Yes, neurotic. It's a sweet spot between being overwhelmed and inviting other people to validate that something is overwhelming and upon that validation the overwhelming thing loses power and becomes manageable. It's a process.
"Oh my, I can't. I just can't. It's too much. I'll never be able to do this!"
"I know it's wicked hard, but look, we can do this bit here. That bit isn't hard."
"Ok, just that bit."
"How about this bit..."
"Stop Pressuring me!!"
I get this from my kids now regarding homework. I have deep sympathy for math teachers where my kids are concerned. They both turned into their mother when learning fractions. Pencils were thrown, tears were shed. Good thing those teachers get two weeks off every three months, they deserve a bit of down time.
Wait, sidelined - sorry. DA! The Friday puzzle, all but one clue solved! Hooray for me! I can do this. I can climb that hill. Now what made this puzzle workable? No theme, no tricky placement and no "You have to solve 14A to get the whole puzzle or you're screwed" It was just a straight puzzle. Also the brilliant group effort over at the D.A. Trippers, as always, gave hints and lead me to the correct end of the clue.
DA is a master of hiding his definitions, he doesn't let his garters show for anyone. I took many breaks. The puzzle would make the world shrink around me, the words become wooden blocks of nonsense and suddenly I had to run away and: scrub the bathroom mirrors, pull weeds outside, scrub that stuck-on concrete thing from the stovetop and start laundry. My house hasn't been this tidy in weeks. The breaks got me back into a positive headspace to solve a couple more clues.
At one point I did get frustrated and just started filling in any old word I thought would fit. 13D where "She treats" I put in HALLOWEEN, for 26A "stranger in hat" I put DICK TRACY, completely ignoring the fact it was a (3,3,3). I was annoyed, petulant and needed to make fun of the puzzle to make it less intimidating. For 24A I put in A BIG ASK, although I wanted to put in ASS. I already had the K from 14D and then I stopped...wait a second, and lo, something subconscious was crying out "Stop being a shithead and look!" I'd actually put in the correct answer.
Here's the picture:
Why do I share a picture? Because I figure people would want to see the thought process, the mistakes and the scribbles. Not many folks who share their solved grids seem to scribble on their puzzles and it's a shame. It's all part of learning how to solve this style of puzzle. A neatly filled in puzzle with no drama, no struggle or no erasing is boring. Let's crack:
1A - Women's quarters run by maiden (5)
Definition is "women's quarters" and a synonym for "run" = HARE (think, haring about) and "by maiden" is a hint to take the M from "maiden" for HAREM. I did not realise that a harem was a place first, I'd thought it was just the collective of women.
4A - Big room using plastic (9)
I got this one late and with a lot of clues. "Big" is our definition and "plastic" is an anagrind, one I've not seen before, the fodder "room using" get scrambled to become GINORMOUS.
9A,10A - Travelling for work in theatre? (7,7)
My first instinct was something along "Musical chairs" because I'd thought theatre = stage and I had a few cross letters (M and C) where musical was a fit. Sadly I had the wrong theatre. We want MEDICAL and one who travels for medical theatres is a MEDICAL TOURIST. I had the last letter wrong choosing tourism over tourist which did mess me up for 8D.
11A - Covet free wage perk, losing fringe elements with too much interest (9)
This clue gave me an Aha! moment. I tend to search for the definitions first, scanning front and end of a clue and working out synonyms. This one has to be read to pick out the solving hint "losing fringe elements" What that tells us is we are to remove the beginning and ends of words. Looking at the words before the instruction "cOVEt fREe wAGe pERk" pull out the middle letters to form OVEREAGER, a word meaning "too much interest" and nothing to do with banking which had been my first line of failure.
12A - Ex-Veep appearing discontented with novel (5)
I got this knowing "Ex-Veep" meant VP or vice president, and being American I just listed back until I found the one who had a synonym for "novel" in his name, AGNEW. I don't know how "discontented with" gives AG, or were we supposed to think AGUE? Which is a fit of chills when ill, which is disconcerting but not quite the same thing, and then just the N from novel?
Kenneth at DA Trippers offered this hilarious nugget: "2a: full name anagram is: Grow a Penis."
13A - Devise covering (5)
Double definition clue and with a few cross letters I found HATCH. I'd also toyed with frame as a possible answer.
14A - Topless in sack, perhaps, you clawed hero? (9)
This clue took me ages! Going by definition only "clawed hero" it becomes a lot more simple, but that beginning bit is confusing. Am I to think about the new Hugh Jackman movie where he's more than just "topless", am I to remove the top of "sack" and put something - not knowing what - in its place? I worked with "sack" to find synonyms, where my husband giggled over my shoulder "sack- bag, what kind of puzzle is this?", anyway the answer is WOLVERINE. I did notice that was an anagram of Wine Lover. which works with 14D.
16A - Male has one blazing desire after executing aggression (9)
I had to use One Across on this one. I'm not sure how this is parsed or if the definition is "execution aggression" or just "aggression" but the answer is MILITANCY. I can see how "Male has one" can give MI but where "blazing desire" comes into it, unless it's TAN, and that's a long shot. Not sure at all where the CY come from.
