A fun solve, tricky in parts…
…and with some help from the evident theme around magazines. Favourites were 22ac, 26/27, 1dn, 5dn, and 19dn. Thanks to Boatman
| ACROSS | ||
| 9 | LONG-RANGE |
Looking to the future, no boundaries for isolated farmstead (4-5)
|
| [a]-LON-[e]=”isolated” without its outer letters i.e. “no boundaries”; plus GRANGE=”farmstead” | ||
| 10 | BAHAI |
Sounding surprised to be in Big Issue, initially showing faith (5)
|
| definition: the Baháʼí Faith is a religion
AHA=’aha!’ as an exclamation=”Sounding surprised”, inside BI (Big Issue, initially) |
||
| 11 | PAY TV |
Subscribe here to view wild depravity? Dire letters sent out (3,2)
|
| anagram/”wild” of (depravity)*, with the letters of “Dire” removed | ||
| 12 | IDEAL HOME |
Boatman bargains in magazine (5,4)
|
| theme/definition: Ideal Home is a home decorating magazine
I DEAL=”Boatman bargains”, plus [at] HOME=”in” |
||
| 13 | PEEP-TOE |
Hollow pine eggcup to end of balustrade where nails are visible (4-3)
|
| definition: a peep-toe shoe would leave toenails visible
edit to add wordplay, thanks to StuartW P-[in]-E E-[ggcu]-P, without inner letters/”Hollow”; plus TO (from surface) + end of [balustrad]-E |
||
| 14 | ESQUIRE |
Queries resolved in magazine (7)
|
| theme/definition: Esquire is a men’s style magazine
anagram/”resolved” of (Queries)* |
||
| 17 | NICHE |
Good Housekeeping’s first to be incorporated: it’s a limited market (5)
|
| theme: surface reference to Good Housekeeping magazine
NICE=”Good”, with the “first” of H-[ousekeeping] incorporated inside |
||
| 19 | MAD |
This magazine made millions before our time (3)
|
| theme/definition: Mad is a satirical magazine
M (millions) + AD (anno domini, “ |
||
| 20 | I-AND-I |
In West Indies, USAid in disarray? (1-3-1)
|
| USAid is split with US as part of the definition, and Aid part of the wordplay
definition: a phrase used in place of ‘us‘ / ‘we’ / ‘you and I’ in the West Indies anagram/”disarray” of (Aid in)* |
||
| 21 | HARPERS |
Magazine for more keen cycling (7)
|
| theme/definition: Harper’s Magazine, a literary and political magazine
SHARPER=”more keen”, cycling the first letter to the end |
||
| 22 | TIME OUT |
Clue for item in magazine (4,3)
|
| theme/definition: Time Out is a culture and events magazine
in a cryptic crossword clue, “TIME OUT” could be read as indicating an anagram/”out” of (time)*, giving a clue for ‘item’ |
||
| 24 | ALIGNMENT |
Association of spoof rapper with magazine and books (9)
|
| ALI G=Sacha Baron Cohen’s character Ali G=”spoof rapper” [wiki] + NME=”magazine” + NT (New Testament, “books”)
theme reference to NME the music magazine |
||
| 26, 27 | SMASH HITS |
Clue for this magazine (5,4)
|
| theme/definition: Smash Hits the music magazine
in a cryptic crossword clue, “SMASH HITS” could be read as indicating an anagram/”smash” of (hits)*, giving a clue for ‘this’ |
||
| 28 | VOGUE |
Nothing to replace article dropped from unspecified magazine (5)
|
| theme/definition: Vogue the fashion magazine
VAGUE=”unspecified”, with O=”Nothing” to replace the dropped A=indefinite “article” |
||
| 29 | EVENED OUT |
Fever: any beds? Job cuts; trimmed on all sides and levelled (6,3)
|
| [F]-EVE-[r] [a]-N-[y] [b]-ED-[s] [J]-O-[b] [c]-UT-[s], with the outer letters all removed i.e. “trimmed on all sides” | ||
| DOWN | ||
| 1 | CLIP |
More than £1.50 for magazine (4)
|
| definition, not quite like the other themers: “magazine” or CLIP referring to gun ammunition
CLI is Roman numerals for 151, so CLI P = 151 P = 151 pence = £1.51 = “More than £1.50” |
||
| 2 | ENZYME |
