!” (3)
Hidden in abNORmal

82 comments on “Guardian 26,689 – Otterden”

  1. Thanks Otterden and Andrew
    I thought that this was better than previous Otterden puzzles, with some nice ideas. I liked DANIEL DEFOE, and I thought OFFSHORE was clever, even though the “homophone” doesn’t work for me.
    I didn’t know LEA for measure of yarn; also I thought that “it runs” might be referring to one of the several River Leas (though I did see the Local Education Authority too).
    I didn’t like the source of the LE in CASTLE, which I thought was the same as you did, Andrew. I too wondered what the “only” was doing in 25a.

    (Missing an L in “plants” in 21a, Andrew, giving a rather different slant to your parsing!)

  2. Yes, maybe a few quibbles about the clueing, but I wasn’t too fussed. Thanks for the explanation of a few clues eg 26, the parsing of which defeated me, even though I BIFD correctly.

    Liked the “…various pants called Elephant Grass”!

    Thanks to Otterden and Andrew.

  3. I feel the same way as Andrew does regarding Otterden.

    I could not parse 2d LEA (LOI) or the PH in 1a or the LE in 9a (though I suspected it might be as Andrew mentions). As 1a was one of the last ones in it did not really help me with the theme of the puzzle apart from ELEPHANT & CASTLE.

    New words for me were the GUAN bird, POTTO and LEA (Local Education Authority in UK), but I still do not understand why LEA = “a measure of yarn”.

    I agree with Andrew re the parsing of 26a.

    My favourite was LIDO. I think it is fair enough to describe it as being “in Venice” in the same way that Giudecca, Murano and the cemetery island of San Michele (plus other islands) are also described as being “in Venice”. And the Lido is the home of the Venice Film Festival. I also happen to consider Burano and Torcello as being “in Venice” but that may be going too far!

    Thanks Otterden and Andrew

  4. Thank you Andrew & Otterden.

    I don’t really know where to start. Firstly, it all went in (which I’ve not done before with this setter) but a large number were BIFD.

    The ‘LE’ of castle is a bit thin isn’t it? And I find this setter’s techniques of indicating first letters shaky at best. The FRAGRANT clue seems very clunky to me.

    IGUANA requires the solver to choose any state, ’empty’ it and insert GUAN which few if any will have heard of. Incidentally it could also have been Indiana.

    I did like ON STRIKE and OFFSHORE.

    I’ve heard of Everton mints but not the toffee, so I was interested to read this and learn that that footie team is called the Toffees.

    Ignorant of Herr Grass I’m afraid and, while in pedantic mood, CASTLE doesn’t strictly follow ELEPHANT, it follows ‘and’.

    Hey-ho, all’s fair in love, war and crosswords and others may enjoy this more than I did.

    Nice week, all.

  5. It’s interesting that Gunter GRASS involved in solution to 21a had a novel THE RAT, involved in the solution to 18a.

  7. I enjoyed this. I don’t really care if some of the clues are not 100% watertight, it was fun. To me it feels similar to listening to classical music and pop music. One is ‘art’ and follows the rules, one is just for fun. I enjoy them both.

  8. I liked it. Some very good clues, particularly liked toffee and red carpet. Never had a problem with Otterden- often gives one the “ah” moment. Thanks for a nice crossword.

  9. I’m with the critics. I thought the LE in 9A was very weak, even if not difficult to fill in. The state in 26A didn’t need to be “empty” since IA is the normal abbreviation for Iowa anyway – and as pointed out above “empty” implies you could just take the first and last letters of any US state – in that case I think the state should be given in the clue (cf. 13A). And I didn’t like the “only” in 25A.

    I struggled with 6A, 7D and 13A, but to be fair I think there’s nothing wrong with the clues here.

  10. PeeDee @7 Well said. Your comment made me re-read mine @4 and I now think it overly harsh. I’m not a fan of too many ‘rules’ in this slightly wacky pastime of ours. So long as it’s ‘getable’ it’s generally OK with me – I just prefer some other setters’ styles, that’s all.

