Crossword News February 2023

 Crossword News February 2023

The January Prize Puzzle was Leading Character by Vismut. Incorrect letters from the wordplay gave Amy, Meg, Jo, Beth. Correct letters gave a jumble of Louisa Alcott. Three letter abbreviations are for ten months of the year missing March and May. The March sisters were the heroines of Louisa May Alcott’s book Little Women which appears when you turn over the M that is the leading character of March and May in the grid.

Here are some of the comments from solvers.

A very interesting puzzle.  Wasn't too difficult to figure out the three letter abbreviations once the first one was confirmed, but that was about the only give away.  The interesting theme, clever clues, and the beautifully worded final instruction to achieve the intended effect made this most enjoyable.  Even the deliberate (I believe) avoidance of MAR and MAY from the abbreviations has a logic and subtle connection that is well thought out, even if not elaborated on in the puzzle.  Many thanks.

When the preamble said three letter abbreviations and then referred to twelve across clues I mentally combined the two and came up with the months of the year, so off to a good start, if for no valid reason. Rather a novel experience to have 4 letter answers where the wordplay for only a single letter is given. At times I found the wordplay harder to unravel than to come up with the definition. My favourite clue was the heavy metal one, blacksmiths or ear bones. I do have a lingering doubt, were we only required to invert the M to a W to complete Little Women, as it did remove from the final grid May and the March family. Many thanks to Vismut.

I'll have a go at this puzzle.  I can't understand the final sentence of the preamble.  I can only assume that MAY must turn up between LOUISA and ALCOTT to yield LITTLE WOMEN.  Excellent clues.  The first missing triplet I found made it obvious what the others would be.  It was helpful that they were all at the start of entries.  The omission of MAY and MARCH was a delightful touch.  The device to yield the names was original, good fun and very tricky in a few cases.

There were 52 entries of which 15 were marked incorrect. The puzzle proved very popular and attracted a lot of praise.  A high error count, mainly (11 of the 15) through a failure to identify the 'leading character' that had to be inverted to reveal 'Little Women'.

The lucky winner, picked from the electronic hat, was Tony Harker from Oxford, who will soon be receiving a prize of Chambers Crossword Dictionary which was donated by the publishers.

There is a full solution at https://crosswordcentre.blogspot.com/2023/02/solution-to-leading-character-by-vismut.html

The February Prize Puzzle is Cross Contamination by Coot. We are hoping for a record entry, so do give it a try. https://crosswordcentre.blogspot.com/2023/01/february-prize-puzzle.html

The March challenge will be High Bar by Hawk.
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In the i-paper John Henderson reported on the death of Geoff Moss, “Gaufrid”, the keystone of the Fifteen Squared website.

Requiescat in Pace
This week we mark with sadness the recent death of Geoff Moss, from April 2009 to June 2022 the dedicated steward of the crossword resource Fifteen Squared. Within 36 hours of last week’s announcement on the site that is his legacy, “Gaufrid” had racked up a century of fond tributes from solvers old and new, fellow bloggers and many setters. For further insights, follow Monk’s link (comment 88) to a 2013 “Crossword Unclued” interview. FifteenSquared’s equivalent of Just a Minute’s Nicholas Parsons or Countdown’s Richard Whiteley (comment 100)? I’m not sure what Geoff would have made of that. John Henderson (Nimrod)
https://www.fifteensquared.net/2023/01/23/gaufrid-rip/
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The Inquisitor review of 2022 puzzles has now been published. Many congratulations to first-time winner Artix, coming up on the rails to edge out previous Shield-holders Pointer and eXternal in a blanket finish

https://www.fifteensquared.net/2023/02/04/inquisitor-review-of-the-year-2021-2-the-results/
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As I promised last month, I have posted another vintage crossword on the Crossword Centre blog. The Gift Car by Torquemada is one of his narrative puzzles. Once popular, this sort of puzzle used to pop up in the Listener. I haven’t had time to solve it yet, so I would be appreciative if anyone spots an error in my transcription.
https://crosswordcentre.blogspot.com/p/the-gift-car-by-torquemada.html
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Following the huge success of the republication of Torquemada’s mystery novel, Cain’s Jawbone, there is news of another one. The comedian and writer, John Finnemore, was the first to solve the 21^st century edition and now he has written his own mystery novel which will also be published as a box of 100 postcards. You can find out more and pre-order a copy at this link - http://johnfinnemore.blogspot.com/2023/02/untitled-mystery-untitled-mystery.html
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The Listener Crossword Setters’ Dinner will be taking place on the 4^th March at the Mercure Bristol Grand Hotel. On the Saturday afternoon, guests are welcome to meet at the Cornubia pub. I am sorry that I won’t be able to attend this year, but hope to be there next year. To celebrate the golden anniversary of the event, you can now order the special gold ties and brooches.
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You will be amused to read the article by Chris Lancaster, Telegraph crossword editor. The title gives it away – My husband does the crossword every night in bed – and it’s causing us problems. Click here
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After the republication of Torquemada’s mystery novel, Cain’s Jawbone, was a success, now a French edition joins Italian and Portuguese (Brazil) translations in publication. La Mâchoire de Caïn, sauriez-vous résoudre l’énigme la plus diabolique du monde?

 Can you solve the world's most diabolical mystery? https://livredepoche.com/livre/la-machoire-de-cain-9782253940265
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Congratulations to our marker, Robert Teuton, whose first Mephisto puzzle was published in The Sunday Times on 12 February. The 19 February saw the debut of John Grimshaw, the second new setter in the rotating team of four for the Mephisto crossword.
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We have received details of a competition which solvers in search of an extended challenge may like to try: it is composed by a Crossword Centre and Azed participant and is intended as a rewarding sort of fund-raiser for two charities from his local area. A prize is offered. If interested, send a request to this address: komornik1cryptics@gmail.com
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Thanks to Jon Delfin for pointing this out.
Quote of the day, from actress Felicity Kendal:

I never eat breakfast but I get my brain into gear by doing the Times [of London cryptic] crossword. When Michael comes downstairs, he looks over my shoulder and says, “My dear, you do realise that none of those answers are correct.” Like Eric Morecambe, I tell him that they’re the right answers, but not necessarily in the right order.
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Best wishes
Derek