The puzzle is available to solve online or download here.
Hello everyone. I hope you will forgive this impostor for bringing you the blog for a very special puzzle. When I agreed to cover for scchua I had no idea it would be number 30,000. Once I realised I felt a bit sheepish for taking this in place of one of the regular Guardian bloggers. But as it’s an Arachne I admit I don’t feel too bad!
Following the top and bottom across entries, PERIMETER TODAY QUICK CROSSWORD, we discover a nina in today’s Guardian Quick which turns out to be a bonus clue:
LEADER I TAILORED BADLY — an anagram of (… BADLY) I TAILORED — EDITORIAL
Continuing on the breadcrumb trail takes us to today’s Guardian editorial: The Guardian view on a cryptic crossword landmark: 30,000 grids of noble trickery. Marvellous!
Edit: the trail does not end there, as pointed out by Rob T in comment #3. Taking an AROSTIC (13a) of the paragraphs of the editorial spells out a message. For the final step, I think we need to take a look at previous puzzles. Unfortunately I have to start work now so will leave it there for the time being and hand over you. To be continued …
It’s never easy to select a manageable number of highlights in an Arachne puzzle. I remember many smiles during the solve and looking through the clues now will pick out 25a’s “study of roots”, the genius taking legal action at 1d, the wingless shiny bug in 2d and 18d, SWALLOWS, for all round cryptic perfection. ACROSTIC (13a) was my last in and a proper facepalm moment.
Big thanks and a very warm welcome back to Arachne.
Definitions are underlined in the clues below. In the explanations, most quoted indicators are in italics, specified [deletions] are in square brackets, and I’ve capitalised and emboldened letters which appear in the ANSWER. For clarity, I omit most link words and some juxtaposition indicators.
| Across | |
| 7a | Edges of empire sacked by Egypt’s last queen (9) |
| PERIMETER — EMPIRE anagrammed (sacked) by EgypT’s last letter + ER (queen) | |
| 8a | Told ally to lose three pounds before tomorrow (5) |
| TODAY — TO[l]D A[ll]Y removing (to lose) three Ls (three pounds) | |
| 9a | Bring this novel for Leo, perhaps (5,4) |
| BIRTH SIGN — An anagram of (… novel) BRING THIS | |
| 10a | Reportedly failing, fell (5) |
| FLOOR — Sounds like (reportedly) FLAW (failing) | |
| 12a | Some thoughts on Gabonese Bantu language (6) |
| TSONGA — Some thoughTS ON GAbonese | |
| 13a | Always, come rain or shine, tongue in cheek? (8) |
| ACROSTIC — Always, Come Rain Or Shine, Tongue In Cheek is an example of the answer, indicated by the question mark | |
| 14a | In bits, heads to America (see below) (7) |
| ASUNDER — The initial letters of (heads to) America See + UNDER (below) | |
| 17a | Earliest of begonias continued blooming (7) |
| BLASTED — The first letter of (earliest of) begonias + LASTED (continued) | |
| 20a | Free money for Americans, with short notice (8) |
| BUCKSHEE — BUCKS (money for Americans) + all but the last letter of (short) HEEd (notice). | |
| A new word for me, but the clueing is clear | |
| 22a | Goes off round centre of Damascus and swelters (6) |
| ROASTS — ROTS (goes off) round the middle letters of (centre of) DamAScus | |
| 24a | Delicate international agent put on weight (5) |
| WISPY — I (international) and SPY (agent) put next to (on) W (weight) | |
| 25a | Exciting yet gloomy study of roots (9) |
| ETYMOLOGY — An anagram of (exciting) YET GLOOMY | |
| 26a | Brief question for bachelor in automobile (5) |
| QUICK — Q (question) is substituted for B (bachelor) in [b]UICK (automobile) | |
| 27a | Oblique signal in setter’s work (9) |
| CROSSWORD — CROSS (oblique) + WORD (signal) | |
| Down | |
| 1d | Einstein retrospectively taking legal action over equation’s origin (6) |
| GENIUS — In reverse (retrospectively) SUING (taking legal action) around (over) Equation’s first letter (origin) | |
| 2d | Lustrous, wingless bug (6,2) |
| LISTEN IN — Without outer letters (wingless) gLISTENINg (lustrous) | |
| 3d | Parched after cycling in area south of Suez (3,3) |
| RED SEA — SEARED (parched) after cycling the letters round | |
| 4d | Loose gravel’s slippery stuff (7) |
| VERGLAS — An anagram of (loose) GRAVEL. I had to check this one: it’s a glassy coating of glaze ice formed on a surface by freezing precipitation | |
