sad addict

[macpark]

Am I the only sad person who has ringed 25th May on my diary as the date of the next Generalist crossword?

With the slow, but steady, decline of the Herculis into a quick run through the clues on a Monday morning, it is so nice to have a crossword which you know will tax the brain, keep you going over a couple of weeks and get the AB a-buzz with posts!!

I need to get out more!

[SpellingBee2]

I hadn't ringed it, but I have now! Thanks for the tip-off. Agree re Herculis, looking forward to a brain stretch.

SB

PS As one who has to spend long stretches at the laptop, what better way to fill in time while supposedly working!

[kayakamina]

It is out macpark i've already downloaded mine and it doesn't look as difficult as challenging as usual. Good luck K

[shaneystar2]

Hi macpark
You are not the only one !! I hadn't actually made a note of the date but pega reminded me about it .I actually had a look at the site this morning in the hope that they may have updated it today ! I don't know if you like cryptics but there is usually a good one here ....and a new one each month.
http://www.crossword.org.uk/

[shaneystar2]

Oooooh they must have seen me looking Kayakimina !!
I shall print it off at once.....something nice to do on another dull dreary day in May !

[SpellingBee2]

Oh no, another unproductive work day..........(or at least distracted!)

[JoolsTwo]

Oh Goody I was hoping it would be before I swan of on my Hols. Something to have a go at on the plane. :-)

[pandabear]

hi

Can someone explain to me where yoy get this Generalist Xword puzzle from?

Thank you

[shaneystar2]

Pandabear
here is the link
http://www.prospect-magazine.co.uk/landing_pag e.php
Click on Crossword at the side

[pandabear]

shaneystar2 - thank you very much - I often see you answering on this site ...... you are a real star!

[Quizmonster]

I wish someone would explain for me the attraction of the Generalist so-called "crossword". (Shaney, perhaps, ma'am?) The two or three I've looked at in the past were not even, strictly speaking, crosswords at all. One had lots of questions like: "What was the first name of the author of such and such book?" Never having heard of the book, I could not possibly answer.
After half an hour on Google, I'd got about twenty answers to such questions and entered them in the grid. That was before I said to myself: "What on earth are you doing? You're a crossword fan, not a googlemaniac!"...and threw the thing away.
The best that could be said for it was that it was a 'quizword', not a 'crossword' in any sense other than that the answers had to be fitted into a grid.
I've just had a glance at the one Shaney linked to above and it doesn't seem any different.
Just for the heck of it, I did part of the googlery again - because again I had no idea what the answers were - and got 11 of the 26 across questions in 18 minutes. (Then threw it away again!)
You can't get the answers to the Times, Azed, Mephisto, Listener etc just by typing a word or two into a search-slot...you have to work them out. With half the Generalist clues you either know the answer or you don't. No amount of thinking about them will produce results.

Don't misunderstand me...I truly hope that all of you go on thoroughly enjoying the Generalist! As for me, I'm mystified as to its appeal. Any offers?

[JoolsTwo]

Well Quizmonster, I find I like the challenge of finding the answers. Not all of them are that easy to find and it takes more than "entering a couple of word into google" well it does me anyway. I also discover things that I didn't just know. You still have to work things out but in a different way to the puzzles you like. Cryptic crossword don't do it for me. As they say each to their own.

[shaneystar2]

Hi QM
I just like any crosswords really . It is quite interesting to do ..last months was particularly good as it was a mix of cryptic and GK .(or quiz type ) questions. You are quite right in saying that these are questions that your average person wouldn't know the answer to off the top of their head and they have to be looked up via Google or books.O.K it's not like Mephisto etc. But even with the trickiest of cryptics you can still use a word finder and work the clues back to the definiton.But ..it's all brain fodder and you learn something new plus it's fun to chat about it with fellow enthusiasts on Q&P.
I do admit it's more of a "quiz" type grid but I enjoy a quiz type grid just as much as I enjoy a cryptic .

[Quizmonster]

Thanks for that, Shaney and Jim. Basically, it's an "each to his own" situation, as you say. I was just surprised to see that sometimes the same person finds Azed, say, and Generalist equally involving, while to me they seem as different as chalk and cheese. A bit like prop forwards at ballet class!

Sorry to have hijacked your thread, Mac.

[JoolsTwo]

I'm sure he would look delightful in a Tutu quizmonster. :-) regards Jools