Crossword News December 2023

 Crossword News December 2023

The November Prize Puzzle was No Subtitles by Pandiculator. Several clues were entered lacking an anagram of LIFE. First letters of remaining across clues’ extra words spelt out FILM, DIRECTOR, and SCORER. These pointed towards the cult 1982 experimental non-narrative film Koyaanisqatsi: Life Out of Balance, whose director (Godfrey REGGIO) and scorer (Philip GLASS) appear as part of 13dn and 12dn.

Extra letters from other down clues spelt out SIX CELLS MAIN DIAGONAL. Changing six cells along the main diagonal revealed KOYAANISQATSI while maintaining real words or names throughout the grid. The title alludes both to the thematic clues and the non-narrative nature of the film.

Here are some of the comments from solvers.

A tough challenge. I eventually made the breakthrough when I identified "scorer" in the extra words' initials, guessed the rest of the message was "film director" and spotted "Glass" in the grid. The Hopi-language hidden title with its six replacements has restricted the grid-fill, forcing several entries to be quite obscure and/or have a lower than usual amount of checking, but it all came together nicely in the end. Many thanks to Pandiculator and The Crossword Centre.

A wonderful puzzle, bit on the tough side.  Nice devices used with something happening in every clue.  It became fairly clear that the 'sub-title' deletion comes from an anagram of LIFE, but I had not come across this particular movie before, and pursued a few red herrings including Life of Pi before the duo of Reggio and Glass provided the right context.  Once again, an amazing feat of grid construction, symmetrical too, and real words always - not so easy given the long thematic entry with its quirky spelling.  Much enjoyed, many thanks.

What an obscure topic!  I was not aware of the film, or Reggio, so I was perhaps lucky to recognise Glass as the "scorer". A bit of googling and I had my new diagonal.  I must admit I have not fully parsed 12d or 15d so I will have to look out for those in the solution notes.  Cheers to Pandiculator.

There were 36 entries, of which 3 were marked incorrect. The lucky winner, picked from the electronic hat, was Robert Zara, who will be receiving a prize book.

There is a solution with the initial grid and final grid at https://crosswordcentre.blogspot.com/2023/12/solution-to-no-subtitles-by-pandiculator.html

You still have time to email your solution to our December challenge, Seasons Greetings XV by Eclogue.

The January Prize Puzzle will be Untitled by Hawk. I may have to publish this before Christmas as I shall be away until the new year.

John Nicholson has announced our forthcoming Round Robin puzzle and has asked for volunteer clue-writers. https://www.tapatalk.com/groups/crossword_centre/round-robin-xvi-t532.html

We are desperately in need of another dozen clue-writers, so do not hesitate to get in touch with John.
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When Brian Head inaugurated the Crossword Club in 1978, it was a fantastic development. For the first time, solvers and setters had a forum for their comments, interesting articles to read and a chance to enter competitions. 45 years later, the new co-editor, Keith Williams, has published a collection of puzzles that appeared in the CROSSWORD magazine. Revive 45: The First Crossword Club Collection was published this month.

The first thing you notice is that the 160- page paperback book is in A4 format, with a nice large font and space for big clear grids. The binding is good and you can easily open the book flat. There is a short foreword from the founder, Brian Head and an introduction written by Keith. The 45 puzzles are organised into 9 sub-categories of types of thematic crosswords, plain, Carte Blanche, Circular, Square Bashing, Playfair, Printer’s Devilry, Rhyming puzzles, Christmas and Milestones. Each group is introduced with a brief explanation and at the end of the chapter there is a page of hints to help solvers. There are puzzles by some past heroes, Apex, Mass, MynoT, Salamanca and Schadenfreude, some by stars of the Listener, Kea, Elgin, Dimitry and many of my own favourites, including Bandmaster and Bufo. After the puzzles there are full-page solutions with notes.

Revive 45 is a treasure-trove of thematic crossword for only £12.99.  With its explanations and hints it would be an excellent introduction to the more advanced puzzles for a beginner. I am looking forward to tackling the puzzles during the holidays.

The Crossword Club is still going strong and you can access articles, puzzles at their website, as well as how to subscribe to the CROSSWORD magazine, either digitally or hard copy. https://www.thecrossword.club/

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This is the time of the year when the dictionaries announce their Word of the Year. As I mentioned last month, Collins chose AI (artificial intelligence. Now the Cambridge dictionary have chosen another word connected with AI - hallucinate. When an artificial intelligence hallucinates it produces false information.

More publicity was given to the choice of the Oxford University Press. Their winner was RIZZ - style, charm, or attractiveness; the ability to attract a romantic or sexual partner. Apparently, it derives from the middle of the word charisma. They had a short-list of 8 words and readers could vote.

Swiftie (n.): an enthusiastic fan of the singer Taylor Swift.

de-influencing (n.): the practice of discouraging people from buying particular products, or of encouraging people to reduce their consumption of material goods, esp. via social media.

beige flag (n.): a character trait that indicates that a partner or potential partner is boring or lacks originality; (also) a trait or habit, esp. of a partner or potential partner, viewed as extremely characteristic, but not distinctly good or bad.

rizz (n.): style, charm, or attractiveness; the ability to attract a romantic or sexual partner.

heat dome (n.): a persistent high-pressure weather system over a particular geographic area, which traps a mass of hot air below it.

prompt (n.): an instruction given to an artificial intelligence program, algorithm, etc., which determines or influences the content it generates.

parasocial (adj.): designating a relationship characterized by the one-sided, unreciprocated sense of intimacy felt by a viewer, fan, or follower for a well-known or prominent figure (typically a media celebrity), in which the follower or fan comes to feel (falsely) that they know the celebrity as a friend.

situationship (n.): a romantic or sexual relationship that is not considered to be formal or established.

The Economist magazine chose the Yoruba verb – japa. In Yoruba, japa loosely translates to "run away" or "escape." Over time, the term found its way into Nigerian slang and has become a colloquial expression used to convey the idea of swift and evasive action.
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For me the clue of the week was in a tough Times cryptic.

Boy phoning, ringing no Scottish or Italian number (2,5,1,6)
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In his Guardian article, Alan Connor has announced the retirement of long-serving crossword editor, Hugh Stephenson. “The Guardian’s well loved crossword editor Hugh Stephenson – who took over from the first editor John Perkin in 1997 – has decided that a quarter of a century of puzzles is probably service enough.”
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I shall be looking forward to seeing my family at Christmas and maybe trying some seasonal crosswords. There is a jumbo by Fieldfare in the Spectator, one in Private Eye by Cyclops and the Azed Christmas competition will be out on 24 December. I wish everyone a happy Christmas and peaceful new year.

Best wishes
Derek

Clue of the week = LA DONNA E MOBILE (nae in lad on mobile)