(Please click here for this same blog but with a picture quiz added. Please do NOT post hereinbelow any comment relating to the picture quiz. Thank you.) Quite a tricky end to the year. Spent just as long figuring out the parsing of a couple of the answers, succeeding with the last one just before pressing the publish button. Thanks to Enigmatist. And the very best wishes to all for the New Year – may it bring you good health and happiness. Definitions are underlined in the clues.
Across
1 Behaviour, typical of fools (rather than angels), bearskin disguises (8)
INBREAKS : Anagram of(bearskin …) BEARSKIN.
Defn: Invasions. Reference to the line “fools rush in where angels fear to tread”, first penned by poet Alexander Pope.
5 “Twisted” Jack going after call girl? It’s funny you should say that! (3,3)
BON MOT : Reversal of(Twisted) [ NOB(the Jack of the same suit as the turn-up card in the game of cribbage) placed after(going after) TOM(slang for a prostitute;a call girl) ].
Defn: A witty, funny remark.
9 Demigod is one who can’t stop drinking tea with a little bit of rum in it (9)
THEANDRIC : THEIC(one who can’t stop drinking tea;the;a tea;the addict, cf. an alcoholic) containing(… in it) [ AND(with) + the 1st letter of(a little bit of) “rum ” ].
Defn: Existing through the joint agency of the divine and human nature, like a demigod is.
11 “Labiate” – how date may be spoken of? (5)
THYME : Homophone of(how … may be spoken of) “time”(date;a specific point in time).
Defn: One of a family of plants, including mint, thyme, etc. with parts that are shaped or arranged like lips (from the Latin “labium”).
12 Head for Irish church’s best sward to sit with a refreshing drink (3-5,4)
ICE-CREAM SODA : The 1st letter of(Head for) “Irish ” + C.E.(abbrev. for the Church of England) + CREAM(the best) + SOD(sward;a section of grass-covered soil) plus(with) A.
15 Jack’s lean (he left a fat-free order) (4)
HEEL : Anagram of(… order) [“he left a ” minus(…-free) “fat “].
Defn: A nautical term, as Jack the seaman would use, relating to a vessel, meaning to lean over;to tilt.
16 Put in residence for men only, one details home (7,3)
ADDRESS TAG : ADD(to put in something extra) + RES(abbrev. for “residence”) + STAG(descriptive of a function for men only to attend).
18 Test centre backs American buying and selling safety structure (10)
BALUSTRADE : Reversal of(… backs) LAB(a facility;centre for testing;experimentation) + US(abbrev. for things American) + TRADE(the buying and selling of stuff).
19 Jack’s lean and fantastically fit (salt is fat-free) (4)
LIST : Anagram of(fantastically) “fit (salt ” minus(is …-free) “fat “.
Defn: Another nautical term, cf. 15 across.
21 Impresario’s game changing direction for 25’s accompaniment? (7,5)
RUNNING SHOES : “running shows”(an impresario’s game;what he/she does for the theatre) with “w”(abbrev. for “west”) replacing(changing …) “e”(abbrev. for “east”).
Defn: Gear to accompany a tracksuit, cf. 25 across.
24 Organ transplants within body cavities (5)
ANTRA : Hidden in(… within) “Organ transplants “.
Defn: …, in bones.
25 Retiring Welsh runner pursuing clubs in characteristic warm-up gear (9)
TRACKSUIT : [ Reversal of(Retiring) USK(a river;runner in Wales) placed after(pursuing) C(abbrev. for “clubs”, the suit in card games) ] contained in(in) TRAIT(a distinguishing characteristic).
26 Stake fixed by partners in French city (6)
NANTES : ANTE(the stake put into the pool by a poker player before cards are dealt) contained in(fixed by;put in position) N,S(abbrev. for the pair of partners arbitrarily designated “north” and “south”, in a bridge game).
27 After time, gets down ski run, crashing into old pro’s midriff … (6,2)
DRINKS UP : Anagram of(…, crashing) SKI RUN contained in(into) the central 2 letters of(…’s midriff) “old pro “.
Defn: Reference to closing time in a pub when alcohol can no longer be sold for the night, and patrons then down their last drinks.