Easy for text to include name fully, finally on magazine’s cover: this could get a gut reaction (6)
|
| EZ=”Easy” in text-speak (“for text”), around N (name); plus [full]-Y finally; plus the outer letters/”cover” of M-[agazin]-E
theme mention of “magazine” in the surface |
||
| 3 | PRIVATE EYE |
Magazine report to look into tax, on teletype even (7,3)
|
| theme/definition: Private Eye the satirical magazine
sounds like (“report”): ‘pry’=”look into”; plus VAT (value added “tax”); plus “even” letters of [t]-E-[l]-E-[t]-Y-[p]-E |
||
| 4 | IN TIME |
Covered by magazine soon enough (2,4)
|
| theme reference to Time magazine
IN TIME=in Time magazine, “Covered by magazine” |
||
| 5 | REVEREND |
Araucaria: say a dream that is gone, on dying (8)
|
| definition: “say” as in ‘for example’. The Reverend John Galbraith Graham, known as Araucaria as a cryptic crossword setter
REVER-[ie]=”dream”, with i.e.=id est=”that is” removed/”gone”, plus END=”dying” |
||
| 6 | ABEL |
Early victim of a brother’s envious loathing from the start (4)
|
| definition: in Genesis, the first book of the Bible, Abel is killed by his jealous brother CAIN
first/”start” letters from A B-[rother’s] E-[nvious] L-[oathing] |
||
| 7 | THE ONION |
Misrepresented no-one with hit news magazine (3,5)
|
| theme/definition: The Onion, a satirical website/magazine
anagram/”Misrepresented” of (no-one hit)* |
||
| 8 | LIFE |
Magazine is virtual, if excelling in visuals (4)
|
| theme/definition: Life is a general interest magazine
hidden in (“in visuals” or ‘seen in’): [virtua]-L IF E-[xcelling] |
||
| 13 | PUNCH |
Joke by foremost of cartoonists, second place in this magazine (5)
|
| theme/definition: Punch, a magazine of humour and satire
PUN=”Joke” plus first letter/”foremost” of C-[artoonists] and the “second” letter of [t]-H-[is] |
||
| 15 | QUIZMASTER |
Inquirer Magazine: ‘Viz at last matures!’ I fall about (10)
|
| theme reference to Q, a music magazine
Q=”Magazine” + anagram/”fall about” of (z matures I)*, with the z taken from Viz “at last” |
||
| 16 | EXIST |
Live as misogynist? Principally pointless (5)
|
| [s]-EXIST=misogynist, without ‘s’, short for compass point South, at the beginning (“Principally point-less”) | ||
| 18 | CARRIAGE |
Surrey perhaps cold for Frenchman in union (8)
|
| definition: a Surrey is a type of four-wheeled carriage [wiki]
[M]-ARRIAGE=”union”, with C (cold) in the place of M (Monsieur, “Frenchman”) |
||
| 19 | MASTERED |
Boatman’s post allegedly went astray when picked up (8)
|
| sounds like (“allegedly”): ‘mast erred’
mast=a post on a boat=”Boatman’s post”, and ‘erred’=”went astray” |
||
| 22 | TATLER |
Magazine: ‘Rattle needs new arrangement’ (6)
|
| theme/definition: Tatler is a fashion magazine
anagram/”new rearrangement” of (Tatler)* |
||
| 23 | ORATOR |
One seen on a rostrum or a rock (6)
|
| OR A (from surface) + TOR=”rock” | ||
| 24 | ARVO |
A daily occurrence in Australia, witnessed in popular vote (4)
|
| definition: Australian slang for the afternoon
hidden/witnessed inside: [popul]-AR VO-[te] |
||
| 25 | NEEP |
Perhaps wedge lifted root (4)
|
| PEEN=the end of a hammer head opposite the hammering face, which may be a “wedge”, reversed upwards/”lifted” | ||
| 27 |
See 26 Across
|
|
I thought this was a magnificent feat, with the surfaces rarely forced to suit the theme. I loved REVEREND, QUIZMASTER and ALIGNMENT and also enjoyed spotting other linked words like CLIP, PUNCH, SMASH and HIT plus LIFE sitting above EXIST. There was also a link between 15d & 16d as Sid the (S)EXIST was a character in Viz. I was surprised by how many mags I actually remembered, especially HARPERS. Great stuff.