| 5d | See you doffing cap a lot (6) |
| OODLES — Removing the first letter (… doffing cap), tOODLES (see you) | |
| 6d | Fossil fuel left dons suffering agonies (8) |
| GASOLINE — L (left) goes inside (dons) an anagram of (suffering) AGONIES | |
| 11d | Offer and appraisal both turned out to be unwritten (4) |
| ORAL — OffeR and AppraisaL both having inner letters removed (turned out) | |
| 15d | False promise goads nurses (8) |
| SPURIOUS — IOU (promise), which SPURS (goads) holds (nurses) | |
| 16d | Authentic beach huts oddly disappearing (4) |
| ECHT — bEaCh HuTs with odd letters missing (oddly disappearing) | |
| 18d | Buys barrier to stop litter droppers (8) |
| SWALLOWS — WALL (barrier) going inside (to stop) SOWS (litter droppers) | |
| 19d | Familiar with your sib’s butt trouble (7) |
| PERTURB — PERT (familiar) + UR (your) + siB’s end letter (butt) | |
| 21d | Roger backing strike for change in Russia (6) |
| KOPECK — OK (roger) reversing (backing) + PECK (strike) | |
| 22d | Lacking vigour in harem is shameful (6) |
| REMISS — Hidden in haREM IS Shameful | |
| 23d | Chasing game, regularly dispatching zebras and big cats (6) |
| TIGERS — TIG (chasing game) + removing alternate letters from (regularly dispatching) zEbRaS. | |
| I originally had “chasing” down as a positional indicator, but as Eileen has pointed out in comment #7, TIG is not just any old game but a “chasing game” | |
How lovely to have an Arachne puzzle to mark this milestone! I found this very tricky in parts, but ultimately doable, so certainly no quibbles from me, plus the extra hidden clue was a delightful ruse. Thanks to Arachne, and of course to Kitty for standing in (but no tiger picture??).
Minor issue/typo on 22a – centre of Damascus is AS. A great crossword and very clear and thorough blog.
There are more breadcrumbs, I think.
Apply an across answer to the EDITORIAL and another message appears…
(I have hit a wall here, however)
Wonderful to see the Spider Lady back. Been doing her Rosa Klebb’s in the FT. A very nice crossie. Smooth clueing though VERGLAS was new to me.
Russthree #2 – oops, thank you. I will amend the blog.
Rob T #3 – oh, yes, so there is. I will add a note above. Thanks!
Brilliant to have the spider lady for this occasion.
Failed to parse PERTURB being unfamiliar with the ur shorthand for your.
Thought toodles for goodbye a little precious but I suppose some Sloanes might use it.
Wasted time trying to find an anagram of goes plus ‘AS’ in the ROASTS clue.
Despite this, a lovely enjoyable crossword with a cracking nina.
Many thanks also to our stand-in blogger.
What a delight to have Arachne back for this special occasion! And a lovely blog from Kitty – no need at all to feel sheepish! 😉
I’m still chasing up the extra layers! For now, in 23dn, I took TIG as a ‘chasing game’.
I thought the chasing game was tag, not tig.
William @8 – it’s both, they’re regional variations. Dictionary-wise, TIG is given as primary word in Chambers with TAG as an alternative
Comment #10
Fair enough, thanks Rob T.
Eileen #7 – thanks! I am sure you are right about TIG. I think my original interpretation is reasonable, but much prefer yours. I will update the blog.
Personally I don’t see why no. 30,000 should be any more special than 29,999 or 30,001 but glad to see it pleases others.
To continue in a slightly negative vein, I didn’t much like OODLES (never heard of ‘toodles’ as a word) and if FLOOR as a homophone of ‘flaw’ had been suggested by, for example, Paul there’d be a chorus of disapproval. I’m not saying either clue was in any way unfair.
The remainder was very good – especially ACROSTIC, VERGLAS, SPURIOUS.
Thanks Arachne and Kitty.
Lovely to see Arachne for this milestone puzzle and some wonderful misdirection on show. FLOOR defeated me as my mind cannot comprehend it sounding anyway similar to Flaw, but lots of fun overall.
[For it is he…]
Lovely puzzle from the much missed Spider Woman to celebrate a milestone. Great range of clue types and the smooth surfaces which this setter reliably provides. BLASTED, VERGLAS, SPURIOUS and SWALLOWS were my pick of a fine bunch (I’m a non-rhotic speaker myself 🙂 ).
The additional trail went over my head of course, but bravissima.
Many thanks to Arachne and Kitty
Thanks both. What a delightful puzzle. LOI perturb, for which I’ll admit to needing a few checks.
