Crossword Centre Prize Puzzle March 2022

 Endless Shame by Chalicea

PDF version

   3,31 made a false claim then 21,22 claimed to be 8,11 (7,3,4,2,4) all unclued. Solvers must highlight in the grid what each of them was ultimately recognised to be.

Across

    2    Melancholy Yankee finally receives airmail letters (6)

    7    Good, right and at heart apropos to critically examine wrestling hold (6)

    12    Gran consuming a type of bread (4)

    13    Will's bedraggled bream regularly smeared with cooking fat (8)

    14    Dishonest scheme US backed for trees (6)

    16    One who ran errands once; base eastern Scottish porter (5)

    17    A French bastard made someone hobble and was not censured (8)

    18    Penned in Soho, undisciplined dog (5)

    19    Heartily suspects one variable English weight of long ago (5)

    20    Dismal time lacking ten cents for cubes of glass (6)

    23    Rejected vessel's advance payment (4)

    24    Give money to pay for something - special soft object (5)

    26    Direction repeated; enough said for bard (4)

    29    Dialect phrase so thoughtfully used (7)

    32    The fault of mostly the Crawley family's abbey (6, 2 words)

    33    Phosphorus and iodine polymers occasionally found in Edinburgh's fireworks (6)

    35    Tropical tree in region around cape (5)

    36    A universal old Cypriot coin for a tax collector (5)

    37    Main ally in disarray physically (8)

    38    Casually reject police inspector's mark (5)

    39    Couple of parties consuming most of ray fish (6)

    40    Largish, going round centre of wheel and capable of being grasped (8)

    41    Always endlessly rigorous (4)

    42    Answer returned about European yapper (6)

    43    Be irked by countermanded orders college ignored (6, 2 words)

Down

    1    Labs say run-ups managed in a way that cannot be exceeded (13)

    4    Not the same as tribunal I keenly covered (7)

    5    Disorderly repayments, part dubiously missing for obedient followers (6)

    6    Appears upset for ducks (5)

    7    No dogma by arrangement for Benny, US clarinetist, King of Swing (7)

    9    See revolutionary composition for cityscapes (6)

    10    Old PM in charge - idyllic! (6)

    15    Let loose a rural swan (5)

    24    Conventionally represent with flair securing prizes essentially (7)

    25    Fees, we are told are mostly for the bard's one who settles business (7)

    26    Singular person with body covering - one who curses (7)

    27    Enclosure of disorderly clan welcomed by first lady (7)

    28    Street now and then mauled; brought to a standstill once (5)

    30    Not oddly, help busiest before end of service - worn out in Maxim's (6)

    32    In Glamis, stagger laddie inordinately (6)

    34    Put up special containers for storing small bolts on Clydeside (5)

To enter this competition, send your entry as an image or in list format including the highlighted cells, to ccpuzzles@talktalk.net before 8th April 2022. The first correct entry drawn from the hat will receive a book which has been donated by Chambers.

Crossword News February 2022

 Crossword News February 2022

Last month our Prize Puzzle was Obi by Wan, a puzzle that ended with a very pretty grid. The hint from down clues gives WORDS WINGS TO BIRDS WINGS. Solvers were to use the letters in pairs to replace letters in the two end columns forming birds in eight rows. The ninth pair was to be used along with the title to make ROBIN, which had to be written under the grid.

Here are some of the comments from solvers.

A most enjoyable puzzle, thank you Wan.  After getting a few answers I then found it quite difficult to progress, not knowing which across clues had the removable letters.  So I concentrated on the down clues and progressed from there.  Some words that were new to me (always a pleasure) made it a little more difficult here and there.  I had no idea of the next stage until I had almost all of the down clue missing letters.  I had wondered if 18a was a hint and so it proved to be.  THRUSH was easy to spot then BIRD but that did not fit the letters removed from the cross clues.  A nice PDM when I realised that the new entries had ten letters each.  The spare RN neatly made the title into the 9th bird.  Very neat and most enjoyable.  A good start to the year.

