Guardian Prize 27,561 / Arachne

129 comments on “Guardian Prize 27,561 / Arachne”

1. Had I been told in advance that the puzzle contained a hidden theme related to the birthday of a crossword blogger, I would have been somewhat grouchy.

   Quite wrongly. A nice puzzle that could be enjoyed without even suspecting the theme.

   But the theme has obviously increased the sum of human happiness so hooray for the theme.

   I also didn’t understand Heat. A less elegant clue than this setter normaly gives us perhaps.

   A belated happy birthday!

2. Thanks Eileen and belated 23,24,26. The theme went right over my head but I think I might be forgiven for that. I didn’t even register the significance of 15a. For me this was one of those which was pretty well unyielding at first pass but where after a few crossing letters became available the logjam broke and the rest fell into place readily enough. My LOIs were 6d and 15a, don’t know quite why now but I couldn’t get ‘octagonal’ out of my mind even though it didn’t fit. I’m still not sure about 8d, is ‘withdraw’ doing double duty taking half the heart (ti) out of ‘retire’?

   With the benefit of your explanation it is now clear to me that it is all much more clever than I had realised.

3. Congratulations Eileen on your special birthday and thank you Arachne for such a delightful puzzle – a fitting tribute to my favourite blogger.

4. I finished this – eventually – but I realise now that I live on an entirely different planet. Sigh.

5. Eileen,
   Happy birthday to you! I rarely post, since I live in Chicago and don’t get to the puzzle until most have long gone to bed, but I’m an avid fan of the site, (if a ‘lurker’) and I am always heartened when I see my namesake (should I say homophone?) as the blogger! Your posts are always delightful.

   Hope you had an ideal day! I can understand how starting your day with this lovely puzzle would be part of an ideal day! I never say perfect—but there are many different ways for a day to be ideal.

   Thank you for the blog that helped me uncover its hidden meaning and thanks to Arachne for this puzzle.

6. This puzzle was such a delight, although I didn’t get the theme until my LOI, 14a EILEEN! I am sure this gift from Arachne added greatly to the enjoyment of your special day, Eileen. We are so lucky to have such a DOYENNE as you as a regular BLOGGER on 15 SQUARED. MANY HAPPY RETURNS to a LIONESS of crossword solving.
   Thank you (as ever) for a detailed and careful explanatory blog, Eileen, and thank you to Arachne for demonstrating the esteem in which Eileen is held in such a clever, kind and memorable way.

7. [I took so long to type that, I crossed with comments 3, 4 and 5.]

8. For several weeks now I have been doing the Prize on weekends, but not (or only rarely) coming here to 15^2 to read/comment.  But I enjoyed last Saturday’s Arachne so much that I resolved to come here on Friday night (which it still is here – I haven’t even left the office yet!) or Saturday, just to post how delightful I found it to be.

   But . . . after reading Eileen’s blog, I must say, I HAD NO IDEA just how brilliant, and how marvelous a birthday tribute, this puzzle really was!!  I remember noticing EILEEN in 14ac (and thinking, wouldn;t it be nice if Eileen turn out to be the blogger), but I completely missed the cleverness of 15ac, and I had no idea of the birthday significance, or that several other parts of the puzzle (say, 1ac, 5ac, 27ac) were intentionally included in honor of our esteemed blogger!!!  23, 24, 26 indeed!! (Even though that is not a birthday salutation we typically use here in the US.)

   Brava to the splendid Arachne, Brava and happy special birthday (“and many more”, as we sing here as a coda to the “Happy Birthday” song!) to the equally splendid Eileen, and many thanks also to the other commenters (whose comments I mostly look forward to reading after this post rather than before it as usually is the case).

9. Julie @7 –

   Ha ha, I took so long to type that, I crossed with comments  4, 5, 6, and 7!

10. Dear Eileen, so glad you had your favourite setter on your important day.  I missed that and the theme but enjoyed the puzzle of course.  Brilliant, both.

11. If it’s possible to smile out loud then that’s what I did when I solved this.

    Many happy returns Eileen, and many thanks to Arachne.

12. Whenever we need help with parsing a crossword we always say “shall we ask Eileen?”. Our LOI was Eileen and I wondered if the brilliant Arachne was thinking of you at the time – although I confess that we didn’t twig the theme.

    What a lovely tribute and many congratulations on your special birthday. It was my 60th on Saturday so I’m feeling a bit chuffed that I share a birthday with my crossword heroine.

    Thank you for all your help over the past few years – without you and the other excellent bloggers on fifteen squared we would have given up on cryptics long ago. Now we finish most of them.

