EV 924

[devadolly]

[kayakamina]

Yes Mark Twain.

[slaney]

I have emailed you a scanned copy of the Inquisitor K , just in case you can't get hold of it.

[toalisi]

Hi Kayakamina

I just wanted to say that I also wondered why you were singled out for comment on the help you give to EV solvers. I'm glad you put forward your point of view and it will be interesting to read the reply.
I think I speak for most people when I say your unselfish help to all questioners on Answerbank is greatly appreciated and you are one of it's most valuable members.
Keep it up.

[dr b]

toalisi, I have only been contributing to this thread for a year or so, but in that time the culture has definitely been "hints only", so I have happily gone along with that. I of course can't comment on what went on before that. Of course, if someone wants an answer & gets a direct answer, I have no problem with that either (only a handsome pen is at stake!). Perhaps requests for direct answers should just be posted as separate questions, thus preserving the "etiquette" of this thread, but also letting the Answerbank live up to its name.

Now if you really want a "discussion" to erupt, try posting a direct answer on the Listener thread!

[devadolly]

toalisi, I have been contributing to this site slightly longer than drb but agree, it has always been the format on the EV site to just give hints (and believe me do I need them), probably because they are devious crosswords (sometimes I think the compilers are deranged!!) that are intended to make us turn our brains inside out and the solving time of over a week also points to that. Now there are some clevercloggsis who have it all done and dusted by dawn on Sunday, but there are quite a number of us who just need a couple of nudges to 'get thinking straight' and to have the answer given to us would spoil the fun.
The other point of this thread is to N & C (natter & chatter), great fun finding out what we are all up to.
By the way, I have had half an hour with it and am changing my mind about do-able! A few heavy hints about the theme and thematic answers would help before I am tempted to use the blessed paper to wrap the currant stalks!!!

[kayakamina]

toalisi this hoary topic comes up periodically.

Long time members will recall that devotees of Inquisitor, Azed & Mephisto have at some time or another been protective towards their crosswords. I won't even mention the Listener people.

Throughout my time on this site I have tried to help as many people with their questions with answers to them. A direct question deserves a direct answer - that is the purpose of the site.I, too, was surprised to be singled out and possibly dr b has a solution by chat being on a separate thread to questions on the week's EV.

Thank you for your complimentary remarks.

Hi devadolly - top right and bottom left -( 4 words) should be the nudge you need. Good luck.

[tweaker]

I can - to some point - agree with the protectiveness of the Listener. However it's not exactly the Knights Templar, is it? Listener is tough and to get on that level takes time but my God, people should ease up. What's to gain from the secret of the Listener. A guaranteed place in crossword heaven?

[AndrewG-S]

Doc HH, I was down in the Isle of Wight where it was a great combination of sun and wind (for a bit of sailing), so a fabulous holiday. Off at the end of this week to Toulouse to watch my son on a school orchestra trip. I am very much enjoying this week's crossword, definately have the theme, but chasing down the themed answers takes a bit of time, but each one is like a mini-PDM so still good fun (unlike this week's Listener)

[DocHH]

Hello everyone.
I looked at my profile, on here, rather than in the mirror, the former is better. It seems as if I've been contributing/being involved for just over 2 years, actually since June 2008. I did lurk for a while before deciding to join in. (I'm a shy hairy melon!) At that stage Midazolam was posting internet links to EV, and I originally found this site by Googling a clue! In fact in the first thread I was involved with, Midazolam announced the birth of a child, who must now recently have had the second birthday,! He was met with a flurry of congratulations! In those earlier posts Midazolam actually requested hints only.

From my point of view I find it more challenging, hence more rewarding for me to find a hint/cryptic reference rather than provide a direct answer. I also believe it is a better means of getting the "question asker" to think in that direction and solve it for theirself. Probably more rewarding for them too, the PDM!

AndrewG-S, I am sure you had a fabulous time sailing, not for me, apart from splicing the mainbrace of course. I have friend who lives in Pulborough, but keeps his yacht in Salcombe, and to my horror enjoys sailing around the northern parts of Scotland! Have a good trip to Toulouse. You are correct this week's EV has puzzle's within puzzles, enjoy.

Have been in the Great Metropolis for work today, that's it until late September. I'm with Drb and Devadolly on the N&C aspect of this thread, witness this post. Drb, the pen is far from handsome these days, and the packaging is lacking too!