What a fantastic puzzle! This might be my favourite Crossword Centre puzzle so far. I had a completely full grid before the penny dropped with quite a loud clunk! A fantastic construction; quite remarkable to fit ten-letter birds in alternate rows without needing to resort to anagramming/cycling etc.  Thanks for the puzzle,

This was an entertaining puzzle which didn't yield its secret until quite late on. The double letters in the 9 across clues were well-hidden - not knowing which clues made things harder! The extra letters in the downs gave a suitably cryptic message (which I hope I've correctly interpreted!). All in all, a pretty good puzzle - clever of Wan to find enough suitably 'alterable' 10 letter birds and even cleverer to distribute them evenly. Let's not forget the ROBIN! Thanks!

There were 52 entries, of which 2 were marked wrong. Those solvers who wrote ROCK PIGEON were marked correct. The lucky winner, picked from the electronic hat, was Michael Crapper, from Whitchurch, who will soon be receiving his prize of a copy of Chambers Crossword Dictionary which is donated by the publishers.

There is a solution to Obi at https://crosswordcentre.blogspot.com/2022/02/solution-to-obi-by-wan.html

There is still lots of time for you to solve our February puzzle, Missing Letters by Conto. https://crosswordcentre.blogspot.com/2022/01/crossword-centre-prize-puzzle-february.html

Our March Prize Puzzle will see a return of popular setter, Chalicea, with Endless Shame. We will be welcoming submissions of puzzles for the summer months.
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Although it was twice cancelled, Richard Heald has announced that there will be a special lunch at Wolfson College, Oxford, on Saturday 28th May to celebrate the 50th anniversary this year of the Azed crossword in The Observer.  The price of the lunch will be £60 per head, and will include a three-course meal plus wine, followed by afternoon tea at Azed's house close to the college.  For further details and a booking form please contact heald.richard@googlemail.com.
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Richard gets a mention in E. Dawid’s winning clue for BALDERDASH.

 In clueing, R. Heald’s bad? Nonsense! (anag.; ref. leading AZ competitor).
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February is the month when last year’s statistics are published. We now know the results of our Prize Puzzles for 2021. 104 solvers entered the competitions and a grand total of 6 people managed to survive the 14 puzzles of 2021 unscathed.  In descending order of total all correct streak, they are:

Matthew Auger
Brian Betker
Andie Johnson
Philip Wood
Gerry Murtagh
Clive Walker

As the first three have already had possession of The Cup and have since maintained their all-correct run, the Crowther Cup passes to the next longest all-correct which is Philip Wood, so hearty congratulations to Philip!

Just behind the top 6 were the following, with just one error in the year:

Keith Williams
Tony Harker
John Reardon

This year entrants can request their individual records for the full year 2021 if they so wish.  They should email Robert Teuton toots@tinyworld.co.uk Please keep separate from competition entries and please be patient.
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The results are now in for the voting on Inquisitor puzzle of the year 2021. In top place was Character Assassination by eXtent, the team of eXternal and Serpent, It was based on Mark Dunn’s “progressively lipogrammatic” novel Ella Minnow Pea, in which letters intermittently dropping from the pangram on a monument are banned from use on the isle of Nollop. In second place was Clue Two V by eXternal closely followed by Hedge-sparrow with Fieldwork. You can see all the results at http://www.fifteensquared.net/2022/01/22/inquisitor-review-of-the-year-2020-21/
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More results are posted in the Magpie. A select group of super solvers got all 72 puzzles correct in 2021.

1= Daniel Angel 12 12 72 [210.3]
1= Tim Burt 12 12 72 [204.2]
1= Shirley Curran 12 12 72 [207]
1= Andrew Dunn 12 12 72 [213.2]
1= James Leaver 12 12 72 [212.4]
1= Simon Melen 12 12 72 [210.5]
1= Sara Rae 12 12 72 [213.3]
1= John Reardon 12 12 72 [194.6]
1= Keith Sutherland 12 12 72 [211.3]
1= Don Thompson 12 12 72 [204]
1= Clive Walker 12 12 72 –
1= Philip Wood 12 12 72 [204.5]
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On our clue-writing site the results are out for the 2021 season. Congratulations to John Tozer who came top in a close tussle with Tom Borland. You can see all the results here http://www.andlit.org.uk/cccwc/ann_results.php?year=2021
John only made it with his winning anagrams for the Christmas Boxed Set.

