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Last Sunday's WEB puzzle was the first for the month of October. I deliberately made it a little less challenging than usual, and solvers seemed to agree! I am experimenting with creation of a series of puzzles in a month that sequentially increase in difficulty week-by-week. Last week's puzzle gets a difficulty rating of 1/5, and today we have a 2/5. As always, any and all feedback is greatly appreciated.
As a reminder, the Sunday slot is open for anyone who wants to post his or her own, original crossword. Just contact me and I will help you with the mechanics of compiling and posting.
Across
1 Look for four here (7)
5 I'd wager Raymond is a Judas (7)
9 Cancel the last part of the cartoon (3)
10 Father a child with a northern temptress (5)
11 Find in us, a state like this (9)
13 Ties in a voting change for the inquiry (13)
15 Gee, all the work is at such a pace (6)
18 Initially, Anthony Trollope ran the Ministry of Defence, back when it made no sense (2,6)
20 He will confuse the nice Greek (8)
21 Sheds of shamrocks, but for the three in the middle (6)
26 Photograph the squares here (5-3-5)
28 It's harder to take fifty in, with him not moving (9)
30 Remove the grass from the station? (5)
31 There was a 999 call ahead of the fire (3)
32 Learn by changing the way you gab (7)
33 We have the same feeling for this type of wine (7)
Down
1 See a chief of police throwing this (7)
2 I've fifty following the first three of the shrubs to dry up (7)
3 There are fifty-one votes against on the floor (5)
4 The top of some, it sounds like (6)
5 Some folk park there, by the airport out west (8)
6 A man in charge of the British navy has to be a nut! (5)
7 Up until now I could make this abominable (3)
8 Fifty insane people using this for the turf (5)
12 Keep it! A phantom is hiding something in the graveyard (7)
14 A choice between K and W for Labour (4)
16 There aren't many before the good men (1,3)
17 In general, Vera was after nothing prior to the fifties (7)
19 Between Kenneth and Kay, they've forty-nine in the southeast (8)
22 I'll cut it out ... at 1:51 it's very quiet by Casualty (7)
23 We were so hot, we had dinner in South Dakota (7)
24 A jacket that only comes in sizes N or K? (6)
25 Hear about a better start for the treatment (5)
26 Ran into the country with a goon? (5)
27 Open up a room for the Women's Institute? (5)
29 Even parts of bacilli make you sick (3)
Here is each clue alongside its answer, with an explanation of the link between clue and answer. I hope it all makes sense! As always, I welcome feedback via comment and/or email. I’m particularly interested in hearing about clues that were too obvious or easy, and clues that were annoying or perhaps caused frustration. But, I’ll listen to all suggestions on how to make my puzzles more challenging and more fun!
Across
1 Look for four here (7)
CASTLES
There are four famous castles included in today's answers: BLARNEY, KILKENNY, BUNRATTY & SLANE.
5 I'd wager Raymond is a Judas (7)
BET-RAY'S
I'd wager (BET) Raymond is (RAY'S) = BETRAYS: is a Judas.
9 Cancel the last part of the cartoon (3)
CEL
Can-cel, the last = CEL: part of the cartoon.
10 Father a child with a northern temptress (5)
SIRE-N
Father a child (SIRE) with a northern (N) = SIREN: temptress.
11 Find in us, a state like this (9)
MINNESOTA
Find in US-A = MINNESOTA: a state like this.
13 Ties in a voting change for the inquiry (13)
INVESTIGATION
"Ties in a voting" change, an anagram = INVESTIGATION: for the inquiry.
15 Gee, all the work is at such a pace (6)
G-ALL-OP
Gee (G) all (ALL) the work (OP) = GALLOP: is at such a pace.
18 Initially, Anthony Trollope ran the Ministry of Defence, back when it made no sense (2,6)
AT RAN-DOM
Initially, Anthony Trollope (AT) ran (RAN) the Ministry of Defence, MOD, back (DOM) = AT RANDOM: when it makes no sense.
20 He will confuse the nice Greek (8)
HE'LL-ENIC
He will (HE'LL) confuse the "nice", an anagram (ENIC) = HELLENIC: Greek.
21 Sheds of shamrocks, but for the three in the middle (6)
SHA-CKS
SHA(mro)CKS, but for the three (letters) in the middle = SHACKS: sheds.