18A - Clock located on radio (5)
I had this one wrong at first, but I had an anagram and synonym for the right answer in place, So I didn't know it was wrong for ages because it looked legitimate. "Clock" is our definition and here want the aggressive punch in the face kind of clock, and I thought it was a double definition where it was a punch in a face also found on the radio and put in BEATS. But that was wrong! The correct answer was BASTE and I think DA wanted us to think BASS and maybe ST for stereo? I don't know.
Mort says 18A “on radio” means “sounds like” and I now wonder if we're supposed think PASTE for clock and the homophone is BASTE. Why are there so many synonyms for punching someone??
19A - Volunteer assassin? (5)
The question mark hints that this is a cheeky kind of double definition. A word for "volunteer" and a slang word for "assassin"? OFFER.
21A - Extremely unusual ninny in cover-up to hold down several jobs (9)
"Extremely unusual" means take the extremes or first and last letters, from "unusual" to get UL, "ninny" = TIT "in cover-up" = MASK so put UL + TIT into MASK to get MULTITASK a phrase meaning "to hold down several jobs"
24A - It's difficult, fuelling one short two-wheeler, perhaps (1,3,3)
Definition is "It's difficult" and I'm not sure how this puzzle is worked because like I said before, I got petulant and wrote in "A BIG ASS" think ing of Queen's "Fat bottomed girls" and "one short two-wheeler" as a BIKE, and I suppose that's where the BI come from but unsure about "fuelling"
25A - Oldie opposed to constant youth blowing twopence (7)
I did not understand the parsing here and I'm frustrated because others commented on the cleverness of this clue and I hate not getting the joke...even though I'm terrible about getting jokes. It was hinted by Megse that "Constant youth" referred to "is a children’s story without 2 letters(2-7)starting with a letter that suggests opposition. and I thought PETER PAN and which letters do we remove and what is a one letter word for opposition? Answer is VETERAN. So does "blowing twopence" mean a "vickies" two-fingered salute? Answered by Mort on DAT "CC, 25A is made up of “V” for anti, followed by the name of a constant youth (think Neverland) with two pennies removed from his name."
26A - Stranger in hat practically wasted crime (3-3-3)
Definition is "crime", "Stranger" is an anagrind and IN HAT is a partial fodder, and a "partially" done synonym for "wasted" is DRUNK remove the K for HIT AND RUN.
27A - Booze no closer to pub steps (5)
Definition is "steps" and in this sense we want to think dance steps. I'd initially thought "pub steps" and was working RYE into RISER to no avail. No it's "Booze" = RUM and "no closer to pub" is somehow telling us to use a phonetic synonym for pub or "BA..." - Oh! "no closer" is more literal! it means the synonym has no last letter so BAR loses its -R to get RUMBA. Now I get it.
1D - Macho Man - holy song gets steady in sound (5)
How badly did I want this answer to be RANDY? I miss those glory days of the 80's WWF wrestling scene - oh yes. It was a passion for most of my adolescence. But sadly no this was not a wrestling clue. Definition is "Macho Man" and "holy song" = HYMN and a "steady"= BEAU "in sound" tells us this is a homophone clue so we really want HIMBO, a slang term for male bimbo. (RIP Randy Savage!)
2D - Jockey riled, admitting fast pulse (3,6)
Crap. "Jockey riled"? Well both words mean to mix up! If one is an anagrind, which one? DATs Julienne " 2 D – definition is “pulse” but not to do with heartbeats; wordplay – “jockey” is the signal to anagram “riled” which then surrounds a type of fast." to the rescue. At the time that didn't help much, and once I had all the cross clues and got to asking "Is the first word red?" then it hit me: RED LENTIL. Where RILED is mixed-up outside a four letter word for a "fast" LENT.
3D - Were his crimes likewise unspeakable? (7)
Again with a few cross letters and a DAT hint that Shakespeare was involved I guessed MACBETH, as Blackadder tells; the play that should never be named but must be known as "The Scottish play"
4D- Prison guards reduced by two thirds on trail (5)
Definition is "Prison" and "guards reduced by two thirds" means that since "guards" has six letters, remove two thirds, leaving GU and a synonym for "trail" = LAG for GULAG. I wasted a lot of time by reading trail as trial and thinking lawyer words and court synonyms. Time to update my glasses prescription.
5D - Channel an uplifting mate, of course (9)
Definition is "of course" and "Channel" = RUT plus the available AN and those words are to be put in the grid reversed, as the word "uplifting" suggests for a down clue the answer should go from bottom to top. Add the synonym for "mate" = ALLY and we get NATURALLY.
6D - Boy slicing profligate meat dish (7)
Once I could get past the slightly ghoulish surface of this clue and thoughts of boys slicing meat, it was a straightforward solve. "Boy" = LAD and "profligate" = ROUE (found by clicking along the thesaurus link to noun "person who is immoral" and the last word listed there) and "slice" the word LAD into ROUE to get ROULADE, a "meat dish". I prefer the cake version, myself.
