I’ll never be Anto’s greatest fan, but this was competently done, albeit with a few iffy moments, and I’m irritated by the misspelling at 26a. Thanks to Anto.
| Across | ||||||||
| 1 | FADDISH | Trendy supplement found in salmon, for example (7) ADD (to supplement) in FISH |
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| 5 | MAIGRET | Prolific detective sounds like he could become gloomy (7) Homophone of “may grey” |
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| 10 | MAKE DO | Force party to compromise (4,2) MAKE (force) + DO (party) |
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| 11 | IN CLOVER | Flourishing American business admirer (2,6) INC[orporated] (US business) + LOVER |
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| 12 | ONE | What’s left of cash after my leaving United (3) MONEY less M Y |
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| 13 | DEBUNK | Get out of bed to correct lie? (6) To get out of bed might be to DE-BUNK |
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| 14 | CUP OF TEA | Face up to change — it may be refreshing (3,2,3) (FACE UP TO)* |
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| 15 | CRAPS | Lewis initially accepts blame for shooting game (5) RAP (blame, as in “take the rap”) in C S (author C S Lewis, “initially”); craps doesn’t involve guns, but people talk about “shooting craps” |
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| 16 | BOUNDLESS | Didn’t tie up as much when full of such energy (9) BOUND (tied up) LESS |
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| 19 | HEARTLESS | Cruel ambassador with no diplomatic skills (9) HE (His Excellency, title of an ambassador) + ARTLESS |
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| 21 | STOPS | Stations spies around … (5) Reverse of SPOTS (sees, spies) |
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| 24 | SINISTER | … leading politician switching motorway to south — very worrying (8) MINISTER with the M changed to S |
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| 26 | EXCISE | Cut duty for practise without hesitation (6) EXERCISE less ER (sound of hesitation), and two definitions; “practise” is a noun in the clue so should be “practice” |
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| 27 | ITA | Saintly Irish woman taking odd characters from Vietnam (3) Odd letters of vIeTnAm, giving us this Irish saint |
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| 28 | BOHEMIAN | Unconventional tough guy receives information on personal problem (8) BO (personal problem) + I[nformation] in HE-MAN |
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| 29 | SUMMIT | Figures leading American university conference … (6) SUM (figures) + MIT (US university) |
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| 30 | LEATHER | … hide the real corruption (7) (THE REAL)* |
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| Down | ||||||||
| 2 | AMATEUR | Section of team at Euros not getting paid (7) Hidden in teAM AT EURos |
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| 3 | DOER-UPPER | Dilapidated house due proper reconstruction (4-5) (DUE PROPER)* – slangy for a house that needs to be “done up”, perhaps as an investment opportunity |
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| 4 | SPOOKY | It’s weird seeing number two dressed in blue (6) POO (“number two”) in SKY |
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| 6 | AL CAPONE | Solitary confinement for international criminal (2,6) CAP (an international player in sport) in ALONE |
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| 7 | GO OFF | Explode, as fool stands on foot (2,3) GOOF + F |
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| 8 | EYELETS | Examine permits for slots (7) EYE (examine) + LETS (permits) |
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| 9 | PIECE OF STRING | Training inept GI forces — how long might it be? (5,2,6) (INEPT GI FORCES)* – as in the rhetorical question “how long is a piece of string?” |
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| 17 | LATECOMER | One who should apologise getting into row during play? (9) Cryptic definition, referring to someone awkwardly making their way to their seat in a theatre etc, and playing on two meanings (and pronunciations) of “row” |
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| 18 | FLATLINE | Dull work may come to an end (8) FLAT (dull) + LINE (work, as in “what’s your line?”) |
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| 20 | EPISODE | Experience essential to keeping resort modern (7) Middle letters of keEPIng reSOrt moDErn |
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| 22 | PASTIES | Food and drink from France spiked with drug? (7) E (drug) in PASTIS |
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| 23 | REASON | Cause fall in LA when turning head to right? (6) SEASON (of which “fall” is an example in the US) with its first letter changed to R |
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| 25 | ID EST | Divide stuff that is found inside (2,3) Hidden in divIDE STuff |
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I think both practise and practice work in that clue, Andrew.