Down
1,13 … almost completely ruining airbag clutched by faint-heart as well (4,3,7)
INTO THE BARGAIN : [IN TOTO](completely, from Latin) minus its last letter(almost …) + anagram of(ruining) AIRBAG contained in(clutched by) HEN(a chicken, as in a coward;a faint-heart).
2,14 Rise in appearance money’s in black and white – it’s great jazzman’s fare (4,10)
BEEF WELLINGTON : Reversal of(Rise in, in a down clue) FEE(appearance money;fee paid to a celebrity by a promoter of an event for the former’s participation) contained in(…’s in) BW(abbrev. for “black and white”) + ELLINGTON(Duke, a jazz great).
3 Energy required, perhaps, to thaw this woman? (6)
EUNICE : E(abbrev. for “energy” in physics) plus(required) UN-ICE(whimsical;perhaps interpretation of “to thaw”).
4 Sparkling wine drink to avoid when climbing above Scots town (13)
KIRKCUDBRIGHT : BRIGHT(sparkling) placed below(…. above, in a down clue) [ KIR(a drink made from sparkling wine or champagne and cassis) + reversal of(… when climbing, in a down clue) DUCK(to avoid) ].
6 I stay positive once eliminated from rough competitions (8)
OPTIMIST : “once ” deleted from(eliminated from) anagram of(rough) “competitions “.
7,22 Consumer warning seen on toolbox? (3,7,4)
MAY CONTAIN NUTS : Cryptic defn: Reference to the common consumer warning to those with an allergy to nuts of the plant kind, but could, possibly, warn of nuts of a metallic kind in a toolbox.
8,23 Following scrap, obstreperous types viewed here? (3,7,4)
THE NAUGHTY STEP : THEN(following;later) + AUGHT(nothing;zero, but also “any least part;whatever bit there is” equivalent to “scrap”;a little bit) + anagram of(obstreperous;unruly;naughty) TYPES.
Defn: The place to which naughty children are figuratively or literally sent to, say after a fight;scrap. A WIWD(wordplay intertwined with definition) clue.
10 Modifying article header removed hard feelings (7,3,3)
CLEARED THE AIR : Anagram of(Modifying) ARTICLE HEADER.
13 See 1 down
14 See 2 down
17 ‘ook doesn’t have what it takes to succeed thus (8)
ASPIRATE : “‘ook” with the aspirate, “h”, in front = Hook, Captain James in Peter Pan, who succeeded (or not) “as (a) pirate”.
20 Dullard sporting a sleeveless jacket (6)
JERKIN : JERK(a dullard;a stupid person) + IN(sporting;wearing, as in “she was in short shorts”).
22 See 7 down
23 See 8 down
(Please do NOT post hereinbelow any comment relating to the picture quiz. Thank you.)
A suitably tricky and entertaining challenge maintaining the very high standards of the week. Took ages to find a way in with NANTES first to crack. ANTRA and THEANDRIC were new to me. Thought the linked 15a and 21a were very clever.
Thanks to Enigmatist and scchua, Happy New Year to all
Most enjoyable. I seem to remember that earlier this year some supermarket chain had to withdraw their own-brand bags of peanuts because the packaging didn’t contain the magic words of 7,22.
Thanks Enigmatist and scchua (particulary for parsing some of the more obscure clues.
Surely 5a refers not to MOT but to the reversal of TOM (a prostitute)?
Happy New Year!
ChrisS@3- thats what I had for BON MOT.
I agree with Chris about ‘TOM” and several people were hinting at this in the comments, with reference to television cop shows. Think DI Burnside, for example.
ChrisS and copmus, you’re right. Blog amended. Thanks.
Kir is usually made from a still white wine and cassis-sparkling is bright. You have to watch this setter!
Having got the above off my chest- full marks to setter and thanks to blogger(schua).I hadnt heard of 8d so it was a guess and google-same with 9a.
A treat to have Enigmatist on NYE.Happy new Year everyone.
copmus, agree with kir made with still white wine, but it could also be made with champagne. And just to hint at (or point out) the misdirection, I added “sparkling” to “wine” to refer to champagne, but could just as well have left it out, since I already had sparkling = bright.
Very nice – thanks both – I wish we could have more of these.
I think KIR is “wine drink” – sparkling goes with BRIGHT – otherwise there would be double duty.
Hint: just use Ribena – that’s what they do in restaurants when you’re not looking – it hardly makes an difference.
