Quizzes & Puzzles0 min ago
Listener No 4390: Castaways By External
27 Answers
That was good fun. I have to admit that I used the extra words to deduce the first six relevant entries, and only then sat down to work out what the husband and wife had been up to. I suppose it might have been possible to get the last two modifications without fully understanding the theme, but that would have reduced the enjoyment. Many thanks, eXternal.
Answers
Best Answer
No best answer has yet been selected by AHearer. 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.
I can see what's going on but can't totally be bothered to tidy up the loose ends of what the last couple of answers-to-be-modified actually were. Not that it matters too much -- I think I may have just about heard of the source material before, on the very edge of my memory, but nice to be reintroduced to it. Thanks, eXternal.
Online version has had 26 changed to 28 sometime this evening.
Can't say I had heard of husband and wife before, and like AHearer, got several of the modified entries from the extra words, then with the help of the Wiki article on the couple, eventually figured out what was going on and solved the original clues. We may have reservations about Wiki, but how often do we use it! (I'm ignoring government pressure to use fewer exclamation marks!)
Can't say I had heard of husband and wife before, and like AHearer, got several of the modified entries from the extra words, then with the help of the Wiki article on the couple, eventually figured out what was going on and solved the original clues. We may have reservations about Wiki, but how often do we use it! (I'm ignoring government pressure to use fewer exclamation marks!)
I enjoyed this very much too. Thanks, eXternal.
Some day, I'd be really interested in a list of setters' pseudonyms with descriptions of how they were chosen and what they refer to - some of them are really intriguing.
Happy weekend to everyone here (and here"s hoping I don't get marked wrong for joining up the planks of Emu's gibbet - though it'd probably be fair enough if I did)
Some day, I'd be really interested in a list of setters' pseudonyms with descriptions of how they were chosen and what they refer to - some of them are really intriguing.
Happy weekend to everyone here (and here"s hoping I don't get marked wrong for joining up the planks of Emu's gibbet - though it'd probably be fair enough if I did)
Reasonably easy grid fill, though I had to resort to Wikipedia to find one of the thematic modifications (hardly a common word!). Still it proved not to be as daunting a grid stare as I feared. I think the pre-amble could have been better worded to indicate the overall state of the completed grid, as is usually the case but that is a minor quibble. Major quibble is the (apparent lack of) proof reading in the Times version of the puzzle. Thanks eXternal.
I'm in agreement with those who've made positive comments: this was a very satisfying solve, and the final modifications were well sign-posted and required no staring at all. The 'overall state of the completed grid' is pleasing as well.
I wonder if Scorpius will endorse my one quibble, viz that the clue to 11dn commits a minor solecism.
Olichant: Azed's book 'A-Z of Crosswords' (Collins, 2006) gives biographies of some setters, some of whom explain the origin of their names, e.g. Mick Freeman chose Salamanca from the name of the university founded by the original Ximenes. I also have 'Who's Who among Listener Crossword setters, 1995', photocopied on A4 paper with a plastic slider to hold it together. Neither of these answers your question. I agree it would be interesting to find out.
I wonder if Scorpius will endorse my one quibble, viz that the clue to 11dn commits a minor solecism.
Olichant: Azed's book 'A-Z of Crosswords' (Collins, 2006) gives biographies of some setters, some of whom explain the origin of their names, e.g. Mick Freeman chose Salamanca from the name of the university founded by the original Ximenes. I also have 'Who's Who among Listener Crossword setters, 1995', photocopied on A4 paper with a plastic slider to hold it together. Neither of these answers your question. I agree it would be interesting to find out.
I thought this was very enjoyable puzzle. There was a range of clues from easy to middling difficulty, and enough going on with the gimmicks and modifications to maintain interest to the end. Unlike some I rather liked back-solving from grid entries the three thematic clues that I hadn't solved. I guessed one candidate for the final modification, after which the second became easy to identify thanks to the appropriate anagram supplied.
UglyUncle, I'm not sure what feature of 11dn you were referring to. If, by 'solecism'' you mean faulty syntax, i don't see any, but there is one aspect of the clue that surprised me and that has not been allowed by editors in the past without a further qualification.
UglyUncle, I'm not sure what feature of 11dn you were referring to. If, by 'solecism'' you mean faulty syntax, i don't see any, but there is one aspect of the clue that surprised me and that has not been allowed by editors in the past without a further qualification.
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.