[AndrewG-S]

My in-laws moved from Pulborough last year and are now closer to us - Salcombe is lovely but a bit of a slog to get to, spent many a happy hour in my childhood building sandcasltes on Portlemouth beach.

I am in agreement on hints rather than answers on the AB thread, if I get desperate for a direct answer I have typically included my email address in the posting which then allows someone to put me out of my misery but without spoiling the puzzle for others. Also the hints are often quite amusing in and of themselves

[slaney]

I think you are right DocHH, things did change about that time in that hints/clues were given rather than answers - it wasn't always so.When I first started doing EV (and cryptic crosswords) in 2007 direct answers were given on the EV thread - I particularly remember one called The Sin of the Beast which turned into a long collaborative effort.
The idea of direct requests being posted separately is a good one - in the early days I was quite grateful for direct answers.

[copelander]

My goodness, you turn your back for 5 minutes and this site turns into a philosophical website! I have no idea how long I've been contributing, but it's usually been just hints and a fair amount of N&C; and all of it in a good hearted way.Sorry to be so late checking in, but I was off in warmer climes for a few days and lucky enough was able to source an EV.......great fun it was too! DD keep at it, the"special clues do take a bit of thinking about, but once the penny drops it's all worthwhile.

[DocHH]

Hello Slaney,
I started doing EV back when Noah was a lad. I had been sending it in completed, and not completing it for quite a while before hearing the resounding thump of a pen landing on the door-mat in 1999, for EV 353! At that point there were 3 pens each week on offer, so the chances of a win greater. My completion rate improved when I got a new Secretary who did the barred crossword in the Independant, and we conferred on a monday morning!
Involvement with AB was only just over 2 years ago, so still a newbie here! Still tackle EV, but just for the fun and brain challenge!

[copelander]

Agree with you DocHH, the prize is not the spur, it is the challenge to get the crossword finished!!

[AndrewG-S]

Finished this off last night - great puzzle, thanks Lato

[Jogler]

As Copelander said, turn your back for five minutes....! The Jogler take on life, the universe and cryptic crosswords is fairly simple. For the Speccie and Listener we don't even look at the thread until finished or at least Wednesday when we are about to go completely crazy. For the EV it is more difficult as the thread is always such fun and light hearted that it is a pity to miss out on it. We really like to feel the achievement of the pdm's - but there are two of us to bounce ideas off so we are looking at this from a slightly different angle of those going solo. Thinking up hints is certainly more difficult than giving a bald answer - but if most people who subscribe to the N&C philosophy are also keen to get their own pdm's then we vote for this as the way to go.

Dd we mostly finished the clues before tackling the theme this week. By that time the letters in the unclued lights were looking quite interesting and with Kayakamina's hint you might be able to start to see the wood from the trees.

[Jogler]

Oh, and before you misconstrue 'wood and trees', Dd - not any sort of hint just a figure of speech :(/.

And Slaney, we rather liked the idea of a long collaborative effort. I don't suppose that would work these days.

[ringer]

Hi All
Gosh - I tune in for a brief moment and find lots of deep and meaningful N & C. Am off to London tomorrow (with 25 kids so no opportunity to sample any alcoholic beverages) and haven't even looked a this week's EV. I would just like to say that over the last couple of years I have really appreciated the hints that have been generously given and feel as if you are my friends (in an e-sort of way). Seem to have missed some of the debate but keep up the good work all of you - I don't have any mates who do cryptic crosswords so friends on-line are valued!

[devadolly]

Well, it's really good to see such N & Cing this week, though I have given up on this week's EV, I just don't get it at all and none of your hints are masking any sense at all - sorry! Off to see my sister in Cheltenham next week, a different sort of stress might jog the brain cells!

[AndrewG-S]

DD if you wait until Sunday to pick this one up again you could double up and try two EVs at the same time, who knows maybe even some repeated answers??

On a separate note for those who (dis)like typos in puzzles, my flight to France was cancelled Wednesday so I ended up on the train and the whole trip took 24 hours - so I picked up a copy of the Spectator to try that for the first time. Worked on it for about 3 hours and finally finished. Then looked more carefully at the page and realised that the entire solution had been given to the current puzzle instead of to last week's. It took me 3 hours to notice this!! No wonder I am so slow on PDMs.