Ta Boatman & manehi.
Please don’t click on the link above. Admin, please delete asap!
Thanks Boatman and manehi
I couldn’t disagree more with manehi and AlanC. I found this very easy to finish (I had never heard of 20a, but what else could it be?), but found it very poor indeed. The theme was tedious and some of the surfaces ridiculous (what is “Hollow pine eggcup to end of balustrade” supposed to mean, for example?)
5d is very parochial.
Enjoyed the puzzle. Great blog.
Thanks Boatman and manehi.
My faves: LONG-RANGE, I-AND-I, CLIP. MASTERED and ARVO.
What Muffin said. 20 is clever.
The 151p and the Rasta plural were pretty cool and quirky. Took ages to spot the Aussieism, d’oh. Fun puzzle, ta B and m.
Hello sailor 🙂 Great way to end The Week. Loaded with some terrific clues and no big issues for this Oldie with I And I
Top ticks for SMASH HITS, ARVO & CARRIAGE
Cheers B&M
Great – loved it – too many ticks to mention. ARVO at 24a the best (sorry to be so parochial!!!). I enjoyed exploring all those magazine titles and references. Each day of crosswords offers more and more for which to be grateful. Thanks to Boatman and manehi.
I know what a ball peen hammer is but never knew that the peen part just meant the other end, and I don’t think I’ve ever seen it in writing. I’ve never heard a hammer called a wedge peen hammer, perhaps that is just assumed to be a standard hammer.
I rather liked 5d, after first seeing if it referred to the tree, and I could visualise a hollow pine eggcup on the end of a balustrade, but I can see that not everyone would appreciate those clues. I admired Boatman’s ability to fit the clues to the theme throughout and also surprised myself by having heard of all the magazines referenced. It must be over sixty years since I read MAD magazine, but the current president must be a gift to them if it’s still going. In addition to REVEREND and PEEP-TOE I enjoyed I-AND-I. Thanks to Boatman and manehi. Hopefully the second post will be deleted soon. As AlanC@3 says, don’t try the link.
I’ve never seen a peen hammer with a wedge on the opposite side to the “peen”.
Bring back AlanC’s link…. I’m a fan of free speech.
For what it’s worth, I saw 19ac more as:
M(millions) before AD (our time)
Couldn’t quite see where the definition with MASTERED lay within the clue, as I took “picked up” to indicate a “sounds like” for “erred”. However, strictly a dnf as I couldn’t get the left overs from Burns Night, as I’d never heard of Peen. Nor had I ever come across SMASH HITS.
At first, with Magazines being the obvious theme felt sure I would falter, but surprised myself by knowing them all apart from 26,27 ac…
I’m a cryptic newbie. Really enjoying the Quick Cryptics on Saturdays. Re: 13ac here, I think there may be more to the reveal:
“Hollow PinE EggcuP TO End….”
I don’t think aha implies surprise. (10across) Ah might and Oh definitely would. Aha implies the satisfaction of solving a clue that doesn’t really work.
