Twenty-six clues, one for each mile. I wonder if Paul concocted this idea so he could stop and have a rest every few minutes? I also wonder if Imogen was running along too, or else how did he get between mileposts in time? And if he wrote as he ran what state was the puzzle in by the time they finished, could they read it at all? Definitely an excuse to stop and rest. And did Imogen fill the grid as he ran or was it pre-filled? Whatever, setting while running seems to have had little effect on the end result, good fun to solve as always. Thank you Paul and Imogen.
| Across | ||
| 5 | BEACON | Light, don’t go straight? (6) |
| BE A CON (so don’t go straight) | ||
| 6 | BOXERS | Fighters — not setters! (6) |
| by dog breed, boxers will not be setters | ||
| 9 | PLEDGE | Promise to donate a little money found on the shelf (6) |
| P (pence, a little money) on LEDGE (shelf) | ||
| 10 | BILLOWED | Boy sounded in pain, as went like the wind? (8) |
| BILL (a boy) OWED (made an ow sound, in pain) | ||
| 11 | BANG | Report taking some dumb angle (4) |
| found inside (some of) dumB ANGle | ||
| 12 | NINE TO FIVE | 4 down, time to work? (4,2,4) |
| NINE TO FIVE is counting four down from nine (1 down is 8, 2 down is 7, 3 down is 6, 4 down is 5) | ||
| 13 | INFANTRYMAN | Soldier in cooler — persevere dude! (11) |
| IN FAN (cooler) TRY (persevere) MAN (dude) | ||
| 18 | SCRATCHPAD | The devil’s home, where you might give a jot? (10) |
| SCRATCH (Mr Scratch, the devil) and PAD (home) | ||
| 21 | ROOM | Space where mini-Australian marathon’s beginning (4) |
| ROO (small kangeroo, mini Australian) with Marathon (beginning letter of) | ||
| 22 | BARBARIC | Cruel getting double the stick, I see (8) |
| BAR BAR (stick, doubled) then I C (see, name of the letter C) | ||
| 23 | TWITCH | Little movement from fool and companion (6) |
| TWIT (fool) and CH (Companion of Honour) | ||
| 24 | RESITE | Place elsewhere, on seeing through the ears? (6) |
| sounds like (through the ears) Re Sight (on seeing) | ||
| 25 | HITHER | Here there’s success with that girl (6) |
| HIT (success) with HER (that girl) | ||
| Down | ||
| 1 | CARDIGAN | Top Welsh town (8) |
| double definition – town and knitted top | ||
| 2 | MODERN | Break or mend, so new (6) |
| anagram (break) of OR MEND | ||
| 3 | TOILETRY | John on track, getting cleaner (8) |
| TOILET (John) on RY (railway, track) | ||
| 4 | SET OFF | Start to complement (3,3) |
| double definition | ||
| 5 | BALLAD | Everyone’s into tuneless song (6) |
| ALL (everyone) in BAD (tuneless?). I’m not convinced about tuneless for bad. | ||
| 7 | SHELVE | Some puckish elves put aside (6) |
| found inside puckiSH ELVEs | ||
| 8 | A BONE TO PICK | Remains of roast to share — beef? (1,4,2,4) |
| double definition | ||
| 14 | ACCURATE | True account with clergyman (8) |
| AC (account) with CURATE (clergyman) | ||
| 15 | AIRTIGHT | Flawless atmosphere and mean (8) |
| AIR (atmosphere) and TIGHT (mean) | ||
| 16 | ECLAIR | I race madly round capital in London — it’s long and bad for you (6) |
| anagram (madly) of I RACE containing London (capital, first letter of) | ||
| 17 | CONCUR | Dog doing tricks? Agree (6) |
| a dog doing tricks might be cur that cons, a CON-CUR | ||
| 19 | AT BEST | A challenge inspiring British no more (2,4) |
| A TEST (challenge) containing (inspiring, breathing in) B (British) – no more than | ||
| 20 | DETAIL | Particular dock? (6) |
| double definition – read detail as de-tail | ||
definitions are underlined
I write these posts to help people get started with cryptic crosswords. If there is something here you do not understand ask a question; there are probably others wondering the same thing.
