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    Crossword help thread

    Help for the stuck. Or just bitch about crossword setters you don't like. Whatever.

    At the minute I'm about halfway through this month's Guardian genius crossword. On the other hand I'm nowhere at all with today's Gordius one.

    #2
    Crossword help thread

    I thought this was going to be a thread about help for people who do crosswords.

    Comment


      #3
      Crossword help thread

      Lyra wrote:
      Help for the stuck. Or just bitch about crossword setters you don't like. Whatever.

      At the minute I'm about halfway through this month's Guardian genius crossword. On the other hand I'm nowhere at all with today's Gordius one.
      You've got 15d though?

      (one of those smiley things!)

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        #4
        Crossword help thread

        Oh ha ha!

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          #5
          Crossword help thread

          hello

          Gordius is a bit of bastard i reckon.

          I think I like Paul best, for sheer wit, and then probably Araucaria, who feels like a sort of crossword shakespeare to me

          Comment


            #6
            Crossword help thread

            What the fucking fuck are the Guardian playing at today? Check that shit out.

            (Unless it's just one cocked-up print run, that is, in which case yours might be fine.)

            That Tactical Genius talks a lot of sense, I reckon.

            Comment


              #7
              Crossword help thread

              What's wrong with it? I've only briefly glanced at it online so far but I didn't notice anything amiss.

              As far as setters go, I agree with mafu - Paul's probably the best of the bunch on current form, I reckon - witty, tricky and satisfying. He's run very, very close by Brendan, though, who I think is also superb - and I enjoy the fact that his puzzles always have some sort of theme, either overtly or hidden and unnannounced (his puzzle this week was one for Toro and G-Man to enjoy).

              Comment


                #8
                Crossword help thread

                In mine, the entire crossword inset dates from a previous day, with an Araucaria puzzle I've already done and a set of answers to one that wasn't yesterday's.

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                  #9
                  Crossword help thread

                  Well, I learned one new word from yesterday's Guardian crossword: the "bride's fine" one. I'm still suck on a couple over towards the right-hand side. May be more words I don't know.

                  Comment


                    #10
                    Crossword help thread

                    In mine, the entire crossword inset dates from a previous day, with an Araucaria puzzle I've already done and a set of answers to one that wasn't yesterday's.
                    Ah right, blimey. Well that's not affected the online version, at least, so you can always go there instead (and you can print off a PDF that's in exactly the same format as in the paper if, like me, you prefer writing in the answers to typing them in on-screen).

                    It's an Orlando today, who's another one I like.

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                      #11
                      Crossword help thread

                      I like Paul's naughty side, yeah.

                      The online crosswords are great, don't get me wrong, but the Java thing is so annoying. The save answers function doesn't work in Chrome and it's bastard stopped working in Firefox now. And it only even opens the page half the time, if that.

                      This is a longwinded way of saying I haven't started today's yet.

                      What was the 'bride's fine' answer then? I only got about halfway through yesterday's.

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                        #12
                        Crossword help thread

                        Merchet. A new one on me too.

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                          #13
                          Crossword help thread

                          Are we allowed to ask for help if we don't read the Guardian?

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                            #14
                            Crossword help thread

                            Not allowed, required.

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                              #15
                              Crossword help thread

                              Oh of course, it's meant to be a general thread.

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                                #16
                                Crossword help thread

                                I'm expecting an oh-so-humorous car insurance ad to appear on my tv any moment now with a claymation mediaeval betrothed going on in a silly voice about compare-the-merchet.com

                                Comment


                                  #17
                                  Crossword help thread

                                  I don't suppose anyone saw the Everyman crossword in yesterday's Observer? It's not a crossword I do very regularly but i'm trying to introduce Mrs Hofzinser into the world of cryptic crosswords at the moment, and the Everyman, being considerably easier than your average Araucaria, is a useful entry point.

                                  Anyway, there was a clue in it as follows:

                                  Musician sang - live broadcast (8)

                                  We confidently entered "Vangelis", but the checking letters from other clues soon made it apparent that the only answer that fitted was "svengali".

                                  I thought it was kind of weird because it looked to me like "Vangelis" had originally been clued, only for the crossword to be revised - but then no one noticed that the new word didn't fit the clue (which is sort of understandable because on first glance it looks like it could fit).

                                  Comment


                                    #18
                                    Crossword help thread

                                    I do the Everyman most weeks because it's easy! Although I've one or two still to get this time. Anyway that clue's attracted a bit of comment, you aren't the only person who's said that. Personally I got Insects first so didn't think of it! But someone said that the Svengali/Vangelis anagram was recently a clue in the Times too.

                                    Comment


                                      #19
                                      Crossword help thread

                                      Apparently Svengali was indeed a musician, though, so it does fit. I've not read Trilby.

                                      I think here we have an even clearer case of the gasometer/megastore problem; there really is nothing to choose between those two answers.

                                      Comment


                                        #20
                                        Crossword help thread

                                        I didn't know that the original Svengali was a musician. That perhaps changes things a bit. However, also not having read the book, I'd argue that it's a bit obscure to define it in that way. The Wikipedia entry for the character, for instance (I know, I know) mentions nothing about him being a musician, so it doesn't seem to have been the most memorable or important part of the character, and "svengali" and "musician" are clearly not remotely synonymous in terms of the way the former has entered the language.

                                        I mean, is it really any fairier than using "musician" as the definition for Sherlock Holmes? (And a lot more obscure.)

                                        Comment


                                          #21
                                          Crossword help thread

                                          I think Brummie is my new favourite setter, I really liked their puzzle this week. Today's Guardian one is weird, one of those where I've got most of the answers but have no clue how 75% of them relate to the clue. Normally I tend to get the answer before working it out, but today I can't work it out.

                                          Comment


                                            #22
                                            Crossword help thread

                                            Yeah, I like Brummie a lot too. He's also the Private Eye setter under his other alias, Cyclops, fact fans.

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                                              #23
                                              Crossword help thread

                                              Help bail out a dullard.

                                              Can't finish the sodding Observer one.

                                              Fury shown by boy with incomplete toy [6]

                                              A-E-T-

                                              alexty?
                                              alecto?

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                                                #24
                                                Crossword help thread

                                                Alecto.

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                                                  #25
                                                  Crossword help thread

                                                  Thankee kindly misser nEarth

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