For those of us not of a mathematical persuasion can anyone explain the message from the editorial?
I realised it was puzzle #30,000 but I was not paying attention to ninas etc and I never do the Quick crossword so that went over my head. That is all very clever and congrats to all who noticed the trail of breadcrumbs and so on!
This was a lovely, challenging puzzle by my favourite setter.
New for me: BUCKSHEE (although I knew BAKSHEESH); TSONGA; VERGLAS.
Favourites: SWALLOWS, TODAY (loi).
Comment #19
Bingy @17 If you look at the bottom row of the cryptics whose numbers are the 35 primes before 30,000 (going all the way back to 2/1/2025!) you get:
29581 WELL DONE
29587 BRAVO
29599 HERE
29611 IN CONCLUSION
29629 IS OUR F
29633 INAL CH
29641 ALLENG
29663 E ARE YOU
29669 KEEPING UP GREAT
29671 THERE WI
29683 LL BE A WON
29717 DERF
29723 UL PRIZ
29741 E BUT FIR
29753 ST YOU M
29759 UST ENT
29761 ER A RAC
29789 E NOT A N
29803 ACTUAL ATHLETIC
29819 RACE OF C
29833 OURSE TH
29837 AT WOULD
29851 BE WEIRD
29863 NOT THAT
29867 IT’S A CER
29873 EBRAL RA
29879 CE IN THE
29881 FORM OF A
29917 CROSSWORD PUZZLE
29921 IT’S A GEN
29927 IUS PUBL
29947 ISHED AT
29959 NOON BST
29983 TOMORROW
29989 GODSPEED
Game on! So exciting 😀
I knew VERGLAS from winter driving in France. BUCKSHEE is, I assume, from “bakshish”, a bribe or tip. Never, ever heard anyone say “toodles”! All good fun.
My thanks to Arachne and Kitty.
I’m afraid the message I got from this crossword, using as it does one of the most unfriendly grids in the Grauniad library (twelve clues with a majority of unchecked letters), was a gesture of disdain from the Graun to its solvers.
Well constructed crossword, as always from Arachne (though [T]OODLES is iffy, and VERGLAS suggests someone struggling to finish filling the grid). Excellent blog from Kitty.
But not something I’ll remember with any great pleasure. Sorry.
How lovely to see Arachne back for this momentous occasion. Not as tricky as I feared, but I did take a while to unlock the NE corner. I now have the paper so can savour the extras.
Thanks to Kitty for stepping in. Here’s to the next n-thousand.
This is a second attempt at writing this, sorry if it comes through twice (looks like moderation issues, or patience issues on my part…)
Anyway, the message from the editorial directs you to the last 35 cryptics with prime numbers. The bottom rows spell:
29581 WELL DONE
29587 BRAVO
29599 HERE
29611 IN CONCLUSION
29629 IS OUR F
29633 INAL CH
29641 ALLENG
29663 E ARE YOU
29669 KEEPING UP GREAT
29671 THERE WI
29683 LL BE A WON
29717 DERF
29723 UL PRIZ
29741 E BUT FIR
29753 ST YOU M
29759 UST ENT
29761 ER A RAC
29789 E NOT A N
29803 ACTUAL ATHLETIC
29819 RACE OF C
29833 OURSE TH
29837 AT WOULD
29851 BE WEIRD
29863 NOT THAT
29867 IT’S A CER
29873 EBRAL RA
29879 CE IN THE
29881 FORM OF A
29917 CROSSWORD PUZZLE
29921 IT’S A GEN
29927 IUS PUBL
29947 ISHED AT
29959 NOON BST
29983 TOMORROW
29989 GODSPEED
Looks like we’re witnessing a wonderful tribute which has been a couple of years in the making – thanks to everyone involved!
Bingy@17. AI will quite happily give you the numbers. Even for those of us of a mathematical persuasion working them out otherwise would be tedious!
The last 35 primes below 30000 are:
29581, 29587, 29599, 29611, 29629, 29633, 29641, 29663, 29669, 29671, 29683, 29717, 29723, 29741, 29753, 29759, 29761, 29789, 29803, 29819, 29833, 29837, 29851, 29863, 29867, 29873, 29879, 29881, 29917, 29921, 29927, 29947, 29959, 29983, 29989
Also: well worth it. Keep going
Thanks Arachne and Kitty
Good to see Arachne back. Favourites ACROSTIC and ETYMOLOGY. I share the doubts about “toodles”, but I suppose it could be “yoofspeak”, like “laters”.