  11. Thanks Otterden & Andrew.

    Some nice clues – I liked that for WHACKO – but somewhat spoiled by inaccurate cluing in parts. I hated the clue for CASTLE, both for the ‘LE,’ which could have been anything and for the fact that the ‘and’ is assumed.

    I can’t imagine anyone stretching a wire across the finish of a racetrack. It might decapitate the runner or horse! We usually use tapes over here.

  12. Thank you Andrew and Otterden.

    I found this a most enjoyable crossword and like PeeDee’s comment @7.

    I had never heard of LEA as a measure for yarn, my OCED of 1964 gives it, but not my 1995 edition. The unit measure is usually taken as 80 yards for wool, 120 yards for cotton and silk, and 300 yards for linen (there are other definitions relating to textiles).

  13. Robi @11 I rather think the setter was alluding to the phrase “down to the wire” which has its roots in horse racing. You’ll find the derivation here if you’re interested.

  16. I took 5d as referring Everton FC who are know as the toffees, having no knowledge that there was ever a brand of confectionary.

    The only in 25a I assumed was because you have two batmen in (and not out) but only one is on strike.

    Did like OFFSHORE.

    Thanks to Otterden and Andrew for sorting my BIFDs.

  19. Robi @15 Bunged In From Definition – in other words, “it pretty much has to be that but I can’t see why”.

    Are in the US?

  23. Thanks Otterden and Andrew

    I’m an Otterden-phile … I made the effort to get used to his quirky style and enjoy the original twist that he puts into whole clues and the unusual definitions or extraction devices !!! How boring if all setters did it the same way.
    Liked the ‘following 1’ theme that he used – took quite a way through the puzzle to crack it. Was able to get ELEPHANT before 2 down and so the uncommon definitions of it were no hindrance – just more learning of LEA. Thought IGUANA was clever – doesn’t matter whether it was Iowa or Indiana – just that it was a state with the central letters taken out.
    Disappointing to see him panned regularly – particularly by bloggers – as he provides an interesting change of style with rarely anyone not being able to get the correct answers in some way or another!

  24. As I did this crossword ” I started to wonder ‘is it just me?'” Andrew’s opening comments helped me realise I was not going mad.

    As a (still learning) solver of cryptics for 40 years (having cut my teeth on SMH crosswords including setters such as DH EP NS and the devilish DA whose “normal” crosswords include clues that I consider cryptic)I recognise that different setters have their own styles and I respect their right to have their own style. I also respect the right of musicians to have their own style. I may just choose to not listen to (or buy) their music.

    Having said that, Thanks to Andrew and Otterden

  25. This was tough, and I did not complete it–first one (not counting prize puzzles) in quite a while.

    The IGUANA, for me, used Indiana, since I grew up there and currently work there (I live in Chicago and reverse-commute just over the border). I was left wondering what a guan was.

    Of the ones that I didn’t get in, most were due at least in part to assorted Britishisms. Here, an EARTH WIRE is called a ground wire; SPEEDO is the swimwear (but not the speedometer) and of course “Shaw” and “Shore” are not even close to homophones for me–not only do I pronounce the R, I use different vowels in the two words.

    But hey–I’m improving in that department! ON STRIKE went in, even though I never watch cricket, and I’ve heard Everton FC called the Toffees. Even “carpet” for our longer phrase “call onto the carpet” and “grass” for our longer “grass snake” (or just snake) no longer surprise me. And I’ve seen LEA for local education authority before in these things, too.

  26. I sympathise with Andrew’s perspective, but thought this one was mostly fair, though I did take a while to see SPEEDO and EARTH WIRE.

    Thanks to Otterden and Andrew

  27. I fall somewhere in the middle: I enjoyed it, but found some clues a little dubious – especially CASTLE. Favourites were LIDO, RED CARPET, WHACKO and OFFSHORE. Thanks to Otterden and Andrew.

  28. and of course “Shaw” and “Shore” are not even close to homophones for me–not only do I pronounce the R

    This claim by the cousins that they have a rhotic accent always amuses, I have yet to hear a single one of them manage any R in say mirror or warrior or terrorist.

