Guardian Prize 27,597 by Maskarade

by

A Bank Holiday Special from Maskarade.

The special instructions read: “Thirty solutions are of a kind, not further defined.  The clues for the remaining 36 solutions include a word of the same kind. The initial letters of these words form part of the wordplay for that clue.”

Any initial uncertainty about the nature of the theme was quickly dispelled when Timon spotted the names of several well-known Guardian crossword setters in the clues.  It seemed certain then that any clue without a setter’s name would be of the first kind, leading to an answer that was the name of a setter.  And so it proved, although some of the setters’ names were unfamiliar to us and some research was needed to identify them all.  The excellent Crossword Who’s Who was my main source for the blog, although it does not list some of the Quiptic setters.  I have for the most part not said anything about current Guardian setters, on the basis that anyone completing a prize puzzle is likely to be familiar with them, but have added some notes about the former ones.  Where possible I have maintained the setters’ anonymity, although anyone who wants to know can find out biographical details on the site mentioned above.

We were unable to parse one clue to our satisfaction, NEGATE at 30 down, so suggestions please.  And MATILDA at 54 across seems to be something of a hybrid (see the comments below).  Maskarade also seems to have stretched his definition of “a kind” by the inclusion of two Guardian crossword editors (Perkin and Stephenson), but they are clearly closely connected to crosswords if they are not actually setters themselves.

Having said that, it is an extraordinary achievement to have included 30 setters in the grid without having to resort to very obscure words to complete it.  Most of the clues were on the easy side, with the requirement to use the initial letter of the setter’s name in the wordplay perhaps acting as a restraint (it certainly can’t have made the job any easier!).

We particularly enjoyed the outrageous homophone at 59 down.  Our solving time was around two hours, which was fine for a Bank Holiday.  (Preparing the blog has taken much longer).  Many thanks Maskarade for the entertainment.

