Hey Simon, you really hit the bullseye today! I've been tuning in for months, and thanks to your brilliant explanations, I'm finally unraveling those tricky clues. Guess what? I nailed "on the game" and "secrecy" before you did! Made my day, and I'm officially declaring myself the Clue Champion at my house. Cheers to the joy of cracking the cryptic! 🕵♂🎉
0:15 Hello and you're welcome. It is also my favourite video of the week. 50:43 Awww Simon never made plastic models. The Sprue is all the bits you don't need that the parts you do need are attached to. You spend as much time trimming sprue as anything other than painting.
The term predates the aviation industry. For example, it is in John Russell Bartlett's 𝘋𝘪𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘢𝘳𝘺 𝘰𝘧 𝘈𝘮𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘤𝘢𝘯𝘪𝘴𝘮𝘴 (published in 1848---he's not the Bartlett's Quotations guy, by the way), where he says "Persons who drink at a bar, ride in an omnibus, or railroad car, travel in steamboats, or visit the theatre without charge, are called 𝘥𝘦𝘢𝘥 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘥𝘴."
After slowly trying to learn Cryptic Crosswords by watching these videos, I solved my first (albeit very easy) crossword this week without using any of the hints the software gives you and that made me feel incredible. The satisfaction of understanding the wordplay once you type in the answer is so awesome!
I’ve watched a few of these videos and they’re definitely helping me. My solve rate of the Telegraph cryptic has gone way up in recent weeks, so please keep these coming 😊
i have been learning how to solve from these videos for a few months now... ive watched them all, cant tell you how grateful i am for all the help! over christmas i was helping my mother (who has been solving for as long as i can remember of my 36 years) and auntie solve the times cryptic jumbos, which was great fun, so thanks again guys 👍
Thank you for spending time doing the Friday crosswords. It really makes my week. I love to wait to watch this at the weekend lying in bed on a Saturday morning.
These might just be the most brilliant clues I've seen on this channel so far. The way the answers tie back into the clues is just amazing. I especially like the crab clue.
Great crossword, great solve, and entertaining as ever. My homework this week is to write out 100 times, "near can mean mean!". Simon has told us before, but it won't stick in my head...
I write these types of tips down in a little notebook. I have a cryptic crossword dictionary, but I'm hoping that writing them down will make it stick. So far, I remember about 5 of the dozens of words I've written down... Perhaps writing it down 100 times is the trick.
Loved the video, as usual - highly recommend trying this week's Thursday puzzle as well. A little easier, but so many gorgeous misdirections, an absolute joy.
A milk run was air force slang in WWII, meaning a bombing mission against an undefended target where there was little danger of being shot down by enemy forces.
I think a more familiar meaning for 'sprue' is in model-making (e.g. model aircraft or war-gaming miniatures) when you first open the kit, the 'sprues' are those little strands of plastic that hold the parts into the rectangular frames, which you have to carefully clip off before you start putting the parts together.
More familiar to you, maybe, but that's new to me -- so, thank you: a new vocabulary word is always a treat! (To me, the primary sense "sprue" is the old-fashioned name for what we now call "celiac disease.")
@@Anne_Mahoney And I didn't know it could be an illness, so thank you! (AND in the process of looking that up, I also just learned 'sprue' can be a thin variety of asparagus... what a versatile word!)
So this is only ONE of your favorite videos each week? I'll have you know this puzzle it the absolute highlight of my weekly viewing schedule (and for that, I am in your debt... weekly!)
A wonderful solve, thank you very much. I enjoyed today's puzzle, having to work harder than usual to make headway, but I did manage. I couldn't parse all of them, though, Watteau was beyond me.
The web it broke and wafted wide The mirror crack'd from side to side The curse has come upon me cried The Lady of Shallot Web, there is the weaving she was doing.
Watching these prompted me to try (and to, very slowly, complete!) the New Statesman crossword last week. Unfortunately this week it's a novelty "anagrams only" cryptic.
Strange, around here a "milk run" has nothing to do with being routine, but that it has many stops along the way, as in "You'll arrive earlier on the 10AM bus because the 9:30 is a milk run"
On Weave: We used to use a software by Macromedia (later bought by Adobe) in school, called Dreamweaver, to make Websites. So I wonder if they named the software as a clever pun - if you weave then you are a web designer.
