Ha. I put it in anyway with the 'a', even though it didn't show up as an alternate spelling anywhere. Got about halfway through before losing steam, can't be arsed to go looking up obscure [redacted theme spoiler].
― ledge, Sunday, 5 April 2015 22:01 (nine years ago) link
I'm determined but yeah, I keep working out the themed ones & going "is that a thing?" & having to check. One of them doesn't even show up on the 1st page of google, so I thought I'd got it wrong!
― Finn McCoolit (wins), Sunday, 5 April 2015 22:05 (nine years ago) link
gonna put this one to bed
fuckboys incapacitated as per Spooner (8)
― sexpost TMIing! (wins), Wednesday, 18 March 2015 23:48 (2 weeks ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink
-a--e-e-
― Finn McCoolit (wins), Sunday, 5 April 2015 22:06 (nine years ago) link
If you want to share the F: "Sweet donkey (4)" answer should you have it I wd be very grateful...
― Keith Moom (Neil S), Monday, 6 April 2015 09:47 (nine years ago) link
all I could come up with for that was "fool", which is unsatisfactory. Still struggling with the grid, I've started filling in a couple of places but it's like pulling teeth
― Finn McCoolit (wins), Monday, 6 April 2015 10:13 (nine years ago) link
yeah not perfect though it could well be. If that's right I will have all the 4 letter words, which is a big help, so thanks!
― Keith Moom (Neil S), Monday, 6 April 2015 10:44 (nine years ago) link
it's weak but satisfactory, both clue words are definitions if it's correct
― week of 'puter action (Noodle Vague), Monday, 6 April 2015 10:45 (nine years ago) link
M: Two months acting (7) I think I have, but can't see why. It's a thematic answer. Wins? Anyone?
― Keith Moom (Neil S), Tuesday, 7 April 2015 09:19 (nine years ago) link
we finished the easter crossword though I can't parse the D or G themed answers for the life of me. had a better time with it than some others of late. I'm rarely motivated to fit the answers into the grid, luckily my bf cares about that sort of thing.
Neil - that M is one of the annoying ones where one of the words in the clue is randomly abbreviated to its initial
― lex pretend, Tuesday, 7 April 2015 09:54 (nine years ago) link
"fool" seemed pretty obvious to me? donkey/idiot, dessert/fool
yeah it's two months plus "a" - I assume that this is from abbreviated job titles, eg "AD" for "acting director"? Seems tenuous to me. My rule of thumb w/abbrevs is that they should be in the dictionary, like if you look up a (abbrev.) in a decent dictionary & it says acting then fair enough. I'd also make exceptions for commonly used internet slang abbrevs & the like
― Finn McCoolit (wins), Tuesday, 7 April 2015 10:07 (nine years ago) link
I don't really like this puzzle at all tbh, might give up
-a-teme-
― Finn McCoolit (wins), Tuesday, 7 April 2015 10:08 (nine years ago) link
[Paxman "come on!"]
the G one is pretty neat I think [SPOILERS] think Hunter S Thompson. The D is very confused I, unhelpfully over-clued.
― Keith Moom (Neil S), Tuesday, 7 April 2015 10:12 (nine years ago) link
so many are tortuously constructed, not elegant at all. The J one makes a mockery of "not further defined"!
― Finn McCoolit (wins), Tuesday, 7 April 2015 10:19 (nine years ago) link
Like don't do double-definition clues for this type of clueset, that's just stupid
― Finn McCoolit (wins), Tuesday, 7 April 2015 10:21 (nine years ago) link
Yeah given up on this bollocks, doing today's Paul instead & will be petitioning for the immediate dismissal of "maskerade"
Mine was "wastemen" btw
― Finn McCoolit (wins), Tuesday, 7 April 2015 12:26 (nine years ago) link
thanks i was too hungover to get that
― week of 'puter action (Noodle Vague), Tuesday, 7 April 2015 12:28 (nine years ago) link
am too hungover rather
"mays twen"? Am I being thick here or what.
― ledge, Tuesday, 7 April 2015 12:36 (nine years ago) link
Maced when
― Finn McCoolit (wins), Tuesday, 7 April 2015 12:40 (nine years ago) link
yes, iow.
― ledge, Tuesday, 7 April 2015 12:42 (nine years ago) link
I didn't think that was that difficult but I am very smug at how I took advantage of the "as" in "as per" being redundant
― Finn McCoolit (wins), Tuesday, 7 April 2015 12:46 (nine years ago) link
back to my usual level post-bank hol: on the paul crossword full of the mysterious affairs/places i managed to get a meagre seven clues and have literally no ideas about any of the rest :((((
― lex pretend, Wednesday, 8 April 2015 15:22 (nine years ago) link
then again i've ONLY JUST got "maced when" despite having actually read that post yesterday
― lex pretend, Wednesday, 8 April 2015 15:29 (nine years ago) link
Mysterious affair, yeti? Mysterious place (4,5-3)
This is out and out cheating, imo.
