Well I would say Chaplin has more cultural resonance. I can't imagine many people below say 30 knowing who Spike Milligan was. But then again I can't imagine many people below say 30 doing the Observer cryptic crossword, so that's fine.
― goth colouring book (anagram), Wednesday, 7 May 2014 09:17 (nine years ago) link
My plan was to think of a comedian that fitted the letters and I discovered the correct answer by clumsily attempting to reverse engineer Sarah Millican!
― pick it up for ripple laser (onimo), Wednesday, 7 May 2014 09:42 (nine years ago) link
I figured out the 'head off Wigan' and worked backwards, still couldn't figure out why lace = spike until it was just explained.
― A Perfect Ratio of Choogle to Jam (Dan Peterson), Wednesday, 7 May 2014 11:42 (nine years ago) link
(it's actually 'heading' which is usually N, S, E or W. but head works here also)
― koogs, Wednesday, 7 May 2014 11:52 (nine years ago) link
Thanks to the Guardian cryptic, this American now knows the meaning of to 'play gooseberry.'
― wild-eyed, high-volume bursts of pious indignation (Dan Peterson), Tuesday, 13 May 2014 17:16 (nine years ago) link
Also, can anyone parse this one for me? (It's outstrip.)
Run faster in striking football kit (8)
― wild-eyed, high-volume bursts of pious indignation (Dan Peterson), Thursday, 15 May 2014 18:19 (nine years ago) link
run faster = definitionstriking = out (as in on strike)football kit = strip
― koogs, Thursday, 15 May 2014 18:52 (nine years ago) link
Ah, uniform. Knew about kit, strip is totally new to me.
― wild-eyed, high-volume bursts of pious indignation (Dan Peterson), Thursday, 15 May 2014 19:06 (nine years ago) link
And I was looking at striking as in baseball. USA-centric brain.
― wild-eyed, high-volume bursts of pious indignation (Dan Peterson), Thursday, 15 May 2014 19:14 (nine years ago) link
I just completed the Guardian cryptic crossword for the first time in my life, and I am feeling really pleased with myself
― paolo, Monday, 26 May 2014 13:56 (nine years ago) link
Grauniad today
Where St Augustine was at university, being something of a brain? (11)
― Angkor Waht (Neil S), Wednesday, 4 June 2014 12:14 (nine years ago) link
vg
― I Miss You(tube embeds) (onimo), Wednesday, 4 June 2014 12:17 (nine years ago) link
i think i've solved the hardest clue of this sunday's observer crossword, but virtually nothing else.
Carved ornament from southern UK pocketed by naughty teen (7)
(as an aside there are lots of good anagrams for 'money laundering')
― koogs, Tuesday, 10 June 2014 15:22 (nine years ago) link
am reduced to grepping through lexicons...
Fine quality - for example, in eastern cavalry weapon (8)
they seem to be all like this, what i think of as ledge specials 8)
(was netsuke btw)
― koogs, Friday, 13 June 2014 10:08 (nine years ago) link
i've solved that one today if you need a clue. no lexicon required imo
― arid banter (Noodle Vague), Friday, 13 June 2014 10:25 (nine years ago) link
those clues just lack a little elegance, that's all 8) and the more bits there are to them the harder it is to split the definition from the other bits. that's why i have trouble with those.
that said, i also had trouble with 14A which is blatantly obvious anagram for an everyday phrase but i just couldn't see it.
it's about 50% done now, but a lot of that is in pencil.
― koogs, Friday, 13 June 2014 11:14 (nine years ago) link
Had to help the folks with the guardian today, with references to x-men and rickrolling.
― ledge, Tuesday, 17 June 2014 20:28 (nine years ago) link
How do people feel about 'in' as a separator? I always feel that it's not quite okay, but some compilers use it a lot.
― Gravel Puzzleworth, Tuesday, 17 June 2014 22:37 (nine years ago) link
fine by me - definition (found) in wordplay. wordplay (found) in definition maybe a bit more awkward but still sound i think.
― ledge, Wednesday, 18 June 2014 10:55 (nine years ago) link
Grauniad, as per
Smarty-pants reports missing partition (4-3)
― Barry Gordy (Neil S), Friday, 27 June 2014 12:30 (nine years ago) link
Abbreviations will be the death of me. As many times as I seen caught for C or dead for D, when I'm doing a new puzzle I don't recognize them at work. And there are always crazy new ones I've never seen: distinction = OM, maiden = M (HATE the cricket ones!)...
And here are two more I just had today: Edward can just be E? And "corps' soldiers" can be CRE?
― Both jaunty and authentic (Dan Peterson), Thursday, 10 July 2014 14:52 (nine years ago) link
http://www.acronymfinder.com/Chief-Royal-Engineer-%28Corps-of-Royal-Engineers,-British-Army%29-%28CRE%29.html
E for edward the same way E is for elizabeth on post boxes EIIR etc
― koogs, Thursday, 10 July 2014 14:56 (nine years ago) link
Wow, never seen EIIR either!
