Crosswords
Foaming Draught
Shipmate
in The Circus
I've searched to see if there is a thread for Crosswords. They are mentioned in other places, but there doesn't seem to be a dedicated thread.
I'm a Guardian/Grauniad aficionado from yonks back. The trouble with the app/website in Australia, is that many clues are pommie specific, ie you need to have contemporary knowledge of UK happenings/people/places/TV programmes. Just as with Wordle you need to be ready for 'or' rather than 'our', or even complete nonsense (in use in nonsense America) "words" like emcee. Connections is even worse. American TV programmes (which thinking people don't even watch, so why include them in a supposed thinking person's game?) and American minority (I mean only Americans are interested) sports - baseball or NFL are often among the connections.
That rant over, back to crosswords. I'm an Australian pom, so I get most of the Brit-specific clues. But it gets worse. You need to have wider British geographical knowledge, often London knowledge, which some folk won't have. Luckily, I'm a Londoner too (cue 🎶 Maybe it's because I'm a Londoner ... ") so I immediately twigged a clue from this morning's Everyman:
Spooner's to cycle past Royal Courts of Justice? Let's hear some music. (6,2,3,4)
I think that the apostrophe is misplaced or redundant, btw.
It's hardly morning in pommie land, so I won't give a spoiler. I'm not sure that a non-Londoner or a non-lawyer would get it quickly.
So, crossword lovers, discussion will have to be post mortem (if the old English only rule is still in place, that's a Latin phrase which means put the fly killer in the mail) a day or two late to avoid spoilers.
I'm a Guardian/Grauniad aficionado from yonks back. The trouble with the app/website in Australia, is that many clues are pommie specific, ie you need to have contemporary knowledge of UK happenings/people/places/TV programmes. Just as with Wordle you need to be ready for 'or' rather than 'our', or even complete nonsense (in use in nonsense America) "words" like emcee. Connections is even worse. American TV programmes (which thinking people don't even watch, so why include them in a supposed thinking person's game?) and American minority (I mean only Americans are interested) sports - baseball or NFL are often among the connections.
That rant over, back to crosswords. I'm an Australian pom, so I get most of the Brit-specific clues. But it gets worse. You need to have wider British geographical knowledge, often London knowledge, which some folk won't have. Luckily, I'm a Londoner too (cue 🎶 Maybe it's because I'm a Londoner ... ") so I immediately twigged a clue from this morning's Everyman:
Spooner's to cycle past Royal Courts of Justice? Let's hear some music. (6,2,3,4)
I think that the apostrophe is misplaced or redundant, btw.
It's hardly morning in pommie land, so I won't give a spoiler. I'm not sure that a non-Londoner or a non-lawyer would get it quickly.
So, crossword lovers, discussion will have to be post mortem (if the old English only rule is still in place, that's a Latin phrase which means put the fly killer in the mail) a day or two late to avoid spoilers.
Comments
* when I typed that, my fingers gravitated towards it being post mortgage - can you tell I work for a firm of lawyers?
I'm not getting your clue right away; I'll need some crosser letters, and I don't think Everyman appears here until Sunday (it's 12:20 pm on Saturday here at the moment).
I do the New York Times crossword every day. I’m afraid I’ve never caught onto cryptic crosswords.
Wow, a UK site refers to UK culture and a US site refers to US culture and uses US spellings and words. How weird.
You don't have to like our use of "emcee," but it would be nice if you exercised a little basic courtesy here. I love crossword puzzles. But why should I want to talk about them with you when you're so flat-out rude?
@Piglet, how does "nonsense America" not register with you as a problem? How does the blanket condemnation of all American TV programs as things thinking people don't watch get past you?
Question is, is this Ozzie sledging or true insult ?
Is "sledging" another way to say, "C'mon, it was only a joke"?
Well, I’m not Australian so I’m not sure I have this right, nor do I follow cricket, but I think it is equivalent to trash talking - i.e. taunting one’s opponents in a contest.
That's about it. The main difference between professional or league cricket and Sunday cricket is that professionals and league players sledge the opposition, Sunday cricketers sledge their own team mates.
I've recently added the Quick crossword to the early morning suite of Wordle, Connections and occasionally Spelling Bee and Waffle.
The NYT games are a bit culture specific, but y'know, it broadens the mind. Come to that, I have trouble with British cultural reference for later than the last millennium.
The same paper's recently introduced Quick Cryptic (Saturdays only) is a doddle...mostly...
Ship's Commandment 5 states
@Foaming Draught please be aware that what (I think) you meant as good-natured banter may not be interpreted that way by the person on the receiving end.
Hostly beret off
la vie en rouge, Circus host
I am a piglet of very little brain!
There's a very useful site called Fifteensquared that offers blogs on the crosswords from the Grauniad, Independent and other British newspapers, which is helpful if you've done the crossword, but wonder how the compiler reached their solution!
The weekend ones (Prize and Everyman) don't appear there until the following week though.
I'm sorry David's not here to see it - he'd have loved it. ❤
We usually get them out, unless it's a Friday when David Astel https://davidastle.com/david-astle is the cruciverbalist.
SoF used to have a cryptic crossword game in years past.
The Saturday prize puzzle is much harder, far fewer anagrams and more references to Greek and Roman mythology.
Did anyone do the Grauniad yesterday? It was an interesting concept for April Fool's day - if you haven't done it I won't post spoilers. Once I realised what he was getting at, I got through it.