I love the algorithm. It is the best algorithm in the world. If only more people could see this video they would be able to read of my love for the algorithm and become influenced to love the algorithm themselves.
Goodness, I usually complete the crossword during the course of the day each Friday, then watch you solve it in the evening, after my toddler's gone to bed. It's my end of the week treat - time to myself! Unfortunately our house has been struck by plague and pestilence (my husband has the flu), so I never got the chance to finish the crossword. I decided to go ahead and watch the video today (on Sunday) and it's a good thing I did, because I wouldn't have been able to solve it on my own! Thank you so much for posting these. I'm not a first language English speaker, but I am married to a Brit and determined to introduce our daughter to the most charming aspects of English culture, such as cryptic crosswords.
English is not my first language so I use these videos to expand my vocabulary. Not only do I get to hear new words but you also explain their meaning. Thank you for that! Oh, and thank you for that short snippet of Marillion at the start. 😀
English is not your first language? And you do the Times crossword? Congratulations sir (or ma'am) I'm an indigenous Englishman and I haven't got a clue...
Thank you for your dedication to bring us these Friday puzzles! ❤ the guitar intro! Sorry about your kitchen- hope whatever caused the flooding is fixed quickly and easily!
Have a safe, enjoy, wonderful new years weekend my friend! Very grateful for you and this this entire community! Look forward to 2024 and many more comments, exceptional videos and streams. Wish you , your family , friends a healthy good 2024.
@@davidrattner9 grateful for you too, David. Exhausting week, now tv on the fritz 😟 new equipment being sent. At least can watch on iPad. I hope 2024 is kind to all of us,
Simon - I say this every single week ; the reason I joined this channel for the first time was for the cryptic crossword solves. It's the variant Sudoku that is the "bonus" content for me.
I love the Friday crossword videos! Good luck with your kitchen plumbing, Simon -- owning a house isn't all it's cracked up to be, sometimes. Stuff keeps breaking! 😼
I was shocked at that and then equally shocked he did not spot peanut butter, which jumped out to me in an instant. Different minds work so so differently!
Continous thank you Simon for yours and Marks dedication to bring these to us every Friday!! Outstanding present to have in 2023!! May 2024 be filled with many more exceptional clues, cryptics and in depth solves!! Hope that your kitchen gets fixed and isnt to bad.
Fantastic content as usual. The way you figure out the last bits of a Times puzzle always fascinates me. I can consistently get about half of the clues, but there will always be one or two that I just can't reason with so rarely get a complete solution without help from a thesaurus. Here's to hoping 2024 is the year RUclips's algorithm realises how engaging cryptic crosswords can be.
I’m staying with my parents for the holidays and my dad and I were very happy that we actually got some of the answers before Simon. Together we are almost as smart as you! Thanks for the wonderful cryptic videos this year!
What a great puzzle! I got 2D as soon as you suggested "bat" for club, but only from the wordplay - I had no clue that "shambles" could mean that. The Connery wordplay was inspired - never seen a clue like that before! Thank you for all your cryptic videos this year and please keep going with them in '24!
Hello Simon! I believe the algorithm enjoys comments, and I genuinely do very much enjoy these videos on a Friday, so the least I can do is leave a comment here to say so. Let's hope RUclips recognises the quality content and brings in those extra viewers, I'm sure there are many many people out there looking for tips on how to solve cryptic crosswords faster and better. 👍👍
Love the cryptic masterclasses! Watching Simon, in his gym gear and headband, not get 19d straight off was one of the more gently amusing things I’ve seen recently 😊
Love these Friday cryptic solve videos. A reliably calming educational way to wind down after the week and into the weekend, a routine highlight. Your kitchens leaking and you still bring peace and zen to the masses! Hope it's not too bad and thank you both for your quality content 🙏
Boeing, remove the European, you get Boing. "E" refers to Ecstasy, a drug (in)famous for its presence at raves as a stimulant to keep partying. "Nis"... I actually knew that off the bat because of a Netflix show I watched, "Hilda". Nisse in "Hilda" are garden-gnome-like spirits/fae creatures that hide in the space-between-walls of a house, "borrowing" the items of the owner... like that missing sock or when you think you misplaced your keys it's actually the Nisse borrowing it.
