Guardian 29,292 – Brendan

119 comments on “Guardian 29,292 – Brendan”

1. 26a Finns are not Scandinavians!

2. Thanks Brendan and Andrew!
   Lovely puzzle indeed and a matching high quality blog!
   Top faves: ROADKILL, APOSTROPHE, LOVE SEAT and FORECASTLE.
   ONE-HORSE
   Left H-alf: Is there an additional wordplay with H standing for one horse?
   IMPOST
   letters=POST (So it works in two ways?)
   PSALMS
   PS-The same doubt!!!

3. I agree with Andrew that this was much harder than I expected for a Brendan, even with an easy to spot theme

   This is the second time in a couple of weeks that the Finns have found themselves in Scandinavia

   Many thanks to Brendan for the brain stretching and to Andrew for the blig

4. Re. 25A, you have to ‘mind your P’s and Q’s’ – so P’s are ‘the first letters to be attended to’.

5. colm mckeogh@1
   FINNEGAN
   FINNs are not Scandinavians! Someone cited a dictionary def to establish that FINNs are also counted as Scandinavians.

6. Spooner’s catflap@4
   Thanks. That’s it!

7. Well I loved EARL given that’s where my future wife lived when I met her (where else for an Aussie in London) and FORECASTLE for the 40% reduction.

8. Too many obscure and difficult clues to be anything other than a chore to attempt. Not the usual Brendan puzzle, I hope this doesnt become a trend for him as I usually enjoy his crosswords.

9. Thanks (?) Brendan and Andrew
   I enjoyed very little of this. Three reveals, and lots of question marks and checks. I nearly put it aside when FOI was the incorrectly enumerated O.Henry (a favourite writer of mine, in fact).
   I did like APOSTROPHE and the “place for putting” in GREENE.

10. Brilliant theme. LOI was GROCER with much head scratching until we suddenly saw it a few minutes later!
    Always a treat to see Brendan at the top of the page. Thanks Brendan and Andrew

11. Thanks, Andrew, for some of the parsings; this was certainly difficult in parts. I enjoyed the theme and the tongue-in-cheek allusions to what is probably the most frequent error made in English i.e. the inclusion or omission of an apostrophe. A pity about O.Henry – it would have been better if it had been an apostrophe! I’m not sure I still understand the left or right element in 14a and how this fits in with one-horse. (Although thanks KVa@2 for the H-and suggestion which helps a bit). I believe there is a secondary, less precise use of Scandinavian, which does include all the Nordic countries. Thanks, Brendan.

12. ROADKILL
    CAD. Yes.
    Are all words in the clue involved in the wordplay? Looks like-No.
    The ‘produce this with’ bit is not required for the wordplay.
    &litish, maybe.

13. Unfortunately I destroyed my chances of completing it within the time available by almost immediately entering ONE-SIDED for 14ac; which, in my own defence, still seems to me to be an acceptable answer from the clueing.

    Thanks to Brendan and Andrew. Despite my failure I thought this an extremely clever puzzle with an unusually inventive theme. I’m always puzzled by those who criticise compilers for being obscure or difficult. Where’s the enjoyment in solving a cryptic crossword that is easy? But tastes differ, I suppose.

14. Spooner’sCatflap@4 is probably right but I thought maybe the ps in psalms were the first letters of the attention grabbing pssst! I did not think abbreviation for postscript was intended. This was the only clue that I felt unsure about – once I got the theme (blessedly quite early) and saw what was going on I thoroughly enjoyed the brilliant challenge. Thanks Andrew and Brendan for a first class piece of work.

15. My face lit up when I saw the setter’s name but it soon darkened. Although I got the (them)e, I found this to be a clever but massive chore. Had to reveal LOVE SEAT and GROVES, for which I could kick myself. Loved ROADKILL, EARL, SHERIDAN and FINNEGAN. I had ONE-SIDED as well Charles, for much too long.

    Ta Brendan and well done Andrew for unraveling it all.

16. I don’t believe that Brendan would make such a simple mistake with O. HENRY. Rather, I think that it is a deliberate misuse of the 23ac, in line with the theme and hence the 6-letter numeration.