― ledge, Wednesday, 8 April 2015 15:49 (nine years ago) link
Rot13 nern svsgl bar if you can't be bothered.
― ledge, Wednesday, 8 April 2015 15:52 (nine years ago) link
Yeah, that's too clever by half.
― The job killing and likely illegal (Dan Peterson), Wednesday, 8 April 2015 16:20 (nine years ago) link
yeah that's a foul imo
― division of bowker (Noodle Vague), Wednesday, 8 April 2015 17:38 (nine years ago) link
Happy to give a pass sometimes e.g. for the ungrammatical solution to araucaria's "a y is one also" (axis) because lol cuet. But not here.
― ledge, Wednesday, 8 April 2015 17:54 (nine years ago) link
groan
21 US president, a two-dimensional pussy (8)
― Keith Moom (Neil S), Saturday, 11 April 2015 18:13 (nine years ago) link
a couple of nice ones in today's Graun:
Stage a coup? Balls might (9)Tree-hugger repeatedly getting Sturgeon's vote? (3-3)
― Keith Moom (Neil S), Wednesday, 22 April 2015 12:45 (nine years ago) link
more cheating for ledge to enjoy:
December 25th but not April 5th or July 3rd? (4)
― nults of 2 ppl don't amount to a will have beens in this crazy (wins), Sunday, 26 April 2015 06:15 (nine years ago) link
it's taken me two days to think of two four letter words for christmas, one of them is more promising than the other but i can't justify it, cheating or otherwise.
― ledge, Tuesday, 28 April 2015 08:27 (nine years ago) link
Noel. No-el.
Don't fight it.
― koogs, Tuesday, 28 April 2015 08:32 (nine years ago) link
Shoots self
― ledge, Tuesday, 28 April 2015 09:35 (nine years ago) link
Right? That question mark is being made to work overtime. "L" rendered as a word is "ell"! Any dictionary will tell you that.
― nults of 2 ppl don't amount to a will have beens in this crazy (wins), Tuesday, 28 April 2015 16:38 (nine years ago) link
That doesn't bother me next to my inability to think of three four letter words for Christmas.
― ledge, Tuesday, 28 April 2015 21:13 (nine years ago) link
my objection to that is, why is "l" clued twice? why do we need july 3rd there at all? i dislike inefficient cluing almost as much as archaic slang.
― lex pretend, Wednesday, 29 April 2015 11:35 (nine years ago) link
This one, for being an Everyman, I could not parse for the life of me, even after I figured out the answer:
Doctor with obligations guarding against inducements (7)
― Competent Cracker Barrel Manager (Dan Peterson), Tuesday, 12 May 2015 21:04 (eight years ago) link
inducements are IOUs
docious? doesn't really mean what the clue says tho
― ☂ (Noodle Vague), Tuesday, 12 May 2015 21:08 (eight years ago) link
If you want hints, it involves a medical abbreviation I've never seen before, and another for "against" that I have seen but it just wasn't registering.
― Competent Cracker Barrel Manager (Dan Peterson), Tuesday, 12 May 2015 21:14 (eight years ago) link
drivers?
― ☂ (Noodle Vague), Tuesday, 12 May 2015 21:20 (eight years ago) link
MOTIVES
― ☂ (Noodle Vague), Tuesday, 12 May 2015 21:21 (eight years ago) link
yeah, you see MO for doctor occasionally, short for "medical officer" iirc
― ☂ (Noodle Vague), Tuesday, 12 May 2015 21:22 (eight years ago) link
MO was new to me, and I just wasn't getting the V either. Totally fair once I saw the solution, though.
― Competent Cracker Barrel Manager (Dan Peterson), Tuesday, 12 May 2015 21:29 (eight years ago) link
Speaking of Everyman, the new one is vexing me greatly. I just can't parse most of these, I only have one answer so far. 13 and 14 letter words, really?
― Competent Cracker Barrel Manager (Dan Peterson), Thursday, 14 May 2015 18:20 (eight years ago) link
On 3578 I got one 3-letter word.
Doing slightly better this week, but only slightly.
― koogs, Thursday, 14 May 2015 18:37 (eight years ago) link
I finished 3578, although didn't understand the MOTIVES clue above. 3579 is the one I'm on, and I only have 9 down. I think I read they changed setters?
― Competent Cracker Barrel Manager (Dan Peterson), Thursday, 14 May 2015 18:41 (eight years ago) link