I knew the Sean Connery one immediatly and was so proud of myself, because any other clue in any of these crosswords I would not have gotten, much less faster than Simon
Over the last year we've seen that setters have had to come up with slightly different ways of cluing the very common ER letter pair. Still not yet fully alert to it though - like Simon I too initially had visions of Old King Cole and ET. Love watching this series. Simon is impressive as ever, not the least that he'd managed to get hold of a plumber at this time of year!
There are a number of amateur cryptic crossword creators who have a set of rules we follow, and it's fine to have difficult wordplay, or difficult (obscure) answers, or difficult checking letters, but not all of them at the same time, so we wouldn't have gotten away with the one that stumped you. Well done on solving it, regardless!
Thanks Simon! I'd forgotten that it's Friday so this came as a very pleasant surprise. It always amazes me that you can look at three letters in the grid and come up with "fiddlesticks" without even reading the clue, it's like a highly specialised superpower.
Thank you, very much enjoyed this Friday treat! Hope your plumbing problem gets sorted - I love the way you can simply concentrate on the puzzle! Great fun as always!
Murmur in bust treated by physician at first gives signs of success (6,2) ...and will perhaps also train the algorithm, at least a little. Cryptics for me are still something I spend at least a few days on per puzzle, slowly grinding through them rather than finishing in one sitting, but I do see myself slowly getting better, appreciate the detailed solves with full explanations.
Commenting to teach the algorithm things! I got the "shingles" answer a little faster because of the old SNL Jeopardy sketches from years ago. And I knew about the Nisse from repeated watchings of Hilda on netflix, but knowing that you could shorten that to "nis" was an informed but uncertain guess on my part too.
Watching this a week late, but in the mean time I managed to complete my first Guardian cryptic (by Fed aka Dave Gorman, no. 29263), which was made possible by watching these videos for the last few months. I'd love you to do more from non-Murdoch papers on the channel!
An excellent solve. 3 down had me totally flummoxed and I don't think I would have submitted 'nis' without first checking the dictionary. You are braver than me Simon.
Hi Simon! Many thanks for this edition of your masterclass. Liking it is a no-brainer for me, no need to beg -- not that I feel it is begging at all to educate people how important likes are for your channel. I am glad it is starting to pay off, (judging by the much higher number that it used to be when I viewed). This puzzle I did not have any joy with at all when I tried it this morning, though I solved it a bit better while pondering along with you. Obviously, my brain is still adjusting to this cryptic thought process ... and sometimes just not at all inclined. I agree, by the way, that the setters should be allowed to be known, but I read somewhere that they are reluctant because they feel people might get used to their style. What do you think? My sincere commiserations to you for your festive woes, a person such as yourself does not deserve them, especially at this time. I really hope for you that the leak is quickly sorted, just like the car. What a testament to your dedication that you are still turning out an episode for us. And with the bonus of some soothing guitar, and an impression! All the best to you, and Mark, and anyone else reading this, for 2024! 🍻
4 Down is the first time I've looked at a cryptic clue and instantly known the answer - in part because of my favourite terrible joke: "What noise does a plane make when it rebounds off the floor? Boeing"
Holy shit, first time i've actually solved two clues before Simon, 3 & 4 down. Although definitely would not have been able to do it without religiously watching these masterclasses
I know this is a very old video, but as a Dane I have to say that a "nisse" is *not* inherently friendly. They're tricksters, who will absolutely wreck havoc on your farm if you do not treat them well. Nowadays they're mostly portrayed as small, cuddly santa-like creatures, but folklore-wise they're much more complex
Thankyou again for these! Maybe some capitalised superlatives in the title, or randomly name dropping someone in the title (schocking!)might boost the algorithm?
We're a bit late to the game, finally getting a chance to watch, but don't see any other comments noting that NAS could also have been a valid answer to 3D since NAS is an abbreviation for "Non Age Stated" referring to spirits such as Laphroaig. Then "finally down" = N and "one's" = AS.
The Times has a "quick cryptic" crossword every weekday, which is considerably more approachable than the puzzles that Simon solves for us. I can usually make a decent stab at the QCs but can't say the same for the full-fat crosswords!
To me, this is the best show of on the channel - bring on next Friday!
Thank you for the video, hope you can go skiing soon!
Dear algorithm, please learn that we enjoy these videos! Thank you 😊
I'm another fan who has zero ability or motivation to try these puzzles, yet so enjoy watching you solve them each Friday.
These are my favorite videos! Thank you and come on algorithm!!