    Big hugs to both you and Arachne.x

13. Thanks Eileen and Arachne.
    Couldn’t post any sooner being a prize xwd. Eileen, you richly deserve the tribute and wishing you many more.

14. 8 down … Retire! I was trying to make it work with Retreat. Which is so close to retread anyway it didn’t make much sense. Thanks for that.

    Completely missed the theme, so I’m glad I visited here! Now on with today’s offering …

15. Speechless.

    Best crossword ever

16. Biggles A@2

    The “withdrawal” is reTIre, TI being the “heart” which when rendered “half-heartedly” is reTre and +AD.

    I always thought MANY HAPPY RETURNS was what you said to someone who said e.g Happy Christmas and so forth.

17. Thanks Arachne and Eileen

    When I put in the answer to 14 I thought will Eileen appreciate this “nod”? I also was reminded of Eileen Dover.I did not twig to the theme but appreciate it now.
    As a mathematician I am ashamed to say I did not get 15a without help from the check button.
    We all have our favorite setters and bloggers. Eileen is my favorite blogger. Belated birthday wishes.
    Hi to JinA and GinF. May I identify as a fellow Aussie? Julie, I was on the Sunshinne Coast a couple of weeks ago.

18. Belated birthday returns, Eileen and what a great present.

    Long may you blog!

19. I now want to redo the puzzle!
    Very many happy returns, Eileen.

20. Congratulations Eileen. I too thought of you when I put in the answer but did not realise the significance..wonderful and I remember the days when for some of us you were auntie Eileen in recognition of your fantastic contribution to this site. Thanks for being you. I always read but rarely contribute but this is a special occasion. Best wishes from another antipodean. Anna on the Gold Coast

21. Thanks Arachne and congratulations Eilen

    Sorry, I’m obviously being slow, but could someone please spell out the definition for SQUARED for me?

22. …not the “fifteensquared” bit, of course – why “by itslelf”>

23. ..”itself”? (one of the words that always comes out wrong when I’m typing!)

24. 15a is one of the cleverest and subtlest clues I’ve seen and that’s regardless of the theme overlay

    I had no idea about the hidden theme, but think it’s wonderful and appropriate that a cherished setter should communicate with a respected solver this way

25. Well I so often miss themes and this was no exception, though I did notice 14a and like DaveMc hoped that you might be the blogger, Eileen.  Now that I understand it all, many congratulations – what a lovely present.  Hope to see you at the York S&B in October.  (Christina and I bumped into Enigmatist in York yesterday and told him we’d be there.)

    On non-theme matters, I thought 9a NEIGHBOUR and 13d TEAM PLAYER were great clues.  (And I wondered if someone would complain that LIONESS is sexist.)

    muffin – “by itself” meaning multiplied by itself.

    Many thanks to Arachne and Eileen.

26. muffin – a number multiplied by itself, as in two squared

27. Dimly noticed the ‘special’ clues ( MANY HAPPY RETURNS was my way in to the puzzle)…. and completely failed to put them together. As many others have said, a fine and enjoyable puzzle, even without any ‘domain specific knowledge’. But the pleasure is compounded (squared even ?) on realising what has really gone on beneath the surface.

    Apart from the splendid effort of Arachne to compose such a beautiful puzzle while also making it entirely accessible to all, a round of applause for the crossword editor for making sure it turned up on the right date.

28. Thanks Lord Jim and Nevera

29. Thanks to Arachne and Eileen. A delightful puzzle without the ghost theme (and I’ve read all the Lee Child-REACHER novels) but a superb one when all is revealed. Re Eileen’s comment on 14ac, my favorite is not a title but an author: R. U. Kidding.

30. Just brilliant when all is revealed. EILEEN was also our loi and we had similar “wouldn’t it be nice if……” thoughts and were unaware of the birthday theme. I’m with Hedgehog in wanting to do it again now. AndrewB l@1 nails it with “increasing the sum of human happiness” – we need more of it. Thanks to Arachne for creating the mechanism and to Eileen for being who she is and sharing it – and belated MHRs of course.

31. warm fuzzy glow…nice one ladies

32. I rarely pick up the Saturday Prize crossword, but a friend tipped me off to try this one.  And no wonder!

    I got EILEEN quite early on, and when BLOGGER went in followed by 15 SQUARED the theme was impossible to miss – even for me.

    Eileen, this is so well deserved, and I am really pleased that it was a masterpiece by Arachne that came on your special birthday and blogging day.