Thanks for the blog.
Like Andrew, I’m not the greatest fan of Anto’s style, but thought that this puzzle was pretty good. I agree with Anna that the clue for 26a works with ‘practise’ as a verb in the clue.
I think Andrew was referring to the surface of the clue, where practice has to be a noun (although I agree that practice/practise = exercise can be understood as either noun or verb).
Thanks Andrew for explaining LATECOMER – doh!
Re MAIGRET – come back THAI DEED, all is forgiven! 😉
I did like CUP OF TEA.
Thanks Anto and Andrew.
Your explanation of 27 is not quite right. ITA are the even letters of Vietnam, not the odd ones. You have to remove (‘taking’) the odd letters to leave the even ones, giving the answer.
Didn’t notice, but I’ll take your word, Anna@1. Yep, pleasant enough puzzle, no real groans or guffaws. May grey was cute, as was piece of string. Thanks A&A.
Some brilliant work here – INC LOVER, BOHEMIAN, AL CAPONE, EPISODE. An amusingly wincesome homophone in MAY GRAY (I am increasingly coming round to the view that, rather as with Spoonerisms, the more appallingly contrived a homophone is, often the funnier it is).
A couple of seriously iffy definitions – is SINISTER really “very worrying”, and are EYELETS slots as opposed to holes? A mildly unfriendly grid, with four lights having a majority of unchecked letters. And one naughty bit of wordplay – in 31a, “topless summer wear” to get from SUNDRESS to UNDRESS is all very well, but surely not in an across clue. Evidently Andrew was so horrified by it that he couldn’t bring himself to write out the wordplay 😉
Overall, though, good fun. Thanks both.
Game of two halves for me, top completed bottom empty, so left it and came back half an hour later. Some nice clues, some a bit iffy as Andrew observes.
I don’t think I’ve ever groaned as loudly at a clue as I did at MAIGRET. My COTD has to the the simple but elegant ID EST.
Thanks Anto and Andrew
I agree with NeilH @6 that EYELETS has a poor definition. I also raised my eyebrows at DOER-UPPER which is ugly and isn’t used in my circles; we prefer to refer to a “project”. And FLATLINE in that sense is new to me.
ID EST is a rare example of a central definition which didn’t seem unfair.
Thanks Anto and Andrew. Likewise, Anto is not among my top favourite setters but this was a good one, with lots of very enjoyable clueing – HEARTLESS, IN CLOVER, LATECOMER, REASON among my favourites. And I liked 25a as a rare example of a clue with the definition in the middle that actually works.
ITA was new to me but clearly signposted enough, although I confused myself briefly by reading the clue as “using” the odd letters, rather than “removing” them. Andrew, you seem to have had similar confusion in writing the blog…
NeilH @6 – I don’t have a problem with using “topless” for an across clue – “top” can be understood as meaning “first” or “primary”. On the other hand, I’m with you on the cheesiness of homophones/spoonerisms – MAIGRET amused me too much to worry about pronunciation.
I’m surprised by some of the comments which seem a bit patronising. To me the surfaces are mostly very clever and some of the clues are excellent. Thanks s&b.
Thanks Anto and Andrew
I found this very hard and not a lot of fun, though I did like CUP OF TEA and AL CAPONE. I agree that “slots” is a very loose definition for EYELETS, and that the surface of 26 requires the noun form “practice”.
Quite tough, fun puzzle. Solved NE corner last.
Favourites: DEBUNK, STOPS, BOUNDLESS, MAIGRET (loi).
Thanks, both.
I thought this was very entertaining with some excellent clues. I liked SPOOKY and DEBUNK and the amusing cryptic definition for LATECOMER.
