Rookie Corner 499

43 comments on “Rookie Corner 499”

1. That was an absolute delight to solve. The only one we have not been able to fully parse is 28a and suspect that there is some innuendo there that innocent people like us are not familiar with.
   And a pangram to boot.
   Thanks very much AgentB.

   1. No innuendo required! A homophone of “Portnoy’s Complaint” should lead you to the solution.

      1. Thanks Prolixic. We’ve just had what Pommers describes as “a hit on the head with a tea tray” moment.

2. An enjoyable Curate’s Egg for me and I missed the pangram.

   Smiles for 10a, 16a, 1d, and 22d.

   As for 28a, which I freely admit was a bung in, I will await the wisdom of Prolixic!

   Thanks to AgentB and in advance to the aforementioned Prolixic.

3. Welcome again, AgentB. I am struggling to find much to comment on except how much I enjoyed solving this light and fun pangram. In my opinion, you have made really good progress here with concise clueing and mostly reasonable surfaces (although neither 11a nor 2d make much sense to me).

   A very few minor points:
   – 9a: I’m not sure that “pairing” quite works in the way you intend.
   – 23a: probably needs a question mark.
   – 27a: there may well be a real place called Downside, but I would suggest either Tyneside or Humberside might have been better.
   – 4d: I would prefer “some Londoners”. I’m from London but I don’t drop my Hs!
   – 24d: I assume is intended to be a double definition but, as far as I can see, the answer and “that’s it” are only synonymous with the meaning “no arguments” which renders the clue not at all cryptic.

   My top picks were 18a, 14d, 17d & 22d.

   Very well done and thank you, AgentB. Thanks too in advance to Prolixic.

   1. Hi RD! Just a quick note as don’t want to say too much while comments and reviews are a-coming, but re 24d. It was supposed to be a whimsical final clue, getting a useful smile before comment time 😅 But the grid had double-unches on 8d and 25d. It was Crossword Compiler stock but may have meddled with it. Figured a double-unch opening would be very bad so edited them to four letters. That changed the clue order which I didn’t spot until just before submission. So it was a bit of a nuisance really!

   2. RD – I think the reason Downside works so perfectly in 27a is that it is a Catholic school, which adds immeasurably to the surface reading in a way that almost no other place name could equal.

4. Thank you AgentB – an enjoyable pangram with a splendid d’oh moment at 28a

   Thanks in advance to Prolixic

   I’d be interested to learn whether our previous Rookie corner crossword providers are still setting and are, perhaps, sending their puzzles to Mycrossword.com rather than to BD’s blog?

   1. Hi crypticsue. As one who frequents most of the sites, my experience suggests it’s more as ‘as well’ rather than ‘rather than’! Of course, there is the advantage of no wait time – which was, of old, a challenge when submitting to RC. As one who started setting using MyC but who also ‘came through’ the RC process, I think the latter is still seen as a rite of passage and a learning experience. I’m not aware of that many RC setters also posting on MyC – though, of course, some do change their pseudonyms so are less easy to spot.

      1. Hi both, yes I agree with PM. I’ve just had a look back at RC setters who haven’t yet graduated and I don’t think they have migrated to MyC (unless with a different pseudonym as PM notes). Dharma appears over there occasionally but I have no reason to believe that he won’t reappear here in due course. But it is quite possible that some (small ‘r’) rookies head straight to MyC now, which could help to explain the reduction in puzzle numbers here. They would of course be missing out on an invaluable learning experience if that’s the case.

         1. Dr Diva is another example of a setter who was active both on RC, prior to promotion, and, as Baldur, on MyC where he is still a very regular contributor.

         2. I do indeed appear on MyC occasionally. I have several more that I could publish there too. I’ve also submitted another here as they were short of puzzles.
            Really pushed for time today but I’ll try to get round to Agent B at some point.

            1. I’m nothing if not patient 😇

   2. I’m still setting but not sending anything out for publication, but if I did, it would be here – no other site has this quality of commentariat, and of course, Prolixic
      Self-imposed exile on an island called Ignominy after my unfortunate escapade [I still feel guilty Gazza, sorry]

      1. Ooo I am intrigued, may have to go into secret agent mode over this 🕵️‍♂️🔎😁 Send something in anyway though – the more the merrier!

      2. Hi LbR there’s no reason at all for your self-imposed exile or guilt. You tried your best at blogging and it didn’t come off – end of story. Your comments here are always welcome and we’d love to see more of your puzzles.

         1. Thank you Gazza
            Maybe I really ought to put it behind me now and move on because I do miss all my friends here
            I’ll send something in, see how it goes

            1. Good to hear from you LBR. Please start commenting again assuming that you’re still doing the DT puzzles.

      3. Rags, you’ve been away for too long. i’m sure we’d all like to see more of your entertaining compositions. Let’s be ‘aving you!

