Sequence 7 The unclued entries provide the ten levels of hardness in Moh’s scale. 1. Talc,
2. Gypsum, 3. Calcite, 4. Fluorite, 5. Apatite 6.
Orthoclase, 7. Quartz, 8. Topaz, 9. Corundum, 10. Diamond |
Eclogue's Efforts
A setters' blog featuring the combined efforts of Eclipse and Logogriph under the hybrid pseudonym Eclogue
22 November 2021
Sequence 7
01 November 2021
AJ
An Alphabetical Jigsaw submitted to CrOZworld in July 2021.
A nice short preamble reads "Solutions begin with the given letter. Place them in the grid jigsaw-wise, where they fit."
AJ by Eclogue |
As well as the peripheral NINA, the longest entries are
(A)cross and (D)own.
Slot 4:
Entries: 74
Correct: 58
Correct % 78
Adjudicator’s comments:
Slot 4. Another challenging puzzle from Eclogue, complete with three mini- Ninas, identified by a number of solvers. PEDALED needed the American usage to be derived from the former, although associated clue and resulted in four incorrect entries, PERONED, BETAMEN, PEDALER and PENALED. HYPOGRYPH, requiring a cunning interpretation to derive the “gryph”, resulted in a further four errors. Other errors included XMAS (2) and XION for XIAN.
Slot 5. Comments by solvers would suggest that three-letter words are not
Solver comments:
November 4: Eclogue (Keith Williams and Eddie Looby)
· I like the NINAS - BEGINS and THE END! Ann Millard
· Begins the end. The end! Julie Leigh
· This was a tough AJ to finish! Fraser Simpson
· Reassuring to see “begins the end the end.” Something’s in the right place. Roy Taylor
· Definitely a challenge here, with several new or unfamiliar usages. I liked NEUTRALIST, and had to guess for A, F and J. Not sure about Y either, if Shaky is part anagrind and part indicator. Kathy Horadam
· I’ve never done an AJ without pen and paper before. Wouldn’t be at all surprised if I’ve messed it up. Jenny Wenham
· As expected with an AJ, a few unusual words. Sad there’s only one beginning but two ends. Ulla Axelsen
· I found this quite hard but satisfying to finish. Robyn McKenzie
· Interesting AJ. Loved WALPOLE and ODORLESS. Beverley Cockburn
· Very clever! “BEGINS” across the top and “THE END” across the bottom and down the right side. Michael Veress
· Clever how once you finish it, the crossword shows you where it begins and where the ends are. David Parsons
· Some words were new to me, so fingers crossed! Anne Simons
· Liked HIPPOGRYPH and WALPOLE. The Oxford college KEBLE (not KINGS) was a surprise. Max Roddick
· There is a NINA. Begins, The end, The End. (I think!!) Marian Procter
· Nina begins and (twice) reaches the end. Andrew Miles
· Handy to know where the puzzle begins and ends! Kath Harper
· GOSPODARS, assuming it’s correct, caused some consternation in the Skinner household. Richard Skinner
· Begins, the end. the end. But what is a Yzmjow? Jim Fowler
09 October 2021
Comings and Goings
Appearing in the i Newspaper as Inquisitor 1720
The Preamble
18 clues each omit a single letter in their wordplay, which should also
be entered at the foot of the corresponding column in which they appear. The
remaining 21 clues have an extra letter in their wordplay which when taken in
clue order provide five consecutive words from a poem (in ODQ) whose author is
provided by the circled cells. Solvers
must highlight the two rows that provide cryptic representations of three
further lines of the poem.
