February Prize Puzzle

 Cross Contamination by Coot

________________________________

PDF version

Clashes appear in ten cells. A one-word description of the theme can be made using one set of letters, and a two-word description using the other set. Solvers should fill the grid using the former and write the latter under the grid.

Across

1. E. Truss is bonkers, most likely (6)

4. Old funnymen's self-esteem wearing skimpy underwear? Not good (3,5)

9. Favourite in garden? "Varied aster bed", admits King (9)

11. Spirit level finally located behind a trailer, oddly (5)

12. Short video recalled enclosure from Epsom or Pontefract (5)

13. Two-thirds of fish in pan sparkle, done very quickly (5-4)

14. Principal artist lost without it (4)

15. Tense about working this evening (7)

19. Old squeeze, say (7)

21. Spam maybe bit of meat to cause distress (4)

24. After international match, approach gets automatic evaluation? (4,5)

26. Stuck setting, Coot's disappeared! (5)

27. What cuts cow having gut extracted with probes? (5)

28. Recent reported madness includes love for a nasty illness (9)

29. Quality stock (8)

30. Poor taste uniform required by school (6)

Down

1. Fight boy at wedding in process of getting wasted? (9)

2. Directed a war video - it's fast-paced but unwatchable! (5,4)

3. Close match... dismissal... runs... edge... over (6)

5. Top 40: where you might appear if your number's up! (3,4)

6. Keeper of poorly iguana backed medic to intervene (8)

7. Doubting marks of former student discovered lying about files (5)

8. Your task: take sample from aerosol ventilator (5)

10. Fresh milk found here, unopened (4)

16. Irritates one of the French retained doctors, perhaps (9)

17. Fleet, initially failing to depart, tortuously trace signal (9)

18. Quoted by awkward journalist (8)

20. Cushion for footballer's quiet, stylish home (4,3)

22. Egg on meat often served in bread, crusts removed (4)

23. Shellfish in small river starts to paddle intensely (6)

24. Cat's tail semi-upright by... (5)

25. ...sleepy Imam, periodically finding shade (5)

Crossword News January 2023

 

Crossword News January 2023

The December Prize Puzzle was Seasons Greetings by Eclogue. On a carte blanche grid, solvers had to enter blocks symmetrically to form a cross. A large X had to be drawn through the four X’s to form a CROSS word.

Here are some of the comments from solvers.

That was a great challenge. First having to cold solve a majority of clues without initially knowing the enumerations, then the clashing letters which made constructing the grid more involved. The ingenuity of setters like Eclogue who put things like this together is impressive. Thanks for some great entertainment.

Many thanks to the CC team and setters for these interesting challenges provided year round, year after year.  I always look forward to these puzzles, and once solved, eagerly waiting for the next.  Do appreciate the efforts that go into this.  Advance wishes for the festive season, wishing all of you a Merry Xmas and Happy New Year.

A very enjoyable challenge. It required a bit of thought to identify the shape required, with confirmation of it delayed by the many clashes, but once this was nailed down the rest of the puzzle fell quickly. Many thanks, Eclogue!

This proved to be a tough challenge. There were 38 entries, of which 8 were marked incorrect. The lucky winner, picked from the electronic hat was Dave Howell from Ilkley, who will be receiving a prize of Chambers Crossword Dictionary, which is donated by the publishers.

There is a full solution and notes at https://crosswordcentre.blogspot.com/2023/01/solution-to-seasons-greetings-xiv-by.html

You still have plenty time to solve the January challenge, Leading Character by Vismut.

The February Prize Puzzle will be Cross Contamination by Coot.
Coot took up setting crosswords as a lockdown hobby. He has published many puzzles on mycrossword.co.uk and has recently been ‘promoted’ from Big Dave’s Rookie Corner. Professionally, Coot is an independent consultant in the energy industry, currently working on projects aiming to replace natural gas in homes and businesses with environmentally-friendly hydrogen.
***
We now have all the results of our monthly competitions for 2022 and can announce the winner of the prestigious Crowther Cup. Many thanks to Robert Teuton for collating the results.

