NTSPP – 320

37 comments on “NTSPP – 320”

1. An excellent puzzle with silky smooth surfaces and quite a few clever misdirections. Pitched at just the right level of difficulty in my opinion.

   Difficult to choose favourites, but I’ll plump for 18a and 21a. I also loved the “market trader” in 10a!

   Great fun and extremely enjoyable to solve. Many thanks, Imsety.

2. Overall, an excellent puzzle with generally great surfaces, though there seemed to be a lot of “take a letter out” type clues. I have what I’m pretty sure is the correct answer for 21A, though I can’t parse it. I’m presuming the cricket commentator is someone I’ve never heard of. I thought just ‘parts’ for 20D was a bit too loose…early parts, maybe. And I’m not convinced that 22A works all that well. Still, that did not detract from the enjoyment. 8A is top of my pops. Thanks, Imsety.

   1. 22 Across is a lurker! Easily missed.

      1. D’oh! Yep, I completely missed that one and was trying to make something out of ‘sounds like data’ as testimony.

3. A significant struggle for us and we eventually got it all apart from understanding how the wordplay for 22a works. Satisfying to solve.
   Thanks Imsety.

   1. We have just noticed BD’s comment above and are kicking ourselves.

4. Thanks to Imsety for a really good puzzle with very smooth surfaces. I found the top half much easier than the bottom, and also fell for the sucker punch of missing the embed at 22.
   Nice one; happy Easter!

5. A really enjoyable puzzle which caused a lot of pennies to be dropped – thanks, Imsety. I thought that the market trader and especially the cricket commentator required a bit too much specialist knowledge. Top clues for me were 4a and 8a.

6. Very enjoyable thank you Imsety – well worth the wait. Agree with Gazza about the specialist knowledge, although I did know both of them, and indeed 10a was on the ‘favourites’ shortlist.

7. Very good quality NTSPP – thank you, Imsety.
   Like Chris, I had to take a guess at the cricket commentator and missed the lurker in 22a, but I did manage the market trader once the penny dropped.
   Top three for me were 8,10&12a.

8. Enjoyable stuff, thanks Imsety.

   Took a while for the penny to drop on the market trader but I did know the commentator. He’s commonly known as ‘Aggers’, I got given the nickname ‘pommers’ when Brian Johnston (Johners) started naming all the TMS crew in similar public school fashion – Aggers, Blowers, Tuffers etc.

9. Although I’ve never seen the show in 10A, I have seen the odd clip so I did know of the character in question. I have seen the late actor in other roles and I’m a big fan.

   1. Sorry, Chris – didn’t mean to imply that you didn’t know the 10a trader. Realised it could have been read that way only after I’d posted. Let’s hope the edit facility comes back soon!

      1. No worries. It never occurred to me that you were implying anything. I know so few British TV shows that it’s unusual for me to get one without having to Google so I’m always a bit pleased when I do.

   2. Hi Chris,

      The actor in question is very much still with us!

      1. Oh dear. I’m mixing up his name with someone else’s and for the life of me I can’t remember who!

10. I would echo most of the comments above; the surfaces were super smooth – every one of them – and that gave the whole puzzle an air as if it had been effortlessly assembled, which probably means it took an awful lot of work!
    Top half (except for 8a) flew in, bottom half took quite a lot longer. Once the penny dropped with 8a I think it became my favourite clue, closely followed by 1d and 18a. I also sprinkled some ticks around my sheet of A4 (once I could eventually access the site!) for 1a, 21a, 24a, 2d, 3d, 5d, 17d and 18d.
    My only question mark concerned the use of ‘parts’ in 20d. Whilst I can see it’s a lot like the often used ‘bits’, I think the latter is a less-than-rigorous indicator which survives as a one-off from a bygone age of setting ‘because it does’, so to speak, and probably shouldn’t be used as a precedent.
    Many thanks Imsety, I shall look forward to your next one.

    1. Hi Maize,
       Yes – I had a question mark over ‘parts’ and I think Expat Chris did as well. I’m assuming it was used to help the surface read but it does jar a bit.