Cue: Bring Presents / Demand Santa Hat / Turkey Dead, Chablis On Hand

(Bruce Springsteen/Adam and the Ants/Ian Dury and the Blockheads
***
Congratulations to John Grimshaw. The Times Concise Jumbo No. 1539 was the 1000^th that John had created since his first on January 3 2004.
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Since its inception a few months ago, the word game Wordle has enjoyed exponential success. It has been announced that the game’s inventor, Josh Wardle, has sold his game to the New York Times. He has promised that the game will continue to be free and that your scores and streaks will be maintained after the change.
https://www.theguardian.com/games/2022/jan/31/wordle-new-york-times-buys

However, it seems that there are two versions of Wordle each day as well as a half dozen copies and expansions such as Quordle.
***
The Listener statistics will be announced at the annual dinner in Stirling. I will not be going to the dinner this year due to debilitating arthritis/carpal tunnel pains.

Best wishes
Derek

Solution to Obi by Wan

 Solution to Obi by Wan

Highlighting is just for clarity and not required for submission. 

The hint from down clues gives WORDS WINGS TO BIRDS WINGS. Solvers were to use the letters in pairs to replace letters in the two end columns forming birds in eight rows. The ninth pair was to be used along with the title to make ROBIN, which had to be written under the grid.

 

 

Crossword Centre Prize Puzzle February 2022

Missing Letters by Conto

For each clue, one apposite letter is absent from the wordplay. Clues are listed alphabetically by answer. Answers should be fitted into the numbered grid.

PDF version

A mature saying (5)

Fruit beer distributed with obscure packaging (9)

East of Switzerland, old queen makes trench (7)

Situation in court – ten playing against ten (7)

One committed to assasinate the King in state capital of Eswatini (7)

Fish used to provide these, cryptically – roe upon sea’s surface (9)

Father nude…Nude? That’s a crime! (5)

Come to be cuddling a special seal (6)

How mum passes buck to a guy for shark wrestling (2,3,4,6)

Attic smell (5)

Bill and Dorothy’s dog eaten by eagle – filleted or whole? (4-2-3)

That man sung songs (5)

One key number that is imaginary or unknown (5)

Young person (that’s posh) by the banks of Venice river (8)

City leaders in advance talks with Conto’s waste disposal facility! (8)

Starts to lay out utensils and to serve oriental fruit (7)

Mother with large boy getting the train? (7)

Meals regularly dispatched by one very loud dog (7)

Standard or dairy-free Galaxy? (2,3)

Dog and Duck football team (7)

Broken toy, buckets, bottles and locks one’s gathered (9)

Socialist’s repeatedly taken drugs, thus declines (7)

Misguidedly met up with her online, i.e. exchanged contact (9,6)

Turnover of three-hundred dairies containing teats (5)

Heated with heat (6)

‘Bungle Bear’ is an animal (5)

 To enter this competition, send your entry as an image or in list format, to ccpuzzles@talktalk.net before 8th March 2022. The first correct entry drawn from the hat will receive a book which has been donated by the Chambers. 

Crossword News January 2022

 

Crossword News January 2022

Happy New Year!

Last month we had three seasonal puzzles. The Prize Puzzle was Seasons Greetings XIII by Eclogue. Rings two and four provide: A DOLL’S CRACKED MIRROR, ROLL OF STICKING PLASTER, A COFFIN NAIL, THREE BAD SIXPENCES and A MENTHOL CONE, all ingredients of the Starkadder Christmas PUDDING in Stella GIBBONS’ short story “CHRISTMAS AT COLD COMFORT FARM”.

Here are some of the comments from solvers.

Wow, that's some pudding - had not encountered this before!  Thanks to the crew for the customary Christmas puzzle, another traditional seasonal treat to look forward to each year.

What a wonderful antidote to a cold and miserable weekend (not to mention being a bit off colour following my booster [but well worth it.])  This puzzle was a joy.  Consistently good cluing, mixing in the occasional unfamiliar word, made up a really good recipe; unlike the subject of the puzzle.  My memories of Cold Comfort Farm were limited (the ever simmering pot and the woodshed within which there lurked something nasty) so it was a welcome refresher, thanks to Google.  A high quality book and a high quality puzzle.  Thank you Eclogue.