Another brilliant video. This is my weekly reminder to St. Algorithmus that crosswords are cool!
I love the algorithm. It is the best algorithm in the world. If only more people could see this video they would be able to read of my love for the algorithm and become influenced to love the algorithm themselves.
Goodness, I usually complete the crossword during the course of the day each Friday, then watch you solve it in the evening, after my toddler's gone to bed. It's my end of the week treat - time to myself!
Unfortunately our house has been struck by plague and pestilence (my husband has the flu), so I never got the chance to finish the crossword. I decided to go ahead and watch the video today (on Sunday) and it's a good thing I did, because I wouldn't have been able to solve it on my own!
Thank you so much for posting these. I'm not a first language English speaker, but I am married to a Brit and determined to introduce our daughter to the most charming aspects of English culture, such as cryptic crosswords.
English is not my first language so I use these videos to expand my vocabulary. Not only do I get to hear new words but you also explain their meaning. Thank you for that!
Oh, and thank you for that short snippet of Marillion at the start. 😀
English is not your first language? And you do the Times crossword? Congratulations sir (or ma'am) I'm an indigenous Englishman and I haven't got a clue...
English is my first and only language and I'm still learning new words from these videos :')
@@shadowstargate you got what I was saying 👍
@@penrythajanitor4644 Oh, I have no hope of doing those. :D I'm just watching to see a master at work and learn new words.
Thank you for this marvellous video.
I had forgotten today was Friday. What a treat to have this video appear on a day off work.
Thank you for your dedication to bring us these Friday puzzles! ❤ the guitar intro! Sorry about your kitchen- hope whatever caused the flooding is fixed quickly and easily!
Have a safe, enjoy, wonderful new years weekend my friend! Very grateful for you and this this entire community! Look forward to 2024 and many more comments, exceptional videos and streams. Wish you , your family , friends a healthy good 2024.
@@davidrattner9 grateful for you too, David. Exhausting week, now tv on the fritz 😟 new equipment being sent. At least can watch on iPad. I hope 2024 is kind to all of us,
If you've ever had shingles you never forget them, I was pleased to get that one as well as abattoir quickly! Great solve as always
such a lovely video to wind down for the day with
Very much enjoy the crossword videos. Algorithm needs to get its act together and share the love.
These videos are so special to me. It is such a fun and wonderful space to learn.
Thankyou for great solve as always. Learnt 2 new words today ...shambles for abattoir nis for spirit.
Loved the Sean Connery impression! Fantashtic
These videos are my Friday joy. 😊
Another great solve
Love these solves
Simon - I say this every single week ; the reason I joined this channel for the first time was for the cryptic crossword solves. It's the variant Sudoku that is the "bonus" content for me.
I feel very much the same!
Good stuff as always!
Cryptic crossword solves are my absolute favourites!!! Thank you!!
Love the Friday crossword solves. Such dedication too in the middle of a plumbing emergency. Thank you!
Love these videos and am happy to have figured out some of the answers on my own. Thanks, SImon!
These videos are my favorite and have helped me create my own puzzles which I gifted to family this year!
I love the Friday crossword videos!
Good luck with your kitchen plumbing, Simon -- owning a house isn't all it's cracked up to be, sometimes. Stuff keeps breaking! 😼
Dear RUclips this is a great video, listening to Simon knopfler get out of dire straits.
Thanks for making the clip today in the midst of your kitchen catastrophe. Plumbing turmoil. Sounds like a clue
Ling is cognate to Swedish ljung, which is our main word for heather. I had no idea it existed in English.
Another enjoyable video and a brilliant solve! (The sudden leap to FIDDLESTICKS was ridiculous, though..!)
I was shocked at that and then equally shocked he did not spot peanut butter, which jumped out to me in an instant. Different minds work so so differently!
Continous thank you Simon for yours and Marks dedication to bring these to us every Friday!! Outstanding present to have in 2023!! May 2024 be filled with many more exceptional clues, cryptics and in depth solves!! Hope that your kitchen gets fixed and isnt to bad.
Fantastic content as usual. The way you figure out the last bits of a Times puzzle always fascinates me. I can consistently get about half of the clues, but there will always be one or two that I just can't reason with so rarely get a complete solution without help from a thesaurus. Here's to hoping 2024 is the year RUclips's algorithm realises how engaging cryptic crosswords can be.
Great!
