Crossword News September 2023

 Crossword News September 2023

The August Prize Puzzle was Right is Wrong by Flowerman. Extra words had pairs of consecutive letters, some in the right order and some in the wrong order. However, only examples of the reverse order pattern can replace letters in perimeter cells such that all new entries in the grid are real words.

The title suggests which is the particular pattern to enable completion of the puzzle: “right”, ie correct, is the reverse pattern as exemplified by ON in WRONG, while the forward pattern as exemplified by GH in RIGHT is “wrong”.

Here are some of the comments from solvers.

Great idea for a puzzle, brilliantly executed - many thanks to Flowerman and the Crossword Centre!

Enjoyed this puzzle, had a fair idea of what was coming in the end game as the solving progressed, but the neat part was that till every entry and extra word was sorted out, changes could not be visualised.  As it happened (and expected!), the pattern from extra words sorted themselves out into 2 neat groups of 10 each, so the title came in handy in the end.  Amazing grid construction skills and intricate clues.  It was satisfying that in the final grid AZ also materialised, so all 26 possible pairs were accounted for.  Many thanks.

A neat puzzle. The preamble and the unusual words were a bit of a giveaway, but I liked the way the twenty extra words were made up of two sets, and it was the reversed pairs that we needed. Adjusting the perimeter was a nice final challenge.  Thanks to Flowerman!

There were 36 entries, of which 8 were marked incorrect. The lucky winner, picked from the electronic hat, was Rod Beards who will be receiving a prize of a book donated by Chambers.

There is a full solution and notes at https://crosswordcentre.blogspot.com/2023/09/solution-to-right-is-wrong-by-flowerman.html

You have until 8th October to email your solution to the September challenge, Farewell by Hedge-sparrow.

The October Prize Puzzle will be Strauss Work? By Chalicea.

Since my last newsletter, I have received three submissions and the puzzles are fantastic! The pipeline is now full up to February. I am very grateful.
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In a fascinating article by Alan Connor in the Guardian, he tells of how Douglas Adams and A J Ayer tackled the puzzles of Araucaria. In the article you can link to the relevant crosswords. The puzzle that Ayer attempted was one of Araucaria’s imaginative inventions – a Scrabble jigsaw puzzle!
https://www.theguardian.com/crosswords/crossword-blog/2023/sep/18/crossword-roundup-can-you-solve-guardian-puzzles-tackled-by-douglas-adams-and-aj-ayer
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An article in the International Business Times lists Influential Masters In The Crossword World. They are mainly American masters but Ximenes gets a mention. You can read it here
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Frank Paul’s book The Twelve Quizzes of Christmas will be published in paperback on the 26 October. You can pre-order now on Amazon.

Also recently published is the Sunday Times Cryptic Crossword Book 3.
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The 2023 Times Crossword Championship will be held on Saturday October 21st at Times HQ. Booking started on 4^th September and there is room for 200 participants. There will be no space for spectators, although there is bound to be a gathering of like-minded souls at the George Inn on Borough High St.
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The latest Azed Slip is available on the Crossword Centre at http://www.crossword.org.uk/Azedslip.html
In the competition for DEFINIENDA, our puzzle marker, Robert Teuton, gained first prize with this nice clue for a difficult word.

I find last ones in puzzle recondite and struggling I may look them up in Chambers

(anag. incl. e, e).
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An article in the Guardian, with the sub-title not just a hobby for men like Inspector Morse, seemed interesting. However, it was, as Richard Heald commented, a scattergun piece that reads like an AI experiment. Make your own conclusion here

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Finally, birthday greetings to John Green, whose 75th was celebrated in Tiburon’s Listener crossword which asked solvers to send a birthday card and not the grid. He must have received a record number of cards!

Best Wishes
Derek