The Crowther Cup 2022

The All-correct List has grown to a total of 9 people this year.  In order of last time since an error/omission they are:

• Matthew Auger
• Brian Betker
• Andie Johnson
• Philip Wood
• Gerry Murtagh
• Keith Williams
• Ronan Cullinane
• Adam Vellender
• Bhalchandra Pasupathy

The list of previous winners now stretches down through the top 6!  So the next in line is someone whose last error was in July 2021...

...congratulations to Ronan Cullinane!

Close behind were those entrants with just one error/omission:

• Rod Bell
• Craig Fothergill
• Julian Stradling
• Clive Walker
• Glyn Watkins

After this:

• 10 correct - 6 people
• 9 correct - 7 people
• 8 correct - 8 people
• 7 correct - 4 people

Many thanks to all entrants for their continued support!

Robert can supply details of anybody's individual record for 2022 if they so wish. If you would like your record, you can email him at toots@tinyworld.co.uk.

A fascinating article in the Guardian lists all their crossword setters and gives a comprehensive history of their puzzles.
https://www.theguardian.com/crosswords/crossword-blog/2023/jan/10/a-timeline-of-guardian-crossword-puzzles
They still need more information on these, Nimrod, (not John Henderson), Hippo, Trumper, Robespierre, Grumbuskin, Keri, Chaucer and Kookaburra..
***
Last month I published an old puzzle by Torquemada. I enjoyed solving his ‘Knock-Knock’ puzzle and it did make me laugh. I was amazed at the interest in the crossword.
https://crosswordcentre.blogspot.com/p/knock-knock-by-torquemada.html

If you had a go at solving it, I have, as promised, now posted a solution with some explanatory notes.
https://crosswordcentre.blogspot.com/p/solution-to-knock-knock-by-torquemada.html

If anyone can help with more explanations, I would be grateful. I hope to publish another vintage crossword next month.
***
In case you have missed it, the Financial Times have started to present their setters.
https://www.ft.com/content/e612088c-d6e3-454d-a065-257fce1d6281

***
The latest Azed Slip, for the ‘Christmas Cards’ competition are now available on the Crossword Centre.
http://www.crossword.org.uk/Azedslip.html
***
On the CCCWC, the winner of the competition for PAPILLON was John Doylend with this clue.

Quivering lip on lap dog

This month’s competition is to write a clue to METROPOLIS.
***
I still use the Chambers CD-ROM on my PC and I find it very useful. The problem might be that on modern laptops there is no way to load a CD. I have got round this by copying the Chambers from my old PC onto a memory card and loading it onto my new one. As long as you have the code, it works fine on Windows 10.
***
Radio and TV presenter, Colin Murray, will be the next host of the TV show Countdown.
***
On a personal note, our trip to see family in Portugal for Christmas did not go to plan. When we set off the temperature was -7º. On our second day in Portugal, I received a phone call from our neighbour to tell me that water was gushing from our house. A frozen pipe in the garage had burst. Fortunately, our neighbour has our keys and was able to turn off the water. Unfortunately, the water had soaked our fuse-box, which had to be replaced. On the next day, my wife and I tested positive for Covid, which put a damper on our festivities. Now home and well, we hope for a better new year. Happy New Year to all!

Best wishes
Derek

Solution to Seasons Greetings XIV by Eclogue

 Seasons Greetings XIV by Eclogue - SOLUTION

The large X is drawn through the five symmetrically placed X’s to form the CROSSword