26 Photograph the squares here (5-3-5)
BLACK-AND-WHITE
The squares in the crossword grid are BLACK-AND-WHITE, just like a type of photograph.
28 It's harder to take fifty in, with him not moving (9)
HARD(L-IN)ER
It's harder (HARD-ER) to take fifty in (L IN) = HARDLINER: with him not moving.
30 Remove the grass from the station? (5)
DE-POT
Remove the grass (marijuana, POT) from = DEPOT: the station.
31 There was a 999 call ahead of the fire (3)
A-IM
There was a (A) 999 (IM) = AIM: call ahead of the fire, as in AIM ... FIRE!
32 Learn by changing the way you gab (7)
BLARNEY
"Learn by" changing, an anagram = BLARNEY: the way you gab.
33 We have the same feeling for this type of wine (7)
KIND-RED
This type (KIND) of wine (RED) = KINDRED: we have the same feeling for.
Down
1 See a chief of police throwing this (7)
C-A-STING
See a (C A) chief of (the pop group, the) Police (STING) = CASTING: throwing this.
2 I've fifty following the first three of the shrubs to dry up (7)
SHR-I'VE-L
Following the first three of the shr-ubs (SHR) I've (I'VE) fifty (L) = SHRIVEL: to dry up.
3 There are fifty-one votes against on the floor (5)
LI-NOS
There are fifty-one (LI) votes against (NOS) = LINOS: on the floor.
4 The top of some, it sounds like (6)
SUMMIT
"Some it" sounds like = SUMMIT: the top of.
5 Some folk park there, by the airport out west (8)
BUNRATTY
BUNRATTY is by Shannon Airport out west, and there is a famous Folk Park there.
6 A man in charge of the British navy has to be a nut! (5)
A-CO-RN
A man in charge (A CO) of the British Navy (RN) = ACORN: has to be a nut!
7 Up until now I could make this abominable (3)
YET
Up until now (YET) I could make this (I) = YETI: abominable (snowman).
8 Fifty insane people using this for the turf (5)
S(L)ANE
In-sane (S-ANE) fifty (L) = SLANE: people using this for the turf.
12 Keep it! A phantom is hiding something in the graveyard (7)
EPITAPH
Ke-EP IT A PH-antom is hiding = EPITAPH: something in the graveyard.
14 A choice between K and W for Labour (4)
W-OR-K
A choice between K and W (W OR K) = WORK: for labour.
16 There aren't many before the good men (1,3)
A FEW
"A Few Good Men" is a famous Tom Cruise movie.
17 In general, Vera was after nothing prior to the fifties (7)
O-VERA-LL
After nothing (O) Vera (VERA) was prior to the fifties (LL) = OVERALL: in general.
19 Between Kenneth and Kay, they've forty-nine in the southeast (8)
K-IL-KENNY
On one side Kay (K) they've forty-nine (IL) on the other side Kenneth (KENNY) = KILKENNY: in the southeast.
22 I'll cut it out ... at 1:51 it's very quiet by Casualty (7)
CLI-PP-ER
At 1:51 (CLI) it's very quiet (PP) by Casualty, the Emergency Room (ER) = CLIPPER: I'll cut it out.
23 We were so hot, we had dinner in South Dakota (7)
S(WE-ATE)D
In South Dakota (S-D) we had dinner (WE ATE) = SWEATED: we were so hot.
24 A jacket that only comes in sizes N or K? (6)
A-N-OR-A-K
It only comes in size N (A-N) or (OR) size K (A-K) = ANORAK: a jacket.
25 Hear about a better start for the treatment (5)
REHA-B
"Hear" about (REHA) a b-etter start (B) = REHAB: for the treatment.
26 Ran into the country with a goon? (5)
BURMA
"Ran" with a "goon" is RANGOON, which was the capital of the country, BURMA.
27 Open up a room for the Women's Institute? (5)
WI-DEN
The Women's Institute (WI) a room (DEN) = WIDEN: open up.
29 Even parts of bacilli make you sick (3)
AIL
Even parts (the even letters) of b-A-c-I-l-L-a = AIL: make you sick.
8 comments:
Bill,
What a SUPERB puzzle. The best ever. The level of difficult was perfect. Just enough "gimme" clues to help along but I am very impressed and thats just my humble opinion> I am sure Liz and Tommy will think the same or have more compliments for you.
A few notes:
1A :My logic was that if you LOOK you peek and turning that is KEEP for a castle but the plural threw me off. Convoluted but more fun that way.