      4. Welcome back! I for one have missed your erudite comments. I also remember being very grateful for your assessment of my rather poor attempt at setting. I’m still working on it and remember all you told me. 👍

5. Well done, AgentB. I’d agree you are improving at a rate of knots and you have taken sensible advantage of the slightly quieter period on RC. The feedback you are getting must be very encouraging as well as helpful. It’s nice to see you experimenting with subtexts and themes occasionally – not so much because they are tremendous things in themselves – look at blogs of published setters and you’ll see not all solvers either look for or enjoy/are impressed by themes, pangrams and ninas – but the additional constraints do improve your versatility as a setter. Many congrats and thanks for the puzzle.

6. I usually have a go at the Rookie crosswords, with varying amounts of success, possibly because, over time, I’ve got used to the strategies employed by those who set the daily crosswords and can’t adapt quickly enough to the Rookie contributors. Wavelength is so critical to me!
   However, I thoroughly enjoyed this and was able to fill in most of it both speedily and enjoyably with plenty of smiles along the way. I had to use reveals for 10a, 28a (which I still don’t understand) and 2d.
   Thank you, AgentB for providing such an encouraging start to my day and for stepping up to the challenge to fill the RC void. I, for one, am grateful.

7. Great stuff – lots of humour and a pangram without the need for obscurities – what’s not to like? Many thanks to AgentB.
   The clues I liked best were 4d, 17d and 20d.

8. Welcome back, Agent B.

   I’m delighted to see the progress you’ve made and continue to make, definitely your best puzzle to date with commendably brief clues and a variety of constructions on offer. My only real concerns were with 23a and 24d which aren’t sufficiently cryptic for me, I think in each case something much better could have been produced. I would have also preferred “this country” instead of “UK” in 26a as the clue was already fairly easy without giving the solver such a helping hand at the start. Can bilberries be citrussy? I would have far preferred a different adjective in 9a , I think. These are all relatively minor quibbles however and the lack of serious technical flaws was very evident. Well done on that.

   Many thanks for a very enjoyable puzzle!

   1. Thanks Silvanus, very kind words and really good advice. Re 26a, your suggestion is perfect and I’ll definitely be keeping that tool for the armoury. I tried and tried, not wanting to use any form of Britain (pedant’s corner alert) and at length I gave up and just put in UK.

      Setting this came while I was still smarting a little from #2 being on the tough/obscure side. I’d been erring on the side of caution with difficulty, and you’re right about 23/24. I do want to give solvers some easy entry points but lately I’ve been feeling more confident in upping the toughness of some clues (fairly!) as I’m gradually getting the hang of it all.

      9a, oh it was awful 🤣 I couldn’t get a ‘Y’ in anywhere! If you see a random given name in one of my puzzles, it’s a sure sign I was having some grid trouble!

9. Comfortably your best to date (think I’ve had a go at them all) in my view too. A very enjoyable solve from start to finish. I rather liked 24d (which those that know what they’re talking about took issue with) but would maybe have added more before arguments. Ashamed to say I’d quite forgotten the Roth novel, which I’ve not read (reading about the subject matter can’t say I’ve any wish to whatever it’s literary merit) & the homophone still eludes me. 17d&29a my top 2.
   Many thanks & keep ‘em coming

10. Like other commenters, I thought this was your best effort to date and my ticks went to 29a along with 8,17&25d.
    Well done, AgentB.

11. Thanks Agent B, good fun and always nice to see a pangram. A few minor qubbles as already mentioned by others. I *did* get the very clever homophone in 28a, but can’t really reconcile the definition – perhaps I’ve parsed wrongly or am just being a bit thick! Also can’t quite get the parsing for 5d – hopefully I’m missing something there too, as it’s a nice surface and had enough to suggest the answer but I can’t piece together the details. Particularly liked the unusual 29a, amongst plenty to enjoy – 10a & 25d perhaps my other faves. It’s a shame 24d ended up *not* being the last clue, as I think that would have justified the ‘same-sideyness’, but one very small point – in a couple (1d’s “gown” and 13a’s “nosh”) there’s also a slight ‘same-sideyness’, with that part of the answer essentially meaning the same as in the cryptic wordplay. Thanks again!