    I too got stuck with HEAT, although I knew it had to be that.  Likewise REACHER, but again it had to be that – I had temporarily forgotten the author’s name.

    There was plenty to admire in this puzzle, with DOYENNE and LIONESS, appropriately, at the top!

    Congratulations, Eileen, and to Arachne for a fitting puzzle.

33. Just wonderful!

    14ac (EILEEN) was my second to last in – I always have trouble with ‘sounds like’ clues – and I’d entirely missed the significance of 15ac, even though I saw SQUARED relatively easily. My LOI was actually HEAT; I’d guessed it earlier, but left it out until the end because I couldn’t see the ‘AT’  part, so thank you Eileen, as always, for explaining it – and doing so in a way that didn’t make me feel too bad!

    A very happy, if belated, birthday! You were the blogger on the first puzzle I ever commented on, and your response made me feel welcome and I’ve enjoyed your blogs – along with the others, of course, ever since.

    And thanks to Arachne, for turning a wonderful idea into such a neat puzzle.

    (I tried to put this comment – or something close – a while back, but it didn’t seem to get through. I hope this doesn’t end up as a duplicate.)

34. May we (John – Job and Pauline – pvb) be among the many congratulating you on your birthday and all your erudite and entertaining blogs.  We admit that we never spotted the brilliant ghost theme in this puzzle which we have revisited with great delight this morning.  We have said previously how much we enjoyed meeting you at the Derby S and B, and what better tribute could the spider woman have devised.  Many thanks to both.

35. Jeaniebee
    Now I know why I am always on Eileen’s wavelength, though with three years to go! Congratulations! Missed the theme of course and then realised what a great puzzle it was. Thanks spiderwoman and Eileen.

36. Re funny names, don’t forget Teresa Green

37. Job@36

    and Walter Wall the carpet salesman

38. Re funny names again, I actually knew an Eileen Forward.

    A brilliant puzzle from Arachne for a very special blogger on her significant birthday.
    Although we signed your card at Derby, we, shamefully, failed to spot the theme. But we have really enjoyed revisiting the puzzle this morning and reading, and sharing, everyone’s love and admiration for you.
    23, 24, 26 and many more.

39. Congratulations on your big day, Eileen, and thanks to you and to Arachne.

    I wasn’t aware of the theme of the puzzle and had intended to query EILEEN/AILEEN.  I was also unsure as to why ‘by itself’ should be the definition to 15ac.  Of course, your blog makes it all clear.

    I must say, you lot seem a thoroughly nice lot of people.  I hope i can get to one of your gatherings next year.

40. Wot baerchen @31 said. The realisation (belatedly, of course) of what was going on was a really heart-warming moment. Thanks Eileen for all you do to help make this site the wonderful forum it is.

41. All of the above! I was going to say ‘nice nod to Joy Adamson’ in 1a–what an irrelevance that became in the context, and what a lovingly crafted gift from Arachne to Eileen.

    JinA, notwithstanding etiquette and Alphalpha’s caution yesterday, on such an occasion your tribute was prescient and appropriate.

    As for the puzzle per se, it was a pleasure as usual from the web weaver. It’s ages since I heard ‘one’ meaning ‘a certain’, dnk the child hero but gettable, thought ‘took’ for ‘shot’ was about game hunting rather than photography (much better Eileen), and loved Grumpy’s pal’s piles: what a counterpoint to the poignancy of the occasion!

42. What a brilliant crossword! And happy belated birthday, Eileen. I didn’t see the theme of course, but now I’ve been told, it puts the cherry on the the (birthday) cake.

    My favourite was HEAT. Had no idea about kips and ats, but looked kip and then at up in Chambers on the off-chance. Couldn’t stop smiling. Also loved SQUARED.

    Thank you Arachne, and of course Eileen.You do a super job, ladies.

43. Many congratulations to you, Eileen. And thanks to you for the blog, and to Arachne for this splendid puzzle.

44. btw, Eileen. I was one of those who wasn’t keen on the Fiona Shaw theme. Ghost themes I rather like but not the “up front” ones. I find they distract from the puzzle itself. They can make the puzzle too easy if it’s a familiar theme, or you keep trying to make each clue fit the theme. But your theme was completely transparent, at least to me.

45. What a delightful accolade to the doyenne of bloggers. I too thought of Eileen at 14a, but was totally unaware of the underlying theme. Thank you Arachne and, of course Eileen.