"I haven't got the ans- oh I have got the answer now" lmao my favey recurring moment in these puzzles :D
What a wonderful Friday treat. Thank you Simon, a great solve.
I’m staying with my parents for the holidays and my dad and I were very happy that we actually got some of the answers before Simon. Together we are almost as smart as you! Thanks for the wonderful cryptic videos this year!
Thank you for putting these videos up. You and Mark are awesome. I wish you both a Happy New Year, and may CTC be around for many, many more years.
I loved the Sean Connery clue!!
Great entertainment once again. Fridays wouldn't be the same without the cryptic solve!
Love your crossword content.
Thanks again, I always love the crossword episodes.
Some great jokes by the setter. 😄
YAY!! Love the Crossword content!!
What a great puzzle! I got 2D as soon as you suggested "bat" for club, but only from the wordplay - I had no clue that "shambles" could mean that. The Connery wordplay was inspired - never seen a clue like that before! Thank you for all your cryptic videos this year and please keep going with them in '24!
Love these! Pleae keep them coming! :-)
And thank you for all of your efforts!
Hello Simon! I believe the algorithm enjoys comments, and I genuinely do very much enjoy these videos on a Friday, so the least I can do is leave a comment here to say so. Let's hope RUclips recognises the quality content and brings in those extra viewers, I'm sure there are many many people out there looking for tips on how to solve cryptic crosswords faster and better. 👍👍
Love the cryptic masterclasses! Watching Simon, in his gym gear and headband, not get 19d straight off was one of the more gently amusing things I’ve seen recently 😊
Nice solve. Like the Sean Connery one, similar to when cockney is mentioned in a clue.
Love these crosswords! Actually got Boing immediately, which surprised me as I am usually very slow at these.
Keep ‘em coming!
Always look forward to these friday cryptics, and this one was a joy to watch!
Love these Friday cryptic solve videos. A reliably calming educational way to wind down after the week and into the weekend, a routine highlight. Your kitchens leaking and you still bring peace and zen to the masses! Hope it's not too bad and thank you both for your quality content 🙏
Boeing, remove the European, you get Boing.
"E" refers to Ecstasy, a drug (in)famous for its presence at raves as a stimulant to keep partying.
"Nis"... I actually knew that off the bat because of a Netflix show I watched, "Hilda". Nisse in "Hilda" are garden-gnome-like spirits/fae creatures that hide in the space-between-walls of a house, "borrowing" the items of the owner... like that missing sock or when you think you misplaced your keys it's actually the Nisse borrowing it.
I knew the Sean Connery one immediatly and was so proud of myself, because any other clue in any of these crosswords I would not have gotten, much less faster than Simon
It's a shplendid clue!
I was also very pleased to have solved that one!
Over the last year we've seen that setters have had to come up with slightly different ways of cluing the very common ER letter pair. Still not yet fully alert to it though - like Simon I too initially had visions of Old King Cole and ET. Love watching this series. Simon is impressive as ever, not the least that he'd managed to get hold of a plumber at this time of year!
NIS has to be a word, it's the plural of what those knights say in "The Holy Grail"
There are a number of amateur cryptic crossword creators who have a set of rules we follow, and it's fine to have difficult wordplay, or difficult (obscure) answers, or difficult checking letters, but not all of them at the same time, so we wouldn't have gotten away with the one that stumped you.
Well done on solving it, regardless!
Once again a very pleasant hour or so passed in fascination and awe.
Thanks Simon! I'd forgotten that it's Friday so this came as a very pleasant surprise. It always amazes me that you can look at three letters in the grid and come up with "fiddlesticks" without even reading the clue, it's like a highly specialised superpower.
Loved this one, thank you!
These videos are excellent, I really enjoy them a lot!
Love the Sean Connery impression!
Sean Connery played a Spaniard in Highlander where as Christopher Lambert (French) played the Highlander.
He played an Egyptian with a Spanish name...
Thank you, very much enjoyed this Friday treat! Hope your plumbing problem gets sorted - I love the way you can simply concentrate on the puzzle! Great fun as always!
Murmur in bust treated by physician at first gives signs of success (6,2)
...and will perhaps also train the algorithm, at least a little.
Cryptics for me are still something I spend at least a few days on per puzzle, slowly grinding through them rather than finishing in one sitting, but I do see myself slowly getting better, appreciate the detailed solves with full explanations.
I enjoy the crossword videos as much as the sudoku ones.