    Anyway, this setter seems to be popular with people who can’t do properly constructed puzzles, for instance I don’t believe that anyone could solve IGUANA from the ‘cryptic’ part of the clue and that’s not the setter’s worst effort.

  29. Thanks to Otterden and Andrew. Like others I had trouble parsing several items and ran into the same problems as mrpenney@25 with SPEEDO, EARTH WIRE, and IGUANA. Last in for me were OFFSHORE and HETERO (it took a long time before I saw the subtraction), though I did struggle through.

  30. I found this hard but oddly satisfying once solved (though LEA was BIFD — nice term — since didn’t recognize abbrev).

    Though somewhat distracted by several clues with what I think are superfluous words… (am I flogging a dead horse?): e.g. need “sadly” for GRASS? need “a whole” for I(GUAN)A? need “eventual” for EARTH WIRE?

  31. I’ve tried hard to understand 6a, which was one of a few clues which I had no idea how to solve, or even to begin to know what to look for.
    If the clue is a double definition, and the first part is “it provides only limited cover”, then how can this be SPEEDO? The firm makes all kinds of gear nowadays, including full-length costumes, and even the more familiar “a pair of Speedos” would be ridiculously difficult to get.
    If the second part is “what a driver needs”, then how on earth is one to get “SPEEDO” from this? Quite apart from the fact that it is a somewhat dated abbreviation, why would a driver “need” a speedo(meter)any more than several thousand other component parts?
    I would put the odds of these two components being individually soluble at Euromillions jackpot levels of probability, and I genuflect in the general direction of anyone who solved it.

  33. Just completed the grid by using aid for DOLOMITES, though in fairness that’s one of the more gettable clues. Found that I had earlier erred with FLAGRANT not FRAGRANT; I had sweet = FLAN around GRAN with a T for time at the end, and reasoned that with Otterden doing so many other strange things, having a definition (“frantic”) both dodgy and in the wrong place was just part of his ‘style’.

    I did, as I pushed myself through the clues, work out a bit of what was going on, as with where the LE came from in CASTLE, and genuinely managed to enjoy PARASITIC.

  34. baerchen @31, I got SPEEDO because my 25 year old car no longer has one, the lack is ever on my mind and I drive by ear (it gets through the equivalent of the MOT every 2 years, perhaps the examiner has never noticed the lack).

  36. Cookie@34
    Was that you I saw crawling past that radar on the Gex-Ferney road holding up all the traffic 🙂

  37. Baerchen 31 notwithstanding that the company makes many other products,it is associated in most people’s minds with the style of swimwear known as budgie smugglers, which provide only limited cover. Over the years the company has several times caused controversy with its skimpy swimwear,though it comes nowhere near the Brazilian dental floss variety.

  39. I too am firmly in the like brigade (nice one, Hammer). This is the sort of crossword I prefer; one that takes some imagination and lateral thinking.

  40. Right, as David @31 says: the suit I wear to swim laps at the gym is made by Speedo, and actually covers more of me (down to the top of my kneecaps) than the board shorts I wear to the beach. But when someone says “Speedos,” even I automatically think of the brief ones.

    It’s like the way that Xerox Corp. does far more than make copiers, and has for many years. But when you see “Xerox,” it’s so associated in your mind with xerography that you may even think of it as a verb, as in, “Go Xerox this.”

    And loptop @28: I sure do pronounce all those Rs. I just don’t roll them like I’m from Glasgow or what-have-you.

  41. This is the second time in recent weeks that Everton have featured in a clue. I’m very pleased as I have a season ticket. Old Ma Bushell made the original
    toffees. Her great rival Mother Noblett invented the Everton mints.Before every game a little girl dressed in Victorian costume throws the sweets to the crowd. I’m not a fan of Otterden either but liked red carpet.Thanks Andrew and Otterden.

  42. @David 37

    that’s a very fair point, you are of course right that one thinks of budgie smugglers as being typical of “Speedos”; it’s just that I cannot imagine how this outfit could ever be described as “a Speedo”, as required in this crossword, unless it were to be sported by a bathing earthworm. Fact is, Otterden has beaten me to a pulp and I shall have to chug it down

  43. I’m tempted to join in the criticism rather than say that this was just too hard for me. But it was.

    I was defeated by LEA, which caused all manner of delays, and also the WIRE parsing of 7d.

