Guardian 27890 / Enigmatist

by

Although this is a very clever crossword, for us it was definitely of the “too difficult to be really enjoyable” type!

Across

1. What’s deer caught? It’s a fish (11)
STICKLEBACK
A reverse clue of a sort: “What’s deer caught? It’s” – that’s STICKLE BACK, from ELK = “deer” + C = “caught?” + IT’S
Definition: “a fish”

9. Bread fellow’s given around lunchtime? (7)
CHAPATI
CHAP = “fellow” + AT 1 = “around lunchtime?”
Definition: “Bread”

10. Bed wicked nurses? One goes further (7)
ADVANCE
ACE = “wicked” (two now rather dated bits of slang) around (“nurses”) DIVAN = “Bed”, without I (“One goes”)
Definition: “further”

11. Study image in it? (9)
IDENTIKIT
DEN = “study” + TIKI = “image” in IT. Chambers defines “tiki” as “An image […] representing an ancestor”
Definition: the whole clue – a nice &lit.

12. Mum’s feller securing a feather for this cap? (5)
SHAKO
SH = “Mum” (not sure I like this, if I’ve parsed it correctly: “sh” is an interjection asking someone to be quiet, and I don’t think you could say “mum” instead) + KO = “feller” – a KO (knockout) blow would fell soeone. All of that is around A (“securing a”)
Definition: “feather for this cap?”

13. Peter’s good … (4)
SAFE
Double definition: “Peter” (slang for a lockable safe) and “good” (one of the Chambers definitions of “safe” is “Good, fine (slang)”

14. … not very accommodating airliner for vacation (10)
PRECARIOUS
PRECIOUS = “very” (as in “there was precious little left”) around A[irline]R = “airliner for vacation”
Definition: “[SAFE] … not” (a Wayne’s World style negation of the answer of the previous clue)

16. Doing business, perhaps, but not ready for firing (2,4-4)
AT HALF-COCK
“Doing business, perhaps” might be being “at co.”, which could be clued with AT HALF-COCK
Definition: “not ready for firing” – Chambers defines “half-cock” as “The position of the cock of a gun drawn back halfway and retained by the first notch (“at half cock” only partially prepared)”

19. Honey bun (4)
CHOU
Double definition: “a cream bun” (Chambers) and a term of endearment like “Dear” or “Honey”

20. Kilo of gold centimes deposited for timber in New Zealand (5)
KAURI
K = “Kilo” + AURIC = “of gold”, with C = “centimes” dropped (“deposited” – though I’d have thought this would be used to indicate inclusion rather than omission, I can see it)
Definition: “timber in New Zealand”

21. One circuit of Paris or relief work of printer? (1,2,6)
A LA POUPÉE
A LAP = “one circuit” + “of Paris or” = OU + PEE = “relief”
Definition: “work of printer?”

23. Prize-winning author left union of workers on retirement (7)
NAIPAUL
L = “left” + U = “union” + APIAN = “of workers” – stricly speaking APIAN means of all bees, not just worker bees
Definition: “Prize-winning author”

24. Catty papal successor to Damasus II? (7)
LEONINE
The “papal successor to Damasus II” was Leo IX, or LEO NINE
Definition: “Catty”

25. Personal message-sender about to lose bottle? (5,6)
NERVE ENDING
“nerve” might be “bottle”, as in “courage”, so NERVE ENDING might mean “about to lose bottle”
Definition: “Personal message-sender” (a nice cryptic definition part)

Down

1. Address mess in which husband and wife find themselves? (5,2,3,5)
STATE OF THE UNION
STATE can mean a “mess”, so STATE OF THE UNION might be “mess in which husband and wife find themselves?”
Definition: “Address”

2. Not appropriate to doze during sex (5)
INAPT
NAP = “doze” in IT = “sex”
Definition: “Not appropriate”

3, 4. Electrician’s knack with repairs — can this help with ladies’ upkeep? (7,7)
KNICKER ELASTIC
I’m a bit confused by this – I think it’s a compound anagram: (ELECTRICIAN’S KNACK)* = (KNICKER ELASTIC + CAN)* but I don’t see any indication that the “can” should added / dropped – this is very clever: as pointed out in the comments the em-dash should be read as a minus sign, so it’s “with repairs, minus CAN”
Definition: “can this help with ladies’ upkeep?”