I’m surprised that some posters are lucky enough not to have encountered VERGLAS; we occasionally have it forming on our drive, and it’s lethal – quite impossible to walk on.
I can see that Askival (comments 20 and 24 above) has rather brilliantly worked out what the 35 primes thing is all about, and it’s shows an extraordinary build-up to this puzzle. Unfortunately Askival’s comments are in ‘pending’, and while I can see them I don’t have the necessary permissions to approve them. Kitty, if you’re still around, could you do the honours?
Does the trail of clues suggest that Arachne was also responsible for today’s Quick? Lovely to see her again.
There will be protests about FLAW/FLOOR, which is the one I missed in spite of having the right accent. The unknown VERGLAS and TSONGA were fairly clued, and I guessed (t)OODLES despite never having heard it said, and TIGERS despite the game being tag where I come from.
Favourites ETYMOLOGY for the study of roots, SWALLOWS for the litter-droppers, ASUNDER for the creative punctuation, and GENIUS.
Thanks to Arachne and Kitty for standing in so nicely.
Wow. Thanks Askival. That is very impressive. And explains a few things from previous puzzles!
[thanks to Kitty or kenmac for approval on Askival’s comments!]
VERGLAS is what used to be called “black ice” until the (descriptive, not pejorative) term became politically incorrect: I’m not sure what UK weather forecasters call it now, but it isn’t “verglas”.
Wow, thank you, Askival – that is very impressive of you to work all that out.
I am amazed and impressed that all those bits and pieces were waiting patiently to be discovered in celebration of puzzle #30,000!
Well done!
Was delighted to see Arachne last night and I wasn’t disappointed. I thought there was a theme with PERIMETER TODAY, ACROSTIC, QUICK CROSSWORD and GENIUS but didn’t realise it was hinting at something else, so thanks for pointing that out. As Eileen says, tig is the chasing game we played in NI but FLOOR for me is nowhere close to a homophone although maybe for someone who says toodles. I really liked ACROSTIC, BUCKSHEE and SWALLOWS, although I also thought OODLES was a bit twee.
I’ve just seen Askival @24, how wonderful!
Ta Arachne & Kitty for a lovely blog.
Thanks Arachne, Kitty and Askival (and the G editors/setters) for working out such a beautiful and mind-boggling breadcrumb trail!!
The puzzle itself was a pleasure, too, if quite tricky; my favourites are GENIUS and ACROSTIC
After reading Askival @24, I’m speechless – never in a month of Sundays …!
I’ve often suggested, when blogging her puzzles, that it’s worth going back over Arachne’s clues to fully appreciate the always wonderful surfaces, for instance – but this was something else.
I’ve been surprised – and disappointed – to read some of the rather niggardly comments above. I think most of us would have felt rather shortchanged, to say the least, if this occasion had not been marked as special, in line with the celebration of previous milestones, highlighted during the week. Thanks and congratulations to all who had a hand in preparing this, which, as Askival says, must have taken quite a while!
My ticks, as so often, are too numerous to list – but I think GENIUS gets the gold for me, on all counts.
Huge thanks to Arachne – please come back soon! – and to the lucky ‘impostor’. I hope you’ll stand in over here again soon, Kitty.
Goodness me, I feel as though I’ve gone back in time and stumbled behind the scenes at Bletchley Park…
This explains a lot!
Very, very clever concept brilliantly executed.
Chapeau (ba-dum tish!)
Eileen – your tact is to be applauded.
Thanks Askival. We had got as far as working out the last 35 prime numbers below 30,000 and started looking into the cryptic solutions. Unfortunately the search engine we used gave us the WRONG numbers – e.g. it said 29999 was a prime – so that’s where the trail stopped. Never trust AI!
A trail that was laid down over a year and a half – wow! That will surely go down in puzzling folklore.
Apart from the that, the actual cryptic was fun and, like others, I was a bit dubious about “toodles” as a valediction.
I was expecting a complex puzzle but the complexity is elsewhere. Thanks to Askival @24 et al for revealing the secret.
Back to the puzzle, it was excellent with clever clues and quite a few ‘Why didn’t I see that?’ moments. Favourites GENIUS, LISTEN IN, ACROSTIC.
Couldn’t parse PERTURB.
Thank you to Arachne and Kitty.
I think the puzzle was a fitting tribute to the 30,000 milestone.
Well constructed, as would be expected from this setter.
Perhaps rather easier than I was expecting.
Pity Arachne was instructed to include so much american nonsense. Quite unnecessarily.
But that’s the grauniad for you.
13a was lovely. Thanks Arachne and Kitty.
…and Askival. Coo! Baerchen@37. It does, doesn’t it! I am enlightened. And impressed and amused. Well played to all involved.
