Cryptic crossword compiler

The Joy of Collaboration - on Facebook?

Julia — Tue, 24 Aug 2010 15:21:30 +0000

Facebook’s a handy little site - I know it has its detractors. My crossword collaborator (everyone must have one!) has been on holiday for the last few weeks, but she texted me to discuss this Saturday’s fine Araucaria crossword. Texting proved a touch laborious, so we switched to Facebook chat! We’d finished it within about the hour.

Amongst the clues were some tremendous specimens: German decapitated by neighbour (7) was very neat. and we enjoyed working out why our answer to Homes for Chinese in Yellow Pages (10) was correct.

Have a look and see what you think: http://www.guardian.co.uk/crosswords/prize/25095.

I particularly liked the two really really long clues, though I could find no record of a play called The Head That Wears a Crown. Any help identifying that would be most welcome!

Looking forward to next weekend’s as it’s the August Bank Holiday, one of those times we can confidently expect a 20×20 Araucaria (or Paul?) special. There are benefits to the end of summer … and of course my Kindle arrives at the beginning of September!

Saturday August 7 Prize: Sneaky, but nice :-)

Julia — Mon, 09 Aug 2010 10:39:08 +0000

Araucaria’s at it again - some lovely clues to enhance Saturday morning. I give you: St Peter, etymologically, to scrub the deck (9). I love it when it takes me more than a day to solve a clue - and that was worthwhile. It does make me wonder - am I getting more stupid when it takes me that long to get one clue? Or is it Araucaria’s deviousness? Probably both. I did like the theme, too - though I’m not really a fan of 9 10 4s.

Other clues that pleased me greatly were: Buy wildly into lawyer for president (5) and Start of play on island with flexible toy (6,3). Sweet.

I won’t spoil it - have a look at the August 7 Prize Crossword for yourself!

Last Saturday’s Crossword ..

Julia — Wed, 04 Aug 2010 19:10:32 +0000

I felt like I had stepped back in time, to the days of crosswords in The Times with obscure literary connotations. Yes, the ‘royal four’ in Pasquale’s Prize Crossword was truly flummoxing! After getting the fairly obvious clue One of 4 offering protection - shield - I thought we were onto a heraldic link. How wrong I was …

It wasn’t until I’d been talking to my co-conspirator for an hour on Monday night that we realised that it had something to do with Masters of the King’s Music (see what I mean about The Times? What’s that doing in The Guardian???). Hence spelling Cusins wrong! Luckily, there’s always Wikipedia to help

Apart from that, there were some elegant clues, such as:
Group of nine men, one mad - not a leader amoung them (6)
German vessel sunk by block of ice almost (8)
Like some fiction I start to read in French - no good (9)
… all of which impressed by massively leading me up the garden path at the outset!

Where you might see aileron move? That can be frightening (9) should have been easier, but how was I to know that an ‘aileron’ is not a made up word? Could have asked the L of my L who - though thinking crosswords are a huge waste of time - is a glider pilot. But I didn’t want to involve him …

If you want to see the whole puzzle, go to the online version here. And come back and tell me what you think.

I’m looking at a Kindle …

Julia — Mon, 02 Aug 2010 20:32:45 +0000

I am intrigued by the Kindle, I must admit. What a marvellous way to read books! Though I don’t think you can write / solve crossw0rds on them, I’m afraid. But my latest payment for writing some clues destined for the Antipodes is going to get spent on a Kindle. I am also intrigued to see what’s going to become of my clues … I’ll post in here when they tell me!

Kindle Wireless Reading Device, Free 3G + Wi-Fi, 6″ Display, Graphite, 3G Works Globally - Latest Generation

If you want one too, please buy your Kindle by clicking on the link above as they will ‘give me money’. I’ll believe that when I see it!

… and they’ve got some great deals on camping gear here …

.. now that’s enough affiliate links!

A Brighton Wedding Photographer’s plea …

Julia — Wed, 09 Jun 2010 10:13:52 +0000

I recently went to a wedding at the Albion Hotel in Brighton that my brother and friends at i-Clic photography were photographing. Having seen the finished photos I am extremely impressed with the quality of some of their work, and they asked me to write about it on my blog. I will put in a nice cryptic clue for them sometime, but in the meantime have a look at their website to see why I was so impressed! They are i-Clic: Brighton Wedding Photographers. And if you are planning a wedding in Brighton or London, use them - you get two photographers, DVDs of your day, and no nasty financial surprises at the end!

I got sent this clue from the Telegraph …

Julia — Sun, 20 Sep 2009 08:45:44 +0000

… and despite my lack of respect for the Telegraph crossword this clue has been brought to my attention (thank you, Trevor!): See odd perennials sprouting (5,3,5). At first glance it looks like an anagram, but how could ’see’ be 5,3,5? I am used to ’see’ indicating ‘lo’ and anything to do with vision, but the clue is beautifully misleading. It’s A see. And my ecclesiastical knowledge is limited so I had to look it up: and Rippon and Leeds IS a holy see!Well done, that Telegraph setter!

Suggest you move to the Guardian …

Victory in the Guardian Bank Holiday Crossword ….

Julia — Wed, 02 Sep 2009 22:20:22 +0000

It can sometimes take a while, but we’ve finally finished Araucaria’s latest - and there were some damned classy clues in this weekend’s! Favourites were Student groups seize firm amid loud applause - they’re up to the neck in revolution (11) , though I would say it was (4-7). There were a couple of other times that we thought he was making up words, but it was an altogether lovely puzzle.I’ll put some clues in here once the answer’s been published (not wanting to encourage cheating!); it was a nice thing to have on a rainy weekend!

Bank holiday special crossword time!

Julia — Sun, 30 Aug 2009 19:01:32 +0000

Hey, it’s a Bank Holiday here in the UK, which means only one thing - yes, a supercharged cryptic crossword from master-setter Araucaria from the Guardian. So there goes the weekend!

Excuse me while I slip into something more comfortable …

Julia — Sun, 16 Aug 2009 22:15:50 +0000

Aha! I am changing … and so far I’ve gone all green. There is more to come, but these things take time.

I’ve been doing a lot of solving, and a lot of setting. Including individually-themed crosswords, which are intriguing.

As they say, watch this space - for more examples of ‘how to’ guides and themed crosswords that would brighten up any newsletter. People often glance through newsletters then delete them. Not when there’s a top-notch themed cryptic puzzle, they don’t!

Keep dropping by and you can watch the evolution of the revamp as it happens. Much more fun than whitewater rafting, and also less damp.

The sun in shining, the skies are blue … perfect for sitting around with crossword!

Julia — Tue, 02 Jun 2009 13:59:50 +0000

We’re having great weather in the UK just now - no idea how long it’ll last. A lot of people are heading to the beach, and what better place to get down to a challenging cryptic crossword than by the sea!

I’ve been inside writing about systems for improving your memory, and I’ll put some more information about that on this site shortly … keep ‘em peeled! But now that’s done it’s time to Note slapdash 80s number 1 (5).