I agree, StuartW @15, except that the final E comes from the end of ‘balustrade’ not the beginning of ‘end’.
When did people start spelling ‘Pein’ as ‘Peen’?
[Spoiler alert – Avoid Guardian comments!! Some selfish fool called “Alan Croons” has spotted connections between some clues. Though they’re simple, he is nevertheless so intent on showing off that he has effectively been posting spoilers. His ego overcomes his thoughtfulness. Beware folks! It’s an usually easy solve for a Boatman – reading comments will make it even easier and could spoil your enjoyment]
Very tricky but helped by the theme.
I failed to solve 1d, 5d, 19d, 25d.
New for me: I AND I, THE ONION & SMASH HITS (magazines).
I loved I-AND-I and enjoyed the puzzle generally. I didn’t think MASTERED quite worked. I have almost mastered French after years of study but I picked up a bit of Farsi when I lived in Iran, and I am not sure about allegedly as a sound-alike indicator, though the Boatman’s post was very clever.
W @19, what a ridiculous and offensive comment. Nowhere did I mention any solutions only that there was a similarity with some other words, as I mentioned @1. How by any imagination can that be a spoiler and why is it showing off to spot linked words? I’m really shocked by your unnecessary insult.
Ingeniously assembled puzzle, but at the expense of too many write-ins. I much prefer a ghost theme, if indeed there has to be one. I preferred the clues where the periodical was part of the wordplay (BAHÁ’I, NICHE, QUIZMASTER) rather than being the solution.
Some bizarre surfaces here; I thought the clue for PEEP-TOE was atrocious! But ABEL is a nice &lit and CLIP is masterful (distinctly Qaotic).
Thanks to Boatman and manehi
[BTW, I never read the Guardian thread. What’s the point when we have the estimable 15^2?]
AC@22 & WFP@19 I can’t see anything in the comments on the G site that could be construed as a spoiler. Seems like a few people today might need to return to bed and try getting out on the other side
{typo: 22d TATLER: ‘…(Rattle)*’ – Sir Simon [1955–] — (he turned 70 last month) — might need a new arrangement.}
AlanC@1&2: What were you linking to?
I thought this was a lovely puzzle for a Friday morning with a great assortment of clueing devices. Boatman truly is a master of his craft.
And for anyone unclear about Surrey might I recommend this earworm from Oklahoma
[FrankieG @26
There was a spam post (now removed) @2 that Alan was warning about.]
Thanks bodycheetah @25, flummoxed by the comment tbh. Frankie @26: someone had posted hardcore porn, which would have offended a lot of people.
William F P@ 19 Alan C@2w the linking of Time Out and Smash Hits is arguably a spoiler but they pretty much telegraph it in the clues. The thing that I consider ‘showing off’ is describing as easy a puzzle that many people will have struggled with and feel a great deal of satisfaction with even part finishing. Those ‘at the gentler end’, so and so ‘being kind to us’, ‘a quick solve’ type of comments are what I find smug and annoying.
Petert@21
MASTERED
Allege=cite or quote in discussion (Chambers). So ‘allegedly’ should be fine as a homophone indicator. However, ‘mastered’ and ‘picked up’ do not seem to be exactly synonymous.
Any illustration I’ve seen of a ball-peen hammer shows the peen as rounded and definitely not a wedge, I tend to agree with Muffin and others. Once the theme became clear (within about 5 seconds) I knew what we were in for, though I surprised myself by remembering most of them, though I think some no longer exist. Nho I-AND-I nor ARVO.