Like beery hiker @ 1, I didn’t know THEANDRIC and ANTRA, and NANTES was first one in. Couldn’t parse BON MOT or JERKIN. I have some reservations about Enigmatist’s style, with the somewhat convoluted clues and long solutions, but it’s an enjoyable change from the other setters. Favourites were TRACKSUIT, RUNNING SHOES, DRINKS UP, HEEL and LIST. Thanks to E and s.
Thanks Enigmatist & scchua.
Very tricky; I only got two on the first pass before my computer rescued me.
Lots to like, I particularly enjoyed MUST CONTAIN NUTS.
The version of Kir made with champagne is usually called Kir Royale. See https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kir_Royal
Cassis with still wine is just a kir but cassis with champagne is a kir royale. I liked ii as the latter version so no quibbles from me. So prosit for yesterday and the new year. Best wishes and thanks to setters and bloggers. Annemie
Thank you Enigmatist and scchua for a challenging puzzle and most helpful blog.
THEIC was new to me, I kept trying to get ‘tea’, ‘thé’ and/or ‘cha’ into THEANDRIC, hopeless.
MAY CONTAIN NUTS and NAUGHTY STEP were fun (only learnt that recently, most of the houses in NZ when I was young did not have an upper floor because of earthquakes, hence no staircase).
A Happy New Year to all.
A very nice challenge (which I solved while on a break from trying to work out what IO was on about over in the FT)
Lots to enjoy so I won’t list the ‘favourites as I’ve things to do this afternoon
Thanks to Enigmatist and scchua and Happy New Year to all.
Thanks Enigmatist and scchua
Well, I completed the grid, but with at least half a dozen unparsed – my fault, not Enigmatist’s I wasn’t convinced that there was a word “inbreaks”. AS PIRATE compensated for every struggle, though!
Some interesting answers very well clued in the main. It was very hard though. I enjoyed the challenge. I would like to see more ‘Enigmatist’ puzzles in the Guardian.
24a the word order gave me pause; 1, 13d maybe ‘ruined’ would be better? The ‘ing’ thing I don’t really like; 3d ‘required’ gives the past tense I think, which I never like, unless it’s meant to be E (is) required, (then) etc sort of thing. I don’t like that either; 7d 22 rather weak cd; 10d the ‘ing’ thing again; 17d I don’t get at all. I can see what he means, but it doesn’t work for me.
HNY
HH
Glad to see everyone else found this difficult. I found it beyond difficult. I found it impossible. And I generally think of myself as both reasonably skilled and reasonably experienced at this game…Too many obscure words obscurely clued for me, meaning I had no easy entrees. Surrendered with just four words in, and one of those a cheat. Hardest puzzle all year.
Happy New Year all the same.
I was expecting to find this difficult but this proved a surprisingly quick solve. I admit that I found both HEEL and LIST rather difficult to parse and, as with BH@1,THEANDRIC and ANTRA were new but not too hard to get. So I enjoyed this.
Hope this bodes well for next year.
Thanks and all the best to Enigmatist– and happy New year to everyone else!
this puzzle was waaaay too hard for me and I must thank scchua for lamplighting quite a bit of it. It all looks doable now of course, but that’s probably what MW Gatting thought on his way back to the pavilion after facing the first ball in Test cricket delivered by SK Warne.
One of my New Year resolutions will be not to address hedgehoggy ever again, but since it is before midnight here, I see Santa brought you a new bag for your fun-sucking vacuum cleaner. Your posts are a blight on this otherwise excellent site.
Happy new year to all. Yes, even you.
Did this early this morning then went to a funeral, so have only just found time to comment. As usual with Enigmatist I found it very challenging but nevertheless enjoyable, especially the long down clues. Now to try to finish his alter ego’s offering in the FT!
Many thanks to Enigmatist & scchua. Happy new year to all.
Abuse again from a poster, not proper interaction. I would ask that ‘baerchen’ is given a telling-off for this, for that is what she or he deserves. A humbug indeed of a ‘poster’ (troll more like).
hh @23 – baerchen is about as far from a troll as I can imagine – unlike some people he has a sense of humour, and sets some of the most entertaining crosswords in the business. No offense intended…
Thanks to Enigmatist and scchua. I’ve never had any luck with this setter and this puzzle was no exception. Some terms were new to me (KIRKCUDBRIGHT, THE NAUGHTY STEP, THEANDRIC); elsewhere I made some lucky guesses but could not parse BON MOT, RUNNING SHOES, LIST, and others – so many thanks to scchua. For me a good dose of reality at the end of the year.
