ChatterBank0 min ago
Listener 4053 Phoney by Wasp
51 Answers
What a pleasure to have a straightforward puzzle that we could manage. This one was a pleasure from start to finish and great for us relative newcomers. I am glad there is one like this now and then - a fine one to prompt complete Listener beginners to attempt.
Answers
Best Answer
No best answer has yet been selected by robinruth. Once a best answer has been selected, it will be shown here.
For more on marking an answer as the "Best Answer", please visit our FAQ.Go to the head of the speed solvers' class, robinruth! Well done indeed. Like others, I found this a straightforward enough grid fill, and the five and eight-letter words were not too hard to guess, though as clueless joe indicates, the theme was slight. A pleasant, less demanding puzzle, great for newcomers.
Yes, also in agreement. Managed this one at work without the help of Chambers (just the internet) so I am glad of an easier challenge this week. Zabadak, there is only one arrangement and links with the title. Not awe-inspiring but kept the boredom away wishing I was enjoying probably the last warm weekend of the year.
Interesting discussion on what would be a good puzzle to those new to the Listener crossword. I agree if your motives are to say you've completed one, then this does not rank as the hardest of the year but certainly my attraction to these puzles is not their ease of completion, but the quirky twists at the end, which this one does n't really have. Last week's bells theme had some humour and wit, then there was the artistry of the DSOTM - much more satisfying and depending on your age probably simpler than this one - usw. The point I'm trying to get at is I would n't be coming back for more after this one, if it was my first attempt at one.
You know, you might, Twenceslas, if you had previously been put off by the great leap from regular Grauniad , Speccie or Telegraph solving to these heights. There was a gentle double endgame in Wasp's 'Phoney' that tied things together (which those other don't usually have) and the coded words gave an extra satisfaction. Have we perhaps been spoilt by all that cherry tree chopping, cake-making and bell-ringing?
I am most intrigued to know what Zabadak's other (pejorative?) word is and wonder whether he came to it via digits or letters.
I am most intrigued to know what Zabadak's other (pejorative?) word is and wonder whether he came to it via digits or letters.
Robinruth Fair point - I suspect I know the word Zabadak refers to which is associated with tottenham football team and can be encoded from the missing numbers - don't want to say it here but you only need to change 2 letters from the theme (5th and 7th) to those preceding them alphabetically and rearrange
In 22 down the answer is found only in the new edition of Chambers. Although I have bought a copy I still tend to soldier on with the old one on CD.
A while ago Midazolam recommended Quinapalus and more recently Mysterons gave us Chris F.A.Johnson's Word Finder, both of which are excellent solving aids. Neither of them however tackle 'letter choice' anagrams, which would have been invaluable for this weeks puzzle. For example:- Find anagrams of [abc][def][tuv] would give fat; aft; bet etc. Does anyone know of such a program?
A while ago Midazolam recommended Quinapalus and more recently Mysterons gave us Chris F.A.Johnson's Word Finder, both of which are excellent solving aids. Neither of them however tackle 'letter choice' anagrams, which would have been invaluable for this weeks puzzle. For example:- Find anagrams of [abc][def][tuv] would give fat; aft; bet etc. Does anyone know of such a program?
Clamzy - i do not know of a program, but although the correct numbers can be encoded to letters, it was easier to work backwards as we already know the correct letter that was misprinted in the entry. Unless I am missing something, of course.
Always nice to see a 2008 word crop up, I think it is the first entry we have had (with SARS I remember being part of a wordplay).
Always nice to see a 2008 word crop up, I think it is the first entry we have had (with SARS I remember being part of a wordplay).
Related Questions
Sorry, we can't find any related questions. Try using the search bar at the top of the page to search for some keywords, or choose a topic and submit your own question.