5. Slicing a fish, this number is recommended (8)
ADVISORY
V = “this number” (i.e. the clue’s number) + IS in A DORY = “a fish”
Definition: “recommended”

6. Sarply moving major piece about a national swimmer — I like this work’s power (8-7)
KANGAROO HOPPING
(I’m sure that “Sarply” is a Grauniad typo for “Sharply”.) KING = “major piece” (as in a chess piece) around A + N = “national” + GAR = “swimmer” + OOH = “I like this” + OP = “work” + P = “power”. Quite an involved charade!
Definition: “S[h]arply moving” – I think this refers to badly miscoordinating starting a car, so that it judders forward as if in hops.

7. Skirmish can grimly set out useless employer’s problem (13)
SCRIMSHANKING
(SKIRMISH CAN)* – the anagram indicator is “grimly set out” + NG (not good / no good) = “useless”
Definition: “employer’s problem” – to scrimshank is “to shirk work” according to Collins

8. Press slammed Omen sequel — end of countdown cut (5,8)
LEMON SQUEEZER
(OMEN SEQUEL)* + ZER[o] = “end of countdown cut”
Definition: “Press”

15. Like impressionists’ work? Mr Goodman retains one in two (5-3)
PLEIN AIR
LEN = “Mr Goodman” around I = “one” in PAIR = “two”. I’d never heard of Len Goodman, so spent ages trying to get “Dan” to work in the clue
Definition: “Like impressionists’ work?” – Collins defines plein-air as “of or in the manner of various French 19th-century schools of painting, esp impressionism, concerned with the observation of light and atmosphere effects outdoors”

17, 18. Buttonholing guy on lake, one does delay rising star (7,7)
CHARLIE CHAPLIN
CHAP + L = “guy on lake” all in CHAR = “one does” (as in “cleans”) + LIE-IN = “delay rising”
Definition: “star”

22. In which antique Greek weighed two Bolivian pots? (5)
OBOLI
Hidden in “[tw]O BOLI[vian]” – “pots” indicates that it’s hidden (Thanks to Tony for pointing that out)
Definition: “In which anitque Greek weighed”

57 comments on “Guardian 27890 / Enigmatist”

  1. Thanks mhl. This was hard and I didn’t much enjoy it either. Some of the definitions were just too obscure and, after I had completed the grid, I spent just about the same amount of time trying to figure out exactly why. I’m not ashamed to admit I needed more recourse to Google than I would have liked. I did discover that the sequel to Omen is Damien, but that was more hindrance than help. I did have some local advantage with 11 and 20 across but a better knowledge of French would have been helpful. I don’t know what ‘feather’ is doing in 12a, I’m still struggling with 10a and 14a is just too convoluted.

  2. And if the leftovers in 3,4 had been THIS it would have made sense but. as it is, I share your confusion.

  3. Thanks to mhl and Enigmatist

    @3d THIS = KNICKER ELASTIC, def is “help with ladies upkeep”

    Brilliant but tortured, I loved it

  5. I had a different reaction to that of mhl and Biggles A@1. I normally don’t finish Enigmatists and this started to look the same way, but I somehow got on his wavelength and by the end I was sorry that it was over. The rarer words brought into focus the difference between recall and recognition: I may not use them often or even at all, but at least I’d seen them all before. Altogether I thought there were a number of very clever and satisfying clues. A fantastic puzzle.

    That said, I would agree with mhl’s disquiet over the phrasing of 3,4d. I read it to say that by combining can with the answer, you get the letters of electrician’s knack, but it’s not very smooth.

    Thanks both.

  6. This was difficult!

    I liked IDENTIKIT, PLEIN AIR, LEONINE, LEMON SQUEEZER, ADVISORY, STICKLEBACK.

    New words were SCRIMSHANKING, A LA POUPEE, KNICKER ELASTIC, STICKLEBACK, OBOLI.

    I could not parse :

    17/18 CHARLIE/CHAPL/IN apart from CHAP/L

    21ac A/LA P/OUPEE (found it via google) apart from A LAP

    3/4 KNICKER ELASTIC *electrician’s + kk / K[nac]K?

    10ac ADVANCE

    19ac CHOU (choux pastry)

    Thanks Enigmatist + mhl.

  8. Thanks mhl.  Some overstretched clues here, the ‘sarply’ one in particular, hence lots of ?? in the margin.  Couldn’t parse ADVANCE at all.  The prepositionless PLEIN AIR implied Impressionism=fresh air. But I liked the nice and neat 25A a lot, and the ‘end of countdown’ a bit (since ‘lift off!” sprang more readily mind).