My Lookup of today was HELLENIC. I was trying to put some sense to a mix of greek letters or a Greek God etc but HELLENIC was my only falling ground. When I see Greek my mind instantly reverts to the aplphabet which puts me off but is also handy when we see the daily offerings and I have a reference to my favourite leters :)
Re: Casting
I had COPPING first but SIREN fit perfectly.
MINNESOTA: Really like your clue. I had that in a previous puzzle of mine but your clue is very andoriginal.
26 Across was contender for enjoyment answer of the but the winner has to be ANORAK. I loved it so much.
SUMMIT was a lovely one too. I was thinking of fractions and what goes on top of a fraction. I had an "aha" there.
YET: Classic Crosaire with a Bill originality added in. Always nice to see lf words that have been used with better clues.
WORK: That was a nice treat.
I loved the use of words you used to describe 18A . Nice and to the point.
Just an extra bit of review for you bill: They words we have to choose from may repeat but you do such a fantastic job at making the appropriate clue for use.
I will leave it there. No flaws in my opinion just world class.
All the best Bill,
Mark.
p.s I Would of given that a difficulty 1.5. If HELLENIC wasn't their and BUNRATTY then I would say a 2 . Thats just me though. Talk latersss
Hi Mark,
It's nice to know that someone from the MCC (Midnight Crosaire Club) is having a go at the WEB Crossword too :o) As always, I am very grateful for the feedback.
Re CASTLES
I decided not to complicate things by making a cryptic clue for CASTLES, and just leave the vague reference to the four other clues. Based on your comment, I think I probably should have written a more conventional clue and included a non-cryptic reference to the four CASTLES included in the grid. That would have been fairer to the solver. Hindsight!
Re HELLENIC
I have to admit that I often try to confuse Crosaire puzzlers by using a Crosaire device in a different context. Here, as you say, the "Greek" reference usually means a Greek letter, but today it just means Greek. Sorry!
Re MINNESOTA
It's very tempting, living over here, to throw in too much American content, so I have to be careful. I'm glad you liked this one.
Re ANORAK
I lucked out with the clue to be honest. I tried all the usual manipulations, and was getting a bit frustrated, before I noticed the N-OR-K possibility, so decided to make up some jacket sizes :)
Re YET
I have to agree, M. Crosaire is the past master when it comes to great clues for 3-letter words. You might be interested in the fact that I had the puzzle completely finished, without YET (there was a black square between the Y and the T). BETRAYS and BLARNEY only had three down-answers crossing each of them, which I thought was a little light for 7-letter words. This was especially relevant as the sequences of letters -ETR--- in BETRAYS and ---RNE- in BLARNEY had no down-answers to help with solving. So, I cleared the black box in the middle of the Y-T, creating four new answers: YET/CEL, and AIL/AIM.
Re AT RANDOM
I'm not as pleased with this clue as you were, Mark. It's very long and wordy, but I was finding it hard to come up with anything pithy.
Re repeating answers
The application I use to create the crossword allows me to add all the clues and answers that I come up with each week, to a database. So, when I am working on a new puzzle I can immediately see if I have used that answer before, what the clue(s) were before, and then I can make sure I create something different for the new puzzle.
I really appreciate the feedback on the degree of difficulty, as I am very focused on grading the puzzles from here on out. It's interesting that you rate this puzzle as the same level I rated last week's. We'll have to see what you think about next week's 3/5!
And finally, congrats on your tantara. That is, literally, music to my ears!
Hi Bill and Mark
I agree with Mark that this was a fantastic puzzle...very, very enjoyable...no frustrations but still had to put on the thinking cap to get my TANTARA!
You used a really wide variety of clue types and 'getting' some of them brought a fair few smiles...always a good thing in my book!
SIREN...this was a neatly worded clue...conditioning had me expecting a PA or DA in the mix so a nice AHA moment...lovely
SHACKS...nice deletion
Lovely surface reading in HELLENIC, BLACK AND WHITE, DEPOT (haha!), BLARNEY and KINDRED, CLIPPER and SWEATED
CASTING...very clever! I had it figured...C + A + STING...was trying to rationalise why the 'CHIEF of police' would yield STING (me thinking 'sting' operation)...and then came the AHA moment! It was the 'chief of THE POLICE'...I really liked this clue.