Across
1 TROLL Lady of the night has no work (5)
TROLL(op).  The first of our undefined setters: Troll (although not listed on fifteensquared) has set Quiptic puzzles.
5 CHIFONIE Significant other starting out unsteadily (8)
A brilliant subtractive anagram: take the letters of “starting” from “significant other” and rearrange.
9 OPPO Work mate and Perkin twice wearing spectacles (4)
P(erkin) P(erkin) inside OO.  John Perkin was the Guardian’s crossword editor until 1997.
12 HER Halpern shows sign of hesitation for that woman (3)
H(alpern) ER (sign of hesitation).  John Halpern sets puzzles for the Guardian under the name of Paul.
14 ARACHNE Spoke of a punishment on joint (7)
Sounds like “A RACK KNEE”.
15 ORLANDO Soldiers secure old city (7)
OR (other ranks: i.e. soldiers) LAND (secure) O(ld).
16 UNCUT Not censored, university teachers gathered round Cinephile (5)
U(niversity), C(inephile) in NUT (teachers).  Cinephile was the pseudonym adopted by John Graham (Araucaria) in setting for the Financial Times.
17 HENDRA Troubled Sheridan is gone (6)
Another subtractive anagram: take “is” from “Sheridan” and rearrange.  Hendra was a former setter of cryptic puzzles for The Guardian.
18 SCREW Express finally comes to junction out east (5)
(expres)S CREW(e).
19 LECTURER Logodaedalus, oddly curt, always embracing instructor (8)
L(ogodaedalus) *CURT in EER (always).
22 ANTO The heart of Schwyz, say (4)
ANTO is a setter of Quiptic puzzles on the Guardian website.  I think the wordplay must be (c)ANTO(n).
24 ROVERS Another theme word with Stephenson’s team from Bristol (6)
ROVER S(tephenson).  Rover was a Guardian setter; Hugh Stephenson is the current Guardian crossword editor.
25 TURNSTONE Wader changes with Torquemada before 13:00 (9)
T(orquemada) in TURNS (changes) ONE (13.00).  Torquemada was an early pioneer of crossword puzzles and set for The Observer.
28 DRUG USERS Dogberry put on the carpet by employers who are hooked (4,5)
D(ogberry) RUG USERS.  Dogberry is the name John Young (Shed) uses when setting for the Financial Times.
29 BRENDAN Bishop managed to conceal object (7)
END (object) in RAN (managed), all after B(ishop).
33 BRUMMIE Starts broadcasting game, we hear (7)
B(roadcasting) (homophone of) RUMMY.
34 TRAMP Ship, possibly a drifter (5)
Double definition.
35 RIG VEDA Holy book — European capital houses Vlad’s edition (3-4)
V(lad) ED in RIGA.
36 GORDIUS Gourmandise strangely, with no name (7)
A further subtractive anagram: take “name” from “gourmandise” and make an anagram of what remains.
37 MOCK TRIAL Unauthorised hearing from Manley — strange practical joke (no clubs’ jape) (4,5)
M(anley) *(PRACTICAL JOKE minus C(lubs) and JAPE).  Don Manley sets under several pseudonyms, including Pasquale for The Guardian.
40 ARAUCARIA Opera song about a posh limo (9)
U(posh) CAR(limo) in ARIA.  I don’t have to explain who Araucaria was, do I?
42 AUSTER A cleaner has no date (6)
A (d)USTER.  Auster is another former setter for The Guardian.
43 LIMP Cheek about Moley’s gait (4)
M(oley) in LIP (cheek).  Moley sets Quiptics.
46 ESQUIRES Excalibur and 59 old attendants (8)
E(xcalibur) and SQUIRES (the real name of Rufus: see 59 ac).  Excalibur is a Daily Telegraph setter.
48 CUBAN Schumann regularly takes in Biggles and islander (5)
Even (regular) letters of sChUmAnN around B(iggles).  Biggles was the collective pseudonym adopted by John Graham (Araucaria), John Henderson (Enigmatist), John Halpern (Paul) and John Young (Shed).  The author of the Biggles books was WE Johns…
49 CAESAR Crucible has first added egg sandwiches and relish to salad (6)
C(rucible) A(dded) E(gg) S(andwiches) A(nd) R(elish).  Caesar was a setter for The Spectator, but this clue is one of the 36 unthemed ones.
53 GRASP Gozo having to file clutch (5)
G(ozo) RASP.  Gozo is the name by which Maskarade is known when setting for the Financial Times.
54 MATILDA A lad — Tim — composed Dahl musical (7)
I am not sure into which category this clue belongs.  Matilda (not listed in Crossword Who’s Who) is a Quiptic setter; but if that were the answer, we wouldn’t need a definition (“Dahl musical”).  But if it’s the other kind of clue we need an initial letter from a setter’s name as part of the wordplay.  The only name in the clue is Tim (Moorey??) but we need all the letters in the name for the anagram: *(A LAD TIM).
55 AUDREUS Gold item of clothing, not small, but uniform (7)
AU DRESS, with U(niform) for the first S(mall).  Audreus (Audrey Young) died in July this year, aged 96.  She was the mother of John Young (Shed) and a Guardian setter for many years.
56 DUO Dante usually orders starters for two (3)