Across
Entry	Answer	Explanation
epic	ERIC	ciré<
mare	WARE	war + e
linos	LINTS	lin + (st<)
saver	RAVER	hidden; extRAVERts
MACAWS		ca in maws
MORASS		moss around ra
ANAXIAL		(ax + i) in anal
BAUXITE		(a + ux) in bIte
overripe	OVERRIDE	(rio verde)*
SLILY		silly*
IRENE		ne after ire
LLAMAS		a in small<
SPIGELIAN		(i spin a leg)*
RE-EXIST		re + (s)exist
MISLUCKED		(liked scum)*
FACTOR		fact + or
oasis	OASES	os around sea*
PINKY		Two meanings
RESINATA		Erastian*
wraxled	WRAXLES	w + r + axles
ELIXIRS		eli + xi + rs
RANCED		e for i in rancid
storey	STORMY	rots< + my
ETNAS		teas* around n
snuck	SNACK	N in sack
neat	NEAR	initials; n e a r
spae	SPAS	hidden; timeS PASt
Down
Entry	Answer	Explanation
Elma	ELMS	el + ms; Ref Nine Elms
PIANO		pi + a no
incavi	INCAVO	in + cav(e) + o
COAXERS		co + axe + r + s
MARXIAN		mar + xian
AVAILS		vail in as
resty	RESTS	initials; r e s t s
Erse	ERIE	(e)erie
swire	SHIRE	she around IR
SOUL MATE		soul + mate
SARNIE		arisen*
MASAI		as in mai
LIEGE-LORD		lie + gel + ord
BELLICOSE		bell + ie around cos
PLEXURE		lex in pure
prickles	TRICKLES	stickler*
skails	SCAILS	sails around c
MANX CAT		x between man and cat
STYED		st(a)yed
DIAXONS		(i + ax(e)) in dons
FIANNA		hidden; rufFIAN NAtives
snits	SNOTS	not in ss
STIR UP		stir(r)up
prate	CRATE	c + rate
ARECA		rec in aa
wren	WHEN	w + hen
SYKE		(k + yes)*

 

Crossword Centre Prize Puzzle January 2023

 

Leading Character by Vismut

Some clues have three letter abbreviations missing from the wordplay. Two from the set they would complete are missing. 12 across clues have wordplay which leads to the grid entry with one incorrect letter. The incorrect letters spell out four thematic names, the correct letters are a jumble of two more. These hints indicate which leading character must turn up to reveal what has to be highlighted.