A mixed bag for me. Had a lot of fun and surprised myself with how many magazines I knew, until I reached the end of my knowledge and had to reveal the remainder. NHO PEEN/NEEP so that was impossible for me. Similarly ARVO, which I maybe could have guessed if I’d known it was a word. Don’t know Aracauria the setter, and if I did I wouldn’t know anything about their personal life, so while the clue wasn’t impossible I don’t think I was ever going to get it. A frustrating way to finish
TonyM@18, oed.com: “… in the Second Edition of the OED (1989)” had “pein, n. dial., techn., and U.S. (piːn, peɪn) Also pen, pean, pene, peen.” last cited:
“1971 B. Scharf Engin. & its Lang. ix. 63 Ball-pein hammers have one ball-shaped end (pein, peen) for hand-riveting or burring over.”
The current version prefers “peen, n.” citing:
“1991 The peen could be used to drive tiny nails into the tightest spots, and he proved it. Harrowsmith August 65/3″
[pene means something quite different in Spanish.]
It’s always good to see Boatman. I partly agree with muffin in that some of the surfaces were a bit forced, but I enjoyed this. The theme was nicely done, with most of the magazines being in the answers, but some (Big Issue, Good Housekeeping) in the clues, and one (CLIP) being a different sort of magazine. The traditional dual use of “Boatman” was there, in IDEAL HOME and MASTERED (one is always I/me and the other an actual boatman). My favourite I think was the clever word-splitting I-AND-I.
(This is a true story: I was once in W H Smith and witnessed the following exchange between a sales assistant and a customer. The assistant, after rummaging around on the shelves, produced the heavy-metal magazine KERRANG! and said “Here you are!”. The customer said, “Oh, no, I was asking if you had a copy of the Koran…”)
Many thanks Boatman and manehi.
I agree with muffin @5 about 5dn; cluing “reverend” as “Araucaria” (even with the disguised “say”) is faintly ridiculous. I disagree about the puzzle being tedious; having a theme is the opposite of the “same old, same old” of regular puzzles. Muffin and gervase @23 are right that the theme means that there are several write-ins for the cognoscenti, but it’s a relief not to have to parse everything.
I have one of my dad’s old hammers. It has a small head and a wedge-peen. It was always referred to as the ‘tack hammer’.
I’ve never really figured out the purpose of the wedge-peen, but it’s great for hammering… you guessed it!… tacks.
Hear-hear, DaveF @31! On days when I struggle to finish, being told that it was “gentler than usual” or “a quick solve” really dampens any sense of achievement.
Be that as it may, like Gervase @24, I never bother with the G comments: this site is way better.
This crossword was good fun in places, kinda annoying in others. The theme was so obvious even I spotted it – and so a fair number were guess-first, parse-later. Like many others, I’m surprised at my being able to recall so many mags, most of whom I’ve never read.
I agree with Muffin @3 about 13A & 5D!
NEEP was a wild guess: never heard of “peen”, but will now be unsurprised at seeing “tatties” as a solution.
I enjoyed the vague vogue, and the Rasta plural.
Thanks Boatman and manehi
My LOi was 19d MASTERED, where the definition “picked up” was masquerading as a homophone or reversal (in a down clue) indicator.😐
I suppose we master the art of crosswords, by picking it up over the years. I prefer ghost themes, too.
“A mate of mine gave me all his back issues of Smash Hits” — “With friends like that, who needs NMEs?”
Just what I was thinking TonyM @18, it was definitely ball pein in my school manual class.
Apols if already discussed (just dropped back in)
[SomeoneNamedGeof @38 My father too had a hammer exactly like the one you describe, which I think he also called a tack hammer. My current hammer has a curved tack-removal peen, although it has also on a couple of occasions been pressed into service as a wedge/crowbar.]
[@41 Fnarr, and if I may, fnarr.]
KVa @32
“Mastered” and “picked up” are kind of synonyms for having learnt (a new skill, say).