11. I didn’t do very well with this yesterday, (I managed two, once I managed to access it), but I also needed all the hints for the DT one, so can’t have been having a good day. Today I managed far better, (helped by a couple of the comments above!) and I’m glad of that because there were lots of really good dawnings and smiles and great surfaces. It’s a real pity it might have lost some of its audience because of the website problems.
    Many thanks Imsety, I particularly enjoyed 4a, 8a (the parsing was achieved well after the answer!), and 17d.

    1. Don’t worry, Snape, I was having bad days with the Toughies all last week. It just seems to ‘happen’ sometimes to all of us.
       By the way, I have been appraised of your new nickname post-Macclesfield and given carte blanche to bandy it about on the blog. If only the emoticons were back in use!!!

       1. Oh, I never worry, it amazes me when I can complete one unaided, and that is with the simplest of back pagers.
          It was only one person who referred to me in any other way, and I think I will stick with my current sobriquet for my Rookie submissions.
          I do know I’ve got a fantastic bottom, as every time I leave a room I hear people saying ‘What an ar*e’

          1. I am reliably informed by the same source that it’s a ‘hot’ one. In fact, it was suggested that Hot Seat could be a more suitable nickname for use on the blog.

             1. I’m going to turn the other cheek.

                Much like I had to keep doing standing in front of that fire.

12. Is there a review of this puzzle, as it’s causing me grief?

    1. Reviews of the NTSPP usually appear on Mondays.

13. All finished after much cogitation and assistance from comments above, except for 20d and 24a. Any hints please would be much appreciated.

    1. 20d – start with O(ld) then the first letters (bits of) of the next four words.

       24a – ‘On the plane’ is the def but it could have equally been ‘on the ship’. Stick a large porcine animal inside a flyer as in advertising stuff.

       1. Doh. Many thanks pommers.
          And many thanks also to Imsety – lovely smooth surfaces for a good brain workout.

14. Didn’t mind seeing Mr Trotter but who could be hiding in 21a?
    I haven’t got a clue!
    Agree with the majority about the excellent surface of the clueing.
    Even when it comes to anagrams.
    Loved 1d.
    9d made me laugh.
    So did the homophone in 18a. Sounded so Irish to me.
    Will wait for the review to get 21a unless someone gives me a hint.
    Thanks to Imsety for the great fun.

    1. 21a – you need the one letter abbreviation for a type of extra in cricket and R(uns) and inside you put a cricket commentator and part of the TMS team – the one know as Aggers – but without his last letter to get a German scorer whose music is better than it sounds according to Mark Twain.

       1. Thanks Pommers, I have listened to TMS for so long that I have forgotten Aggers’ real surname!

          Those that show no interest in cricket will be quite rightfully be up-in-arms!

          (The Johnners & Aggers “leg-over” clip still makes me laugh after all these years! 1991?)

          1. I was driving down the M6 when the leg-over bit happened and I had to pull off onto the hard shoulder on the J16 slip road because I was corpseing too much to drive – magic stuff!

             1. Merci messieurs. I got the wider picture now. Or is it the wide pitcher…

15. Thanks for the review Prolixic, I made a real meal of this puzzle, though on seeing the answers I don’t know why…a wavelength thing.
    Thanks to Imsety.

    1. Colin, you’re putting a double-L in your email address which is sending your comments into moderation.

16. Many thanks for the review, Prolixic. I was never in with a chance of parsing 21a – both the name of the commentator and the ‘w’ for extras were well outside of my territory. Also struggled a little over 18d – just not getting the words of the clue into the right order!

    Thanks again to Imsety – must make a note to look out for cricket terms in your next one.

17. Didn’t want to miss out – with limited wifi and no printer, I managed to download this and solve with across lite. And happy I did.

    It’s already been said, but I am highly impressed with all the super smooth surfaces. There lies the art for me. Absolutely brilliant, and no mean feat – beautifully done, e.g. in clues like 14d – very clever. Congratulations on a superb puzzle. I didn’t know the cricket commentator but that didn’t hold me up.

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