17. Charles@13: Someone, I forget who, said that a crossword is a contest between setter and solver in which both sides want the solver to win.

    I too found much of this impossibly hard (e.g. EARL requires some very localised knowledge), though most clues are justifiable in retrospect.

18. Very clever use of theme as usual from Brendan, but definitely more difficult than most of his. A shame about the enumeration mistake for O HENRY.

    FORECASTLE brought to mind the Round the Horne parody of Moby Dick, in which Kenneth Horne has been shanghaied. He wakes up and asks where he is, to be told “You’re in the evil-smelling fo’c’sle of Captain Ahab’s ship, and these evil-smelling folks’ll be your shipmates.”

    Good to see that old crossword staple SHE at 24d.

    Many thanks Brendan and Andrew.

19. Tough and enjoyable – many thanks to all (including Spooner’s Catflap for elucidating the Ps and Qs in 25A). On 9A, I think Brendan must have got confused with the roughly contemporaneous American novelist John O’Hara.

20. AlanC @16
    Interesting idea. I hope that Brendan pops in to confirm or otherwise. He often does appear.

21. I’d only solved a few after half an hour, and I wasn’t enjoying it, so I toddled over to Boatman’s in the FT (which I enjoyed).

22. While liking the elisions of the grocer’s and certain Londoner’s, I waded treacly thru this, with quite a few cqba parsings. I was thinking probly jet lag from too much tv binging. But then others found it chewy too, so… All part of life, ta both.

23. AlanC@16
    OHENRY
    Thats quite an idea! Awaiting the setters post.

24. I totally agree with Andrew’s assessment, especially ‘Very satisfying to finish’ – another splendid themed crossword from Brendan, with so many layers – smiles and pdms all the way.

    I knew we were in for some fun as soon as I solved APOSTROPHE – brilliant surface, as were they all. I’m in awe of the way Brendan has, characteristically, exploited the theme to its limits and how Andrew has explained it all so succinctly.
    Thanks to Spooner’s catflap @4 for teasing out the PS in 25ac. I wouldn’t use apostrophes in this case – there’s discussion about this, see here: https://www.phrases.org.uk/meanings/mind-your-ps-and-qs.html which also gives half a dozen interesting suggestions as to the origin of the phrase – but I think the clue is appropriately equivocal. (I have just seen that Sagittarius @ 19 agrees with me.)

    Along the same lines, I agree with Alan C @16.

    Huge thanks to both Brendan and Andrew – a super start to my day.

25. poc @17. I myself was wondering if the distinction between Earl’s Court and Barons Court was one of the most abstruse pieces of GK ever to appear in a crossword. It does make beautiful use of the theme, however. As does minding one’s p’s and q’s…

26. AlanC @16: interesting idea, but there’s nothing actually in the clue to suggest a misused apostrophe. And having the incorrect O’Henry as the answer, when the definition is “another American author”, would be a bit strange. I’m afraid I think it’s just an error.

27. I thought the PS were the letters you had to attend in the sense of wait for, but Spooner’s catflap’s idea is much better. I found this hard and had to cheat a bit to finish, but you have to admire the setting.

28. Lord Jim @26: yes I did think along the same lines as you, but as muffin states @20, Brian often drops in here, so hopefully all will be revealed.

29. Hadn’t thought of the ONE-HORSE race for the predictable result: I was thinking of the usual adjective for tiny American towns. I like that clue better now.

    Can’t say as much for the puzzle as a whole: I gave up.

30. Totally defeated by this, or at least I only managed SOIL, SHED and IDOL. Rather pathetic of me, but off to do other more pressing things today…

31. Well I really enjoyed this despite its difficulty (apostrophe anyone?) and needing this blog for some of the parsing. Surely we all like a challenge? Especially during the week when we can always use the check button and even reveal when desperate. Whatever, we will learn something, and I always enjoy these blogs.
    Many thanks to Brendan and Andrew and all the bloggers who have preceded me! Enjoy the rest of your day.

32. I lived in Helsinki for three years and Finns tended to get very ratty if referred to as Scandinavians. “Nordic” is the better general descriptor. The Finnish language is not in the same family as that of it’s (sic) Scandinavian neighbours.