@hh
I have no problem with your attempts at “constructive criticism” in line with site policy; but many – too many, perhaps – of your comments are of the “I don’t like this” or “this doesn’t work for me” variety.
This is like me saying that I believe the Bay City Rollers to be far superior in every way to The Beatles, or that Grace Kelly had a face like a bag of chisels.
Anyway, this will at least be our final exchange of views, so best wishes for 2016
OMG! My ego loves Mr Penney @19 & baerchen @21 (and therefore looks askance at Peter Aspinwall @20).
With much very strong “the” I sat down to this puzzle, but very soon collapsed into giggles with my ineptitude. Loved 12a because I got it using the beginning of the parse. Managed 21a and 25a, can’t believe I missed 24a when it was right in front of my eyes, and ASPIRATE too. Heigh ho.
This puzzle and the excellent interpretation is a keeper to learn from. I am in awe of you solvers.
The very best wishes to you all for the new year.
Enigmatist makes you chisel out the solutions, and I needed to be on holiday to succeed. 17d is so stylish. Thank you sschua for some parsings.
Memo to HH: your forensic approach might benefit from the leaven of wit and subtlety exemplified by the brilliant compilations we enjoy daily, and which this site is pleased to share 🙂
Well, I have a completed grid with all the right words in all the right places, though in some cases I’m not entirely sure how. I needed one little cheat towards the end, to get THEANDRIC; both this word, and crucially the THEIC on which the clue depends, are new to me.
But then there are clues like DRINKS UP and TRACK SUIT which, while complex, are ingenious and precise, and give the brain a rewarding workout. And of course MAY CONTAIN NUTS is worth a chuckle.
Thanks Enigmatist for a challenging end to 2016 and to all bloggers and commentators for their contributions throughout the year.
Since thematic was a term coined specifically to refer to Jesus the use of the word demigod as a definition for it is inappropriate.
Should have been theandric above. Not thematic.
baerchen and hedgehoggy make it up
Having now read the comments above I should like to add that I hope baerchen will keep his resolution.
I’m with mr Penney on this kind of thing. Way too hard to make my declining brain cells do press ups over. I mean: 1,13 “almost complete. . . ” why would any normal English speaker start with “in toto”, then lop off the final “o” and then build the anagram? Ridiculous. Tricky enough to think up synonyms for ‘complete’ in the one language that I do speak with any fluency, let alone ones in a language that was officially dead over a thousand years ago. Fairer clues please Mr Editor
I’m with mrpenny & baerchen too. I’ve never enjoyed this setter’s puzzles and can only admire those who do. Is he in all the broadsheets today? Thanks to scchua for today’s blog and happy new year to everyone
You’re a star, Cookie!
I am not sure I will not reply to any of HH’s comment anymore in 2016 myself.
Actually, I am thinking of addressing my thoughts about what he said in yesterday’s Picaroon blog.
The problem is, as baerchen states, that for HH things like ‘I don’t like this’ or ‘This doesn’t work for me’ are reason enough to conclude ‘This is a poor effort’.
That’s a slap in the face of the setter, something that HH doesn’t seem to understand.
I clearly remember comments from Puck and Qaos last year pointing in that direction.
I think today HH was in a positive mood but very often the tone is too much ‘I am right and they are wrong’.
For example, yesterday ED for ‘edited’ was questioned but one single look in Chambers makes clear that it’s definition #1.
I see a solver in an empty room ….
Anyway, I enjoyed this crossword tremendously .
The only Henderson I could finish today.
IO beat me by miles and miles and miles.
And in the Indy, changing Nimrod’s capital to E was really most helpful!
Thank you scchua.
[It’s been 4 or 5 years since we last met. Hope you can make it to the UK (read: S&B) at some point]
Happy 2016 to everyone!!
I didn’t get any and after looking here for explanations, still didn’t understand 1a, 9a, 11a, etc. What a complete waste of time.
@Cookie – marvellous picture; Reichenbachfall, isn’t it?