SHRIVEL...the wording wasn't as smooth as some, but I still liked the solution!
SUMMIT...liked this...thanks for the mention...the name of my abode is...SUMMIT HOUSE! Not very imaginative as house names go but it's been called that since it was built (mid 1800's I think...might sound posh...believe me it's not!)
EPITAPH...I loved this clue...incorporating part of 'A PHANTOM' to 'hide' something in a graveyard...HERE LIES a great clue and solution!
THE FOUR CASTLES!...like Mark, 1a had me a bit puzzled...from the Down Clues it seemed the solution had to be CASTLES...but why?...also looked at PEEK/KEEP/CASTLE...but there was no 'back' or 'turn'...and no plural? The penny dropped when I got to BLARNEY! Very nice indeed!
But Bill, you're going to have to explain 'using this for the turf' in SLANE?
AIL...the significance of EVEN only registered when I got HARDLINER...at first glance I thought the solution was ILL...nice one!
AIM...needless to say I didn't get the 'ahead of the fire' ref...as it happened it wasn't critical...I must go back to the Military Studies night classes!
And my Clue of the Day...lots of potential nominations...but...appearing as it did, on the day after the publication of our former Taoiseach Bertie's autobiography...ANORAK has to get the top spot!! Not that the man is an ANORAK or anything...but he sure was famous for his ANORAKS in the early days...before a certain stylist showed him the error of his ways??!!
Really great enjoyment in this puzzle Bill...and I'd agree with your 2/5 rating...come on Mark, if this was a 1/5...I'd be bald on a 4/5 let alone a 5/5!!
Have a nice relaxing day all!
Liz
Hi Liz,
Thanks for such a comprehensive comment on today's puzzle. It's extremely useful to me, so I appreciate you taking the time. And of course I'm a sucker for some kind words :) And the most welcome of them is tantara!
Thank you for noticing the variety of clue types. I work hard not to get into a rut, as it were, using the same devices over and over. I know the puzzle can be more challenging with the extra variety, but I hope it keeps it fresh.
Re SIRE-N
As I said to Mark above, I do like to find the opportunity to use familiar Crosaire devices in different ways, as a diversion. Father/DA/PA/REV this time was SIRE. I'm glad it tripped you up a little :o)
Re DE-POT
This was a favorite of mine. I was delighted to come up with a pretty contemporary clue (POT & GRASS), with a bit of a giggle. I'd put C-A-STING in the same category, contemporary and a smile.
Re SHR-I'VE-L
Yes, this clue was a bit pedestrian and not very inventive. I found it hard to come up with anything better.
Re SUMMIT
I AIM to please!
Re EPITAPH
I'm not too fond of Hidden Word clues, but I went ahead here because I managed to scrape together some words to hide the answer that really fit the EPITAPH context.
Re SLANE
SLANE is the anglicized spelling of Slean, that tool used to cut the turf. I thought of using a "sounds like" here, but the SLANE spelling is readily accepted, I believe (hope!).
Re ANORAK
I'm glad you liked it, Liz. I was somewhat relieved to come up with a half-decent clue for a word that was beginning to fox me.
And thank you for your opinion on the difficulty rating. That helps an awful lot, as I try to develop this sliding scale concept. I'm glad you did indeed find it harder than last week's puzzle.
Thanks again, Liz!
Holy Mary Mother of God...I was going to leave a comment but it's all been
said..
Holy Moley,
I think you're right ...
Hi Bill
Just to say that I also really enjoyed your Crossword and had a real 'doh' moment when I had to go to your solution to explain 'casting' and also hadn't spotted the 4 castles. I'll blame the fact that I was doing it at midnight after a lovely weekend away in Galway. I had Diana in first for siren mixing da and ian in crosaire style. Really liked depot and aim but if I may be pedantic 999 in roman numerals is CMXCIX. I only became aware of this at a local quiz last week when our team incorrectly answered the question 'what is the roman numeral for 100? as IC, when it is in fact XCIX. It's great to learn something new everyday!
Martina
Martina,
Thanks for checking out the puzzle, and taking time out to leave me some feedback ... especially the eye-opening information about roman numerals! I can't believe I've reached the ripe old age of 52-years and have been making that mistake all my life! I am shocked, and pretty disappointed too, as a crossword compiler! But, thank you so much for pointing it out, Martina.
And I do like to hear about "doh" moments ... it makes it all worthwhile :)
Thanks again!
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