I wanted it to be internet related, too, but "Web design" is described as weaving in: "Oh, what a tangled web we weave, when first we practice to deceive!"
@@davidrattner9 yes! Still a bit under the weather, but getting better. I think warmer weather would help considerably! Watching Simon (and Mark) has helped me get through it! And kind comments from you! 💕💕💕
@@longwaytotipperary continue to get better and on the mend. Will shove you warmer weather your way. Always will send you warmth in terms of comments. 💙🩵
You should click down into the details on the SNITCH - those are all genuine solvers. I did solve this beauty, but my time was absolutely off the charts. If I were a SNITCH reference solver, I would be at 400, pulling the SNITCH even further up into the stratosphere. As it is, it looks like one reference solver did it on paper and typed in the answers, which is not supposed to happen with the reference solvers.
By comparison, when I hear "Dead Head" my first thought is a fan of the band The Grateful Dead. Which could also be "One who uses", but that doesn't work with the rest of the clue.
Actually, the expression applied to trains and busses BEFORE airlines, although that is the usage the public is most familiar with (possibly because a "deadheader" on a plane is often more prominant and likely to have multiple, interactions with fellow employees on flights than is the case on trains and busses.)
Simon's education not only seems to have missed the classics, but also Biology. A Stingray is a cartilaginous fish related to sharks and skates with hypertrophied pectoral fins and reduced tail fins. Commonly with a spine over the tail, thus Sting-ray.
"Deadheading is the practice of carrying, free of charge, a transport company's own staff on a normal passenger trip so that they can be in the right place to begin their duties"
What are you referring to? More than ANY other internet content that I regularly view, THIS site goes to great lengths to identify, praise and encourage the originators of the puzzles they solve. So what exactly are you on about?
I like how Simon swerved actually saying "twatted" in his 25A explanation.
My fav Cracking the Cryptic vid of the week. Please keep it going!
Hey Simon, you really hit the bullseye today! I've been tuning in for months, and thanks to your brilliant explanations, I'm finally unraveling those tricky clues. Guess what? I nailed "on the game" and "secrecy" before you did! Made my day, and I'm officially declaring myself the Clue Champion at my house. Cheers to the joy of cracking the cryptic! 🕵♂🎉
0:15 Hello and you're welcome. It is also my favourite video of the week. 50:43 Awww Simon never made plastic models. The Sprue is all the bits you don't need that the parts you do need are attached to. You spend as much time trimming sprue as anything other than painting.
Deadheading is an aviation term for crew flying for free to get to their stations, often on other airlines.
It sure is! I learned that from the movie "Catch me if you can"
Between this clue and milk run, I think that we can assume Maverick created this cryptic.
The term predates the aviation industry. For example, it is in John Russell Bartlett's 𝘋𝘪𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘢𝘳𝘺 𝘰𝘧 𝘈𝘮𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘤𝘢𝘯𝘪𝘴𝘮𝘴 (published in 1848---he's not the Bartlett's Quotations guy, by the way), where he says "Persons who drink at a bar, ride in an omnibus, or railroad car, travel in steamboats, or visit the theatre without charge, are called 𝘥𝘦𝘢𝘥 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘥𝘴."
Here in the USA, a "Deadhead" is also a term for a hardcore fan of the hippie jam-band The Grateful Dead.
@@darreljones8645 that band was very fan friendly, to the point of giving away free tickets!
After slowly trying to learn Cryptic Crosswords by watching these videos, I solved my first (albeit very easy) crossword this week without using any of the hints the software gives you and that made me feel incredible. The satisfaction of understanding the wordplay once you type in the answer is so awesome!
I’ve watched a few of these videos and they’re definitely helping me. My solve rate of the Telegraph cryptic has gone way up in recent weeks, so please keep these coming 😊
have loved cryptics for 45 years since introduced by my (sorry, Simon) Latin teacher and this weekly session is a delight. Please keep them coming...
Am I the only one mesmerised by the symmetry of the grid? ❤
Always love a Friday wind down with Simon’s brilliant mind solving ludacris clues 🎉😊
You're not alone.
These cryptic crossword masterclasses are the video I look forward to the most every week. Hope you keep them coming.
Brilliant, as ever. Viewing these videos has become woven into my weekly routine.