    Many thanks all.

    Many thanks all.

  44. [NormanLinFrance @36, probably, a little old silver Micra, but the speedometer tells me I am dong 150 kms/h. The garagist broke the end off the needle and swished it over – perhaps by law he has to, anyway, he said it was not worth paying 500 E for a new one. The car has automatic transmission and the gears change at 50 and 70 kms/h, so I can drive by ear. I only payed 1500 E for her and was given 3000 E by Nissan when my son bought a new Micra!]

  45. Bearchen @42: “a Speedo” is what I would say. Admittedly, people ’round here are not the target audience of these puzzles, but there definitely is at least one dialect in which the word appears in the singular.

    Note, too, that a brief, Spandex/Lycra men’s swimsuit is “a Speedo” even if it’s made by a competitor such as Nike, Tyr, etc.

  46. baerchen 42 – I had the same reservation, but I persuaded myself that the “it” (the provider of limited cover) in the clue might refer to the company that makes (or provides) speedos, which is called Speedo. The meaning of speedo as a singular noun that I’m most familiar with is a period of accelerated effort on the Thailand-Burma (as it was at the time) railway that resulted in spikes in the death rate of the prisoners of war. Very depressing.

  47. I think in 6a the ‘It’ is supposed to be the company that makes the swimwear rather than the garment itself.

    Still a less than sparkling clue.

  50. Once again I despair at the pompous negativity of some of these contributions. It was a perfectly doable puzzle. Personally, I enjoyed it more than those where you need reference books out, butI appreciate that others enjoy that type. Stop whingeing.

  51. Forgive me, folks, but I don’t understand what all the fuss is about. Yes, I had a couple of minor quibbles (not knowing guam and noting redundance of “only” in 25ac) but how this puzzle could be considered tough by some of our seasoned contributors is beyond me. There were at least two Indies in the last fortnight that took many times longer to solve than the few minutes this needed. And I rather liked the near-homophone in OFFSHORE. To me, the laxity inherent in some Guardian puzzles is part of the newspaper’s crossword style. Or will we all end up like one particular “contributor” who seems to feel that poetry without licence is not poetry?!
    While I’m complaining, why has this site allowed the gruesome acronym (and practice of) ‘BIFD’ to slither in from the TftT site? All the while it was only there, I thought this a far more authentic SOLVING venue; now I’m not so sure.
    Lest any one should feel moved to disagree – it is only me I know! Mea culpa. Many thanks to Otterden and Andrew.

  52. William F P @51
    I’m listening – what would you suggest as an alternative to BIFD – I find it (distressingly) useful!

  54. Hi muffin – fifteensquared has done very well for many years without it so I would suggest no alternative is required. That apart, this is a chance for me to say (as one who rarely has the chance to solve before evening/night following publication) how regularly I second your comments to a tee. Just not on this point. Sorry! 🙂

  56. 9 across. Don’t like the “le” found in the words “gainfuL Employment.” Apart from that, a good test.

  57. I came to this very late and, once I saw who the setter was, I expected to have some difficulty with it. I certainly have with earlier puzzles set by Otterden. But I found this rather good despite there being some eccentricities in some of the clues ( e.g.CASTLE) and some unfamiliar words (e.g.POTTO).
    I can’t say it was my fastest solve but it was rather enjoyable.
    Thanks Otterden.

  58. (Respect, muffin! You may be interested in a more comprehensive explanation of my abhorrence of said acronym – and what it stands for – in my two lengthier late posts under Screw’s magnificent 26671)

  60. I’m always late to start these puzzles compared with most of you, I’m afraid, but I like to chip in when it’s appropriate. Today the least said the better (about SPEEDO and a few others), but after a quick perusal of the blog up to this point I didn’t see any reference to the obvious fact that IA is Iowa (not Indiana, by the way) in the US. There is nothing ’empty’ about this – hence my puzzlement at the clue.