A neat exploitation of an interesting theme.  While I have read Cold Comfort Farm, the prequel had passed me by, so needed some internet help to complete the items.  Good fun piecing it together, so thanks to Eclogue for maintaining this seasonal tradition.

There were 53 entries, of which 8 were marked incorrect. The lucky winner, picked from the electronic hat was Jack Nichols, who will soon receive his prize of Chambers Crossword Dictionary.

There is a full solution at https://crosswordcentre.blogspot.com/2022/01/solution-to-seasons-greetings-xiii-by.html

The December Special was Ring Cycle by Hedge-sparrow. The theme is the set of seven O ANTIPHONS (also known as the Great Os of Advent), which are Magnificat antiphons used at vespers on the final seven days of Advent.  The title of each antiphon comprises the word O followed by a Biblical name of Christ.  Six of the Biblical names – SAPIENTIA, ADONAI, RADIX JESSE, CLAVIS DAVID, ORIENS AND REX GENTIUM, appear as unclued entries in the grid.  The seventh, EMMANUEL, occurs hidden in the final grid in the shape of an O (to be indicated by solvers).

Here are some of the many comments from solvers.

Brilliantly conceptualised and designed, this puzzle is perhaps one of the most entertaining I've attempted from these pages.  The wordplay and surfaces were an absolute delight, kept going back to read them over even after solving.  True, extra letter in clues give possibilities, but using them in the right places to good effect is an art which the setter has accomplished extremely creatively. A very apposite theme given the season.  Many thanks.

Another intriguing theme, and how appropriate for Advent. I had some early good fortune in getting several letters of the across answer in the top row, and "_AD_XJ ..." seemed likely to be RADIX followed by a second word beginning with J. That soon led me to the theme. Brewer's was no help as it was only after I had finished that I discovered that the relevant entry was indexed under "Seven" (and cross-referenced from "O") - nothing under "Advent", "Antiphon" (not featured at all) or "Vespers"!

Many thanks for an enjoyable puzzle with a difficulty level that was just right for me, as well as a theme with which I was entirely unfamiliar!

There were 56 entries, of which 2 were marked incorrect. The lucky winner was Graham O’Neill, who will be receiving a prize book.

There is a solution at https://crosswordcentre.blogspot.com/2022/01/solution-to-ring-cycle-by-hedge-sparrow.html

The December bonus puzzle was What’s it Look Like? by Artix. In this puzzle the bars gave the letters of BUBLÉ and the unclued entries were albums of Michael Bublé. CHRISTMAS had to be highlighted as an answer to the title, referencing the single, It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas.

Here are some of the comments from solvers.

Artix excelled in constructing this. You looked initially, thought a simple little bonus puzzle, then thought Artix - perhaps not. I found this by far the most difficult of the three December puzzles, with its clever clues, obscure answers, definitions only, word play only etc. So much in such a small grid. When I figured out the TO BE LOVED answer I did think it might be a song and apparently Adele has recently issued it, but too recent to have made it into this puzzle. When CRAZY LOVE emerged, it was the internet to the rescue leading me to Michael Bublé, but it was only when I put the bar pattern on a blank grid that I saw it was spelling out his name.

Interesting mechanic with the short answers (and clever how the alphabetical order even made things like "Number" deducible quite quickly) - I found this a really fun gridfill. Having the nine-letter answers meant that not too much cold-solving was required before checking letters started to assist too. Groaned a little bit when the theme became apparent (not my musical cup of tea!) but still a very fun carte blanche. Thanks.

This puzzle proved to be a tough challenge. There were 32 entries, of which 2 were marked incorrect. The lucky winner was R Benz, who will soon be receiving a prize book.

There is a solution at https://crosswordcentre.blogspot.com/2022/01/solution-to-whats-it-look-like-by-artix.html

You still have lots of time to solve this month’s Prize Puzzle, Obi by Wan.