As PeeDee says, there is much that we don’t know about exactly how Paul managed to do it, but no matter – what an accomplishment. It was great fun solving this, and it was impossible to do it without being constantly aware of the circumstances.
Congratulations to both Imogen and Paul.
The definition of 16d ECLAIR was interesting: “it’s long and bad for you”. I’ve known for some time the Chambers definition of an eclair, which I’m happy to repeat here in case anyone hasn’t seen it:
“a cake, long in shape but short in duration, with cream filling and usu chocolate icing”
Thanks also to PeeDee.
What an amazing feat by Paul to write this during the pain and exhaustion of the London Marathon. Perhaps due to the circumstances, Paul’s clueing was on the gentle side but I did need to look up Mr Scratch – a term I’d not encountered before. My favourite was ECLAIR for its wonderfully apposite surface.
I think Imogen pre-filled the grid, and then Paul had 26 helpers, 1 at each mile post and each holding up a card with one of the solutions written on it: Paul then had a mile to come up with a clue for the solution. I think he may have used a voice recorder to keep a note of the clues as he came up with them.
Good fun and a heck of an achievement – thanks to Paul, Imogen and PeeDee.
This wasn’t too much of a challenge, although I didn’t properly parse 12 Ac. Fortunately I also had Maskarade’s wonderful Easter puzzle to do, having done his Christmas puzzle at Easter!
Thanks to Paul, Imogen, and PeeDee. As a long-time jogger (never a marathon runner) I am in awe of this feat – and I much enjoyed the puzzle. I could not parse NINE TO FIVE and had TOILETRY as my LOI, mainly because I had mistyped one of the crossers and took some time before discovering the mistake.
Thanks PeeDee and Paul. Gold for the run, silver for the concept, bronze for the clueing. A cakewalk.
Sonicelder@3 is correct as to the mechanics of the thing. Paul blogged about it here.
Some beautifully thematic clues, such as 10a, which I actually put as BELLOWED, reading it as a double def (describing the sound of one in pain and how how wind goes from a bellows!?). I couldn’t explain “boy” and thought it must just have been the 26th clue composed, so thanks for explaining, PeeDee. Not dodgy cluing by Paul, but dodgy solving by me! (I still have my reservations about “went like the wind” for BILLOWED, but it made such a good surface I wouldn’t want to pick nits. Works much better than BELLOWED, anyway).
It didn’t occur to me that see is the actual name of the letter and thought the clue lacked a homophone indicator. Der! My bad solve again. Thanks for pointing out the blindingly obvious, PeeDee.
I haven’t heatd the expression “Mr Scratch” before, but Old Scratch was a term tucked away somewhere in my memory. My old Chambers gives both Scratch and Old Scratch as names for the Devil, but not Mr Scratch.
Good to see that John Halpern’s (Paul’s) Just Giving page has exceeded his £2,600 target. Congratulations and thanks to him.
Very enjoyable and made even better by understanding the circumstances, with such a wonderful effort by our setter “Paul”, Imogen who provided the grid and solutions, and those 26 helpers.
Many thanks to all involved.
My favourites were 13a INFANTRYMAN and 18a SCRATCHPAD.
How could our Marathon Man think up such clever clues while running at the same time? Awesome!
Tony @7 – interesting point about “went like the wind”. My first thought is that everything is OK as the question-mark indicates cryptic definition rather than a literal one. However, I get tangled here as the definition is in fact literal, it is the usual meaning of the phrase that is cryptic (metaphorical).
More seriously, it would be a sail or something that billows, not the wind itself. The wind blows.
Thanks PeeDee. Congratulations to Paul (John) on his tour de force in completing this, and to him and Imogen in working in the running allusions. It was a fun solve, but, selfishly, I found it disappointing, in that I don’t remember a quicker cryptic completion – about 5 minutes – not ideal for the Prize on a Bank Holiday weekend!
I parsed NINE TO FIVE as the time that John expected to be running!
Thanks all
I do hope Imogen and Paul enjoyed this, because I did not see the point.
If P had told us the name of the charity and maybe only entries accompanied by a tenner would be considered for the prize,then putting up with a poor prize puzzle would have been worthwhile.