Comings and Goings |
There was a
young lady named Bright,
Whose speed was far faster than light; Extra letters
She set out one
day, In a relative way > (ONE
DAY)* in REL. + ROAD
And returned on
the previous night > BRIGHT + REPLIED over PREVIOUS
NIGHT
ARTHUR BULLER
(in circles) – Relativity in Punch 19 December 1923
29 September 2021
Pack Drill
07 September 2021
The Secret Seven
01 September 2021
Elementary
Preamble
All clues are normal, but are divided into four sets of
twelve solutions each, as follows:-
A) A Each
solution is entered with one letter added – the added letters could be
rearranged to form BAND USES DEMO
B) B Each
solution is entered with one letter subtracted – the subtracted letters could
be rearranged to form GROUP FOUNDED
C) C Each
solution is entered as a single word anagram
D) D Each
solution is entered normally.
All resulting entries are real words or proper nouns. Taking
one original solution from each of the three sets will provide a musical group,
three current or former members of which appear as entries in the final grid which
should be highlighted, together with one of their hit singles (nine letters in
a straight line, enabling the central square to be completed). Four clue solutions provide two other hit
singles by way of confirmation. All
enumerations refer to the length of grid entries. One solution is in Collins.
Maurice / Verdine WHITE (38a), Philip BAILEY (6d) and Ronnie
LAWS (12a) are/were three current or former members of EARTH (35), WIND (38)
& FIRE (26d). Their hit singles
included LET’S GROOVE (24/41) and BOOGIE WONDERLAND (9/1d) and SEPTEMBER
(highlighted diagonal – which with the help of the letter string in the
preamble also resolves the two occurrences where the added letter is otherwise
unchecked at 24a and 3d).
Solvers' Comments
Either the
description was very generous, or I've been listening to this song too much,
because my very first action was to pencil in "September" down the
diagonal. Anyway, this was a lovely puzzle with clues that made me grin. |
The four methods of
entry provided an interesting challenge. After a lot of cold-solving, the
single-word anagrams became relatively easy to spot, and the provision of the
letters added and subtracted kept the level of difficulty to a C-grade. |
I suppose it was
deliberate that WATER is the answer to a type D clue. |
I was able to
cold-solve many of the easy clues, which helped with the grid entries. The
title should have guided me to the key words for the group, but I Googled
'September' as soon as I saw it in the diagonal and got the group that way. I
do remember the group's name (though not the members) but I don't think I
ever listened to their music. |
I think I looked
from elementary to Group to Band in the intro and preamble and leapt to Earth
Wind and Fire. But that is as far of my knowledge of the group went so still
spent a while on that there wikipedia and yon youtube reading and listening
(often simultaneously, though that does make also drinking a cup of hot cocoa
trickier). Not completely convinced my cup of tea, music-wise, but the
crossword was good. Thanks. |
Very well put
together, with much to keep track of during solving. With grid almost
complete, SEPTEMBER looked promising and handy pub googlers confirmed the
group and names. Why are so many pop themes based on modern rubbish instead
of the proper artists and songs of the 50s/mid-60s? Many setters are old
enough to remember them, and the youngsters could easily find them on the
net. |
I think this
represents the real gain the internet has given us. What might have been a
relatively obscure niche, dividing solvers into those of the precise age and
everybody else, has become perfectly fair and researchable general knowledge. |
Nice variation in
answer treatments added to the entertainment. Particularly liked 32 across.
Spent a while looking for the third member before deciding White was doing
double duty - sneaky! (Or I’ve missed something.) |
Interesting variety
of turning answers into lights, which needed a careful bit of 'book-keeping'.
SEPTEMBER was easily found and the rest followed quickly from the internet. |
Well worked, and a
nice reminder of some classics (it set me off on a greatest hits trail via
Apple Music). |
It isn't often that
I get the theme of a puzzle before solving any clues, but it happened on this
occasion. Considering the various threads that needed keeping track of, I was
actually quite grateful to know what was going on so early on. A terrific
tribute to a great band, and it was particularly good to see just so much
thematic material included. Many thanks, Eclogue. |
Gosh, Earth, Wind
& Fire have had so many members, chances are a Magpie subscriber has
probably been in the band at one point or another. Not me though... far too
young. In fact, they were on the curriculum when I did GCSE music as a
textbook example of disco. Fun puzzle, thanks for getting September stuck in
my head for a day or two. |
Nice puzzle, plenty
of thematic matter, not too tricky. Thanks to Eclogue |
Crossword about a
band, and Wonderland is the first clue solved. Nothing to see here.