[DaveF and Wellbeck: It is clear that many of the regulars here are in the top echelon of solvers, with half a century of experience at the pastime. But it often happens that one or more of the ‘experts’ struggle with a puzzle that the rest found ‘straightforward’. Just as some types of crossword appeal to some people more than others, so the relative difficulty of a puzzle is a personal thing, and exchanging experiences is part of the interest in this site. Few contributors actually ridicule the ease with which they found the solve, and their comments are not usually intentionally smug or boastful]
Another fine crossword from the Bard of Ditchling (it’s a village in Sussex). Must admit the West Indies clue was very hard to fathom out. As a lover of music Surrey with the fringe on top came quickly: nice piece of deflection. We’ve had quite a week from setters and bloggers. Thanks all
Been waiting for Boatman to sail back into the Guardian and he didn’t disappoint.
Was a bit worried about the magazine theme but they just seemed to sail in SMASH HITS unlocking many happy childhood memories.
I couldn’t get REVEREND (I didn’t know that particular setter) but still very enjoyable puzzle.
Liked CLIP (for the misdirection), ALIGNMENT (both the rapper and magazine again bringing back happy memories) and THE ONION (liked the surface as that’s probably a magazine that misrepresents everyone).
Great stuff from the captain and Manehi
This was fun indeed. I guess I know more magazines than I thought I did. LOI was NEEP, because of reservations about peen = wedge (as mentioned above), and being unsure about the root — until I remembered neeps and tatties from a trip to Scotland last year. Travel is broadening.
[Nakamova @48
I hope you had haggis with your neeps and tatties!]
Thanks, Manehi & all – I’m glad to see that the magazines featured were not wholly unknown to most of you. I did wonder at one point whether I should identify the defunct examples as “former magazine”, but it looks as though I was right not to worry about it.
It always fascinates me to see how solvers can react to different ways of treating themes: some people are sure that identifying theme solutions is what themes are all about, while others (like Gervase @23) get more fun from having theme references in the surface of the clues – whenever I set a puzzle that has a high proportion of either type, there’ll always be one or two solvers who’ll point out that they prefer the opposite! On the whole (as Lord Jim @36 notes) I’ll aim for a mixture of both, along with one or two references that are unapologetically tangential.
Hammer lovers – I’ve always thought of that part as being the PEEN, but I can see that Chambers allows PEEN, PEAN, PEIN, PENE or PANE. This is as fraught as trying to legislate for the correct spelling of PIRANHA!
FrankieG @26 – Thank you for the biographical note about Sir Simon R – I wasn’t aware of that, and you know that I love a good coincidence.
Lord Jim @36 and FrankieG @40 – Ha ha ha
Yep, great puzzle and a very enjoyable solve.
I was surprised that some on here weren’t aware of Araucaria – in my opinion, one of the finest setters ever. But, when I Googled him, his passing was longer ago than I’d thought so there will be people who never had the pleasure of his puzzles. If you’re at a loss for something to do sometime, I can heartily recommend giving one his puzzles a go. They can be found here – his Bank Holiday puzzles were especially good. Here’s an example of one (many are no longer available as they were in unconventional grids).
Aoxomoxoa @51
You would not only have to have been aware of Araucaria as a setter, you would also have to have known his day job.
muffin @52
Very true.
muffin @52 almost every day brings a word that I don’t know but solve from the wordplay and look up. I didn’t know Araucaria was a priest so I had to check. Now I know. The sum of my knowledge has been expanded 🙂
[Gervase@45: should we draw a distinction between those commenting on their personal experience, e.g. “I usually struggle to get on Paul’s wavelength, but today was easier” vs. assertions that a puzzle is objectively too easy? Personally I am interested to see how some people find easy the ones I find hard and vice versa, but I draw the line at people complaining that a perfectly fine Monday puzzle belonged in the Quiptic slot.]
I loved this puzzle–found the integration of the theme generally very smooth (though I see why people are complaining about the surface of 13ac). Especial ticks for ALIGNMENT and I-AND-I with the unfortunately topical surface–for both of these I bunged them and then stared for a while until seeing the lift-and-separate for US and the spoof rapper and magazine, which go together beautifully. More ticks for the reverse parses in TIME OUT and SMASH HITS and the clever cluing of CLIP.