The February Prize Puzzle is by a new setter. Missing Letters by Conto is a blocked grid with a twist. Based up in Fife, Conto started setting seriously in 2019. Since then, he’s been published by 1 Across magazine, Magpie magazine, and on Alberich’s puzzle website. You can also see some of his more experimental puzzles on mycrossword.co.uk.
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A new word game has quickly become very popular. Wordle is the invention of Josh Wardle, an engineer at Reddit. Basically, it is a guessing game to find a five-letter word. You get 6 guesses. If a letter in your guess is in the word it turns yellow, if it is in the correct position, it turns green. You have probably seen people tweeting their results. Nicely you can only play once each day. Find out more in this Guardian article https://www.theguardian.com/games/2021/dec/23/what-is-wordle-the-new-viral-word-game-delighting-the-internet
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An essay by R H Jackson, entitled Beastly Clues, is a detailed view of the early days of crosswords and  the involvement of T S Eliot and Torquemada. Well worth reading at https://publicdomainreview.org/essay/beastly-clues
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I hear, from a reliable source that the crossword setter o the Irish Times is retiring and editors are looking for a replacement. The Crosaire cryptics, with their famously non-Ximenean clues, are currently set by Crosheir. The thought of composing 6 puzzles every week seems a task too onerous for most setters!
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There is a review of the 2021 Inquisitor crosswords on Fifteen Squared. You can read the votes and opinions of solvers at https://www.fifteensquared.net/2021/12/31/inquisitor-review-of-2020-21-by-nimrod/
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On the clue-writing site the challenge for January is a normal clue to UNDERGROUND (11), entries in before 31 January. http://www.andlit.org.uk/cccwc/main.php

Ed Hall won the November competition with this clue to SOUSAPHONE.

Use a spoon when consuming hot liquid – blow on it! (10)

Best wishes
Derek

Solution to What's it Look Like? by Artix

 What's it Look Like? by Artix 

The bar pattern “spelled” [Michael] BUBLÉ, three of whose albums were unclued. The title of the single It’s Beginning to Look A Lot Like CHRISTMAS explained the highlighting. 

Group A Group B [definitions underlined]

In the morning (2) AM Man running around madly, full of energy (9) CAT HECTIC

Cuckoo (3) ANI

Jewish month AV Maybe Stuart’s independent females who made lots? (6) MOIRA [Stuart] + I

Steal (old slang) (3) CLY Eager to conceal lecturer’s past explosion of wind (5) L in BORE

Crow (3) DAW Old ancestral Bible translations, second one incomplete (6) AV + ITAL(a)

Italian author (3) ECO Space in network’s compound (6) EN in RETE

Letter (2) EL Inside church, this raunchy salt could be considerate (9, two words) (c)ONSIDERAT(e)*

IT interface (3) IDE Oil and bread for the Romans, after capturing Troy (9) T in [CHRISM + AS]

Stinging moth (2) IO Awkward blood relative kills bolshy liar (9, three words) [BLOOD RELATIVE less LIAR]*

Palm (3) ITA Handled officer after greeting newspaper boss (6)  HI + LT + ED

Heraldic yellow (2) OR No. 3 from Fifty Shades of Grey? No time for that! (6) EROTICA less T

Tribe’s land (3) REZ County Down’s supporting estate? (6) CAR + LOW

100 céntimos (3) SOL Stop permit for bird of prey (9) TIERCE LET

Number (3) TEN Mostly ‘green’ axes pierce cut right through (9, two words) [RA(w) ZY] in CLOVE

Sesame (3) TIL Finish fight in tented village (5) DO WAR

Number (3) TWO

Solution to Ring Cycle by Hedge-sparrow

 Solution to Ring Cycle by Hedge-sparrow

The theme is the set of seven O ANTIPHONS (also known as the Great Os of Advent), which are Magnificat antiphons used at vespers on the final seven days of Advent.  The title of each antiphon comprises the word O followed by a Biblical name of Christ.  Six of the Biblical names – SAPIENTIA, ADONAI, RADIX JESSE, CLAVIS DAVID, ORIENS AND REX GENTIUM, appear as unclued entries in the grid.  The seventh, EMMANUEL, occurs hidden in the final grid in the shape of an O (to be indicated by solvers).