46. Thanks to Arachne and Eileen. Everything has been said about this wonderful and touching crossword. I picked up the theme quite early and loved Grumpy pal with piles first delivers. A belated happy birthday to you Eileen (been dying to say something all week but obviously could not) and to Arachne for devising such a tribute. Keep up the good work ladies.

47. Thank you Arachne and 14ac for a lovely puzzle, and a belated 23, 24,26 to you Eileen.

48. Apologies if anyone else has already answered Alphalpha @16. MANY HAPPY RETURNS is short for “many happy returns of the day”, in other words, may your birthday come round again for many years to come. Nothing to do with returning Christmas greetings!

    Many thanks to Arachne and especially to Eileen, who, like me, has another reason to celebrate along with the French nation each July 14th.

49. Thanks to the birthday girl for the usual splendid blog, and to the girl from Spider Towers for the usual splendid puzzle.  Two of my favourite cruciverbal ladies on the same webpage, celebrating the delights of our harmless pastime and a special day.  You don’t get that with Sudoku.  And a special thanks to Eileen for welcoming me to the 225 community when I first posted here, nervously, a decade ago this month.

50. What a lovely puzzle. Many thanks to Arachne and 23,24,26 to Eileen

51. Thank you Arachne for a brilliant puzzle and Eileen for a great blog – I was so hoping last Saturday that you would be the blogger, I remembered your birthday was the 14th of July from a comment on fifteensquared recently.

    The clue for RIALTO is even more subtle, the swamp area around the island of Torcello increased in the 14th century and malaria was one of the main reasons for its depopulation.

    If Eileen has not been to Florence or Venice, it would be wonderful if she could visit one of those places to celebrate again – perhaps with Arachne?

     

52. Congratulations EILEEN. Everything has been said about the rather good puzzle which I enjoyed.
    Thanks Arachne.

53. I don’t often look at the blogs for puzzles solved a week before, but luckily my inadequate knowledge of Laotian currency left a niggling doubt.  I am sorry to say the theme and its significance escaped my notice entirely last week, but I was delighted today to have the clever and thoughtful tribute to one of my favourite 15 15 5s pointed out.  23, 24, 26 belatedly.

54. [Hi kevin@17, Lovely to have had a fellow puzzler close by. Did you let me know another time where you live? I know brucew@aus said he had a sister on the Sunshine Coast.
    Anna van hoof@20, Great to know that we have yet another Aussie solver contributing, and a Queenslander at that!]
    I just wanted to thank all contributors who have added their thoughts and best wishes to this blog.

55. There is a great Usborne children’s book called Things People Do in which all the characters have appropriate names. Our favourites were Mike Atsill, the vet, and Jack Itup, the car mechanic.

56. I solved the puzzle rather hastily last week, though with the enjoyment that Arachne always provides, as I was in a hurry to get away on holiday, and missed most of the theme, even though I knew about Eileen’s Big Day. So it was very pleasant surprise to read the blog this morning. Many Happy Returns indeed!

57. All I’d want to say about this super puzzle has already been said, but I’d like to add my thanks to Arachne & Eileen. Belated birthday greetings, Eileen, hope you’ve had a great week.

58. That was a late night what with catching up with the Open highlights and then visiting this blog to discover that Arachne had concocted a wonderful birthday present in disguise. I too wish to thank Eileen for her efforts over my relatively short while visiting 15^2 and her welcoming inclusiveness. And Arachne for such a thoughtful enterprise.

    I had no notion that there was a roundy birthday at the back of it all so MANY HAPPY RETURNS went straight over my head and my whiskers only started twitching when I had SQUARED and EILEEN as lois. On MANY HAPPY RETURNS (Sheffield Hatter@48,) I had never really given much thought to its meaning and now I see that I’ve been mis-using it for ever; some amusement results since anyone wishing me a happy birthday might have received a MANY HAPPY RETURNS in reply. In this part of the world we use an expression similar to MANY HAPPY RETURNS to greet the arrival of new potatoes. That’s about as many MANY HAPPY RETURNS as I can fit into a paragraph, all of them rather like a RUSH MAT in front of the fire – most heartfelt.

    Yes, perhaps not.

    JinA@various: hope I didn’t seem like a grumpy friend yesterday – I too was bursting to know if EILEEN was eponymous in this case.

    And Eileen, I think there might even be another unwrapped present in the brilliantly hidden anagrind for APOPLECTIC, whereby “incensed” does double duty?  And is DOYENNE an &lit?

    Great fun and – not for the first time – whatever the plural of “Brava” is.

     

59. I think it would be “brave” (bra-vay), Alphalpha.

60. Muffin@59: Aha.  That then.

    [Nice to see you being name-checked by Paul yesterday.]