PDF version

Across

1 Yes, Dutch spy leaving government was habitually lazy (6)

5 Feverish bug (7)

10 No odd bits in small neat bone (4)

11 One leg in six say not real (8)

13 Glen’s estate owners hit Mr Sid Little’s front wing first (6)

15 Ordinary lady with husband who is “God” (4)

16 Protective coverings beside square (6)

17 Scrap reviewing The Hobbit initially (5)

18 Something pungent from measure of land by blue Nile (8)

20 Sanction supporter (3)

21 Useless creeps stripped (4)

25 Adult getting into kid cycling team in America (9)

27 Minutes putting coat inside out (4)

28 Short horse pushed back crowd (3)

33 Bits of parasite left rabbits when cooked (8)

35 Ian’s shabby eastern isle jumper on the counter (5)

36 Local coppers under British rule, historically 50% of messengers (6)

38 Fair number ignoring Sabbath (4)

        39    Oil producing family delegates regularly kiss naked (6)

40 Antipope accepted light gratin (8)

41 English girl’s name (4)

42 Perhaps Sibyl needs support on topless gown (7)

43 Cooler for rustic to not have any ducks (6)

Down

1 Timeless sun god associated with Caesar (6)

2 Warning sound before art work lifted (6)

3 Quarter of the pack bringing down horse for dens (6)

4 Note promotion in the year yields nothing (4)

5 Passionate fellow in for piano run through (6)

6 Partners swapped corsets (7)

7 Plant Scottish own beside British colony in recession (8)

8 Harden fertiliser by pushing out piece (5)

9 Former remover at home filling new role carrying earl (7)

12 Heavy metal hits on these! (6)

14 Take in current joke during conversation (6)

19 Cylinder, bolt and drone say protecting outside of turret (8)

22 Concerning European order (6)

23 Ties up fishing equipment carried by female donkey (7)

24 Tops of ash, viburnum and oak having eight leaves (6)

26 Mistake over relative’s massage (7)

29 Oscar’s entertained by 50% of Lhasa apsos barking welcomes (6)

30 Version of major Italian writing system (6)

31 Putting up short drunk relatives inside (6)

32 Letter’s got one fewer es (6)

34 Briefly embarrassed first female district judge (5)

37 Libel ignoring fourth letter raised standards (4)

To enter this competition, send your entry as an image,  or in list format with an explanation of the shading  to ccpuzzles@talktalk.net before 8th February 2023. The first correct entry drawn from the hat will receive a book from the Chambers range, which has been donated by Chambers.

Crossword News December 2022

Crossword News December 2022

The November Prize Puzzle was Big Bang Theory by Poat. 

The puzzle commemorated the obliteration of an atoll in the Marshall Islands on 1 November 1952 as part of the US nuclear test programme known as Operation Ivy (spelled out by corrections to misprints). The delivery device was codenamed Mike, highlighted in the central spiral of cells, with letters of the island ELUGELAB eliminated in turn from eight answers. Solvers were also required to highlight the symbols for Fermium and Einsteinium in the grid (FM and ES), elements confirmed through later analysis of the fallout.

Here are some of the comments from solvers.

This puzzle was all the more enjoyable because I had not previously heard of Operation Ivy (and even when I googled it the first references were to an American punk rock band of the same name!), nor of the former island of Elugelab, nor indeed that the Operation led to the discovery of two new elements. So warm thanks go to Poat for an instructive as well as entertaining and ingenious puzzle.

This puzzle was a blast! This was a challenging test of solving skills that required new clear thinking to determine which letters needed to fall out. Once I managed to marshall the mental energy to identify the puzzle's missing elements, it yielded megatons of fun. Poat makes a case to be the King of setters -- Bravo!

I found this quite a struggle with some answers (e.g. TALEGGIO) not in my edition of Chambers.  For a while I thought the theme was to do with the Hadron Collider at Cern but I needed Wikipedia on ELUGELAB to put me right.  A rather sombre subject in the end, all too relevant to what is happening in Europe at the moment.  Thank you Poat.

The puzzle proved a stiff challenge, well enjoyed by all.  A few mistakes, mainly through not spotting the newly discovered elements of fermium and einsteinium, but overall the puzzle was very well received. There were 45 entries, of which 9 were marked incorrect. The lucky winner, picked from the electronic hat was Adam Vellender, who will be receiving a copy of Chambers Crossword Dictionary donated by the publishers.

There is a full solution at 

https://crosswordcentre.blogspot.com/2022/12/solution-to-big-bang-theory-by-poat.html

You still have time to email your solution to Seasons Greetings XIV before 8 January.
The January puzzle will be Leading Character by Vismut.
***
In the Guardian, Alan Connor interviewed the setter of the Everyman puzzles in the Observer. The setters are usually not named, although we know that in the past, such notable clue masters as Dorothy Taylor and Alec Robins were the compilers. At last, we know who is the current incumbent. https://www.theguardian.com/crosswords/crossword-blog/2022/nov/26/meet-the-setter-the-observers-everyman
***
New to The Telegraph is the new Cross Atlantic crossword. As the name implies this an American style puzzle. You can try it for free. https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/cross-atlantic-crossword/ To solve the other crosswords you have to pay a subscription fee, although there is an option for a free month’s access to the puzzles.
***
When my subscription to Times on-line went up to £26, I phoned to cancel it. I mainly use it for the Listener crossword and I reckoned it would be cheaper to buy The Times every Saturday. However, the nice employee on the Cancellation Team persuaded me to change to the Light Digital Pack. This costs £4.99 per month and, although you can only open 30 articles in a month you have access to all the crosswords. I’ll let you know how this works out.
***
I have been having fun trying to solve one of Torquemada’s fun puzzles, Knock-Knock. It is based on the game, “Knock-knock.” “Who’s there?” “Cecilia who?” “Cecilia game than I thought”. I have had a few laughs, but it’s tough. You can try it here -https://crosswordcentre.blogspot.com/p/knock-knock-by-torquemada.html 

I did manage to fill the grid although I could not parse some clues. I will publish a solution next month.
***
I wish everyone a happy Christmas and a prosperous new year.

