Friday, 29 May 2020
Crossword Centre Prize Puzzle June 2020
Monday, 18 May 2020
Crossword News May 2020
Crossword News May 2020
The April Prize Puzzle was the twelfth in our series of
Round Robin crosswords. The unusual theme was discovered by Scotsman Ian
Simpson. Extra letters rendered from wordplay spell ROBERT PATERSON DAVID LLOYD
GEORGE SEVEN POUNDS. The two names lead to the Wikipedia entry for THE TURRA
COO (the unclued down entry), sold at auction for £7 following a protest over
unpaid National Insurance contributions. The answers to eight normal clues had
to be entered without NI (National Insurance), and the message LENDRUM TO LEEKS
had to be highlighted.
Here are some of the comments from solvers.
I thought this was a remarkable creation which held on to
its secrets to the last moment of solving, and prompted a fascinating Wikipedia
read about an incident of which I’d never heard before.
Hats off to those involved in the concept and grid design,
those were really the hallmarks of this puzzle.
Some nice clues too, with the extra letter allowing for some creative
wordplay. Could identify David Lloyd
George early on (even with some intervening blanks) but the father/son combo
associated with Robert proved elusive for quite some time, so the theme yielded
perhaps at the very end, after which it was mostly plain sailing for the end
game. The thematic adjustment for
entries was good fun, it did require some reflection to sink IN! Thanks for the entertainment.
No single setter-wavelength to tune in to and a theme that
was completely unknown to me. Thank you
for the advice on searching.This has kept me enthralled for days and when, at
last, the theme became apparent I laughed out loud. I had been thinking it was linked to DLG and
his problems in Ireland. A really good challenge for me and I send my thanks to
all setters and everyone else involved in its production.
This was something of a tour de force with so many clueing
styles, an unusual theme and a great sense of satisfaction having solved
it. This was a difficult solve.
Acquiring knowledge about the theme was worth the effort in itself!
There were 51 entries, of which 3 were marked incorrect. The
lucky winner, picked from the electronic hat, was Tony Harker, who will be receiving
shortly a copy of Chambers Crossword Dictionary, which was donated by Chambers.
Solvers were asked to vote for their favourite clues. The
top three clues were.
2 down - NOSOLOGIST - Steve Bartlett - 12 points
16 down - FREQUENTER - Keith Williams - 12 points
10 down - MATZAH - Rod Bell - 10 points
The results gave a tie for first place but as Steve gained
more first place votes we have decided to award him the prize. Many thanks to
John Nicholson and Ian Simpson for conceiving tis fascinating puzzle and to all
the volunteers who contributed to the clue-writing. A full record of the voting
is attached at the end of the newsletter.
A solution is available at http://crosswordcentre.blogspot.com/2020/05/round-robin-xii-solution.html
There is still time to complete and enter the May
competition, Free Hit by Rebus.
The June Prize Puzzle will be That’s Life by Flowerman.
***
Congratulations to Azed who has published his 2,500th Observer
Crossword. This is a remarkable achievement. Jonathan Crowther took over the
post after the death of Ximenes in 1972 and has continued to produce weekly
puzzles of the highest standard. Unfortunately, due to the pandemic, the
celebratory lunch in Oxford has had to be cancelled but, provisionally, will
now take place on 26 September.
You can read a nice interview with Azed from the Oxford Mail
at https://www.oxfordmail.co.uk/news/18455041.observer-crossword-compiler-azed-reveals-identity/
***
Martin Woods, who compiles crosswords for the Big Issue, has produced a guide
to solving cryptic crosswords. The guide includes mini-grids to help learners
in the solving process. I am sure that it will be helpful to the growing number
of new solvers.
https://www.indigoextra.com/how-to-solve-cryptic-crosswords
***
The long-running crossword in the New York Times may be due some changes after
a mini-revolt from solvers and setters. Hundreds of crossword constructors and
enthusiasts co-signed a letter to the man in charge of the New York Times
puzzles, voicing concerns about implicit bias in a system that they believe
favours old, straight, white men and erases the voices of minority crossword
constructors and solvers.
https://www.vice.com/en_us/article/qjd7kx/new-york-times-crossword-constructors-are-fighting-against-its-systemic-bias
***
Paul Pridmore has informed me of a rare crossword book which is available to
download on-line. Torquemada’s Crosswords in Rhyme for Those of Riper Years was
published in 1925.It consisted of twelve puzzles with the clues written in
rhyming couplets. The blocks in the grid are arranged to represent a picture;
for example, in the puzzle with the title The Bat the blocks are arranged to
give the silhouette of a bat. There are some worrying unchecked letters but
most of the entries are double checked in the manner of an American crossword
grid.
Here are the first two clues in the book.
1. Though not with Pope’s economy defined
I am the proper study of mankind (12)
8. Ben Gunn was one of us: and we exploded
To warn you that the other guns were loaded (7)
You can access this gem at https://archive.org/details/TorquemadaCrosswordsRiper/page/n1/mode/2up
***
John Halpern, better known as the setter Paul, has recently celebrated 25 years
of setting puzzles for the Guardian. In an interview he reminds us of his
famous puzzle where he sneaked a lot of rude words into the grid.
https://www.theguardian.com/crosswords/crossword-blog/2020/apr/20/crossword-blog-25-years-of-pauls-puzzles
***
With the increased interest in crosswords, The Magpie have released still more
puzzles to the public. You can download issue 18 for free at this link.
https://www.piemag.com/category/public/sample-puzzles/
***
Mark Goodliffe and Simon Anthony have continued to have huge success with their
Cracking the Cryptic YouTube channel. A recent video had over 3 million views
and the site now has over 184.000 subscribers. You can watch that 3 million
video at https://youtu.be/hAyZ9K2EBF0
The success has now meant that there is a YouTube video about them. It is worth
watching at https://youtu.be/m5J9TkpBZf4
***
The clue-writing competition is continuing to be the best on-line focus for
smart clues. Your challenge for May is a STANDARD CRYPTIC clue to ELDERS (6) by
the closing date of MIDNIGHT BST FRIDAY 29th MAY. http://www.andlit.org.uk/cccwc/main.php
***
You may have noticed that I am using a new blog. It seems to work quite well at
https://crosswordcentre.blogspot.com/
The previous one is still available at https://crosswordcentre.wordpress.com/
but I am now unable to edit it.
Best wishes
Stay safe
Derek
Answers to the Torquemada clues 1. Anthropology 8. Maroons
All clues receiving points in Round Robin XII
Across
1. 6pts
12. 3pts
13. 6pts
14. 4pts
15. 1pt
17. 7 pts
18. 4pts
19. 5pts
21. 3pts
26. 7pts
28. 6pts
31. 1pt
33. 8pts
35. 2pts
36. 8pts
37. 2pts
Down
1. 3pts
2. 12pts
3. 6pts
7. 3pts
9. 8pts
10. 10pts
11. 8pts
16. 12pts
22. 2pts
23. 3pts
25. 2pts
26. 2pts
32. 6pts