A while ago on General Discussion (around 21st to 25th October) there was some debate about clues in which the definition is neither at the beginning or the end. I agree with Monkey and widdersbel that 25d ID EST is an interesting example of one that does work well.
Many thanks Anto and Andrew.
Can’t make my mind up whether BOUNDLESS & HEARTLESS across the waistline of the grid is accidental or deliberate.
I understand the thinking of course but PIECE OF STRING as a standalone grid entry seems very uneasy on the eye to me.
Thanks S&B
Surely “information” cannot indicate the letter “I”. At least not in any puzzles I have ever done.
Perhaps Grauniad solvers accept this kind of thing.
Tony @ 15: ‘I’ is often seen on fingerposts pointing tourists to where information offices & the like can be found.
Oofy @10 – fair comment. This is a generally excellent puzzle, and needs no qualification. Apologies, Anto, we love you really.
T@15 INFORMATION
Thanks Anto & Andrew. I enjoyed this a lot, plenty of excellent clues with neat surfaces.
I spent time looking for more to the clue in 17d but it works well as a CD.
Presumably we’re all happy with ID EST because its central definition is flagged in the wordplay?
As a left-hander, I am happy with ‘very worrying’ for SINISTER, it could be worse.
I liked this puzzle too. Lots to enjoy, FOI 14a, LOI 18d and I needed all the crossers for that.
Topless for an across clue seems fine to me, it’s not about direction, only order of letters in the answer.
I’m not sure if patronising is the correct word but several people seem a bit hostile. I haven’t seen much of Anto, and I had thought of him as a Monday or Quiptic setter, so thanks for this challenge. And thanks Andrew for the parsing.
Very enjoyable and I don’t agree with some of the criticisms above – for instance, I think “topless” works as a device in either across or down clues, so I had a tick for SUNDRESS at 31a. I also smiled at 3d DOER-UPPER, which is to my mind quite a clever descrption of a house that needs some “reconstruction”. I liked the very simple ONE at 12a, 30a LEATHER, 23d REASON, and several others that have already been mentioned. Thanks to Anto and Andrew.
Imagine the “Narnia” author shooting dice behind the Bird and Baby!
Well said Oofy @10.
Lots to like here and neither hard nor easy. Ticks for IDEST, LATECOMER (LOI), SPOOKY, BOUNDLESS, REASON, IN CLOVER,…
I agree with Anna@1 Re EXCISE. The clue requires a noun or noun phrase. I think that gives “duty for practice without hesitation” or “duty for practise-without-hesitation”.
@Tony & Simon S
I’m completely in agreement with Tony. Obviously everybody has seen the letter i over the tourist information office but it is not listed as an abbreviation in either Chambers or Collins, therefore the editor should not accept it. It really is that simple.
Crossed with Julie @21 – completely agree and thanks for reminding me about ONE, which was a creative clue for a simple word 🙂
If there were to be a crossword festival at Knebworth it would be tough to go on between Tyrus and Buccaneer.
So the lad didnt do bad. I wasnt happy about the A missing from Piece of string and got accused of spoiling on the G thread mentioning that Estate Agents in Oz used to refer to 3 as a “renovator’s delight” (as in ramshackle garage 10 mins walk from Tate Brit)
(What about a 12 string?)
baerchen @24 – whilst a dictionary can have the first word, I don’t think it has the last. Setters, IMHO, have to be satisfied that a clue can be solved by their typical audience. And since, as you said, “everybody has seen the letter i over the tourist information office”, then everybody has that knowledge available. This GK is far less contentious than some required of non-British (or even British) solvers.
I note that DOER UPPER is not in Chambers but it’s reasonable to assume that solvers can derive it from DO UP.
baerchen @ 24: I take your point completely, but W D L for Won Drawn Lost aren’t in Chambers either, but they all get trotted out reasonably often too.