61. Oh my. Lump in the throat time. Loved the puzzle, as always, missed the theme, as usual. So glad someone pointed me here since I don’t usually check prize puzzles. Congrats Eileen and respects to Arachne.

62. It was only when reviewing just before coming here that I wondered if EILEEN would be today’s blogger, but was too impatient to get here to look for more. A beautiful gift from one 27 to another!

    Much as I hestitate to take issue with the birthday girl and the mighty Gaufrid combined, I didn’t read 10a as an &lit but homophone + def (parcel = TRACT).

    I failed to parse AT in 11, too, or the wordplay in 17, which I just read as a sort of cryptic double def, so thanks, as ever, Eileen for explaining.

    Btw, Guardian crossword editor Hugh Stephenson did more than just arrange (in collusion with Gaufrid?) for this puzzle to arrive on Eileen’s watch: he also published a rare Editor’s Update on the Guardian blog with a plug for fifteensquared and even sent a copy of it to followers’ emails (well, mine at least): https://www.theguardian.com/crosswords/crossword-blog/2018/jul/15/old-setters-and-new-conventions/

    Well, you asked for it, Eileen, so I’m sending you My Big Book of Birthdays by the little-known Spanish author Juan Llerolda! Happy Birthday!

63. … although rereading the Editor’s Update, I notice he seems to suggest looking at his own parsing notes on Saturdays, and 15^2 for the “other weekday puzzles”.

64. On the subject of (actual) children’s books, our first thought for 25a was ‘I’M A BAD MAN’ which is what Burglar Bill (a thief!) confessed on seeing the error of his ways in the book by the Ahlbergs (much loved in our family).

    Tried to make it fit for ages without success!

65. Thank you all, so very much, for such kind comments and wishes.

    I’ve had a fantastic week – a really lovely family weekend, with banked presents of two gourmet meals and two super theatre outings, stretching into next year.

    One of my favourite cards had the stark message on the front:

    You’re 80

    You look 40

    You feel 25

    You act 15

    = 80

    Perhaps I’ll grow up soon!

    I’ve left others to deal with quibbles today but re 10ac [Tony @62] – to exonerate Gaufrid, if necessary – it was I and not he who claimed 10 ac as &lit.

    Hoping to see many of you in York in October. xx

     

66. |Mr Beaver @64, when I lived in London I had a boyfriend called Bill, now a well known scientist, who looked just like a burglar – the police were always searching his Gladstone bag for a jemmy.]

67. I know I always read this later than most with the time zone effect and my own disorganisation but I must add my congratulations to both Arachne and Eileen for a superb combined effort – even if one of them didn’t know it was. I thoroughly enjoy and appreciate the work of both setter and blogger.

    May there be many more from both. Thank you ladies from the other side of the world.

68. PS: those of you who have been at recent S and Bs have been able to enjoy some very clever puzzles by Egbert [half of the deadly duo known as Bert and Joyce].

    My good friend Chris [[Eg]Bert sent me a quite remarkable puzzle to celebrate my birthday, which I think is worthy of a much wider audience. It is not ‘all about me’ and so I would warmly recommend it. If you would like a copy, just post a comment here and I’ll forward it to you – as you know,I have your email addresses, if you comment.

69. Happy belated birthday, Eileen. Can’t believe you’re 80…you don’t sound a day over 25. Andf I’m so pleased that you <a href=”https://www.theguardian.com/crosswords/cryptic/27560#comment-118259048″>did</a> get to blog your tribute.

70. I would love to have a copy of your birthday puzzle set by Egbert, thank you Eileen (and Egbert).

71. Many thanks to the incomparable Eileen for a lovely blog, and to everyone for the kind comments.

    When I approached Hugh Stephenson with the idea for this puzzle I thought there might be a bit of argy-bargy, as it would so closely follow my previous one (5 July, celebrating the 70th birthday of the NHS). Far from it. Hugh enthusiastically consented, agreeing with me that the brilliant Fifteensquared is vital to the continuing health of our shared pastime, and that our Eileen is a vital part of Fifteensquared. I’d like to take this opportunity to thank everyone who makes the site possible – take a bow, Gaufrid, and all the other wonderful bloggers. Thanks, too, to each and every crossword enthusiast who takes the trouble to contribute. We setters are so very grateful to you all.

    Love and hugs,

    Arachne

72. I must add my thanks to Hugh Stephenson, the Crossword Editor, for agreeing to Arachne’s unusual request and for his generous plug for our site in his latest blog.