As it was it seemed a completely disconnected from the crossword piece of self indulgence.
In the spirit of the puzzle I solved it just after a particularly exhausting cycle ride; training for a charity event.
I was also determined to not use any aids… and it took me a while at the end to bring BEACON to mind.
I think Paul’s achievement in setting it was much greater than mine in solving.
RCW @11
I totally agree.
Unsurprisingly, in the circumstances, this was a lacklustre puzzle.
I just don’t understand why it was published as the weekend puzzle for a natioanl newspaper?!!!
I agree with RCWhiting and BNTO. This wasn’t a good crossword. Not many “off” clues (ballad) but a large number of write ins. I tackled this on a train; started at Derby; finished by Leicester. I am pleased that Paul ran the marathon but one reason I buy the Sat guardian is the crossword and I would prefer not to have a substandard one.
I did this in between gigs at the Cheltenham jazz festival and finished between Elliot Gavin’s set and that of the Necks. The level was just about right for those conditions. Live jazz,real ale and an amusing Paul crossword. Pretty much perfect really!
Thanks Paul-and congratulations!
Thank you Paul, Imogen, the 26 volunteers and PeeDee.
What a feat, congratulations to Paul/John. The clue for ECLAIR was fun, poor Paul, I doubt his speed was anything like lightning – I hope he had no bad after-effects.
I had forgotten Old SCRATCH in “A Christmas Carol”, a place where I must have encountered the term.
Thanks Paul and well done; a marathon’s difficult enough without trying to think up 26 clues at the same time.
Yes, it was a bit gentler than some prize puzzles but still very enjoyable.
Thanks PeeDee; I didn’t know the SCRATCH = devil thingy.
Paul will describe the process in more detail on Monday at the Guardian crossword blog.
Well done Paul – if you do it again, perhaps you could think about having a theme to the clues!
I, like many others apparently, enjoyed it as is invariably the case with Paul’s puzzles. Yes, it was easier than usual (Bridgesong & I did it in well under the average hour) but IMHO it is understandable and excusable in the circumstances. Compiling crosswords is an art and, as with other forms off expression, knowing the context gives one a better appreciation of the piece.
Well done and thanks to all.
Without a pen and paper it’s probably difficult to create long anagrams or complex strings of insertions/deletions/reversals, which probably explains why this feels quite gentle to some, but I thought it was a fun puzzle (and the change from Paul’s normal style made it a bit tricky for me – I ended up looking at a lot of clues the wrong way).
I thought it was an entertaining idea, and although it’s a gimmick such things can pique the interest of people who wouldn’t normally tackle a Guardian crossword. I know this, because half way through I explained the idea to my daughter (not someone normally drawn to crosswords) and she joined in and we finished it together. And it helped that it wasn’t the most taxing. Assuming Paul hadn’t had pencil and paper, it seemed only fair to solve it the same way – no trying out anagrams on paper, for example, which explains why the clues were the type they were, as Schroduck said – and that made it a tiny bit more of a challenge.
So, would Paul have known that there actually was a 4 down in the grid? I guess it probably didn’t matter.
So, well done Paul and Imogen – and PeeDee.
I find it really disheartening that someone who has clearly been deeply affected by the death of his brother, and has as a result achieved the twin feats of running a marathon (Paul would probably agree that he’s not built for speed) and composing a crossword at the same time has the results dismissed as pointless and lacklustre. I think those comments are churlish at best.
As far as the cause and donations are concerned, the project was amply trailed with links to the relevant justgiving page.
Please respect and honour the man’s achievement. How many of the negative commenters have done either?
I’m obviously a little bit simple…as I struggled getting into Paul’s marathon offering.
Perhaps when an easier prize crossword comes along, all you clever clogs can leave the fun to those who are beginners and learning how to do them, and perhaps have a bit of empathy with Paul on this particularly unique and sweaty challenge.
I for one like an easier Saturday crossword every now and then … it makes me feel good about myself!
Well done Paul.
PeeDee@9 “The wind blows”. Yes, that’s what I thought.
Those who complain it was too easy might like to have a go at this month’s Genius, which Paul has also set — and while they might not find it a marathon, it’s definitely no walk in the park!