D(ante) U(sually) O(rders).  Dante was the pseudonym used by Roger Squires when setting for the Financial Times.
57 OYEZ Call from middle of foyer by 45 (4)
(f)OYE(r) Z(ander).  The initial letter here is implied by 45 (down).
58 HECTENCE Because of this, shock treatment is held inside (8)
ECT (shock treatment) inside HENCE (because).  Hectence is another Quiptic setter.
59 RUFUS Hearing plea from the homeless? (5)
Sounds like “Roof us”!  Rufus of course is Roger Squires, the world’s most prolific crossword compiler, who retired from setting last year.
Down
1 TRACHEA Tube from Thrace twisted by Adamant (7)
*(THRACE) A(damant).  Adamant is a Financial Times setter.
2 OWAIN Prince of Wales having no success taking in Azed (5)
A(zed) in 0 WIN.  Owain Glyndwr was the last native Welshman to hold the title Prince of Wales.
3 LAHORE Asian city‘s oral tradition includes article by Hazard (6)
A H(azard) in LORE.  Hazard is a former Quiptic setter.
4 SHED Starts to study hard, exercising daily (4)
First letters of Study Hard Exercising Daily.  Shed is of course another regular Guardian setter.
5 CROTCHETS Notes from Taupi as he does needlework outside (9)
T(aupi) in CROCHETS.  Taupi is a former Guardian setter.
6  ILLNESS Complaint made by Imogen and head about pupils (7)
I(mogen) LL (learners, or pupils) NESS (head).
7  ORNE Department heads of operational research need Enigmatist … (4)
First letters.  It’s a French department in Normandy.
8  IN ONE … Io and zero combined (2,3)
I(o) NONE.  Io is John Henderson’s pseudonym for puzzles in the Financial Times, which I think explains the ellipsis (he’s also Enigmatist).
10  PICAROON Select an old character, say (8)
Sounds like”pick a rune”.
11  OTTERDEN Penniless ceramicist’s studio (8)
(p)OTTER DEN.  Otterden was a former Guardian and New Statesman setter.
13  CUSTOS Port facility miles away (6)
CUSTO(m)S.  Custos is another former Guardian setter.
20  COME NEARER Make a further approach to raging ocean and mere with Rosa Klebb (4,6)
*(OCEAN MERE) R(osa).  Rosa Klebb is the name used by Arachne when setting for the Financial Times.
21  STREEP Award-winning actress, awfully terse with Provis (6)
*TERSE P(rovis).  Provis is a Quiptic setter.
23  TAURUS Sign letter to America about Redshank (6)
TAU (letter) R(redshank) US.
26  REDIRECTED Carpathian, terribly tired into the long grass, changed course (10)
C(arpathian) *TIRED in REED.  Carpathian is another Quiptic setter.
27  NUTMEG Jewellery container upset (6)
GEM TUN (all rev).
28  DABS Tragic upset involving Bunthorne’s flatfish (4)
B(unthorne) in SAD (rev).  Bunthorne is another former Guardian setter.
29  BRATS Annoying youngsters with Boatman — I’m annoyed! (5)
B(oatman) RATS.
30  NEGATE Deny point took in about Goliath (6)
Goliath is Philistine’s alias when setting for the Financial Times.  The wordplay could be G(goliath) in *EATEN,  but that would involve an indirect anagram, so must be wrong.  I suppose the answer could be NIGHTY, but that seems unlikely and equally impossible to parse.
31  GEMINI This for example mounted on a car (6)
EG (rev), MINI.  Gemini were a pair of setters working together.
32  PAUL In the covers, when wet? (4)
I think the wordplay is (tar)PAUL(ins), but it’s a bit of a stretch.
34  TAIWAN I want Altair cycling country (6)
I WANT A(ltair) cycled, with letters from the rear moved to the front in sequence.
37  MASKARADE Inquire after male at a specially dear opera (9)
M(ale) ASK A *DEAR.
38  LAVENGRO Edited a novel about King George (8)
GR in *(A NOVEL).  A former Guardian setter.
39  PASQUALE Secretary on parade ground changing sides (8)
PA (secretary) on SQUARE with L for R.
41  CRISPA Broadcast done to more of a turn (6)
Sounds like crisper.  Ruth Crisp was a prolific setter who had puzzles published in all five broadsheet newspapers.
42  AQUILON Quantum and poor Louisa exchanging partners in the wind (7)
Q(uantum) *LOUISA with N for S.  Quantum was Eric Burge, another former Guardian setter.
44  PARESIS Lack of movement Elgar first suffered in capital (7)
E(lgar) S(uffered) in PARIS.  Elgar is another of John Henderson’s pseudonyms.
45  ZANDER From the middle of bazaar, London toerag is seen (6)
Middle letters.  Zander was Alec Robins’ pseudonym for Listener puzzles.
47  EMMIE Mudd in the space that is for the girl (5)
EM (space) M(Rudd) IE (that is).  Mudd is John Halpern’s pseudonym for the Financial Times.
50  SHEAF Cook reportedly accepts Armonie’s 24 arrows (5)
Sounds like A(rmonie) in “chef”.  Armonie is Chifonie’s Financial Times name.
51  AT IT Apex’s bird working hard (2,2)
A(pex) TIT.  Apex was a distinguished Listener setter.
52  QAOS Starting quarter after one, Sunday (4)
First letters.

