Crossword Centre February Prize Puzzle

 Annus Mirabilis by Phylax

PDF version

The letters entered in the eight circled cells (read from top to bottom, left to right) must be interpreted and the answer written below the grid. These letters must then be changed appropriately and twelve entries highlighted. The Chambers Dictionary (2016) is recommended

Across

    1    Lover losing head and firing off anonymous mail (6)

    6    Antelope, male and female, mostly entering water (7)

    11    Reckon Del and Rodney initially argue about van? Quite the opposite (9)

    12    Lucerne's advance led by two narrow-minded bigots like me (3)

    13    Rent wasted - I moved just ahead of time (5)

    14    Damned short trousers beginning to shrink (5)

    15    Limits surrounding car's rear indicators (6)

    16    Recalled rarely spending day bottling soft, dark syrup (8)

    18    Solitary East-ender perhaps knocking fellow out (5)

    19    PC with a lot of pills 'liberating' fifty (5)

    22    King's left naked - we just can't stop looking (7)

    24    Service one returns from a long way off (4)

    25    Against holding essentially irreverent spelling bee? (5)

    26    Signal with one foot (4)

    28    Special place being lined with electronic organs (7)

    31    Walker largely whistled African music (5)

    32    Low village, deserted? Drive past it (5)

    33    Right away, Garfunkel's backing his partner in classic song (8)

    36    Stage in motor sport (6)

    38    Bats are ill - no end of fur in the gut (5)

    39    Cream cake's last piece low in calories (5)

    40    Look lively, ignoring cold (3)

    41    Less strict about singular sort of party - that livens things up (9)

    42    Elizabethan places on high ground sink, see? (7)

    43    Reptile emitting nasty smell, fish vacated lake (6)

Down

    2    Corded material covering carpeting (7)

    3    Mum's going to shopping centre (4)

    4    Some say I romanticize about Indian language (5)

    5    Correctional canes lacking iron? They could get broken (5)

    6    Dull five-day cricket match, cut for cinematic screens (6)

    7    Stopped to relax with case of Australian wine (8)

    8    Charge extra following Britain's exit (4)

    9    Overcoat left in concourse having marks removed (6)

    10    Accepted person maintaining machinery throwing it out subsequently (5)

    12    Expert spinners, each one busy near nets (7)

    13    South American boys principally like dances (6)

    17    Criminal eyes guards around bullion (5)

    18    Becomes soft and weak for Will - propositions striking prince, taking Kate’s lead (5)

    20    Times contains exclusively drivel (7)

    21    Plot to trick father, seizing power (8)

    23    Lady Chatterley, perhaps, wanting to learn neglected position (6)

    27    Hate abandoning husband in Florida where roughnecks hang out? (7)

    29    Irish swimmer to sleep upside-down, having swallowed over two litres (6)

    30    Cornish town is suffocating for some (6)

    32    Month in France, covering for rogue official there (5)

    34    Worry that boomerangs threaten bears (5)

    35    One given Ecstasy brought in by dealer's drone (5)

    36    Big cash prize, apart from lifting top honour (4)

    37    Intimate game for teams of 12 without clothing (4)

o enter this competition, send your entry as an image or in list format describing the highlighted entries, to ccpuzzles@talktalk.net before 8^th March 2024. The first correct entry drawn from the hat will receive a book from the Chambers range, which has been donated by Chambers.

Crossword News January 2024

 

 Crossword News January 2024

The December Prize Puzzle was Seasons Greetings XV by Eclogue. I SAW THREE SHIPS sounded like EYESORE (BLOT, STYE) TREE (GEAN, NEEM) SHAPES (SQUARE, TRIANGLE).  Three triangles are to be drawn through ARGO, MARY ROSE and THE MAYFLOWER to produce the Christmas tree image.

 

Here are some of the comments from solvers.

 

I thought that this was a really fun and clever puzzle, possibly my favourite so far in Eclogue’s seasonal series. I was completely mystified by ABC until I read the theme words out loud - a wonderful PDM! Spotting the 3 ships took a little time but it was obvious where to start looking and the final picture is very Christmassy (despite me completing it in January!). Thanks Eclogue - looking forward to seeing what you have planned for 2024...