Eventually the penny dropped: brought a smile to our 50 something faces.
Sometimes I think we should set a timer for 5 minutes to discuss the title only
before thinking about any clue - we'd have got Earth Wind & Fire after
about three minutes if we'd thought about it. |
Great title for a
fun tribute puzzle! Unfortunately I only know the tune to like two bars of
the chorus of "September," so I spent 75% of the puzzle singing
something like "all we are, rhythm is a dancer; all we are, we are, we
are" over and over in my head. I'm fairly certain that none of those
words is correct. I didn't realize until a while after I'd finished the
puzzle that I was solving it IN September. |
Very nice - liked
the four different elements of the clues and there was some fiddly bits with
the additions so hope I got it all right. |
I enjoyed this: so
much thematic detail crammed into the grid. My only slight criticism would be
that the preamble and title gave a little too much away (even though it's not
a band I know much about) ... so there wasn't really a hugely epiphanous PDM.
But the four entry modes were inspired, and the finish was quite tricky
(still not 100% sure I have all the added letters right). Kudos. |
Look It This Way
Preamble
All answers are six letters in length. Some clues have a misprint in their definition, the correct letters for which, in clue order, indicate the new position for a specific entry. An instruction in the completed grid leads to a further indication how this should be achieved. The final positions of all other entries must follow the same method. Three otherwise extraneous words confirm the direction of travel. If we LOOK AT IT THIS WAY, all entries should be capable of conventional reading after compliance with all instructions. Solvers are advised to use a pencil.
Initial Grid |
Final Grid |
Corrections to misprints in odd
clues spell “ONE ACROSS IS NINE DOWN”.
The completed grid provides the instruction “READ LAST LETTER OF EACH
EVEN CLUE” which then gives “TURN THROUGH RIGHT ANGLE”. Extraneous words are DEXTRORSE, LAEVOROTATORY
and WITHERSHINS indicating the ANTICLOCKWISE rotation required, so that the
grid should be turned such that NINE DOWN fills the ONE ACROSS slot. The grid should therefore be re-written
having been turned through 90 degrees and be able to be read from the right
hand edge (else some entries will only be readable in reverse).
Across |
LAST LETTER OF CLUES |
MISPRINT CORRECTIONS |
|
Down |
LAST LETTER OF CLUES |
MISPRINT CORRECTIONS |
1 condos |
|
O |
|
1 Conrad |
|
I |
6 tsuris |
T |
|
|
2 oneyre |
R |
|
11 sheepo |
|
N |
|
3 Naples |
|
S |
12 nephew |
U |
|
|
4 O'Neill |
I |
|
13 etalon |
|
E |
|
5 saw set |
|
N |
14 stogie |
R |
|
|
6 tsetse |
G |
|
15 areole |
|
A |
|
7 shtoom |
|
I |
16 soever |
N |
|
|
8 relive |
H |
|
17 desalt |
|
C |
|
9 sonars |
|
N |
18 emeers |
T |
|
|
10 throat |
T |
|
20 captan |
H |
|
|
19
eerily |
|
E |
24 Shebat |
R |
|
|
20 collar |
A |
|
29 onside |
|
R |
|
21 pseudo |
|
D |
30 Caruso |
O |
|
|
22 adieus |
N |
|
31 aerial |
|
O |
|
23
nearly |
|
O |
32 louder |
U |
|
|
24 sclaff |
G |
|
33 all but |
|
S |
|
25
halloa |
|
W |
34 aidful |
G |
|
|
26 bumble |
L |
|
35 rootsy |
|
S |
|
27 asquat |
|
N |
36 facete |
H |
|
|
28 toetoe |
E |
|