Sorry if this offends anyone, but I’m afraid FLOOR/flaw ruined for me what was otherwise a superior puzzle. I had to reveal the answer and stare at it for several minutes before the penny dropped. I was so irritated that I ended up just revealing the last few answers. Naturally I didn’t follow the breadcrumbs either. Such a pity.
Sad to see some comments sneering at a very cleverly worked freebie. I presume they came from people who refused to celebrate the millennium until 2001.
O M G!! I was thinking there wasn’t much special about this for no. 30,000, but to link it back to the last 35 primes is just mind-blowing.
Amazing job, Arachne, Kitty & Askival
It would have been delightful just to have Arachne back after such a long absence, but this is simply extraordinary. Hats off to Askival who beat me to it. I worked through the primes and I’ve got the same message, except for two Grauniad typos at #29,753 (H instead of M) and #29,863 (NO INSTE – I’m guessing initially intending the next puzzle’s nina to start …AD, rather than NOT THAT).
Never mind. The planning that has gone into this is mind-blowing and I’m full of admiration for all that took part, even unwittingly!
@poc #43, I’ve given up moaning about RP homophones.
I found the upbeat editorial depressing. The next 30,000? Six a week for 96 years? Hard to imagine we’ll still be here or doing quaint old puzzles.
Christ, keep it light people
Brilliant. Really enjoyed. Totally missed the hidden message over 15 months but don’t feel too bad.
Alastair @47: by then, AI will be setting all the puzzles, and also solving them and winning all the prizes.
Askival@24 I can’t begin to imagine how complicated it must have been to plan all this in advance. Were those previous crosswords all Arachne or is this a group/crossword editor effort?
Jim@51: Arachne didn’t set any of the earlier puzzles that are referenced. My quick flip back indicates that Paul, Brummie, Imogen, Carpathian, Alia, Chandler, Ludwig and Ix have been the setters, and must presumably have been asked to compose a puzzle with the necessary letters in the bottom row (though one or two of the names above may have involved the crossword editor asking himself). The comment from Ix@42 suggests that they may not have been told how the whole thing would add up. I imagine that at some stage somebody will produce a comprehensive blog on how it was all conceived, which is indeed very impressive (though for neatness I feel it should have been the last 30 primes that were used). But I don’t think anybody could fairly complain that the 30,000th puzzle milestone hasn’t been recognised!
poc @43. I concur, although my degree of chagrin did not cause me to curtail my address to the rest of the crossword, and I did pursue the trail through the Quick and as far as the editorial. There, while registering that it was written in strangely short paragraphs, I did not spot the ACROSTIC. If it is any excuse, this was at 4.00 am. Even had I done so, I would have lacked the patience to check back the 35 ‘primes’. I’m full of admiration both for Askival and for the numerous co-conspirators who must have participated in this deeply-laid plot.
What really irks me most as an ageing Bolshevik about these Brian Sewell ‘soundalikes’ is how a certain class, born to wealth and privilege, managed to get their systematic mispronunciation of their language passed of as ‘standard’ and ‘received’, so that is embedded in dictionaries, thereby marginalising and disenfranchising those who, while doing so in a variety of accents and idioms, nevertheless pronounce the language (in my view) properly.
OK. Rant over, from an old Scottish Bolshevik who, on an election day, feels disenfranchised in more ways than just phonetically.
JuanDango @44 – I wasn’t sneering, I was just being mildly grumpy about a grid which I regard as horrible.
I have been cheered up by the moans about FLOOR/FLAW, though. As I have observed before, “homophone” is a misleading term. You aren’t looking for “sounds the same as” but “sounds like”, and there’s no reason why that shouldn’t be “sounds vaguely like”.
Personally (and this is very much a matter of personal taste) I think that the more outrageously far-fetched a Spoonerism or a “homophone” (should we call them slightly-heterophones? perhaps not), the more entertaining it is.
With which thought, I shall go back to trying to forget about the local elections…
Congratulations to The Guardian on the milestone! The Nina (and the Nina’s Nina, and the Nina’s Nina’s Nina and so forth) went over my head, so thank you to all involved, Askival especially, for the revelation. Absolutely delighted to see the message has been building under our noses for a year and a half!
I don’t normally dare attempt the Genius, but occasion merits it.
Another great puzzle from Arachne, and thank you Kitty for the blog!
When I saw it was the 30,000th puzzle, I thought there may be a special mesage and looked for it. But all I could see “perimeter today” and “quick crossword” and could not imagine what that meant, I am dumbfounded by the various layers in the breadcrumb trail (the word reminds me of Hansel and Gretel), the years it was in the making, and am totally impressed by the people where who managed to solve it!