  9. Thanks Enigmatist and mhl. I also found this a bit of a slog.
    When I parsed 3/4d I read ‘can this’ as meaning get rid of (can) and this referring to can (but now I’m not so sure).

  10. I’m with Dr. WhatsOn, hard but great satisfaction. With everything filled above the NW-SE diagonal and only state of the union and kauri below, there was some serious head scratching, but it yielded. Grid filled, but some parsings were beyond me, viz ‘at co’ in 16ac and ‘auric minus c’ in kauri, so not up to Dr. Wh’s criterion of ‘not parsed, not entered’. Reversing apian, ‘of workers’, was a groan/grin, Charlie Chaplin was a phew!, and nerve ending was the gestalt kind of clue that I love. Parsed 3,4 the ‘minus can’ way, like salsaman@7. Great workout, thanks Enigmatist and Mhl.

  11. Enjoyed this on a six-hour bus journey, and it took a fair section of that. Actually I liked the vast majority of the clues and answers, and didn’t fnd them too unreasonable once solved and parsed. Agree with salsaman re 3d.

    By the way, in your script above you’ve accidentally wirtten “DEN = image” when you mean “DEN = study”, but no-one will be caught out by that.

    Thanks to Enigmatist and mhl.

  12. Thanks Enigmatist and mhl

    A DNF – failed on A LA POUPEE (never heard of it). Too many others unparsed to be satisfied with my work.

    Not really a great crossword. My favourite was LEONINE, but even this required a Google for DAMASUS II (apparently one of the shortest reigning popes). I liked KNICKER ELASTIC as well.

  13. I’m in the too tortuous to be fun camp. We got most of the way through but gave up without 10,12a and 5d in place. There’s no excuse other than weariness for not getting ADVANCE and ADVISORY – I think this is an excellent clue – and I’m sure there are others that I was too jaded to appreciate at the time. Thanks to Enigmatist for keeping us entertained for longer than usual and to mhl for persisting and sorting everything out.

  14. More of a research project than a crossword. But I learnt a great new word (scrimshanking). Is “Honey bun” (12a) just an example of a chou pastry?

  15. Tough, but fair. One of those when you look back at the answers, and it’s all there, but assembling the jigsaw pieces takes a little effort. Not for prudes, either, with the more bordello-esque reading of 16a.

    Thanks to MHL and Enigmatist.

  16. I completed this, but I didn’t parse everything, which is the norm with me and Enigmatist. Thanks to mhl for the elucidation.

  17. Although Timon and I did eventually finish this, it took us twice as long as usual, and we hadn’t completely parsed all the answers. I was grateful that it wasn’t my turn to blog!

    Scrimshanking is an interesting word. It’s etymology is uncertain, but it may be related to scrimshaw, the practice of carving ivory or bone by sailors.

  18. Thanks Mhl and Enigmatist. I parsed 3d in the same way as salsaman@7, with the “-” as a minus sign, but I’m struggling to understand “sharply moving”, never mind “sarply”.
    I don’t think we’ll see many complaints about this one being too easy for a Prize.

  19. I agree with Dr. WhatsOn (5) and grantinfreo (10); I haven’t enjoyed a puzzle as much as this one for a long time, especially as it seemed impenetrable after a couple of passes, with only 3, 4 and 7 going in quickly.  I had several pleasing light-bulb moments, and much satisfaction at finally parsing 14 by Wednesday lunchtime.

    21 was a new phrase, but constructable from the clueing, and can be considered ‘& lit.’ as it is also relief printing.

    That was just what a weekend puzzle should be.  Many thanks to Enigmatist; and sorry mhl didn’t enjoy it.

  20. I must admit that I came close to giving up a couple of times and took three sessions to finish it, but it is a fine crossword and a proper challenge.

    Thanks to Enigmatist and mhl

  21. Too hard to be fun. Some pretty fuzzy logic as well. I did complete it, but felt cheated by many clues.

    1a incomplete clue. There’s nothing to indicate a reversal, unless we count ‘back’ in the solution, but that’s just too convoluted.

    12a ‘sh’ and ‘mum’ are not synonyms, at least not without a verb (e.g. ‘keep’ mum)…another incomplete clue.

    16a ‘doing business’? What?

    20a ‘deposited’ to indicate omission…that’s just wrong.

    3/4d incomplete clue.

    6d…’sarply’…for ****’s sake! ‘Kangaroo hopping’ isn’t really a phrase or figure of speech.

    22d…the clue is singular but the answer plural. Should have read ‘antiques‘.