Like Nakamova@48 I knew NEEP from a trip to Scotland, perhaps broadening in more than one sense. [muffin@49: I did have it in a tower of neeps, tatties, and haggis, before I went pescatarian!] Collins has “peen” as “the end of a hammer head opposite the striking face, often rounded or wedge-shaped,” so wedge seems fair to me. PEEN is also the only spelling I’m familiar with–perhaps it’s more American?
Thanks Boatman and manehi!
[Ace @55: That is a useful distinction. To be avoided are comments about the ease of a puzzle expressed as a statement of fact. (Actually, I don’t always find Quiptics fall out quicker than the Monday puzzle!)]
[matt w @56: Unfortunately it is difficult to find neeps and tatties served with Arbroath smokies 🙂 ]
I do try not to crow about ease or difficulty, though I was very pleased with myself recently for finishing my first ever Enigmatist – which everyone said was a hard one. That must have been a fluke because I then, full of overconfidence, tackled an IO in the FT which was generally thought to be much easier, and fell flat on my face.
Thanks both,
Timc@11 Googling ‘wedge peen hammer’ comes up with lots of instances. I was using my father’s one only yesterday to nail the sash cord I was replacing into the groove in the stile of the sash. The wedge allows one to get the nail into the groove. The hammer must be about a century old.
Balfour @42 That kind of hammer is often called a claw hammer.
Ace@55, well said; my experience was that I bowled through this until the SW corner which completely grounded me, a mixture of ignorance (Surrey=carriage, arvo=afternoon) and mis-direction (‘picked up’ not a homophone indicator). Thank you Boatman, and thank you manehi for effortlessly raising the site’s tone (and accuracy) by using ‘split word’ in your parsing of 20ac (USAid) rather than ‘lift-and-separate’
I gather that there used to be The Boatman Magazine, although I didn’t know of it (or Q and THE ONION). Quite fun to see the magazines appearing, I was waiting for Arsenal but that didn’t seem to be there.
I liked the Boatman bargains in IDEAL HOME, the novel USAid for I-AND-I, the cleverly constructed EVENED OUT, and the 151p for greater than £1.50.
Thanks Boatman and manehi.
I found this quite a challenge, but ultimately satisfying; the only one I had to reveal was REVEREND right at the end. (Knowing not only the name of a former setter but his biography outside of crosswords would be off-puttingly cliquish if you were new to this, don’t you think?) I was surprised that I’d at least heard of all the magazines; at first I dreaded that there would be some obscure British titles, but nearly of them either are American, have American editions, or are so well known that it doesn’t matter. (The exceptions are Smash Hits, which was obvious once I had all the crossing letters, and Big Issue, which was in the clue, not the answer.)
[Incidentally, HARPER’S is one of the three American popular-market magazines that pre-date the Civil War and are still published–the other two are Scientific American and the Atlantic.]
Hours ago, Gervase@24 asked why people bother with the G comments when we have 225. I have never posted there, but I do occasionally look at it. I am convinced that certain individuals only post there to show how quickly they finished the puzzle (the comments open as soon as the puzzle drops).
Good fun, but so obviously not a Friday puzzle, since even I could solve it, although with a couple unparsed.
DrW @65: I have never posted to the thread on the Guardian site either, and in fact I don’t think I’ve ever even looked at it. This is borne of a long habit of never reading the comments anywherere (this site is the lone exception, since–well, the comments are part of the point here).
Oh, and I think solving times are interesting if phrased in relative terms (faster for me, much harder for me, etc.) but not in absolutes. Some people solve more slowly than others, often just because they take their time over it. And some days your head just isn’t in the game. So what does it mean to say you solved in ten minutes or two hours?
Lovely puzzle and great blog. Hard to choose favourites but I’ll go for I-and-I as my number 1.Thanks to Boatman for the fun and for dropping in, and to Manehi for the blog. What a great start to the weekend 😎.