A very humbling crossword, which made Simon's solve all the more enthralling.
i have been learning how to solve from these videos for a few months now... ive watched them all, cant tell you how grateful i am for all the help!
over christmas i was helping my mother (who has been solving for as long as i can remember of my 36 years) and auntie solve the times cryptic jumbos, which was great fun, so thanks again guys 👍
What an insanely difficult but brilliant puzzle. Thank you Simon, as always, for taking us through step by step
I'm watching this with my morning coffee and it's wonderful
What a nifty puzzle. I love the Friday crosswords: I look forward to them all week! 😺
Always a pleasure to watch Mr Simon solve these, thanks for the upload!
Thank you for spending time doing the Friday crosswords. It really makes my week. I love to wait to watch this at the weekend lying in bed on a Saturday morning.
These might just be the most brilliant clues I've seen on this channel so far. The way the answers tie back into the clues is just amazing. I especially like the crab clue.
Constant enjoyment Simon in bringjng these to us every Friday!!
Great crossword, great solve, and entertaining as ever. My homework this week is to write out 100 times, "near can mean mean!". Simon has told us before, but it won't stick in my head...
I write these types of tips down in a little notebook. I have a cryptic crossword dictionary, but I'm hoping that writing them down will make it stick. So far, I remember about 5 of the dozens of words I've written down... Perhaps writing it down 100 times is the trick.
Highlight of the week, fantastic solve! I love all your asides and commentary!
Thank you for this excellent video.
Loved the video, as usual - highly recommend trying this week's Thursday puzzle as well. A little easier, but so many gorgeous misdirections, an absolute joy.
I understood weave in reference to orb weaver spiders... hence web? Love these Friday crosswords - thank you
Simon - thanks for this week's and PLEASE try to remember to prepare the "Definition only'" puzz for next Friday, if you can. 🙏
Yes!
So much fun to watch you solve these!
Some classy clues in this one.
Most enjoyable. Your solve reflected mine although I got stuck in the NW at the end. And I had ON THE BALL.
Excellent solve Simon . Kudos to you .
The setter has a mind like the colliery branch line -- one track and filthy!
The best part of my Friday, no doubt about it 😊
Simon should really give himself some credit for how quickly he got through such a high-rated crossword.
Thanks Simon, always a highlight of the week,
love the friday crosswords. thanks for the continuous uploads
thank you Simon and Mark! Looking forward every Friday for this!
A milk run was air force slang in WWII, meaning a bombing mission against an undefended target where there was little danger of being shot down by enemy forces.
As always. Watching magic
I think a more familiar meaning for 'sprue' is in model-making (e.g. model aircraft or war-gaming miniatures) when you first open the kit, the 'sprues' are those little strands of plastic that hold the parts into the rectangular frames, which you have to carefully clip off before you start putting the parts together.
More familiar to you, maybe, but that's new to me -- so, thank you: a new vocabulary word is always a treat! (To me, the primary sense "sprue" is the old-fashioned name for what we now call "celiac disease.")
@@Anne_Mahoney And I didn't know it could be an illness, so thank you! (AND in the process of looking that up, I also just learned 'sprue' can be a thin variety of asparagus... what a versatile word!)
So this is only ONE of your favorite videos each week? I'll have you know this puzzle it the absolute highlight of my weekly viewing schedule (and for that, I am in your debt... weekly!)
Glorious entertainment!
A wonderful solve, thank you very much. I enjoyed today's puzzle, having to work harder than usual to make headway, but I did manage. I couldn't parse all of them, though, Watteau was beyond me.
deadhead is a term for the trip pilots relocating from one airport to another but not actually flying the plane take.
I do love watching these solves. I am still rubbish at doing them myself though. 😊
Deadhead is also a word used to describe fans of the Grateful Dead.
The web it broke and wafted wide
The mirror crack'd from side to side
The curse has come upon me cried
The Lady of Shallot
Web, there is the weaving she was doing.
Perfect timing for a Friday lunch! I'd better stick the kettle on. Thank you CTC
Always love these videos simon, keep them up! :)
YOU WERE ON THE BALL THIS VIDEO
Watching these prompted me to try (and to, very slowly, complete!) the New Statesman crossword last week. Unfortunately this week it's a novelty "anagrams only" cryptic.
Love these videos!