*anagram

57 comments on “Guardian Prize 27,597 by Maskarade”

  1. Started Saturday afternoon but not completed until Sunday pm. Theme was easy to identify once TRAMP and GORDIUS leapt off the page. but rather more difficult to find the magic 30!. I don’t do the quiptic so I wasn’t familiar with all it’s setter’s and some of the historical ones were new to me but I got there in the end – with some electronic assistance. Didn’t see the significance of OPPO though! A challenge but good fun.
    Thanks Maskarade.

  3. LOI PAUL – it just had to be, but it took a wordsearch for the penny to drop.
    I agree with your parsing of ANTO.
    And those subtractive anagrams are a tour-de-force.

  4. Thanks Bridgesong and Maskarade.
    You certainly meant 59a…loved it.
    I didnt get a few of 30..the rest took a lot longer..over multiple days.

  5. Thanks Maskerade and bridgesong.

    It’s rare for me to complete a Prize puzzle, but I managed this one, which may be why I enjoyed it so much.

    I agree with Bridgsong’s parsing of PAUL, and Gonzo’s of NEGATE.

    If ‘of a kind’ is taken to mean people closely connected with crosswords, rather than only setters, then any doubts about inclusion of editors disappear.

    The extra definition for MATILDA seems to me to be simply an error.

  7. Oh dear. I have to say that about 4 clues in, as soon as I realized that I’d be filling in a list of compliers, I stopped and went off to do something more interesting. Just not my bag I’m afraid.

  8. Thanks bridgesong.  Very daunting until quite soon PICAROON and OTTERDEN appeared side by side: the way ahead was then clear although an encyclopaedia of compilers was the sine qua non.  Still, I did fall short on the 25A wader, and 13D.  A fun slog.

  9. I too was troubled by the extra definition for MATILDA, but in fact there are also “redundant” definitions for  the theme answers ORLANDO, TRAMP and MASKARADE.  I suppose the way to think of these is as triple clues with the theme element missed out.

  10. Like molomglo said, a bit of a slog, and a dnf for me as I had to look up Lavengro. Lots of setters were dnks, tho guessable. The prince at 2d had me scratching til I remembered Mrs GinF’s Pargeter novels about the last Welsh princes. I parsed negate like Gonzo, but couldn’t parse Paul.

    Thanks Bridgesong and Maskarade.

  11. Gonzo @2: you’re right of course about NEGATE, don’t know why I couldn’t see it.

    The annotated solution makes it clear that the 30 names are all setters of Quick and Quiptic puzzles for the Guardian. As setters of Quick puzzles are not usually credited (so far as I know), there was no way of knowing this, but it doesn’t really matter.

    dikkops @9: you’re right about the other redundant definitions, which I had overlooked.

  12. Can’t say I cared much for this. The theme was obvious and I had most of the grid filled in quickly but it was then going to be a matter of finding names I hadn’t heard of. Also got spooked by Matilda which didn’t fit the rubric. So gave up after half an hour.

    A wee bit incestuous in my view.

  13. A bit unfair on anyone who hasn’t been solving for many years, especially in the Graun . . .

    Anyone else have YELL for 57ac?:
    foYer + ELL (= 45 inches)

  15. Wow bridgesong, you certainly earned your blogger’s stipend producing that, so, many thanks! I agree, not as opaque as many a holiday prize, and requiring some (fairly easily researched or guessed) obscure knowledge which the crossword newcomer might have baulked at. But pleasing on the whole and educational: thank you Maskarade.