Commenting to teach the algorithm things!
I got the "shingles" answer a little faster because of the old SNL Jeopardy sketches from years ago. And I knew about the Nisse from repeated watchings of Hilda on netflix, but knowing that you could shorten that to "nis" was an informed but uncertain guess on my part too.
Thanks for a fab video
Hey algorithm! Boost these videos! 😅
Still enjoying these
it's Fri-Yay! another chance to learn! 🙂 My Favorite was "Shingles" 🙂
Watching this a week late, but in the mean time I managed to complete my first Guardian cryptic (by Fed aka Dave Gorman, no. 29263), which was made possible by watching these videos for the last few months. I'd love you to do more from non-Murdoch papers on the channel!
What a lovely starcraft reference that was haha
An excellent solve. 3 down had me totally flummoxed and I don't think I would have submitted 'nis' without first checking the dictionary. You are braver than me Simon.
Lovely stuff
Hi Simon! Many thanks for this edition of your masterclass. Liking it is a no-brainer for me, no need to beg -- not that I feel it is begging at all to educate people how important likes are for your channel. I am glad it is starting to pay off, (judging by the much higher number that it used to be when I viewed). This puzzle I did not have any joy with at all when I tried it this morning, though I solved it a bit better while pondering along with you. Obviously, my brain is still adjusting to this cryptic thought process ... and sometimes just not at all inclined. I agree, by the way, that the setters should be allowed to be known, but I read somewhere that they are reluctant because they feel people might get used to their style. What do you think?
My sincere commiserations to you for your festive woes, a person such as yourself does not deserve them, especially at this time. I really hope for you that the leak is quickly sorted, just like the car. What a testament to your dedication that you are still turning out an episode for us. And with the bonus of some soothing guitar, and an impression! All the best to you, and Mark, and anyone else reading this, for 2024! 🍻
TGIF! Though I usually watch these on my Saturday, as I am 5.30 hrs ahead.
My score today is 4, ie the number of words that i got before Simon.
For the algorithm!
Le Bourgeois gentilhomme is a play by Molière. It is, indeed, about a man pretending to be of higher rank than he is.
Great solve, Happy New Year to you both.
Loved the Marrillion intro.
4 Down is the first time I've looked at a cryptic clue and instantly known the answer - in part because of my favourite terrible joke:
"What noise does a plane make when it rebounds off the floor? Boeing"
A crossword so hard, you need to wear sport attire to tackle it (written before watching)
Ah, Friday. The crossword video helps me to steel myself before going and doing the big weekly shop!
POG crossword video
Sean Connery was in Highlander; he was the exceedingly Scottish-sounding Spanish immortal to Christoper Lambert's exceedingly French-sounding Scot.
Holy shit, first time i've actually solved two clues before Simon, 3 & 4 down. Although definitely would not have been able to do it without religiously watching these masterclasses
I literally only watch these videos from you ! Can you please add the new episodes to the friday crossword playlist? thank you :)
I know this is a very old video, but as a Dane I have to say that a "nisse" is *not* inherently friendly. They're tricksters, who will absolutely wreck havoc on your farm if you do not treat them well. Nowadays they're mostly portrayed as small, cuddly santa-like creatures, but folklore-wise they're much more complex
Thanks Simon for your deidication in keeping these solves going - a flooded kitchen during Twixmas is the last thing you need !
Thankyou again for these!
Maybe some capitalised superlatives in the title, or randomly name dropping someone in the title (schocking!)might boost the algorithm?
a Friday treat
I actually got 10 of the clues before Simon today. As usual, he gets the difficult clues much quicker than me!
We're a bit late to the game, finally getting a chance to watch, but don't see any other comments noting that NAS could also have been a valid answer to 3D since NAS is an abbreviation for "Non Age Stated" referring to spirits such as Laphroaig. Then "finally down" = N and "one's" = AS.
Kiitos!
I would love to see a GACC as well. Still intimidated to get into CC themselves
The Times has a "quick cryptic" crossword every weekday, which is considerably more approachable than the puzzles that Simon solves for us. I can usually make a decent stab at the QCs but can't say the same for the full-fat crosswords!
The Sean Connery impression clue is hilarious. It's one of those clues where the dullards (me) stand a better chance than the learned.
"I didn't spend all those years playing Dungeons and Dragons and not learn a little something about unguents."
Woohoo!