Great solve
Strange, around here a "milk run" has nothing to do with being routine, but that it has many stops along the way, as in "You'll arrive earlier on the 10AM bus because the 9:30 is a milk run"
On Weave: We used to use a software by Macromedia (later bought by Adobe) in school, called Dreamweaver, to make Websites. So I wonder if they named the software as a clever pun - if you weave then you are a web designer.
I wanted it to be internet related, too, but "Web design" is described as weaving in: "Oh, what a tangled web we weave, when first we practice to deceive!"
Black strap molasses adds sweetness, but it also quite bitter if you taste it "neat"
Yay! Simon in the morning! 😊
Especially on a Friday is such a delight 😁
@@davidrattner9 yes! Still a bit under the weather, but getting better. I think warmer weather would help considerably! Watching Simon (and Mark) has helped me get through it! And kind comments from you! 💕💕💕
@@longwaytotipperary continue to get better and on the mend. Will shove you warmer weather your way. Always will send you warmth in terms of comments. 💙🩵
@@davidrattner9 Thank you, David! Much ❤️❤️❤️
I recognised all the words today! No "ukase" in this one. I'd still be looking at half a day to solve it through though.
I got "premises" _waaay_ before Simon!! Woo-hoo!!! Oh yeah: that was the *only* clue I got :(
(25d) Oh what a tangled web we weave..... (29a) In the world of theatre a 'deadhead' is a member of the audience who has not paid for their ticket...
Amazing crossword; I didn't get any today
This commenter's demonstrating their progress on cryptic crosswords (9)
IMPROVING
(slowly)
(but surely)
Molasses is certainly bittersweet, at least when compared to golden syrup or honey.
Please do a definition only version of Thursday's puzzle as well next week! That would be awesome
Deadhead is a term for followers of the band "the grateful dead"
Lovely crossword, thanks. . . OED does not mention "big fan of Grateful Dead" for deadhead. . hmmmm
You should click down into the details on the SNITCH - those are all genuine solvers.
I did solve this beauty, but my time was absolutely off the charts. If I were a SNITCH reference solver, I would be at 400, pulling the SNITCH even further up into the stratosphere. As it is, it looks like one reference solver did it on paper and typed in the answers, which is not supposed to happen with the reference solvers.
What did Simon mean at 2:00 that "these people are today's typists"?
Yay I got 22ac before Simon... Didn't get any of the others of course but small victories etc.
By comparison, when I hear "Dead Head" my first thought is a fan of the band The Grateful Dead. Which could also be "One who uses", but that doesn't work with the rest of the clue.
I knew the word 'deadhead' from the movie Catch Me If You Can!!
Deadhead. Reference - catch me if you can.
the only place I know it from too!
Actually, the expression applied to trains and busses BEFORE airlines, although that is the usage the public is most familiar with (possibly because a "deadheader" on a plane is often more prominant and likely to have multiple, interactions with fellow employees on flights than is the case on trains and busses.)
Simon's education not only seems to have missed the classics, but also Biology. A Stingray is a cartilaginous fish related to sharks and skates with hypertrophied pectoral fins and reduced tail fins. Commonly with a spine over the tail, thus Sting-ray.
"Deadheading is the practice of carrying, free of charge, a transport company's own staff on a normal passenger trip so that they can be in the right place to begin their duties"
Is there a reason for the 'once' on the end of 18 across? Seems like it would solve the same without that word in the clue.
I believe it is indicating that this is an archaic definition, so a word meaning "local official once", once upon a time, some time ago.
@@Prazzie That makes sense!
I believe that molasses and treacle are pretty much the same thing.
Why is it no surprise that you can quote the fights historical?
It is bluth (Dave Gorman)
Agree. Or someone giving a very good imitation of his work.
then again, I might be completely wrong, bluth set the Guardian crossword today, probably not the Times too.
Did you not do Airfix models as a kid? The pieces came on a sprue
not convinced by the 'crabby' explanation for 2dn. I think it's simply 'not laidback, but this', i.e. something the opposite of laidback
I was expecting at least a few comments about the Grateful Dead! (28 across)
Deadhead can also mean a truck or train on a return journey without cargo.
The ai thumbnail ... Sorry but I can't support a creator that won't respect another creator's work like that. Been a good run o7
What are you referring to?
More than ANY other internet content that I regularly view, THIS site goes to great lengths to identify, praise and encourage the originators of the puzzles they solve. So what exactly are you on about?