@pdp11 and @Simon S again
Although I compile puzzles myself, I consider myself first and foremost to be a solver and it’s my view as a solver that there needs to be some sort of minimum standard for the use of abbreviations. As most solvers know, the list of abbreviation accepted by The Times & Telegraph are quite strict, whereas the Indy & The Guardian are happy to accept those listed in Chambers – of which there are many hundred – so it doesn’t seem to me unreasonable that there are some sort of ground rules. Simon – I don’t believe I’ve ever seen W D or L used in that context and they are not in either dictionary. I’d definitely have a moan if I saw them. O(ver) M(aiden) W(icket/s) R(un/s) + b=bye are though, which just goes to prove the superiority of cricket over football, if proof were needed
I found it difficult to get started on this, but got there in the end.
Some good clues, including for the simple ONE, and I liked BOHEMIAN. I have never heard of a DOER-UPPER, but I gather it’s estate agent-speak, viz: A doer-upper, or ‘fixer-upper’, is a name for a property that is in need of repair and renovation.
Thanks Anto and Andrew.
baerchen @29, W D L can be seen (not necessarily in that order) in many cricket league tables, for example for the County Championship. Cricket following football’s lead. Cricket is indeed superior, but not from eschewing those common abbreviations.
PS, DOER-UPPER is in the Cambridge Dictionary, although not in the other main dictionaries as far as I can see.
To add to the discussion about ‘i’ as an abbreviation for ‘information’, it’s used on many webpages for that purpose: hover over, or click on, a little ‘i’ and further information appears.
Median @33
i for information is also on my Sky remote control!
I have come across “doer-upper” in exactly that sense in a fairly recent novel.
I liked this a lot.
Like Median @33 I am more familiar with the I symbol from its use on websites than on finger-posts. (I need to get out more.)
And having spent the last six months trying (and failing) to buy a new home, I can confirm that use of the dreaded term ‘doer-upper’ is now well-established – at least among English estate agents and their victims.
Thanks to Anto and Andrew.
Did anyone else toy with the possibility of Merciless for 19ac, a (French) ambassador forgetting to behave diplomatically…probably not. Too many iffy clues for me today, thought LATECOMER rather weak, didn’t much like the revelation that DOER UPPER was the answer to the anagram for 3d. Didn’t enjoy, not a fan of Anto either, sorry, an impatient DNF ultimately….
Monkey @31. I sort-of agree with you about the use of W D L in the County Championship tables but, in my experience, the W and L columns are so rarely needed that they might be considered too obscure even for crossword purposes?
I am sorry, baerchen @29, but I find your insistence on ‘minimal standard’ in such matters unpleasantly authoritarian and stifling, akin to the joyless ‘uniform policies’ that blight schools, especially in the Academy sector, in this country. Recently, working remotely with a student on her university applications, I had occasion to look up her Academy school’s ‘uniform policy’, which ran to 5 pages and stopped short only of stipulating that her sanitary products should come from an approved supplier and carry the school crest. Her school would no doubt defend this as an insistence on ‘minimal standards’, but damn them all – I am glad my own children did not attend any such schools. If ‘I’ = Information is not in Chambers, then it is up to Chambers to catch up. Sorry for the rant, everyone. It is so cold that I am already wearing my coat …
I think this was a mixed bag, and I share in most of the likes and dislikes already mentioned. Could work out DOER UPPER, but fixer-upper is the only term I’ve heard, at least over here.
Talking of which, is INC really an American business?. It’s a word tacked on after the main part of a business name, but I’m not sure it stands alone to mean a business. It is an adjective after all, or am I missing something?
And, four hours later, the reason why Andrew can’t bring himself to parse 31A is…?
Spooner’s catflap @ 38 hear hear. I don’t believe that CS Lewis is in Chambers either. Crosswords are supposed to be fun, or at least that is why I do them.