33. Interesting theme and chewy puzzle, but as SinCam @31 says, it’s a weekday and we can learn something as we go, which is half the fun of crossword solving.

    I put in EARL before APOSTROPHE so didn’t parse it until then. I needed help on a couple more.

    Thank you to Andrew and Brendan

34. Congratulations to Andrew, supplemented by Spooner’s catflap (yes!) @4 for such a complete appreciation of the puzzle. And to Brendan, for getting so many examples of the APOSTROPHE in as either ELISION or a POSSESSIVE. Something I believe – sorry if I missed it – no-one has mentioned yet concerns the controversial OHENRY (sic): to speak thus to an author not in our presence is to apostrophise him. And I agree with AlanC @16 (odd how often I do, since I also on occasions tend to be Alan C) that the great man will probably give us his thinking for the letter-count at 9ac. Might it have just given the solution away to have put (1,5)? I’m thinking of e.g. French solutions where, say, Pont l’Evêque would conventionally be given as (4,7) because to signal the l’ would be to make it much easier.

36. Its only a ferry ride to Finland but the language is SO different(Hungarian involved)I guess it stacks up in the “latte” column.
    O Henry a bit out there-very tough puzzle but the basis of it was great especially with “Greene” Grocer’s apostrophe.

37. Loved 10ac for the memories, West Cromwell Rd, ’67, ten bob a day, including two hot meals.

38. Lord Jim @18

    “What’s the matter, Horne?”

    “Its great big mountain in Switzerland”

39. Totally tanked, never mind.
    It did seem that there was quite a lot of unnecessary extra difficulty – eg ‘online’ in the clue for EARL to further conceal what is already an arcane fact requiring local knowledge. ROADKILL is barely hinted at, and I wouldn’t have got O HENRY however it had been enumerated. Sometimes I wonder how many people pretend to have done it all themselves. Well done those who did.

40. The way I think about it, the Scandinavia Peninsula is that chunk of land consisting of Norway and Sweden, and Denmark was also allowed in (presumably they bribed the doorman). However, if you want to be generous there are two ways to give Brendan a pass: 1. A North-Western chunk of Finland can be viewed as being part of said peninsula, and 2. Descriptivist linguists will say that if enough people make a mistake, it’s no longer a mistake.

    Loved the APOSTROPHE theme btw, very clever.

41. I never saw the theme, well I never do. I found this tough and am glad others did too. Waiting for Roz

42. James @39 – surprisingly, the clues you singled out I did solve without help. Henry James came to mind when I read that clue, but not enough letters in that, but when I had some crossers, I tried and checked O HENRY, who I’ve heard and thought was O’Henry. ROADKILL I saw the constituent parts, so with crossers that one went in. EARL I entered early, parsed when I got the APOSTROPHE, but having lived all over London, since my student days, worked with several people in Kangaroo Valley back in the day and even eaten a barbie in the snow on Australia Day from one of the joints there in the 80s, that one I parsed.

43. Re: 26a, the Guardian’s own style guide is clear on this: “Scandinavia: Denmark, Norway and Sweden; with the addition of Finland and Iceland, they constitute the Nordic countries”

44. Do you suppose that Brendan thought that his puzzles were too easy a few years ago, and has decided to become more ‘respectable’ by making them harder? I’ve done Enigmatist puzzles that were easier than this one.

45. PS = Post Script
    After the signature it indicates an addition or afterthought to the main text – therefore something to be attended to.

46. Solved about half and gave up. Failed to solve 8,9,11,14,17ac and 3,4,5,6,7d.

    Thanks to google for giving me the order of books in the Hebrew bible (for 25ac).

    Favourite: INGRESS.

    Of the ones I solved, I could not parse 22ac.

    1d CA in LOTION / why does CA = call for Scots? Oh I see now, it is Scottish language/dialect.
    ca’ | caa | caw. k? to call, to name, summon.

    TIFFIN is one of those words that makes me do a double take.
    from my online dictionary: ‘In the British Raj, tiffin was used to denote the British custom of afternoon tea that had been supplanted by the Indian practice of having a light meal at that hour. It is derived from “tiffing”, an English colloquial term meaning to take a little drink.’
    So, tiffin = fare from India that was eaten by its colonisers. It is not an Indian custom or word or food type. It is totally British.