7D - Tear-jerker possibly screening twice, one grasped (5)
Oh this clue gave me issue and I only got it after a few breaks and then I was "duh! how could you not see that!?" Definition is "tear-jerker" and "possibly screening twice" where screening means ON, twice is ONON and then "one" = I is "grasped" to make ONION.
8D - Obscure venue for Total Support broadcast (9)
Got this one last, and struggled partly because I had the wrong letter in place from 10A, so even One Across couldn't help me. I was told by the DATs that there were double homophones afoot. one for "Total" and one for "Sport", "Total" = SUM and "sport" as in "you are sporting a dapper hat, old chum" = WEAR and a homophone of those words that also means an "obscure venue" is SOMEWHERE.
13D - She treats duck trapped along a key route (9)
This clue I had cheekily pencilled in HALLOWEEN, but of course that's wrong. "She treats" is our definition. The "key route" is a HOME PATH and I learned today that a one letter word for "duck" is O for HOMEOPATH. DAT member nn said " Had a laugh as ducks quack! " and I couldn't agree more. Tim Minchin sings a great song about Homeopathy and other woo in Storm but I think Mitchell and Webb do the topic justice here.
14D - Men wreak havoc with one rose cultivator (9)
I got this one first. "Havoc" is an anagrind and "MEN WREAK" the fodder but it's one letter short but we're told it's "with one" or I, scramble those letters up and we get WINE MAKER for "rose cultivator" or should that be rosé?
15D - Hot men only hit Facebook image (9)
I was stumped. I fumbled around with beefcake, selfies, avatars and got nowhere. Then DAT Martin mentioned "15d – what kind of men-only party precedes a wedding? Letters 7-9 are a kind of hit perhaps suited to a 4-legged woolly animal. Despite the def (Facebook image), you’re actually looking for a social media platform popular with youths and separate from Facebook." and I knew I'd been down the wrong path but his help showed me where I was wrong on 18A. For letters 7-9 I thought STAG his "4-legged woolly animal" was a RAM which pushed me enough to get the rest INSTAGRAM, the photo sharing platform. Nothing really to do with Facebook at all except to send us down rabbit holes, which is mean and dastardly.
17D - Land blocks after raining (7)
I had lots of cross letters and guessed this one. "Land" = TERRA and I'm guessing "blocks after" means to remove letters from "raining" but the answer is TERRAIN. which is land and rain overlapping.
18D - Result of rubbing lesser celeb the wrong way (7)
I got this one second. Definition is "result of rubbing" and a "lesser celeb" is a B-LIST, and we want BLISTER.
20D - Forte isn't commonly weak! (5)
I got this one by guessing with cross letters and a hint from DAT that "weak" was our definition. FAINT. Do we take the F from forte and add it to a slangy synonym for "isn't commonly" AINT? Yeah, we'll go with that. Even though my Mom would chase me to slap my face if I'd said "ain't" as a kid. It was her biggest pet peeve after being called "Ma."
22D - Cheer organ's variant finale (5)
Forgive me but I don't like this clue. I don't think the words are solid enough. Definition is "Cheer" and the "organ" we want is...Oh! I see where I was going wrong now! Apologies. It's not as bad I'd thought. I thought it was "VEIN" trying to be an organ, when it's not; but no. No what it says is an organ has a "variant finale" or different last letter! The organ we want is LIVER, but change the last letter to get a word for "Cheer" LIVEN. There, that makes sense. Although I still think liven is a wanky word. Not being a compiler I have no idea how hard it is to make a crossword and have to make work whatever dross happens to fill the small spaces. It's a valid dictionary word, albeit a bit ugly, for a word that means cheerful.
23D - Family overwhelms me, in a way (5)
Definition is "in a way" and "Family" = KIN and "me" = DA - our compiler. In a down clue "overwhelms" means KIN goes before DA for KINDA. I know how he feels. Now I feel bad saying he had a wanky word in his puzzle.
That was it. No bells or whistles or shocking hard leader clues that need solved for anything else to work. Something kind to make the puzzling easier and kind on us newbie solvers. I definitely like the challenge of a harder puzzle but what I truly love is working with the community of solvers at D.A. Trippers. That just makes my Friday. I wish I had a couple of folks nearby who I could have coffee, a kvetch and crack a puzzle with.
I'll be working on a post about how to approach solving cryptic clues. This will help me as much anyone else as I've learned to crack clues on my own and with tutorial books written by compilers. I found most them hard going as compilers write from the perspective of already knowing the answers and sometimes write about solving in a reversed order. I will say David Astle's book, Puzzled (I have the Kindle version) (He has more links to his books on his blog)has been the best one I've read and has helped me become a better solver. Shame I had to move to Melbourne to get that connection, where was this when I lived in Scotland and seriously struggled to get my head around cryptics? Also, it doesn't seem to make his puzzles any easier, but it's an entertaining read and I highly recommend getting a copy.
As always if you've got something to contribute to the puzzle have a go in comments or an alternate solution, I'd love to see yours so please share. I'm off to enjoy my weekend, wishing you the best with yours.
~CC
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