    Now, as Pepys said …

73. Eileen; your kind offer of a copy of your special birthday puzzle is gratefully accepted.  I’m sure it will be a permanent reminder of happy weekend puzzling.

74. Happy Birthday Eileen from Spain and thanks so much Arachne for a terrific celebration puzzle, although as ever I missed the significance completely.  It has all been said above, and so I would just like to ask for a copy of the special Egbert crossword if I may.  Many Happy Returns of the Day!!

75. Eileen@80 I’d love a copy of your Egbert puzzle please.

76. Congratulations, Eileen, and belated best wishes for last Saturday.  Many thanks also to the Spiderlady for a beautifully crafted puzzle.  I got the theme near the end and was able to use it to assist with the last one, 14, for the star herself.

    I find it interesting that there are two separate words for the same thing in OCTANGULAR and octagonal.  I’m much more familiar with the latter but I wonder which is more common in everyday usage.

77. Late congratulations to both Eileen and Arachne -a tribute as well executed as deserved. Eileen, I would like to try the Egbert crossword.

78. [alphalpha@58, No offence taken. I was also very excited at the thought that Eileen might get to blog her own puzzle! Then I just hoped afterwards that my remark on Friday didn’t spoil the solve for anyone working on the Prize right up to the deadline for the blog publication. Au contraire, alphalpha, I always enjoy both the content and tone of your posts.]

79. Eileen@68 I’d appreciate you sending me the Egbert puzzle. Thank you both.

80. Rather a hectic day yesterday, so we’re a bit late with our praise for this great puzzle celebrating Eileen’s big day and her fantastic contribution to this site. Many thanks to Hugh Stephenson for agreeing to publish the puzzle, which, as others have said, is great fun to solve even if you are not aware of the celebratory theme.
    Many thanks to Arachne for the fun and the tribute, and of course to Eileen for the blog (and for your publicity for the Egbert)

81. Happy birthday Eileen, many congratulations!

82. A lovely tribute to a superb blogger by a superb setter. Belated birthday wishes to Eileen!

83. Good to see Hugh getting some praise for once.  He seems to get it in the neck quite a bit on this site, but as I have said on several occasions here, to bring us crosswords from the likes of Paul, Picaroon, Arachne, Enigmatist, Nutmeg, Philestine, Vlad, Imogen, Crucible, now Vulcan etc., is really impressive, and to do so on an interactive site without charge so that I and others who live in far flung places where we do not see a Guardian newspaper can solve without even a printer, is very laudable.  Hugh you are my hero at least!!

    And finally 225 once again shows its true colours a community of friends cemented together by crosswords but discovering we often have more in common.  All the Australians discovering each other ditto the Americans, choir members, mathematicians, schoolteachers, and those of us who are retired and so much enjoy the daily intercourse which is 225.  Long may it continue!!

84. Thanks to Arachne and belated congratulations on your birthday Eileen. A delightful and well-earned pressie

85. Anyone else notice that OCTANGULAR is an anagram of the first 10 letters of CONGRATULAtions? I wanted to pass this on by way of a clue, but how to define the word? Got as far as “Octangular-shaped particles: gripping introduction to theory …” CONGRATULA*(T)IONS

    Eileen, I would like to try the Egbert puzzle, too, please.

86. Good grief, Tony – the short answer is ‘No’! But well done!

    Puzzle sent. [I hope you’re all enjoying it. 😉  Chris is willing to help out if you’re having problems.]

87. Octangular-Shaped Particles: gripping introduction to theory produces plaudits (10)

    Thanks, Eileen. Hasn’t arrived yet but looking forward to it already

88. Tony @87, if RIALTO is taken into consideration, might it make CONGRATULATORIAL, if there is such a word?

89. This is the first time I’ve looked up a prize blog (as I’d just completed this weekend’s prize – 21st/22nd – first time I’d sone so). So firstly I learn that the blog is a week after (makes sense!) and second, I come across this genuinely touching and warm piece of humanity. So glad I did! I’m pretty new to this site (and cyptics in general) but would underline all the comments made about Eileen. She makes you feel welcome and she educates you without making you feel foolish (a rare skill). And what a lovely thing for Arachne to have done!

    Oh, and can I just throw Ceasar Blue into the bad-name-joke mixer?

90. @Cookie, excellent spot! It may not be in the dictionaries yet but, googling, it certainly has currency — along with congratulatorially. Who knows what other congratulational depths this puzzle plumbs?