  16. Really enjoyed this and delighted that it works in the Guardian Android app too. It does feel a bit cliquey but quite an achievement.

    Bridgesong – looks like your spellchecker didn’t like Armonie at 50D.
    A

  17. Agreed that this was a top puzzle. Lat entry for me was LAVENGRO, who was slightly before my time (I think, as have never encountered one of their puzzles)

    Thanks Bridgesong and Maskarade.

  19. Sorry, but I found this a bit of a turn-off. So self-referential. The theme was obvious to a regular solver, but very off-putting to the occasional one not familiar with the names, as Miss Crossbar pointed out.

    It was going in easily for me but I couldn’t be bothered completing it. I don’t think it was at all suitable for many of those who only dip in at bank holidays and weekends, as was the case for me before I retired.

    Very clever to get so many setters in, but I wonder if any that were left out now feel snubbed? 😀

    Anyway thanks for the hard work to Maskarade and Bridgesong, but can we have something a bit more general next time, please?

  20. Thanks for the comprehensive blog bridgesong and special thanks to Maskarade.

    I thought this was wonderful, and did it at a sitting – not because it was easy (it wasn’t) but because it was so hugely enjoyable.  A romp through history into the present day..

    Often, having no interest in or knowledge  of TV, film, sport or pop music, I sometimes feel bereft when confronted with a themed puzzle.  But what more appropriate theme for a bank holiday jumbo than crossword land itself?  Common ground for everyone.

    Wonderful to be reminded of superb setters from yesteryear, like Hendra (The Indy’s first crossword editor) and Taupi.

    And if I ever see a subtractive anagram clue better than 5 across, I shall be very much surprised.

    I am immensely grateful, Maskarade – thanks again.

     

  21. I always enjoy Maskarade’s holiday specials, and this one didn’t disappoint. In fact I thought it was one of the best.

    I knew most of the thematic names in the grid, but there were still several that I did not know. For maximum enjoyment I didn’t look any up but guessed those I didn’t know (like HENDRA, for example). I guessed right every time except for HECTENCE and AQUILON.

    There were many excellent and imaginative clues. My two particular favourites were 59a RUFUS for its wit and simplicity and 5a CHIFONIE for its deceptively simple wordplay that was so unexpected.  Maskarade seems to like subtractive anagrams, and getting this device to work so well in CHIFONIE must have taken some working out.

    Many thanks to Maskarade and bridgesong.

  23. Was not the theme a little bit too obvious for a prize puzzle, and a bank holiday one at that?  The answer to 37 dn (MASKARADE) was printed under the grid only a fraction of an inch away!

    Thanks anyway to himself and to bridgesong.

  24. Another Masksrade, another dull slog.

    Finished this but it took true grit. His puzzles always seem to lack any imagination and have up to the present been tedious.

    If you’re there Ed (which I’m beginning to doubt) please give one of your many talented setters a chance. Anybody will do!

  25. I’ve only scanned the posts so far but must disagree strongly with with Alex on this puzzle

    I nearly didn’t attempt it when I saw M’s name but was persuaded to. In the event I found answers going in all over the place.

    To me this was an amazing feat to involve a total of 76 setters with 30 in the grid. There were none that I had not encountered over the years.

    Well done 37d and thank you for a bank hol xword that I could complete

     

  26. We did this with my brother and sister in law who are just getting into the world of cryptics.
    Definitely went in faster than other previous BH crosswords however we didn’t finish. An enjoyable trip down memory lane. Thanks for the interesting blog.

  27. Kudos to anyone who knew all the setters required to answer this! Arguably they can mostly be got by the parsing, but I’d defy anyone to get, say PAUL from the parsing alone…in fact I failed to parse it even after I wrote it in. I felt no shame in looking up a list of setters to assist, so thanks to gaufrid for the setters list on the site and the link to the crossword who’s who. Such extensively themed xwords are rarely my favourites, as I feel the clueing suffers in trying to crowbar everything in. Still a very impressive feat to set, and worth my time to finish. So thanks to Maskarade and bridgesong for the blog.