    Alan Browne

  61. I think 15, 18 (just) and 19 across, and 14 down, are almost quite good. 8 down is indeed sound. But the others, for me and for some other tightarses would not pass muster for one reason or another, or several reasons all at the same time, and I suppose this is why the puzzle has been seen as so tricky: we have to edit the puzzle in order to solve it, which ish shurely wrongh.

    My personal favourite is ‘first remark’ for R, immediately followed by ‘to finish’ for O. But I did also enjoy immensely ‘found in gainful employment’ for LE.

    Keep ’em comin’.

  63. Not cheating perhaps, but not good form. If you haven’t worked out the cryptic part, how can you be sure that your answer is correct? Unparsed clues = “not finished” when I do the crossword.

  64. My apologies to Jason at 9. On my scan through the blog I failed to spot that he had already pointed out IA = Iowa before I did at 60.

    Alan Browne

  65. Yet another awful puzzle from Otterden.

    As has been pointed out many of the clues are unsolvable unless one decides that the setter isn’t actually cluing correctly or is just ignoring the basic cryptic grammar.

    Whichever it is it’s a job for the editor. ( Yes there is one 😉 )

    The bottom line is that a lot of the “correct” answers actually can’t be the answer!!!!

    Thanks to Andrew

  66. IMO it is only “cheating” if you mislead others (or yourself). If I post at times, as many other do, that I finished the crossword but needed help with fully parsing one or two clues or had to check that a word was correct, I’m not misleading anyone so I am not cheating. Also, I don’t feel any guilt about using ‘aids’ when necessary, which I regard as educating myself so that I might do better next time. If I posted claiming to have finished it unaided when I hadn’t, that would be cheating.

  67. As someone in Another Place said recently, the clue is in the name of the game. if it’s not “good form” to enter an answer from definition supported by the crossers, then what’s the point of having a grid? Might as well just put down a random list of cryptic clues. For those of us who don’t hold to the moral high ground of cruciverbalism, Otterden’s rather anarchic style could produce a challenge which it was fun to solve. Worked for me …

  69. Note from an overseas solver.

    In Australia we don’t have Local Education Authorities so that made 2 un-solveable. I don’t usually have a problem with clues like that, because I can use the crossers to take a stab, but in this case, both crossers depended on 2. So that area of the puzzle, and the consequent clues that depended on 1 went unsolved.

    Oh, and I’m in the Jennyk camp regarding help. If you never need help with parsing or to check an answer then you are playing below your grade.

  70. BNTO @65 – you would have a good point there if cryptic crosswords had a defined set of rules. As you know they don’t, it is just custom and tradition.

    You talk as though not acting according to tradition is unthinkable. Personally I like it that Otterden is not slavishly following those traditions.

  71. Very late I know but just finished before today’s offering arrives. 5d Everton Football Club were known as the TOFFEEs I believe. I am in the “I couldn’t set a crossword just thankful for those who do” school. If every setter followed the ‘rules’ in the same way we would all give up through boredom.

  72. Of course the crossers help, but the clue should still stand alone as solvable. That’s just ‘good technique’ which Otterden sadly lacks. A dreadsful puzzle.

  73. Having been unable to finish several Guardians lately I was pleased to finish this in an hour, held up only by “hetero”. I thought it was fairly clued and don’t quite understand the antipathy expressed.

  74. PeeDee @70

    You are of course correct. I have posted the rules ,as I perceive them, on here several times. Here they are again:

    The setter gets an empty grid.

    He fills it with words which interesect correctly at the “crossers”.

    He then writes a set of clues to help the solver fill in the empty grid.

    The solver receives the empty grid and tries to reproduce the “filled” grid that the solver produced. (Using the clues only if his clairvoyance fails him. 🙂 )

    That’s it!

    My criticism earlier was of the clues and as I was trying to be polite perhaps I wasn’t clear. The main problem that a lot of the clues didn’t really lead to the answers. For instance the use of the “following 1” device didn’t really tell us the whole story. (In fact in one case it was actually misleading.)

    Ximenes wrote his proposed rules based on fairness to the setter and my gripe was based on this. I wasn’t requiring the clues to be Ximenean, just fair.

