Beau Peep Notice Board

Beau Peep Notice Board => Outpourings => Topic started by: Mince on September 17, 2017, 01:27:54 PM

Title: obtrude
Post by: Mince on September 17, 2017, 01:27:54 PM
My dad, the king of crossword puzzles, has never heard of the word 'obtrude'. That just astounded me.
Title: Re: obtrude
Post by: Roger Kettle on September 17, 2017, 03:42:55 PM
There was a very clever clue in the Sunday Times today involving the use of "A street magician" as an anagram for "Race against time".
Title: Re: obtrude
Post by: Mince on September 17, 2017, 03:58:38 PM
Do you feed the anagrams into the internet? On the off-chance I fed your name into the internet and came up with Tree Trek Log. I assume this is some kind of hippy Star Trek.
Title: Re: obtrude
Post by: Roger Kettle on September 17, 2017, 06:32:00 PM
No, I don't feed crossword anagrams into the internet---the satisfaction comes from solving them yourself. Another terrific clue from the Sunday Times today was "Unremarkable song Tom Petty covers." The answer is "Fair to middling." Neat stuff.
Title: Re: obtrude
Post by: Mince on September 17, 2017, 10:31:04 PM
Here's my cryptic clue for you, Roger: Time nibbled a corny latch (5, 6)
Title: Re: obtrude
Post by: Mince on September 18, 2017, 04:03:35 PM
Hah! It's too cryptic for everyone! These Sunday Times crosswords are clearly just too easy.
Title: Re: obtrude
Post by: Roger Kettle on September 18, 2017, 06:53:34 PM
In my defence, I have to say that, in compiling terms, it's a lousy clue. The sentence is contrived and makes no sense. Is "nibbled" being used to suggest an anagram of "a corny latch"?
That's my excuse, anyway. I gave it ten minutes on the bus today then surrendered.
Title: Re: obtrude
Post by: Mince on September 18, 2017, 07:23:45 PM
Is "nibbled" being used to suggest an anagram of "a corny latch"?

Ooh, that's clever, probably cleverer than anything I could come up with.

Okay, "Time" is a clue.

"Nibbled" (and the tense is important) is a synonym and forms the first part of the answer.

"a corny" forms the second part of the answer, but think bigger.

"latch" is a synonym and forms the third part of the answer.

And then the answer has to be said out loud to get the real answer.
Title: Re: obtrude
Post by: Roger Kettle on September 18, 2017, 07:36:24 PM
How does one think bigger than "a corny"?
Feel free to announce the answer!
Title: Re: obtrude
Post by: Mince on September 18, 2017, 07:55:17 PM
Nibbled = ate
A corny = oak
Latch = lock
Title: Re: obtrude
Post by: Diamond Lil on September 18, 2017, 08:05:28 PM
As a lover of cryptic crosswords for more years than I care to say, that has to be one of the worst clues.... ever.  (*nono*)
Title: Re: obtrude
Post by: Mince on September 18, 2017, 08:12:23 PM
But you have to admit it makes sense when you get it. I should have posted the answer at eight o'clock.
Title: Re: obtrude
Post by: Roger Kettle on September 18, 2017, 09:09:25 PM
Hmm. I'm not sure that you've quite grasped the concept of crossword compiling. The clue should lead you to the exact words of the answer, not just words that sound the same. If you're going to use "ate" for "eight", you have to let the solver know it's an aural synonym. A common (and clichéd) way compilers do this is by adding "on the radio". Your clue would then become the extremely clumsy "nibbled on the radio"---in other words, "ate" sounds like "eight" when you're listening to the radio. Synonyms also have to be precise. Even cryptically, "a corny" is a bit of a stretch to "oak" and I've never heard anyone say "Look at that beautiful a corny tree". Of course, I see the acorn connection but it simply doesn't work as the synonym you intended. I'll let you off with "latch" for "lock" although, technically, they are not the same. A latched door is not a locked door. It can be opened from the outside by simply pressing down on a small lever.
Finally, you indicated that the answer to your clue had two words (5,6). "Eight O' Clock" should have been represented by (5,1,5).
Apart from that, it was brilliant!
Seriously, your clue was very clever but it was WAY outside the bounds of crossword compiling.
Title: Re: obtrude
Post by: Mince on September 18, 2017, 09:23:59 PM
Yes, my brain gets carried away sometimes. It's similar to my "Roy Great Britain the Fourth" being the rainbow.

So would can't be (3,1)? I believe o'clock is a similar contraction.

Title: Re: obtrude
Post by: Roger Kettle on September 18, 2017, 09:55:30 PM
Well, crossword compilers stick to certain unwritten "regulations" and "o" is always regarded as a single word. I'm sure you'll agree that it's difficult to accept "oclock" as a six-letter word.
I have no idea what your rainbow clue means!
Title: Re: obtrude
Post by: Mince on September 18, 2017, 11:18:04 PM
Roy Great Britain the Fourth

ROY GB IV

Red Orange Yellow Green Blue Indigo Violet
Title: Re: obtrude
Post by: Diamond Lil on September 19, 2017, 06:41:41 AM
Way to go, bro. Great definition of crossword compilation.

Way not to go, Mince. Rainbow??
Title: Re: obtrude
Post by: Tarquin Thunderthighs lll on September 19, 2017, 01:03:48 PM
Is it 'Annie Oakley'?
Title: Re: obtrude
Post by: Rob Baker on September 19, 2017, 01:22:36 PM
I remember Beau and Dennis trying to solve a crossword once..

Beau:  Ok, 5 across. “Postman’s Sack”
Dennis:  How many letters?
Beau:  Should be  ******* thousands!!  Har-de-har!!

I’m off to Portugal on Thursday for a week -- behave yourself everyone    :)
Title: Re: obtrude
Post by: Mince on September 19, 2017, 01:41:04 PM
I’m off to Portugal on Thursday for a week -- behave yourself everyone    :)

Not if Ryanair have anything to say about it.

We really should try to synchronise these Portugal trips so that we can ambush Roger and dunk him in the sea.
Title: Re: obtrude
Post by: Roger Kettle on September 19, 2017, 03:31:33 PM
I'm going two weeks on Thursday.
Title: Re: obtrude
Post by: Mince on September 19, 2017, 03:32:19 PM
For how long?
Title: Re: obtrude
Post by: Roger Kettle on September 19, 2017, 08:35:46 PM
Seven days.
Title: Re: obtrude
Post by: Mince on September 19, 2017, 09:33:22 PM
This means that for a whole day we're going to be close enough to shoot fireworks at each other.
Title: Re: obtrude
Post by: Roger Kettle on September 19, 2017, 10:00:18 PM
Must remember to pack them!
Title: Re: obtrude
Post by: Roger Kettle on September 20, 2017, 08:14:47 PM
Talking about holidays, one of my greatest joys comes early in the trip----spotting my suitcase on the luggage carousel. Particularly if it shows up early. There's something delightful about stepping smugly forward and plucking your suitcase from the conveyor belt as the rest of your fellow passengers stare expectantly at those little flaps, waiting to see what emerges. Sadly, this doesn't happen very often. My case seems to slot comfortably into the penultimate loading spot and Baggage Reclaim is half empty by the time it turns up. By then, I've convinced myself it's somewhere over the Pacific on a Quantas flight.
My dream is to, one day, be the owner of the first case to arrive on the carousel. I am a man of limited ambitions.