    Thanks, both.

47. Great idea for a theme, and impressive how Brendan put all of the apostrophes, and non apostrophes, in terms of elision and possession, in the clues and the solutions. I always enjoy Brendan’s sense of language. But for entertainment, and to appreciate the humour and cleverness of the theme, I don’t understand why he loaded it up with the GK required to solve the clues. The solve, and the post solve discussions here, end up being more about the GK. Two crosswords in one, but half the fun for each, IMO.

48. michelle @ 46

    Despite having had a Scottish husband, I was puzzled by CA in 1dn – but found it in Chambers: ‘ca’ or caa’ (Scot) to call…’) – so, of course, part of the theme.
    (Ha! – I see you you took advantage of the edit facility while I was typing.)

49. michelle @46
    The origin of TIFFIN may have been the Raj, but there is now a great trade in delivery of tiffin boxes to Indian office workers for their desk lunches.

50. poc@17 “ Someone, I forget who, said that a crossword is a contest between setter and solver in which both sides want the solver to win.”

    Well, yes. But neither side wants a walkover, do they? Personally I want to win on points after an epic contest which might have gone either way.

51. Charles@50
    Well said. Fully endorse.

52. Eileen @24. I would not myself normally use the apostrophised versions of Ps and Qs, but it remains very common and I thought it better accommodated Brendan’s theme, as Blaise remarks @25.

53. Thanks for the blog, at last my head is thoroughly scratched. I ignored the theme but enjoyed the clues , GREENE GROCER is a masterful touch and the clue for the first is excellent,. I liked APOSTROPHE for the 7 letters of inanely meaning the anagram could work both ways.
    TIFFIN has a major role in Carry On Up The Khyber.
    Perhaps the (6) for O HENRY is just a Guardian mistake, it has been known.
    I am with SC @4 , the Ps are the letters to be attended to first.

54. I thought that I could generally do Brendan puzzles, but I got stuck for a long time in the NE corner, even when using aids, although I eventually prevailed.

    I did like the use of perhaps as part of the fodder for APOSTROPHE and the ‘S EVEREST. I also liked the cockney ‘AIR COVER. [While trying in vain to find an O’HENRY author, I came across this: the familiar “O” prefix for Irish names (like, O’Henry) was an anglicization of the “ua” prefix meaning “grandson of,” similar to how “Mc/Mac” is from a prefix for “son of.]

    Thanks Brendan and Andrew.

55. My favourites were ROADKILL, my FOI, and SHERIDAN, for the elisions.
    I used to visit Earl’s Court in the 70’s, but unfortunately I didn’t know Barons. I was wondering what Trump’s son was getting up to online.

    Thank you Komornik@ 34 for apostrophise. A TILT. Very relevant to O HENRY as you say.

56. I found this extremely clever yet not very enjoyable, I’m afraid. Even though the theme was readily apparent, I struggled with almost every clue, and gave up with the NE incomplete.

    The expression “too clever by half” comes to mind. Oh well, on to Wednesday.

57. Spooners catflap @52. Chamber’s doe’s also plump for “mind one’s p’s and q’s” with the apostrophe’s, so whom am I to differ?

58. Spooner’s catflap @52 – I appreciate that both – or all four! – instances are acceptable: I was just expressing my own preference. One of the grammar books I used with students gave ‘minding one’s p’s and q’s’ as an example of the use of the apostrophe.

59. I’m not convinced by the notion that OHENRY was other an error on the part of the setter or a Guardian typo (certainly not unkown). Yes, quite a slog. I fell six short. I found the NW to be most tricky. Can’t say I especially enjoyed it, though I recognise it is all very clever. I liked GREENE GROCER, INGRESS, IMPOST and GROVES (I really should have got the last…). With thanks to Brendan and Andrew.

60. Shanne @42, EARL was one I got, though I didn’t understand it despite Hammersmith having been my stop for many years. Never noticed the apostrophes. Apart from the niche GK, the clue supposes that there is a singular baron associated with Barons Court who is missing his apostrophe. That is the setter’s invention, and another layer of obscurity.
    Some I missed because I got on a roll with the reveal button, but I don’t start revealing until I’ve given up, and that was early.