@Fiery Jack
Fair enough. But CS=Lewis – which I have used in my own puzzles – isn’t a single letter abrreviation, is it? See also TE & DH for Lawrence, TS for Eliot etc etc.
@38
Yes institutional authoritarianism regarding use of sanitary products is always one of my initial thoughts when an editor tells me that “this isn’t on the list; change it”
I assume Andrew has omitted the final across analysis as a reaction to its tautological nature – the DRESS is the same word in SUNDRESS & UNDRESS. Two runners is one too many, though the ID EST was nicely done. I enjoyed it, despite this bit of nit-picking. Thanks Anto.
Thanks Andrew especially for “fleshing out” Ita of whom I was not previously aware but clued very helpfully – I’m not religious but anyone (maybe) consumed by a beetle the size of a pig probably deserves some sort of heavenly recognition.
I’m pro-Anto generally and see no reason to deviate today although when 15A and 4D went in early I worried that there may be a somewhat unsavoury theme developing.
And to throw my hat into the abbreviation ring I realise that setters need something authoritative to hang their hat on when so many terms vary in familiarity across geographic and generational lines BUT believe this should be a last resort and a “common law” case like i = information should not be rejected in favour of I = Ichthyosaurification (obs) being the 17th defn in Chambers.
Anyway today’s solve was made possible by the advertised powers of a CUP OF TEA, thanks Anto.
Very enjoyable crossword, Anto. Thank you.
Leaving aside the noun/verb issue, 26a has two definitions, as EXCISE can mean both “cut” and “duty”.
Tom-I @46
I suppose “excise” might mean “cut”, but it’s more generally used as “cut out”. I agree about the duty, though.
NeilH @ 6 and widdersbe l@9 – Hear hear! I am a long-time lurker in the shadows of this blog but have only contributed twice so far. The arguments about homophones can get really tedious and it is refreshing to see your light-hearted and generous views. As you say, crosswords are for entertainment and fun. The same goes for Spoonerisms.
I really enjoyed this crossword – thanks Anto and Andrew
Like Anna@1 I thought PRACTISE worked fine. Didn’t know ITA and struggled with LATECOMER for a while.
Anyone else insert OLE re United clue as I’m sure intended by Anto. Haha I did initially.
Thanks both
I also really enjoyed this, and thought there were some lovely clues. Griping about “i” for information when it’s on every tourist information centre in the country (and many other places too) seems like a desperate attempt to pick fault, when every single person in the country over the age of about 6 would be able tell you what that i stands for. If it’s ubiquitous knowledge it doesn’t need to be in the dictionary. That would be like complaining about an answer being “coronavirus”, which I’m sure has probably happened somewhere a few times.
Thanks Anto and Andrew. I enjoyed this. Perhaps I’m missing something but I don’t see a problem with the clue for 26a. Like most (all?) clues, it’s not a full sentence, so it can be read in different ways. The grammar seems to be saying that “practise without hesitation” is equivalent to “Cut duty”. The way I’m seeing it is the spelling of “practise” is only clearly wrong if “Cut duty” is nounal. Some have taken it as a double definition (even on this interpretation, cut seems to be verbal). Suppose, though, that is a single definition. Is it something a doctor undertakes (nounal) or something the taxman may do (verbal)? I’m inclined to give Anto the benefit of the doubt.
Even though I hit a brick wall in the SW corner count me among those who enjoy crosswords by Anto. There were numerous compact and witty surfaces. Favourites were many including CUP OF TEA, IN CLOVER, CRAPS, SPOOKY, and REASON. I had no chance with MAIGRET. Thanks to both.
With regard to Maigret and dodgy homonyms, my brother always used to refer to the detective’s assistant as filthy Lucas. I looked hard for a reason why I found this difficult and not very enjoyable and couldn’t find one, notwithstanding the comments above. Just me having a bad day.
Thanks for the blog, some fine clues here. ITA was awful but the only dud really.
I thought REASON , ID EST and BOHEMIAN were very neat.