I thought the puzzle was a mix of relatively easy (e.g. birth sign and roasts) and very difficult clues. Never heard of tsanga (very well hidden as I was looking for a Gabonese Bantu language), buckshee and kopeck. Failed to parse floor, even though I knew it had to be a homophone meaning failing. I always see the written word in front of me and would also not pronounce floor as flaw (I live in Scotland). “Genius” was the best one for me, which could also be said of the puzzle.
Thanks, Arachne and Kitty!
To celebrate cryptic 30,000, just having Arachne back would have been enough for me. The lovely clues for BLASTED, GENIUS, LISTEN IN and TIGERS meant I had more than enough.
But there was more!
I managed to follow the trail as far as the perimeter of the Quick crossword, but there I stumbled. I wrongly thought I needed an anagram of LEADER I TAILORED. I found RIDDLE, which seemed promising, but could go no further.
And then I read some of the comments above, and then the editorial, and then more of the comments above.
How extraordinary!
Warm congratulations to everyone involved in the years of planning, and many thanks to the Guardian, to all the setters, to all the bloggers, and to the great majority of the commenters.
Bravissimi!
Those grumbling about the FLOOR/FLAW homophone might wish to consult the cruciverbalist’s ultimate authority. Chambers gives the phonetic pronunciations as identical in UK English, but pronounces the R in US English. Take your pick.
Please delete my comment @19. I was uninformed. If I’d waited 5 minutes I’d have seen Askival’s revelation and realised how much work has been done. Work which has now given great joy to lots of people. It also puts comments about the editor’s supposed lack of care onto the back burner. Apologies if I spoilt it for anyone. I’m not one of the (increasingly bizarre) complainers around here.
I reiterate my thanks to Kitty for an excellent blog and to Arachne for an enjoyable crossword.
I got as far as the PERIMETER clue in the QUICK CROSSWORD leading us to the editorial, but didn’t think to look for an ACROSTIC there. I must admit that when I first read Askival’s comment @20 I thought it might be some sort of joke, but no! I am absolutely flabbergasted. To have planned this over so long, and to ask setters to have a bottom line of ALLENG or ACTUAL ATHLETIC for example, is extraordinary.
Many thanks to Kitty for the blog, and to Arachne and all others involved in this.
Satisfyingly difficult, although I failed to parse 19D, not being… uh… familiar with this definition of PERT, which doesn’t appear in my usual thesaurus.
I’m surprised by the complaints about toodles: while it, along with its long form toodle-oo and relative ‘toodle along’, is whimsically archaic, it doesn’t strike me as particularly obscure. And we had toodle-oo just last weekend in the Prize crossword.
Well I saw the QUICK CROSSWORD PERIMETER TODAY, and the QC Nina but I’m now amazed at the complexity of the previous 35 prime crosswords; how brilliant and thanks to Askival for unravelling it all. It’s always good to see an Arachne crossword, and this one didn’t disappoint. I particularly liked Egypt’s last queen in PERIMETER, the acrostic ACROSTIC, the dons’ agonies about GASOLINE, and the SPURIOUS nurses.
Thanks Arachne and Kitty and other setters and the editor for putting it all together.
Happy 30,000 Day everyone! My head is spinning with the multiple layers of trickery, planned and coordinated over many months. Thank you to all the detectives! I guess there’s a Genius puzzle tomorrow to check out. How does the Genius usually work? Is it on a certain schedule? Difficulty level?
In this puzzle, lots of great clues with plenty of challenges and enjoyable pdm’s. NE last in, with loi 10a FLOOR unfortunately depending on a non-rhotic soundalike, so ending with a bit of a thud for me (and I see I’m not alone)
Favourites 8a TODAY (surface and wordplay), 13a ACROSTIC (unusual clue, but works for me), 25a ETYMOLOGY (“Exciting yet gloomy” anagram), 26a QUICK (caught the substitution), 2d LISTEN IN (concise), 18d SWALLOWS (triple points: surface, definition “buys”, and wordplay “litter droppers” = SOWS)
NHOs 20a BUCKSHEE, 4d VERGLAS, TIG game in 23d TIGERS (“tag” in Canada)
Thanks everyone
OK, I’ll bite. How are people pronouncing FLOOR and FLAW so as not to be homophones (or at least acceptably close)?
Mig @63 — having set the regular May Genius puzzle I think I can answer some of your questions 😁 the Genius puzzle normally comes out just once a month, on the first Monday (this will be the first time I’ve seen an extra one partway through a month).