Best wishes
Derek
On Mastodon I have changed server, so my name is DerekHarrison@mastodon.social 

Solution to Big Bang Theory by Poat

 Big Bang Theory by Poat - Solution

 The puzzle commemorates the obliteration of an atoll in the Marshall Islands on 1 November 1952 as part of the US nuclear test programme known as Operation Ivy (spelled out by corrections to misprints). The delivery device was codenamed Mike, highlighted in the central spiral of cells, with letters of the island ELUGELAB eliminated in turn from eight answers. Solvers were also required to highlight the symbols for Fermium and Einsteinium in the grid (FM and ES), elements confirmed through later analysis of the fallout.

 ACROSS

  1    hoar-headed. Edited English.tsd - Chambers

        HOARD around HEAVE with D (500) for V (5)

10   au mieux. Edited English.tsd - MWCD,Chambers

        EU in AU MIX

11   earlap. Edited English.tsd

        ERA interwoven with ALP

12   Laodicea. Edited English.tsd - Location

        CALEDO(N)IA*

13   auto. Core English.tsd

        Alternate letters of vAlUaTiOn; misprint stack for stOck

14   fire-plug. Core English.tsd

        (GULPER IF)<

17   égarement. Edited English.tsd - Chambers

        GREENTEAM*, hinting at French word

18   arguli. Edited English.tsd - COD

        ARGU(E) LI(E), Brits being the fish

20   recto. Core English.tsd

        (E)RECTO(R), misprint wage for Page

21   royal. Core English.tsd

        ROY AL, misprint jolly for jElly

23   eothen. Edited English.tsd - Chambers

        EON round THE

24   aleatoric. Edited English.tsd - MWCD,Chambers

        ICAREALOT*, ‘cabbage’ being musical notes

27   starlets. Edited English With Inflections.tsd - Chambers

        (LASTRITES minus I)*

28   hear. Core English.tsd

        HERE homophone

29   Taleggio. Edited English.tsd - Chambers

        GI in GELATO*

31   ornate. Core English.tsd

        OR NATE(S)

32   Bohemia. Edited English.tsd

        BOA(T) around HEM 1

33   thread mark. Edited English.tsd - Chambers

        DARKMATTER* with H for T, misprint anti-fogging for anti-foRging

DOWN

  1    half-marathon.

        MARA is half of MARATHON

  2    amort. Edited English.tsd

        Hidden in (Fulh)AMORT(hereabouts), misprint sod for sAd

  3    rid. Core English.tsd

        RID(DLE), misprint show for shoT

  4    exclaim. Core English.tsd

        EX CLAIM, misprint charm for chIrm

  5    areg. Edited English.tsd - Chambers

        (TU)AREG

  6    dealer. Core English.tsd

        ALE in DER

  7    drupe. Core English.tsd

        PRUDE*

  8    patented. Edited English.tsd

        PA TENTED

  9    sport one's oak.

        SOAK after PERSONTO*, misprint Axbridge for Oxbridge

13   ammeter.

        AM MET ER, where I = electric current

15   equator.

        QUA in ROTE<, misprint rigg for riNg

16   drollery. Core English.tsd

        (ER after O LL) in DRY

19   keitloa. Edited English.tsd - Chambers

        LIKEASHOT* minus SH

22   loiter. Core English.tsd

        L O ITER (Latin for journey), misprint longer for lInger

25   avant. Edited English.tsd - MWCD,Chambers

        (S)AVANT, misprint precious for preVious

26   regma. Core English.tsd

        R EGMA

27   save. Core English.tsd

        First letters Soon And Very Early, misprint lad for laY

30   gem. Core English.tsd

        GE(R)M