Rookie Corner 528

20 comments on “Rookie Corner 528”

1. Exactly what we like to see in Rookie Corner. A competently put together set of clues that was a real pleasure to unpick.
   Quite a few ticks on our grids but we’ll select 16a as our favourite.
   Thanks Wombat.

2. Thanks Wombat for an enjoyable solve – for me, a definite improvement on your first Rookie. A few Hmms which I am sure that the experts’ explanations will resolve for me.

   The presentation slightly spoiled by a typo, an extra ‘i’ (before the ‘s’), in 5 Across.

   Smiles for 12a, 6d, 8d, 11d, and 15d.

   Thanks again and thanks in advance to Prolixic.

3. Very well done, Wombat, I thought this was a quantum leap forward from your debut submission and I really enjoyed the solve.

   14a was my main concern. This was a wordy clue which seemed to have developed a life of its own, leading to a clunky surface. In any event, “me” is not synonymous with “I” – you could get round this by using “Wombat” or “the setter”. I also don’t think that “to” is an acceptable link word between wordplay and definition. There is probably a case for rewriting this clue completely and, with – I – E – as the checking letters, you have plenty of possibilities for a different answer.

   Apart from the typo in 5a, as mentioned by Senf, I had a (very small!) number of little niggles:
   1a – ECT is not a scan, it is a treatment.
   29a – the use of a vague name as part of the wordplay is one of my bugbears.
   7d – I’m not entirely convinced that “on” can be used as an insertion indicator.

   I had lots of ticks with 11d my favourite.

   Many thanks, Wombat. More like this please! Thanks too in advance to Prolixic.

   1. Hi RD,

      In 7d, I think the setter is using “put on” in the sense of “wear”, although from the cryptic grammar perspective it would need to be “one puts on” to work properly.

      1. Ah, yes, Thanks, SIlvanus.

   2. Hi Rabbit Dave

      Thanks for your encouraging words!

      I appreciate your criticisms of 14a.
      On 29a – Is using a vague name incorrect or is it just not very kind to the solver? Either way I’ll try to keep them to a minimum in future
      7d – Silvanus is right; that was what I was thinking.
      Glad you enjoyed 11d

      1. Wombat, as RD said, it’s his personal bugbear – there’s absolutely nothing wrong with using names in the wordplay. It has long been a regular feature of cryptics, and as a solver I would miss their use.

         Indeed at 29a (one of your best clues in the grid) I chuckled delightedly and marked the clue as being one to which I rather suspected RD would react, so do keep it up!

      2. Thanks for commenting, Wombat.

         Using vague names is not incorrect. Some solvers don’t mind them, but others don’t like them. My opinion is that it leads to unnecessarily imprecise clueing. Some (but far from all) setters avoid them.

         It’s often possible to find an easy way of satisfying everyone by adding something by way of qualification. For example, “little woman” to clue Jo, Meg, Beth or Amy (from Little Women), which narrows the field from an almost infinite list of women. It’s not so easy to think of a way to do this for your clue because the surface implies that the man in question is dead. However at least in this forum of a Rookie Corner puzzle, I could perhaps suggest “Dead body of Rabbit secreted in vehicle”

         1. 

            1. Thanks both

               That makes sense. I’ll try to have a nice mix of both

4. An enjoyable puzzle – thanks to Wombat.
   I spent a little time wondering how chat show host Jonathan was a friend before the penny dropped in 2d.
   My favourite clue was 3d.

5. An enjoyable puzzle thank you Wombat – more like this please

   Thanks in advance to Prolixic

6. Welcome back, Wombat.

   I agree wholeheartedly with RD’s opening comment, compared to your debut puzzle last September this one was a huge improvement, in fact in nine years of solving Rookie puzzles I can’t think of a comparable example where a setter’s second puzzle has been so much better than their first. Many congratulations.

   Yes, there are still areas to work on, once again I agree with RD that 14a was probably your worst clue and a complete re-write would have been a better course to follow. As Prolixic will tell you, try to ensure that verbal indicators are kept in the present tense wherever possible (“imported” in 26a ought to be “imports” or “importing”) and “initial meeting” in 4d should really become “meeting initially”. A few of the surfaces were a little unconvincing but the main thing I noticed was that, overall, there were far fewer technical errors than last time. You deserve a lot of praise for that, it suggests to me that reading Prolixic’s guide has paid dividends.

   Thank you for an enjoyable and much improved puzzle, Wombat.

7. You really have been doing your homework since last we met, Wombat, well done indeed. Still some niggles as have already been pointed out but this was such an improvement on your debut offering. Keep going and at this rate we’ll be seeing you in the NTSPP slot before too long!

   1. Thank you that’s a very kind thing to say!

8. Hi Everyone

   Thank you so much for your kind words!

   I’m really glad that this is a marked improvement on my last puzzle. I’ve read Prolixic’s guide several times and dipped into sections of Don Manley’s handbook (it is a little dense) and learned a lot from them to say nothing of the helpful comments from Prolixic and you all. I’m really pleased to read the comments saying that it was an enjoyable puzzle and that it was a vast improvement on the last one I submitted. I’m incredibly grateful to everyone who struggled through the last one and encouraged me to come back.

   Thank you for the tips and suggested improvements. Looking back on 14d I agree that it could do with a complete rewrite and apologies for the typo (I thought I had checked all the clues through properly.)

   Thanks in advance to Prolixic and to you all for your encouraging comments!

9. Thank you for a generally super puzzle, Wombat, it was a pleasure to solve. I think you got the difficulty level spot on. Some slightly odd surfaces but the only clues where I felt you’d gone awry have already been noted above – 5a, 14a & 7d.

   For me the highlights were 10a and 16a.

   Many thanks once again, and in advance also to Prolixic.

10. Thanks Prolixic! A really helpful review and very pleasing to know the commentometer had a much easier ride this time

    Apologies, I got confused between ECT, CT, and ECG

11. Many thanks for the review, Prolixic, I’m sure Wombat will be pleased to have received confirmation from the commentometer that he has indeed improved tremendously!

12. I thought this was a really good offering, Wombat. Well done! What a lot of positive comments, not least from Prolixic.
    Apologies for this late comment. I much enjoyed the solve, especially 2d and 12a, followed by 16a, 26a and 3d. This last made my think of my late mother. She often used this word to say she felt tired. Happy memories…
    Thank you very much Wombat.I look forward to your next puzzle.
    Many thanks and much appreciation to Prolixic for the review.

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