It’s quite advanced, always with some special instructions that lead to hidden messages, usually thematic and/or providing further instructions e.g. for the solver to enact on the completed grid. It’s quite a step up from daily cryptics, difficulty-wise, but can definitely be cracked with patience and a little lateral thinking. Good luck!
Lovely crossword – even without understanding any of the extras. Thanks to Arachne and Kitty and to everybody else who identified and explained the frankly mind-boggling extensions. (I’m happy enough just to solve the clues and complete the crossword with only one of two missing parses!) I’ve never come across PERT in its apparently standard meaning of “familiar” in my 70+ years, so failed to parse PErTURB
A “nina” is obviously a term that is familiar to most of you, but means nothing to me – can somebody explain?
I have to quibble with the objectors to FLOOR – surely it is an exact homophone of FLAW in received English pronunciation. Even for those of us who don’t speak it, the use of the silent R is one of the favourite sound-alike tricks of the crossword-setter.
PeterB@66: if you Google “Nina crossword meaning” then all will be revealed.
Martin @59: fair play, if only others sometimes reflected on their gratuitous negative comments, dragging the rest of us down.
That was exactly my cup of tea – what a splendid construction (set!). My thanks to Arachne, Kitty and of course to Askival for doing the hard work on those other puzzles!
@Jacob #64 search for Rhoticity
I checked with my home counties English partner and it works as a homophone for them but it doesn’t for eg Celts or North Americans.
PB@66 I’m afraid you’re casting pearls of wisdom into the abyss regarding FLOOR. As a Yorkshireman I’m used to soundalikes that aren’t how I’d say it but somehow manage to remember that other accents and pronunciations exist. This seems to be a specific bit of lateral thinking that some forum members are unwilling to engage in. Odd given the nature of this hobby
I thought this was a joy from start to finish and the backstory build-up beggars belief
Cheers K&A
Thanks Arachne for a silky smooth crossword with my favourites being ACROSTIC, QUICK, GENIUS, LISTEN IN, and ORAL. I couldn’t parse FLOOR because floor/flaw are not homophones to my ear but Chambers says they are so that settles it. Aside from the obvious I didn’t see the hidden backdrop but having an Arachne to solve was enough for me. I can’t think of a better setter to mark this milestone. Thanks Kitty for a wonderful blog.
Rob T / Odo @65 Many thanks for the Genius info. Okay, I’ll give it a go. It sounds like I’ll need the good luck you offered, though, so thanks for that, too! 🙂
How wonderful to have our lovely spider lady back. Made my day! As for the background of primes what an achievement. Many thanks to Arachne Kitty and of course Alan Connor.
Alistair @70 The homophone works for the majority of English accents, I think. Worked for me (Cumbrian) and my wife (Londoner), at the very least.
All I can say is: Wow!
Jacob @64: in most North American dialects, not only is the R in FLOOR pronounced, but the vowel sound is slightly different from that in FLAW. True also in various UK rhotic dialects.
But I’m with those who say that while this might be something worth observing (the many different forms of our language are interesting!), it’s not something worth complaining about.
Thank you, Arachne and Kitty, delightful puzzle and blog. 10a works fine in my East Riding pronunciation, as in Ah’ll floor you f’t’flaw in t’floor. The 35 primes are astonishing, how someone can come up with the idea and then make it work is way beyond my imagination!
On the matter of near-homophones/soundalikes, the way I look at it is this, using today’s questionable pair as an example.
If someone says to you “The glass broke when it fell on the flaw”, would you understand them?
If they said “He made a great case but there was a major floor in his argument” would you understand them?
Just an attempt to get around issues of explicit regionality, rhotism etc.
This morning I started the crossword but had to break off. Now, when I go back to it, not only is it wiped clean but it has changed format to the one I don’t like I.e. the crossword filling the whole screen and only one clue on display. Is the “old” format still available and, if so, how can I access it? Please can someone help!
A well pitched crossword and execution of a bigger plan.
The surface reading of Arachne’s clues is always tight and lucid. As far as I’m concerned that means while the clue for FLOOR is terse it’s not misleading.
I don’t normally do the quick crossword but made an exception so I have the components of the larger puzzle.
Thanks to Rob T and Askival for showing the additional steps.
I wouldn’t want to miss out by not commenting on this milestone crossword. I very much enjoyed the puzzle but would have been just as happy with a “Hooray” nina to celebrate it. I’m afraid the intricacies of quick puzzles/editorials/primes were totally lost on me.