  28. Thank you to Maskarade and bridgesong. A tour de force of setting and blogging.

    I enjoyed this, even though the theme was clear early on. It elicited fond memories of those setters no longer with us – Audreus, Crispa, Taupi, and, of course, Araucaria; and those we see only rarely nowadays – Logodaedalus, Orlando.

  29. Thank you Maskarade and bridgesong.

    I echo Conrad Cork @20, a fantastic puzzle, such a pleasure having a theme that was not sport, pop music, films or TV, all of which, like him, I have no interest in or knowledge of.

    So glad that Otterden and Audreus were included.

     

  31. kieran @27

    I agree with you concerning the clue to PAUL, and bridgesong called it ‘a bit of a stretch’.  I would never have got it if I didn’t know Paul the setter.  (In fact, Paul was one of the setters I found by looking for him among my unsolved clues.  I got NUTMEG and PICAROON in that way too.)

  32. This was an impressive demonstration of Maskarade’s setting skills, but I thought the constraints he set himself led to a lack of variety in the clues, so rather less fun than it might have been.  We also made use of the Crossword Who’s Who for the Quiptic setters, but for someone newish to Guardian puzzles, it would have been a dull job looking up half the answers.

    Assuming PAUL must figure in the answers somewhere, 32d seemed the only place it could go, but seemed to have no relation whatever to the clue.  Eventually I put it in, then realised covers might be tarpaulins, but it seemed very weak.

  33. What a brilliant puzzle! A real treat to recall all those setters who have given me so many challenges and smiles over the years. Bless you Maskarade.

     

  34. Thanks to Maskarade and bridgesong. Loved this and it brought back many blasts from the past. Some took some dredging from the depths of my memory, but there were no Guardian cryptic setters I did not recognise from the past (or maybe past Guardian cryptic crossword books). Looked for Janus who was one of my favourite setters, but no joy. My main trouble with this were the quiptic setters. I am a bit of a dinosaur who potters down to the paper shop each day to get my papers (keeps me moving). The paper itself does not have the quiptics in, therefore I have never done one. Hence, my last one was Hectence (after toying with Sectince). I finished Sunday and your can imagine my frustration after looking at the home page on Monday and seeing a Hectence blog above the Vulcan blog (doh). Lots of nice clues, but my overall favourite was the simple but elegant roof us.

  35. I enjoyed this puzzle quite a lot, and had few problems with it (PASQUALE my last in!), but I worry a bit when setters set puzzles about other setters. It’s a bit like ninas. These things make the in-crowd smile, but puzzles are for more than the in-crowd. Well, it’s OK now and then, but …

  36. Self-congratulatory smugness from the in-crowd and those fanatics with the Crossword Who’s Who at hand. But I’m with Alex @24: Another Maskerade, another dull slog. Cleverly put together, no doubt about it, but no fun at all to unravel.

  37. I found this much less hard work than many of Maskarade’s Bank Holiday puzzles, and it was a nice trip down Memory Lane. I agree with Pasquale that a theme based on setters is unlikely to appeal to solvers who are relatively new or who don’t solve the Guardian regularly. The themed answers are no doubt all verifiable in the Crossword Who’s Who, but it’s not an easy reference to find unless you know what you’re looking for. I enjoyed this and, like Conrad Cork, I’d far rather have a theme like this than pop or TV. But I appreciate that this isn’t for everybody.

    Modest of Maskarade not to appropriate the Nielsen opera as a self-reference!

  38. To echo Alton – thanks for making this accessible in Android! I do the crosswords on my phone and believe this was the first bank holiday special to be made available?

    This was a great one to dip in and out of for me. As a relative newcomer (about a year into doing Guardian cryptics) I resorted to the list above to check a few setters and ended up with four blank. Also couldn’t parse Paul or Chifonie but had to be them!