I thought it must be Monday when I started but found a few to give me serious pause thankfully
The i for information is ok by me as it’s common usage. Also practise works perfectly well.
Fave was BOHEMIAN
Thanks Anto and Andrew
Why is episode experience?
Late to this, but IT is well known as an abbreviation for Information Technology. That was the context in which I took the I.
Yaay – finished. Top fairly easy for me, but bottom half needed re-visiting several times. Which makes it a good crossword for me. I was quite happy with ‘practise’. Took the surface to mean someone practising without hesitating.
Spent ages trying to convince myself Symbi was a possible plural of Symbol, and a Symbia was a University Conference, before I saw the light.
And was not sure from the clue if it was MINISTER or SINISTER. But I chose SINISTER.
Not totally convinced that EPISODE can mean Experience, but very willing to be convinced.
I wondered if the definition for EYELETS refers to the slits (or slots) in a jousting helm, but apart from Chambers’ “a small hole for seeing through” I can’t find much support for this.
So many commenters here today seem to have got out the wrong side of the bed this morning. A notable exception is Spooner’s catflap @38 who seems to have very sensibly gone to bed wearing a coat last might, and consequently woken up in a more accommodating mood than some. 🙂
Elizabeth @56 and moth @58. Chambers has episode: ‘an interesting or distinctive incident or occurance’; experience: ‘the passing through any event or course of events by which one is affected; such an event’.
@Millie.
Indeed. RSPCA is also in Chambers but not even Hugh would allow p=prevention.
I found this quite challenging but very good overall. The only one I didn’t really like was LATECOMER which seemed a little weak. CUP OF TEA and AL CAPONE were very good.
I have no problem with i = information. My question is: if it’s not in Chambers, what’s taking them so long? It’s been on tourist information signs for decades. And I assume, the great tome has a justification for f = foot, but it threw me for a while.
Thanks, Anto and Andrew.
I’ve wondered in the past about the “it stands for a word in an acronym therefore it can stand for the word in a clue” argument. SPCA having P for prevention does seem to be a weak case but I for information in IT and CIO seems less weak to me. However C for chief or T for Technology again seems weak even though they recur in CEO, CFO, etc and in many school names MIT, IIT, etc. I’m guessing we will not reach consensus as a group if I cannot even reach consensus as an individual.
Would “Unconventional tough guy holds solver after personal problem” have made everyone more comfortable?
If Information for I and McDonald’s for M is acceptable to some, I wonder if we’ll ever see eg Facebook for F or Superman for S.
Was Maigret a prolific detective? Or was it not his creator, Simenon, who was prolific?
acrossthepond @63, different opinions over individual letters in initialisms and acronyms perhaps strengthen the case for sticking to dictionary entries.
Re your amended clue, should that be setter, not solver?
I enjoyed this, but lean to baerchen’s view on abbreviations. I thought ID EST was borderline, and can’t see how ‘take off’ defines UNDRESS.
Lots of good clues though, AL CAPONE stood out.
Thanks Anto and Andrew.
Does no-one else here have a Sky remote control? Highbrows! i definitely stands for “Information”….
Twmbarlwm@ 64 – as far as I can see h and c for hot and cold are only in the dictionary today because they are printed on the top of taps. How is that different from i being on an absolutely daft number of information points, in the real world, and online, other than “i” hasn’t yet made it to the dictionary?
This is stuff everyone knows. You’re quibbling about a letter that almost everyone in the country knows the meaning of, even if it isn’t in the dictionary. Of the literally thousands of single letters that are acceptable in crosswordland, i for information would be so far up the list of percentage of the population who know what it means. For kids it would come shortly after n, s, e, w, l, r, u, d (these last two for up and down in videogames, which also aren’t in the dictionary (yet!)).
If the only reason you looked in the dictionary was to check that a letter did not contain the definition YOU KNEW IT WAS INTENDED TO MEAN WITHOUT ANY DOUBT WHATSOEVER then maybe the problem is with you.