This was wonderful, thank you Arachne, and wholly suited to the 30,000 milestone. It was a masterclass in the setter’s art – surfaces that tell a story, inventive wordplay, challenge, misdirection galore, the full range of clue types and lots of fun. I would have settled for this on its own; but thanks to Kitty for pointing out all the other links as well, which I am now off to explore.
Not seen this setter before, so I only got 3/4 of the way through, but what is did, I thoroughly enjoyed.
Kitty’s ‘breadcrumbs’ bit was way over my head, but sounded intriguing.
Thanks both.
Well, who’d have thunk it?
I was congratulating myself on completing the thoroughly enjoyable and (for me at least) difficult puzzle when I come on here to discover that I had seemingly missed the point altogether.
Congratulations to all who spotted the trail and especially to Askival et al who actually followed it through and of course many thanks to Arachne, one of my favourite setters, just for the surfaces if nothing else, even if she defeats me on a regular basis and of course to Kitty for the superb blog.
I may even have to have a go at the Genius now, wish me luck!
Just loved this – the layers are certainly worthy of Brendan (the prime numbers made me think of Oulipo) – but this is both a fine puzzle and an astonishing achievement over the set of primes. Will try the Genius … .
I am, correctly I hope, in awe of the Guardian expectation to find themes within crossword puzzles, and this one developed over many suns is a masterpiece. And even the general daily ones (Brendan et al) who always have a theme is another true skill. However, for me, the simple challenge for the past 50 years has simply been to try to unravel these incredibly well-constructed and often very misleading clues and create answers to each clue, so I am never looking for a set of connections of any sort.
So congratulations to Arachne on a magnificent, relevant and thoroughly well-clued crossword, and to Kitty for the clear explanations. I will always to continue working through these best crosswords without any knowledge or expectation of a theme, and continue to come here for enlightenment, so thank you to all and sundry involved.
Thanks for the blog , I will keep my views to myself .
I just want to ask does anyone know if the Genius puzzle will be in the paper for once ? Or will loyal readers who spend over £1100 a year on the Guardian be insulted yet again ?
@Roz
I’m sure you have your reasons, but I am confused by your stance. I take it that you prefer to access the Guardian via the traditional newspaper – it is possible to get a full 6 days of the week subscription for £65 per month (£780 per year) which also entitles you to access the website and app ad free should you wish. For home delivery it is more: £78 per month (£936 per year), also with full digital access. The newspaper only costs over £1,100 per year (with none of the digital benefits) if you go to your newsagent and pay as you go. If you prefer to do it that way, then fine, but why do you feel insulted?
I am not a Guardian employee or affiliated with them in any way, except for being a loyal reader of many year’s standing like yourself! I just hate that you feel you are being needlessly ripped off.
Well I solved this quite late in the day as I wanted to buy the paper (when did it become £3.50?). Glad to see Arachne back. I was on the look out for something sneaky but it didn’t occur to me until right after completion.
For someone who (perhaps wrongly) considers themselves a competent cryptic solver I proved to be quite terrible at the quick crossword. A few reveals and could see the next stage which was solved.
I guess there had to be a message in the editorial and the short paragraphs soon gave it away. Managed to solve the next step in the puzzle but didn’t do the legwork going back through them all and relied on the previous comment. Guess I will be making a rare foray into the Genius tomorrow.
Feel I shouldn’t comment until all steps have been done but enjoyed SWALLOWED AND PERTURB.
Thanks Kitty and Arachne. And happy crossword birthday. They must be close to or just over 1 million clues now.
Mitz@89 Well put. I could not understand this apart from Roz just not liking the web. Which is a little interesting, but not really connected to today’s crossword. I’ve supported the Guardian both print and online and in donations for a longer time than I care to remember … .
Mitz@89 , can I pay cash for a subscription and not give the Guardian any of my details ? I think not . I will only do a crossword in a paper that I have paid for , I am very happy to support the Guardian in this way but buyers of the paper are denied the full suite of crosswords , that is the insult .
Polyphone@91 this puzzle IS clearly connected to the Genius puzzle tomorrow which I suspect will not be in the paper .
A terrific puzzle and my compliments to editor on the very clever extras. Favourites today were OODLES and FLOOR.
I’m glad I picked up this weekday crossword (a rare occurrence for me these days). I thoroughly enjoyed it, and I side with the majority in praising the skill that is evident in the clues throughout. I left PERTURB unsolved, unfortunately, as I never thought of UR (‘your’) and could not think of a word likely to mean ‘trouble’ that would fit.
As for the long prime number build-up to this 30,000th puzzle, I am simply amazed, although if any paper would implement such an idea it would be the Guardian.
Thanks and congratulations to Arachne and Kitty.