61. Great puzzle, much trickier than usual as others have remarked. The NE quadrant held me up a long time; like Charles and AlanC I had ONE-SIDED until I eventually spotted GROVES. The O HENRY enumeration didn’t help.

    I failed to parse EARL and I missed the significance of PS – both very clever though abstruse – but I managed to work out all the other constructions. As Roz points out, the clue for APOSTROPHE is ingenious – with two words as possible anagrinds. I particularly liked FORECASTLE.

    Finns always seem to be Scandinavians in crosswords, unfortunately.

    Many thanks to Brendan and Andrew

62. Me @58 – I meant to add that, as I said @24, I don’t think it affects the clue: I didn’t mean it as a criticism.

63. Ditto MK(8)

64. I too fell short, but loved this puzzle, perhaps because I’m a bit of a nerd when it comes to apostrophes.
    Thanks Brendan and Andrew, and all for many interesting comments too.

65. I loved this puzzle and thought it challenging, whimsical and playful. After finding the theme early on, I enjoyed seeing how many ways APOSTROPHE could be used or referred to in (almost?) every clue. I’m an unapologetic user of the check button, otherwise, how to learn? But on the whole I didn’t find the GK any more challenging than in most UK puzzles. So many to love, including ROADKILL, LOVE SEAT, FORECASTLE, GROCER.
    Appreciated the explanations for ONE-HORSE and PS.
    Thanks Brendan and Andrew

66. Another ditto MK@8 and Jacob@56 for me. Too clever by ‘alf.

    Off to try today’s Indy now.

67. From: Friends of the O. Henry Museum
    … and potentially enjoyable to all within earshot — even those who’d likely spell the eponymous author’s name with an apostrophe instead of a period.

68. Copmus @36. Finnish and Hungarian have common linguistic roots, but both languages evolved discretely. There are 100 or so words in both languages which have a common root, but that’s all. Interestingly these are “base” words such as blood (veri/ver) and water (vesi/ves).

69. Finally struggled to the end. I enjoy the comments on here about ‘abstruse knowledge’ – complaints about a couple of tube stations but general acceptance that we should all have heard of Ingres (I hadn’t!), O. Henry (I had) and been aware that Rider Haggard wrote ‘She’ (I wasn’t). Hugely clever composition. Interesting to see a couple of definitions buried in the middle of the clue rather than the usual position at beginning or end. Thanks Brendan and many congratulations to Andrew for finishing it quickly and getting all the parsings (if we include PSALMS, which I also parsed as referring to a postscript as something which requires attention).

70. Yes, we all want to win the epic tussle. Fair play to the setter who manages to come out on top.

    Sometimes, though, a setter will deliver a low blow and I think it’s acceptable to complain!

    (I had ONE-SIDED also, and lack of GK meant a DNF. REFEREE!!!)

71. …having returned – after having ironed a couple of shirts – I suppose I really should at least have sussed out the EARL’s Court, Barons Court connection. In my school days I used to travel on the District Line Tube from Richmond and hop off at Barons Court to walk the short distance to school. And EARL’s Court just a few stops further on. But never thought to look and see whether the APOSTROPHE was employed on one station sign, but not the other. Well done all those who battled their way to a conclusion today…

72. This was way above my pay grade today. Epic fail! Happy that it suited others as the weekly variety is part of the G’s charm. Hopefully tomorrow’s will be more approachable.

73. I’ve been travelling the Piccadilly Line all my life, and the different apostrophes never registered. 0 out of 10 for Observation.

74. That makes 2 of us at least, gladys!

75. Excellent, most enjoyable except for OHENRY which really irritated me!

76. It’s good that some crosswords are easier, for those less able with them. It’s good that some are very difficult for those that need the challenge. So I have no complaint – but today’s offering was not for me. I only managed 10 answers, which was not satisfying enough.

77. Gladys@73, on the subject of apostrophes in the names of London tube stations, you may enjoy this article…

78. I think the definition of 9a is way of addressing, and not another American author, hence O! Henry James.
    Great blog, thank you, and many thanks to Brendan.