@David
you have my word on it
Cookie @32
Lovely!
In the comments on the crossword aztobesed has posted “Why, we hear, Ted left contaminated foodstuff? (3,7,4)” and then replied to himself with “Y’ + anagram (-Ted) + d.duty anagrind = &lit”.
If this is meant to be an alternative clue for 7d, I don’t think it works. First, there is no definition. The last word “nuts” can’t be both parts of the clue. Second, if one makes the anagram out of “contamina” (‘contaminated’ minus ‘ted’) there is no word left which actually indicates the anagram. “Contaminated”, which would ordinarily suffice, cannot fulfil both functions.
I do not see how this suggested clue, if this is what it is, could be explained in a conventional way.
Sad to say, I’m with those who thought this way too difficult. I’m an experienced and generally competent solver but managed only five clues after two sessions totalling an hour. Thanks, scchua, for the blog. I appreciated the explanations but mainly it left me feeling irritated with the setter. I’m with Old fakir @34 in asking the editor for fairer clues.
As may be gathered from above, I thought this was much too difficult for a Guardian crossword. I know I have complained about this a number of times.
I have been doing the Guardian crossword since about 1960 and found it sometimes straightforward and sometimes difficult. I really used to enjoy Araucaria and usually managed them. Isn’t he supposed to have been the best setter? I now find most of them too difficult. It may be the onset of dementia but I have no other symptoms.
I have bought (note the word) the paper most of that time, I would say 1/3 for the crossword and 2/3 for the news and comment. I now find that the crosswords are not enjoyable and that the people who do enjoy this level of difficulty don’t, it seems, buy the paper. The tail seems to be wagging the dog!
JohnM @43 – I’m sorry you feel that way. I may be in the minority now, but I still buy the paper almost every day, though on weekdays I rarely find the time read as much of it as I should. Enigmatist has a deserved reputation as a difficult setter, but we see him very rarely these days, and his clues are often works of art. Having looked at a lot of archive crosswords recently, some of Bunthorne’s were pretty hard too (for example there was one that needed an in depth knowledge of obscure French cheeses), so I don’t think the occasional difficult one is anything new.
median @41
I agree that it was very difficult, but unfair? I think not – all of the parses, once explained, made sense. That’s what you get with Enigmatists.
bh @43
I have a subscription to the paper, but I generally do the crossowrd on a printout, so that the rest of the family can actually read it!
I’m not the fastest solver, and this was hard but fair. As I said above, Enigmatist’s clues are rather convoluted but clear enough when parsed.
However, the level of difficulty is an issue that will never be resolved – you can’t please all of the people all of the time. I suppose the editor just has to take a view on this.
I have nothing but regard for Mr Henderson but would agree with those who found this one of the hardest puzzles of the year – I did get there in the end, but only after spending literally hours tackling it, on and off. Still, better the occasional incredibly tough challenge than an endless parade of Chifonies, what? Many thanks to the setter and blogger!
1st pass … Nothing.
2nd pass 1 clue.
3rd pass … 4 more clues.
Eventually I finished it.
Killed the time before the bells.
Have a great new year to all.
Ps – leave HH alone. It would be a dull site if we all agreed.
I thought this was wonderful, and surely to cry NOT FAIR on finding it too challenging is the sort of sore loser behaviour we’re supposed to have been socialised out of before our teens?
I enjoyed this although I don’t think it was as difficult as some on here seem to think. It just required a little perseverance. Eventually what seemed to be impenetrable became quite obvious.
I’d never heard of Theandric or Theic but the crossers got me there in the end. (Although I didn’t like “little bit of rum” for “r”!
I don’t see the problem with hh. I never read his posts as to me they are badly written, poorly punctuated, slightly dull and a rather obsessive. If you don’t like them don’t read them.
Thanks to scchua and Enigmatist
Sadly, having solved 17D (ASPIRATE) on sight and tried and failed on a few others, I had no more time for this puzzle today and won’t have time for it later. However, I made sure I found the time to read the blog as I always enjoy it. It seems I have missed what to some of you was a very challenging puzzle. I think I would have found it difficult too.
I really don’t understand the parsing of 17D, by the way, even though I solved it. It was easy enough, and a simpler clue like “Humming sound at first makes snake angry” would have been more comprehensible, with a smoother surface.