Long run was sweet (8)
Simon S @23
I couldn’t agree more. The crossword that resulted from this unique collaboration is not of typical Saturday Prize quality, but no guarantee was given or expectation set that it would be. Any disappointment felt by regular solvers at this result should be channelled towards the editor and not towards the setters. Any valid criticism of the puzzle as published should take account of the manner of its creation – of which we were all informed at the head of the puzzle.
Just picked up the above comments. I was one of the twenty six “holders up of words”. It was a pleasure to be involved in such an event. Paul spoke his clues into his watch as he ran. The charity he runs for supports the blind/deaf. Maybe it was not a hard enough comp saturday type puzzle so what! He raised a lot of dosh and DID finish in a pretty good time despite the warm weather. Anyone can donate via his website. I should add that he did not know the actual words in advance. The real fun was spotting him and he spotting us-thank goodness for the Marathon moving map showing on the phone.
As one who has successfully completed more marathons than crosswords, I attempted to decide where on the course Paul might have composed each clue (I contributed to his chosen charity SENSE at https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/J-Halpern1 for the pleasure of the challenge ).
The chaos of the race ‘start’ and Mile 1 may well have inspired 4D, and the early congestion in Mile 2 the “little movement” of 23A. Woolwich Arsenal at Mile 3 could well have prompted the military references of 13A. By Mile 4 Paul would have been running west (toward a “Welsh town”) which would be an obvious response to “cardigan”. During Mile 5 Paul no doubt thought of his chosen charity SENSE, hence “seeing” and “ears” of 24A. The open “space” of Greenwich Park at Mile 6 may have inspired 21A or perhaps he was overtaken by somebody in a kangaroo costume. The “inspiring British” clipper Cutty Sark at Mile 7 has a clear link to 19D. At Mile 8 runners are feeling confident of success and a overtaking nymphette may have given rise to 19D.
5A might have been composed in Mile 9 where to “go straight” (down Redriff Road) would offer a tempting shortcut. It is difficult to know which “dock” came to mind for 20D but Rotherhithe at Mile 10 seems likely. An early “toilet” break at Mile 11 might lie behind 3A. Mile 12 and the crowds on Tower Bridge can cause emotional overload. Certainly plenty of “atmosphere” for 15D. Perhaps an upward glance at the glass walkways produced the “flawless” (I’ve seen worse!). The “cruel” and “double” must have been Mile 13 – halfway. By Mile 14 runners have been exposed to a lot of ‘music’ much of which one might consider to be the “tuneless” of 5D. Some “new” buildings around Mile 15 could have inspired the response to “modern” (2D).
No doubt 6A (setters) and 17D (dog tricks) came to mind in Miles 16 and 17 on the Isle of Dogs. Similarly Canary Wharf (Miles 18 and 19) will have produced visions of the “money” in 9A and “time to work” in 12A.. By Mile 20 I am sure Paul had “put aside” “some puckish” ideas like running another marathon and in Mile 21 the “long and bad for you” of 16D would have loomed large in his head. The “pain” of 10A would have been much in evidence by Mile 22. The uniformed gentlemen at the Tower of London (Mile 23) may well have produced visions of “beef” (8D) and the name Blackfriars at Mile 24 the “clergymen” of 14D. I can only speculate which “devil’s home” (18A) Paul may have been thinking of in Westminster (Mile 25). With only 385 yards to produce Clue 11A (report) it was no surprise that he finished with an easy bang. Many congratulations Paul.
I know I have already commented, but I have to say that I agree with Simon S@23, Ant@24 and Alan B@26, and indeed all who have accoladed Paul’s achievement.
At the heart of this puzzle was generosity in many senses of the word.
It upsets me to see a couple of comments on the forum that are, as Simon says, “churlish at best”. Other descriptors that come to mind are “curmudgeonly” and “selfish”.
I really enjoyed the “blow by blow” description by Bob@28, even though I didn’t get some of the references. Thanks for adding to the enjoyment, Bob.
Thank you all so much for your lovely comments. The day was great fun, and the 26 who helped were so generous in givuing up their time. As Bob (thank you for contributing Bob!) kindly mentions, here is a link to donate, if should like to. https://justgiving.com/fundraising/J-Halpern1 and Alan Connor has the full story, with my running commentary on my thinking as I ran, in tomorrow’s crossword blog.