[Lord Jim and FrankieG – the music mag. anecdotes made me laugh…]
Thanks Boatman for a fun puzzle. I failed with CLIP, REVEREND (I tried to somehow put ‘legend’ in the mix but that didn’t work), and ORATOR. I enjoyed many of the clues including SMASH HITS, ABEL, EXIST, and VOGUE. In 3d I questioned ‘even’ as an alternating letter indicator; I always thought it should be ‘even bits of’ or ‘evenly’. BTW HARPERS has a top-notch barred cryptic every month but you have to subscribe to see it. Thanks manehi for the blog.
Tony S @69
Someone on the Crossword Help Forum posts a link to the Harpers puzzle most months.
[Sounds from a couple of Melody Makers: Hall & Oates’ 3ds (1981).]
Thanks for the blog , many neat clues and the theme did not spoil things . ALIGNMENT very clever and good use of cleavage for I-AND-I .
No criticism of individual setters but it has been a very monotonous week for difficulty . It would be nice to see a wider range on both sides .
Thanks Boatman and manehi. I enjoyed this. However, although I am an admirer of the great Araucaria, as I believe Boatman is too, I do think 5d is an unsatisfactory clue. A bit too esoteric/cliquey!
I liked it. Not sure why 1d wasn’t just £1.51 for magazine.
Solved in 11.253 min. Laughably easy. All the surfaces were fantastic except those that were terrible.
Thanks, B. Come back soon. Thanks also, manehi.
Agree with Roz about the monotone level of difficulty this week. Of course that’s a matter for the editor rather than the setter.
I thought this puzzle was delightful, I admit to being a hugely biased fan of Boatman’s work. At one point I thought we were on for a pangram as well as a brilliantly executed theme. Too many fine clues to mention. I-AND-I was my favourite, and will have me digging up my Bad Brains records this evening.
Someone could put a link to ” Babylon Makes The Rules ” by Steel Pulse for I-AND-I .
Alas my IT skills are too advanced for the current, primitive internet .
Roz @72 Delighted to see you adhering to your new term for what was previously L&S. You may have seen me defending it on the Site Feedback thread a couple of days ago.
Balfour@77 I was thinking geologically as you partly noted .
When people on here take themselves far too seriously I cannot resist .
Well, of course you were, Roz, so the term should cause no one any offence, but probably will. However, it may be too late in the commenting day for the usual suspects to weigh in.
Thanks Boatman and manehi. Nice puzzle and I have no problem with a theme being front and centre, when it is as accessible as this.
I did feel moved to strongly agree with the comments on Araucaria/Reverend though- one of the most inaccessible clues I have ever come across for non-seasoned setters, and I am surprised it got past the editor.
Roz and Balfour, I’ll admit the joke was quite funny. The first time.
Excellent puzzle & well-worked theme.
[Muffin @70: Thanks, I did not know that.]
Well, I was beaten by LIFE, of all things.
Thanks one and all.
It belatedly occurs to me that boatman@50 was clearly referring to being metaphorically Shot by both sides by post-punk supremos MAGAZINE
BC @85, only just saw this. It’s a good thought and a great earworm. Thank you.
The hammers with the wedge shape pein are cross pein hammers.
For 26/27, I spent far too long trying to think of a magazine with a different anagram of ‘this’.
A bit late to the party, didn’t get to this until today (Sunday), so will simply say it was a good workout, with only the doubled MASTER in 15d and 19d raising an eyebrow. Thanks to both.
Even later. Solved about 40%. But enjoyed it nonetheless. I mentioned reverse cluing a couple of days ago. This had a few classes on the subject!
Thanks both
Nice to have Boatman back after a bit of an absence. Not only did I miss four — I-AND-I, ALIGNMENT, MASTERED, and NEEP — I couldn’t even parse them when I revealed the answers!
Used to read MAD often when I was a kid. Took me back!