Surely the ‘I’ for Information on signs is a logo rather than abbreviation, intended to be recognisable by people even if the word for ‘information’ in their language doesn’t start with an I.
Mark @69, I’ve not explicitly objected to Information for I.
I’m making a point about at what stage does a letter become acceptable in a crossword because of its ubiquity in real life, regardless of whether or not it’s in a dictionary.
The point I made about dictionaries related to individual letters within acronyms and initialisms.
I didn’t look up the letter i in the dictionary, and never said that I did.
@MarkN 69.
Isn’t the last part of your post somewhat hysterical? Some people clearly don’t care about stuff like this and are happy for the crossword editor of The Guardian to allow some compilers to use pretty much whatever random indicators they like, and some people do care.
I don’t think it’s necessary to call into question whether someone has a “problem”.
baerchen @72. “I” for ‘information’ is hardly a random indicator! I admit I was slow to get this solution because I was looking for somewhere to put GEN, but once you’ve got BO for ‘personal problem’ there’s not much room left, and once I’d sussed HE-MAN, the I became obvious. I’m not saying that makes it correct in your system of adjudicating these matters, just that it’s not unfair.
Added to which, if the use of letter “i” to denote an information point is ubiquitous in real life, why should it be up to a crossword editor, or you, for that matter, to say whether or not it’s acceptable in a crossword.
I’ll just add that Information for i, although not in the dictionaries, is not unreasonable and easily understood.
However, baerchen’s point about sticking to dictionaries also seems sensible enough for the avoidance of argument, even though dictionaries are inconsistent – Welsh for W, English for E, but not Scottish for S; Women for W, but not Men for M etc, and often behind the times.
@Sheffield Hatter
Did you really just say something like: why should it be up to a crossword editor to say what is acceptable in a crossword?
Thanks both.
Learnt the other day that ‘crapped out’ (unsurprisingly) comes from craps. If you throw a two (snake’s eyes), three or twelve.
Nice puzzle today, SE corner beyond me, wouldn’t be the same if I could actually finish a Guardian crossword.
This initialism discussion is Facebook Unilever Netflix.*
* see company logos
As a daily blog reader but first time commenter, I have to say I thoroughly enjoyed both today’s crossword and the subsequent debate on i for information. In particular as a mere Muggle/solver, the point by baerchen @29 made me see the setter’s point of view.
And for MarkN @69, would kids recognise ULDR for up left down right from gaming? Or would it rather be WASD? (I’ll get my gaming coat.)
Thanks Anto and Andrew
As the ‘village idiot’ of this site I can observe that solvers can sometimes take crosswords too seriously. They are meant to be fun.
Hoofit @79: then you are an idiot savant, my friend. Rather sad to scan through the comments after an evening solve in my Scottish retreat. Back to the whisky and the log burner, methinks.
I think the only thing I can add to about the posts on I for information is TMI people 😉
Sometimes I come to these little get-togethers suffused with the pleasurable glow of feeling part of a generous society of urbane, witty and slightly pedantic puzzle solvers….
…. but then there are also those times when I wonder why I find myself still combing through the rather unsavoury locks of indignant nit-pickers rather than simply shrugging them off and having a cup of tea.
Time for tea, I think.
baerchen @75. No.
HYD @ 76 , I always do the Across and Down clues in order and then attack the corners, for this one the bottom right corner was completely empty and I did have to scratch my head quire a bit , it was rather tricky to start.
I have never learnt the rules of that dice game. See it in films etc and totally incomprehensible, we do not seem to get it in casinos in this country.
DNF without MAIGRET and ONE. I couldn’t understand how a detective can be prolific: they don’t make things. Also I couldn’t get poor old Ole out of my mind, or Øre/Öre as a bit of cash. Tried to parse it the other way O*E + MY to be something meaning United.