Irish Times Crossword (Crosaire)

ytpe2r5bxkn0c1

I have to agree. There's no point finishing a crossword if it's accomplished by getting the answer from somebody else. I would often be curious to find out an answer but would take little satisfaction filling it in if I had to be told it.

hivizman

If it's a cryptic crossword, then there's still the possibility of getting the "aha!" feeling when you work out how that elusive answer comes from the clue, even if someone has told you what the word is. Even the "d'oh!" feeling that one gets when the last answer turns out to be so obvious is better than nothing. Also, for people who don't have much experience in cruciverbalism, there's value in learning what the missing answers are.

Perhaps, though, it's more of a feeling of relief that you've filled in all the blank spaces.

KatCookie

Well, if i make a decent attempt to finish the crossword, and try and try to finish last few, but cant, i still get the satisfaction even if someone tells me the answers!

ytpe2r5bxkn0c1

hivizman wrote: »

. Also, for people who don't have much experience in cruciverbalism, there's value in learning what the missing answers are.
.

And those answers are available in the next day's paper.:p

Sorry to say this but a bit pretentious with the old "cruciverbalism" aren't we?

stepinnman

Well despite the objections posted above I'm going to share my solutions for today!! I'm missing 3 so any help would be appreciated!

Also, I know there is a separate thread for the Christmas Crossword but whilst I'm putting up this one I'm stuck on 31a and 16d in that one. They're both 4 letters and I have two in each but can't work them out - I haven't actually got them in front of me at the moment but perhaps someone out there has..

Back to today...

Across:

1.

Four Sides

10.

Contrive

11.

Revere

12.

Priest

14.

Iris

15.

Resin

16. Think it's probably

Stated

but can't work out why beyond the "so called part".
18.

Invoice

21.

Broaden

24.

Encore

26.

Agree

30.

Eels

31.

Adroit

- Very good clue
32.

Ostend

33.

Intrepid

34.

Enough

35.

Deserting

Down:

2.

Odours

3.

Rather

4.

Idiots

5.

Evenin

g
6.

Digest

8.

Ascending

11.

Riser

13.

Semi

17.

Nine Holes

19.

Vacation

20.

Creed

22.

Owed

23.

Massive

25.

Renege

27.

Rattle

28.

Ernest

29.

Pinion

So I need help with 9a, 7d and I might have 16a wrong

hivizman

stepinnman wrote: »

Well despite the objections posted above I'm going to share my solutions for today!! I'm missing 3 so any help would be appreciated!

So I need help with 9a, 7d and I might have 16a wrong

Happy New Year! Off work today so after a long lie-in I've had a look at today's Crosaire.

9a is

LITMUS - think of what colour litmus paper turns when placed in an acid (a CID)

7d is

IMPELLED - anagram of limped round le

16a is

STYLED - sty = "for the pig" and led = "in the van"

I think that 19a is actually

VOCATION meaning "calling"

. Otherwise, I agree with your answers.

stepinnman

And we're back in action!!

Can't believe I didn't get

Litmus

!!! And you're definitely right about

Vocation

Thanks

Now back to the Christmas Crosaire for me!!

Laurent

I dont know if anyone else downloads the Crosaire from the IT web site, but living abroad it has been a lifesaver as when I lived in Ireland I enjoyed trying to get at least a few of the each day. My favourite was Saturdays as I could usually get a good start with the long words top &bottom and each side.
Since Christmas, the web shows Saturdays news and all the other Saturday goodies, but alas they show the Friday Crosaire. To add insult to Injury, the Monday one has the solution to the (for me unseen) saturday one. Is this a new ploy, here are the answers guess the clues?
Please Madam Editor.

hivizman

Laurent wrote: »

I dont know if anyone else downloads the Crosaire from the IT web site, but living abroad it has been a lifesaver as when I lived in Ireland I enjoyed trying to get at least a few of the each day. My favourite was Saturdays as I could usually get a good start with the long words top &bottom and each side.
Since Christmas, the web shows Saturdays news and all the other Saturday goodies, but alas they show the Friday Crosaire. To add insult to Injury, the Monday one has the solution to the (for me unseen) saturday one. Is this a new ploy, here are the answers guess the clues?
Please Madam Editor.