    Several others required specialist, obscure knowledge. e.g. Mr Goodman…I’d not heard of Len. Hardly the most famous person with that surname. I was thinking ‘John’ or ‘Benny’. This is supposed to be a crossword, not a quiz word. OK, one assumes a level of familiarity in the solver with lit/art/history/politics, but come on…What’s next? Soap opera characters?

    Was the setter drunk or desperate for the toilet? It seemed like there were a few private jokes, assumptions that we could read his mind, leading to unfair clues (e.g. the link between 13 & 14a).

    Shame. I usually enjoy the hard but fair Enigmatist.

  22. I almost gave up as well but I’m glad I didn’t. My expectation of this setter is that the puzzle will veer from hard to impossible but I do try to put that expectation out of my mind. I then found that the West side went in quite steadily. The East side was far more difficult- although LEONINE was FOI- and took a loooong time to complete. I’ve never A LA POUPLE or KANGAROO HOPPING. SAFE was really easy but PRECARIOUS,with which it was linked, took ages to see.
    A certain satisfaction once I’d finished it but I can’t say I really enjoyed it.
    Thanks Enigmatist.

  23. I enjoyed it but did think that some of the clues would have benefitted from further editing (possibly excising for 6d), having said that they all parsed ok for me.

    3d is great (unless you read it wrong, ‘this’ is part of the definition and a minus indicates subtraction to me).

    Biggles A @ 1 A Shako is a cap with a feather in it.

    I parsed 1a more simply “stick, all back” = deer if the stick in question is a reed.

    Thanks to Enigmatist and chi.

  24. Thanks Enigmatist and mhl

    I thought this was a tremendous puzzle, and enjoyed every minute of it.

    I have no difficulty with the reversal indicator in 1 being in the solution: it’s no different from the fairly regular ‘Clue’ > ‘Solution = anagram plus indicator’ type.

    Nor with ‘deposited’ as ‘omitted’ – a deposit is something you put down, so you o longer have it.

    Peter @ 21: I think you’ve misread 22. [An] antique Greek [person] would weigh in oboli. ‘antiques’ makes no sense at all.

  25. Thanks to Enigmatist and in particular mhl. Well I got there, but needed help with a lot of parsing, and I lot of words I have never come across before. I was another who nearly gave up a few times, but I persevered and finished with Naipaul and scrimshanking (neither of which I have come across before). Hey how I like a challenge and state of the union gave me a groan moment. Thanks again to Enigmatist and mhl.

  27. robert@23

    in my opinion, you have possibly given the best explanation so far for 3/4 if ‘- can’ equals ‘minus can’

    but then the def should be ‘this helps with ladies upkeep’?
    or does it mean that the def is simply ‘help with ladies’ upkeep’ ?

  28. Michelle @ 23 Not necessarily, ‘this help’ as a determiner (this help rather than all the other possible helps).

  29. Unusually for me I finished this. Admit to help from Google with part KAURI and A LA POUPEE. More usually I had problems with some of the parsing.
    Michelle @ 27 I agree with you about the simpler definition but what’s “this” doing in that case?
    I was surprised that Enigmatist used CHAP = fellow and guy in the same crossword (9a and 18d). If he had to use CHAP twice I would have expected one of the synonyms to be “sore” or “cheek”.
    Thanks to Enigmatist and mhl.

  30. Notwithstanding the various quibbles from earlier contributors which are mostly seconded, I found this a very enjoyable experience.

    Yes, definitely harder and maybe less Ximenean and more ‘random’ than many, but after a slow start answers went in fairly regularly

    In fact, like Cesario @19 I got this done by Weds lunchtime over a few sessions, so in fact on a par with more ‘straightforward’ Prize.

    Many interesting new words (SCRIMSHANKING — useful one that), and A LA POUPEE was my LOI.Peter @21 — I share your scepticisim about 6D but KANGAROO HOP is actually listed in Chambers as vi (Verb of some kind!) so I guess KANGAROO HOPPING is fine.

    Also really liked CHARLIE CHAPLIN — getting this early on was a crucial part of generating the morale to motivate further efforts, at a time when I was struggling with a largely blank grid.

    Thanks Enigmatist for a great challenge, mhl for explaining it so well and to all learned contributors on here.

  31. Thanks Enigmatist and mhl.

    This was tough. Answers trickled in daily. Started cheating (ie googling) on Wednesday. Still a couple left by Friday. No complaints.