Thank you all for your contributions over the year. Happy New Year.
OMG Enigmatist – what a pleasure – started around 9pm and wanted to finish by fireworks – goodness stared at it for ages (maybe the increasing alcohol was a factor 🙂 Anyway FOI OPTIMIST LOI THEANDRIC (well I’d filled in everything else – just searched I’m afraid – but seems a bit obscure to me) – I didn’t get the wordplay for many – just did them by intuition – Enigmatist reminds me of Araucaria sometimes…
… or indeed Araucaria…
My wife and I took twenty minutes to solve this but to be frank our time would have been better spent watching paint dry. Like so many of this setter’s crosswords it was self-indulgent and boring. We finished it in order not to be beaten by it, and for no other reason. It’s in 2, 14 is at best misplaced (more likely wrong) and 24 across is just plain wrong as within should precede organ transplants. 9 across is theologically offensive. Other than that, it’s probably a wonderful crossword.
Overall I enjoyed this but some of the clues were ridiculous. 4d in particular is a classic “solve from the letters” & then parse – especially difficult in this case for the non-Brits here. I got 4d but again I thought the word play was way too difficult to be of use in solving the clue.
I did enjoy 21a.
Thanks Enigmatist and scchua
I usually park the crosswords of this setter for a while, but after finally finishing one of his older FT puzzles that stretched across an elapsed month and a bit, thought that I would leap straight into this one ! Completed it within the 24 hours this time, including watching the New Year in on the beach after another 40 degree day down here.
Needed lots of dictionary help, as is the standard with him – a lot of new terms NOB (jack), TOM (prostitute), THEANDRIC (‘demigod’), THEIC (compulsive tea drinker), HEN (as a direct meaning of coward), INBREAKS (invasion) and KIRKCUDBRIGHT (the Scottish town). Many of them only after seeing that they were a part of the parsing fodder in the blog itself.
My FOI was also NANTES and finished up with ADDRESS TAG (which took an age to verify the definition of, and even longer to parse the first bit of it – ADD and RES) and THE NAUGHTY STEP (which was another new term that I forgot to list above).
Compared to other Guardian puzzles, this one was certainly hard – compared to other offerings by this setter (in particular, the last two Io ones that I have done, it was seriously a lot easier). Always get a real sense of achievement when I can finish his works. Getting all the parsings, well that’s a whole new level !!!
hh, I hope that you can lighten up a little in the New Year and enjoy puzzles for what they are – an interesting diversion rather than an A-level grammar class. The biggest consequence of your posts that I lament, is that over the past year we have lost the contributions of setters such as Qaos and Puck (to name a couple) to this blog.
Seasons greetings to all … and may the quality of the crosswords continue into this new year !!
david @53. I have both an apology and a question for you on the Io thread.
David @53
Happy New Year. I hope you’ve recovered from your over indulgence. 🙂
Some people become very grumpy when they drink too much. Others lose track of time. 😉
I personally find all theology offensive to intellect but still fail to see why the straight cluing of the SOED definitions of two words could upset anybody.
I’m looking forward to your answer to John H’s question.
Almost impossible for me as I couldn’t get into the mind of the setter.
Which made me getting a single clue right even more satisfying!!
(7,22d as you ask)
I finished this (after a fashion) too late last night to comment here, and this morning was busy. For the second time over this Christmas/New Year period (the first being Paul’s on Monday), I was stuck with only a few entries and eventually asked DH to read the blog, let me bounce some ideas off him and (for those clues for which that wasn’t enough) to give me some hints. Even then, he more or less had to tell me 9a as both THEANDRIC and THEIC were new to me too.
I’ve come to the conclusion that (for now, at least) Enigmatist is above my skill level, but I’m reassured to see that I’m not alone in that. That’s not a complaint – there’s no reason why the Guardian Cryptics shouldn’t sometimes stretch even the best solvers here, though apparently even this puzzle was easy for some of them. I’m off to try today’s puzzle, and then I still have Imogen’s Boxing Day Prize and printouts of Maskarade/Gozo’s Guardian and FT Christmas jigsaws and Dante/Rufus’s FT Prize skeleton to tackle …
There is a little matter that is outstanding on this day’s blog.
hedgehoggy wrote a post @18 that was negative in parts but not offensive. An hour or so later baerchen wrote a post @21 that was inflammatory and offensive. hedgehoggy rightly objected to it @23.