    1. Thanks Fez! Good points about same-sideyness, a great term too. Will definitely be taking that on board.

       As you’ll see from the review, 5d was an unindicated lift-and-separate, albeit fairly unambiguous. I was expecting to get hoisted up on a 5d for using this here, so pleasantly surprised it went down well. Prolixic sets crosswords for that paper so it was a blatant and shameless attempt at brown-nosing too 🤣🤣

12. Huzzah. A welcome return from someone who actually knows what they’re doing – what a relief! An absolute joy from start to finish. Loved the reference to the peerless Dury in 10a. What a duet that would have been. I initially thought, like others, that 28a (what a book that is) was going to merit the elephant slipper (©agentB). But no! Brilliant. Ticks galore. I was tickled by 26a, 29a was spot on, 5d was deliciously subtle and I was a big fan of 17d. 25d was simple elegance personified. What’s not to like? And having never knowingly eaten a bilberry, I have no idea if they’re citrussy or not. Loved it, mate. Bravo.

13. Another great puzzle; thanks to setter.

14. Very good Agent B.
    The clues I particularly liked were the funny 22d (though I don’t use that abbreviation) the cryptic 29a plus the smart DDs at 1&8d with my favourite being 17d.
    All my minor quibbles have been mentioned by others and like Fez I’m not quite sure of your thinking re 5d but none impacted on the enjoyment of a very witty puzzle.
    Many thanks and thanks in advance to Prolixic.

15. Super puzzle, thank you AgentB – witty and amusing throughout, admirable brevity, and while there are a couple of minor points I thought it a remarkably polished puzzle overall. The thought of 10a performing together is … interesting! Many great surfaces. Laughed out loud at 28a, and other podium places went to 22d and 29a.

    Many thanks indeed, and in advance too to Prolixic.

16. Brilliant! A joy from start to end and a pangram to boot. I particularly like 29a, very clever.

    Thank you, AgentB you make it seem so easy but I know it isn’t as I am struggling to put one together at the moment.

    Many thanks in advance to Prolixic.

17. Wow! What fun. Lot’s to like here. Well done AgentB. Big ticks from me for topical 26a, 27a (the school of course – very clever) 5d and 25d. I think I like 28a but I’m struggling to workout what complaint’s doing. No doubt Prolixic wil elucidate. However the biggest smile came from 10a. Having shared a school boarding house with the latter mentioned, together with his buddy Ed Speight, I was never surprised by the fame he achieved with his spectacular charisma. On top of all that he was consummate artist. Extraordinary guy!

    AgentB it’s great to see you growing prowess as a setter. Congratulations. I could say more of the same please but I expect the more might be even better!

    1. What a great story! When I was a kid we’d go shopping in Romford, the newsagent in South Street (from ‘Razzle in my Pocket’) was still there back then. My parents used to think it hilarious to take me in there (for my Beano, good boy was I) making loud smutty comments about dirty magazines etc. I suppose everyone here will think this all makes perfect sense 🤣

18. Thanks Prolixic for the in-depth review, as always plenty of things I’d not spotted, all for the melting pot.

    Thanks also to everyone for having a go at my puzzle and taking the time to comment. Much appreciated and I’m delighted it’s gone down well – really made my day 😊 I’ll reply to a few points above but won’t spam the post, so a big thank you here to everybody.

    I fancied trying a pangram ‘just because’. It was tough to fill the grid, very tough! Avoiding obscurities is one thing but some solutions were a pain to clue. I’ll echo Chalicea a few weeks back; the restrictions of a pangram are a challenge for the setter but not always a great return for the solver with so many forced limitations. Not sure I’d try another one in a hurry.

    The seed for 28a came from listening to an old episode of I’m Sorry I Haven’t A Clue, the thought being if one lived near a port, one might complain about the noise of a foghorn! ‘Broadcast’ for noise/shot used to be quite the chestnut in 90’s backpagers. All feedback understood, I wasn’t 100% happy with it but well worth trying out the idea on you good people 😁

    Thanks again, see you next time 👍

19. Many thanks for the review, Prolixic, greatly appreciated as ever.

20. Gracious! You have made outstanding progress AgentB. Very well done indeed!
    This puzzle was a delight to solve. Aside from 28a, I had no problems with understanding or parsing my answers. I thought the double definitions rather good and also the anagrams.
    I have many ticks, including 9a, 23a, 29a, 1d, 14d, 22d and 25d. This last has special echoes for me. During WWI, Mr Catnap’s father was a pilot in the RAF, flying camels and spitfires. His pilot’s log book has quite a few references to the weather being 25d.
    Many appreciative thanks to AgentB for an impressive and entertaining Rookie offering.
    Much appreciation to Prolixic for his excellent review and for explaining my answer to 28a.

    1. That’s amazing, Catnap! I’d love to hear some stories. Will especially remember him this weekend

       

       1. How kind of you, AgentB. Thank you very much.

21. Just back from holiday and now catching up on the puzzles we missed. Really enjoyed this one, AgentB. Lots of favourites, pangram also, but will just mention 10a, 29a and 5d. Really looking forward to your next crossword. Thank you also to Prolixic.

    1. Thanks Hilton! 😊

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