79. Isn’t OXFORD a perfectly good answer for 7 down?

80. Thanks Brendan. I enjoyed much of this with clues like AT LEAST, GROCER, APOSTROPHE, and SEVEREST topping the list. I got stuck in the NW and revealed ROADKILL and LOCATION; I also erred by bunging in “love nest” instead of LOVE SEAT. There was quite a bit I couldn’t fully parse so that lessened the satisfaction I generally get from Brendan. I knew the Finn kerfuffle would arise; in common circles Finns are lumped in with Scandinavians so for crossword purposes that should let Brendan off the hook. Thanks Andrew for explaining much that I missed.

81. Magpie @79 I do the Downs without looking at the grid, I had Oxford in mind but the crossing letters spoilt this idea when I put in the Downs.
    MacMorris@78 it would still not match with (6) ?

82. OXFORD did cross my mind, but I think I would have complained – could an institution be (a) lexicographer?

83. Empty grid unblocked by Greene/grocer but still a slog even with the theme. Very clever setting but I had 8 unfilled. Not helped by having “one-sided” for “one-horse.”
    Earl has to be the most London parochial clue ever.

84. Finished without aids, but found it tough. I was not convinced by the clues for 7d or 14a, but enjoyed the puzzle nevertheless.

85. This was a teatime finish for me. Very tough but I think fair. Felt like a prize or special rather than early midweek.

    O. Henry – I am convinced Brendan meant this “mistake” but only they know for sure.

    Regarding some of the niggles re GK required for parsing; I think the Setters job is fulfilled if Solver can happily write in answer even if some parsing eludes said Solver. I think I am in a small minority thinking thus.

    Thanks Setter and Blogger for two magnificent jobs.

86. Crashed and burned in the top right corner I’m afraid where I only got 5. LOVE SEAT, 6. LETS HOPE SO and 17. AT LEAST. Should have got POSSESSIVE, but just couldn’t bring to mind ‘posse’ for ‘law group’. Just didn’t have the requisite knowledge for GROVES or O HENRY (anyway you choose to slice it), and I must admit to being slightly disappointed by the explanations so far for 14. ONE HORSE – would a team of horses necessarily only have two horses? It’s not an area of great expertise for me but I’m sure I’ve seen carriages pulled by more than two horses – would a term other than ‘team’ apply in those cases?

    Anyway there was lots to enjoy and I specially liked the GREENE GROCER’s apostrophe! Many thanks to Brendan and to Andrew for the hard work with the explanations.

87. matematico @86, apparently, according to this article, horse drawn vehicles have different hitches with different numbers of teams – and a team is two horses hitched together (tandem are one in front of another). Increasing the number of teams gives terms like lead team, wheel team (nearest the vehicle), swing team (the middle pair of six) etc.

    [Sorry, interesting question that made me go and look it up, because I’ve read all sorts of things describing horse-drawn carriages where the left lead horse stumbles or one of the wheelers, and never bothered to find out what was meant. ]

88. Shanne @87, thank you very much for taking the trouble to look that up. One lives and one learns – or to be more precise, when you’re up against the likes of Brendan and Vlad, you live and get taught lessons from time to time!

89. Doesn’t FORECASTLE fo’c’s’le need 3 apostrophes to indicate the triple elision?

90. Not sure I should be writing, as I ran out of time and had to stop with about a quarter still unsolved.

    I found this very difficult, with lots of the type of clue I do not really like (cryptic statements as the “straight” part of the clue). But, I wanted to acknowledge the setter for an interesting theme and take my hat off to Andrew for a super blog. But there were some clues I really enjoyed too. Of those that I completed, favorites were APOSTROPHE, GREENE, PIPPIN and AIR COVER (at last, a cockney clue that I appreciate!).

    Thanks Brendan and Andrew

91. Just popping in to say that I thought this was excellent from beginning to end.
    Thanks Brendan and Andrew

92. It’s taken me going on 12 hours to work out what rang a bell earworm-wise in 3D PIPPIN. Not the Two Ronnies crossword sketch but this one. Signing off now: I’ve got a fair bit to see to…

93. I like a challenge but this was too much for me. I always warm up with The Times first and then, when I turned to this puzzle, I slowed right down. I got the theme and solved about half of it, yet with clues like 8a and 14a I knew I never going to finish and it ceased to be enjoyable.