    I suppose any theme is likely to split the audience depending on personal preferences and experiences…so what better idea could there be to have a crossword themed crossword!

  39. Just wanted to point out that “robins” also fits team from Bristol and two of the crossers fit. Having spotted that I really should have seen the correct answer though!

  40. Clearly, opinions on the choice of theme are divided; Maskarade as a setter does seem to provoke strong views either way. Some of the clues, particularly the subtractive anagrams, were brilliant (in my view) but I accept that a clue like 5ac (CHIFONIE) would be very hard to solve if you had never heard of the setter. For my part I enjoyed the research (mostly for the purposes of this blog), but I can see that anyone trying to solve this puzzle without access to the internet would be likely to struggle, unless very well-informed about crossword setters. Given that it was a Bank Holiday puzzle with a week in which to solve it, I think that’s fair enough.

  41. Thanks to bridgesong for PAUL. It had to be. But couldn’t parse it. Maybe maskarade thought that PAUL would be so obvious he decided we’d have to go looking for it.

    It did seem set for a  special audience  and maybe should have had a different airing. I wonder if readers wrote in that it was inaccessible. I suppose no more than any other heavily themed crossword which required googling eg  football players or composers (for me anyway).

    I did appreciate the tribute though and looking up some of the setters before my time.

  43. I was another one who enjoyed being reminded of all those setters. The only one of the setter-answers that caused me any problem was (LOI) ANTO, whom I’d never heard of. If you select the drop-down menu for setters on the Guardian’s crossword search page, his (her?) name doesn’t appear on the list and, as far as I can tell he has only ever contributed two Quiptics (808 & 815, both in 2015), but — bearing in mind bridgesong’s note — possibly any number of Quicks (anonymously).

    I did think of tarPAULins as the basis for PAUL and thought it a bit tough. However, “easy answer, hard clue”.

    CHIFONIE, being a name familiar to me, I guessed from crossers, delighting in unravelling the wordplay afterwards.

    For those who like to do cryptics with no resort to sources outside their own heads, I don’t see how needing to know the handle of some historic setter is different from me being expected to know some aria or Greek mythological creature.

    Have to admit to embarassment at assuming Stephenson and Perkins must be setters I’m not familiar with, when in fact I’m very well aware of those gentlemen’s role, present and past.

  44. Tony @43

    Anto has set the Quiptic far more than twice. Almost monthly between his/her first appearance on 11/5/15 (I counted 29 blogs on 15²) and the most recent one one (13/8/18).

     

  45. Thanks for the info, Gaufrid.

    Anto’s Guardian Profile only shows those two. I don’t do the Quiptic (usually just the Prize on paper, or any in papers I find lying around), although I’ve seen Matilda somewhere (confusingly, in the circumstances) and I actually had the pleasure of meeting Carpathian in person the weekend before her debut.

    Btw, I came across Qaos’s Twitter feed last week and he was plugging Maskarade’s puzzle, so he at least was happy to see his “name in lights” (see what I did there?)

  46. PS I bet you keep that “15²” somewhere handy? Can’t do superscript on my phone (or I don’t know how to, at least). I’ve recently moved from using “225” to “15^2”.

  47. Rereading my original post, I see I referred to “historic setters”. Whilst that is appropriate to more than one of those names, I’m sure, I think I meant “historical” (but see Collins @2).

  48. Tony @46

    Nothing is stored (apart from in my memory). Simply 15 followed by, on a standard keyboard, Alt+253 on the numeric keypad. You seem to have been able to reproduce it, even on your phone, or did you use copy/paste?

  49. Thanks to Bridgesong and Maskarade. An excellent bank holiday puzzle, a little easier than we have become accustomed to but still great fun to solve. Of course it helped to have been doing Guardian puzzles for 40+years, but c’est la vie. At least it meant I could remember LAVENGRO and HENDRA !