A superb and delightful puzzle.  Wacky, seasonal and extremely clever.  The fog gradually rose from the obscure preamble to reveal a broad smile oh the face of any solver.  'Eyesore tree shapes' indeed!  Meaningless until spoken out loud, then so obvious.  A large amount of thematic material in the grid.

 

A gentle but fun end to 2023, which is as it should be. The grid-fill was steady, and the only delay came when wondering how ships of different lengths could delineate congruent triangles, which of course have perimeters of identical lengths. So 10/10 for English, but you lose a mark for the maths. Many thanks to Eclogue and the Crossword Centre.

 

There were 51 entries, of which 13 were marked incorrect. The lucky winner, picked from the electronic hat, was Clive Walker of London, who will be receiving a prize book which has been donated by Chambers.

 

There is a full solution at https://crosswordcentre.blogspot.com/2024/01/solution-to-seasons-greetings-xv-by.html

 

You still have time to solve and enter our January challenge, Untitled by Hawk. https://crosswordcentre.blogspot.com/2023/12/crossword-centre-prize-puzzle-january.html

 

The February Prize Puzzle will be Annus Mirabilis by Phylax.
Thanks are due to John Nicholson for designing our next Round Robin and to the volunteer clue writers who contributed. You will get a chance to try Round Robin XVI in March.
***
Congratulations are due once again to Mark Goodliffe! No, we have not held a secret Times Crossword Championship to restore him to the throne. On Friday Mark became a Countdown octochamp, a title given to the winner of eight consecutive rounds of the popular long-running Channel 4 game show.

 

In his last game against Laura Gilbert, Mark came from behind to win 105-82. In an early round his HANGOUTS was disallowed because it has a hyphen in the dictionary. He impressed even Susie Dent in dictionary corner by coming up with EQUANTS, a mathematical concept developed by Ptolemy in the 2nd century.

It is possible to watch Mark’s final show on Channel 4 - https://www.channel4.com/programmes/countdown/on-demand/75050-207
***
Nimrod has given an excellent review of the IQ puzzles of 2023. Unfortunately, by the time you read this, it will be too late to vote.
https://www.fifteensquared.net/2023/12/30/179828/
***
Paul Pridmore sent me this interesting quote from a book published in 1938.

MILITARY CRYPTANALYSIS, PART I. MONOALPHABETIC SUBSTITUTION SYSTEMS by WILLIAM F. FRIEDMAN

Principal Cryptanalyst, Chief of Signal Intelligence Section, War Plans and Training Division

From the INTRODUCTORY REMARKS:

   The present author deems it advisable to add that the kind of work involved in solving cryptograms is not at all similar to that involved in solving "cross-word puzzles", for example. The wide vogue the latter have had and continue to have is due to the appeal they make to the quite common instinct for mysteries of one sort or another; but in solving a cross-word puzzle there is usually no necessity for performing any preliminary labor, and palpable results become evident after the first minute or two of attention. This successful start spurs the cross-word "addict" on to complete the solution, which rarely requires more than an hour's time. Furthermore, cross-word puzzles are all alike in basic principle and once understood, there is no more to learn. Skill comes largely from the embellishment of one's vocabulary, though, to be sure, constant practice and exercise of the imagination contribute to the ease and rapidity with which solutions are generally reached.
***
Thanks to Fred Safier I have learned that Emily Cox and Henry Rathvon have retired. Their last puzzle in the Wall Street Journal was December 17. Often publishing puzzles under the pseudonym Hex, they wrote the "Atlantic Puzzler", a monthly cryptic crossword in The Atlantic magazine, from September 1977 to October 2009. They continued with puzzles in the Sunday Globe and the Wall Street Journal. They were pioneers in US crosswords and their puzzles in the Atlantic used barred grids and clever themes.

They will be missed. I wish them a happy retirement.