94. Very tough but very enjoyable to get such a serious workout. Wasn’t too thrilled with 9ac which needed GK I don’t have for both wordplay and definition. One or the other is fair enough in my book , but not both. Otherwise, a great tussle.

95. Also, is example doing double duty there? (even if Finn were a Scandinavian)

96. This was a real struggle but one I enjoyed. Several reveals at the end and still needed Andrew (and S’C) for a few parsings. Plus I learnt a fair bit from these comments. Thanks All.

97. Manoj@95 assuming a Finn is a Scandinavian, “for example” is not required for the definition, so no double duty.

98. This was hard and I spent too much time on it. I failed to get LOCATION, INGRESS, ONE HORSE AND AIR COVER. The last should have been easy because I watched two episodes of Masters of the Air last night. Thanks anyway Brendan and especially thanks to Andrew for some of the convoluted parsing.

99. Usually enjoy Brendan’s puzzles, but not today.
    Thanks both.

100. Wow. One day (maybe in a decade) I’ll be able to do a lot of this like you regulars without a lot of guessing/checking! Somewhat in awe of setter and blogger for this epic.
     I got APOSTROPHE and could see there was some wordplay related to it but only able to do about 1/3.

101. I’m not about to join in the debate about FINNS, but I’d clean forgotten that Finnegans Wake has no APOSTROPHE in the title – having said that, I just checked the copy I have on my Kindle, and yes indeed, quite apostrophe-less! You learn something new every day from this crosswordy thing! Incidentally, for those who don’t have the stamina to read it (myself included), the first few words are “riverrun, past Eve and Adam’s…” so you don’t have to look very far for the first apostrophe in the text.

     I found this a real toughie, and in the end had to cheat on ROADKILL – by then I was too lazy to figure out the parsing – if I’d tackled it earlier on I might have sussed it. Also not too keen on O. HENRY as one word.

     Also couldn’t really get my head around ONE-HORSE: I feel the word ‘race’ ought to have been somewhere in the clue just to give us a hint.

     But much to enjoy here and I loved the linkage between GREEN[E] and GROCER – seeing as they’ve largely been replaced by supermarket’s, may the Apple’s, Pear’s, and Tomato’s, never vanish from the shelf’s! (sic throughout). And very clever wordplay for ELISION. Also a tick for POSSESSIVE.

     I’d heard of GROVE’S Dictionary of Music – but not of GROVES as an academic setting, so that was another miss.

     Thanks to Brendan and Andrew.

102. Put me down as another who found this too hard; I could not complete it without lots of checks. I figured the theme had to be something to do with APOSTROPHE, but I didn’t twig as to how it worked, and so it was no help. I liked the cluing for INGRESS and FINNEGAN, although O.HENRY and GROCER elicited groans.

103. QuietEars @100. When I started on cryptics, I took a baseball approach: completing top-to-bottom was first base, completing corner was second, completing a half was third, and getting the whole thing out was a home run. That enabled me to be happy with progress towards a full solve.

     Once I started solving puzzles regularly, I adopted a system where a Google search or two is OK, a check or two is OK, but less so, use of a crossword helper is even less OK, and a reveal is a defeat. If I get the puzzle out without any such help, I have aced it. Again, that allows me to have gradations of achievement, rather than just win-lose.

104. @ Laccaria. “The Groves of Academe”

     Just finished the comments as midday approaches (in the SH, that is) and would just like to make the point to the two or three who may still be hanging around on this thread that I am firmly in the camp of those who have found this puzzle to be both fiendishly clever and fiendishly difficult – and, as a consequence, highly enjoyable.

105. Gert Bycee@104: Hello from the NH and me too. Thanks both.

106. I thought a better answer for 9 was London, as in ‘Jack, London’. Comma not apostrophe, though. Wrong anyway!

107. Brendan’s usual deft touch with a super theme – lots of smiles once I realised what he was up to with the APOSTROPHEs. The references to literary figures were another pleasurable aspect of a multi-faceted challenge. Yes it was tough, but so very worthwile. I needed the blog for a few tricky explanations. Many thanks to Brendan and Andrew.