  32. Great crossword, tough but fair imo. Thanks Enigmatist and mhl.
    1ac I recently used ‘Book holds clue for Liam?’ to clue ‘paperback’, but still needed most of the crossers for this one!
    12 ‘mum’ as an interjection ‘not a word’ is in Chambers.
    20 I would have thought ‘withdrawn’ would have worked just as well.
    3,4 It’s a compound anagram, used every week by Azed for example.
    ELECTRICIANSKNACK is an anagram (‘with repairs’) of CAN KNICKER ELASTIC is what the clue is saying – you have to read ‘this’ as ‘the solution’. The definition is ‘help’ (noun)…
    6 I did post about the typo on last weeks blog, but no response.

  33. Too many obscurities for me. Chou=dear, peter=safe, a la poupee = (still not sure), scrimshanking, naipaul.

  34. I can’t find the piece of paper with this crossword on it but I do remember finding it particularly difficult and taking a couple of goes to get it sorted.   I did like the knicker elastic clue the best

    Thanks to Enigmatist for the several brain mangling and even more to mhl who had to blog it

  35. It all seems a long time ago now . . . I remember it was very tortuous, but satisfying to finish. KNICKER ELASTIC was great. Many thanks to E & m.

  36. I struggled with the right hand side.  My biggest problem was filling in 19 as BABY on the first pass, parsed as a dd – term of endearment and as in the phrase “bun in the oven”.  This really put the kibosh on solving 6 and 8.  I’m kicking myself about 8, since this is a straightforward clue construction.  KANGAROO HOPPING was quite a magnum opus, not helped by the “Sarply” typo, never corrected by the Graun.

    Overall, I enjoyed the challenge and liked the cluing.  My favorites were STICKLEBACK, ADVANCE, IDENTIKIT, NAIPAUL, ADVISORY and CHARLIE CHAPLIN.  I agree with Gonzo about 3/4.  The dash more or less reads as an equals sign.

    This certainly fitted the bill as a prize crossword for my money.  Thanks, Enigmatist and mhl (a fine blog of a tough puzzle).

  38. I used to think that Enigmatist was some sort of twisted sadist; but on meeting him at York in October last year I found that he was in fact a sane, well-balanced sadist.  I still find his puzzles hard work, but always enjoyable and worth persevering with.  This one took us nearly twice as long as usual, and was not helped by my conviction that Sarply must be a rather obscure chess master…  Thank you, Enigmatist, and mhl for the blog (I must admit we missed the Wayne’s World connection between 13a and 14a).

  39. Looking back on my handwritten margin notes, after finishing it, “tedious, too obscure, convoluted parsing” just about sums it up. Not really an enjoyable solve, rather a slogging determination that it wouldn’t beat me.

    But that said, thanks to setter for the mental workout and bloggers for more illumination.

  40. Mhl is spot on. We completed but with 8 not properly parsed. Respect to those above who enjoyed it – they must be proper ‘ard!

  41. This WAS tough! But isn’t that what a Prize should be? I remember Bunthorne puzzles arriving about a week late in the tissue Guardian Weekly to Paraguay where I was working in the ’70s. They would keep us occupied for many days. More of the same please! Many thanks Enigmatist and Mhl.

  42. It took me till Thursday morning, but I did finish, with A LA POUPEE as LOI, built from wordplay (once I’d decided 6d must be KANGAROO HOPPING) and confirmed with Wikipedia (and interesting to learn about).

    There’s a definition of ‘kangaroo hop’ as an Australian slang noun on Urban Dictionary (but read ‘jerking’ for ‘jurking’) which fits with mhl’s interpretation. My old Chambers doesn’t list ‘kangaroo hop’ as a verb (or a noun, come to that), so I’d be interested to know (@Epee Sharkey) how Chambers now defines it. (Presumably the same way). I would call that ‘kangarooing’ (but I can’t imagine calling it ‘sharply moving’).

    I don’t hold with the ‘minus’ interpretation of 3,4d: a minus sign is represented by an n-dash, not an m-dash. I understood it as Gonzo and phitonelly, with the m-dash indicating equivalence. An anagram (with repairs) of ‘electrician’s knack’ = can + KNICKER ELASTIC (“this”), definition, help with ladies’ upkeep.

    Biggles A@1, 10a: ‘Wicked’ and ‘ace’ are both slang terms for ‘excellent’. ACE ‘nurses’ (contains) DiVAN (bed, one goes). Poetic word order.

    @mhl,

    25a: Typo. The def is “personal message-sender”

    22a: ‘Pots’ is the inclusion indicator: “twO BOLIvian” ‘pots’ the answer.