― Both jaunty and authentic (Dan Peterson), Thursday, 10 July 2014 15:00 (nine years ago) link
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pillar_Box_War
― koogs, Thursday, 10 July 2014 15:02 (nine years ago) link
Again, wow. It is a strange and beautiful world...
― Both jaunty and authentic (Dan Peterson), Thursday, 10 July 2014 15:06 (nine years ago) link
this week's Everyman (which seems easy based on the first half dozen clues i looked at)
How Alfie ends is unimaginitive (5)
― koogs, Monday, 21 July 2014 09:12 (nine years ago) link
Ha, I just got that one. Here's one I made up today:
Steed and partner never sag in galloping. (8)
― Both jaunty and authentic (Dan Peterson), Tuesday, 22 July 2014 19:42 (nine years ago) link
Dammit I screwed that up:
Steed and partner never sag, galloping. (8)
― Both jaunty and authentic (Dan Peterson), Tuesday, 22 July 2014 22:02 (nine years ago) link
Ah, OK. I was on the right line but then still struggled with the anagram, somehow.
― koogs, Wednesday, 23 July 2014 02:19 (nine years ago) link
Avengers!
― a butt of a duck, Wednesday, 23 July 2014 08:50 (nine years ago) link
today's Graun
Ketamine for breakfast? (7,1)
― Barry Gordy (Neil S), Wednesday, 23 July 2014 12:22 (nine years ago) link
edgy
― koogs, Wednesday, 23 July 2014 12:25 (nine years ago) link
That is so fuckin lame
― wins, Wednesday, 23 July 2014 12:41 (nine years ago) link
i gave up the crossword after that one, there were a few dodgy clues already but that was like "fuck you"
― Daphnis Celesta, Wednesday, 23 July 2014 20:22 (nine years ago) link
it's barely even cryptic
so two thumbs up for that clue then
― Barry Gordy (Neil S), Wednesday, 23 July 2014 22:13 (nine years ago) link
Creator of Pluto — with money being spun! (6)
if this works how i think it's sloppy clueing imo
― why you gotta be Joe Root? (Daphnis Celesta), Saturday, 2 August 2014 12:29 (nine years ago) link
Idgi, is "being" being used for "person" ie proper name?
― wins, Saturday, 2 August 2014 12:51 (nine years ago) link
i think he's using Pluto for the clue and as part of the definition, which, yeah okay but not elegant imo
― why you gotta be Joe Root? (Daphnis Celesta), Saturday, 2 August 2014 13:09 (nine years ago) link
Head gets most important lead, showing cunning (8)
The answer was ARCHNESS, and I don't understand it at all.
― Both Jandek and Authenty (Dan Peterson), Wednesday, 6 August 2014 14:46 (nine years ago) link
Ness = promentary or headland innit?
― Tim, Wednesday, 6 August 2014 14:51 (nine years ago) link
Okay, thanks. And then I also wasn't getting arch being from Greek "arkhos" meaning "most important."
And is archness actually a synonym for cunning?
― Both Jandek and Authenty (Dan Peterson), Wednesday, 6 August 2014 15:19 (nine years ago) link
Seems a bit dicey to me, I guess archness is a kind of conversational cunning, if you squint at it in a certain way.
I wasn't necessarily thinking of the Greek for "arch", btw, more archbishop or arch-enemy.
― Tim, Wednesday, 6 August 2014 15:44 (nine years ago) link
archangel etc.
― Daphnis Celesta, Wednesday, 6 August 2014 15:52 (nine years ago) link
Yeah, I just wasn't getting any of those from "most important," and not having "ness' either I was lost.
― Both Jandek and Authenty (Dan Peterson), Wednesday, 6 August 2014 15:54 (nine years ago) link
that while grid was a bit rubbish if I'm remembering right
― pictures of people who seem to have figured out how to use dropbox (wins), Wednesday, 6 August 2014 17:03 (nine years ago) link
Yeah, since I'm relatively new to Guardian cryptics I've discovered the Monday setter, Rufus, is mostly easy-ish but some of his cluing is crap. Some of the tougher ones later in the week are incomprehensible to me, though...
― Okay, there's lil' Zipper again (Dan Peterson), Wednesday, 6 August 2014 17:23 (nine years ago) link
sunday's observer everyman is just about my level and is quite consistent in its cluing.
― koogs, Wednesday, 6 August 2014 20:47 (nine years ago) link
Thanks, I'll check that out. Going on a 2-week road trip and I need plenty of puzzles for entertainment.
― Okay, there's lil' Zipper again (Dan Peterson), Wednesday, 6 August 2014 21:02 (nine years ago) link
the everyman archives go back to 2003
http://www.theguardian.com/crosswords/everyman/2965
i have the first 30 in various stages of completion in the desk at work
― koogs, Wednesday, 6 August 2014 21:55 (nine years ago) link