108. Quiet Ears @100, when I was a novice I once spent a whole weekend trying a Bunthorne Prize and solved zero clues. Getting better is all about practice and being stubborn , you will learn a lot more by struggling to do some of a harder puzzle. I also think that going back after a break can be very productive. You could have slept on this one and tried it again the day after , the blog would still be there if you needed it.
     These blogs are wonderful but I think they can tempt people to give up too soon, I am always surprised when people say they did not finish.

109. Roz @108 – A lot of sensible advice…I could not have finished this if I had stared at it for 20 years. It was just too difficult for me.
     I agree having ones own version of success or failure. I used to do the Telegraph crossword which, being much easier, caused disappointment if I didn’t finish. I therefore switched to the Guardian where I have no expectation to finish so don’t get disappointed.

110. HYD @109 I think it is more interesting to do harder puzzles even if you do not finish. When I was learning it was sometimes very hard to get started, once you get some letters in the grid it can help with other clues.

111. I agree about going back to a stalled puzzle after a break, a sleep or just a cup of tea: the little grey cells seem to get on with the job on their own while your conscious mind isn’t paying attention. But it doesn’t always work: I am still revisiting Matilda’s Prize on and off and the last few just won’t budge.

112. Agree with Roz@108 on the benefit of a break (any time is tiffin time!) and the greater joy of eventual success after a real struggle – but it was not to be here, failing on a few in the NE. Thanks Andrew for explaining these and Spooner’s Catflap for improving my understanding of 25A, also Shanne@87 for the research on horse arrangements. Wonder if OHENRY comes about because the guardian always enumerates initialisations as a single string, not individual letters: eg R.S.V.P. would be considered (4)?
     I got a lot of happiness from many clues especially when the full significance of the apostrophes became clear, thanks as usual Brendan.

113. I still don’t understand 1d. The CA. and why there is extremely in 16d. Where does the single s come from. I think I’m going to give up doing these. Too hard and not fun.

114. Challenging crossword, and interesting blog and comments. I can understand the temptation of the check and reveal buttons, and I find that doing the crossword in the paper, where these have been disabled, encourages my stubbornness. As Roz says @108, this is a talent that helps me struggle on when giving up looks like an option.

     Having said this, I failed on this with two wrong and ONE-HORSE not even a glimmer on the horizon. If I’d put it away and come back later I’m sure it would have fallen, but it’s time to make a start on today’s crossword!

     Thanks to Brendan and Andrew.

115. Kirsty @113. ‘Extremely’ is often used to mean the outside letters, but here it’s part of the definition. The S comes from ‘letter indicative of owning’, as in “APOSTROPHE S” or just adding an S to her to make hers.

     CA’ is the way the word ‘call’ can be spoken and written in Scottish English. It’s in Chambers.

116. Very late to the party, but wanted to thank Brendan for a really intriguing puzzle + fascinating theme, Andrew for the blog, and many posters for enlightenment. I’d love to know the truth behind O.Henry … I bunged in 14a ONE-HORSE without knowing about the team thing, couldn’t parse PS in 25a, but has to be ‘mind your Ps’, and failed on 5d with LOVE NEST, no, of course it didn’t make sense.

117. Thanks several who have replied to me. I do come back after a break and can often complete it with the fresh pair of eyes 🙂
     I have to confess that “a reveal is a defeat” feels more discouraging – often a reveal allows me to get a bit further along as I now have more crossers!
     Yes I do try the hard ones, and only come here for answers once I have done as much as I can over a day or two to be educated. I’ve come a long way in a few months. Without this blog I doubt I’d have persisted as long as I have.

118. QuietEars@117. Set your own standards. If revealing a word gives you crossers that help, that’s great. It gives you more practice in working towards a completion.

119. I go for reveals when the annoyance and frustration outweigh the enjoyment of the challenge. Doesn’t happen often but it did with this one – mostly for NE corner. And still had to come here for some of the parsing. Even then it was only while reading the comments that the meaning of “non-U” struck me!

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