No bars, strange numbers, clues in usual order, some misprints in definitions.
Why can I get absolutely nowhere on this crossword? I've stared at it for hours, I've looked up every single word in every single clue in Chambers and Bradfords. I've invented all sorts of misprints and looked them up. I've done everything but cheat...
I can't even get started on this one.
Let's possibly redeem something... we have to guess the name of the setter, so I'm going to presume it's a regular setter. You rarely see someone with more than one puzzle in a year, so let's eliminate all setters going back to October 2007. Probably someone who set last year...
Poat? Maybe... seems to like odd grids. Only set two puzzles in the last three years, so maybe not familiar enough to solvers to use as an identifiable setter.
Arachne? Also not that many crosswords.
Charybdis? Likely contender... set quite a few in the last year but none since "Wot No Lines" (which I couldn't finish, but liked).
Bandmaster? Maybe, but the Bandmaster puzzles I've done have had a lot of clues, and this has very few.
Kea? I hope not, because I really loved "Safe Cracking" and the one with the crazy slanty lines.
So I'm putting my money behind Charybdis, let's see if I can get anything about it.
I am so stuck...
Across...
1. Looks like it might be a misprint definition for "encouraging six", because otherwise wordplay would be hinting at VI,EN, (on?). VIENNESE wouldn't fit a misprint of "encouraging". So maybe EN------. Enticing? Could ON give me TICING?
7. Cut Flower... oh, maybe it's a Dipper puzzle? No idea.
8. Maybe a misprint giving "homelessness"? But can't think of a 4-letter word. American boast cut short for wordplay?
9. If "egg" is "ego" misspelled then I could have N-MO- and something like NO MORE as the miprints. The only word I can think for "operation for birth" is CAESARIAN which isn't 8 letters.
10. FINALLY! ARENA - N gives AREA and a misprinted R.
13. IN out of ORDINARY gives ORDARY which doesn't make any anagrams I can think of.
14. Wordplay looks like NINTH as a hidden word. Nothing that means NINTH seems to fit the definition or a misprint in the definition.
18. Could be long ball? S--- SAIR? SALP?
19. ST-----R? WAYFARER?
21. Anagram of WEST? STEW? WETS?
22. Misprint maybe for "they're trapped"? ORAL in SPAN?
Down
1. EDGAR!! Got one!
2. One of the five-letter muses? Maybe starting with N, that doesn't help
3. I--ICAL? Living woman?
4. A rugby term for error? Don't know any rugby. Wordplay not giving me anything.
5. No idea...
6. EME,US, and we have a misprint of U -bush birds. The grid shape seems to be suggesting this crosses with 1 across, which would mean enticing isn't right. It could go next to EDGAR, I guess.
11. LOSSIER (RISSOLE)*.
12. Making furniture in six letters? CHAIRY?
14. Could be misprint of shunted? -M---?
15. That's an odd surface, I'm sort of running low on inspiration now
16. C(H)ARDS, misprint of R for T in tummy
17. SOMA? That's a wild guess since it's appeared in a Times and a Jumbo lately.
So great... I'm only sure of 5 clues, and I can't really place any of them, but I think 1ac starts EN so I put in EDGAR. Might as well be an empty grid.
Off to check where I failed on this one, but we can stamp it FAIL
Victory Listener crossword and possibly Charybdis. The lead is almost eroded! Current tally Listener 20, George 21. Current streak, Listener 3!
2 comments:
I didn't try this one at all, and judging by your experience, I am glad I didn't! Still battling on with 4000 but really close to surrendering on it and rejoining the quest!
Strange, I had no problem filling the grid (maybe 2-3 hours), but got stuck on the rest of it. Maybe I should have persevered - looking at the solution paths given by LWO and Gregson, I wasn't too far away from cracking it when I gave up!
Andy
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