91. Also Alphalpha @58 hints at some hidden surprise to do with APOPLECTIC …

92. …which I don’t understand: APOPLECTIC isn’t an anagram.

93. perhaps the anagram indicator is ‘incensed’?

94. Cookie@93: There you go.

    Just thought it was wonderful to have the anagram indicator [so that’s what anagrind means] as the definition as well.  New ground?

95. I also thought that DOYENNE was the most beautiful @lit, although you do have to stand back a bit to see it.

96. Cookie, I think as Eileen says, it’s not an anagram: it’s a charade with deletions, as blogged. Alphalpha also mentions 27a, which he says is an &lit. Whether or not that’s right, the surface sums up nicely.

    I was also thinking congratulatorial sounds like it might mean “a lesson in congratulating” — which this poetic puzzle certainly is

97. JinA@78: Whew, it was just that when I saw your post you – and I can’t think of another way of saying this – tipped me the wink, which wink I was nursing closely to my bosom so to speak and I was concerned about cats and bags in general.  Didn’t mean to snap, although your kind words about offerings on the site incline me to say: snap! Me too.

98. Alphalpha, we crossed. Actually, it’s generally considered bad form to use the definition as part of the wordplay (the dreaded “double duty”), unless it’s an &lit, which means the whole clue is both the definition and simultaneously the wordplay.

99. Tony@98

    Hmm. I thought it was rather clever but there you go. I’m arguing for a demi&lit I suppose, as I say: new ground? (Yes the double duty problem: much eyebrow waggling usually. But this one tickled me…)

100. I thought Alphalpha meant one to use APOPLECTIC as the anagrind and ‘incensed’ as the anagram indicator to find a word / phrase relevant to the theme, for instance “poetic clap”, which is nonsense of course.

     Incidentally, Arachne has been very naughty, she caught the moth Leto venus in her web and left us the rests ( A[t] P[e]OPLE + C[onvulse] gives teonvulse* )

101. It’s Monday morning here and I just finished the current Prize (though I have to confess to using more external aids than I would like). Before getting up to face the day, I remembered I had a couple of queries from the previous week so I came here
     – and was amazed to see how many responses there were to a week old puzzle. Now, of course, I understand why. Many thanks to Arachne (and Hugh S) for the fantastic puzzle and please accept yet more belated birthday greetings from Australia to you, Eileen.
     [Dan Druff the Barber was highly amusing to my 6 year old self. I’ll draw a veil over the ones that appealed to the 14 year old version!]

102. I’m very late to the party and of course missed the theme, but many congratulations Eileen!! I had no idea you had reached such a great age.

103. it was a bit of a shock to me, too, drofle. 😉

104. I am very late to this (I was out walking on Saturday and forgot to comment), so a very belated Happy Birthday to Eileen. This was a lovely tribute, and I didn’t work it out until EILEEN was last in!

     Thanks to Eileen and Arachne

105. At school, a very long time ago, a master who occasionally taught us medieval history was named Norman Castle;  a bit late but I have been encouraged by the others.

106. Congratulations Eileen. The compliment Arachne has paid you certainly beats just winning the prize crossword! It’s well deserved, you’ve always struck me as fair and balanced and aware of others.

107. What a marvellous birthday treat for you, Eileen!

     I was unaware of the occasion, so missed most of what was going on, but must take the opportunity to add my best wishes and thanks to all concerned.

108. @Cookie
     Ha! “Poetic clap” seems rather apt to me, allowing poetic license. As for the moth, it’s only right the Lady Spider should get an extra little treat for such a masterwork.

109. @Alphalpha,

     The usual term is ‘semi&lit’. There’s a full explanation of both types by the wonderful Harry Hoskins here:

     http://www.hoskinscrosswords.com/lit-and-semi-lit-clues.html

110. @Tony, Arachne caught another moth,  at 11a she caught one of the Tarache genus ( H[eartach]E gives eartach* ) – yes, she deserves them, the puzzle is a tour de force, a lovely tribute to Eileen.

111. Eileen

     if it’s not too late, i would like a copy of Egbert’s puzzle, please

     many thanks

112. Congratulations Eileen and welcome to the club.(I jooned in March). They say that crosswords are good for the brain. It certainly seems to be working for you.

113. Belatedly Happy Birthday, Eileen and thank you for your wonderful blogs. I would love the Egbert puzzle too, if I am not too late. Thanks too to Arachne – we guessed quite quickly that the puzzle was for fifteensquared’s Eileen. What a lovely thing to do.

114. Tony@109

     Thanks for that.