You can also hear me on standup comedian Rob Deering’s running commentary…. here;
https://www.acast.com/runningcommentary/episodesixtyeight-amarathon-crosswordspecialwithjohnhalpern
Thanks again!
John (Paul)
Just seen this and I’m appalled by the lack of generosity of spirit of some of the posters. Well said Simon S @23!
Alan B @26
I don’t see and didn’t make any negative comments about he setter.
My comments were purely about the puzzle and the fact it was published in a national newspaper.
I am still at a loss to see why our illustrious ed chose this for a Saturday prize puzzle?
Just remembered I didn’t comment on this over the weekend. I think it is unfair to judge this by normal standards – if anything I thought it was remarkably good in the circumstances, just a bit easier than Paul usually is.
I have no problem at all with giving it a prize slot, since it is the sort of accessible puzzle that will encourage more people to have a go.
What I would question is the timing – I would not have given the previous week’s prize to Paul if the plan was always to make this one a prize, and the coincidence of his May the Second crossword being date-specific meant we have been seeing rather a lot of him…
Thanks to Paul and PeeDee
Dear everyone – here’s further stuff on this. Many thanks to Alan Connor. I can only apologise to those who didn’t like the puzzle (it was quite tricky to write… 🙂 ) but would have liked to make a donation as we didn’t have the space in the intro for the puzzle to provide a link.
https://www.theguardian.com/crosswords/crossword-blog/2017/may/08/pauls-marathon-crossword-devising-clues-while-running-26-miles
So here’s the link!
https://justgiving.com/fundraising/J-Halpern1
Thank you, on behalf of Paul, and the ‘real’ Paul.
BNTO @32
Quite.
I think you are right in questioning the editor’s judgement in making this a Saturday Prize, although I wouldn’t go as far as to say it shouldn’t be published at all. Other than that I wouldn’t take issue with what you yourself said – only with what another commenter said.
Dear John Halpern@34,
I just clicked on the link.
I am exhausted just reading the story behind each clue you created. How did you do this? Sometimes I think that we, as human beings, are driven in ways we don’t even get at the time, by the desire to honour our lost loved ones.
Thank you for a puzzle that, while it was created in unusual circumstances, and that you didn’t have time to edit and refine, gave me a real sense of what it means to respect the memory of those who have died. I am glad that your idea of combining your setting prowess with a fund-raising effort which will help others who struggle as your brother Paul did, has evoked support and accolades from so many. I truly admire your energetic efforts, the support from your fellow setter Imogen, and the vital roles played by the volunteers you have thanked by name here for their support during the marathon.
Julie in Australia
Thank you Julie. Thanks again to all. XXX
[Wrote this last night but must have neglected to hit Post Comment. Still haven’t got to today’s Guardian blogpost (next destination)]
Thanks for commenting J/P@30 [etc.]. I look forward to reading the blogpost about your experience. The interview you linked was an enjoyable listen, too, especially the live demo of how hard it is to come up with a clue quickly while running (and being interviewed, to be fair. How about “Runner has met challenge! (6)”?)
@PeeDee
“… BAD (tuneless?). I’m not convinced about tuneless for bad.”
In the context of a song, tuneless is about as BAD as it gets, isn’t it? There’s a little about “tuneless tunes” on the General Disussion page, btw, in case you haven’t seen it — starts with AlanB@155.
Tony – I can well understand that not everyone likes tuneless songs, they wouldn’t do very well in popular music but modern classical music (sic) is full of them.
My main unease though is that tuneless has to co-opt “song” (the definition) to get it to work. For me this weakens the clue somewhat. The other thing is that in the context of tunelessness it is tuneless singing that is bad. To describe singing as tuneless has a clear indication of criticism, it implies the singer is inept. For a song I think the association with badness is much less clear, there are plenty of intentionally tuneless songs from well respected composers.
Not a big deal, but I got the feeling that with more time Paul or the editor might have come back to this one.
If JH’s comments at 34 had accompanied the print version in Saturday’s paper I would have felt less cheated and more sympathetic, we do not all have an inside link to evey compiler’s. family.