    However our esteemed “editor” obviously judged that the clues were “Fair enough” for the Guardian cryptic so who am I to comment! 😉

  75. Brendan – I like your definition of the rules!

    But isn’t appealing to fairness really just another way saying “my rules, not yours”? What seems fair to one person is unfair to another. That certainly seems to be the case from reading the comments.

    I can certainly understand your gripes. Otterden’s perspective on fairness is not to your own personal taste. It was the bit about it being the duty of the editor to stamp out such puzzles (those not conforming to your own viewpoint) that left me a little bit baffled.

  76. cookie@65 (et jennyk et al) – Hurriedly (I should be elsewhere). No, I don’t think you’re cheating! Please read my earlier comments in Screw’s great 26671 for clarity. With respect, and affection, you perhaps read my thoughts there too quickly (or I was unclear) – I noted that you explained the acronym when I had already pointed out that I’d known it long before its arrival on these shores.

    The underpinning purpose of the Times for the Times site whence it comes, as the title indicates, is to post times – so I can understand people ‘bunging’ answers in to produce fast times. Our warm corner of cyberspace is more a solving site than a competitive one.

    I do think a great deal of beauty and enjoyment – not to mention cerebral exercise – can be lost by over-reliance on aids.

    As for ‘biffing’, I believe the very existence of this shorthand could add to the temptation for some (not you, of course) to give in too early and so miss some of the fun. For beginners, visiting fifteensquared, I worry that they may be persuaded that this is normal behaviour – which would be a shame. These are just two reasons that I wish the tawdry acronym could be banished from our site….

    Personally, I only solve on paper as I know (from all the Times Crossword books I’ve solved – which have answers in the back) that I might otherwise be tempted to give up too quickly.

    Have a lovely day!

    Wx

  78. Coochiemudlo@69 – Are you saying that Alfred Brendel has no right to take pleasure from playing a technically easy piano piece – or that Wayne Rooney shouldn’t enjoy a simple “tap-in” goal?!! Such reason doth set my heart aquiver!

  79. William F P @76
    Thank you for your explanation. I still think, though, as I said in my response to your comment on Screw’s puzzle, it is just as tempting to enter solutions without fully parsing on paper as online.

    William F P @78

    Coochiemudlo @69 said “If you never need help with parsing” [my emphasis]. I’m sure you would agree that it would be a waste if Brendel and Rooney never stretched themselves beyond their comfort zones.

    Off to try the Indy’s Prize (on paper!)

  80. I can’t judge the setting style because I was held up by the large number of Britannocentric solutions (an observation, not a criticism). I suspected 1A was elephant but I hesitated because I couldn’t determine if an “elephant castle” was an actual thing.

    There was also speedo, LEA, Toffee, earth wire, and “off Shaw”, which – as with any sounds-like clues that involve dropping r’s – I would never, ever have divined in my lifetime.

  81. I have been out most of the day, so this comment will be seen by few but blogger Andrew (to whom thanks). but here goes. I enjoyed this puzzle more that Otterden’s previous offerings. Perhaps I am getting used to his certainly distinctive style. One particular point, in reference to baerchen @31 on the second definition of SPEEDO in 5A. I recall that many years ago, the musician Johnny Dankworth (now Sir John Phillip William Dankworth CBE) was stopped for some reason while driving, and was prosecuted whn it was discovered that his speedometer was not working. His successful defence was that the law required just “an accurate means of judging a car’s speed” or something to that effect, and that he had perfect pitch, and knew that when travelling at some particular speed his engine pitched E-flat or whatever. So perhaps, in the UK at least, if he does not have perfect pitch, a driver does need a speedo.

  82. Thanks Andrew and – grudgingly – Otterden.

    I was beaten by most if the top half here and found some of the parsings questionable. But they do all seem to be reasonably explainable and – despite HH’s comment – are all generally solvable in their own right if you know how (which I sadly didn’t on too many occasions).

    I think that SPEEDOS have long since disappeared as a generic term in favour of the far more descriptive BUDGIE SMUGGLERS!

    I had no difficulty with the subtractive anagram but still can’t see why STRAIGHT is HERETO.

    But vive le difference. If all setters were the same, then life would be pretty dull.

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