     Cookie@110 You’re a wonder

      

115. @Cookie,
     That’s incredible! Your moth GK is impressive too. Do you have spider nature yourself, or did you use web tools to spot the moths?

     @Alphalpha, np. There’s definitely something special about that clue. It can be read as self-referental, or at least referring to the puzzle it’s part of. Good word for the bottom right, too, with LIONESS top left — among the various meanings of which I find on
     urban dictionary is:
     “a 30 something woman who takes care of younger women and helps them realize their potential by being a mentor and source of inspiration.”

     Well, thirty-something…

116. Tony @115, there are 160,000 species of moths (18,500 of butterflies), I used web tools to spot them, hopefully Arachne will not catch any butterflies, but moths can be beautiful too – think I will keep my eye on her …

117. @Cookie,

     Coincidentally, there was a beautiful moth flying around in my kitchen late last night. It had a gorgeous grey and white patterning and may have been a hawk moth, although with a wingspan of only about 400mm, perhaps not. I tried to get a picture of it, but only caught a part-profile when it came to rest on a towel before I lost track of it.

     Btw, it has occurred to me that 1a is also appropriate because the puzzle is a lionisation of Eileen.

     PS “Web tools” — geddit?

118. could you please put the crossword number (27561) in the title so we can find it when searching?

119. vynbos @118

     Duly done.

120. Eileen, I would love a copy of the puzzle you mention, if it is still available, please.  And I can’t believe you are a year older than me – you look 20 years younger!

     Sylvia

121. Gaufrid @119. Thanks!

122. Sylvia – @120 – if you?re still there, I’m away from home until Friday. I’ll send it when I get back.

123. What a brilliant crossword and blog. Belated 23 24 26. x

      

124. What a community response!  Makes me glad to be part of it.

     For the leventy-leventh time, thanks and plaudits to both Arachne and Eileen, as well as Hugh for making it happen.

     To Hedgehog@55 on jobs and names, a friend of mine really knew a dentist named Les Plack.

     To Eileen, you also share a birthday with someone I’m glad to claim as a compatriot, Woody Guthrie.  He was always glad to have a revolutionary birthday.

     And whenever you get back, may I too have a copy of Egbert’s puzzle?  (No hurry.)

125. Hello, Eileen and all —

     What a wonderful community I’ve found myself in!  For the leventy-leventh time, plaudits to Arachne and Eileen, and thanks too.

     To Hedgehog@55 on names and jobs, a friend of mine really did know a dentist named Les Plack.

     Eileen, you share a birthday with a great compatriot of mine, Woody Guthrie, who was proud to have a revolutionary birthday.

     And when you get back from what I hope is a wonderful birthday outing, I’d love a copy of Egbert’s puzzle.  No hurry.

126. Ooops.  The first time I posted, the electric gremlin told me that I had already posted that, did I want to post it again?  Since I hadn’t, I figured it must be electric muddle and — posted it again!  Now there they both are.  I dunno why.

127. The painted advertisement: ‘E.Crush, corsetiere’ adorned the brick wall at the side of a shop in Leytonstone High Street in the 60’s. Doubt if such shops exist any more.
     Our vicar used to giggle every time he had to speak of my friend, Eileen Forwood.

128. August 6th, 2020.

     Belated belated Happy Bertie, Eileen.  Because we’re so far behind we’ve never posted before so want to take this opportunity to thank all the bloggers (and setters) for the help and pleasure you’ve given us down the years.  Without your explanations sometimes we’d totally in the dark.

     Why are the  Bertie greetings so belated, we hear you cry.  The  Toronto Star has carried the ST cryptic on Saturdays forever. (I’ve done the mental equivalent of washing my mouth out with soap for that mention of the opposition).

     About 3 years ago they  began publishing these Graudian   ;>) ;>) puzzles on Fridays and Sundays. We’re not the fastest of solvers, seldom finish a puzzle in one sitting so sometimes it takes  a few days to finish the ST.  That’s when we get around to your Guardian puzzles and hence the backlog. At this stage we may have to apply for an extension if we are ever to finish them all.

     So once again, thanks to all the bloggers and hope you have many more Happy Berties Eileen.

     Janet and Tom    Toronto.

     PS  We are applying  to the Guinness Book of Records for the Most Belated Happy Bertie Greeting Title.

129. Well we’re just catching up. Many (very) belated happy returns, Eileen, from a couple of new fans of fifteensquared. Lockdown has meant that we are learning the art and joy of the cryptic and fifteensquared has been so helpful. (PS. We defer to Tom 6th August, 2020 re the worldie.)

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