The Saturday puzzle is available for download today (Saturday 10 Jan 2009) - Crosaire Number 13,739.

hivizman

Well, there's half an hour of my life that I won't see again!

If you can't wait until Monday, these are my suggested answers and comments:

1a:

GIVEN ME A START

10a:

TRANSOM

11a:

APRICOT

12a:

RAIL (nice clue, with three meanings)

13a:

INDIA

15a:

STAR

17a:

TEA

19a:

FAERIE (not sure this clue works, because it suggests an anagram of 'I fear a', which hasn't got the correct number of 'e's)

21a:

HARDEN (rather banal definition -don't see anything cryptic here)

22a:

LYRICAL

23a:

JUMPER

25a:

SEARCH

27a:

BET

29a:

SITE

30a:

MODEL

31a:

ABLE

34a:

OVERDUE

35a:

RAISINS

36a:

STARBOARD SIDE

2d:

IMAGINE

3d:

EASE

4d:

MOMENT

5d:

ACACIA

6d:

TARE (nice Crosaire cryptic: 'tis + 'tis = 'tare)

7d:

RECITED

8d:

STAR OF THE SHOW

9d:

STAR IN THE EAST

14d:

DECIDED

16d:

WILLS

18d:

WALES

20d:

EYE

21d:

HAS

24d:

RETREAT

26d:

REBUILD

27d:

BOLERO

28d:

TERROR

32d:

ODER

33d:

MISS

Laurent

My pleas were answered and Saturday has returned to normal ---for me at least !

Bill.Butler

Hi all,

Does anyone know what time of day the latest online version of the Crosaire crossword is released? I'm an ex-pat over here in the US and want to start doing the crossword again.

Thx in advance for any help that can be offered.

Bill

hivizman

Just checked: Monday's crossword was still up at 23:30, but Tuesday's (today's) crossword is now there at 00:10. So I suspect that the new crossword is available online just after midnight GMT. If you are in California, that means the Crosaire will be available at 4PM PST.

P.S. Just noticed this is my 300th post!

Bill.Butler

Thanks for the information about the timing of the publication of the crossword. That means I will be getting a peek at it over here in California the evening before it goes into the paper over in Ireland.

I just started a blog about the Crosaire crossword if you (or anyone) is interested ... www.crosaire.paxient.com

But beware, I post the answers. I don't want to spoil the crossword for anyone

ytpe2r5bxkn0c1

Bill.Butler wrote: »

But beware, I post the answers.

Why?

Bill.Butler

Valerie Kind Holster wrote: »

Why?

I post the solution as a reference, to the commentary I make on the clues in the puzzle.

I'm a big fan of the Crosaire, and the blog is kind of a "homage", as it were. I know, I need to get a life ...

Anyway, it's all for fun

Bill

www.crosaire.paxient.com

hivizman

Very good site with comments on Crosaire - thanks for the link.

I'm not really sure that I like Crosaire, given his rather out of date clueing conventions. For example, the clue in today's puzzle "By the sound of it, to ease there, really" doesn't really work by my standards because the wordplay is only partial. Once you know that the answer is

INDEED

, you can rationalise the clue, but it wouldn't get past any of the British quality newspapers' crossword editors.

Sadly, your blog will probably make this thread redundant!

Bill.Butler

hivizman wrote: »

Very good site with comments on Crosaire - thanks for the link.

Sadly, your blog will probably make this thread redundant!

Thanks for your comments on the blog ... and don't give up on the thread, that would make me feel bad!

I agree with you about the "quality" of the Crosaire puzzle vis-a-vis the cryptic crosswords in the British papers. Crosaire is very much old school, a blast from the past, and hence less precise. But it is an astounding tradition that has survived for decades. I am a big fan because I grew up with the puzzle, so I give it latitude

Thx again for your comments

Bill

www.crosaire.paxient.com

OldOddJobs

Usually the top time posted is under 2 minutes: it takes that long to type in the clues, let alone solve them!

People are obviously solving the print edition, then going online to simply fill in the grid and post a quick time....what's the point?!

luckily this small irritation is all I have to worry about

igCorcaigh

Hate to dig up an old thread, but I've only recently got into Crosaire in the IT.

Any boardsies share an interest?

(mods, feel free to move or delete)