  50. I am surprised at the predominantly positive comments. I thought this was rather self-indulgent. The population of possible answers for nearly half the clues was relatively small, so it was more a matter of seeing where names would fit in rather than disentangling the clues. As a general observation it sees to me that Maskarade tends to pay more attention to fitting numerous theme words into the grid than to devising a satisfactory challenge for solvers, or sometimes to the quality of the clues.

  51. Enjoyed this trip down memory lane – I think Zander was the only setter I’d never heard of, but it would have been tougher for anyone who has never ventured beyond recent Guardian puzzles. A lot of straightforward constructions meant that this was much easier than some of Maskarade’s holiday specials.

    Thanks to Maskarade and bridgesong

  52. I’m with the yaysayers (is there such a word?) rather than the naysayers. I liked finding out more about the history of the craft through working out the solutions and then looking up the setters and other crossword identities. As I worked through this grid, I learned so much about this wonderful hobby I share with so many people from around the world.
    Maskarade did an absolutely brilliant job in fitting in so many names, IMHO. The coverage of so many Guardian identities was extraordinary. I was thrilled to find AUSTER, who set in Australia as “Southern Cross”. She and Araucaria were published way back when in “The Courier-Mail”, a Murdoch rag published in Queensland where I live. Dabbling in their crosswords got me started on the occasional cryptic when three or four solutions per grid was an achievement for me. Coming to more regular solving since semi-retirement hasn’t dimmed the memory of those fledgeling efforts.
    A million thanks to Maskarade, and kudos to bridgesong for doing such a great job of blogging this lengthy and complex solve. It has been fascinating to read the different points of view expressed here, so thanks also to all contributors.
    PS Second parochialism alert: I loved the inclusion of our Tim Minchin in the clue for MATILDA.

  53. Gaufrid@48, yes, I copied and pasted it from your comment. I’m sure many might appreciate the Alt-253 knowledge, though.

  54. A near faultless tour de force from both blogger and setter. Many thanks to both.
    A theme that even a novice solver couldn’t claim one hundred per cent ignorance about !

  55. I’m a naysayer on this one, with the theme leaving me cold. I like solving bank holiday specials away from the internet, and with friends who rarely do crosswords. As it was, little to enjoy. Additionally, the step one fun of working out the theme wasn’t really there to be had, clearly signposted oin three other half of the clues. Oh well, glad others enjoyed it.

  56. I’ve previously complained about themed puzzles assuming the solver has an extensive knowledge of, for example, Shakespeare characters and believe such a puzzle is either too easy for those with the requisite specialist knowledge or a complete turn off for others who can only solve it by consulting lists and seeing which words fit and then seeing if they match the clues. This to me is an extreme example of the specialist knowledge themes and is something to be discouraged. However, my worry is that, as this forum contains a lot of compliers, solvers who seem to do many crosswords each day, and crossword editors (if such a position actually exists!), the number of positive comments here will encourage similar puzzles in the future. It would be a huge mistake to think that the contributors to this forum are representative of the average solver.

    It is obviously an impressive feat of compiling but that doesn’t make it good crossword. Hopefully other compilers / editors realise this and don’t encourage similar puzzles in the future.

    I am someone who regularly attempts to solve the cryptic crossword in the printed Guardian. I never visit the online version of the puzzle, I have no idea about the Quiptic (it isn’t in the printed paper) and only buy the Guardian each day so don’t do crosswords from other papers. Whilst I recognise a lot of the compiler names from the Guardian, I don’t have any particular interest in their real names, history, etc. I’m sure they’ll all fine people but I’m only interested in their crossword output. Hence, as a keen (although not expert) solver of the Guardian puzzles, I was still reliant on consulting lists of compilers whose names mean nothing to me.

    Please, no more like this.

     

  57. Thank you for this very helpful blog. I’m one of the people who enjoyed this very much and loved doing more research about all the setters. My only peeve was with 5 down. Crochet cannot really be called needlework, as it is done with a hook.

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