All their puzzles from the Atlantic and the Journal are archived at www.coxrathvon.com.
***
On the CCCWC your first challenge for 2024 is a STANDARD CRYPTIC clue to AMAZON (6) by the closing date of MIDNIGHT GMT WEDNESDAY 31st JANUARY.
http://www.andlit.org.uk/cccwc/main.php

 

In the competition for a clue to WASHINGTON Philip Sant won with this.

What guy's face, and name, is on bucks?

Anagram what +g + n + is on
***
The latest Azed slip is available now on the Crossword Centre. The Christmas puzzle was a Spoonerism special and the winning clues are a master class in writing a Spoonerism definition of FLÂNEUR.
http://www.crossword.org.uk/Azedslip.html
***
My clue of the week is Mick Hodgkin’s topical cryptic clue.

 

Job held by Mr Bates, mistreated after snafu internally suppressed (3-10)

***
Home decorating has meant a lot of clearing out. I have found some old crossword books that I have put up for sale if anyone is interested.
https://crosswordcentre.blogspot.com/p/rare-books.html
***
Best wishes
Derek

 

Topical clue SUB-POSTMASTER S(naf)U (POST (job) in anag. MR BATES. Ref. Mr Bates in the Horizon post-office scandal.

 

Solution to Seasons Greetings XV by Eclogue.

 Seasons Greetings  XV by Eclogue SOLUTION

I SAW THREE SHIPS sounded like EYESORE (BLOT, STYE) TREE (GEAN, NEEM) SHAPES (SQUARE, TRIANGLE).  Three triangles are to be drawn through ARGO, MARY ROSE and THE MAYFLOWER to produce the Christmas tree image.

Across

1 VARIATION C1 = square; 

5 THEMEWORD A = eyesore; 

O 11 tunnel; TUN + N[O]EL<

13 Anglos; hidden; americAN GLOSsary

N 14 yelt; [N]YE + LT

C 15 airn; [C]AIRN

16 VARIATION A1 = blot; 

17 Eloisa; EL + O + ISA; REF. Louis A.

H 19 ogee; GO< + [H]EE(l)

R 20 kegs; initials; K E [R] G S

21 rest; two meanings

23 uric; initials; U R I C

I 26 Kyra; hidden; quirKY R[I]Ant

S 27 meseta; (MET SEA[S])*

T 29 Ramism; [T]RAM + ISM

M 31 yerded; (DRY + DE[M]E)*

32 imides; (SE + DIM + I)<

34 lo-fi; foil*

A 37 arch; initials; A R [A] C  H

S 38 trew; [S]TREW

D 41 loci; COL[D]< + I

A 43 stot; STO[A]T

45 Agatha; GAT in AHA; Ref. A Christie

47 VARIATION B1 = gean; 

Y 48 orra; OR + RA[Y]

49 VARIATION B2 = neem; 

50 lawmen; ME in LAWN

51 Eskimo; ESK + I + MO

I 52 endorse; ROSE* after EN[I]D

53 THEMEWORD C = shapes; 

Down

1 VARIATION A2 = stye; 

2 quelea; QU + E + LEA

N 3 antiskid; STAIN* + KI[N]D

T 4 reasty; (AR[T]Y SET)*

5 euro; ROUE*

6 yangs; NG in SAY<

H 7 entêtée; [H]EN+TET+E(y)E

E 8 olla; L[E]O< + LA(p)

M 9 roopit; ROO[M] + PIT

O 10 estacade; EAST* + C[O]DE around A

12 liar; RAIL<

R 18 ogamic; [O + G[R]IMAC(e)]*

N 22 eagle; EA + GLE[N]

24 red-hot; (HORDE)* + T

25 VARIATION C2 = triangle; 

28 Sri Lanka; RIS(HI)  SRI + LANK + A

30 settler; (L + STREET)*

I 33 Mr Bean; (A[I]M BREN)*

N 35 fogash; FO + G[N]ASH

36 scheme;  CH in EMES<

G 39 roons; R + [G]OONS

40 ware; RAW< + E

42 bawd; W in BAD

44 THEMEWORD B = tree; 

46 Amos; hidden; medinA MOSque