Since those posts a couple of contributors, whom I will not name, have come out in support of one or other of the offensive parts of baerchen’s post. Other contributors, to their great credit, have made intelligent, sensible comments in an attempt to restore civility and reasonableness or to divert us back to the crossword. (The administrator has not stepped in yet, and I think he is exercising good judgement, but of course he can step in, as he did recently on another matter.)
baerchen’s post @21 was out of order. I would like to see the offensive part(s) retracted.
Many of hedgehoggy’s previous posts have been gratuitously negative, or worse, and have rightly attracted critical comment every time. I didn’t realise that two setters (at least?) have gone away from this site as a result of such posts by hedgehoggy, but I take it as a fact (I believe Sil van den Hoek when he informed us of that very recently). That is something that hedgehoggy must take responsibility for, and I venture to say that he (she?) has some credit to make up to this community for that reason.
I admire this site (with particular reference to the Guardian pages, which are virtually the only ones I see and contribute to), and I look forward as always to reading comments of all flavours from everyone, including all those mentioned in this post.
This post is late, but I hope it is seen at least by all the protagonists in this drama.
Alan Browne @60
A very sensible contribution – well said.
Alan @60 – sorry if I upset anybody, but I will gladly make the same resolution to leave this debate to others this year, though that does not mean silence is consent.
Happy New Year
Alan Browne @60, well said – there is an interesting post by Picaroon @26 today on Andrew’s blog of Philistine’s crossword.
muffin, beery hiker and Cookie (61, 62, 63)
Thank you for your short posts in reply – all appreciated.
I have now read Picaroon’s long and interesting post in the following day’s blog.
Alan Browne @60
Well put.
Fortunately, Picaroon’s post in today blog suggests that fears about the effect of hh’s posts on setters may be largely unfounded, though losing even one setter who would otherwise post here would be a pity.
@Alan Browne
I only just read your post, and apologise if you or anyone else found my remark to be inflammatory and offensive.
My intention was to be harsh, certainly.
I assure you this will not happen again; with best wishes for a happy 2016
baerchen @66
I’m afraid I have only just noticed your post – I must have taken my eye off the ball.
I must thank you for your welcome response to my longer post above which I gave so much thought to. Long may we agree and disagree on whatever interesting points come up from Guardian crosswords in 2016.
jennyk @65
My thanks to you too for your supportive post (not your first!). I remain hopeful of a change in mood and focus concerning one topic in particular – and soon.
All the very best for 2016.
Brendan @57 My response to John H’s question can be found on the Io blog. It goes, “I’m agog to know the response to my comments, too – particularly the misplaced it’s in the beef wellington clue and the misplaced within in 24.”
You seem to be another of the setter groupies that seem to be cop up here and the rest of your comment doesn’t merit a response.
OK, David (now capitalised, I presume you are the same as david),
(i) why is “it’s” misplaced?
(ii) why is “within” misplaced?
(iii) why haven’t you answered my other question about the puzzle above?
Come and meet some of my “groupies” on Saturday. You might have fun.
Dear John
Answering a question with a question is old hat, but I’ll answer your questions just to show willing and to give you no excuse for not answering mine.
“It’s” in the beef wellington clue is superfluous. You’ll see that schua’s analysis doesn’t deal with the “it’s” component. So do explain how it fits in.
And “antra” is not within the phrase body cavities as far as I can see. Please show me where I’m going wrong.
I found the enigmatist puzzle self-indulgent for its laziness. Inbreaks? Theandric? I suspect they came from a reverse dictionary. Worse, it was boring.
The third is merely a matter of opinion, but do please enlighten me about the first two.
Golly, John. No answers. Why am I not surprised?
Now then children, play nicely please.
Thanks scchua for the blog and to Enigmatist for a tough challenge (but not as tough as his latest FT challenge I’m relieved to say).
This took a few sittings but got there in the end without fully parsing 9ac, 27ac, 1/13dn and 4dn. All very good now I know how!
I usually have a similar solving experience to Brucew. This time not – NANTES was my last in (his first). Mainly because I had ASPIRANT at 17dn. Changed tack when I finally realised.
Thanks again.