  43. It’s not often I feel sorry for the Guardian crossword editor, but he must be thinking “damned if you do, damned if you don’t.” If I had a pound for every comment here that stated “this was too easy for a prize puzzle” I’d be able to afford a meal in one of those restaurants where I don’t understand a single word on the menu. Then along comes a puzzle that would have taken even the most experienced solvers a bit more than the usual 20-30 minutes – and there’s a general air of discontent.

    I’d say S Panza is right in the money: This WAS tough! But isn’t that what a Prize should be? I remember Bunthorne puzzles[…]would keep us occupied for many days. Most prize puzzles aren’t much more difficult (if at all) than those in the rest of the week. Isn’t it a good thing to have a fair but tough (to quote some of the positive comments) puzzle that really makes us sing for our supper once in a while?

  44. On this degree of difficulty point. This is the Saturday crossword. There is a minor prize associated with it (and it was nice to get my name in the paper a couple of years ago. Once is quite enough for that). But the point is that for many it’s the only day they buy the paper; the weekend is the only time they really have to do a cryptic; and the puzzle is a nice thing to do with friends and family. My partner was away last weekend bur normally we do the cryptic over Sunday breakfast. She wouldn’t have made much of this one.

    I gave up with about half solved after an hour. It’s pretty rare for me not to finish, even puzzles by this setter.

    There isn’t some correct degree of difficulty for a Saturday, and while the occasional outlier might be fine this level of toughness on a regular basis would be unwelcome, to us at least.

  45. Andrew B: I agree entirely with your sentiments.

    I was going to remark:

    “tedious, too obscure, convoluted parsing” (@ 9) and “enjoyed every minute of it” (@ 24).

    I’m with 9 and find it difficult to comprehend 24 but it just goes to show that no matter how dodgy the puzzle is, some will enjoy it.

     

  46. I’m generally with cruciverbophile @43. I accept dictionary bashing and ‘Googling a lot’ as par for the course on some puzzles. And I remember pre-internet days when it was just dictionary bashing. IMHO that’s how you increase your store of crossword knowledge. Because I’d read mhl’s preamble before starting the puzzle I was expecting it to be even harder! Thanks to mhl and E.

  47. Thanks to MHL ! Usually when I see Enigmatist’s name on a puzzle I put the newspaper down and find something else to do, but for some reason I persevered with this and with considerable assistance from Google et. al. I reached the end. Shades od Bunthorne indeed (yes I am that old !) As someone said on another well-known crossword site, it seemed that the setter had got out of the wrong side of bed !

    Most of what I could have said has already been expressed far more eloquently. However I have to agree with those who mentioned the “quizword” aspect – for example, even with all the crossers in place it would have been impossible to parse LEONINE without googling unless you were an expert on the history of the papacy. Oh, and apologies if anyone has already mentioned it, but isn’t (or wasn’t) Len Goodman a snooker referee from the Steve Davies/ Dennis Taylor era, or was I thinking of someone else ??

  48. Thanks salsaman for explaining the clever use of the dash to mean “minus” in the KNICKER ELASTIC clue. Very nice! I’ve updated the post with that.

    I’ve also corrected the mistake in IDENTIKIT – thanks to Andy Luke for pointing that out.

  49. JohnB@47. Len Goodman was, until recently, a judge on Strictly. Len Ganley was the snooker referee.

    Agree with cruciverbophile@43. I really enjoyed the challenge.

     

  50. @Mhl,

    Not persuaded by my corrections, then?

    “25a: Typo. The def is “personal message-sender”

    22a: ‘Pots’ is the inclusion indicator: “twO BOLIvian” ‘pots’ the answer.”

  51. Hi Tony, not at all, I’d just missed your comment – it’s been a frantic weekend. I’ve applied those corrections now.

  52. I found this one of John’s less complicated offerings and finished it in one session – unusual for me versus him. I’m usually left with several impossible clues. You must be losing you touch, old thing! Sorry not to be seeing you in York this year! Off to sunnier climes after a miserable year healthwise. Looking forward to your offerings when I return though.

  56. Just got around to checking the answers for this puzzle that I abandoned early on last week and OMG! I’m so glad that I didn’t waste my time! I hit the Reveal All button and was dumbfounded at what I saw. I could not even begin to parse most of the answers. Except on one count (22D) I’m in full agreement with Peter @ 21, but he didn’t include the one that really got to me:  where outside of a Lewis Carroll story would one be expected to derive “char” from “one does”? If we’re going to use definitions that loose, then “prostitute” would be an equally suitable answer.

Comments are closed.